Road Tripping (17 page)

“We were
talking about kissing,” she managed to gasp, grabbing onto his shoulders for
support. “I never doubted your talents in...other areas.” But just to verify
things, she rubbed herself against him again.

Ethan groaned
very softly in his throat and removed his hands from her butt. Then took her
face between his palms and murmured, “Maybe we should try the kiss again so you
can correct your first faulty judgment.”

“Okay. I’ll be
the first to admit if I was wrong.”

So they kissed
again, standing on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere in Iowa. And
this time, Ashley had to pull away to keep herself from jumping him then and
there.

Eventually,
they got back in the pickup truck and started driving again, both of them
rather dazed and befuddled.

After several
minutes of contented silence, Ashley finally asked, “So what was holding you
back? I mean why was it so hard for you to come out and tell me? Did you really
think I didn’t feel the same way?”

“I don’t know.
At first, I thought you didn’t care about me anymore. Then, when I thought
maybe you did, I couldn’t get past how…how bad I was for you, how much trouble
I’d bring into your life.”

She thought
about that and had to admit he was partly right. He was a criminal—whether he
wanted to get out of it or not. He had a record that would affect his future.
Plus, he had a crazy moonshiner sending hired guns after him.

He wasn’t
exactly a picture-perfect choice for a boyfriend.

But still…he
was Ethan.

She asked, “But
you’re okay with things now? We’re together now?”

Ethan nodded,
moving his hands back to the steering wheel. “Yeah. I guess I’m just not
selfless enough to let you go after all.”

“And this isn’t
just a casual thing? Because I know we’re just starting out, but you know I’m kind
of old-fashioned about romance, and I don’t really want a casual relationship.”

“Did you hear
what I said beside the road back there? The thing that was too overwhelming?
I’m as committed as it’s possible to be.”

“Well, that’s
okay then,” Ashley said, wondering if it was really healthy to feel this happy,
if she was going to have to pay for it later. “Good. Then can we please stop
somewhere to have sex?”

As Ashley
waited for Ethan to respond, she glanced at her watch. Two o’clock in the
afternoon.

And they were
barely halfway through the eighth day.

Carroll
County, Iowa

“Ashley,” Ethan began, an edge
in his voice.

She sighed. She
should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. “You don’t want to?” she asked
innocently, trying to look bland and artless.

“Yes, I want
to. Were you even listening on the side of the road back there?”

“So what’s the
problem then? I want to. You want to. We have all afternoon free…”

“You know
exactly what the problems are. Do you actually think this is an ideal time to
consummate a relationship?”

“Feels like a
pretty good time to me.” When he just gave her a significant look, she added, “Well,
I suppose you’ll say we just got together and shouldn’t rush things.”

“There is that.
Although it’s pretty far down on my list, and I’d be willing to be talked out
of it if that was the only issue.”

Normally, she
would have been all for going slow with a guy, but she’d known Ethan all her
life. It felt like they’d been kind of together forever.

She really
wanted to have sex, and Ethan was an obstacle to that goal.

“Then I guess
it’s the fact that we’re being pursued bad guys. You probably think they’ll catch
you with your pants down.”

 “Honey, when
we make love, my pants will be all the way off. But surely you aren’t going to
argue that we should stop less than four hours away from Sioux Falls—when our
vehicle finally seems to be holding together—to risk being caught because we
can’t control our sexual impulses.”

“Well, it
certainly doesn’t sound like a good plan when you put it that way. But we
haven’t seen any sign of bad guys for two days. I think we’ve given them the
slip.”

“Not for long. They’ll
know by now exactly where we’re headed. They’ll be waiting for us there.”

“And I suppose
you’ll say it isn’t wise to make a substantial decision like having sex under
such stressful circumstances. And that we should wait until things are more
settled before we make mad, passionate love to each other.”

He gave her a
significant look.

“Damn, damn,
damn. I really wanted to make love with you today.”

Ethan grinned
at her, meeting her eyes deeply. “Would you mind saying that again? I’m having
a surreal moment here. My dreams are miraculously materializing before my
eyes.”

She shivered at
the look in his eyes. “I really wanted to have sex with you today. Of course,
I’ve really wanted to have sex with you all week. At least, after the first
day.”

“I’ve got you
beat then,” he said in his most superior tone. “I've wanted you from the minute
I saw you at that gas station. It made me so furious to see you going around in
that outfit, showing off your luscious body to anyone who happened to drive by.
It was all I could do not to snatch you up and run away with you on the spot.”

She felt a
rich, heavy sensation in her belly as the smugness in his voice transformed
into possessiveness. “Okay, you win on that. And, if you really don’t think
it’s a good idea to have sex, then we don’t have to.”

He rubbed his
face, as if he were conflicted. “I do want to. I just don’t know if it would be
smart.”

She was
suddenly hopeful about this afternoon after all. “Well, if you think about it, since
the bad guys think we’re on the run and scared, they’ll never believe we
stopped to have sex. It will throw them completely off the scent and get them
totally confused. They must have expected us in Sioux Falls days ago. The more
we delay, the more anxious they’ll become. And what better way to delay than to
make love for the rest of the day.”

He made a
throaty sound of amusement. “I can promise you a pretty good time, but I’m not
promising to last the rest of the day.” He paused. Then finally gave her a hot
smile. “I suppose it really is the most reasonable decision. I’m not a man to
refuse to see the logic in someone else’s argument.”

He was trying
to act mild and composed, but Ashley recognized tightly coiled tension
underlying the matter-of-fact expression.

His hidden
intensity aroused her immediately. “Good. Let’s pull over at the first
convenient spot.”

“What?” Ethan
darted his eyes toward her, clearly taken aback.

Ashley started
getting worried at this reaction. “I thought you said we could have sex. I just
want to get to it as soon as possible. Any convenient grove of trees will do
fine.”

“I’m not going
to have sex in the back of a pickup truck,” Ethan said in outrage, the
arrogance back in full force. “You can’t be serious.”

“Well, where
else are we supposed to have sex? There aren’t beds conveniently strewn about
the highway. What’s wrong with the back of the pickup truck?”

 “Disabuse your
mind of that idea immediately. There is no chance in hell that I’ll make love
to you for the first time in the back of a truck.”

Suddenly, she
realized something she hadn’t realized before. It sent a warm wave of feeling
through her as she looked at his grumpy face. “Ethan Moore—you know what your
problem is? You’re too much of a romantic.”

“I am not a
romantic.” His voice was offended, as if she had blatantly insulted him.

“Yes, you are.
You try to hide it, but you’re a romantic at heart. I bet you have visions of
our first time with soft music, candles, rose petals, silk sheets, me probably
wearing some silly, lacy thing—in white, no doubt.”

“I have no such
visions. My fantasies are hardly so hackneyed and predictable.”

She couldn’t
help but giggle, half in affection and half in amusement. “I can see it all
now. In your fantasies, do I practically swoon under your amorous caresses? And
do you whisper your love to me in sweet, poetic phrases? And are you very
gentle and tender when you take my virginity?”

She stopped
talking abruptly, realizing what she’d just said. Damn—she’d gotten too carried
away.

This was proven
when Ethan’s eyes snapped back to her face. “Your virginity?” His voice was
soft, but urgent. “Ashley, would this be your first time ever?”

Damn, damn,
damn. She’d just lost all the ground she’d gained earlier with her reasonable
argument. “What has that got to do with it?”

“Will this be
your first time? Ashley, answer the question.”

“No. I’m not
going to answer the question. Because it’s irrelevant. It doesn’t change
anything. We love each other, and we both want to make love this afternoon. I’m
not going to let you change your mind because you think I’m too naïve and
vulnerable to make decisions for myself. I’m an adult, and I know what I want.”
She glared at him furiously. “And for some reason, I still want you. So, damn
it, stop being an idiot.”

Ethan sat and
stewed for a minute. Finally, he murmured, “All right. I’ll trust you know what
you want. But we’re not going to make love in the back of the truck.”

Ashley sighed
in frustration. She was never going to get Ethan into bed. “How much money do
we have left?”

“Less than
forty dollars.”

With another
long sigh, she said, “I suppose we can just go on to Sioux Falls and see if we
can find a cheap enough motel once we’re there. I guess that would make more
sense.”

Ethan shook his
head. “Once we’re in Sioux Falls, we’ll be in considerably more danger. If
we’re going to do this, we’ll need to stop soon.”

“Maybe we can
find a very cheap motel along the way somewhere.” She wasn’t feeling very
optimistic anymore. They were really in the middle of nowhere.

After a few
minutes, however, they started to approach a small town. She was starting to
peer at signs when Ethan abruptly veered the truck into a parking lot she
hadn't noticed before.

“This one might
be cheap enough,” he said in a pleased voice.

Ashley stared
at the establishment in front of her. No wonder she had overlooked it. “You
really want to have sex in a place called the Ho-Hum Motel?”

Ethan leaned
over to kiss her briefly on the lips. “Nothing but the name of the motel will
be ho-hum, I assure you.”

“Kind of cocky,
aren’t you?” She tried to hide her smile. “Let’s hope we can afford it.”

He left the
truck running and went into the office. Shortly, he returned, looking
victorious. “Twenty-eight dollars a night for a single. And since all we need
is one bed...no problem.” He backed the truck up and drove down to the far end
of the building. “Our room is down here.”

Ashley wanted
to hug herself. “Sex in a cheap motel. What more could we ask for? Maybe you
could go and pick some dandelions, and then strew them over the bed instead of
rose petals.”

Ethan sneered
at her again. “Dandelions would certainly be more appropriate.” He was really
incredibly gorgeous when he was in a bad mood.

“Can we please
go have sex now?”

“If you
insist,” he grumbled.

***

Ashley listened to the water run
as Ethan took a shower, and she stared at herself in the mirror. She did not
look the way she’d liked to have looked for her first time having sex. Her hair
was combed, but slightly damp from the shower she’d just taken. Her face was
scrubbed clean. And she was wearing one of the T-shirts she’d bought Ethan the
night he was shot—it was the only one of the three he hadn’t worn yet. She
looked better in the camp shirt, but it had started to smell.

She wasn’t
anything close to sexy. In fact, she barely looked presentable. Sighing deeply,
she pulled the shirt farther down over her hips and watched as her nipples
poked out of the thin material.

The water in
the bathroom shut off, so Ethan must be finished in there.

Then nothing
else would be left. Except the actual sex part.

She sighed
again and kept staring at herself in the mirror until Ethan reemerged. He had
put his pants back on. She didn’t have to ask why. She figured he didn’t want
to overwhelm her by appearing undressed without giving her any preparation.

Which was very
kind and perceptive of Ethan. Being overwhelmed was a strong possibility for her
at this point.

“What are you
doing?” he asked, coming over to stand behind her and wrapping his arms around
her waist.

“Trying to figure
out if I look just basically unattractive or downright scary.” She rested her
hands on his arms, though, and pressed herself back into him more securely.

“Neither,” he
murmured, with his lips on her neck. “You look absolutely irresistible.”

She tilted her
head to the side to give his lips better access to her skin. “I think you might
be lying.”

His hands moved
from her belly to her hips, and he stroked her through the fabric of the
T-shirt. “I’m not lying. Believe me.”

She was forced
to believe him when she felt the hard proof of his desire pushed into her from
behind. “Already?” she asked breathlessly, wiggling herself against his
erection. “We haven’t even done anything yet.”

Ethan’s face
looked a little sheepish. “I was anticipating in the shower.” He met her eyes
in the mirror. “Is this your first time, Ashley?”

She nodded.
“You know I’m kind of old-fashioned and have never been interested in casual
sex. And I’ve never had a serious boyfriend. Why? I’m just nineteen, you know. Does
it surprise you?”

“Not really.
But I wanted to know.”

She turned
around to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him as close
as she could. Now his arousal was poking into her belly. Shifting against it,
she pulled his head down and kissed him.

The kiss
immediately became steamy, and eventually Ashley realized she was grinding her
whole body against Ethan’s. “Wow!” she gasped, when they finally parted for
air. “That was a really good start.”

“And it will
only get better from here,” Ethan promised huskily, stroking her cheek gently.
Then something strange passed over his face. “Give me a minute, will you?”

Ashley pulled
away and looked at him in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“I’ll be right
back,” he said obliquely, gave her a brief kiss, and then returned to the
bathroom.

She stared at
the closed bathroom door. What the hell was he doing in there? They were
supposed to be having sex.

“Ethan?” she
called through the door.

Not hearing a
response, she shook her head in irritation and went to inspect the bed. The
room was quite dingy, but at least it appeared to be clean. Ashley didn’t,
however, trust the bedspread to be sanitary, so she yanked it off completely.
Then she pulled off the blanket as well. The sheets were probably laundered, so
she was satisfied with using only those.

Ethan still
wasn’t out of the bathroom.

“Ethan?” she
tried again. Still no answer.

Shamelessly,
she put her ear to the door so that she could hear what he was doing. She heard
something so strange that she turned the doorknob, opened the door a crack, and
peeked in to see what was going on.

As soon as she
saw, she let out an outraged exclamation. “Ethan! Why are you doing that? We
are supposed to be having sex.”

Rather
distracted at the moment, Ethan didn’t respond, just pushed the door forcefully
closed with his free hand. The door almost caught Ashley in the nose as it
slammed.

“Ethan! Stop
jerking off and get out here right now!”

No answer.

It was only a
minute before Ethan came out to join her, evidently having accomplished his
goal.

She glared at
him as he approached her—he was carrying the box of tissues from the bathroom.
“I thought we were going to have sex. Are you trying to back out of it?”

“I’m not trying
to back out of it,” Ethan said, lowering himself to his knees in front of her.
He reached out to take her hands, and an uncharacteristic expression flickered
across his features. Ashley thought it must be embarrassment. “It just occurred
to me, that we've basically had a week of foreplay. I've been almost constantly
aroused. And I wasn't sure that I would be able to last long enough if I didn’t
get rid of some of the tension beforehand.”