Then again, Dave was his brother and not an incredibly sexy and desirable woman who Finn was only going to have a few more days with. He wanted to cram as much as possible into their time together–whether it be sex or sightseeing.
But right now, he was really happy it was for sex.
Like really, really happy.
He realized how crazy that was considering just how much sex they’d had in the last forty-eight hours. Shouldn’t they be a little less frantic for each other? The last time Finn could remember having a sexual marathon like this, he was in college. He couldn’t speak for Grace–and it wasn’t something he particularly wanted to ask her–but he hoped this wasn’t the norm for her either.
She pulled up to a Holiday Inn and they both practically fell out of the truck in their haste to get inside. “I’ll grab a room, you grab the bags!” she called out, walking hurriedly toward the entrance. Finn wasn’t far behind and was thankful they had stopped at a drugstore earlier and grabbed another box of condoms.
Actually, he was grateful he had thought to be optimistic when he originally packed for this trip and brought condoms to begin with. He hadn’t used any of them until Grace.
That realization hit him and made him smile.
Plenty of women flirted with him over the course of his trip west, and most invited him back to their rooms, but none had interested him. His brother had made fun of him nightly and accused him of being too uptight. But now he was glad he hadn’t taken the bait or simply hooked up with someone just for the sake of hooking up. He never would have imagined a runaway bride being the one to pique his interest. But from the moment they met, she managed to snag all of his attention and made him act completely out of character.
And he’d never been happier or more grateful.
Five minutes later, they were in the elevator, and he had his hands full of their luggage and couldn’t touch her.
Grace had no such restraints.
The second the elevator doors closed, she was pressed up against him and kissing him senseless. He wanted to throw the bags to the ground, but there was something incredibly sexy and arousing about the way she could touch him and he couldn’t touch her.
As soon as they were in the room, however, he tossed the bags aside and reached for her. Grace was right there and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, and after that, it was all blind, wild need. It was amazing neither of them got hurt because finesse completely went out the window.
They were against the wall before twisting, turning, and stumbling over to the bed. One minute they were dressed, the next they weren’t, and Finn wasn’t even sure how it happened. All he knew was Grace was naked and on top of him and it was freaking glorious. If this road trip never ended, he’d be the happiest man alive.
And that was definitely saying something.
It was fast and furious, wild and dirty.
Oh, so dirty.
Some of the things they said to each other were enough to make him blush.
But damn did those words spur them both on.
Minutes later, she was breathless beside him, and he couldn’t even believe they were still on top of the made bed. The pillows had scattered onto the floor, but they’d been so frantic they didn’t even take the time to turn down the bed.
“That was awesome,” she said, turning and smiling at him. “Much better than watching the miles roll by, don’t you think?”
“Much.”
She laughed softly. “One-word answer? Not much for post-coital conversation or did we kill some brain cells?”
“Both.”
That only made her laugh harder. “Awesome.”
Chuckling along with her, Finn forced himself to stand up. He took one of her hands in his and pulled her to her feet.
“What? What are you doing?” she said, still laughing.
With his free hand, he pulled the bedding down and then tossed her back onto the mattress. “Scoot over.” And when he was beside her, he pulled the sheet up over them. “There. Isn’t this better?”
“Not adventurous, huh?”
“What does that mean?”
“It bothered you that we were on top of the blankets, right?”
“I wouldn’t say bothered…”
“And yet the first thing you did was get us under them,” she pointed out. “And now that I think about it, you haven’t been up for trying sex anywhere else but in the bed.”
“Not true,” he countered. “There was the High Roller.”
“That doesn’t count.”
His eyes went wide. “Excuse me? How does that not count? That was wildly public, hot as hell, and you had a pretty spectacular orgasm if memory serves.”
“Oh, it was, believe me,” she replied, snuggling next to him. “But…no one was in the pod with us, so that means it wasn’t public. We were five hundred feet in the air and no one could see in, so wildly public is definitely not the way I’d describe it. And besides, that was all for me. It would have been hotter if we’d done it immediately after the orgasm.”
Yeah. He’d thought of that too, but he wasn’t prepared for any of it at the time. That didn’t mean he wasn’t adventurous–which is what he said.
“Then prove it,” she challenged.
“Now?” he croaked. “Grace, I know you wouldn’t know it from the way we entered this room, but…I’m exhausted. I don’t know about you, but I seriously need some sleep.”
Laughing, she moved further under the sheets. “I didn’t mean right this minute, but…I don’t know, I’m just saying you should show me some time that you have an adventurous side.”
He was quiet for a moment before he relaxed a little more against the pillows. With one arm around Grace, she had her head resting on his chest, and he knew he had to ask.
And hated that he even wanted to know.
Clearing his throat mildly, he asked, “So…are you usually more…uh…adventurous? Like were you and your ex…?” Finn immediately wanted to take the question back, but he knew he couldn’t, and now he’d have to deal with whatever Grace told him.
Laughter wasn’t the response he expected.
Looking down at her, he asked, “What’s so funny?”
She lifted her head, placing her hand on his stomach to brace herself. “Oh, my God, I can’t believe we’re having this conversation!”
It was on the tip of his tongue to remind her that she started it, but…
“For the record, no,” she explained as her laughter died away. “Jared was not the least bit adventurous and our sex life was incredibly basic.”
Basic? Was that what he was?
Shifting a little beside him, she went on. “We stopped having sex two months ago. Jared said it was so our wedding night would be better, but now I think it was because he was sleeping with Steph. I guess I should be thankful he wasn’t sleeping with both of us at the same time.” She shuddered. “Total ick-factor.”
He nodded.
Sighing, she flopped down beside him onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “Can I tell you something?”
It was a mild variation on their usual conversation starter and it made him smile. “Sure.”
“I don’t know why I was going to marry him,” she said quietly. “Looking back, I never should have accepted his proposal.”
Finn wanted to ask why she did, but he didn’t know how to do it without sounding accusatory.
“So many of my friends were engaged and getting married, and I thought I should too. We were compatible, and things were comfortable, but now I know that’s not what marriage should be like.”
Okay, now he was intrigued because he had always thought those were good qualities for a marriage. “What do you mean?” Rolling onto his side, he continued. “Being compatible is important to a relationship–and especially for a marriage. Most people find that to be the number one important component when looking to spend their life with someone.”
Grace turned her head and looked at hi
m. “No, no…you’re right. It is. But there needs to be more!” Now she propped herself on her side to face him, and Finn had a fleeting thought of how it was kind of cool how they were lying here in bed, naked, and having a completely normal conversation. “There should be love and mutual respect for each other. And I’m not talking love like you’d say you love your best friend or even your family. But the kind of love that makes your heart race every time that person walks into a room!”
Her face was so animated and she sounded so passionate that Finn found himself wanting to know more.
“Marriage should be forever! No one wants to stay married anymore! You have to be able to work through your problems and compromise! God, Jared never wanted to compromise! It was his way or no way, and that’s how I got roped into that damn destination wedding without my family.”
Wow, he thought.
“And you know, I should have known better. I’m an intelligent woman who studies people’s behavior for a lot of my job and I didn’t see just how self-centered he was.” She was on a roll now. “He was all about appearances and how things made him look. Like if we were going out, he’d want approval on my outfit so he could be sure it would look good next to him.”
Yeah, Finn’s original thoughts on the guy were correct–he was a douche.
“And sex?” She let out a mirthless laugh followed by a snort of disgust. “It was always about him! Foreplay was almost non-existent, and it never mattered to him if I climaxed or not. Ever! And the most adventurous place we’d ever done it was on his living room sofa and I think that was only because there was a football game on and he wanted to catch the score!”
Correction, he was a total douche.
“Grace, I…I don’t even know what to say to that. And to be honest, I’m not sure I know why you told me.”
She shoved him until he was on his back and then crawled on top of him–straddling him like some sort of sexy warrior. “Because this is what people do, Finn! We share things about ourselves so the person we’re with understands us better.”
Okay. That made sense.
“I want you to know things about me,” she went on, “and I want to know things about you.”
Resting his hands behind his head, he asked, “What would you like to know?”
She considered him for a moment. “Would you be opposed to sex in a shower?”
“Uh…no…”
“Would you freak out if I wanted sex in the kitchen?”
Finn looked around the room and confirmed there wasn’t one in here but knew what she was implying. “As long as it wasn’t a public kitchen, like the one at the IHOP or something, I’d be fine with that.”
“What about the car? Would you ever have sex in a car?”
“So we’re only getting to know each other where sex is concerned?”
“For now,” she said lightly. “So? Sex in a car?”
“I don’t think it would be particularly comfortable in our rental.”
“Finn…” she whined.
He shrugged. “Lost my virginity in a car, and most of my sexual activities in high school happened that way, so no. I’m not opposed to that.” And before she could ask another question, he quickly added, “However, our rental isn’t particularly roomy, so I’d opt for something with a backseat if possible if that’s where you were planning on going next.”
She gave a curt nod. “Public places?”
“The High Roller wasn’t public enough?”
Then she laughed. “We already covered that. We were alone, and it wasn’t public. Let it go. I’m talking parks, golf courses, the bathroom of a JCPenney…”
“Wow, you’ve really given this some thought,” he said with a chuckle. “Or are you naming places you’ve already done it?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Never in any of those places.”
“Okay then,” he replied, thinking about it. “Parks? Plenty of private trails and bushes to hide behind, so…sure. Golf course? I don’t golf, but I wouldn’t give it a hard no based on that. And the bathroom of a JCPenney? I don’t shop there, but then again, I avoid the mall at all costs. Still, it could be fun. But the acoustics could totally be a distraction.”
For a minute, she only stared at him unblinking, and Finn wondered if he answered correctly. Then she leaned down and gave him a fierce hug and kissed him soundly.
He guessed he did.
The next day they vowed to put a few more miles in to make up for the half-day of driving they lost in Amarillo.
Something Grace did not regret one bit.
The extra time with Finn had been everything. After their adventurous sex talk, they slept for almost five hours. They’d showered together–and it was amazing–before they went to dinner, and then spent the night sitting in bed together watching TV. They’d argued over what to watch–he wanted to watch some sort of live cop drama, and all the shows she enjoyed were on channels the hotel didn’t get, so they agreed to compromise, ended on HGTV and spent the night talking about houses and home improvements.
And it was the most fun she’d ever had while watching TV.
It turns out Finn wasn’t only knowledgeable about fixing cars, but he was also pretty knowledgeable about fixing houses–a quality she found ridiculously attractive. Maybe it was a cliché, but there was just something incredibly sexy about a man who worked with his hands. The entire time he talked, Grace envisioned him shirtless, in a pair of faded jeans and a tool belt.
Even thinking about it now was enough to make her drool a little.
Not while driving…not while driving…
Yeah, they had talked about not getting distracted by sexy talk while they were driving. There were miles to make up and even if she wasn’t feeling particularly anxious to get home, she was respectful of the fact that Finn was. He had a life to get back to–a business.
And that had her thinking about how skilled he was. He shared with her all about the home improvements he’d done on his own place–installing hardwood floors, building a deck, and renovating his master bathroom. The more he talked, the more it became like catnip to her.
Jared didn’t do anything for himself–he’d even hired someone to hang shelves for him in his apartment!
Ugh…
A lot of this was hindsight, but Grace knew she had always been attracted to guys who were…you know…rugged and worked with their hands. Unfortunately, she always dated prissy guys in suits. Why? Why did she do that?
Because I’m stupid, that’s why…
She refused to let herself go there today. They had stopped briefly in Oklahoma City for lunch on their way to Memphis. It was a lot longer of a driving day than either of them originally planned, but they really did need to make up some time. If they kept up at the rate they had been going, it would be another full week before they got to Atlanta. And again, while that was more than okay with her, she knew Finn needed to get back to work. In a perfect world, they could take all the time they wanted, and they’d get to stop each day and explore the sights and enjoy the cities they stopped in.
And she really wanted to spend some time in Memphis but didn’t know how to tell Finn that. It seemed crazy for them to be near so many great tourist spots and not stop to see them! Maybe he was used to seeing them, but Grace never had, and who knew if she’d ever take the opportunity to do it again? Even though they’d talked about this exact thing and she promised to let him set the pace…it was Memphis! Actually, it had always been her dream to see Nashville, but it was totally not on the route, so she was definitely going to keep that to herself. But maybe…
Finn was driving this stretch of the trip because it was longer, and Grace was fine with that. She enjoyed driving, but she enjoyed sitting back and relaxing a bit more. The windows were down, it was a beautiful day, and she really was feeling good–at peace. If anyone had told her a road trip with a stranger was going to be the best therapy for dealing with running out on her wedding, she would have told them they were crazy. And yet…her
e she was, and she was thankful for the crazy circumstances that brought her here.
And to Finn.
Knowing she needed to approach this next topic carefully, she reached over and placed her hand on his thigh. He gave her a sexy grin and she actually felt a fluttering in her belly. Every time he looked at her it was like that, and she loved it.
“It’s nice how there isn’t a lot of traffic today, huh?”
He nodded. “Definitely. And the weather’s great so really, we’re gonna make good time getting to Memphis.”
“Mmm…it really is a beautiful day. I almost wish this truck wasn’t a truck. I wish it were a convertible. It’s the perfect day to drive with the top down, right?”
Finn looked over at her. “A convertible, huh? That definitely would have been cool.”
Nodding, she racked her brain for a way to broach the subject without being too obvious. “Of course, my hair would have been a complete mess by the time we stopped later on. Some girls can pull off the windblown look. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them.”
He chuckled. “Somehow, I doubt that. Your hair has looked good every day, whether it’s been up in a ponytail or down and loose.”
“Aww…” She squeezed his thigh. “That was very sweet of you to say.”
“I only speak the truth.”
Okay, it was time to pull off the bandage and just get it over with. “So…I was thinking,” she began.
“You want to spend extra time in Memphis, don’t you?” he said, totally stealing her thunder.
“What? How did you know?” Dammit, was she that predictable?
“For starters, you’ve asked several times about how long it would take to get to Memphis, what time you thought we’d arrive in Memphis, would I want to go and get something to eat right away when we got there or if I would be too tired to go out.” He paused and grinned at her again. “At first I thought you were just making conversation or perhaps hinting how you wanted to get right to the room for a repeat of yesterday, but the Elvis playlist you started up an hour ago really sealed the deal.”
Drive Me Crazy Page 12