Buried Treasure
Falling Hard

Harleigh/Heather’s POV

Duluth Hotel Room

Teasing Greg was so much fun. I could tell all my stretches, rubs, and comments had kept him hard as a rock for most of the time we were together. I’d almost had him this afternoon when I was half awake, and my hand roamed south. He didn’t pull it away immediately, so he was thinking about it. Even when he took my hand, he kept it close.

If I hadn’t been healing from a gunshot wound, I’d have jumped him already. He was great looking, had an amazing muscled body, and treated me like the most important person in his world. He didn’t say anything about my breakdown; he just held me and told me it would be all right. Sleeping in his arms kept the nightmares away.

I was falling fast for my bodyguard.

I was hoping we would be in hiding for months now. I could get used to staying with him in hotel rooms, pretending to be married.

Could I do that? I’d always thought it would be years before I got married, but being Mrs. Greg Barks was a lot of fun. I just had to keep working on him, slowly breaking down that wall of his where he saw me as a teenager in trouble, not a woman and a lover.

I finished my pecan pie, amazed at how little food was leftover from the barbecue delivery. “Can you help me to the bathroom, please?”

“Of course. Let me wash up first, so I don’t get you sticky.” He got up, turning away but not quickly enough to hide his arousal in his shorts.

Yes, Mrs. Barks would be a satisfied woman.

I bet if I touched it, he’d go off like a rocket and it wouldn’t be just his hands that were all sticky.

I giggled as he turned to hide in the hallway, facing the wall rather than the door. I started counting; no guy spent more than forty seconds washing up.

He came out three minutes later, the family tent now a pup tent. He lifted me to my feet and steadied me as I walked in. As he turned me to sit on the toilet, my hand accidentally brushed his crotch. He froze, then turned his head as I lowered my shorts and panties, and he helped me down. “It doesn’t hurt as much now, you know? It’s been painful and stiff for hours, but coming in here helped a lot.” Brief pause. “Didn’t it?”

“I’m sure you’re right,” he said as he looked away. His cheeks were red.

Busted.

I finished, and he helped me to the sink where I thoroughly washed my hands and face. “I feel grungy. Do you think I could take a bath or shower?”

He paused. “I did buy some plastic bandages, but they won’t hold up for a bath. You can have a shower if I help you and we are careful. Would you rather I shower with you, or give you a sponge bath?”

“You’re how old, Greg?”

“Twenty-two.”

“You’ve seen naked women before?”

“Of course.”

“Good, I’m just another one, and I’m injured and need help. If you can control yourself, I won’t mention this to any biker Presidents.”

He thought about it. “Fine, but we do your hair while we are in the tub.” He helped He brought a chair in from the dining table into the tub, then had me strip to underwear before picking me up and setting me in place.

The bullet wound still hurt if I moved wrong, and he apologized for it. “Not your fault, I’m fine.” I took one last look at my bleach-blonde hair that went down to my shoulder blades. “How short are you making it?”

“At least off the shoulder. We need you to look different, and the dye job is less obvious on shorter hair. I’m thinking the black hair like Kate Beckinsale in Underworld. I’ll leave it unkempt, and won’t hang out much past a helmet.”

“Kate was freaking HOT in that movie, so just like her will be fine.”

“You liked that movie?”

“Sure. The vampires creep me out, but the werewolf sex in it fueled many a hot dream in high school.” He froze again. “PLEASE tell me you’re not into Twilight sparkling vampires.”

“Those are so hokey, just like saying a vampire can’t come into your house unless invited.” He had gripped my hair in his hand and was cutting below it. I watched as we talked about the best werewolf, vampire and other horror movies. When he was done cutting my hair, it looked fantastic. Random length, and the bangs long so they would frame my face if I leaned forward. Helping me up, he removed the chair and my underwear before getting in with me, tented shorts and all. He used the wand while I leaned my head back to rinse it.

I swear, having a man shampoo my hair presses all my buttons. It’s second only to a foot rub in my book. Greg’s fingers danced across my scalp as I bit bank moans. When finished, he sat me on the edge of the tub before getting the plastic sheet and towels.

He dyed my hair well, and it looked great. “If you can do massages I’ll hire you,” I told him as I looked at my new hairstyle in the mirror.

“Happy endings are extra, Miss.”

“Worth every penny.” He didn’t reply as he helped me up. I almost felt bad for him as he scrubbed and rinsed my body, trying not to stare. He finished up, grabbing a towel and carefully wrapping it around me. He helped me step out. “I’m going to brush my teeth if you want to shower,” I said.

He closed the door, and his shorts fell to the tub with a wet splat. He turned it on, and I could see him leaning into the cold water to save himself further embarrassment. I decided to make my move; I’d never get him more worked up. Moving the door aside, I turned off the cold water as he tried to cover himself. “You told me I could have a happy ending,” I said as I looked into his eyes. Panic, fear, and lust warred in them. As I grasped his hard length in my hand, lust won out. “I want to do this for you,” I said as my hand started to move.

“We... I’m not... FUCK that feels good,” he said as he gave in.

I used my hand, squeezing and moving as I’d seen on the porn videos. Greg grabbed the shower rail with both hands as I moved faster, stopping only to soap up my hand. The slippery handjob had him spraying down the walls in minutes. “Now you can relax,” I said.

“By the Goddess that was nice,” he said. “Thank you.”

“Finish up; we can watch a movie or something.” He did, and he led me back into the bedroom. He helped me into sleep shorts and a thin top after changing my dressings. He soon had me comfortably resting in bed.

I could sense he was distancing himself. “We are consenting adults in the privacy of a hotel room, Greg. Don’t make it awkward now. I can see how much you want me, and I like you. A lot.”

“I want you so badly, Heather, but there is more in play than just us.” He explained a little about his life as we sat in bed together, him in just shorts. I curled into his side, my fingers tracing the muscles on his chest and abs as he held me gently. “After my leg was amputated, I lost my job. They didn’t think an amputee could work private security, so I took a chance in Minnesota. Part of the reason I was assigned to protect you is that I had no other ties to them, plus I wouldn’t raise suspicions traveling with you since our ages are so close.”

“You do make a good doting husband.”

He kissed my black hair and continued. “I’m brand new in this job, and I need to do it well if I’m to keep working for them. My Al... my bosses depend on me to keep you safe, and they told me to stay alert and be professional. The things I’d like to do to your hot little body, those things are decidedly unprofessional.”

“We’re newlyweds,” I answered. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“It was a mistake, Heather.”

I rolled away, fighting down the sting of rejection. “You could tell your bosses the truth. Tell them you have feelings for me, and ask to be reassigned.”

“I can’t do that either. I think I’m falling in love with you, Heather Rhodes, and I can’t trust anyone else to keep you safe. I can’t imagine being anywhere but by your side.”

I didn’t know what to say. This amazing man just confessed he might love me, he wanted to protect me, but he couldn’t BE with me. “So you aren’t rejecting me, you’re putting me off for a while.”

“Exactly. We can be friends for now. I will be here to help and protect you from those men, but nothing more can happen until this assignment is over.”

Friends? I’ll work on friends with benefits. There was no way I was sleeping in a bed with this hot guy day after day, and not having him scratching my itches. “And then what?”

“Someday this threat will be over, and you can come out of hiding. When that happens, we’ll see Mongo together, and I’ll do the right thing. I’ll take the beating for you, Heather.”

I could live with that. I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder and a smile on his face. I’d start moving that line in the morning.

Greg’s POV

Next morning

“Greg, wake up, Arrowhead is under attack!” Charles’ send over the Pack Link had my eyes open instantly.

Nothing like a good wakeup. I moved Heather’s arm off me, replacing me with my pillow. She pulled it to her face and settled down.

“What do we know?”

“Three panthers off the lake. Nothing unusual on my patrol, Bonnie is taking close patrol.”

“I’ll be in the hotel lot in three minutes,” she said.

I looked at the clock; it was just past six. I was dressed and armed in minutes, a Glock 19 in a holster inside my jeans. “What do you think?”

“We should get ready to move. You get everything packed, we will guard the hotel until you leave.”

I pulled out my bag, going to the dresser I started putting clean clothes in. I was putting dirty laundry into a plastic bag when a thought hit me. “If they knew where Heather was, the panthers would have come here instead. Heather is what they want, and Chase And Rori aren’t even at Arrowhead. Maybe this is to try and flush us out? They could be waiting for a phone call or a text to go out to us.”

“SHIT! You may be right. If they trace the text I got, it will lead them to this area.”

“We’re leaving in twenty minutes. Bonnie, stay near the parking lot as I bring Heather out.” I turned and woke Heather out of her sleep, picking her up. “We are leaving now. The Sons are attacking Rori’s house, and we have to get away.”

Her eyes got big as I set her on the toilet. I called the front desk and checked out, leaving it on my card. I did ask for a luggage cart, which they would send right away. Ten minutes later, we were packed, and I was helping her with her jacket.

She held on to the cart for balance as I pushed it to the elevator. I nodded at Bonnie as I put Heather in the passenger seat, then loaded the luggage before getting in.

“Where are we going,” she asked as I pulled out of the lot.

“If they trace us to here, they will think we are heading south. We are going west instead. I hope the weather holds.”

“Greg.” I looked into her eyes. “I trust you. Drive randomly, until we replace a good place to stay.”

I pulled up the Garmin at the stoplight. “Charlie, we are going to drive west on 194 to Highway 2 West, just in case they are watching Interstate 35. Go check out and get on the road.”

“Already moving, drive safe. Get some distance before you stop.”

That meant no breakfast, but he was right. Heather put on a hat and sunglasses, then leaned the seat back and went to sleep. I focused on driving, not wanting to get pulled over with an unlicensed pistol in my belt.

“Greg, we texted with Coral,” Bonnie said. “The attack was repelled. All three panthers are dead and no injuries.”

“Thank Luna for that.”

“Yeah. I told her what you thought about flushing us out, and she agrees. She told us to go completely dark. No phones, no internet, no contact at all. No contact with friends or Packs. Just hide.”

“How will they know we are all right?”

“On the first of each month, one of us is to drive close enough to use the Pack Link. Coral will get all the updates, and we disappear again.”

Man, this was a mess. “Any idea where to go?”

“It’s a six-hour drive, but no one would dream of looking for you there. Who in the hell would voluntarily go to Fargo in the winter?”

I had to hand it to him, Fargo, North Dakota wasn’t a great place in the summer! No Packs were nearby, and it was out of the way, yet had food interstate access and a college with young people so she could blend in. They would have plenty of cheap hotel rooms too; she needed rest to heal up. “We will replace an extended-stay hotel where we don’t have to eat out every meal, somewhere with a pool and a good workout room. Since we are alone, I think I want you guys in the same hotel, preferably on the same floor.”

“Sounds good. We are just leaving now. Try to keep within link range, even let us catch up.”

I broke my phone and tossed it out the window. Changing directions, I headed down to pick up the road to Brainerd. From there, it was a straight shot to Fargo on Highway 10, completely across northern Minnesota. The rural roads would have no cameras, that was a plus.

I took my pistol out and put it in the center storage compartment. Heather was snoring softly, and I reached over and took her hand in mine. I silently vowed to Luna that no one would ever hurt my girl.