someone to find us out here on the side of the road half-dressed.”
“We aren’t doing anything wrong.”
“And I don’t intend to,” Juliette added. She jerked open the door and jumped out into the rain. There had to be a way to get out of this stupid situation.
She heard the sound of the car door slamming shut. Ty yelled something, but it was difficult to hear over the noise of the rain. Ty trucked around the front of the SUV and headed straight for her. He added his suit jacket to his ensemble, but his chest was still bare beneath it and his beautifully toned abs were still very visible. And wet.
Her body grew tense at the sight of him. She knew what he was going to say. That she was being ridiculous, that they should get back in the car before they both catch pneumonia.
Instead, Ty grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her against the side of the door. She had only a moment to watch as those blue eyes drank her in, then he was kissing her, hard. His full lips pressed against hers, parting them quickly so that his tongue could explore deeper places. His hands slid up from her shoulders to her neck and then he buried his fingers in her hair. He moved closer, eliminating all distance between them, and she felt her nipples harden as his bare chest pressed against her. Her hips ground into him, wanting more, needing more. And then her hands dropped lower, cupping his tight ass, and he practically moaned in her mouth.
Suddenly his hands were pulling at her shirt and tracing the top line of her lace panties. He dipped lower to kiss her neck. Juliette gasped for fresh air. Without his lips on hers she began to think clearly. And by the time he undid the snap on her low-rise jeans she dug up enough of her ethics to shove him away.
Ty was not a small guy but he was distracted, and Juliette’s shove caught him off guard. He slid backward in the mud and nearly fell to the ground.
“I’m sorry,” Juliette said before he could question her. “We can’t. Courtney is my friend.” Well, that was kind of a lie, but even if she was her enemy, it didn’t change the fact that sleeping with another woman’s man was wrong.
Dirty, maybe.
Hot, definitely.
But wrong.
So what? the dark side of her purred. You think you’re getting past those pearly gates? You’re an aspiring con artist. Your parents were art thieves and your godparents fence stolen objects to the highest bidder. You’ve already got a first-class ticket to hell. Nothing you do with Ty is going to change that.
Juliette turned away. She opened the passenger door but couldn’t bring herself to get back into the vehicle. Instead, she grabbed her purse and slammed the door shut again. Then she headed for the mud-covered road.
“What are you doing?” Ty jogged after her.
“I’m going to get help. There’s got to be a gas station or farm or something on this road. And who knows, maybe we’ll get cell reception along the way.”
“I’m not letting you go off on your own.”
“I don’t recall asking for your permission.”
Juliette trudged along in the mud, her black and white Converse sneakers sliding along the gunk with each step. Ty reached out to steady her.
“I’m fine.” Juliette pulled her arm away.
He dropped his arm and he walked silently beside her in the pouring rain.
Chapter 9: The Dysfunctional Motel
Juliette and Tyler were beyond drenched by the time they reached the nearest town. If you could call it that. They came to a rundown motel that looked straight out of the seventies.
“Thank God,” Juliette muttered under her breath. Her feet were killing her and her skin was ice-cold. A single bell chimed as Tyler held open the door and Juliette ran inside. The heat was like waking up in the tropics. She could just curl up on the floor and drink in the warmth.
A woman in her late sixties sat behind the counter fiddling with an all-weather radio that was mostly picking up static. She didn’t look up until Tyler cleared his