“Sorry, I don’t know what you mean, but I’m going inside now.” I closed the door of the truck and started to walk past him towards the truck stop. He reached out and grabbed my arm.
“Hey! Let go of me, asshole!”
“Come with me, darlin’. It’s been a long time on the road this drive. I need a little attention.” Oh, dear baby Jesus. This man thought I was a prostitute. Did my yoga pants and jacket give it away? If I was a prostitute, I wasn’t trying very hard. Double gross.
“If you don’t let me go, I’m going to show those balls some attention all right,with my boots.” There, that should make him let me go. I jerked my arm, but he still held on.
“Seriously, if you don’t let me go, I’m calling the cops after I make you sing soprano.” His eyes were looking me over and he was grinning. I cocked my foot back to give him a good swift kick to the nads when his arm was removed and he was thrown back a few feet.
“Fucking touch her again!” Killian roared, standing in front of me, his whole body protecting me from the flannel man.
“I get it, she’s yours. Okay.” He scurried off like a rat, and before I knew it, I launched myself at Killian as he turned around to face me. His body was solid muscle, and warm. My arms were tight around him, and I felt him freeze up from my touch.
“Thank you.” I whispered into his chest. He was so big; I came up to his pec. He didn’t say you’re welcome or anything at all, but he didn’t push me away. So I held onto him for a few more seconds before pulling back. His face was hard, but his eyes were staring me down. I wish I knew what he was thinking.
“He thought I was a prostitute. Do they hang out around here or something?” I asked trying to break the stare he was giving me. It was intense, and was starting to create tingles in my lower tummy, making me squirm under their heat. It was turning me on in a weird way.
“Lot lizard. It’s what they’re called. They hang out at truck stops for lonely, horny men.” Well, that explains that charming phrase.
“Great. So guys are going to be thinking I’m a lot lizard whenever we go to a truck stop?” At least I knew now so I could watch out.
“No.” I looked into his eyes to see if he would say more.
“No?”
“We walk together. No one says shit.” Well, okay then. I was not leaving Killian’s side. Done deal. Well, except to pee and stuff. But I could manage that. I doubted any guy would come into the women’s restroom. His eyes still held that heated glare to them, but his jaw had loosened, and his body wasn’t as tense.
“Food.” He huffed and started walking towards the restaurant. He stopped when he didn’t hear me walking behind him, and turned to see me standing there, gaping. Oh, yeah. I had been distracted by him and I forgot all about eating. Quickly, I caught up to him, and we entered the truck stop together.
Chapter Seven
Killian
Livia was lightly snoring in the bunk above me, solidly passed out. I wish I could sleep like she did. Ever since the military, I wasn’t able to sleep much. They don’t exactly let you sleep eight hours every night. Even though it’s been a few years since then, I’ve never been able to get back in the habit of getting a full night’s rest.
I rolled over and looked at the bunk over my head. I could see her up there, in my mind, sprawled out, her legs twisted around the blanket. Livia was like a whirlwind, either get out of the way or fly in the wind with her. Her personality was so big, but I got the feeling from her earlier that it wasn’t always that way. People had tried to dull her shine. Especially her ex, if he was bothered by the sound of her drawing, and getting a little smudge on her skin. Prick. Men like that don’t deserve women like her. She was probably unbelievably loyal, and did everything for him. She would be that girlfriend that would bend over backwards for her man. Women like that got taken advantage of easily, unfortunately.
This girl was sweeping me up into her winds and I hadn’t gotten the warning to dig my heels deep into the earth. Despite my deliberate attempts to avoid conversation and interaction, I was starting to find her presence pleasant. She wanted to keep her skeletons in her closet, and I was keeping mine there, too. The small questions here and there, I could do. We managed to get through her twenty-one questions today. Harmless questions, until her question about being with someone. It made me want to punch her ex in the face. I could feel her wilting like a flower in winter as she was caught up in her thoughts. She could go from hot to cold in seconds with that head of hers. Despite seeing her bravery and strong sense of self, there was obviously a vulnerable woman beneath that tough exterior. It made me feel slightly bad that she picked me for her road trip. I wasn’t a big ray of sunshine. But so far, it seemed like she was okay with that.
Then an image rushed through my mind, and my hands clenched. I hadn’t felt this level of rage in a long time. Seeing that fuck with his hand around her arm, yanking her toward his truck, made me see red. I left her alone to go into the stop, not thinking anything about it. Once I made it inside I realized what types of things happen in the parking lots and turned back around to get her.
I was ready to beat him into the ground when he scurried off. Briefly, I thought about going after him, but these places had cameras, and I didn’t need the drama.
When Livia latched onto me, I felt stunned. She hugged me without fear, or any other emotion, other than thankfulness. The longer she held onto me, the more I could feel the warmth coming off her body, coating mine like a salve. She was considerably smaller than me, but with her pressed against me, I could feel everything. Her soft breasts pressed against my torso, her lips parted against my shirt, with her warm breath teasing my nipple.
It was all I could think about, seeing her pale skin, uncovered, my hands roaming her naked flesh. I’d made it over twenty-four hours without thinking about her in any sexual way, and now that I had, it would fuck with me until she left. But hell if I was going to start any sort of sexual relationship with her, and have to drive with her in the same truck.
It would never work. I was an irritable asshole, and I doubted she would be able to handle a short fling. There was no drama in my life, and I planned to keep it that way. Women were drama. As long as my thoughts of her stayed in my head, we’d be fine.
Only twenty-eight more days. I would survive without getting laid.
The alarm woke me up after only getting around four hours of sleep. Today was going to be a long stretch, from Fort Stockton, Texas, to San Diego. But we had to do it; we’d have a full day off to rest before grabbing more cars in Los Angeles. I rolled out of bed, keeping quiet so Livia could sleep longer. I slipped into my running clothes and hit the pavement. Truckers could hit a slippery slope towards heart disease and other health issues if they didn’t take care of themselves. Maybe one day when I was older, I’d let myself get a trucker belly, but at the age of twenty-eight it was not something I aspired to.
Two-and-a-half miles later, I returned to the truck and woke Livia up.
“Wake up. Let’s go clean up, and hit the road. We’ve got a very long day ahead of us.” Close to fourteen hours of driving. She grumbled but rolled out of bed. Her blonde waves were everywhere, and she had a little black under her eyes from her makeup. Sadly, seeing her like this did nothing to deter my new lust for her. As I turned and jumped out of the rig to give her more space, my thoughts ran through what she would look like post-fuck. Probably something like this morning, but her lips would be more red, and slightly swollen. Her cheeks would have a tinge of pink to them, and those eyes would be glazed over from coming so hard she forgot where she was.
And I was an asshole.
