Taken With You (17 page)

“You can have seconds. I just...”

He stroked her clit with his thumb as he slid a finger inside of her. “You just what?”

A growl of frustration escaped her as she lifted her hips against his hand. “Matt, please.”

There was a crinkle of a condom wrapper and then he leaned onto his forearms, one hand on each side of her head. Looking into her eyes, he reached between their bodies and guided his shaft into her.

She was ready for him, and she sighed as he filled her with slow, steady strokes. When he was completely buried in her, he paused. He trembled under her touch, and she trailed her fingertips down his back.

He kissed her, his teeth closing over her bottom lip, and then started moving again.

“You feel so good,” he murmured against her mouth.

She put her hands on his ass, pulling him into her. “Faster.”

He lifted himself off her and hooked his arms behind her knees. His pace quickened and she reached up to brace her hands against the wall, resisting so each thrust drove harder into her.

The orgasm took her breath away and she arched her back. Matt pounded into her as she came, and then his body jerked. He groaned as his orgasm wracked his body, and then released her legs as it subsided to tremors. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held him close as she tried to catch her breath.

After a few minutes, he rolled off her and leaned over the edge of the bed to the trash can. Then he collapsed on his back next to her and laced his fingers through hers. He lay there for a long time, until she started to wonder if he’d fallen asleep. She didn’t have the energy to lift her head to check, though, so she squeezed his hand.

He squeezed back. “I think we do have something in common.”

“I think you’re right.”

Matt rolled so he was facing her. “Go out for a ride with me.”

“Now?”

“No. Not now. Maybe tomorrow after work. I’m talking about four-wheeling, by the way. I think you’d like it.”

She wasn’t so sure. “I rode once with a boyfriend in high school. He hit a bump and I fell off the back. If I’d been sober, it probably would have hurt.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you’ve outgrown being stupid. And it would be fun. Andy Miller has a two-up machine I bet I could borrow.”

“Two-up?”

“It’s designed for two people. It has a passenger seat with its own handholds and footrests. I bet if I tell Rose Davis I want to take you out in the woods but I’m not supposed to have you on my government-issued quad, she’d give me the keys to Andy’s so fast he wouldn’t even know what happened.”

She slapped his chest. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Dare what? To borrow his quad?”

“Get Rose involved. It’s bad enough the entire town thinks we’re sleeping together because we had breakfast at the diner.”

“Which is a fairly ironic thing to say when we’re naked in bed.”

She grinned. “Their speculation was premature.”

“Mmm.” He nuzzled her neck and slid his hand up her stomach to cup her breast. “I’m glad that was the only thing that was premature.”

“Didn’t you promise me supper?”

“Ten more minutes.”

* * *

M
ATT
SET
TWO
dishes of chicken and gravy over white rice on the table and then sat down across from Hailey. She had the look of a very well-satisfied woman and he’d be lying if he said that didn’t boost his ego a little.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“I didn’t mean to. You just look especially pretty right now.”

She blushed, shaking her head. “Thank you. But I’m starving and this smells delicious, so what comes next might not be as pretty to watch.”

Since he’d worked up an appetite himself, he didn’t mind at all. They ate in silence for a few minutes, or almost silence, since Bear was eating, too. The dog’s manners as he worked his way through his bowl left a little something to be desired.

“So you up to a ride tomorrow?” he asked.

She paused, fork halfway to her mouth. “You were serious about that?”

“Of course.”

“Oh.” She took the bite of chicken and chewed slowly, probably trying to buy herself time to think. “Seeing the twin moose was very cool, but you seem to be forgetting I’m not really an outside kind of girl.”

“It’s fun. And four-wheelers are becoming a big thing for Whitford. Don’t you think you should at least see the trails?”

“I don’t think the librarian having firsthand knowledge of the trail system is going to make or break Whitford, but nice try.”

“How about I just want you to go out riding with me?”

She looked at him, her head tilted slightly as if she was trying to figure him out. “Like another date?”

“Sure.” Whether that would be a plus or a minus in her eyes, he couldn’t guess. “I honestly think you’ll have fun or I wouldn’t have asked you.”

“Why tomorrow after work? Why not on the weekend?”

“I have court tomorrow, which almost guarantees I’ll be home on time, if not a little early.”

She frowned. “Court?”

“I’m not in trouble. I have to testify on a couple of cases. It’s not my favorite part of the job, but it means I’m not available for calls.”

When she started moving rice around on her plate without eating it, he got the feeling her mood had taken a turn for the serious, but he wasn’t sure why. He didn’t want things to turn serious. The morning had been fun. The sex had been
really
fun. He’d like to see it go on the same way.

“This dating thing...it’s just about having fun, right?” She wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Nothing too serious?”

Because he wasn’t the kind of guy she was looking to get serious with. It was a small blow, but not too painful because he wasn’t looking to do serious, either. He’d known the sexual chemistry between them was too strong to be ignored and, after their kiss that morning, he’d known—or at least desperately hoped—sex was in their near future. But in the long term future, they were both looking for something different.

“I like having fun,” he said. “You like having fun. No reason we can’t have fun together for a while. Dating’s just a convenient word, I guess.”

“Okay. In that case, I
guess
it wouldn’t hurt me to go four-wheeling with you. At least I hope it won’t hurt, anyway.”

He leaned back in his chair and pushed his empty plate away. “You won’t get hurt. I’ll call the lodge in the morning and see if I can borrow the two-up from Andy.”

About the time she took her last bite of the chicken and rice, Matt realized there was some awkwardness dead ahead. Was she expecting to spend the night with him, or was she going to go home? Since they’d just agreed they weren’t really dating, but were just having fun together, he guessed she wouldn’t stay, but he couldn’t be sure.

“That was delicious,” she said. “I hate to eat and run because it’s rude, but I need to get home. I will never go on a four-thirty in the morning date again.”

He laughed and got up to dump their plates in the sink. “Duly noted.”

“So...thanks, I guess.”

“I feel like I should walk you home.”

She laughed and shook her head. “I think I can make it next door without getting lost.”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do, you know.”

“It’s dumb for you to put on your shoes and get Bear all excited to go for a walk when you could hit my house with a rock.” She walked over and looped her arms around his neck.

Kissing her made him rethink her going home, but she was right. A four-thirty date followed by an evening of great sex made for a long day and his alarm would go off early. “I’m going to watch until I’m sure you’re inside. Just so you know.”

She smiled and then put her sneakers on without bothering to tie them. Then she kissed him again, rubbed Bear’s head and went out the back door. He followed her as far as the deck, then watched her walk across their yards.

He laughed when she flashed her outside light twice, then waited for Bear to do his business.

It would have been nice to have her in his bed when he slid between the sheets, but at least he knew where they stood. Nothing too serious, but the potential for a whole lot of fun. It didn’t sound like a bad deal, even if it meant sleeping alone.

THIRTEEN

M
ATT
LEANED
AGAINST
the Kowalskis’ barn, arms folded across his chest, and watched Hailey put her helmet on for what had to be the seventh or eighth time. At the rate they were going, he’d be too old to drive a quad by the time she was ready to hit the trail.

“You know what the worst part is?” Andy Miller asked. He was also holding up the barn wall, watching the show. “About the time she gets that helmet just right, she’s going to have to pee again.”

Matt sighed. “I wouldn’t bet against it.”

Apparently, her hair was the problem. She started with it in a high ponytail, but that made a lump that was uncomfortable under her helmet. She tried a lower ponytail, but that had the same problem. She took the elastic out, but her hair plastered around her face when she put the helmet on and she didn’t like that. Then came gathering her hair at the base of her neck with the elastic, but when she pulled on the helmet, it pulled her hair at the crown.

Finally, Rose had come outside, sat her down on the porch and done some kind of fancy braid that held all of her hair while remaining flat. Now it seemed like they might be on the right track. When she had it settled on her head and gave him a thumbs up, he walked over to her and did the buckle under her chin.

“You finally ready?”

She nodded, then held up a finger. “I’m going to go pee one more time.”

“Do
not
take that helmet off,” he called after her.

Andy was shaking his head. “What do you think the chances are that girl knows how to pee over a log?”

“My plan is to give her enough water to keep her hydrated, but not enough to make her have to go.” He was mostly kidding. “Thanks again for letting me borrow your machine. I have a sneaking suspicion we won’t have it very long.”

“It’s not a problem. Rosie doesn’t ride with me very often, but I like having the option. Half the time I go out, I take one of the boys’ machines because they have the tool racks and cargo boxes on them, anyway.”

“You guys have done one hell of a job here.”

Andy beamed. “I think it was Mitch who first suggested trying to get the four-wheeler traffic to the lodge so they could be open year round instead of just during the snow. All of the kids were behind it, but once Josh wrapped his head around it, he was all in.”

Matt saw Hailey come out of the house, thankfully with her helmet still on. “I guess she might be ready. Finally.”

Once she was settled on the seat behind him, Matt waved to Andy and then headed toward the trail. He kept it slow enough so Hailey wouldn’t get bounced around too much, but he wanted to go fast enough to make it fun, too.

He heard her laugh a couple of times, which he took as a good sign. Then, in a particularly rocky section, she dug her fingernails into his back so hard he was pretty sure there would be holes in his shirt. If not blood.

“Use your handholds,” he yelled. Not that he was mad, but with the engine sound and both of them in helmets, it was the only way to be heard.

“Sorry!”

The first time he stopped was in a clearing next to a brook and he had her keep her helmet on. He just wanted her to relax her muscles a little because the trail he was going to take was a little more rugged and it took some effort to not get bounced off the back of a quad.

She did great, though. Every once in a while she’d try holding on to him instead of the handholds, but she didn’t try to puncture him again. The hill they had to climb made her nervous. He could tell by the way her knees gripped his thighs, as if she was on a horse she thought might buck her off.

The clearing he pulled into this time had a decent view, and the club had put in a picnic table. He helped her unbuckle the helmet and kept a very straight face when she pulled it off and all of the loose wisps that were escaping the braid stood out around her face.

He didn’t think she’d appreciate knowing that was going on, even if bad hair went hand in hand with women and helmets.

“It’s very quiet here,” she said, probably trying to fill the silence.

“Do you want some water?” He pulled the storage compartment under the passenger seat.

“Just a sip.” She took the bottle, grimacing at her hands. “Is my face as dirty as my hands? I feel really dirty.”

“You’re four-wheeling. You’re supposed to get dirty.”

“You’re four-wheeling. I’m just sightseeing.” She grinned and took a long sip of the water.

He thought she looked sexy as hell with a couple of smudges of dirt on her face and her hair all mussed up. He stepped close to her, sliding his hand over her hip. “You know, one of my favorite things about being out in the woods is the privacy. There’s nobody around for miles.”

“Oh, no you don’t. I am not having sex with you in the woods.” She put her hand on his chest and pushed. “There is zero chance of that happening.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think you would.”

“Is that disappointment I hear?” She put her hands on her hips. “Did you actually think there was a chance I’d get naked out here in the dirt? With leaves and bugs and sticks and...dirt?”

“You don’t have to get totally naked. Or touch the dirt at all.” Her skeptical look made him chuckle. “I could demonstrate if you want.”

“I’m not having sex with you outside.”

“Sex with you inside was pretty damn good, so I suppose I’ll live.”

She smiled at him. “The four-wheeling part isn’t as bad as I expected, if that makes you feel any better.”

“It does make me feel better knowing the time you spend with me doesn’t
totally
suck.” It wasn’t a glowing endorsement, but he’d take it. “Do you want to drive?”

“No.” She laughed. “I’m fine riding on the back, thank you. But I have to pee.”

“Any chance at all you’ll pee in the woods?”

She shook her head, not even considering the idea. “No.”