Monroe, Marla - The Edge of Night [The Protectors 3](Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

“How come you know so much about being pregnant?” she asked.

“Never mind. Eat. We have a lot to do today.” Morgan finished his meal and sat back.

It made her nervous for him to watch her eat, but she was afraid to say anything to him about it, so she continued to take small bites in hopes she could finish most of it without getting sick. It wasn’t so much that it tasted bad—it was the texture that turned her stomach. If this was how it was going to be the entire time she was pregnant, she was in trouble.

“I can’t possibly eat any more,” she said, letting her fork clatter to the plate.

“Guess that will have to do then. Let’s get on the road. We’ll stop at the next larger town and do some shopping.”

Amanda sighed in relief and stood up. For a second, she thought she might pass out. Morgan was by her side immediately, holding her up.

“You okay? What’s wrong? You turned white all over.”

“I just got a little dizzy there for a minute, that’s all. I’m fine now.” She shrugged his arm away and walked toward the front counter.

Morgan caught up with her and took her elbow. “You probably stood up too quickly. You’re going to have to take it slower from now on.”

She watched as he paid for their meal, then suffered his guiding her out to the bike. He had the helmet on her and fastened before she realized what he was doing.

“Hey! I’m not an invalid. I can still take care of myself.”

“You didn’t look like you were feeling well. If you don’t pay attention to what your body is telling you, then I will. You need to take it easy,” he said in a rough voice.

They returned to the room and checked out. Morgan wanted to get on the road and find a store soon.

He climbed on the bike and started it. Looking over his shoulder, he jerked his head, indicating she needed to climb on back. Amanda’s lips thinned in agitation, but she knew he was right, so she climbed on and fumed for the next twenty miles until they reached the next exit. By the time he’d pulled into the parking lot of a discount store, she had calmed down enough to be civil.

“We should be able to find everything you need here.” Morgan led her inside and grabbed a buggy.

“Hair color first,” Amanda said and headed in the direction of the hair care products.

“What color do you want to try?” he asked.

Amanda blew out a breath and sighed. “How about dark brown? It will cover the red without turning an odd color, I think. Oh, and we need scissors. I need to cut it, too.”

“Fuck, I hate that.” Morgan shook his head.

“It will grow back. It has to be done. I can’t afford for them to find me.”

He took the supplies from her and dropped them in the buggy.

“Where to next?” she asked.

“Clothes, I’m hoping they have something a little tougher-looking. Your jeans are fine, but the blouses and girly T-shirt have to go.”

Amanda fallowed him to the ladies’ apparel and searched through the various racks of clothes for something more to Morgan’s liking. Unfortunately, she didn’t find anything. Morgan, on the other hand, had a handful of things for her to try on. Taking a good look at them, she wasn’t surprised she hadn’t found anything. His taste ran along the line of trashy.

“You expect me to wear these? I mean, they don’t exactly cover all of me,” she pointed out.

“Not my idea of decent either, but it’s what we need in order to fit into the crowd we’ll be traveling with.”

“Crowd? What crowd? You didn’t say anything about there being others.”

“I figure the best way to stay under Guy’s radar is to be somewhere he won’t be looking for you. I doubt he would expect you to be riding in a biker gang.”

Amanda swallowed, then swallowed again. “Um, no. He won’t expect that. I wouldn’t expect that.”

“See, it will work. Plus, these guys are good friends and will help us if we need it,” he added.

“Fine, let me try these on.” She took the proffered clothes and hurried to the ladies’ fitting room.

Twenty minutes later, she had four new tops and a pair of riding boots. Even she wouldn’t have recognized herself if she didn’t know better.

“I’ll pay you back for all of this as soon as I can access my money,” she assured him.

“Don’t worry about that right now. Last stop is the pharmacy. You stick back here until I come get you. That way, if Guy happens to choose this pharmacy to stop and ask questions, you weren’t with me when I asked for prenatal vitamins.”

Amanda had to agree it was a good idea, but she wasn’t real happy about standing alone waiting on him. Somewhere along the way she’d grown to trust him and feel secure around him. She needed to shake that feeling because it wouldn’t be for long, just long enough to get her somewhere safe.

Five minutes later, Morgan reappeared with a white paper bag bearing the pharmacy name on it.

“Okay, I think we’re set.” He took all the bags from her, but let her carry the pharmacy bag.

Once they were outside, he pulled all of her clothes out of her backpack and discarded the old ones in favor of the new ones. He bundled them up in one of the bags and stuffed the bag deep in a Dumpster.

“What about my hair?” she asked.

“We’ll grab a room at the next stop, and you can do your thing there. Eat these peanut butter and crackers for now. Then we’ll meet up with the rest of my friends and see what their plans are. They ride in some rallies along the way to whatever town they plan on staying for a while. I think they are considering somewhere in California this time.”

Amanda climbed back onto the back of the bike and held on as Morgan pulled out of the parking lot and headed back toward the interstate and another four hours on the road. By the time they reached the next town Morgan planned to stop in, Amanda could have sworn her ass was numb from the constant vibrations. Her poor baby was probably seasick, she thought.

Morgan got a room in a motel, having her hide behind the line of cars until he had the room key.

“No reason for him to know what you look like now. He can see what you look like after your cut-and-dye job,” Morgan explained.

As soon as they got into the room, she made a beeline for the bathroom, carrying her supplies. She wanted to get this part over with, and she was dying for a shower. She felt like road grime.

With the first cut of the scissors, she wondered if Morgan would like it or not. Then she wondered why that would be important to her. They didn’t even like each other really, did they?

* * * *

Morgan tugged off his boots and then pulled off his T-shirt. He was hot and sweaty and needed a shower. As soon as Amanda got out, he planned to take one. For now, he sat on the love seat and stretched his legs out in front of him. It felt good to stretch. He spent a lot of time on his bike, but it still left him stove up after long rides. Add to the fact that he’d spent several weeks in a soft bed helping to protect two of his best buds’ women, and he was a little out of shape for long rides. This would be one hell of a ride.

His thoughts turned to Amanda and what she might look like when she came out. No matter what, he knew better than to laugh or stutter. Whatever the outcome, he hoped it would work for what they had in mind, which meant he hoped she wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

After what felt like forever, the doorknob turned and the bathroom door cracked open, letting steam escape. He waited, but she didn’t appear. He got up and walked over to the bathroom and peeked inside. She stood with a towel wrapped around her and the hair dryer in her hand, fiddling with the buttons.

“Having trouble?” he asked.

She squealed and jumped. He caught the hair dryer in one hand and grabbed her arm with the other to be sure she didn’t fall and break her fool neck.

“Don’t do that!” he thundered.

“Don’t sneak up on me then,” she yelled.

“I didn’t sneak up on you. You opened the door.”

“I needed to let some of the steam out so I could see to dry my hair. Now I can’t get the stupid dryer to work.”

He could hear the tears in her voice and knew they were just before falling. Shit, her hormones were kicking in. He fiddled with the surge protector on the wall and turned the dryer on for her.

“Here you go,” he yelled over the noise of the dryer.

“Thanks.” She took it and began blowing her hair.

Morgan took a face full of hot air and quickly stepped out of the bathroom. He realized he hadn’t even gotten a good look at what her hair looked like. Shrugging, he decided to jump in the shower while she was drying her hair. With the door open, the steam wouldn’t be a problem. He’d get a little bit of a draft, but he could handle that.

He stripped off his jeans, boxers, and socks. When he walked back into the bathroom, he saw her eyes widen in the mirror. She turned around, dropping the hair dryer to waist height. Morgan yelped and covered his cock and balls with his hands.

“Damn it, Amanda. Watch where you point that thing!”

“I could say the same thing to you. What are you doing in here naked?”

“I’m going to take a shower. I’m hot and sweaty. No reason to wait since you’re just drying your hair now,” Morgan said.

“But you’re naked,” she pointed out and shut off the dryer.

“So? You’ve seen me before.”

“Um, not really.”

He spread his hands wide. “Then look your fill,” he said with a mischievous grin.

When she did just that and turned beet red, he couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t the right thing to do. She stomped over and poked him in the chest.

“Don’t laugh at me.”

He grabbed her finger and brought it to his lips. He kissed it, then drew it into his mouth, where he swirled his tongue around it and sucked. He watched her eyes widen, then drop to half-mast. She responded so well to him. He nipped the end of her finger, then spread openmouthed kisses across her palm to her pulse at her wrist. He gently bit there, then licked it.

“Um, you were going to take a shower?” she began.

“So I was,” he said in a near whisper.

Instead of letting go of her hand, he pulled her closer to him. He tugged on the towel until it released and he held it in his hand. She grabbed for it, but he threw it out of the bathroom and stepped in front of the door to block her path.

“Why don’t you join me in the shower?” he asked in a low voice.

He had no idea what he was doing. She was pregnant, for Christ’s sake. It should have been like a bucket of cold water thrown on him and cooled off his libido, but it didn’t seem to affect him. If anything, it made him want her more. What was wrong with him?

“I…I don’t think that is a good idea. I need to dry my hair and see if I need to cut any more of it off.” She extracted her hand from his and took a step back, only to come up against the vanity.

Morgan took a step forward and closed the gap. His cock rested against her belly. Her breasts stood out and touched his chest. Her elongated nipples hardened at the touch of his chest hair. He leaned in toward her and planted a hand on either side of her against the vanity. Her back bowed as she arched away from him, only to push her pelvis harder against his cock and balls. She stilled, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. He could tell she didn’t know what to do.

“I want you. I shouldn’t. You’re carrying another man’s baby, but I still want you.” He ran his tongue around her lips and nearly moaned when her tongue reached out and licked her lips afterward.