Barrel

19

Barrel rolled the window down, waiting for the perfect moment. The wind bit at his skin, and his eyes burned. The heat was powerful, making him sweat.

"Eva, lie down," Tyres said. "The blast is going to be loud." Tyres looked at Barrel. "Throw it, and I'm going to speed up. So, you have one chance. Don't f**k it up."

Barrel pulled out a few of the grenades before he climbed out the window. He clutched tightly onto the car as he seated himself on the car door. He watched the truck grow closer.

"Hit the gas," Barrel yelled, unclipping the first grenade. He took a breath in before he threw it.

He watched the grenade travel in the air and hit the ground by the truck. Then, it exploded.

The truck jerked out of the blast zone as Barrel unclipped another grenade. He held it a second longer, then threw it, watching this one travel onto the truck’s hood. The grenade exploded, sending truck pieces across the entire road. The bottom half of the truck with its axel rolled a few times, coming to a fiery stop.

He climbed back into the car, taking a deep breath in. He looked at Tyres, who looked at him. "If I didn't know any better, Barrel, you must have pissed some people off for them to want you dead so badly."

Barrel wet his lips, and Tyres gave him a glare. "Explain what you got me into."

Barrel looked at Eva staring out the back window, shocked. She watched the truck in flames, her eyes wide.

"I had an assignment," he finally admitted, "to get her from a trafficking group, and Sergie was the leader. I may have … killed him. We aren't so sure about that part yet, but he was severely injured when I left."

Tyres looked at him, holding a blank expression. He swallowed, knowing about Barrel's past and all the connections. He had been at his family’s funerals and paid his respects to Barrel.

Tyres looked at Eva before he shook his head. "The human trafficking problem has been getting worse. No one gives a s**t, it seems. It's unofficially government-sanctioned, so everyone seems to turn a blind eye to it." Tyres shook his head, looking pissed. "Everyone here feels helpless and afraid." He looked at Barrel. "Good for you. f**k Sergie."

Tyres sped the car up once more, and the conversation grew quiet. It seemed no one knew what to say next. Barrel was just glad to get Eva to safety.

And hopefully, once they weren't running for their lives, he could remind her how much he treasured her. He knew he shouldn't be thinking like that … for a lot of reasons … but that didn't stop him as his thoughts drifted to how safe he could make her feel, how protected and claimed. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off her the first chance he got.

He nearly lost her. And it was driving him mad.

EVA

Tyres’s wife smiled sweetly at them over a full meal, and, after taking away all the dishes, she handed Eva a robe to change into after her shower. She was glad they’d found a friend of Barrel’s to stay with, and when Barrel slipped into the shower beside her after dinner, she pressed against him, fully relaxed.

He left a soft trail of kisses down her neck, and her heart thrummed.

Maybe not so relaxed.

Eva felt like her entire body was made of sparkles. She shrank against him, morphing into his body as if they were one. She had never felt this way about anyone, especially after having s*x the first time. Usually, it was a mess, getting to know each other’s bodies.

It was like sticking your hand into a drawer of paint brushes, then figuring out which would make the right strokes.

Barrel kissed her body, running his hands up and down her back and then down to her ass. He breathed in her scent, his breath making her break out in goosebumps. He spoke to her, sounding like the deep strums of a cello.

“I can wash you up if you’d like.”

Eva nodded as he picked up the soap from the side of the shower stall and began slathering it under the water. She turned to face him, and he was grinning widely as he rubbed the soap along her body, starting at her neck, her breasts, then her hot core. Eva trusted his hands wherever they went, still feeling exhilarated beyond reason.

He washed afterward, and all Eva could do was stare. He was in incredible shape, like someone carved from stone. They both rinsed under the water, which was running cold, but it didn’t matter; steam rose from their skin like hot concrete.

They dried themselves off and proceeded to head for the bed. Eva removed her robe, but before she could put on the clothes Tyres’s wife had left for her, she could feel Barrel’s mouth on her again, planting flutters of kisses along the sensitive nape of her neck.

“Wow,” she whispered, grinning. “Someone is certainly hungry.”

He growled into her ear, and she giggled. “Sorry,” he said. “You’re just so appetizing.”

Eva bent into him as she stood, loving the vulnerability of being completely naked against his form. She wrapped her arms around his head as his hands returned to her breasts and her volcanic core. She gasped as his fingers brushed her c**t, which had already begun throbbing again.

“Barrel …” she moaned.

Barrel proceeded to make her orgasm one more time with his fingers as she pressed against him. He grunted into her ear, whispering sweet nothings and dirty words. It only took about thirty seconds to send her soaring to the top of the ether.

“f**k, yes,” she whimpered.

She came down again and lay on her stomach on the bed. She panted and smiled as Barrel kissed her back and ass.