She shrugged her shoulders. “Yes.” Then she glanced at him, both brows raised in one of those smartass expressions Littles wielded like a pro. “You don’t?”
Fury—no, he didn’t get furious… ever—frustration gripped him too hard to notice how those delicate shoulders hunched forward. “When did you learn—never mind. You shouldn’t have yelled anything. And with you busting out the window of their Bentley, you can bet your sweet ass they’ll chase us all the way back to Tennessee. Not to mention, you cost me my best gun safe.”
Yeah, she was one lucky little vigilante. He was a man of restraint. At least his gun hadn’t been in the safe when she’d chucked it out her window to smash the window of their luxury car. Thank God for small favors. The least she could have donewas hit one of the Russians instead of destroying their back window.
Still, the girl had fire; he’d give her that. But fire like hers needed to be banked and watched constantly, or she was going to end up hurting herself.
It had taken him weeks to track Bliss across the country. When he saw the Russian pumping gas, he pulled up behind the truck stop and caught her as she left the bathroom. He turned her around and snuck her through the back window of a cringe-worthy women’s bathroom while Thug Two guarded the outside door in a six-thousand-dollar suit.
They’d almost made it out of the parking lot, her kidnappers none the wiser, when she screamed out words that would get her bottom toasted and her mouth soaped if she were his. If she were his, she’d learn quick.
But she wasn’t his and never would be. Still, if she pulled anything else that reckless, his or not, she’d wind up over his knee just the same. He just wished protecting didn’t feel so right.
Something popped against the back of the truck, snapping his focus back. Were those assholes shooting at them? A quick glance in the mirror showed the Bentley closing in, gun hanging out the window. Connor glared at Bliss again. He deserved a medal if they made it out of this. All because of her stunt. Once they were safe, he was going to paddle her senseless.
She’d clearly been brooding over his last words. “If you didn’t want me to throw the gun safe at them, you shouldn’t have told me to hold it!”
His head was going to fucking explode. “You held the gun safe, so you’d have more room on the floorboard while staying out of sight!” And he was yelling again. Damn it. He had to get a grip.
He wasn’t going to feel guilty about being off his game. No one in the world would blame him for shouting. It was like sheknew every button he had and pushed them as easily as popping bubble wrap. Anyone would snap.
She stiffened, and her bottom lip quivered. The glimmer of tears in those iridescent seafoam green eyes reminded him of the Caribbean shores. It fit, since the woman was just as unpredictable as those waters. Now he felt like an ass. But damn it, she needed to understand the danger.
Navigating life with her would be one exciting frustration after another. But it wouldn’t be boring. For some other Daddy, somewhere. Not for him. Why did he have to keep reminding himself she was a rescue, not a relationship?
At least, the road that stretched out before them was predictable. Straight, flat, and stretching endlessly in both directions. The Bentley closing in from behind confirmed it. They were only fifteen miles west of Las Vegas. Once they reached the city, he might be able to lose them. Vegas traffic was their best shot.
Bliss shivered and pulled her knees to her chest. Most likely, her chills were due to shock rather than the cold. Still, to be safe, he kicked the heater up another notch.
She no longer wore the warm clothes she’d had when she left Winnie’s. Now she wore a dress that looked more like a white swimsuit with a sheer white overlay. It did nothing to protect her modesty. It probably wasn’t doing much to keep her warm, either. The see-through dress was heating him up, though. She needed proper clothes for warmth. The protection he would handle himself.
Stop perving on the girl and focus on the road and the killers chasing you.
With her curves and all that attitude, that was way harder than it should be.
Luckily, they hit the outskirts of Vegas just in time. The traffic was heavy but moving steady. Relief tingled up his spineand loosened his shoulders. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was lose a tail. Finally, something was going their way. This he could handle.
Weaving in and out of traffic, he kept an eye on his unwanted shadow. Every time he changed lanes, he gained some distance. If the Russians’ Bentley fell behind by another block, he and Bliss would be home free. He just needed to be patient and lose them bit by bit.
Movement beside him caught his eye, drawing his attention to her perfect backside. She had shifted to kneel on the seat, gazing out the back window. Her ass swayed and bounced with the truck's rhythm. The view was distracting as hell, not to mention dangerous for her.
The seatbelt stretched taut across her thighs, and when he had to hit the brakes, the back of her head almost smacked into the front dashboard. His itchy palm won. He smacked her bottom twice. Hard. He didn’t even try to hold back. She needed to learn with him that her safety always came first.
She yelped and spun around to face him, hand clutching her backside. She had the nerve to glare at him. “What are you doing?”
“Getting your attention. Even toddlers know howto keep their butts in their seats. Now sit your ass back down before you get hurt. If we get hit, you’ll wind up with a cracked head.”
Her immediate obedience went a long way toward calming his anger. The spanks to her backside helped even more. It felt right. Too right.
Once she was seated and buckled in again, he turned his attention back to the men following them. They got stuck behind a car at the light, so after the next turn, he exited onto the off-ramp. He’d never been so happy to be headed toward skyscrapers in his life.
His happiness was short-lived. He let out a string of words he’d spank Bliss for using when the Bentley followed them off the same exit. Persistent bastards. But this wasn’t Connor's first rodeo. Turning right at the next corner and then left, he spotted what he’d been waiting for.
Gotta love Vegas tourists’ obsession with glitz and glam. There was a mall on every corner. Malls with huge parking lots packed with people eager for a new outfit or twenty. Or as he liked to call them, perfect cover.
He raced to the far side of the lot and screeched into a parking space. Pushing Bliss flat on her back on the seat, he covered her with his body, ignoring the intimate feel of her body beneath him, and waited, doing his best to support his weight on his elbows.
His shirt shifted as he moved, and he almost shot straight up when her cheek brushed against the skin of his abs. Before he could get out the words “be still,” she had turned her head, and her lips branded the skin at his waist.
