by Sara Daniel
“Two fully clothed bodies touching. Oh, the scandal,” he teased.
“Don’t do it again.” She tried for a severe tone, which wasn’t easy when she wanted to beg him to touch her.
“Are you suggesting we take our clothes off next time?” He stepped closer, backing her into the barn wall, but not touching her anywhere. “That can be arranged.”
“Then arrange for it,” she snapped, giving in to her need, since pretending didn’t fool either of them. “Preferably while you’re kissing me.”
“Whatever you want, Professor.” He stepped even closer, filling her personal space and heating every single pore.
She’d fantasized about his sensuous attention ever since he’d sat with his mother on the other side of her hospital room and Susie’d had nothing better to do but stare at him for hours on end. She still couldn’t think of anything better.
His lips brushed hers.
Oh yes, she could think of something. She needed to feast more than her eyes on him. Parting her lips, she kissed him back, tugging his hard, muscled torso closer to her.
He traced her lips with his tongue then thrust inside. Her knees weakened, and she relied on the barn wall for support. Good Lord, the man could kiss. She threaded her fingers through his thick, dark hair and held him to her.
Despite proving she managed a well-oiled machine with minimal effort, she’d spent the past year working long hours to get all the pieces to flow together, as well as get the research arm up and running. Factoring in the farmhouse remodeling project and moving out of her apartment, she hadn’t given a thought to her personal needs since well before her emergency gallbladder surgery the year before.
Those needs commanded attention. And hallelujah, Alex took them in his capable hands. Under her shirt, he caressed her bare midsection, the gentleness of his fingers liquefying every remaining cell. Susan leaned into his touch, craving more, desperate for him to cup her breasts and tease her clit.
Around the corner, the barn door opened, rattling the wall behind her. She tore her mouth from his and froze. Footsteps clomped outside, her students chattering about which cows were obstinate and which were so gentle they’d keep them as pets.
The door smacked closed, and the chatter faded. Alex slid his palm up to her breast, teasing the hard bud of her nipple through the lace bra.
She didn’t want the bra or any other barrier, and she didn’t want to hide behind the barn, either. They were both adults. They didn’t need to sneak around to cop a feel. They could hook up in the privacy of her home, fifty feet away.
A bullhorn blared. “Wedding rehearsal in five minutes,” someone called out.
Dropping his arm, Alex pressed his lips to her neck. “I imagined more than the five-minute slam-bam special.”
“You’re not getting a five-minute special.” Susan tried not to sound like she was melting as she straightened her spine. “Come to the house after the rehearsal, and you can have the five-hour deluxe treatment.”
His brown eyes lit up, and he grazed his fingertips down her shirt, caressing her breasts. “I look forward to it.” Bending, he captured her mouth one more time. “I want you to touch yourself every half hour and think of me until I return.”
Moaning, she reconsidered a five-minute special to tide her over for the next few hours. But he’d already spun away, leaving her aching and missing him before he’d left her sight.
Alex Cortez didn’t just stimulate her oversexed body. He threatened to burn up her peace of mind. His roots belonged to him. She couldn’t share in them, and he couldn’t transfer them to her because she lived in his old house, no matter how much she would have given for a piece of them. He’d be gone by the end of the weekend, and imagining they could have a future would leave her brokenhearted.
***
Why every person at the rehearsal dinner needed to indulge in misty, idyllic recollections of the good old days on the farm, Alex had no idea. Selling the place had caused everyone to black out the real memories and replace them with sugarcoated dreams, as if every day working themselves to death had been some stupid blessing.
The only thing he thanked the farm for was the opportunity to fall into Susie’s arms after dinner. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do so yet. The bride and groom rose to their feet, and Blake called for attention. Then Luciana clasped his hand, and they shared a moment of blissful eye contact. Alex looked away. Eye contact shouldn’t be too intimate to be shared in public, but with the love between them so evident, their contact was.
“I think everyone knows Blake and I were high school sweethearts reunited after fifteen years apart. What you might not know is the reason we reconnected is because my brother arranged a one-night stand date for me,” Luciana said.
Alex shifted in his seat. The plan had made sense at the time—one of those crazy risks that most people wouldn’t take, but he’d jumped at without blinking. The expressions of the other people around the table, however, suggested his actions had been sleazy and irresponsible.
“His only stipulation was I give him a one-night stand gift when I asked him to be our best man,” Luciana continued.
The anticipation he’d once felt didn’t course through him like it had when Susie offered him five hours of heaven in her bed.
“So, Alejandro.” His sister shifted around the table and held out a paper to him. “Here is a certificate to the 1Night Stand dating service. Madame Eve will set you up with someone special who will change your life.”
He couldn’t not take the paper, but he had no interest in finding someone special who would tie him down. “Well, I don’t need anything that dramatic, but I’d be happy to discover a naked woman in my hotel room for the night.”
The others chuckled, as he’d meant for them to. He preferred his encounters with no strings, like he and Susie would have that night.
Except, damn, of course they’d have to deal with strings and complications when she lived in the house where the mementos of his past were piled in his old bedroom.
Worse, his sister being the exception, of course, he recognized one-night stand type of girls, which Susie definitely wasn’t. If he slept with her, she’d think they were starting a relationship, no matter how frankly he spelled out the parameters.
He sighed and refocused on the activity around the table as Blake spoke to the woman sitting to Alex’s left. “Marcia, you’re my saving grace in the office, which is why you’re our assistant of honor. Luciana and I want you to find happiness too.”
Her face blanched. “I don’t need a one-night stand to be happy.”
Blake didn’t hesitate as he passed her a certificate. “Use it as a kick start to help you get to happiness.”
Other bridal party members received gifts of the more traditional variety, leaving Alex and Marcia as the only ones to receive one-night stands. He faced her, but no connection or interest sparked inside him. “Do you think Blake and Luciana are trying to set us up?”
“I hope not,” she said. “No offense.”
“I have to take offense when you say it like that.”
“You’re not offended. You’re relieved.”
He shrugged, unable to deny it. A one-night stand with a random person could expel his pent-up lust and purge the memories of Susie’s lips and the heat of her satin skin. But with her connection to Blake and Luciana, Marcia wouldn’t be random, and he’d probably cross paths with her again in the future.
“Explain to me why you’re the assistant of honor instead of the maid of honor. I know you’re Blake’s assistant, but I didn’t get stuck with the corny label of best brother.”
“Because I’m married,” Marcia said. “So I’d technically be the matron of honor.”
He glanced around. “Did I miss meeting someone?” The guy couldn’t be very happy that his wife had received a certificate for a one-night stand.
“No. We haven’t been together in…a while.”
“Going through a divorce?”
Behind t
he head table, a light flipped on inside the house, and someone moved behind the curtains. Susie. Was she thinking of him? Touching herself? He groaned and picked up his wineglass.
“No. I guess you’d call it a marriage in name only,” Marcia said.
“I’d call it complicated.” Alex did not need the complications that came with any kind of relationship—long or short-term. Freedom stretched before him—from the farm, from the Marines, from worry about his family.
He’d been thinking with his cock behind the barn. But he wasn’t so stupid he’d throw away his liberty because Susie gave him a hard-on. Sleeping with her in the place where his roots still festered would ensnare him in the past he’d tried so hard to get away from.
As soon as he fulfilled his commitment to the bridal couple, he’d drive away without so much as a glance in his rearview mirror. He would not allow anything to trap him and kill his spirit. It had taken his father, but the farm would never own him.
He’d confided his intimate family memories in a woman who cared far too much about the place where those memories had been formed. If he slept with Susie, the farm would own a piece of his soul. He couldn’t come to her like he’d promised. As much as he wanted to feel her skin against his, to save his sanity and his plan for his life, she had to be off-limits.
But the idea of sleeping with anyone else left him cold. He folded the certificate and placed it in his wallet. Some day when he’d forgotten all about Susie, he’d cash it in.
The party started breaking up, and he concentrated on Marcia to avoid looking at the house where the warm, welcoming lights beckoned to him.
“What do you say we go find something stronger to drink than this overrated wine, and pretend like we didn’t get a free pass for a one-night stand? At the end of the night, I’ll drop you off at your hotel room, and I promise not to try to convince you to sleep with me.”
Marcia smiled sadly at him. “With talk like that, you just might steal my heart.”
He grinned in return because they both knew he wouldn’t, and she wouldn’t steal his. His old buddies would laugh if they could see what a play-it-safe guy the biggest risk-taker in the regiment had become.
Chapter Four
Concealed behind the curtain, Susan accepted the pang in her chest as she watched laughter, familiarity, and joy emanate from the private, catered party in her front yard. Luciana had invited her to attend, but she’d made the right decision in declining.
Joining the party wouldn’t include her in their group, and she’d had too much experience with others resenting her intrusion on their lives to consider doing so. She could absorb the connection and the closeness from afar. The farm gave her stability, but it didn’t fulfill all her hopes for building a community.
Her bond with her students and the other university employees who worked under her didn’t extend beyond the classroom and the farm. Her attempts to join their larger social circle changed the group dynamic, leaving everyone a bit uncomfortable and on edge. In addition, the other professors either thought her crazy for starting the organic dairy operation or resented her for diverting department resources from their pet projects to maintain it.
She liked her life—a life she’d built from scratch because no one had given her anything. And she would enjoy its possibilities a lot more as soon as Alex entered the house and stripped her out of her clothes.
Across the lawn, he pushed out his chair and stood, stretching his lean, muscled body, the action accenting his broad shoulders. She squeezed her thighs together. Thinking about him, she became so wet and shaky, she didn’t need to touch herself to get ready.
He offered his arm to the woman on his left. Whatever he said made her laugh, and she linked her arm with his, nudging him with her shoulder. Their temporary closeness didn’t bother Susan. Within minutes, he would be hers.
When she peeled off his clothes and explored his naked physique, the emptiness in the life she’d worked so hard to create would disappear.
Alex walked the other woman to her car then stood next to her open window, his hands in his pockets until she drove away.
Turn to me. I’m ready for you. Come here.
Instead, he strode toward a little blue sports car farther down the yard. She grasped the windowsill, balling the fabric of the curtains in her fist. He wasn’t coming?
For the first time in over a year, she’d offered herself to someone. She’d thought he wanted her, that rejection wouldn’t be an issue. Yet, he hadn’t given her an explanation for why he’d changed his mind. Just like her father who’d walked out when she was seven, her mother who’d left two years later, and her grandfather who’d died several months after, Alex hadn’t given her any notice before abandoning her.
Damn it, she deserved at least an explanation. Running from the house to the driveway, she waved frantically. His taillights reflected off the mailbox at the end of the drive. Then he turned onto the gravel road. A moment later, his car disappeared over a small hill.
Susie dropped her arm. He might have been into her while they’d been kissing behind the barn. But, like the parade of foster families and potential adoptive parents she’d bounced between, he’d blown her off because he’d either changed his mind or gotten a better offer.
She hugged her arms around her chest. She’d had no idea putting down roots would leave her so cold and bereft.
“Dr. Gundersen.” Luciana crossed the front yard, the radiant smile on her lips giving credence to every cliché about bridal perfection and blissful happiness.
Somehow, Susan had lost sight of the fact Alex had come to the farm for his sister’s wedding, not to satisfy the new homeowner’s desperate need for an orgasm.
“Please, call me Susan.” She dredged up a smile.
“Even though you refused our offer to pay you for taking over your yard, Blake and I still wanted to offer a token of our appreciation.” She held out a sheet of paper.
Susan took it, but standing in the shadows, she couldn’t decipher the writing. “What is it?”
“A certificate for Madame Evangeline’s 1Night Stand service. Her matchmaking is the reason I’m getting married tomorrow. Trust me, if anything is lacking in your love life, Madame Eve will fix it.”
Susan’s chest ached. Damn Alex for walking away without any explanation.
She’d learn from the pain and move on. He’d reminded her why she didn’t want a guy who could touch her heart and hurt her. She’d given too many people in her past that power.
“I’m okay with the state of my love life, but my sex life could use some action.”
Luciana grinned. “Madame Eve will fix that, too. When you fill out the online application, you’ll be able to describe what—and who—is your one-night stand holy grail.”
A one-night stand would be a sex-only proposition. If she cashed in the certificate—and stocked up on the highest quality condoms—she could get her much-needed orgasm without involving her emotions and mistaking a few kisses for something meaningful the way she had with Alex.
Behind Luciana, Blake approached them, a bottle of wine in his hand and a satisfied swing in his step. He offered Susan the wine. “This is also part of your gift. I recommend drinking it while you fill out Madame Eve’s application.”
“Uh, thanks.” She took the bottle, trying not to sigh as Blake wrapped his arms around Luciana’s shoulders and hugged her from behind. They were so sweet, so obviously in love and delighting in every touch.
“Do you two need any last-minute help getting ready for tomorrow?” She’d rather pull an all-nighter tying up little bags of dinner mints or fashioning bows to hang on the chairs in the aisle than think about how desperate she’d have to be to let a service match her up with a stranger for sex. She was desperate for already considering it.
“Nope, everything is all set.” Luciana leaned into Blake’s embrace. “You’ll be there, right? I’ll stop the ceremony to drag you out of the house if you’re not.”
The possibil
ity both amused and horrified Susan. No way did she plan to put the bride’s threat to the test. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Good.” Luciana draped her arm around Blake’s waist and together they strolled away, exchanging a long, sensuous kiss.
Susan hugged her chest tighter, but a paper certificate and a wine bottle weren’t the warm, cuddly partners she craved. She returned to the house, locking the door behind her. Without table favors to keep her busy, she could power up her laptop and study the statistics on which types of pasture grass allowed for the most nutritious milk. A Friday night of analyzing data beat obsessing about Alex driving away in his fancy sports car, probably laughing at how he’d led her on and left her hanging.
She sized up the wine bottle. Might as well indulge and drown her disappointment. Watching a wedding in her front yard would be the closest she’d come to experiencing a real, forever love. With the laptop booting up on the center island in the kitchen, she uncorked the wine then settled on a barstool. Instead of opening the spreadsheet of data, she clicked on the Internet icon and typed the link from the paper certificate that directed her to an online application. Taking a long swallow of wine, she read the first question.
Why do you want a one-night stand?
The same reason any woman would. She wanted to have an orgasm. She typed then revised the words to multiple orgasms. If she chose to actually use the certificate, she’d darn well make the encounter worthwhile. The next several questions consisted of basic personal information.
Then, describe the person you want to have a one-night stand with.
Black hair, brown eyes, hard, lean, muscled physique.
Pausing, Susan gulped her wine. Hell. Her subconscious hadn’t given up on the Alex fantasy. Attaching his picture would be easier than trying to use words to capture the nuances of his stubborn jaw, how the amusement ebbed and flowed from his expression, and the way he tried to pretend he didn’t feel his emotions simmering beneath the surface.
She didn’t want a one-night stand with him. Forcing someone to match them together when he’d rebuffed her would be awkward at best, stalker-esque at worst. Typing on the questionnaire, she clarified her interest in wanting someone with similar physical characteristics, since her body obviously responded to his type.