Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

WARREN

It would have been so easy to kill him. I had to wonder if he knew that, if he had any idea how much danger he'd put himself in by climbing into the cab of my truck.

Hell, any other man at the stop might have pulled a gun and not bothered with questions or done worse when they found a pretty little thing passed out on the floor of their cab, curled in their blanket and looking for all the world like the most vulnerable thing in a fifty-mile span.

He was in danger, and he didn't know it. Either that, or he did know it and he was so afraid of whatever he was running from that it didn't matter.

It triggered something in my chest… something that I should have ignored.

If I was smart, I would have put him out on his ass—I didn't know him. I didn't know what he really wanted, and I certainly didn't know what I was doing straddling him with my hand on his throat.

No, we were both in danger, and it didn't seem to matter.

I sat back and looked him up and down. Now that I was glancing around, I noticed the bag he'd stashed beneath my seat, the way he'd slid himself half beneath the sheet. He probably would have hidden in the bed in the back of the cab if I'd had a mattress on it. I was in the middle of remodeling the interior of the semi, and I wasn't sure if that had foiled his plans, or if he'd thought I just wouldn't look in the back until we were far enough out of the way that it was worth the consequences.

I probably wouldn't have noticed him if I hadn't pulled into a diner to grab a coffee before I kept driving.

"Just because I asked where you were headed didn't mean I was inviting you to tag along with me."

Hadn't that been exactly what I was thinking when I'd said it, though? Well, that and how easy it would have been for me to squeeze the life out of him without anyone noticing. Since I'd given up on that thought when I crawled off him, I was going to have to decide if I was going to give in to my initial reaction.

"I…" He trailed off, his dark brows coming together like he was trying to figure out what his next move was. If he was smart, he would have turned around and climbed out of the cab of the truck while I wasn't holding him down.

He just looked up at me instead.

"What's your name?"

"Benji."

Fuck , his voice was so soft.

"Okay, Benji, listen. You need to realize that it's not safe to just climb into the cab of whatever truck door is open."

"I know that, but?—"

"No, listen to me. I could have killed you. You get that, right?" Maybe I was being too harsh, but a part of me already felt oddly protective of him, wanted to make sure he understood that he could have really fucked himself over if he'd landed in anyone's truck but mine.

With him looking so soft and sweet, a small part of me knew that I didn't want him in anyone's truck but mine.

"What's your name?" he asked, like I hadn't just said what I'd said at all.

"Warren."

"Warren." It sounded good rolling off his tongue, and a small part of me wanted to shift forward to see if he'd try to pull away.

Impulse control—I needed to have a little bit of impulse control.

"Is there someone you can call to come pick you up?" I had to force the question out, and he quickly shook his head.

"No. I don't have anyone. I don't have anywhere to go. I…"

"Come on, Benji. You can't get into a stranger's truck, tell them no one is looking for you, and hope that you're somehow safe. You're pretty much asking to be kidnapped."

"What if I am?" He arched a brow defiantly, and the expression on his face shot straight through me.

Which was the only reason I sat back on my heels and put as much space between us as I could. "Then I'd say you're a fucking idiot, Benji. Or you have a death wish."

His mouth turned down into a frown. "Do you want me to get out?"

No.

"Yeah, Benji. You should probably go inside and figure out what you're going to do. I don't think I can help you."

Not with how pretty he looked—not with the nearly tangible way I wanted to reach out and touch him for some reason. Maybe it was because he was so vulnerable.

Dangerous .

"Fine." He shoved to his knees and climbed past me to the door of my truck, throwing me a look over his shoulder. "Sorry I bothered you, Warren."

He slammed the door on his way out like we were two people who actually knew each other, and this was a normal fight.

But we weren't. We were strangers, and he'd stowed away in the back of my truck, then asked me to help him… and I…

I stared after him as he ducked into the diner.

I needed to get up, get back into my seat, and drive away—I could stop at the next gas station or convenience store and get myself a drink.

But there was something about his retreating figure, and the way I could still feel the impression of his small body beneath mine that didn't care about what I needed to do. My skin was still tingling where I'd touched him, where my fingers had been wrapped around his throat. I'd held his life in the palm of my hand, had felt the way his pulse pounded against my digits… And for just a second, it made something in me light up.

Made something in me feel alive .

Damn it, maybe he really was in danger being in my truck after all.

My eyes drifted to the left and caught sight of his black backpack. He'd probably left it by accident…

Shit. Shit.

"This is fucking stupid, Warren," I scolded myself. "You don't know him. He broke into your truck. Don't be an idiot."

I slammed the truck door shut to punctuate the word, then slowly trailed into the diner after Benji with his bag slung across my shoulder and my mind already made up.

Apparently, Idiot was my middle name.

He was sitting in a booth in the corner of the all-night diner, staring at a menu like he could somehow set it on fire with the black color of his eyes. He didn't even glance up when I slid into the seat across from him, but he did mutter that he'd like a cup of coffee when the waitress came by and asked us what we wanted.

"Make that two." I offered her a smile, and watched in amusement as a blush crossed her cheeks. She wrote down the order with a quick nod and left.

"Gonna threaten her, too? Tell her how you could kill her, and she shouldn't flirt with you?" Benji's voice was soft enough that I wasn't worried about the waitress hearing him, but that didn't stop me from letting out a low grunt.

"Stop that. I didn't threaten you. I just wanted you to realize that you could have landed yourself into a lot of trouble taking a chance like you did." If I told him I wanted to protect him, would he even listen? It wasn't like he knew me. It wasn't like he had any reason to want to be protected, right?

Except, he'd climbed into the back of a stranger's truck with no real plan except to get the fuck out of dodge. So…

"Yeah, right. Or maybe there was something about you that told me I was making the right decision." Those dark eyes glared at me in challenge, like he was waiting for something.

He was still staring when the waitress brought back our coffee, and he only stopped long enough to order a stack of pancakes with extra syrup before he turned his gaze back to me.

"What about you, sugar? You want something sweet, too?" The waitress was smiling at me again, but it was hard for me to tear my gaze away from Benji's narrowed glower.

Fuck . He really was something to look at. All pale skin and rumpled hair… and those eyes…

Dark like the sky at night—my favorite thing. It's why I loved driving when most people were asleep.

"Nothing for me, thanks."

I heard her small, disgruntled noise.

"Are you sure I can't get you anything ?" I could hear the intention in her voice… and so could Benji. He slowly lifted a brow while he stared at me across the table.

"I'm sure." I still didn't look at her, but I did hear the way her heels clicked a little harder than they had before when she muttered a huffy all right then and marched away. I waited until she was out of earshot to speak again. "Listen, I didn't mean to upset you. I just… we're strangers, Benji. You don't know me. You couldn't have known I was a safe bet when you got into my truck."

He completely ignored me and let his eyes track after the waitress. "You were rude. Couldn't you tell she was flirting with you?"

"Not my type," I said without missing a beat.

"What is your type?" I didn't think I was imagining the way his voice got a little softer, a little huskier. Maybe I wasn't the only one who felt an instant attraction.

"Oh, you know… small, slender, pretty." I shrugged and took a sip of my coffee.

"I don't know if you weren't paying attention, but that's pretty much exactly what she?—"

"Wrong equipment, Benji." When he just stared at me, I let out a soft laugh. "I'm gay."

He bit his lip to hide a smile, and it was still there a few minutes later when the waitress brought him out his pancakes and left without saying a word.

"So…" He pulled out his fork and knife and carefully started cutting the food in front of him into neat little slices. "About that ride?"

He sounded hopeful.

I honestly should have told him my answer was the same. I should have handed him his bag and offered to pay for his meal and gotten back into my truck… but I was already making bad decisions.

I was flirting with him.

And I damn well knew what I'd come in here for before I'd gotten out of my truck in the first place.

"I'm going east. Won't stop for a week or so, other than to sleep. Does that sound like something you can handle?"

His smile was back, and he forked a mouthful of pancakes and started chewing before he nodded. At least he waited until he'd swallowed before he spoke.

"Sounds good to me."

I waited a beat, wondering if he was going to say anything else—maybe explain exactly why he was running—but it was obvious that he was in trouble… and I understood that sometimes trouble came with painful memories.

It was another dumb decision, but I didn't push him on it.

"All right then. Finish your pancakes… we need to get back on the road."

He smiled again, and I didn't miss the way he mouthed the word we before he turned his attention back to his plate.

This was a mistake, but at least I wasn't going into it blind. Honestly, I'd known from the second I found him in the back of the truck that I wanted him, and I was shit at impulse control.

I just had to hope it wasn't going to bite either of us in the ass before it was all said and done.