So I kept my boots on, settled for using my arm as a pillow, and let the combination of Mateo’s comforting scent and rumbling HGV engine lull me into lala land.
We were who the fuck knew where when he woke me sometime later.
The engine was quiet. We’d stopped.
I opened my heavy eyes, coming to like wading through tar.
Mateo kept his hand on my arm as he spoke into his phone.
I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Either he was too quiet or I was still a million miles away.
Based on experience, my money was on a healthy mix of both.
I leaned forward and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. I’d always been shit at waking up, but since losing half my blood to the dirt, the spinning was intense. Mateo was lucky the Crows hadn’t come for us for all the good I’d have done him right now.
Not that he needed my help.
Mateo was a fucking warrior. Hot blooded and vicious.
Like a god.
He was also cute as hell.
Done talking on the phone, he unclipped my seatbelt and tipped me back until my head was on his thigh. He gazed down at me, eyes dancing with amusement. “Rubi told me you talk in your sleep. Thought he was full of shit, but apparently not.”
I found my equilibrium. Just. It was hard to stay tied to the world with his face so close to mine. “What did I say?”
“You really want to know?”
“Asked, didn’t I?”
Shyness crept into Mateo’s face, and I knew in that instant that I’d said something dirty. Mateo was as blunt and brash as any biker in the room, but when it came to me, filthy things made him blush. On a good day, at least. And today was a good day, right? We were together, we were whole, and if I stretched my neck just a little bit—
A fist banged on the window.
Mateo ripped his gaze from mine and pitched forward, covering me, but the passenger door opened, and Rubi revealed himself before Mateo could reach for a tool.
“Evening, young’uns.” He took in the sight of me sprawled in Mateo’s lap without blinking. “Welcome to your first rest stop of the night. Food’s shit, bogs are disgusting, and don’t even think of going anywhere without a full escort. Enjoy.”
He made to shut the door.
I sat up and jammed it with my foot. “Are there showers here?”
Rubi turned back. “In the service station. Probably catch E-coli from them. You can’t wait till the next stop?”
“I’ve been bricking all day, man. I need clean hair and dry clothes.”
“All right.” Rubi craned his neck to see along what I was belatedly realising was a truck stop loaded with HGVs and vans. “Wait a sec, and I’ll round up a couple more blokes.”
“I don’t need babysitting.”
“Not my call, father. Lord Nashie’s in charge. Wait on his word, okay?”
I sighed and dumped myself back in Mateo’s lap.
Rubi grinned and shut the door. I figured we had at least a few minutes before he came back, but in the point-two seconds it took me to settle in Mateo’s fiery gaze again, another thump hit the windshield.
Mateo cursed under his breath, Spanish and hot, and rolled down the window. “What?”
