“Okay.” I pushed his head out of the way and started my own assault on his neck. He chuckled and cursed as he pulled me harder and harder against him. I clenched my thighs around him as his hands moved to my dress, slowly lifting it until I felt the cold night air.

The sirens sounded closer, but I didn’t care. I wanted more.

I nodded as he lifted higher and higher until a car door slammed.

His hands froze where they were.

Footsteps neared us.

“Shit.” He rolled his eyes and gently pushed me away as he stood.

Chapter Twenty

I knew my skin was flushed, I mean come on! I’d just been straddling the hottest guy I’d ever had the pleasure of seeing in real life. Who wouldn’t be blushing?

The minute my dress dropped to its appropriate length and I was set to rights, the cop walked around the corner with a flashlight. Wow, thought they only did that in the movies.

“This here is private property.” The cop sounded pissed. Great. I was going to get arrested on my first real date. Hopefully, Nixon wouldn’t feel threatened and pull his gun. Down, boy.

“I know,” came Nixon’s cool reply.

Aw crap. I wonder if Grandpa would bail me out?

“Then what the hell are you kids doing out here?”

Nixon threw his head back and laughed.

I felt my eyes widen at his response, was he trying to get us arrested or something?

“I know the owner,” Nixon said once he was done laughing. “I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“Won’t mind?” the cop repeated. “Son, do you have any idea who the hell’s property this is? I can guarantee you he’ll mind! In fact, if he finds out you kids are out here this late at night even I can’t protect you from that son of a—”

The flashlight fell on Nixon’s face. He squinted and put a hand in front of his face. The cop swallowed but didn’t finish his sentence. Nixon chuckled. “Go on, that son of a… what?”

“Uh… Gun. Son of a gun. Sorry, Mr. Abandonato, I didn’t realize…”

“That’s okay.” Nixon stuffed his hands into his pockets. “You didn’t realize. Right?”

“My badge number is—”

Nixon waved the officer off. “That won’t be necessary. I’m not going to report you. You were just doing your job. Though it’s a damn shame it had to be at this very moment.”

The officer’s eyes flickered to mine as he lifted the flashlight to my face. “Damn shame, sir.”

I rolled my eyes and put my hand on my hip. Embarrassment complete, my only option was to pretend to be irritated, when really all I wanted to do was crawl into a very tiny dark hole. Preferably with Nixon, but whatever. I knew I couldn’t get everything I wanted.

“So…” The nodded his head awkwardly. “I’ll just be on my way. Say hi to your old man for me, will ya? He still having trouble with—”

“—Thank you.” Nixon shook the cop’s hand and walked him back to his car. “Have a good night.”

The cops brows furrowed, but he did exactly as Nixon said and drove off. This time there weren’t any sirens. Just crickets and lots of mooing.

Nixon turned around and grinned. “Well, that didn’t go as planned.”

“Oh really?” I crossed my arms, suddenly a bit chilled since I was missing my jacket. “And how was it supposed to go?”

He crooked his finger and like a love drunk reject. I stumbled into his arms, and he kissed me softly across the lips. “Hmm.” His hands tangled into my hair. “Like this.” He chuckled when I let out a small moan. “And a bit like this.” His hands slid down to my butt, lifting me against him. “And a lot like this.” His tongue plunged into my mouth.

I felt something buzz against my thigh. What the heck? Nixon froze and pulled away. I swear my mouth felt nak*d or something. The warmth of his lips was absent, and I found my body remorseful over the fact that he wasn’t pushed against me anymore.

“Shit, I um…” Nixon glanced at his phone. “I have to take this, hold on.”

His eyes got a little crazy as if he couldn’t believe his phone had actually gone off, but what did the guy expect? I mean, he did bring it with him.

He walked a few feet away from me and leaned against the fence. “No. That’s impossible. Not until tomorrow.” He glanced over at me.

I offered a weak smile. He gave me a tight one in return and then cursed into the phone. Straining to hear, all I could make out was another language. Was he doing that so I couldn’t understand him? After a few seconds where I thought he was getting ready to punch one of the cows in the face, he hung up and stalked over to me.

“We have to go.”

That was it. No kiss, no hug. Nothing.

“What the heck? No please this time?” I grabbed my jacket off the ground and dusted it off before putting it on, while he made quick work of cleaning up our little picnic.

“Not this time,” he grumbled. “It’s more of an order. As in, get your ass in the car before I do it for you.”

Horrified. I was frozen in place. “W-what?”

“Get. In. The. Damn. Car. Now.” Every word was said with such irritation and anger that my eyes welled with tears. Biting my lip, I nodded once and jumped into the car.

The trunk slammed and then he was in the driver’s seat mumbling to himself. I scooted as far away from him as I could. What was wrong with me? Minutes ago we were making out and well on our way to doing more, and now he was pissed all over again. It was like my worst fears were coming true. Was my fairy tale ending going to be Nixon having the last laugh? I closed my eyes and willed the tears to stay in. What if it was all a set up? And like an idiot I fell for it, fell for his charm just like everyone else.

“Hey.” Nixon reached across and grabbed my hand. “I’m sorry about…” He hit the steering wheel. “Damn. I’m just sorry I freaked out. But we needed to get out of there.”

“But it’s your property,” I pointed out in a shaky voice.

“Which the cop had no problem explaining to his other little friends who were out patrolling tonight.”

“Whatever.” I shook my head. “I don’t even know why that matters? Why would you care? It’s not as if they were going to come watch us make out too!”

At that, Nixon laughed. “I wasn’t worried about them, Trace.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Protection. I promised to protect you, right?”

I nodded.

“So, trust me. What I’m doing right now? This is me trying my damnedest to protect you. Okay?”

“Yelling at me and ordering me around is protecting me?”

“I said…” Nixon pinched the bridge of his nose. “I said I was sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have been so rude, but we needed to get out of there, like fast.”

Biting down on my lip to keep from saying anything, I simply allowed it to fall silent in the car. Once we got closer to the school I noticed two suburbans turn onto the street and get in front of us.

Nixon’s hands clenched the steering wheel until they were white. His eyes darted to the rearview mirror.

I turned around in my seat.

His arm came flying across my chest holding me in place. “Don’t look.”

Okay, now I was freaked. “Nixon, what aren’t you telling me?”

His arm jerked back as he gripped the steering wheel and took a hard right. “Nothing you need to know… yet.”

I glanced into the side mirror and noticed a similar suburban tailing us really close. The windows were tinted so it was impossible to see inside. My breathing picked up speed the minute I saw a window open and a gun attached to an arm come out.

“Um, Nixon. Nixon… The car behind us, they have guns. Nixon they have guns!”

“Shit!” Nixon reached into the console and pulled out a black gun. Holy crap, I was officially in my own T.V. drama. “Trace, I need you to lay low. Can you do that? Just lean down in your seat, alright, sweetheart?”

Trying not to cry or pass out, I leaned as far down as I could while still staying buckled in my seat. Nixon took a hard left and another hard left. The car behind us sped up. The guy’s face appeared from the car, and something looked vaguely familiar about him. We weren’t close enough to see them though. Nixon was driving like the devil. Something that would have made me laugh if I wasn’t afraid we were going to die.

“Trace, how are ya holding up? Talk to me, Trace.” Nixon’s voice wasn’t worried. He sounded calm, which in turn calmed me, but only a bit.

“I’m… fantastic.” I clenched my hands together and sighed.

We hit a bump. Or at least I thought it was a bump, but when I looked into the side mirror I noticed the car behind us was trying to hit us.

“Are they trying to kill us?”

“Possibly. I’m guessing they just want to see who I’m with and why I’d go to such lengths to hide you.”

What the hell? “Why are you smiling?” I screamed.

“Because, we’re almost to the school. They know we’re on our way and no chance in hell are those guys coming within a hundred feet of the place. We’re almost there, sweetheart.”

The car jolted again. I screamed.

Nixon turned the car hard, causing it to screech under the pressure and speed.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” I closed my eyes. This had to be a dream. This couldn’t be real! “I’m going to die a virgin!” I blurted and then began to truly hyperventilate.

“What?” Nixon shouted.

“A virgin,” I repeated as I greedily tried to suck more air into my lungs. “I’m going to die a virgin! I’m going to die without ever going overseas! I’ve never even been nak*d in front of a man before! Oh my gosh! I’m never going to have kids! What if I want kids? What if—”

“Trace…” Nixon tried to interrupt me, but it was like I was watching my body freak out and couldn’t stop talking.

“Nixon, you have to promise me that if we live through this — and that’s a giant if, considering we’re literally trapped between two death machines — you have to take my virginity. Take it!”

“Trace, I don’t think this is the time to—”

“Promise!”

“Trace—”

“Promise me, damn it!” Well, it was official. I had lost my mind. I clenched my eyes tighter as our car ripped through something and then sped over bumps large enough to be people.

“Crap-crap-crap!” I covered my face with my hands, and suddenly the car skidded to a stop.

I peeked through my fingers.

Nixon was coolly setting his gun back into the console and opening his window as he gave a rundown of what just happened to the security guard.

Shaking. I wasn’t sure I could move, let alone speak. Did I just beg Nixon to steal my virginity?

Horrified. I clapped my hands over my burning face all over again.

The car moved and we drove in silence.