Road Tripping (29 page)

She hesitated,
trying to figure out how to tell him that she was wearing his ring.

Ethan groaned. “Damn
it, Ashley. What the hell is wrong?”

“If you’d open
your eyes, maybe you’d see.”

“See what? Is
something happening with us that I should know about?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?
Why won’t you tell me? I know I surprised you with the proposal, and I’m sorry
about that. But I love you more than anything, and I didn’t want to wait any
longer. But I can. If you’re not ready, I promise I can wait. I’m not trying to
control this. I’ll do anything in the world to make you happy.”

He meant it.
She knew he meant it. Her face twisted a little as she said, “I want to make
you happy too.”

His face
softened. “You already have. So can you please tell me what’s wrong?”

She stared down
at her hands in her lap.

“Ashley? Do you
think you can…”

His voice trailed
off stupidly. His eyes had followed hers, and he was now transfixed by her
hands.

Well, one hand
in particular. One finger in particular.

“Ashley?” he
breathed, in an altered, awed voice.

Feeling
suddenly foolish, she twisted her hands together.

“Ashley?” he
said again, grabbing her left arm and pulling her hand forward. Taking it in
both of his.

Her mind was a
chaotic jumble of every emotion all at once. Ethan had always had the power to
do that to her.

His face was
nothing short of enraptured as his eyes kept darting from her hand to her face.
“How long have you been wearing this?”

Ashley darted a
look up at him. “Since this morning.”

“No wonder you
were so upset with me.” Ethan reached up to cup her face, forcing her to look
into his eyes. “Ashley?” he asked again, almost a plea in the one word.

There was no
way she could speak—her throat was constricted from the depth of her feelings.
But she nodded and tried to smile.

Apparently, it
was enough.

Ethan let out
the most desperately relieved groan she had ever heard—as if weeks of anxiety
and frustration were finally released. Then he yanked her toward him. Wrapped
his arms around her so tightly that she could feel the painful pressure on her
ribcage.

She didn’t mind
at all. Hugged him just as tightly.

And then,
before she knew what was happening, Ethan had hauled her into the bedroom. Into
the bed. And her clothes were getting tossed across the room—skirt, top,
panties, bra. Everything except her engagement ring and the necklace Ethan had
given her after their first year together. Queen Anne’s Lace with a deep red
heart in crystal.

She was
completely naked before she had managed to even unbutton Ethan’s shirt. “Slow
down,” she complained, trying to yank his shirttails out of his pants. “I’ve
got to catch up.”

Ethan kissed
her long and hard, but he didn’t slow down. When he pulled away from her mouth,
he simply turned his attention to his own clothes. And they quickly followed Ashley’s
in being tossed across the room.

“Ashley,” Ethan
mumbled, his mouth frantically devouring her breast. “You have no idea how
happy…”

“I do,” she
assured him, when he seemed to lose the power of speech. “I know. Me too.”

He was
overwhelming and worshipping her both. With his mouth, hands, body and eyes. He
didn’t waste any time, checked to see if she was ready, and then found his home
in her body once more.

She wrapped her
arms and her legs around him, held him as tightly as she could. They began to
move together in a dance that was so familiar and yet new every time. Even
after so many years.

Ashley was
crying out in pleasure. In sweetness. In joy. In truth. Marveled that the
universe had allowed her to be this happy—even if it was just one moment of
their full, complex lives. She met Ethan’s eyes as they rocked against one
another in perfect, rhythmic unity.

“Thank God I
stopped for gas,” she breathed, thinking back to the beginning of their road
trip.

Her comment had
been random, but Ethan must be in precisely the same place. “And thank God we
got shot at and had to run away.”

It was a
ridiculous thing to say. But their whole road trip had been ridiculous, and
confusing, and unpredictable, and difficult, and truly miraculous. Just like
their relationship. Just like their lives.

Ashley felt
herself starting to orgasm. Felt like the pleasure, the moment, the love, the
future, the road trip would never really end.

It would. All
things do.

But it was a
long, lovely, lingering time—felt like an eternity—before the end of the one-thousand,
eight-hundred, and twenty-first day.

***

If
you enjoyed Road Tripping, then check out the deleted scene and the excerpt
from one of my other books on the following pages. Please also consider telling
others about Road Tripping and leaving a review. If you’d like to stay
up-to-date on my new releases and sales, you can sign up for my monthly
newsletter through the link on the page
here
.

In
revisions, I ended up cutting three sex scenes from my earlier draft, since I
decided that there was a limit to the number of times Ashley and Ethan should
stop for sex, even in this particular book. Here’s the deleted sex scene that
almost made the cut. This would have been in Day Nine, when Ashley starts
thinking about stopping for a sex break.

***

Ethan pressed down on the gas
pedal and accelerated the rattling station wagon. He had turned back to look at
the road, but his whole body was radiating intensity.

“What are you
doing?” Ashley asked suspiciously.

Ethan glanced
over, his eyes scanning her body. “I’m trying to get to a stopping place as
quickly as I can.”

She sputtered a
little bit. “I said I didn’t want to have sex anymore.”

“I’m hoping I
can change your mind.” Ethan’s lips twitched, in a way that Ashley found both
annoying and irresistible. “And despite how much your anger looks like your
arousal, I don’t think I’ll be making that mistake again. I’ve just discovered
a way to distinguish between the two emotions.”

“And how is
that?”

His eyes had
been on her face, but they fell very deliberately to linger on her chest.

Ashley looked
down at herself and noticed that her nipples were poking out very blatantly
through the thin cotton of her top. With a horrified gasp, she covered her
breasts with one arm.

“Shows what you
know,” she mumbled. “I’m just cold or something.”

“Sure you are. I
suppose that’s why you’re sweating.”

Damn it—she
was
sweating. Her forehead was slightly damp. Heat was radiating throughout
her whole body. And she really, really, really wanted an orgasm soon.

She had a brief
mental struggle, trying to decide whether she should stay strong and put Ethan
in his place or relent and have incredible sex.

She decided on
the incredible sex. And then put Ethan in his place afterwards.

If she
remembered to later.

“Okay, we’ll
call a truce,” she said. “Hurry up and find some place to stop.”

“I’m trying. Do
you see anything around? I’m not going to just pull over on the side of the
road.”

“Well, we’re in
the sex-mobile, after all. Everything’s all turned down and ready for us. All
we need is a somewhat secluded spot.”

Ethan was by
now going about 30mph over the speed limit, but he slammed on the brakes when Ashley
pointed out an empty church parking lot on the right side of the road. He
veered into the lot and curved around the tiny church to park behind it. The
church was clearly vacant, no one was around, and they were out of sight of the
road. Trees blocked the view on two sides, the church on the third, and the
other side boasted nothing but a meadow with eight or nine grazing cows. It was
as ideal a spot as they could hope for.

As soon as Ethan
slammed the car into park, he grabbed her and hauled her toward him, kissing
her urgently. Ashley was perfectly happy to reciprocate, opening her mouth and
reaching her arms around his neck. But the console between the seats kept
getting in the way, which was kind of irritating.

After a minute
or two, Ashley pulled back, breathing heavily. “There will be a lot more room
in the back.”

Ethan was
already out of the car—he must have wanted sex as much as she did. So Ashley
scrambled out as well and hurried to the rear of the station wagon where Ethan
had already gotten the back open and was haphazardly spreading out the blanket
they had stolen from the motel.

“Good plan,”
she said as she watched him. “I’m not sure I want my skin to come into direct
contact with this car. We have no idea what kinds of obscenities took place in
here.”

With a
smothered grin, Ethan pulled her toward him again, and she fit her body snugly
against his as they kissed. He was already hard, so she rubbed herself against
him and was thrilled to hear him groan throatily in response.

Shortly, Ethan
turned them around and lifted Ashley by the hips until she was sitting in the
back of the car. Very conveniently, the position allowed Ashley to wrap her
legs around him, and she did so as Ethan’s mouth moved down to her neck.

“God, Ethan,” Ashley
moaned, as she felt his teeth tease her skin. “Let’s not waste too much time
with preliminaries. I’m in no mood for slow and sweet today.”

“Thank God,” Ethan
breathed, raising his head and then cupping her face in his hands. “Because,
honey, I don’t know how slow I can go.”

“So go fast,”
she said huskily, grabbing his shirt and trying to pull him into the car with
her.

Obligingly, Ethan
climbed in beside her, and before she knew it, Ashley was laid out on her back
with Ethan on top of her.

He was about to
claim her lips once more when she stopped him. “Do you mind shutting that back
door? I’m feeling kind of exposed.”

Once the door
was shut, Ethan moved over her again. Kissed her very gently, his tongue
tracing her lower lip and slipping in to flutter in her mouth. By this point,
every inch of Ashley’s body was sensitized and on fire. But all she could feel
was the throbbing ache at her center—so much worse now that she was this close
to fulfilling its needs. When Ethan appeared to be stalled out at her mouth,
she writhed beneath him, desperately trying to wrap her legs around one of his
thighs.

He lifted his
head and gazed at her, his eyes hungry and fiery and ardent.

“Ethan,” she
gasped, when he didn’t do anything but look at her. “I told you that you need
to go fast. I’m about to explode here.”

“Sorry. I keep
getting distracted. I can’t believe this is really happening.” But as he spoke,
he pushed up her shirt and cupped her breasts over her bra.

“Yeah,” she
gasped, as he started rubbing her tight nipples more purposefully. “That’s good.”
She arched her back into his touch, trying to intensify the sensations. Her
pelvis started moving of its own accord, gyrating to the rhythm of Ethan’s
motion on her breasts.

Ashley briefly
wondered if it was possible to come just from this, as she started feeling
pressure build up between her legs. “Enough of that. I’m ready now. I really
want you inside me.”

Breathing
erratically himself, Ethan slid his hands down her body until they reached the
fastenings of her jeans. Undoing them, he started to push them off, taking her
panties with them.

Ashley
shuddered at the feel of his hands on her bare skin and lifted her hips to
allow him to take off her jeans. He had gotten them to her knees when she
remembered her shoes.

As he continued
to slide the jeans down her legs, Ashley tried to kick off her tennis shoes.
But her feet were trapped by the wadded denim, and she couldn’t get in the
right position. Ethan was still working diligently on the jeans—evidently
having failed to notice the obstacle posed by her shoes.

“Fuck,” she
rasped, jerking around in her attempt to get the shoes off. It didn’t help that
Ethan’s body was effectively pinning her down. She grunted some with her
effort, interposing the grunts with more
fucks
.

Ethan gave up
on the jeans and looked into her face. “What’s going on?” he asked slowly. “You
starting without me?”

She gave a howl
of mingled amusement and frustration. “Damn shoes won’t come off. And the jeans
won’t come off unless the shoes do first.”

Ethan looked both
enlightened and relieved. He reached to take care of the offending shoes and
then remove the jeans at last. “I was getting scared for a minute. I’d hate to
think I was only an optional part of this endeavor.”

Her lower limbs
finally free, Ashley grabbed at Ethan’s shoulders to pull him back on top of
her. “Can’t do it without you. If only you would get going.”

Ethan rested
his weight on his forearms and was about to get going as instructed, when Ashley
suddenly remembered something. “Shit!” she exclaimed and, in her panic, tried
to sit up, which didn’t work very well since Ethan was right above her.

Their foreheads
knocked painfully against each other.

Ethan grabbed
his injured head. “What the hell is wrong with you now?” he demanded angrily.
“You’re going to kill me before I ever actually get inside you.”

Rubbing her own
forehead, Ashley whimpered, “Condoms. You only had one, and we used it
yesterday.” She felt like crying, but was by now so aroused that she decided
her only option was to masturbate against Ethan’s thigh. Her hips were still
moving instinctively, seeking any sort of friction available.

Inexplicably, Ethan
smiled. Then he reached into his pocket. “Way ahead of you.” He retrieved a
small foil packet. “Came with the car.”

Ashley sighed
in relief and halted her planned assault on Ethan’s thigh. But she said,
“Please tell me it was an unopened package. I don’t want to use anything that
disgusting guy touched.”

“Brand new
package. I’m not sure how much action this guy really saw.” While he tore the
packet open, Ashley got to work on his pants. She had them unfastened and had
pulled out his erection by the time he had the condom ready.

Ashley liked
how Ethan sucked in his breath when she touched him, and she wished she had the
time to experiment more. But her need was getting more urgent by the second, so
she snatched the condom out of his hands and rolled it on as carefully as her
trembling hands could manage.

“You ready for
me?” Ethan asked softly, as he positioned himself between her legs. “We haven’t
done much in the way of foreplay. Just sort of fumbled around.”

Groaning at
even more delay, she replied impatiently, “Feel for yourself.” She lifted her
hips toward him to make her point.

His hand
reached between her legs, and then his fingers found her entrance. There could
be no doubt about whether or not she was ready. “Honey,” he said huskily, one
finger moving inside her deliciously. “How long have you been waiting for
this?”

“Since we left
the motel,” she whimpered, thrusting her hips against his hand. “I told you I
was ready.”

He gave her a
brief, tender kiss. “You should have told me before. You didn’t think I would
be reluctant to do something about it, did you?”

“It seemed so
desperate,” she panted, starting to work up some good friction from the
thrusting of her hips and his fingers. “Had only just started driving.”

Ethan pulled
his hand away, causing her to let out an anguished wail. “I know all about
being desperate. Next time, tell me sooner.”

“I will,” she
promised, her hands grabbing his butt to try to force him inside of her. “Now,
would you just shut up and fuck me.”

“Of course,” he
replied, shifted a little, and poised himself at her entrance. “I hope this
time won’t hurt as much.”

No one who
didn’t know him like she did would have ever guessed that Ethan was such a
sweet man at heart. Because he was genuinely concerned about her, Ashley didn’t
snap his head off for delaying even longer. Instead, she smiled up at him.
“Even if it hurts, it will be better than the torture of waiting anymore.”

He took her
hint immediately and sheathed himself inside her in a series of angled thrusts.

She inhaled
sharply at the overwhelming pressure and fullness. There wasn’t the same sharp
pain she had felt the first time, but this was definitely not very comfortable.

“Okay?” Ethan
managed to mumble, his face contorted as he struggled for control.

“Yeah,” she
gasped. “Just give me a minute.” She adjusted her legs, trying to relax around
him.

“I might need
more than that.” His eyes were closed and his face turned to the side.

They stayed
perfectly still for a while, and Ashley gradually was able to loosen her
muscles until her only real discomfort was the need for more friction inside of
her.

“Ethan?” she
asked finally. “You okay too?”

He smiled and
opened his eyes at last. “Just trying not to embarrass myself.”

“Do you always
have this problem when you first get inside of a woman?”

Ethan scowled.
“No, I don’t. I’ll have you know, my reputation for control and stamina is
widely known and has been greatly appreciated.”

Ashley raised
her eyebrows in a good imitation of Ethan’s own skeptical expression.

He glared at
her as he continued, “It’s different with you. I’ve been wanting you for so long
that I can’t quite pull it together immediately.” When he noticed her smug
expression, he grumbled, “It’s your fault, really. It would be a lot easier if
you weren’t so tight and . . .”

“And what?” Ashley
prompted curiously, when his voice faded away.

“And
delicious.” He spoke the words as if he were complaining.

Ashley giggled.
“Sorry about that. I’ll try not to be so tight and delicious next time.”

Ethan scowled
some more, and Ashley decided that her mission had been successful—Ethan was
definitely distracted and in no danger of losing it any time soon.

Her own situation,
however, was getting more and more urgent. She raised her hips a little and
wiggled around. “Can you start now, please?”

Ethan’s frown
faded away, and he started to thrust into her steadily. “That wasn’t as big a
fight as we had last time.”

“We’re getting
better,” Ashley agreed, slipping her arms around his back. “Much better,” she
repeated, not talking about their fight now. The stimulation inside her was
already starting to mount. “Much better than last time.”

“Good?” he
asked thickly.

“Good,” she breathed,
raising her hips to meet his thrusts. “Good, Ethan. Yeah, good.”

It had gotten
really good improbably soon. It wouldn’t take her long to reach climax at this
rate. It hurt just a little, but the pain was negligible when compared to the
growing pleasure.