"Get a room."
The muttered comment was John Heathcliffe's as he passed them to enter the alley. Jill recognized his voice and instinctively started to pull away from Nick. Seeming to realize that she was about to end their kiss and unintentionally reveal his face, Nick rubbed his thigh against her more firmly, then slid one hand to her breast and squeezed gently to recapture her attention. It worked. His touch drove all thought of others from her head and drew a moan from her throat as she arched into both caresses.
Nick smelled and tasted so good and he felt wonderful, his body taunting hers from beneath his clothes. Jill forgot where they were and that they were hiding from anyone and wished they were both naked without barriers between them. She'd waited so long for this kiss… And she'd been wrong, her fantasies hadn't been better. No fantasy could live up to this molten heat and passion. The man was on fire, burning her up with his kisses and caresses. It made her wish they were alone somewhere, that she was herself and they were both naked without his clothes between them.
"Mommy, why is that lady naked?"
"Never mind, Virginia. Don't look. Come on."
Jill heard the exchange, but it didn't really register until an excited stir erupted around them and Nick suddenly stiffened and drew away to peer down with shock.
Dread suddenly a stone in the pit of her stomach, Jill tore her gaze from his to glance down at herself. Much to her horror, she'd somehow shifted back to herself and now stood there on the street, naked for all to see. And they were all seeing. Several people were now yelling, others laughing, and still others just gawking at her.
Nick's mind was acting more quickly than hers. Jill didn't notice his releasing her and shrugging out of his coat. She was still staring stupidly down at herself when he suddenly forced her arms into the coat, and drew it closed around her. In the next moment they were weaving their way through and around groups and couples, then Nick suddenly tugged on her hand and they headed down a side street.
"Where are we going?" Jill gasped, struggling to keep her feet.
"The parking lot. My car's there," he said.
Jill glanced anxiously behind them. At first she thought they'd given John the slip by veering down this road, but then she heard an alarmed cry and saw a lady stumble into the street and her gaze narrowed on where the woman had come from. Sure enough, John's head popped briefly into view.
"He's still behind us," she told Nick, wondering why she wasn't out of breath. Jill wasn't the most athletic person. Her life revolved around her shop for the most part and she spent a lot of hours there, leaving very little time for other things, including exercise, yet this race wasn't leaving her breathless as she knew it probably should.
Another cry drew her gaze over her shoulder and alarm raced through her as she realized John was gaining on them. The problem was that Nick was trying to avoid people, weaving through the crowds to avoid jostling anyone. John, on the other hand, was charging through the crowd like a football player, sending people stumbling and sprawling in his wake. He'd soon catch them at this rate.
"He's gaining on us," she gasped to Nick and he suddenly veered to the left, dragging her through the door of a store.
"Can I help you?" a clerk asked as they charged past.
"Just looking," Nick called out before dragging Jill behind a rack of sunglasses. He stopped so abruptly then, Jill nearly knocked them both over slamming into him.
"Do you see him?" she asked as Nick stuck his head around the rack and peered toward the front of the store. "Did we lose him?"
"I'm not sure, he—There he is," he interrupted himself and eased back a bit to make himself less conspicuous as he watched the front window of the store.
"What's he doing?" Jill asked anxiously.
"He's stopped on the sidewalk out front," Nick said, a frown tightening his lips as he watched. "He's looking around the street."
"He must realize we ducked into a store," Jill said with a sigh.
"Yes, but he doesn't know which one."
Jill shifted and drew his coat closer around her as they waited to see what John would do. Oddly enough, she felt more naked now with Nick's coat on than she had when she'd actually been naked but looked dressed. She thought that was strange.
"Is there something I can help you find?"
Jill glanced around sharply. A sales clerk had approached, eyeing them as if they might be shoplifters. Not surprising, she supposed, they were acting oddly after all.
"I—We were just—Umm." Her gaze slid to Nick for help. She was at a complete loss as to what to say to explain their behavior.
"We're just looking," Nick assured her and dragged Jill to the next row to get them away from the woman. Jill immediately picked up one of the boxes on the end display to "look," silently praying the woman would go away. She was so busy trying to look interested in what she held, it took a moment for her to realize it was a box of condoms. Ribbed for her pleasure.