by Kira Archer
“It’s not as far as it looks.”
She snorted. “Maybe for you. You’re like twelve feet tall. It’s a lot farther down for me.”
“Well, we can’t stay in here all night. We’ve got a plane to catch in a few hours. Plus, we’ll freeze to death, which is something I’d really prefer to avoid. Come on. We’ve got to go now while he’s busy.”
She turned so white her lips nearly disappeared. He took her face in his hands and gave her a swift kiss. “You just made love in a gondola 150 feet in the air. In the middle of winter. This is a piece of cake compared to that. You can do this. Ready?”
She gave him a weak nod, and he didn’t wait for her to change her mind. He shimmied out backward, dangling as far as he could before letting go. Stretched to his full height, it was only another four feet or so of a drop, but it was enough to jar his feet and rattle his teeth a bit. As soon as he was on the ground he reached up for Iris.
“Come on,” he mouthed to her, casting anxious glances at the technician.
Iris bit her lip, fear etched starkly on her face, but she didn’t hesitate. The girl had guts, he’d give her that. She followed his lead, edging out of the gondola backward and lowering herself until she dangled feet first in the air above him. He reached up for her, and she dropped.
He caught her awkwardly, all the air going out of his lungs with an audible, “Oomph!”
The technician spun around at the noise. “Hey, you two, what are you doing?”
“Let’s go,” Nash said, setting Iris on her feet, grabbing her hand, and hauling ass.
The technician gave a halfhearted chase for about four steps and then let it go with a curse. Nash and Iris kept going, just in case. He flagged down a cab as soon as they got to the street, thanking God that one was passing by. They jumped in, told the driver to go, and flopped back against the seats laughing.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe we just did that,” Iris said when she finally caught her breath.
“No kidding. My brother’s never going to believe me.”
“Hell, I was there, and I don’t believe you. I think I’ve been a bad influence on you, Nash Wallace,” she said, grinning like a proud parent.
“Hmm, I wouldn’t say bad.” He leaned over and kissed her until she made that little moaning sound in the back of her throat that made him want to do naughty, naughty things.
He smiled against her lips and whispered, “I love it when you make that sound.”
She kissed him again and whispered back, “It’s too bad we can’t go back to the planetarium and see what other sounds you can coax out of me.”
“Not the Ferris wheel?”
She cocked an eyebrow at him, and he laughed. “If I recall correctly, it didn’t take too much coaxing in either place.”
She gave him a mock glare at his smug tone. “Yeah, well I know all your moves now. It might take a little more next time around.”
“Where to?” the driver asked, interrupting what had been turning into a very interesting conversation.
Nash glanced at Iris who just shrugged. Helpful.
“Well,” he pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. “We’ve only got a few more hours before we need to be back at the airport. We could go re-donate our clothes and head back that way, I guess.”
Iris frowned. Nash knew the feeling. He didn’t want this night to end, either. No help for that, though. At least they’d have a little more time together on the plane to Miami. Where they’d have to say good-bye.
That part wouldn’t be easy. The more time he spent with her, the more they shared, the more they touched and connected, the harder it would be. He didn’t regret making love to her, but it had certainly made a difficult situation almost impossible. Until that moment, with their return to the airport looming, it hadn’t really hit home. He didn’t want to say good-bye to her. At all. As irrational as that might be, considering how short a time he’d known her, it was the truth.
But what could he offer her? An isolated sort of life that had driven more than one woman from his side? A life thousands of miles from where she’d always lived, far from her friends and family? And even that would be contingent on whether or not they could, or wanted, to make a long-distance relationship work, because she certainly wouldn’t immediately uproot her entire life for a guy she’d known less than twenty-four hours. And the fact the thought was even crossing his mind was ludicrous. Totally crazy. But he couldn’t stop it from taking root.
She snuggled closer to him and sighed. “Yeah, I guess it’s time we head back. I think that thrift shop had one of those bins out front we could drop all this stuff in. I might keep this jacket though,” she said, rubbing the blindingly bright fur. “It’s kind of grown on me. I might have to make room in my…”
She jerked up and Nash looked at her in concern. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Clyde and the Sloane Ranger!”
“Shit!” Nash said, dread filling him. “Where the hell did we leave them?”
Iris frowned. “I don’t remember. I know we still had them at the club.”
“Are we going back to the airport?” the driver asked.
Nash shook his head. “No. We seem to have misplaced our luggage somewhere. Could you pull over for a second?”
The driver shrugged and found a spot along the road to stop. Nash turned back to Iris.
“I know we had them at the planetarium, because that’s where you stashed the condoms.”
Iris blushed faintly, and the sight of her pink cheeks along with the vivid memory of them using those condoms nearly washed all thoughts of anything else from his mind.
Iris seemed to be having the same problem. Her lips parted as she drew in a shaky breath, and the hand that had been innocently lying on his thigh tightened. His pulse pounded in his ear as all his blood rushed south, and he had to shift to make some room in his jeans. He leaned over her and she met his lips enthusiastically, her tongue eagerly meeting his. Nash was seconds from divesting her of some of her clothing and really getting down to business when the driver cleared his throat.
“Can I take you folks to a hotel or something?”
Nash pulled back, embarrassed that he couldn’t seem to get a grip. It was almost as bad as being a horny teenager with no control of his hormones. No, scratch that. It was worse. Because when he’d been a horny teenager, he hadn’t had an incredibly beautiful woman in his arms willing and eager to get down and dirty with him. Controlling himself with Iris within touching distance should earn him a gold medal in self-control.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
He turned back to Iris to find her with her hand clapped over her mouth, shaking with laughter. He grinned at her and tried to resume their conversation.
“Okay then. So we know we had them leaving the club and for sure at the planetarium since we…”
“Don’t start that again,” she said, though it would have sounded more convincing if her gaze hadn’t been riveted on his crotch, her grip tightening on his thigh.
“Hey,” he said, going for outrage though it sounded more like a come-on. He put a finger under her chin and pressed upward until their gazes met. “My eyes are up here.”
“Sorry,” she said with a grin that didn’t look in the least apologetic. “Did we have them in the Ferris wheel?”
Nash frowned. “I don’t remember. We used a condom from my pocket so I didn’t need to get into the bags. I know we didn’t have them when we jumped from the Ferris wheel because the only thing I caught was you. So we either left them stashed under the seats in the planetarium or in that gondola. Do you remember?”
Iris shook her head. “I’m pretty sure we had them at the Ferris wheel but I’m not positive. We had to make our escape from the planetarium pretty quickly. They could have gotten left behind.”
She giggled, and the sound hit Nash square in the heart. God, she was so cute. He wanted to keep her. Not even remotely possible but, good gracious, the woman was enticing.
�
�Okay, well…I guess we go back to the planetarium first, since we’re headed in that direction,” he said.
“How are we going to get in?”
“No clue. I thought breaking into places was your expertise.”
Iris held up her hands. “Don’t look at me. You’ve been the one sneaking into places. I just get us out of them. Except the Ferris wheel. That was all you, Hazel.”
Nash snorted. “What a pair we make, huh?”
She looked up at him, her animated face softening into an expression he couldn’t quite name. “Yes,” she said. “We do.”
He couldn’t take his eyes from her. He wanted to tell her how much their night together meant to him. How much he wished it could continue. He didn’t have any right to say it, though, since there was no chance of a future between them. But with her staring up at him, those deep brown eyes gazing into his, some part of him held onto the hope that maybe they could work something out.
“Iris, I…”
“So, the planetarium?” the driver asked.
Nash sighed, the moment gone. “Yes.”
Iris smiled at him and then laid her head on his shoulder with a sigh. He wrapped his arm around her. Their future might be nonexistent. But he still had a few hours. And he was going to make the most of them.
He held her all the way to the planetarium, sitting in silence, just enjoying the feel of her in his arms.
Life was going to be very dull from now on.
Chapter Fourteen
The driver pulled up to the planetarium, and Nash and Iris scooted out.
“Can you wait?” Iris asked.
“Sure thing,” the driver said, sounding completely bored. He pulled out a newspaper and started reading.
Nash held out his hand for her and she took it, letting him help her from the car. They hurried up the steps to the darkened and obviously locked building and peered in the windows.
“Now what?” Nash asked.
Iris shrugged. “I don’t know. We knock? There’s got to be someone still in there. Janitors, security.”
“Okay. We knock. And hope we don’t set off an alarm.”
They knocked on the glass of the doors, pausing every few seconds to peer in.
“I don’t think this is working,” Nash said. “I wonder if we can find some side door or something that might be open.”
Iris snorted. “You and your sneaking in. You’re going to get yourself arrested one of these days.”
“Look who’s talking. It’s totally your fault, you know. I was a law-abiding citizen until I met you.”
“Sure you were. Ooo, look, there’s someone.”
A security guard approached the doors, scowling at them. “It’s closed,” he called through the doors. “You need to leave the premises immediately.”
“We think we left our luggage inside,” Iris yelled against the glass.
The guard shook his head. “Come back when we’re open.”
Irish and Nash both shook their heads. “Our plane leaves soon,” Nash called. “We were sitting in the last row in the Definiti Space Theater. Can you at least check it for us?”
The guard sighed and frowned but he nodded and held up a finger indicating they should wait.
Iris smiled up at Nash. “I guess we wait.”
She dropped to the ground and leaned against the door. “Have a seat, cowboy.”
Nash laughed and plopped down next to her. She leaned against him with a sigh, and he wrapped an arm around her. She didn’t even mind the cold so much, as long as it meant snuggling with Nash. He was easily the most charming, amusing, kind, and sexiest man she’d ever been with. Better yet, she’d spent every moment of the entire night with him, and he hadn’t once gotten on her nerves. She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.
Most men seemed hyper-focused on one thing—getting into her pants. They didn’t care about her or what she was interested in or wanted out of life. They wanted a fun time and that was it. Nash was certainly interested in her body. Hell, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other, and he’d actually made it into her pants. Twice. No, three times, technically. Something she had never in her life done with a man with whom she wasn’t in a relationship.
But she didn’t regret it. And the fact that he’d not only gotten to all the bases but lapped home a few times didn’t bother her. Maybe because he’d made it clear that wasn’t all he was interested in. In fact, he’d gone overboard to behave himself.
She’d probably talked more to Nash than she had to her last five boyfriends put together. Hell, she’d told him things about herself that she hadn’t even told Lena. No one else knew about her fear of heights. That was one thing she’d managed to never let anyone see. Showing her weaknesses wasn’t something she did.
But she’d not only told Nash about it, she’d acted like a scared little ninny in front of him, something that would have mortified her in front of anyone else. He hadn’t made her feel embarrassed about it, though. He’d called her brave and beautiful, and she’d been able to fight past it and had had one of the most incredible experiences of her life as a result. All because of him.
She cuddled closer, and he drew her in against him, leaning down to kiss her temple. He was so damn sweet it made her heart hurt. If he was an example of a nice guy, maybe she’d underestimated the nice guys who had tried to date her in the past. Nice guys bored her. Or so she’d thought. She’d always thought she needed a guy with at least a streak of the bad boy in him in order to have a good time. Nice guys just didn’t do it for her.
But…Nash was a nice guy. She may have corrupted him a tad in the law-abiding citizen department, but overall he was good people. And the night she’d just spent with him would be one she’d never forget. Maybe nice guys weren’t so bad. Or maybe it was just Nash. She felt like she knew everything about him, and yet she still had so much to discover. But she knew how much he loved his ranch. She knew about his family and how important all those roots were to him.
Which was the kicker right there. They’d never be able to make it work between them. Long-distance relationships never worked out. She’d learned that one the hard way. Long-distance meant a lot of lonely nights and constant worry, which only proved to be right in the long run, when one or both of the parties ended up cheating.
So. If he wouldn’t leave his home and she wouldn’t leave hers and long-distance wasn’t going to work, that effectively left them with no options.
Which sucked massive donkey balls.
Knock, knock.
Iris squeaked and jumped away from Nash, startled by the noise. The security guard stared down at them, looking more than a little amused that he’d snuck up on them.
Nash stood and pulled Iris to her feet. The guard shook his head. “No luggage,” he said through the glass.
“Damn,” Iris said, frowning. “They’ve got to be…”
“In the gondola,” Nash finished.
“Lovely.” She sighed and waved at the guard. “Thanks,” she called.
Nash took her hand and they headed back toward the cab. But they took their time, like neither of them wanted to rush the night to its end. Once they found Clyde and the Sloane Ranger it would be time to go back to the airport. Iris had been so looking forward to getting her ass to Miami and on to the resort but now…the thought of leaving him in Miami while she flew off without him was like a hard knot in her gut.
They got a little ways away from the building and gazed off in the distance. Iris sighed with pure pleasure.
“It really is gorgeous, isn’t it?”
Nash moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and drawing her in to his chest. “Yes, it is.”
The planetarium sat on a small peninsula so that it was surrounded on three sides by the lake. The sky had cleared and, while the glare of the city lights dimmed the brilliance of the stars somewhat, the full moon reflecting off the lake and the snow over the magnificent architecture of the planetarium wa
s an awe-inspiring sight to see.
“Wouldn’t this place be beautiful in the spring?” she asked, her voice hushed.
“It would be incredible. Maybe we could meet back here one of these days.”
Iris breathed deeply; the snow-laden air mixing with Nash’s musky scent had her turning to nuzzle his chest. She didn’t want to make future plans with him that would never happen. She didn’t want to get her hopes up only to have him tell her a week before she was supposed to meet him that something had come up and he couldn’t make it, after all. It would be so much better if they made a clean break. They’d had one fabulous night. Leave it at that.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She couldn’t end the fantasy just yet. So she nodded. “That would be wonderful.” The words didn’t come out quite as steady as she hoped.
“Hey,” he said, not fooled at all. He turned her around and raised her face to his with a gentle hand. “You okay?”
She gave him a tremulous smile. “Yes.” Anxiety rushed through her, fast and dizzying, but she said the rest of it, even though she was opening herself up to a world of hurt. “I just don’t want the night to end.”
He gazed down at her, his face so full of tenderness that tears gathered in her eyes.
“Neither do I,” he murmured.
He leaned down to kiss her, his lips moving gently over hers. She threw her arms around his neck, and he deepened the kiss, sending heat shooting through her veins. Good God, she could kiss him forever. She moved against him, frustrated by the layers of clothing separating them. He lifted her off her feet, his arms holding her tight as they kissed frantically.
The blaring of the cab’s horn startled them both. Nash still held her against him, ignoring the cab to give her one last lingering kiss before letting her slide slowly down his body until she stood on her own two feet. She trembled in his arms, and not from the cold.
They hurried back to the cab, sliding gratefully into the heated interior. Iris would be glad to get out of the cold when they left the next morning. But it was about the only thing she was looking forward to. A surprising and depressing thought.