Chapter 13

ABLAZE

13

My heel sinks into the mud as corn leaves mercilessly whip my face and arms.

Of course, if I'm being shot at, I'm going to land straight back into this scene. I don't even remember falling asleep in the real world. I was still studying the book, but I must've conked out at some point.

I don't have time to reflect on it now as I take another step forward and stumble, my useless heels sinking in a patch of softer terrain. I almost face plant to the ground, but Killian is holding my hand so I manage to keep upright.

"You're too slow," he complains.

"I'd like to see you trying to run in heels through a field."

"Then wear more sensible shoes."

"A, I didn't know I was going to be kidnapped. And B, I'm not in charge of fashion choices here."

Killian frowns. "What does that even mean?"

I'm about to reply when a stalk not three feet away from me is decapitated by a flying bullet.

Killian's expression changes from irritated to scared then back to irked.

"Never mind. We don't have time for this."

He half squats down and unceremoniously tosses me over his shoulder.

"Hey," I try to protest as he starts running again. "Put me down."

"Sorry, Sugar Spoon, no can do." Now that he has my extra weight to carry, the words come out labored. "Not unless you want a new lead decoration for this pretty behind." Despite sprinting down the field at breakneck speed, he still manages to slap said behind for emphasis.

I'm indignant and miserably uncomfortable. In this position, the lashes from the corn leaves are even worse, and I'm bobbing up and down so much, I might throw up.

To steady myself, I grab onto the only available thing, namely Killian's butt.

"Seriously, Sugar? Feeling me up?"

Before I can reply, we swerve right, now cutting through the field perpendicularly to the rows of corn. The amount of vegetation coming at my face is so dire that I think it best to keep my mouth shut and bury my face in Killian's back for protection.

I'm not sure how long we run. I only know that when he finally stops, everything aches. We're out of the cornfield, hiding in a patch of tall grass.

Killian gently lowers me to the grass, laying me on the ground like a princess on a bed of flowers. I make to sit up, but he pushes me back down, getting half on top of me to keep me in place.

My eyes widen, and before I can protest, he presses a finger to my lips, lowering his mouth to my ear. "Shhh, we have to keep quiet and stay hidden until the sheriff arrives."

Suddenly, I become very conscious of the muscular thigh he has lodged between my legs.

The moon is almost full tonight. So that even with no artificial illumination, I can distinguish every plane and angle of Killian's face.

The intensity in his eyes draws me in, making it difficult to focus on anything else. He's so close that our breaths mingle, his hot exhales tickling my neck.

As my heart beats wildly in my chest, the warmth radiating from his body seeps into me. The heat between us smolders and smolders until I catch fire. Plenty of sparkles, indeed.

The electricity coursing through my veins isn't a mere lick of flames, it's a full-on conflagration. My entire body is ablaze, burning from my toes to the tips of my hair.

I can't breathe. My lungs are no longer filled with air but smoke, dark and churning.

I reach up and sink my fingers into Killian's silky hair, almost daring him to stop me. I play with the soft curls at his nape, watching as the intensity in his eyes escalates.

A wicked smile dances on his lips and his hand moves. Up my side, to my cheek, then into my hair, fanning them out.

I watch his beautiful face, mesmerized as he reverses the path, tracing a finger over my collarbone, then down over my sternum, missing all the important places where I want to feel his hands, and finally to the sliver of uncovered skin over my belly.

More, I need more. I squirm in the grass, but I can't move, trapped as I am under his weight. So I retaliate by sneaking my hand under his flannel shirt and dragging my nails down his back.

Dangerous doesn't begin to cover what I see in his gray eyes in response. But then the gray flashes with blue and red. Police cars have arrived on the dirt road above us. We're saved. Or maybe I'm forever doomed because next thing, Killian's lips descend on mine.