Flame Road (Scorch Series Romance Thriller Book 5) Read online

  Pure ecstasy washed over her, and Sunshine wrapped her legs tighter around his hips, giving him more access, inviting him to ride her harder, take her deeper. She crested a wave, and more sensation than she’d thought possible saturated her—body, mind and soul.

  But she wasn’t afraid.

  Cash would catch her when she fell.

  Chapter Twenty

  Cash

  Grasping Sunshine’s hips hard enough to leave bruises, Cash drove into her welcoming feminine heat. She screamed his name, arching up off the floor, her climax clenching him so tightly that his own peak became uncontrollable.

  Cash’s climax roared up from the base of his spine to rupture into her, the bliss of it blowing off the top of his head and tearing her name from his throat. “Sunshine!”

  Collapsing over her, he wrapped Sunshine in his arms. Cash tucked his face into the warm place beside her neck. He sank into her as she rose around him, and soon he lost track of where one began and the other ended.

  This was the best feeling, ever.

  Sunshine trembled beneath him, and he levered himself up to look down into her face. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

  Her eyes glistened, sunshine on a glacier-fed lake, as she giggled. “I’ve discovered what’s been missing from my life. Sex with the hottest prince on the planet.”

  He groaned and leaned down to kiss her. “Such a delightfully bad princess.”

  Her abundant body, rounded, soft and delicious, glowed in the firelight—that plump behind the crown jewel of her attractions. He rolled to the side, shaking his head as he hardened again like an eighteen-year-old with his first woman.

  Cold crept in from the corners of the cabin as they cleaned up with a cloth dipped in water. Sunshine pulled on his long shirt but left off her panties, snuggling down into the sleeping bag as he stoked the fire back into a roar.

  “I’m hoping you’ll wake me up later for more.” She grinned, her turquoise eyes sleepy but edged with desire as they roamed his naked body.

  “That is definitely on the agenda.” Cash crossed the room to call Tiny in even as he pondered taking Sunshine again immediately.

  But he wanted to talk with her. Sunshine’s body wasn’t the only thing he craved. He wanted to know her memories, her story. He wanted to know everything about her.

  Cash secured the door behind the dog. Tiny took up a warm spot in front of the stove and Cash returned to snuggle down inside the sleeping bag with Sunshine. He pulled her back against his front, and groaned when she wriggled that bare tush against him.

  “I can’t believe you’re mine, all mine. You’re so beautiful, Cash.”

  “You’re the beautiful one.” He shook his head. “And wait until you meet my brothers. Heartbreakers, the lot of them.”

  “But you most of all, I can tell.” She turned toward him and laid a hand on his cheek. “So funny and sweet, and a handsome firefighter, too.”

  Cash kissed her wrist. “Tell me some of the things you remembered? Please.”

  Sunshine looked down, but he caught her chin and smiled at her. “It feels better to share.”

  She sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. “Should I begin at the beginning, then?”

  “That’s usually a good place to start.”

  Sunshine nodded, the playful glint in her eyes fading. “My mother sold her body for money and I’m the result of that.” Cash started, surprised that the incredible woman in his arms came into the world out of such pathetic desperation: two strangers rutting, each taking what they needed, neither caring about the other. How did something so sad create someone so beautiful? Gratitude surged through him. It didn’t matter how Sunshine got here, only that she stayed.

  She exhaled and ducked her head, kissing his collarbone before she continued. “Mom drank a lot of vodka.” Her voice dropped to just a whisper. “She hurt us.” Cash bent his head to hear better. “Dwight is fourteen years older than me and could have fought back, but didn’t.”

  “I’m sorry.” Cash kissed her head, nausea swirling in his gut.

  “I always thought I deserved it, because I was bad.”

  “And now?” Cash’s heart ached. Did she understand it wasn’t her fault?

  “Now, I feel bad for her. She was a sick woman.”

  “That’s generous.”

  “It’s that or hate.” Sunshine looked up at him, her eyes serious. “And I’m not going down the road my brother took.”

  Cash captured her lips. He couldn’t help himself. He loved hearing her beautiful words. She was so good, even if she liked to be naughty in bed.

  His hand cupped her full breast, but he forced himself to pull back. “I want to hear more.”

  “How much do I mean to you?” She bit her lip. “Do you love me, too?”

  His chest clenched. The truth needed to be spoken. He rose to his knees and took her face in his hands, holding her gaze. “Sunshine, I do love you. You saved me in that forest as much as I saved you.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “I love you, Cash. Do you want to hear more? Really?”

  It was hard to reveal the past, but also brought them closer once a secret was released. Cash kissed her again, his body hot with desire. He was desperate to be inside of her again, to show her with his body what he’d spoken with his words, but her story needed telling as much as his had. “Yes. Tell me everything.”

  They settled back into the sleeping bag, her butt nestled against his hardness. “Mom got religion when I was twelve, and she sobered up. Dwight joined her at the church she attended, one of those Holy Roller places with snake dancing and prophesying.” Sunshine shuddered, and Cash kissed her silky shoulder. “I was determined to get away from them, but I was also afraid. I loved school,” he heard a smile in Sunshine’s voice. “All that order and stability.”

  Cash laughed softly, muffling the sound against the soft fuzz of her hair.

  “I got a scholarship to state college and cut my family off, but Dwight kept tabs on me, popping in to ‘check up on me,’ and threaten my boyfriends.”

  “You had boyfriends?”

  “Two. Neither of them made me scream their name.”

  Cash chuckled, kissing her neck.

  “Dwight became more extreme with his beliefs. He was convinced that all of his problems were because of others. The church he went to reinforced it, but I don’t think Dwight ever really got religion. What he got was hate. I went to work at an elementary school teaching fourth grade.” Cash tightened his arms around her, feeling distress stiffen her body. “And I stayed away until Mom got sick with Scorch Flu. Dwight called me to come take care of her. I shouldn’t have gone, but she was my mom, you know?”

  Cash nuzzled her tenderly. “I understand.”

  “I wouldn’t go care for her now.” Sunshine sat up and turned to face him, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. Cash propped himself on an elbow. “She didn’t deserve my time. And not even because of Dwight taking me prisoner after.” She pleated the shirt, and Cash stayed silent, allowing her the space to find the right words. She smiled slowly, her eyes finding Cash’s. “I know that I deserve more now, and what it is to be loved.”

  Cash’s chest ached. She was so lovable.

  He pulled her close, kissing her. He couldn’t help himself. He loved everything about her: how good and kind and sexy she was, how she’d saved his dog in the river, how she’d saved him!

  Sunshine cuddled close, her head on his pectoral muscle and ran her fingers over his abs. She cleared her throat, her voice low, her breath warm against his skin. “All the Great Nation America cultists have swastikas carved somewhere. The leader, Tanner Hillish, has a big one on his chest. Dwight does, too. That’s why he marked my head.”

  Cash ran his fingers along the ridge of the scar, and she shivered. “Does it hurt still?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Good.” He kissed her forehead. “How did you get away?”

  “The night I was supposed to be marr
ied, a couple days after Dwight cut me, they were all getting really drunk, and one of them forgot to lock my cell.”

  “Cell?” Cash’s heart thudded at the idea of Sunshine locked up, his fingers itching for his knives, for revenge.

  “Yeah. He has this old mining compound that he’s turned into a headquarters.”

  “What kind of defenses does it have?”

  “Why?” Sunshine sat up quickly, staring down at Cash, her eyes wide.

  “Just in case.”

  “You’re not thinking of going after him, are you?”

  Of course he wanted to go after her brother. Not only was Dwight responsible for Sunshine’s misery, he was also one of the scumbags who’d released this devastating flu.

  Cash was a killer. His instincts told him to take out Dwight and any men with him. She looked so alarmed, though. “So how did you think you lost your memory?”

  “Don’t change the subject.” She batted his chest.

  Cash grabbed her and pulled her close. “I’m not going to do anything dangerous. I promise.” He’d wait until he got to the Haven and get his brothers to help.

  Jolene chewed on her lip for a moment before nodding and settling back down onto his chest. “Okay. Well, I’m pretty sure I lost my memory when I fell and hit my head in the woods. I escaped through a hole in the fence, stole a car and drove until it ran out of gas, then just took off into the woods on foot.” She paused. “I didn’t have a plan—just panic driving me forward.”

  “Why is your brother so desperate to get you back?”

  “He thinks he owns me. But the extremes he’s going to, sending out men to hunt me? You’d think he could just find a willing woman to start the new race. I’m not even that pure. My dad was just some fricking john.”

  “When Tiny found your scent she refused to leave it, even though I tried to get her to change course.” He cleared his throat. “But now, if I lost you, I’d never give up the search. Maybe it’s just that you’re so lovable, Sunshine. Maybe we just can’t leave you alone.”

  “That’s an awfully sweet interpretation.” He felt her smiling against his chest as she reached out a hand to stroke the big bear dog’s thick ruff. “Tiny’s my girl.”

  “And you’re both mine.” Cash reached his arm over her to cover them both.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Dwight

  Dwight stood amid the thick trees staring at the small, dilapidated cabin. The sun had set hours ago but the body heat from Dwight’s men surrounding him took the chill out of the air.

  He could smell his soldiers: cigarettes, stale sweat, leather and gun oil. The scent of real men. Pure men.

  Dwight was about to recapture Jolene and deliver her to Hank, a strong soldier with the right stock to breed pure, blue-eyed, blond, big and bold sons. The two would make the kind of nieces and nephews, blood of his blood, that could help rebuild the world as it should be.

  Dwight’s heart raced at the thought. So much trouble over one female. But she was his sister, after all, and special because he’d chosen her for a unique role.

  Rubbing his scar, tracing the lines, soothed away the doubt. He’d chosen wisely. Pure blood coursed through Jolene’s veins, just like his. How many men had his mother fucked? Too many to count, but only white men, and she got pregnant just that one time with his sister. Jolene’s father’s seed was the strongest. Survival of the fittest, one thing science got right.

  “They’re in there, Boss, I swear it—Jolene and that man she’s traveling with. We heard he’s called Cash, and he has a big dog,” Angel said, standing at Dwight’s shoulder. Angel’s mother must have had a sense of humor, because with his sallow skin, shoulder-length, greasy hair, and missing front tooth, he looked anything but angelic. “Yep, we got the net for the dog, less you wantin’ to kill it. It’s no problem either way.”

  “Just capture the dog,” Dwight ordered. “It can track and protect, just like what he uses it for. We’ll teach it to love pure men instead.”

  Angel nodded his head. “Yeah, my pa always had dogs. They have their uses.”

  “That dog will too, soon enough.” Dwight slapped Angel on his leather-clad shoulder. “I’ll let you help me train it.” It was important to keep the men happy.

  Angel smiled. “You got it, Boss.”

  Dwight drew his 357 Magnum, a powerful weapon, and the same model Tanner Hillish had carried. Dwight’s soldiers followed his lead, the soft sound of metal rubbing leather joining the cicada song ringing through the night.

  “Remember, don’t kill my sister under any circumstances.”

  “The guy with her?” Angel asked, standing too close again.

  “He’s mine.” Dwight couldn’t wait to rip the man’s balls off.

  They moved stealthily through the darkness toward the cabin perched on the river’s edge. The windows sparkled, but the sagging porch and pockmarked roof showed decades of neglect. Pathetic. This place paled in comparison to Dwight’s sturdy compound in the caves. Jolene would be home soon. Yes, very soon his sister would be back under his control.

  As his men eased onto the porch, a board creaked. The dog barked an intimidating bellow.

  The men rushed the door, Jackson in the lead with his axe. The flimsy wood splintered under their combined assault, and Dwight followed with his gun at his side.

  The dog launched itself at them, a huge woolly wolf on steroids. It flew through the air at Dwight, but one of his men brought it down soundly with a rifle butt to the head. The dog cried out. His men overpowered it and wrapped the struggling canine in the net.

  Dwight’s men filled the small cabin, surrounding the pair.

  The room was dark except for coals glowing orange in a potbellied stove, with Jolene and a man in front of it.

  Rage coursed through Dwight’s veins.

  Jolene hid behind the asshole who’d clearly had his sister. The man called Cash looked like a surfer with curly blond hair falling over his brow. His body was the type won through athletics, all chiseled muscles and tan skin above a pair of unbuttoned jeans he’d probably just pulled on. Cash crouched, holding long blades in each hand, keeping Jolene behind him. Hard blue eyes met Dwight’s gaze.

  He was willing to die for her.

  Dwight would be happy to arrange that.

  Jolene peeked from behind his shoulder, the white fuzz of her hair like a halo around her delicate face. A flash of creamy thigh hinted at her nakedness.

  Dwight raised the 357, aiming it at Loverboy’s head.

  “No!” Jolene’s voice pitched high and desperate. “Don’t hurt him.” She moved to the side, wearing nothing but a shirt. “Let Cash live, and I’ll go with you.” Jolene’s voice trembled, but firmed. She meant it.

  “Cover yourself.” Dwight barked at Jolene. “Don’t look at her!” He commanded his soldiers.

  “No!” Cash yelled. “No, dammit. You’re not going anywhere with him.”

  He heard the rustle of clothing before looking back. Jolene had pulled on a pair of jeans. Cash seemed unaware of his exposed chest, his gaze still holding Dwight’s threatening stare.

  “I won’t let him take you,” Cash told Jolene, his voice stern and steady. “Stay behind me. Don’t listen to him.”

  Dwight laughed. “You might be good with those blades, boy, but you’re surrounded by men armed with guns. Let my love for my little sister save you today.” He waved to Jolene with his weapon. “I’ll leave him alone, Jolene, for you. Come on, girl. You come home with me now, where you belong.”

  Jolene nodded, but an unfamiliar expression crossed her face. Those large aqua eyes held something new. Was it just the low light? She tried to step out from behind Cash, but the man brought an arm out, blocking her.

  “You’re not going with him.” Cash’s handsome face was set like stone, but Dwight saw a glint of pained betrayal in the turn of his mouth. Jolene didn’t trust Cash to protect her. A spark of joy ignited in Dwight.

  He strode forward and aimed his weapon r
ight between Cash’s eyes, maintaining enough distance that the man couldn’t use the glinting blades he held in each hand. “She’s coming home with me. The only question remaining is whether you live or die. Sister, that’s up to you.”

  “Please,” Jolene pleaded with Cash. “I’ll be all right. I love you.”

  She edged out from behind him. That puppy love in her eyes needed a whipping, and Hank would be just the man to give it to her.

  Cash’s body shook with leashed anger, and Dwight saw the man weighing his chances of saving her. Not good.

  Dwight grabbed Jolene’s arm, yanking her against him, her soft body reminding him of her weakness and sending a thrill of power through his limbs.

  The Scorching had given Dwight many things, including the ability to express his full range of emotions. He did whatever he wanted now.

  Jolene broke into sobs as he dragged her out the door. “Promise you won’t hurt him,” she begged, her eyes downcast. “Cash saved my life in the forest. You promise me! Give me your word.”

  “I swear.”

  Dwight wouldn’t hurt him, but his men had made no such promise.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Cash

  Cash’s grip tightened on his knives. That bastard skinhead escorted Sunshine out of the cabin, taking all the room’s warmth with her. Tiny’s muffled whimpers and growls as they hauled his dog away, too, fueled his rage. Cash waited for one of the three men holding guns on him to make a move.

  Every moment that ticked by took Sunshine and Tiny further away.

  The only reason they hadn’t shot him yet was to ensure Jolene’s compliance. The longer they waited, the closer she got to wherever they’d stashed vehicles.

  Screw that.

  “Are any of you shitkickers man enough to fight with something other than a pea shooter?” Cash asked conversationally. “I like knives, but hand-to-hand could be entertaining.”

  The man in the middle of the three grinned, exposing a missing tooth. Greasy, shoulder-length black hair violated the skinhead aesthetic. “Put the knives down, Loverboy. Let’s make this execution a little more interesting.”