Delinquents Turned Fugitives - Ann Denton Page 0,34

light and bright as the sunrays peeking over the treetops. Playful and hopeful.

“Maybe if I can give her Matthew, Mom won’t mind so much about Claude,” I muttered under my breath. That was my hope, at least.

I blinked hard when a sunray suddenly shot through a gap in the trees, blinding me. I nearly missed our exit. I swerved—too much—we tipped sideways.

Fuck!

My stomach tried to bail out through my nose and I floored the gas and jerked the bike—a last ditch effort to avoid crashing.

As my life flashed before my eyes, I thought I saw Claude appear in the brush that lined the road. But as I straightened the bike back out, Z shifting his weight to help me, no one was there. I even checked the rear-view mirror twice before scolding myself.

My overexcited, exhausted brain was just fried, crossing wires and making me panic.

I blew out a breath as I pulled up to a stop sign and apologized to Z.

"No one I'd rather wipe out with," he replied.

I took a longer stop than necessary there, shaking the adrenaline out of my hands before I sped back up and followed the guys—who’d been half a mile ahead of us—down several country roads.

The rest of our ride went off without a hitch. Gray led us to an abandoned farmhouse, a white building with peeling paint, some cracked windows, and hanging shutters—it looked like it had been caught up in a twister, fallen back out of Oz, and been dumped here while Dorothy's family moved on to bigger and better things.

This was where the billionaire bad boy had decided to stash us? Here? Not some yacht in international waters where Pinnacle laws wouldn't apply?

He and I had a thing or two to discuss regarding strategy.

I killed the bike and let Z slide off first. The rest of the guys stopped around us and I yanked off my helmet before dismounting.

But before I could lay into Gray, Malcolm marched over and laid a big one on me. His kiss was hard and fast and furious. His tongue plunged into my mouth and gave me no quarter. He poured all his panic, fear, and relief into that kiss—not just for the bike ride, but for the entire fucking night.

He gave me an epic reunion after a close call kiss, a potent kiss full of panic and promise so jumbled together that they couldn't ever be untangled.

I didn't even notice when the others tromped inside.

Malcolm only pulled away when he was completely breathless. His hand traced my cheek. "You're never driving a motorcycle again."

"You can't tell me what to--"

He swatted my ass and grabbed my hand, ignoring me when I launched completely logical protests his way. He nodded at Z but then turned and quickly strode through the living room, hardly giving me a second to gawk at the place, which seemed frozen in time. The gold-painted frames surrounding little paintings, the many vases and cluttered surfaces covered with Hummel figurines and other knick-knacks, the flower-print couch and loveseat--it all flashed by as he led me to a wooden staircase.

The stairs creaked under my shoes as we walked.

"Where are we going?" I asked breathlessly.

"Bath," was his one-word answer.

I nearly melted at that. Yes. That was exactly what I needed right now. I was three layers of disgusting. I followed him down the hallway as he checked each door, revealing bedroom after bedroom, until we finally discovered a bathroom that had mint green tiles leftover from the sixties.

Malcolm pulled me inside and locked the door behind us before turning to the freestanding tub and turning the tap on. Once the water was steaming, he let the bath fill with hot water while he watched in silence.

He came back to me, his eyes searching mine. Carefully, he slid the borrowed jacket off my shoulders. He helped me take off the top. His fingers brushed lightly against my skin as he slid down the tight black pants in one slow, deliberate move that left me panting. Malcolm lifted me up and sat me on the countertop as he bent and untied my boots and pulled everything else off until I was clad only in my underthings.

My teeth scraped against my bottom lip while I watched him. Part of me wanted to grab his hair and resume our wild kiss. But another part of me reveled in being taken care of. Malcolm helped me off the counter and I slid down his body. He pulled me in close and