Page 47 of Ride Forever
Sloane swallowed, looking up at me as she let my cock fall from her lips.
Totally spent, I lowered myself into the bath and pulled Sloane onto my lap. The warm water rained over us, and I picked up the soap again, caressing the tender spot between her legs. She trembled and nestled against my chest, allowing me to do what I wished.
“Freedom, love, forever,” she mumbled.
I didn’t have to ask her what it meant.
* * *
I sat on the edge of the bath, watching Sloane dry herself with one of the threadbare motel towels.
Another day had passed in blissful solitude. It seemed our whereabouts were still a secret, but the comings and goings at the motel still had me on edge. A drug dealer had taken up residence next door, and I was entirely sure he listened at the wall when we had sex. Not that Sloane seemed to mind. We had bigger fish to fry.
“The deadline has passed,” she said.
“I know.”
The downtime had forced me to think more than ever. The more I dwelled on our failed attempt to get into the Halcyon, the more I realized we’d been impatient. I was caught up in the chase and never thought about all the consequences. I hadn’t thought like King.Embody your enemies, and you can find their weaknesses. I had focused on the wrong things.
As I watched Sloane rub the moisture from her naked body, I didn’t like the bruises I saw marring her skin. There were lines around her wrists from those handcuffs, and her upper arms were peppered with spots roughly the size of thumbprints. She was constantly acquiring new marks. I didn’t like it.
The rim of the bath dug into my ass, and I shifted before settling back down. Those were strange words. Settling down. Sloane had said something about horses and green a while back. Montana.
“When this is over, what do you want to do?” I asked. “Do you really want to go to Montana?”
She stopped squeezing the moisture out of her hair and looked at me. “You remember that?”
“Of course I do.”
“I don’t know. What do you want?”
I hesitated, frowning at her question. It was simple enough, but I hadn’t thought farther than the moment of revenge. Sloane was what I wanted, but anything more specific than that and I was at a loss. I couldn’t go back to my old life, and even though Gasket would likely welcome me back into the ranks of Fortitude, I wasn’t sure going back to the compound was the right place for us. Not long term, anyway. Maybe Sloane had it right when she said Montana. It was far away from California and Nevada, and far away from all this chaos. Maybe I could get a job on a ranch. I floated the idea for a moment and couldn’t fathom it. It didn’t mesh.
“Love, family, and a future,” I said.
“Huh?”
“It’s something Gasket reminded me of.”
“Is that what he was beating into your head out there?” She smirked, combing her fingers through her hair.
“I closed myself off for so long,” I began, studying the curve of her breasts.
“I’m not keen on kids,” she declared.
I raised an eyebrow.
“Can you see me doing a school run in one of those ugly station wagons?” She made a face. “Please.”
“No, but I never mentioned…”
“I saw you looking.” She wiggled a finger at me. “Besides, you said family.”
It was a metaphor, but I knew better than to bite back. If I did, we’d be at it all morning, and it was time to get moving again. Now we were past due on King’s demands, the shit would hit the fan. Big time.
“You never explained what you’re going to do in those mysterious ten days,” Sloane said. “Care to elaborate?”
“War,” I replied. “All-out fucking war.”
