Suspended

by Taryn Elliott

  “It sounds like you have your own paradise at the Heron.”

  The wistful smile faded a little, and she sat straight in her seat again. “Oh, you know how that goes. When you’re surrounded by the same thing day in and day out, you want to see something different.”

  “Tell me about the Heron.”

  “I told you about it.”

  “We’ve got hours to kill, and the moratorium on the subject is off.”

  “Who says?”

  He laughed. “I say.”

  She unclipped her belt and slid across the seat, her hand sliding up his thigh. “I don’t see why you should be the one to get the final say.”

  “What are you doing?”

  Kendall brushed her chest against his arm, her breath a hot distraction along his neck just behind his ear. “Reality is boring.”

  Everything inside him wanted to let her distract him, but he was finally starting to see that she really didn’t want to talk about home. And he needed to know why. “It’s our reality, Kendall. It will be anything but boring.”

  She stopped, her dark eyes going wide. “What?”

  “You keep talking about Bradley like it’s the end of everything.”

  “Isn’t it?” Her gaze darted away, and she shrank back to her side of the truck.

  “It doesn’t have to be. Tell me about the Heron.”

  She looked down at her belt as she fastened it, then at some speck on her pants. Anything but him. “The Heron has meant everything to me for so long. And now you’re going to be there.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  “No.” She stared out the window. “It’s terrifying.”

  Signs for the highway started to appear. He turned onto a lane that probably led to a house. But instead of continuing along the dirt road, he pulled off under the wide boughs of an oak and shut off the engine. He unclasped his belt and did the same with hers, then made sure they were facing each other. Tipping her chin up, he met her troubled gaze. “Why?”

  “It matters too much.”

  He mattered too much? His gut tightened, and the air around them charged. So much had happened between them so fast. But maybe this was the way it was supposed to happen. More and more he was convinced that starting over would be good for both of them.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kendall leaned forward, cupping his face. She wanted him to want to be with her so much. And she could see a flicker of hope in his eyes. The embers of gold in the center of his hazel eyes was so beautiful. She’d be happy to see them every morning of her life and let them be the last thing she saw before she went to sleep.

  And that was terrifying.

  She’d never let herself rely on a man, but she wanted to do that with him. But the niggling fear that he’d leave burned just under her skin. It was a mix of excitement that was never far away when she was with this man and trepidation and she wasn’t sure which part to listen to.

  “The Heron is mine.”

  His eyebrow lifted, and she smiled as she smoothed her thumbs along the sharp angles of his cheekbones and into the softness of his light beard. “You might own it with me now, but it’s always been mine.”

  “And your mother’s.”

  She shrugged. “She loves it almost as much as I do, but if she moved away tomorrow, she’d be excited for another adventure.”

  “You seem to have a lot of your mom in you. You were certainly gung ho for this adventure.”

  Kendall laughed. “I was, wasn’t I?” She pressed a kiss on his lips, sighing as they firmed and he tried to take over the kiss. Shane was the most controlled man she’d ever met, but the moment they got within each other’s airspace, all bets were off. And one of the most addicting things about him was just how much he wanted her.

  She was so afraid she’d shrivel up without that fire.

  That was one more thing that frightened her. Needing him was almost worse than the thought of losing him. Because neither was in her control. She slid her palm up to the top of his head and held on as the kiss spun out and the world tilted.

  He ripped his mouth from hers. “You’re trying to distract me, Sunshine.”

  She brought her thumb up to trace his lower lip. So soft where the rest of him was hard. “Sorry.”

  He nipped the pad. “No, you’re not.”

  She looked up. “Maybe not. I’ve just missed touching you.” She pulled his hand from her waist and slid it up her rib cage to her breast. “Really missed touching you.”

  He groaned and squeezed, lifting its weight, his thumb finding the center with a deft swipe. “We’re talking.”

  She nodded and fastened her mouth on his. He held on tighter, his fingers twisting in the back of her shirt as he pushed it up. Twilight winked from the horizon, and full dark was just minutes away.

  “Fast,” she whispered against his mouth. “Just to take the edge off. Then we can talk all you want.”

  He bent her back, his mouth racing down her throat to her breast. He tugged her V-neck shirt aside and flipped the cup of her bra down enough to get his mouth on her nipple. She arched against him, and a storm erupted in the cab of the truck.

  A flurry of clothes and zippers were pushed aside. He tore at her shirt until it was up and over her head. She cradled the back of his head as he sucked one nipple, then the other through her bra. Within the space of a shuddering breath, he had the straps down and the clasp undone.

  He lifted her and scooted his legs under her. His boots hit her door, and his head bumped his window as she straddled him.

  “I love bench seats.” She cupped his cheeks. “Never buy a truck that doesn’t have one.”

  “Agreed.” Too light, too soft, and too hesitantly, he touched her belly.

  She could see the tremble of his hands and the way he clenched his fists. She sat back on his thighs, opening her zipper wider. She rose over him, tucked his hand into her pants, into her panties until the rough tips of his fingers found her heat.

  His eyes blazed, and his jaw went rigid with the control he sought. But she didn’t want his control tonight. She wanted to watch him fly apart, wanted to see just how far she could push him.

  “I’m so ready. So wet.”

  “Fuck,” he muttered and dived deeper. He filled her with two fingers and sawed against the swollen tissues of her pussy. Turning his hand, he brought his thumb into play, rolling the tip around her clit until her breath kicked against her chest with each pant. “I want to see.”

  God, she wanted that too. She wanted to watch him explore her, but the dark was coming, and this wasn’t the time or the place to let him do that.

  She fumbled at his jeans, the zipper catching over the bulge of his cock. “Help me.”

  “Busy.” He added a third finger, stretching her wide and filling her up as his relentless thumb finally paused only to pulse under her clit. She punched the roof of the truck, arching up as he finger fucked her.

  His name was a scream and a shout with a prayer for good measure.

  “Christ, I can feel you squeezing me. God dammit, Kendall.”

  She heard his voice, but the weightless blast of her orgasm melted her brain. She gripped the seat and ground onto his hand even as part of her tried to shy away from the overwhelming pleasure.

  He reared up, his hand on her back as he tongued her nipple. His shirt was open, his jeans undone, and she could see his cock pressed tight against his belly, but there was nothing she could do but watch his fingers thrust inside her.

  She stilled over him, every muscle locked, her breath trapped in a vortex of the most painfully blissful edge of madness. He looked up at her, his mouth moving to her throat, and those soft lips gentled against her jaw. She turned her attention to his eyes and saw the intensity that was always there waiting for her.

  And she lost herself in him.

  God, she hoped she would survive this. Survive him.

  He held her tight as the shudders and the pleasure folded in on her until she was som
ething totally different.

  She was his.

  In the cab of his truck as full night blanketed a field in the middle of Utah, she drew her first breath, and it was all Shane.

  She dropped her forehead on his shoulder and slumped against him. “Give me just a minute, and we’ll take care of you.”

  He smoothed his hand up her back until he found her braid, and another one of her ponytail holders was tossed behind the seat. He drew his fingers out of her and held her against him, his other hand busy unwinding her hair until it tumbled down her back.

  She found enough strength to lift her head. “I’m running out of hair ties.”

  “Good.”

  “No, not good.”

  He grunted as she fit a hand between them to mold the heavy line of his cock. His grunt turned to a hiss as she got to the velvety head peeking from his shorts. He stilled her hand.

  “What?”

  “We’re going to drive until I can’t drive anymore. Then we’re going to find a hotel, and I’m going to spread you out and fuck you until you can’t move.”

  Her empty pussy clenched at nothing, wanting that very much. “Can we have round one in the truck?”

  “That was round one.”

  She brushed her knuckle against the thickness of his shaft, up to the slightly narrower head. “Okay, round two sounds good to me.”

  “I don’t want a taste, Sunshine. I want to pound into you until we’re both unconscious. And I don’t want that in the cab of my truck.”

  “I like the truck.”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Right now I hate my truck.”

  “Let’s find a hotel, then.”

  “Later. We’ve got to get some miles under the tires.”

  She ran her tongue up his neck and nipped at the edge of his jaw where his almost-beard led to his ear. The fleshy lobe was perfect to nibble on, so she did. He shrugged her off, but she simply bit him again and circled his cockhead with her fingers. “Just a taste?”

  “Fuck, Sunshine.”

  She leaned back and smiled. The lights of the dash threw his face into harsh shadows. “You can fuck me anytime you like.” He flexed his thigh muscles under her, and his shaft slid against her palm. “See, he wants a piece of me, even if it’s only my mouth.”

  His eyes glittered in the dense darkness, and she watched his jaw work as she shifted back down his thighs to his knees until her ass was high in the air and his scent filled her brain. She swirled her tongue around the head of his cock; the saltiness of his precum made her mouth water.

  The flash of a light and the sudden whack of metal on glass had him jackknifing into a seated position and her tumbling into the floor mat.

  “Son of a—” Shane shouted.

  “Are you fornicating on my lawn?” The bright light of a heavy-duty flashlight bounced around the cab of the truck, killing the moment. The offended face of a bearded man came into stark relief.

  She dragged her shirt down with a shocked laugh. The man whacked on the window again. “Get moving, or I’m calling the cops.”

  Shane hiked up his jeans and held up a hand. “Yes, sir.”

  She could hear the hysterical peal of her laughter. She stuffed herself lower in her seat and got her clothes situated but couldn’t see through the tears.

  Shane wrenched the wheel, and dust and gravel clouded the air as he backed up. “This is not funny, Kendall!”

  “Oh, yes, it is.”

  “Just get in your seat and put your fucking seat belt on.”

  She knuckled away tears, then held on to her stomach with one hand and the Oh, Jesus handle with the other as the truck careened down the dirt road and fishtailed onto the main road.

  “I’m glad you think this is so funny.”

  “Come on, Oscar. That was hilarious.”

  “We just got shooed away from an old man who probably saw more of me than he ever wanted to, and you’re laughing.”

  A guffaw of breathless laughter filled the truck. “Give it a minute, and you will too. Ah, there it is. I see your lips twitching.”

  “I’m going to kill you.”

  She laughed again and put her arms up. “Whoooeee. That’s an adrenaline rush.”

  “At least you got off.”

  “That I did, pal.” She swung her feet up on the bench and tucked her toes under his thigh. “Cheer up. That’s a story to tell over a beer next time you see Kain.”

  “Who said that was the first time I was chased off by an angry man in a field?”

  She kicked him and laughed again. He grabbed her ankle and tucked her foot back under his thigh. The quick flash of his grin in the darkness made her stomach flip. God, he was a pretty man when he let himself smile.

  “Tired?”

  He shrugged. “I’ll be okay for a few hours. Let’s get to Denver, and we can pull off for the night.”

  “Denver? That’s…” She trailed off and grabbed her phone and tapped in the city from their current location. “Six hours?”

  “We have time to make up.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “That will take us to midnight. Then we’ll get up early and get moving again.”

  “I need to get home, but you don’t need to kill yourself to get me there.”

  “I know.” He smoothed his hand up her calf. “Now talk and keep me awake. Tell me about Bradley.”

  So she did. She dredged up any funny story she could remember about herself and Bells. The visitors who would stay at the Heron provided a few hours of conversation, and by the time they were well into Colorado, her voice was rough from the constant talking.

  He was an intent listener. His questions were specific, and he didn’t sound bored. They finally lapsed into a comfortable silence with Metallica as their sound track. The man did love his Metallica.

  Soon Boulder, Colorado filled the windshield. The backwash of the city glowed like hot coals under the cool blue of the Flatiron Mountains. She sat forward, both hands on the dash as the city grew closer and the mountains faded into the night.

  He’d shaved a good half hour off the time that her maps program had professed, and it was midnight, as he’d predicted, when they pulled into a chain hotel. A shower and blissful sleep recharged them enough to power through Nebraska to Chicago and another night gone, with another five-hour stretch in a hotel bed.

  Chicago was alive with a mix of morning and holiday traffic. White and gray buildings speared into the sky, and there was a surprising number of waterways through the city.

  They stayed on 90 and hugged the topsides of Indiana and Ohio. It amazed her how fast they could fly through a state. Signs for Toledo, Ohio and Lake Erie drew out conversation again. It was late November, and the land was still fairly lush with greenery.

  “ARE THE ADIRONDACKS like this?” He was honestly interested. The skyline was so different from Monterey.

  “Bradley isn’t nearly this citified. Cabins carve out little niches in the trees. They’d rather blend in than stand out. Well, until you get to the resorts, anyway.”

  “And the Heron?”

  Her gaze slid back out the window. “Definitely more about the blending.”

  “But you have a dock and all those acres on the lake.”

  “Of course we do. Trails and more than enough boats to keep the travelers happy.”

  “Sounds really great.”

  “It is. Really great.”

  The bright and shiny Kendall voice was on. The one she used to manage people. He really wasn’t a fan of that voice.

  She turned back to him and patted his hand.

  He searched her face for a moment but saw nothing other than the usual friendly eyes and quirky smile. Maybe he was just imagining how weird she got when he mentioned the Heron.

  They took a break to gas up and filled a bag of junk food for his never-ending pit of a— Christ. What was she to him? He’d fallen in love with the woman in far too short a time. None of it made sense.

  And yet it
felt right.

  Even with the end point of Bradley, he didn’t know how to make Kendall line up into his plan. His plan had been blown to hell in the last three weeks.

  He climbed into the truck, unable to stop the grin when he saw she had her notebook open again, her head bent over her phone as he looked up information.

  What would it be like with her in a controlled atmosphere where there was a schedule and a life building? Would they lose this spark between them when the road wasn’t in front of them and a new town in their windshield?

  They were both quiet as he plugged in his GPS and let it lead him to the Heron. The direct route without the picturesque offshoots was a boring expanse of sleeping land. The mild winter didn’t give them snow to look at, but it had been cold enough to kill off all the vegetation.

  She swiped through the functions on her phone. Her attention was down on the small gadget instead of on him when her soft voice broke into the silence. “Tell me about your mom.”

  His heart gave a kick of surprise. “What do you want to know?”

  “What was she like?”

  “She was sweet and cheerful. Never had a bad word to say to anyone.”

  “How did she meet Lawrence?”

  The ache in his chest spread. How did he explain to her that Larry had come in and simply taken care of his mother? She’d been biddable and deferred to Larry. She’d always been head over heels for Kendall’s father.

  “She’d been a bookkeeper for one of Larry’s clients. I was really young when she’d first met Larry. Maybe five. I was too young to remember much, but I do remember her singing around the apartment. She was happier than I’d ever seen her. I had lots of babysitters when she went out on dates. I didn’t get to meet him the first time they went out.”

  “You were five?”

  He nodded. He’d done some of the math himself and realized his mother was having an affair with Larry. “From what I can figure, she saw him for less than a year, and then he was just gone. And my mom was never quite the same. She was so sad, and she cried every night for a good long time.”

  Kendall swiped a hand under her nose. “He was cheating on my mother with yours,” she said quietly.