Worth the Trouble (27 page)

They had no way of communicating with Wes and the other searchers now, since her radio was in the creek.
  Leaning to the side, she pulled her cell phone out of her wet jeans then turned it on.  She had plenty of battery left, but no service.  The screen was fogged up too, so she imagined it was ruined.  With a curse, she shoved it back inside of her pocket, shivered again then grabbed her knees.

Her eyes drifted to where Ethan had been before,
but he was nowhere to be found.  Her heart kicked up a little in her chest and she leaned forward to look around the sides of the overhang.  She didn't see him anywhere, but then the tent jostled and she figured out he was inside the tent.

And he hadn't invited her to come inside with him.  Even though it was a two-man tent, and probably a helluva lot warmer than sitting under this cold wet overhang.  Chivalry was definitely deader than a doornail
these days. 

Her breath caught when the front zipper of the tent came down and the wall parted.  He glanced her way, but instead of waving her over there, he tossed out his wet jeans, boots and shirt, then zipped it back up.

He was in there naked, and warm, probably snuggled up in a bedroll, which she also forgot to bring.  She was sitting here cold, shivering and lonely.

Life wasn't fair, she thought
, with another shiver. 

And she was a dumbass for not thinking ahead.
  The farther the sun drifted below the horizon, the colder it got, and the harder the rain and wind came.  The sides of the tent blew inward, but the tent stayed where Ethan had put it. 

When it was fully dark, Rocky heard a couple of coyotes howling over the wind and rain.  She felt like a duck sitting out here in more ways than one.  Her shotgun was on Reed's saddle
over by the woods.

This was bullshit, she thought, then crawled out from beneath the overhang.  They were partners, and he needed to share that tent.
  Rocky made her way over the uneven slippery ground to the tent then stood outside in the rain contemplating pulling that zipper down.  It could be like opening Pandora's box. 

Ethan
was naked in there, and the tent was small.  There wouldn't be a lot of room for her to avoid him.  And the hot kiss a while ago proved her resistance to him was non-existent.  A strong gust of wind whipped around Rocky causing her to shiver, and making the decision for her.  With numb fingers, and shaking hands, she grabbed the tab and slid it downward.

Soft snores stopped, then Ethan sat up and told her, "Take those wet clothes off if you think you're coming in here."

Rocky stepped back, then sat down on a rock and took off her boots and socks, then stood and unfastened her jeans, before pushing them down her legs.  Ethan watched her from the tent, his face unreadable in the darkness.  Her cold numb fingers worked at the buttons on her shirt, and she finally managed to push the wet material from her shoulders.

"Bra and panties too," he grumped when she stepped forward.

"I don't think so," she told him and took another step.

"If you want to come in here, you'll do it," he told her firmly.

Rocky reached behind her and unhooked her bra and let it fall to the ground, then looped her fingers in the elastic of her underwear and slid them down her legs to step out.  Covering her shivering body, she put one foot inside the tent, then crouched down and ducked inside.

Immediately the warmth that had built up inside the structure enveloped her and she sighed then shivered again. 
Just being out of the cutting wind was a relief. 

"Here's a blanket, dry off with it," he told her then shoved it into her hands
, before rezipping the front of the tent.

Rocky toweled off her dripping hair, then ran the soft, warm material over the rest of her body.  With another shiver, she wrapped the damp blanket around her shoulders, laid on the floor of the tent
then curled into a fetal ball.

She heard Ethan sigh, before he told her, "Roxanne, give me that blanket, so I can toss it out.
  It's wet."

"It feels good," she murmured tiredly, then shivered again.

He grabbed the corner of the blanket and yanked it off of her, then she heard the zip run down the track and then back up.

"I'm cold!" she protested
sitting up to glare at him, her teeth chattering.

Ethan
moved around, shifted things, then he grabbed her and pulled her to him, before throwing something warm and wonderful over her body.  Rocky groaned and tugged the thick, fluffy cover over her head then snuggled into the warmth.

"It took you long enough," he grumbled
as he chaffed her shoulders, then slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to his warm body.  He spooned her even closer, and Rocky began to defrost very quickly.  The man was radiating enough body heat to thaw out the North Pole.  Because she couldn't help herself, she ran her cold feet along his calves then forced her toes between his ankles and sighed.

"Better?" he asked, his
sexy deep voice sending ripples of excitement through her.

"Yeah, much...thanks," she told him then slid her cold fingers under his where they rested on her stomach.
 

Rocky stilled when his hand moved lower on to rest on her hip, and he whispered near her ear,
with gravity in his voice, "I need to tell you something...several things."

Rocky hoped like hell he wasn't bringing up the night at the
lake again. 

As much as she tried to shove it to the back of her mind
to get through this trip, the memories kept coming back.  That night was the best night of her life, but also something she wanted to forget, because as soon as the hot memories of him making love to her that night surfaced, they were eclipsed by memories of last night and his hurtful words. 

She was over it, needed to move on, not rehash things over and over.

Right now though, that was really difficult with his spectacular body glued to hers skin to hot skin, and his hardness pressed against her bottom.  The last thing she wanted to do was talk.  What her body wanted her to do was turn over and snuggle into him for more. 

Ind
ulge her fantasy of making love to him in this storm. 

This would be her only chance, only opportunity to do that. 
Tomorrow when the sun came up, she would have plenty of regrets, she was sure, but tonight she could forget his words and just feel.

The remnants of that electrifying kiss
in the rain earlier still buzzed through her body, along with the new sensations he was creating with the slow hypnotic circles he was making with his long fingers at her hip.   

The time for fighting was over
, the time for making love to Ethan was at hand. 

T
he storm outside rivaled the one she was fighting inside, and she decided she would much rather deal with the one inside, instead of talking. 

Having sex with him was a biological
urge, emotions didn't have to be involved.  She repeated that in her mind a few times trying to convince herself, but fell way short of believing it.  Huffing out a frustrated breath, she shoved the angel off of her shoulder, and turned to face the devil himself.

"I don't want to talk, Ethan," she whispered then kissed his chest.  With a flick of her tongue under his jaw then a kiss, she invited, "Make love to me."

He was fitted perfectly at the apex of her thighs, and hardened more at her words. With a groan, he told her, "I don't want to make love to you again with this between us."

"What this?" she said playfully, then slid her hand between them to stroke him slowly.  "I think this has to be between us for it to happen," she told him with a laugh.

"I'm not joking, baby," he said then sucked in a breath when she tightened her hand around him. She fitted her breasts to his chest, then rubbed them against his smooth warm skin, her nipples hardened and she sucked in a breath. 

Ethan gro
wled, and suddenly she was on her back with him pinning her to the hard ground with his thigh over hers, before his mouth slammed down over hers.  He kissed her aggressively, passionately, like he was trying to tell her something with his kisses that she wouldn't let him with words. 

Her head spun as she tried to process all of the intense sensations pouring from him into her.
  Ethan's warm palm closed over her breast and Rocky moaned as he kneaded her, then pinched her nipple between his fingers and rolled it.

"We are going to talk," he said gruffly when he pulled his mouth from hers
breathing hard.  She couldn't see him in the dark tent, except when the lightning flashed, but when it did she saw glimpses of his intense eyes and dark expression.

"Just make love to me," she whispered then leaned up and nipped his lower lip.  "Please, Ethan, I need you," she begged then sucked his upper lip into her mouth and ran her tongue over it.  "When we talk is when we get in
trouble."

Here, doing this, they were in perfect harmony, understood each other, it was when they talked that things went wrong.

He studied her for a moment, like he could see her in the dark tent, but she knew he couldn't.  And it was a good thing, because a tear tracked out of the corner of her eye as emotion balled up inside her chest. 

She sucked in a deep
breath then let it out on a sigh.  "Kiss me, Ethan," she pleaded then in a choked whisper, she told him.  "I love how you kiss me." 

I love you
.  The thought tried to slip past her lips, but she stopped it cold.  That's why his words last night had hurt her so much, she realized now. 

There was no way she would ever utter them to him
and give him the power to hurt her even more.  He had made it perfectly clear last night that all he wanted from her was sex.  Tonight, this one last time, she would give that to him and herself.  There would be time tomorrow and in the weeks to come for her to beat herself up for being so weak.

Ethan
lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her gently several times, then his tongue slid over her lips and Rocky groaned then opened her mouth for him.  His tongue slid inside and invited hers into an erotic dance, while his hand burned a path over her skin as it moved down her ribcage. 

"I love..." he started in a gravelly voice and she held her breath as he hesitated, before he sucked her earlobe then finished, "how you taste
."

He
ran the flat of his tongue down her neck to her collarbone, where he sucked a sensitive spot there.  Waves of pleasure shot through her and Rocky bucked up against him.  He focused there teasing her until she moaned, then he put hot kisses on her shoulder, moving downward to the top of her breast.

Rocky
arched her back, wanting to feel his mouth on her more than she wanted her next breath.  His head hovered over her and his hot breath excited her nipple into a hard peak, but he didn't taste her.  Ethan Cassidy was on a mission to drive her wild with wanting him, and she was almost there.

With a groan, Rocky put her hand at the back of his head and pulled his mouth down to her
.  His chuckle vibrated on her skin, as he closed his lips gently over her, while he moved his fingers down to slide them through her wetness.  He inserted one finger inside of her and Rocky gasped.  She knew he would find her hot and wet, more than ready for him to be inside of her.  She couldn't stand the wait, so she rocked her hips against his hand in invitation.

"So impatient," he released her
breast to say, then he sucked her hard into his mouth again and nipped her.  Rocky screamed her pleasure digging her fingernails into his scalp. 

"You like that baby?" he
lifted his mouth again to ask, irritating her.

"Yes
...more," she begged and shoved his head down again. 

Ethan
shook his head then pushed up on his elbow to slide over on top of her, fitting himself at her opening and holding her to stare down at her.  She could feel his hot eyes on her, even though she couldn't see him in the darkness.

Yes, that is exactly where she wanted him, needed him to be, she thought and
spread her legs then moved her hips against his.  The head of his erection rubbed at her core and Rocky's breathing ramped up along with her heart rate.  He pressed his body down on hers and leaned in to touch his lips to hers. 

"So, beautiful," he whispered tenderly and kissed her again.
  "I love..."he started and hesitated, before finishing with, "How wet you get for me." Then he kissed her again, longer this time.  "I want to taste you there, Roxanne."

Roxanne swallowed hard as h
is words traveled along her nerve endings and settled between her legs.  She wanted to see his face, see what he was doing to her body, but the lightning flashes weren't coming frequently now.  When he sank lower on her body and ran his tongue down the valley between her breasts Rocky sucked in a sharp breath.

"Ethan this tent isn't big enough for that," she said with a nervous laugh and he stopped.