This time I waited, letting the silence between us get thick and uncomfortable. Eventually, Kade answered.

“Shouldn’t you be naming it after a famous Turner?” he asked briskly.

My stomach dropped. He meant that I’d have no choice but to use my last name, because he wouldn’t be offering his. I should look on the bright side—at least it seemed he’d acknowledged that I wasn’t going back to Blane. While that should have been consoling, it wasn’t, and I turned to stare sightlessly out the window.

Nausea began curdling inside my stomach about an hour later, and I leaned my forehead against the cool glass of the window. If I took deep breaths and focused, maybe I wouldn’t get sick. Between not eating enough earlier when I was hungry and the tension between Kade and me, plus the jeans from hell, I wasn’t doing so great.

A few bumps in the road later, and I knew I wasn’t going to make it much longer.

“Can we stop somewhere for a minute?” I asked, my voice weak. I didn’t turn my head, too focused on not puking to look at Kade.

“Yeah, sure.”

To my relief, we were near an exit and minutes later he was pulling into a gas station. I barely waited for the car to stop before I was out and hurrying inside. And not a moment too soon. I’d barely locked the bathroom door before I was heaving.

When it was over, I washed out my mouth and splashed some water on my face. I thought the nausea had gotten better, but my body didn’t seem to like my empty stomach or riding in a car. Even a Mercedes. The thought of food made me want to retch again, so I didn’t buy anything to eat before heading back outside.

Kade was leaning against his Mercedes, waiting for me. When I emerged, he pushed himself away from the car and approached me.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

I nodded, giving him a wan smile. “Fine.” So much for trying to look sexy. Knowing I’d just thrown up in a gas station bathroom was enough to put any man off.

It seemed everything I tried to say or do to bring Kade closer to me was backfiring. All the misguided effort was depressing and demoralizing. And if I thought the day couldn’t get any worse, I was way wrong.

Even though I had nothing in my stomach, I had to ask Kade to stop four more times before we finally hit the outskirts of DC. We’d gone through a drive-thru somewhere in Ohio around midday, but the smell of grease had been enough to send me hurtling from the car. Fortunately, Kade had made short work of his meal by the time I returned. He’d tried to get me to eat, but just the thought of trying to get something down had turned my stomach.

I was miserable and weak by the time Kade pulled into a motel parking lot. It was one of those places I always teased him about, though that was the last thing I felt like doing at the moment. I just wanted to lie down on something stationary, like a bed, and take off the damn jeans, which I’d decided I would burn at the earliest opportunity.

I waited in the car for Kade to rent a room, my head lolling against the headrest. I dozed, jerking awake when he opened the car door. He drove across the lot to one of the rooms and parked again. I saw Blane park a space or two down from us.

Kade got out of the car, then met Blane and handed him a key. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Kade was there at the car door as I opened it. I slung my purse over my shoulder. My hands were shaking and it took a lot of effort just to stand. But I was highly motivated. A bed was mere yards away. I just had to make it inside, then I could collapse.

I took a step, only to have Kade sweep me up in his arms.

“I’ve got you,” he said softly, and I was too tired to argue. I rested my head against his shoulder as he walked to the motel room door, which Blane was holding open. A moment later, Kade deposited me on one of the two beds. Slipping its strap from my shoulder, he set my purse aside, then took off my sandals.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t realize I’d get carsick.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said, his fingers brushing my cheek. “Blane went to get some things for you. Just rest.”

I closed my eyes, his touch comforting me, and soon I was asleep.

* * *

When I woke, night had fallen, and I felt a little better, albeit weak and thirsty. I sat up, glancing around.

Kade stood from where he’d been lying on the other bed and sat down next to me.

“Feel any better?” he asked.

I nodded. “What time is it?”

“Elevenish,” he replied. He grabbed a bottled sports drink from the table between the two beds and twisted the cap off. “Here. Can you drink this?”

I nodded, taking it from him. It tasted good and I emptied the bottle in a few big gulps. The gnawing pit in my stomach eased a bit.

“Where are Blane and Branna?” I asked.

“Next door.”

I wondered how that was going.

“I’ve got to get out of these jeans,” I muttered. I lay back on the bed and undid the button and zipper. My stomach immediately felt ten times better. Okay, lesson learned.

I peeled the denim down over my hips and slid the fabric lower, off my legs, then kicked the hated jeans onto the floor.

“Christ, Kathleen!” Kade exclaimed, pushing me onto my back and yanking up my shirt.

I glanced down and winced. Yeah, the jeans had left red marks and indentations. Nice.

“What the fuck did you wear those for if they’re too tight?” Kade asked. “Is that why you’ve been puking all day?”

Face flaming, I pushed his hands away and let my shirt drop, covering my abdomen. “She said I was fat, okay?” I retorted. Yes, I knew I’d been stupid. I didn’t need Kade to point it out. “And she’s right, because my shorts didn’t fit yesterday and I used to be able to zip these jeans, but now I just want my stretchy pants . . .” Suddenly, I was bawling.

Kade looked at me like I was crazy, which didn’t help. I turned away from him, but he reached out and rolled me back.

“You’re insane,” he said, brushing tears from my cheeks, “and if I’d known those ridiculous jeans were doing this to you all day, I’d have taken them off you myself.”

My tears dried up as quickly as they’d come. God, the mood swings were killing me. But we were in a motel, just me and Kade, and maybe I could work this to my advantage.

“I’d love to brush my teeth and have a shower,” I said hopefully.

Kade took the bait immediately. “I can help with that,” he said. He gathered some things from my suitcase and helped me into the bathroom.

I brushed my teeth and hair, stripped, and stepped under the hot spray of water. After washing, I called out for Kade, who was instantly at the door.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

I poked my wet head out from behind the limp shower curtain. “I’m feeling really weak,” I said, which wasn’t too far from the truth. “Will you help me? I don’t want to fall.”

Kade’s eyes narrowed, but I just gazed innocently back at him. Finally, he took three steps forward until he was right there in front of me.

Steam from the shower billowed around us. Feeling brave, I pushed the curtain aside. Kade’s gaze immediately dropped, skating down my body.

“You’ll get your clothes wet,” I said, tugging his shirt free of his jeans and pulling it off over his head. My hands settled on his chest, reaching up to curl around his shoulders. To my instant gratification, his palms lifted to cup my breasts, the calloused pads of his thumbs brushing the tips.

“You really think I don’t know what you’re doing?” his voice rasped gently in my ear.

I was working on his belt and since my brain had decided it could really only concentrate on one thing at a time, my “Hmm?” reply was a bit lackluster. His hands felt amazing on me, my breasts hypersensitive to the slightest touch.

Kade’s lips grazed my neck and I gasped, a moan clawing its way up my throat.

“Having sex isn’t going to convince me to stick around, princess,” Kade said against my skin. “I’m like poison to you. A death trap.”

“Not true,” I managed, burying my fingers in his inky-black hair. His mouth closed over a nipple and I promptly lost my train of thought. Kade was my fallen angel, had always been. My protector. My dark knight in black armor. I just had to convince him.

“I need you,” I breathed. “Don’t you see that?”

A loud knock on the motel door startled me. It seemed that answering it was the last thing Kade wanted to do, and whoever it was had to knock hard again before he reluctantly pulled away from me. His hair and chest were damp from my hands and the shower mist, and he didn’t bother putting his shirt back on as he left the bathroom.

I hurriedly turned off the water and grabbed one of the thin towels, wrapping it around me before cracking the bathroom door and peeking through.

Blane and Branna stood in the room. Peachy. All three glanced my way.

“Blane and I need to go check out George’s residence,” Kade said, buttoning a fresh shirt he’d put on. “Branna’s going to stay with you.”

“No way,” I said. “I’m going, too. You are not leaving me here with her like some sort of babysitter.” I didn’t even bother looking Branna’s way.

“Afraid, sweetie?” Branna piped in. The three of us ignored her.

Kade considered me for a moment, then gave a little nod. “Fine. Get dressed.”

All three went out the door and I set a new record for how fast I got dressed. My hair was wet, so I left it loose, hoping it would dry on the way to dead George’s former home. Soon, I was outside, too.

“Let’s go,” Kade said, leading me to his car. He got in the front seat while Blane held the passenger seat forward for Branna to slide into the backseat. Blane looked at me and I took the hint, stepping past him to climb in the back next to Branna, leaving the front passenger seat for Blane. As soon as the door shut, Kade pulled out of the lot.