To Take Up the Sword Read Online Free PDF Page B

would look good for the crotchety old man if he carried her in.
    Her body was a fever pressed against him, soft and giving. Tormenting. He managed to get the door open and slammed it with a heel. The sound didn’t wake her. He checked the bed before he laid her gently on the brightly striped coverlet. She smiled in her sleep. A groan escaped from his lips as she worked her hands underneath the hem of his t-shirt and slid them up the skin of his chest and around his back to bring him closer to her. He couldn’t take advantage of the situation but…one kiss, just one more to work her taste out of his system. One more and maybe he could forget the heat she offered. Gabe didn’t hesitate when she pulled him down to her or as her lips pressed and teased his open.
    “Leannan.”
    * * * *
    A devil’s tongue whispered her name dark and silky as she kissed him, playfully exploring his chest, shoulders, and mouth. Every inch of her inside and out burned with an ache for Gabe’s touch, his kiss. Through the fog, Lea felt the lean muscular form of hot-blooded male lying on top of her. Gabe’s scent enveloped her and she woke with a start.
    “Gabe, oh my God.” She pushed at the hard wall of his chest.
    He kissed her again.
    “Mmm. What do you think you’re doing? We can’t do this.” She tried to make it sound like a threat, but her voice came out husky and wanting.
    “Mmm, Leannan, you started this. Your body says different.” Gabe didn’t budge, but instead trailed his hand down to her waist, skimming the side of her breast and eliciting a tremor from her.
    “I was asleep and you shouldn’t take advantage.” She tried to wiggle her way free and was rewarded with a groan.
    “Sweetheart, if I’d wanted to take advantage of you, we’d be naked and you’d be too busy to complain. It was a kiss, Lea, that’s all.”
    That was no ordinary kiss, but she’d let it go for now. “Will you never get tired of manhandling me?” She watched Gabe get up and walk across to the door to check the locks, then check the back door of the room as well. He took one of the two chairs in the room and wedged it under the front door knob.
    “Where are we? Looks like one of those rent-by-the-hour places.” She looked around. The room had a TV on a small cart. “There’s a coin machine on the bed, Gabe, and the TV.”
    The bathroom appeared to be clean as far as she could tell from her place on the bed. Two large windows with the standard motel blinds faced each other from opposite sides of the room, and the giant bed she lay on was the focus of the room.
    “Unless you’re kinky, don’t put money in them. We’ve covered several hundred miles. We’re somewhere off the interstate inside the Tennessee state line. We’ve got a lead on those men, and I have to rest. You could use some sleep yourself.”
    “Sure. Do you think it’s safe to stop? I mean, they could catch up to us fairly easily.”
    “We don’t have a choice. If they find us, I’ll be ready. Just a couple of hours, Lea. When was the last time you really relaxed and slept?”
    “A while. So who gets the bed?”
    “It’s a big bed. We can share.”
    * * * *
    Lea’s long red hair tumbled wild, unkempt from sleep. Her windbreaker was unzipped revealing the smooth skin at her throat. Hell, he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to join her in the huge bed, and not for sleep. He wanted to take her up and over into oblivion until neither of them could feel the grief and fear, but Lea wasn’t ready for that.
    Lea glared at him, climbed off the bed and grabbed the extra blanket out of the closet. “I don’t think so. I’m sleeping on the floor.” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder.
    “Scared?” He took her lack of answer as an agreement. If she’d rather sleep on the floor than share the bed with him, that was fine. “Here. Take this.” Gabe handed her his small clutch piece. “Keep it with you, just in case.”
    “Where’s yours?”
    He