Suspended

by Taryn Elliott

  This was more than that.

  It might not be forever, but it was hers for now. It had been so long since she had something that was just hers. Nothing that focused on responsibility and the needs of others. It was so strange to simply be.

  She groaned as his thumb slid between them. “Shane.”

  “I was afraid you fell asleep.”

  She blinked her eyes open. The sun had disappeared behind the tallest of the mountains of Yosemite. Shane’s far too serious eyes settled on her. The anger was missing, and his ridiculously wide shoulders seemed to be less tense. She smiled and slowly undulated her hips. “It’s tempting.”

  The burnished gold of the centers of his eyes seemed to glow in the cool forest color that rimmed his irises. He truly had the most beautiful eyes. His thumb traced wide circles around her sensitive clit.

  She groaned and tried to escape his touch. Her nerve endings had to be blown out at this point. “I don’t think I could come again.”

  “You shouldn’t say that. It just makes me want to make you come all the more.”

  He stroked the tiny bundle of nerves, and she tried to prop herself on her elbows and shimmy away from him. He laughed, and she stilled. Two laughs in one afternoon?

  “What? Do you really want me to stop?”

  She shook her head.

  The quirk of his lips was worth it. He brought his other hand up and rubbed along the outside of her clit, and she bowed up and off the blanket. She could feel him hardening inside her again.

  “Shane.”

  He held himself and her so still as he continued with the relentless stroking. Full of him and the pure, stripping pleasure, she cried out his name, a string of curses, then lost her ability to speak. He held on to her, wouldn’t let her crawl away from the intensity. No person should be able to feel this much. Not this soon.

  She fisted her hair and sobbed; then she was in his arms. He hauled her off the blanket and banded his arms around her. She buried her face in his neck. From soft to scalded in so little time. She should back away, but she held on tighter.

  She was so freaking tired of being alone.

  She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. Her legs ached, and the skin along the back of her knees felt raw around his bunched jeans. She dropped her hands. He reached beside them and dropped his shirt over her head. The nubby texture buzzed against her sensitive skin.

  There wasn’t any room for words. What could either of them say after that? She pushed her arms through his huge sleeves. The day was bright and warm, but it was still November, and there was a bite to the breeze. He took care of the condom with a napkin and zipped his jeans.

  But instead of cleaning up, he stretched out on the blanket and drew her down with him. He spooned around her and tucked her butt into the cup of his thighs. She stared at the mountains as his arm came around her and he settled behind her.

  “Shane?”

  “Hmm.” His voice was soft and sleepy.

  “Shouldn’t we be getting back on the road?”

  He slid his fingers through her hair in a soothing gesture. “Soon. Rest now.”

  “Don’t you have a schedule?”

  “Kendall?”

  Her name was a rumble in his chest. She grinned. “Yes?”

  “Shut up.”

  She smiled wide and cuddled in.

  The next time she woke, she stretched and grunted. Her arm was dead asleep, and Shane was cupping her breast. She snorted and rolled him onto his back, flipping around in his arms. He didn’t wake up, simply hooked his arm around her neck and dragged her onto his chest.

  Even in sleep he was dragging her around where he wanted her.

  She poked him in the chest. The sun was still in the sky, but the first fingers of amber that painted the horizon signaled sunset wasn’t far off. She looked down at him. His face was softer in sleep. His rosary circled one muscled pec, nestled into the soft whorls of hair on his chest.

  He really was incredibly beautiful. Pretty under all the hair.

  She drew the rosary beads over his chest and played with the cross at the end. “Shane.”

  He moaned a little but settled quickly, his chest rising and falling gently in sleep. She hated to wake him. She rather liked the softer version of him.

  She raked her nails over the smooth skin of his side. He flinched, and his arm tightened around her neck. She did it again, and he jerked. She laughed out loud, and he rolled her, pinning her arms over her head. “Is someone ticklish?” she teased.

  His eyes were sleepy and hooded. The softness hadn’t quite faded, and his returning smile made her laugh all the harder. “Are you?”

  She shook her head, biting her lip to kill the smile. “Nope.”

  He braceleted her wrists together with one of his hands and slid under the thermal. She squealed at the first touch near her ribs. He laughed at her as she twisted, trying to get away from him. “Liar.”

  “Shane! No, wait!” She hiccuped and giggled and brought her legs up to protect herself. She kicked and bucked, and he still wouldn’t let her up. She scissored her legs around his hips and pushed with all her strength, but she was no match for two hundred plus pounds of muscle.

  “Give up?”

  “Yes!”

  He let her go and flopped onto his back. “If that’s your version of an alarm clock, it sucks.”

  She pushed her hair out of her eyes, dragging her rubber band off her wrist to tie it up in a messy bun. “I distinctly heard laughter in there.”

  “Nope.”

  She straddled him. “Yep.”

  He folded his arms behind his head. “You’re hearing things.” But happiness was definitely shining in his eyes.

  She leaned down and rubbed his nose with hers. “I heard it.”

  He reached up and tugged her hair free until it curtained around them. “I hate when you bind your hair.”

  “You’d put it up too if it was always in your mouth.”

  He toyed with a lock. “I suppose.”

  She lightly scraped her nails through his buzz cut. “Uh-huh.”

  He wrapped a hank of it around his palm, then let it slip away. “We should pack up.”

  She brushed her lips against his. She knew they needed to get back on the road, but she hated to lose the little moment of happiness. There wasn’t any tension between them. Well, beyond wanting to get naked.

  He cupped the back of her head. The kiss was unexpectedly sweet. Not his usual power play of dominance. Sometimes she wondered if he even knew just how control-focused he was when it came to touching her. The featherlight touch along her lower lip invited her to open instead of demanded. She breathed him in, let him in, and wished for a moment there was nothing ahead of them but time.

  Shane smoothed his thumb over her cheek, then dropped his hand to her hip. He held her there against him, sliding his hand down the outside of her thigh to her calf and finally to her foot. He flicked his nail along the sole of her foot, and she laughed into his mouth.

  “Time to go.”

  She nodded and swung her leg over him and reached for her jeans. When he didn’t move, she looked over her shoulder. “What?”

  “You’ve got one hell of an ass, Sunshine.”

  She let her hair fall forward so he couldn’t see her smile. “Pilates and hiking.”

  “Pilates? Is that where you can hold a pose for a really long time?”

  She wiggled into her jeans. “That would be yoga.”

  “Damn.”

  She winced and rolled onto her back to cinch her jeans. Her thigh and inner muscles twinged. She’d had more action in a few days than she’d had in way too long. “I’m too impatient for yoga.”

  He held up her shirt in front of him. “I don’t think I can wear yours.”

  She looked down. She didn’t want to give his up. It felt good and smelled like him. “Sorry, you gave it to me.”

  “So now it’s yours?”

  She stood and stepped into her Chu
cks. “Yep. Sorry.”

  He jammed their leftovers into the bag. “I don’t see how that’s fair.”

  She curled her fingers into the overlong sleeves. “Mine now.”

  His eyebrow rose. The stone face was back, but his green eyes were lit with humor. “I’ll remember that, Kendall.”

  Disappointed that Sunshine seemed to have been a slip, she took the bag from him. It was definitely time to get moving before she got in over her head any more today. “Go ahead and throw the sleeping bag in the truck. I want to take a few pictures with my phone.”

  “Sure.”

  She dug out her cell and framed in the view from their blanket. No matter what came next, she had today and a slice of perfection. She turned and caught him doing the same thing. She stepped out of the way. “Oh, sorry.”

  “I’m not.”

  She followed him back to the truck but couldn’t wipe away the smile. He loaded up their gear and climbed in with a new shirt on. It was a simple dark blue with long sleeves that accentuated the breadth of his chest and ropy muscles of his arms. The man was more dangerous now that she knew what everything looked like under his clothes.

  “So where are we headed?” Kendall asked.

  “You’ll see. But first we’ll stop at that little shop I saw when we drove in.”

  “Good thing, because someone stole my sandwich.”

  His lips twitched. “It was a good sandwich.”

  She buckled her seat belt and looked down at her phone. The picture didn’t quite do the view justice, but it was damn close. She stuffed it into her bag and reached for her brochures.

  They were quiet, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. She wasn’t sure what was going on in his head, but it felt like they’d left some of the tension between them on the pretty vista.

  They drove out to the main road and took advantage of one of the tourist traps that dotted the area. She snagged a few postcards for her mother and a fistful of candy. Shane—surprise, surprise—had bottles of water and power bars on the counter. He only lifted an eyebrow when she dumped the array of junk food into the mix. She held on to the postcards. As the older man rang them up, Shane plucked the postcards out of her hand.

  “I can pay for those.”

  “What did I tell you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m assuming that doesn’t cover souvenirs for my mom.”

  He didn’t say anything, just thanked the man and gathered their bags. Well, good to see some things wouldn’t change even if they were adding sex to the road trip. She went around to her side of the truck and again was surprised when he opened the door before she could.

  “You’re going to spoil me.”

  He put the bags in the back and smacked her on the ass. “Get in.”

  “Ah, that’s more like it.”

  They got back on the road. “So, driver, what am I putting in the GPS?”

  “Nothing. I know where we’re going.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Really? You know how to get to New York from here?”

  “Go east.”

  “Ass.”

  He grinned. “Just relax. I’ll get you there, Kendall.”

  Instead of worrying about it, she enjoyed the scenery. The tree lines grew more dense, the sunlight filtering through with a bleed of red and orange. The horizon was a fiery mix of perfection and cliffs and trees and water. And finally the road narrowed, and the cliffs proved just how small Shane’s impressive truck really was. They closed in, the shale color marbled with minerals and bleaching from time and the sun. The temperature dropped, and she was suddenly glad she’d stolen his thermal.

  “Are you sure you know where you’re going?”

  The cab darkened, throwing Shane’s face into shadows that emphasized the sharp angles of his face, but she could see his lips twitch. “Worried I’ll get you lost?”

  “More like I’ve watched way too many episodes of Supernatural and don’t know what’s in those trees.”

  “You’re more likely to see a moose out there than a wendigo.”

  “Someone watches crap television like I do.”

  He shrugged. “Sanding can get monotonous. It’s either television or music most nights when I’m working. And most of the time Sam and Dean don’t get all mushy.”

  “Heaven forbid.”

  Without the sun, the only relief in the darkness was their headlights. Finally he pulled around a clearing and parked.

  “Where are we?”

  “Technically still the park. It’s a warm enough night. I thought we’d sleep in the truck bed tonight.”

  “You know how to romance a girl, Justice.”

  He reached under the seat and clicked a light under his chin. “Afraid?”

  She tucked her hands into her sleeves. “No.”

  The light went out. “Grab the food. I’ve got a lantern in the back.”

  There was still enough light that it wasn’t pitch black, but not by much. She jammed her feet back into her shoes and reached for their bag. She slid out of the truck and simply stared.

  The cliffs towered above them, making a dome of pinpricks in a navy sky. Dark evergreen trees lined the clearing, leaving them completely alone. Night sounds penetrated her shock. A light breeze kept the trees in a constant state of sway. Instead of scaring the crap out of her, it was so serene she was afraid to speak.

  She felt her way along the truck bed and peeked over the open tailgate. He stood above her with a Coleman lamp.

  “I’m not much for camping, but wow.”

  He smiled down at her and held out his hand. “We’ll eat and get some rest. If we leave at dawn, we can get into Nevada tomorrow.”

  She dumped their food onto the truck bed and let out a quick laugh when he hauled her up as if she weighed nothing. He rested his hand on the small of her back, keeping her close. The two sleeping bags were zipped together and a pair of pillows lay against the tool chest. Glamorous it was not, but the sentiment made her smile.

  They ate, but neither one of them seemed inclined to ruin the peace of the night. The sky sparkled as the moon rose. They quietly climbed into the supersized sleeping bag. There was a thin pad underneath it, so it didn’t feel like they were sleeping on steel.

  She stretched out next to Shane. The sky dragged her attention away from conversation. She lived in a small town with a view like this every night if she wanted it. But with the craziness of her life, she never quite got the chance to just be.

  Shane seemed to give her that. In so many ways.

  He curled his arm under her head and rolled her in close. She smiled into his chest. Only the tip of her nose was cold. Between Shane’s body heat and the long day, she slid into sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  Shane woke to a human vine curled around his legs and waist. She slept heavy and still. Better than a thrasher, but the oddity of having her pressed against him had woken him a few times in the night. He’d wanted her close, had made sure to bring her into his space before dropping off to sleep—and yet that desire was as foreign as it was alluring.

  Between getting his furniture company off the ground and the early schedule with Justice Construction, he hadn’t had much opportunity to date anyone. And the few times he’d found someone to share a night with, he made sure to leave before the morning afters.

  But he liked her weight, liked her smell on him, liked her hair sliding across his throat—hell, he didn’t have one thing to complain about with her and the horizontal. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. The only thing he knew definitively was that it was a dangerous thing.

  A pearly mist curled around the basin of El Capitan. It was an impressive mountain, and he’d done his fair share of rock climbing with Kain when they were in college. In the end it was the water that interested them more. They’d traveled during the school breaks to find waves in Australia, Hawaii, and South Africa.

  It had been a very long time since he’d been in the park. And having Kendall the
re with him felt natural. Everything about her felt right and scary as fucking hell. Had this been the old man’s plan all along? Finding family for him?

  He wove his fingers through her sunlight-colored strands. Dew dotted her hair, adding another layer of freshness to her fall scent. The curls coiled around his fingers and wrist. The dawn came with the birdcalls of the hawk and fluttering song of the sparrows. The world was coming alive, and it was time for them to go.

  One more stop and they’d leave California in their rearview mirror. He would miss it. His life and his friends had been so much a part of the cliffs and waterways of Monterey. But there was nothing there for him any longer. Every day since his dad had died, he’d felt a little more detached from the land and the house. Kain was the only thing holding him to Monterey. And it just wasn’t enough any longer.

  Maybe he’d find something new and amazing in New York. Or maybe their shared house was a conduit for them both to start fresh lives. There was a loneliness in Kendall’s eyes sometimes. When her smiles faded and the conversation died away, he caught a look as she took in the miles of trees and foliage of Yosemite. Even in the cliff sides of Monterey, he’d sensed a similar restlessness inside her.

  Was it that kinship that drew him to her, or was it more? It felt like more. Why did it have to be now? He didn’t even know where he was going to live. And she sure as hell hadn’t been in his plan.

  The longer he was in her company, the more he wanted to be close to her. He’d known the flush of lust and had fallen in love in his senior year of college. He’d even contemplated forever with the exciting environmentalist. But the lure of the Peace Corps had been her dream and hadn’t melded with a business major who already had a job already waiting for him.

  And when he and Julie had decided to go their separate ways, the loss had barely made a wave.

  Kendall crashed in on him like an Australian Gold Coast undertow. The waves were amazing, but the ride was full of warning signs and breakers that could snap him in half. And like surfing, this woman was just as addicting.