by Jill Shalvis
“You’ll see who you want.”
Brian ran his fingers over the helmet Chance had given him. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t want me around anymore if you found out.”
“You thought wrong.”
“Yeah, well. Cool.”
“Look, uh…” The big, uninhibited, overtly sexual Chance grimaced. “Do we need to have the birds and bees talk?”
“Jeez!”
“Do we?”
Mortified, Brian shook his head. “No.”
“Good. That’s good.” Chance’s smile was all relief. “Let’s ride.”
“I have to pick up trash.”
“You can do that afterwards.”
Looking as if he’d won the lotto, Brian grabbed his gloves.
“Be safe,” Ally called out, waving, but Brian was already gone.
Chance took his gear, shut his locker and moved toward the door, which meant he had to walk directly past her, in an aisle not quite wide enough for him to pass by without touching her.
Refusing to turn her back and make it easy for him, Ally held her ground and looked directly into his eyes as he turned sideways to go by her.
Their thighs brushed. His arm swept across the front of her. Though the touch was barely there, and in no way intentional, her body reacted.
And he could deny it until the end of time, but he wasn’t unaffected either. He looked at her, and at the emotions blaring there she nearly cried.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yes. I’m glad Brian’s safe from trouble—”
“No, I meant about…before.”
“You mean when we made love outside?” New life, new rules, she reminded herself. Hold nothing back. “Against a tree?”
He winced and raked his hands through his hair. “Yes. God, I’ve never felt like such a stupid teenager in my life. Not even when I was a stupid teenager.” Swearing again, he put his hands on her hips and snagged her close. Then he cupped her face, stroking his fingers against her cheek. “Did I hurt you, Ally?”
That wasn’t what she expected. And with him touching her, his voice low and grim with concern, she found herself speechless.
“Did I?” he demanded.
“No.” A small, shy smile escaped. “Quite the opposite, actually.”
Some of his intensity faded and his lips curved slightly. “Yeah?”
She smiled, and thought maybe she’d reached him then, maybe she’d gotten past that protective barrier, but he stepped back, robbing her of his warmth.
“You’re sorry about what happened,” she said bluntly, her voice not quite as strong as her resolve. “I thought it was usually the woman who had regrets. No, wait.” She pressed her fingers to her eyes so that she didn’t have to see that tortured look on his face. “I have no right to press you—”
“Chance?” Brian poked his head back into the locker room, his expression both eager and anxious. “Did you change your mind?”
Chance didn’t take his eyes off Ally. “No, Slick. We’re going. I just need a moment here.”
But Ally didn’t want to hear his regrets, didn’t want to hear why the most amazing experience of her life could never happen again, so she turned away and smiled reassuringly at Brian.
Or she hoped it was a reassuring smile, and not the near-tears she really felt. “He’s coming right now,” she said. “He’s all yours.”
THE RIDE WAS GOOD, and so was Brian. He’d developed an amazing biking skill over the past few weeks, and damn if Chance wasn’t growing fond of the obnoxious, surly, sour fourteen-year-old.
He was growing fond of lots of things lately. Things, and…people. One woman in particular.
He was showered, changed and standing at his office window, staring out at the mountains, seeing only Ally, and that light in her eyes that shone whenever she looked at him.
Then he caught sight of a kayak on the river and his heart all but stopped.
She was out there alone. Dammit, he was tired of saving her pretty butt. He wouldn’t do it again.
He wouldn’t.
But the kayak could tip, and he knew she wasn’t a strong swimmer, and that the current was tough, and…and he raced out of his office, swearing, furious at both of them.
Running down the hallway, he skidded to a surprised halt at the doorway to her office, because there she sat behind her desk, on the phone, wearing not a bathing suit but a long, flowing sundress, covered with a million tiny flowers. Her hair was a little messy, as if she’d not given it a second thought all day, and he decided he liked that. Her lips were naked.
He liked that, too. He liked a lot of things about her, especially those little noises she made when he was deep inside her.
With a flick of his wrist, he locked her office door. At the startlingly loud sound of the lock falling into place, she faltered in midsentence, sent him a wide-eyed doe look that made him hot.
Still staring at him, she gripped the phone tighter.
Oh yeah, he already felt better. With a wicked smile, he pulled off his shirt.
Ally stuttered into the receiver, obviously struggling to maintain her side of the phone conversation.
Sending her a slow wink, he perched a hip on her desk. Just looking at her made him hungry for a taste of her, and he licked his lower lip.
Ally stared at his mouth, hers open, and dropped the phone. Blushing, she quickly picked it up, apologizing into it.
Enjoying himself immensely now, Chance leaned in and toyed with a strand of her hair. Then he stroked a finger over the very tip of her earlobe.
She abruptly rose and turned her back to him.
He simply stood behind her, slid his hand around her waist to her stomach and pulled her back against his already raging hard-on. Spreading his fingers wide, he touched as much of her as he could. His thumb brushed the underside of her breasts, then he cupped the soft curves. Her hard nipples pressed into his hands and he rasped his thumbs over them.
Letting out a choked sound, she stammered out some excuse, and finally hung up. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair messy, and she backed away from him, avoiding his gaze. “You’re back from riding all in one piece.”
“Yep. You look good enough to eat, Ally.”
Suddenly she was the picture of busy; the piles on her desk, her filing, her computer. Anything and everything had her attention, except him.
Leaning back against her desk, he pulled her between his thighs. “Why are you so nervous?”
“I’m always nervous before I get dumped.”
“Dumped?”
“Don’t look so shocked,” she said, searching his gaze. “I know what you’d like to do to me. You’d like to ship me back to where I came from. Pretend I never showed up.”
“No, actually, that’s not what I’d like to do to you.”
She blinked, then blushed. “Be serious.”
“Oh, I’m being very serious.”
She slowly shook her head and backed away from him. “Don’t tease. Not about this. Just dump and go.”
He didn’t want to “dump” her. In fact, he wanted more of her, and he was even beginning to think maybe he could never get enough.
“Chance?” Her voice was tentative now. “What happened up there, between us? In the woods?”
He skimmed a finger up her arm, over her jaw and into her silky hair. “I was hoping you’d know.”
She shook her head.
“I’m sure this is no surprise,” he said softly. “But I’m not comfortable with what you make me feel.”
She searched his gaze for a long, long moment. “I’m not comfortable with very much when it comes to you,” she finally said.
“So we’re even.”
She seemed fascinated by his mouth, and he nearly groaned when she licked her dry lips. Blood drained from his head to parts south. He ran his thumb over her lower lip, but she caught his hand.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “I can’t think when you do that.”
“Thinking is overr
ated.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He pulled her closer, so that they were touching from head to toe, and all the delicious hot spots between. His hips slid against hers, and she let out a dark, needy sound that inflamed him. “Do you want me, Ally?”
Against his throat, she moaned.
He skimmed his hands over her luscious, warm body, then back up again, beneath the material of her dress now, bending his head to kiss her neck because he couldn’t get enough. He stroked the backs of calves, her knees. Her thighs, and when he discovered no stockings, no nylons, nothing but Ally, he nearly came right there.
She wrapped her arms around him and bit his neck. “You make me…wild,” she whispered.
“Wild is good.” He slid his fingers down, down, between her thighs, and found her hot and wet. “Do you want me?” he asked again, though he’d never asked a woman that before. He’d never cared that much, but he cared now. “Ally?”
“Jo is right outside—”
He stroked her with slow precision, nearly blind with need. “Yes or no.”
“Yes!”
Scooping her up, he set her on the desk, stopping only to shove all the papers to the floor. By the time everything hit with a loud thunk, he’d scooped up her dress, slipped off her panties, fought with her fingers to get his jeans opened, and got a condom out of his pocket.
“Let me,” she murmured, then bent to the task.
She didn’t know what she was doing, and that in itself got him so hot and bothered he had to take over.
She tilted her head up and looked at him from sexy, sleepy eyes. “Am I doing it wrong?”
He could only let out a choked laugh. “No, you’re doing it right. Too right.” Pressing her thighs apart with his hands, he stepped between them and entered her. At the hot, wet feel of her, his knees nearly buckled.
“Oh, my,” she whispered.
Definitely oh, my.
Gripping her hips, one stroke from bliss, he set his forehead to hers and forced himself utterly still. “Don’t move, not yet.”
“I can’t help it.” She arched against him, head thrown back, eyes closed, breasts thrust out, easily the most incredible sight he’d ever seen, and for a moment it was all he could do to just hold on.
He was lost. He was so lost. In her.
Her eyes fluttered open, glossy and filled with desire. “Chance…” Tenderly, she cupped his face, brought it down to hers and kissed him. Then she moved against him, bringing him even deeper inside her.
And suddenly, so close to her he had no idea where he ended and she began, he realized the truth.
He wasn’t lost at all, and hadn’t been since she’d stepped off the plane and into his life.
And soon enough, she was going to step right back out of his life.
12
THAT NIGHT, CHANCE came to her and they spent the hours until dawn attempting to quench their desire for each other.
It couldn’t be done.
Ally realized it as the dark gave way to a streaky, gray morning sky, as Chance left her bed with a kiss and a husky promise to return that night, as she watched him go with both a yearning and a growing acceptance of her feelings.
She’d tried to escape it by saying this was just part of the adventure, that it was purely physical.
It was a lie.
But if she’d learned one thing on her wild adventure here in Wyoming, it was that her life was truly her own. She’d learned to believe in herself and her abilities. She’d learned to trust her heart.
And her heart was in love with T. J. Chance.
THE RESORT MIGHT HAVE been slow in opening for summer, but it got going with gusto. They had cabins rented. Bikers on the slopes. Hikers on the peaks. Kayakers on the river. Shops overflowing with happy shoppers.
And they were still understaffed enough to have everyone overworked. Lucy was expected back anytime, and frankly that was a mixed blessing Chance didn’t want to think about. But for the moment, the kitchen was low on food, First Aid needed supplies, and every other department was in need of something as well, yet no one could be spared to run to town.
No one but Chance, who enjoyed shopping about as much as he’d enjoy a hole in his head. Halfway to his Jeep, still grumbling, with no less than five different lists in his pocket, he came across Ally, who was just standing on the path, staring up at the huge mountain peaks, and the darkening clouds making their way over them.
Having finally climatized herself, she wore shorts and a white sleeveless blouse, with a sweater tied around her trim waist. Her legs looked long and toned and tanned, and good enough to nibble on. Her arms were nice, too, the results he’d discovered, from the time she’d spent in the resort’s gym. He’d seen her there at night, in a crop top and snug shorts, pumping at weights, her skin damp and glowing. Often he’d gone back to his cabin and laid awake for hours fantasizing about her. But even more arousing was that she’d worked so hard to fit in, that she even wanted to. It no longer surprised him. What did surprise him was how he was standing there with a stupid grin and a sudden, undeniable erection, at the sight of her.
He was out of control.
She should have been out of his system by now. They’d certainly given it their best shot, against a tree, on her desk, in her bed—every which way imaginable.
And yet, still he wanted her.
She turned then, that just-for-him smile on her lips, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him, and the deep wanting became such a strong yearning he actually hurt.
“I was just thinking about you,” she said softly. “About…last night.”
Yeah, it was all over her flushed face, reflected in her gaze, and now that she’d turned toward him, caught by the morning light just right, he could see her nipples pressing against the material of her blouse.
His mouth went dry. Then drier still when she pressed her body to his and planted her mouth just beneath his ear. “I was thinking about all the things you did to me last night,” she whispered.
Now he was, too, and he wondered if it was possible to pop open the buttons on his jeans with just a hard-on.
“I was thinking…” She took her mouth on a little tour of his jaw while his heart pounded in his ears. “That I’d like to lick you all over.” She touched his mouth with just the tip of her tongue, then bit his lower lip.
He groaned, and gripped her hips hard, tempted to drag her off to the first semiprivate place he could find and let her have her way with him.
Out of control, a little voice whispered in his head. You’re out of control, needing her this way. “There’s a storm coming,” he said gruffly, forcing himself to step back. He needed to back off, way off. “I’m going for supplies.”
“Can I come?”
God, no. “Another time.” He turned away from the far too welcome sight of her and walked to his Jeep.
She simply followed. “Why is it so hard for you to admit you might care for me, just a little?”
He opened the Jeep door and wondered why women all had to do this, had to analyze everything to death. “Dammit, I care for you.”
“Well I know that. I’m just wondering why it’s so hard for you to say so,” she said simply.
Ignoring her, he got in.
So did she. “Afraid of something, Chance?”
He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “This is a bad idea, Ally.”
“Really?” She turned those huge, expressive eyes right on him. “You didn’t think so last night when you tossed me onto my bed, took off my clothes and—”
“I remember,” he said tightly.
“So why can we be so unbelievably intimate in the bedroom, but when it comes to outside of it, you shut me out?”
“I haven’t changed.”
She stared at him, then slowly shook her head, looking sad. “Then I guess it’s me that’s changed.” She turned back to the window.
In the tight confines of the Jeep, which he hadn’t yet started, he cou
ld smell the sweet scent of her shampoo, could see all her smooth, soft skin, could reach out and touch her whenever he wanted, which was only every living second. He was right in thinking it had to stop. Some men might mistake love for lust, but not Chance. He knew that what was happening to his insides, this gut-twisting, brain-boggling need for her was just a major case of lust. That was all. “Ally—”
“Those clouds really do look dark,” she said. “It’s going to storm. I love the rain.”
Yeah, so did he. He could see the two of them, out in the wilderness, the rain pounding over their slick, naked, straining bodies as he brought her to another mind-blowing, screaming, wild climax—
“Chance?” She looked at him then. “Don’t ask me to get out.”
“Ally—”
“Please? We don’t have to talk.” A ghost of a smile crossed her face. “Girl Scout’s honor.”
Thank God.
She let him sink into a comfort zone, let him start the Jeep and get down the curvy mountain road a good mile or so before she said, “But it would be nice.”
He nearly crashed. He’d known not to take this…this thing between them this far. Only he hadn’t listened to his brain, no he’d listened to the part of him that had its own agenda, and look where it’d gotten him. In a small truck out in the middle of nowhere with a woman who wanted to discuss the relationship he still hadn’t admitted they had.
As if the heavens above found this all very amusing, the wind kicked up to what had to be at least eighty miles an hour. The skies decided to open up, too, and the rain came down in sudden droves. The fog, which hadn’t been a problem until now, dropped low, blinding them.
It was as good an excuse as any to concentrate on not getting them killed. On one side of the road was a sheer cliff rising two hundred feet above them. There were many craggly pines that had forced their roots into the rock, jutting out at different angles, as much a part of that mountain as the rock itself. The other side of the road was a sheer drop-off.
“Jo said you train here sometimes,” Ally said. “In cliff climbing.” She pressed her face to the window and sighed. “That’s something I really want to try before I leave.”