Part 14 (1/2)

Instead she shrugged. ”I'm too tired to argue, though I probably won't be able to sleep. When I close my eyes, I see ... Lupe.”

”You can watch movies all night.” Rocco headed back in the direction they'd come, toward one of the busier roads with lots of newer hotels and restaurants.

A short time later, he carried their stuff to a second-floor room at the Holiday Inn.

”You can have the bathroom first,” he said. ”I'll get ice and some sodas. It's just two doors down.”

While out of the room, he checked the selection of snacks in the vending machine, just in case he could tempt her to eat more.

A7. Ding Dongs. His current favorite.

B1. Creme-filled chocolate cupcakes. His childhood favorite.

C3. Twinkies. Not.

He scanned the lower rows for something healthy. Granola-fied. Gena had read the list of ingredients off his box of Ding Dongs once.

”What language is this?” she'd teased. ”Do you know what this stuff does to you?”

”Yeah. Chocolate makes me h.o.r.n.y,” he'd defended.

His eyes locked onto G9. Chocolate M&M's. He had a flashback. ”Does this make you h.o.r.n.y?” He and Gena had been in a movie theater. Gena had held up the box of M&M's he'd bought her and proceeded to drop them down her s.h.i.+rt. They'd left before the previews had finished.

Rocco sighed and got pretzels and oatmeal cookies.

Back in the room, he emptied the Walmart bags on the bed and began cutting tags off her clothing. Gena poked her head out of the bathroom.

”Oh, you're back,” she said.

”Gee, try to contain your enthusiasm.”

”I mean, I need clothes. Would you hand me a pair of jeans and a s.h.i.+rt?”

”Uh, oh. We forgot to get pajamas, didn't we?”

”We? Um, I forgot to buy them, yes.”

And I don't own any, Rocco thought. He picked up a pair of the stiff denim jeans they'd just purchased. Rocco thought. He picked up a pair of the stiff denim jeans they'd just purchased.

”You'll be miserable sleeping in these. How about I lend you a s.h.i.+rt to sleep in? It'll fit you like a knee-length tent.”

For a moment, she didn't respond. ”Fine. But I want to get PJs tomorrow.”

He rifled through his rucksack, pulled out a black T-s.h.i.+rt, and handed it to her.

She grimaced as she took it from him. As if the thought of wearing something of his revolted her. If it bothers you that much, sleep naked, If it bothers you that much, sleep naked, he thought. he thought.

But when she came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, he did a double take. Couldn't help himself. What should have been a big, baggy turnoff had never looked hotter. His s.h.i.+rt dwarfed her frame, making her look even tinier. Except for her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, which were anything but tiny and made an indentation that s.h.i.+rt had never known.

He turned away, in part to hide his erection. Couldn't help that that either. He grabbed a pair of his own jeans and his shave kit. ”I've got dibs on the bed closest to the door. There's soda, ice, and some snacks. Help yourself.” either. He grabbed a pair of his own jeans and his shave kit. ”I've got dibs on the bed closest to the door. There's soda, ice, and some snacks. Help yourself.”

”You said you wanted to be on the road early. Do we need a wake-up call?” She had moved to her bed and was flipping back the spread.

Rocco's internal clock would wake him, but Gena had never been one to spring out of bed without smacking the SNOOZE b.u.t.ton a couple of times. ”Suit yourself.”

”Where's the remote for the TV?” she asked.

”Check in the nightstand drawer.” At the bathroom door, he hesitated, concerned about leaving her alone.

”I'm not going anywhere,” she said when he peeked around the corner.

She was already under the covers, and looked- Don't go there. Don't go there. He moved away. ”I won't be long.” He moved away. ”I won't be long.”

In the bathroom, Rocco eased his jeans down over his erection. Seeing Gena wearing his s.h.i.+rt hadn't helped. Thinking of her naked beneath it hadn't helped either.

He climbed in and turned the shower on. The blast of cold water did the trick. Until he picked up her bottle of shampoo and flipped the lid. ”Night Jasmine,” the label read. That it smelled like her had his c.o.c.k hardening again.

He set the shampoo aside. ”Hope I don't run out of cold water.”

When Rocco came out of the bathroom, he found Gena sound asleep, the remote clenched in her hand, the television tuned to a twenty-four-hour news channel.

Moving without sound, he checked the door locks and turned off all the lights except the one in the bathroom, which sent out a sliver of light. Then he slipped the remote free of her grasp and lowered the volume slightly. He left the news on, not wanting to disrupt her sleep if he switched channels or turned off the TV.

He felt tired. Though he hadn't been through the same ordeal as Gena, he was going on seventy-two hours with minimal sleep. If he didn't get some decent rest, he'd be no good protecting anyone.

s.h.i.+rtless, he left his jeans on and climbed into bed. While he preferred to sleep nude, he had slept in his clothes plenty of times, under much worse circ.u.mstances. He watched the news through slitted eyes and was just about to roll over when he became aware that Gena's breathing pattern had changed.

In the time it took him to toss back covers it changed again. She started writhing as if in physical pain, alternately crying and then sobbing.

Rocco knew she wasn't having an ordinary nightmare. Night terrors were a thousand times worse. They sucked you down, into the darkest abyss of h.e.l.l. Made you aware of feeling trapped but unable to escape or awaken.

During his first deployment to the Middle East, Rocco had been plagued with night terrors. He recognized Gena's pain. Watching another person perish while you're helpless to stop it was agonizing.

”No! No!” She screamed now, thras.h.i.+ng violently.

Rocco leaned over her bed and grasped her shoulders. ”Gena! You're dreaming.”

When she didn't respond, he shook her more firmly. ”Wake up, sweetheart!”

Her eyes opened wide and unfocused. Disoriented, she sucked in a sharp breath of air.

”It's me,” Rocco soothed. ”You're safe. We're in a motel. You were dreaming.”

”You mean, Lupe's not ...”

”Lupe's dead. The fire did happen. But you're safe.”