Wild Hearts: One Wild Weekend

by Jodi Lynn Copeland

  “No. I want to leave.” And yet she couldn’t budge. She stood there, staring at him, waiting to hear what the stupid challenge was.

  “It was to prove that I’m in touch with my feminine side by forming a nonsexual relationship with a woman I find attractive.”

  “I get it. I was that woman and you lost because we had sex.” She snorted. “Geez, that’s some rough loss.”

  “That was only part of it. The second part was not to care about that woman. Not to fall in love with her and want to spend not just a week but my whole life with her.”

  It was a direct hit, straight to Kelsey’s pathetic little heart. It pounded madly against her ribs and she had to suck back a hard breath to still the emotions gathering in her throat. “You don’t love me! You don’t even know me.”

  “Yes, I do. Maybe not everything, but enough. More than enough to know I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you. That I want to hear the things you won’t tell anyone else. Don’t tell me you don’t have those things, because I know you do. I also know what they’re about or at the very least who. I want to hear it all, Kelsey, and I want to help make things easier for you to deal with.”

  Why was he doing this? Why was he standing in the middle of his own store on a crowded Saturday afternoon, making fools out of both of them? Did he honestly mean the words? Could he care so much about her that making fools out of them didn’t matter? Oh, God, did he honestly want to know the details surrounding her parents’ death? Due to Andy’s public profile, most of the men she’d dated had known her parents were deceased, but no one knew why and no one had bothered to ask. At least, not until now.

  The emotions in her throat grew dense, and she swallowed them back and shook her head. “This is stupid.”

  “What?”

  “Arguing in the middle of the kayak aisle with the entire store listening.”

  “We can go to my house.”

  “No!” His house was the last place she wanted to be. If they went there things would only go from bad to worse. Nate already had her teetering on an emotional edge. One step into his home and a few more words out of his mouth and she would be back in both his arms and in his bed. Bad idea. Very bad.

  “Well, then you pick it, because I am not leaving until you listen to me. I love you Kelsey Stuart, much more than I have ever loved your brother.”

  It was the dumbest thing she had ever heard come out of a man’s mouth and she had heard plenty of dumb things through the years. It was also probably the only thing he could have said right then to push her emotions past teetering and into the great wide open. Tears leaked down her cheeks even as laughter bubbled up in her throat. She hoped to God she didn’t live to regret it, but she couldn’t keep the words in any longer. Not when he was standing there with so much affection shining in his golden eyes. “You are such a jerk, Nate. And I swear I must be out of my mind, but I love you too.”

  His grin drew deeper, reflecting into his eyes. “Does that mean you forgive me?”

  “That means it’s a start,” Kelsey said grudgingly, though she knew she’d already forgiven him long ago. The first time he opened his mouth and said he loved her to be exact.

  “In that case, do you think I could talk you into attending a party at my grandmother’s house tomorrow? She’s throwing me a wife-finding party in an attempt to tame my wild ways, and I would just as soon bring my own candidate.”

  “Is this the grandmother you go shopping with and carry her bags?”

  “And endure weekly sessions of gas-buffered bingo with? Yes, that would be her.”

  “So you weren’t lying about that?”

  “I didn’t lie about anything but my gender, my occupation, and my name.”

  Those three things were some of the most pertinent details he could have lied about. Fortunately for him the pertinent detail that topped them all, that he loved her, he hadn’t lied about. “Then yes, I’ll go. And if you’re lucky, I’ll stay the night. And if you’re even luckier, I’ll stay longer.”

  Relief shone on Nate’s face and Kelsey realized, up until this moment, he hadn’t been sure how things would end between them. Now that he knew, he reached for her, pulling her into his arms. “How about forever?”

  She tipped her head back and smiled up at him, loving just how incredible those words sounded. She’d been without anyone but Andy for so long, the thought of having someone else in her life was nearly too much to take in. She did so with laughter and teasing words. “How about you stop pushing your luck and give me a kiss?”

  His lips brushed over hers for the briefest of seconds and then he pulled back to hug her. Needing much more than a surface kiss, she stood on tiptoe and claimed his mouth in a long, hot, wet kiss that had whistles going up around them.

  Nate pulled back laughing. “I love you, Kelsey. I would never lie about that.”

  “I love you,” she said, taking his arm as they started toward the store’s entrance. “And if you ever lie to me again I will do much more than expose you to an army of female campers, I will personally see to your death.”

  “Via the chopping block.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” He chuckled once more, then shook his head and shot her a bemused look. “I was so wrong about you. I had you pegged as this sweet, clumsy pushover who would take in a big, ugly ogress and make her feel loved.”

  “What’s so off about that?” she asked as they cleared the store’s entrance and started toward his truck.

  “I’m not ugly or female.”

  He wasn’t ugly. Not by a long shot, but since he seemed so immensely aware of his good looks she wasn’t about to point that out and inflate his ego any further. “Well, you’re half right.”

  He stopped and gaped at her. “Are you saying that you think I’m ugly, Kelsey Stuart?”

  “I’m saying the tabloids have a way of talking a guy’s appeal up and I happen to know that your dick is nowhere near as long as your arm.”

  They both laughed as they continued on to his truck. He slid into the driver’s side and grinned at her. “That’s just another thing I love about you. You don’t try to butter me up to get on my good side or at any other part of my body or bank account, and you don’t have to. You’re already welcome to everything I am and have simply because of who you are.”

  Her heart warmed each and every time that he said he loved her, and as she gazed at his mouth and remembered how effective it was at providing pleasure, so did the rest of her. “Enough talk about love, take me home and give me sex.”

  Nate’s eyes lit with humor as he started the truck and backed out of the parking spot. “That’s all you care about, isn’t it? No feelings for you. You’re just a big sex addict.”

  “Yep. You know me so well.”

  “Better than you’d ever guess, sweetheart, but you’ll have plenty of chances to try over the next sixty years.”

  “If you’re lucky and I decide that I like you enough to keep you.”

  “I’ll be lucky. And if the worst happens and you decide that being a lesbian truly is what you want, then I’ll just have to become Natalie permanently.”

  She laughed and shook her head. Natalie was a nice woman, but Nate was a far nicer man. “You honestly have to love me if you’d give up your manhood for me.”

  He passed her a pained look. “I do love you, but please don’t make me prove it. At least, not that way.”

  “Well, you know what they say, use it or lose it.”

  “Oh, I’m going to use it. So much you’ll forget you ever thought of me as being anything other than a man.”

  Heat pulsed through Kelsey’s body and wetness tingled in her pussy with the promise in both his look and words. She couldn’t stop herself from boldly reaching to his lap and stroking her hand over his cock through his jeans.

  Nate raised an eyebrow her way and she smiled. “Now that is one challenge I look forward to you rising to.”

  The bulge of his shaft swelled b
eneath her palm and a grin claimed his face. “Well then, sweetheart, you’ll be happy to know I’ve already started.”

  Epilogue

  Kelsey snaked her foot under the crowded restaurant table, not quite able to check her triumphant smile when she met up with her destination of Nate’s lap and he responded with a gasp. The sound died away and the look in his eyes went from wide with surprise to dark with lust. He sank down in his seat and widened his thighs, wordlessly encouraging her wandering foot to move higher and stroke over the swelling bulge of his cock through his slacks. Not about to let the invitation pass, she curled her bare toes against the growing thickness of his shaft and was rewarded with a telltale twitching of his penis that had desire flaming to life deep within her sex.

  Reveling in the warm wetness that moistened her panties, she licked her lips and sank lower in her chair. Hanging onto the seat of the chair for support, she slid the shoe off her other foot and lifted it to his lap as well.

  They’d come to the prestigious Clarion Heights Supper Club for their engagement dinner, and while dinner had been superb it couldn’t begin to compare with the promise of dessert in Nate’s eyes. Or the secret thrill that coiled deep within her belly, tightening the muscles of her pussy when one of his hands disappeared beneath the table and unzipped his pants. Her toes touched down on the hot, hard flesh of his cock and her cunt filled with the juices of her anticipation.

  Three short months ago, she never would have been caught dead doing anything this daring in mixed company, particularly company that included Nate’s family and her and Nate’s mixed group of friends, but then three short months ago she hadn’t known Nate, or the limits of her own confidence.

  She knew both well now, knew that when he looked into her eyes and told her how much he loved her that he meant every word. She also knew he’d make good on every one of his promises, including the one about helping her find answers to her parents’ death. The reality was they would probably never learn anything more, but that he was willing to help out however he could spoke to her heart in a way no man ever had.

  The way he lifted his own foot and moved it beneath her skirt to brush over her damp panties with his sock-covered toes, spoke to every other part of her. The desire licking through her burned higher with the slow, sensual strokes and when he dipped beneath the edge of her panties and chafed his toe over the distended nubbin of her clit, that desire threatened to flame out of control.

  Kelsey bit down hard on her lower lip, fighting back the squeaks that seemed determined to make their way out of her mouth and focused on driving him just as wild, to make him be the first to either lift her foot away or cry uncle.

  The seconds of fondling turned to minutes and the need to explode built within her so intensely that her fingers hurt from where they bit into the chair’s seat. Her pussy ached for release and the heat that filled her cheeks had to be evident for all to see. She should stop. She should move his foot away. But all she wanted to do was sink even farther down and let him bury his toe deep into her burning flesh.

  She slid lower in her chair and parted her thighs wider. The sweet reward of his big toe pressing against her cunt with heightened pressure nearly pushed her over the edge. She couldn’t allow that to happen, couldn’t climax here for all to hear and smell, but yet as much as she knew that, she also couldn’t stop herself from sliding her hand beneath the table and re-angling his foot to rub even harder against her mound. His toe grated against her clit with remarkably forceful pressure and she bit back a moan as a wave of sheer pleasure washed over, making her feel boneless and weary.

  She had to stop this, had to stop him. Had to—

  “Might I interest anyone in dessert?”

  Kelsey jumped at the server’s soft voice so near to her ear and shot upward in her seat. Her cheeks aflame, she knocked Nate’s foot away and retracted hers from his lap while passing him a guilty look across the table.

  He laughed shortly, then looked to the woman waiting for their answers and grinned. “Thanks, but I’m already having mine.”

  Puzzlement crossed the server’s face and Kelsey felt as if everyone at the table was staring at her in wait of an explanation. She bit back a groan and felt the heat in her cheeks blaze to a shade that had to be somewhere between crimson and blood red.

  “What about you, Kelsey?” Darla Anderson, Nate’s mother, questioned from several seats down. “You really should start eating more. You never know when you’ll need to be doing so for more than just yourself.”

  Nate’s brother Joe laughed while their younger sister Carrie rolled her eyes. “Geez, Mom, give her a break. She just accepted Nate’s proposal last night.”

  Darla flashed Kelsey a warm smile that helped to ease the stinging in Kelsey’s cheeks. “Well, you know what they say, dear. It’s never too early to start.”

  Nate nodded, as if he couldn’t agree more. He returned his attention to Kelsey then and his grin turned mischievous. “Which is why we’ve been practicing so much, right sweetheart? As a matter of fact, I think Kelsey’s about to crawl under the table and—”

  “Oh, God,” Nate’s sister Candace blurted, effectively masking Kelsey’s mortified gasp, “would you two get a room already?”

  “No kidding, man,” Duane put in. “You don’t see any of us attacking each other in the middle of a restaurant.”

  Nate glanced at him then Candace and smirked. “No, but I’d bet I’m not alone when I say I wish to hell the two of you would attack each other and get it over with already. It’s obvious to anyone who sees you together that you have this almost animalistic attraction. Well, anyone but the two of you apparently.”

  Duane made a strangled sound while Candace glared at him. She redirected her dark look at Nate then quickly turned her attention to her plate. Only it hadn’t been quickly enough. There was something about his sister’s look, something that Nate wasn’t sure he liked. Candy had looked almost scared by the idea of being with Duane. Why? It was a question he would get to the bottom of, just not tonight.

  Tonight he planned to spend teasing his adorable fiancée.

  He refocused on Kelsey and noted the striking shade of red had left her cheeks. Unfortunately for her he had every intention of putting it right back. She’d loosened up a lot in the last three months, had learned to take more stock in her convictions whether she was around friends or complete strangers, but she still could stand to loosen up just a bit more. Particularly, since she was the one who had provoked him into his current aroused state.

  Nate discreetly readjusted his cock and zipped his pants. He stood and went around the table to her side. “You know on second thought that room idea does have some very good potential.” He held out his hand and sent Kelsey a knowing grin. “What do you say, ready to go for a ride, sweetheart?”

  Her eyes widened and the red streamed back into her face, making it clear she hadn’t missed the implications in his words. The rapid beat of her pulse visible at her neck also made it clear she couldn’t say no to the question because she was more than ready to go for the kind of wet, wild and slightly wicked ride he had in mind.

  Guiding her to her feet, he took her hand and ran his thumb along the sensitized skin of her palm, stroking her flesh with the same featherlight touch he used on the back of her knees and elbows and at the rim of her mound. The touch he knew drove her crazy at the same time it made her wet and needy.

  The breath whooshed from her mouth in a hot, hazy stream and she jerked in his arms, then tugged away with a frantically whispered, “Would you behave!”

  Nate laughed, but let her go, aware she’d be back in his arms and succumbing to his subtle caresses soon enough. To think that he’d actually believed he would never find a woman like her, that if he did find a woman who loved him in spite of his money, not because of it, he would eventually become bored. There wasn’t a single thing boring about Kelsey—mentally or physically—and he knew deep down there never would be.

  More than ready to c
laim the dessert he’d been interrupted in the middle of savoring, he waited restlessly while Kelsey said her goodbyes and hugged everyone. He took his turn hugging his mother and grandmother, then gathered up the handful of engagement gifts they’d received and guided Kelsey toward the door.

  The early September air was warm, muggy even, but the humidity had nothing on the heat Kelsey stirred in his body with her mere presence. Now more than a little anxious to get her in his truck and act on her unspoken offer of dessert, he rounded to the tailgate and loaded the gifts while she climbed inside the cab. He was about to get in as well when he spotted Duane leaving the restaurant.

  He’d told himself he’d wait until tomorrow to ask the man about Candy, but between the odd look in his sister’s eyes and his own curiosity, the question was eating at Nate beyond tolerability. It would only take a minute to either get an answer or a “Go to hell” out of Duane and certainly Kelsey could wait that long.

  His mind made up, Nate crossed back to the restaurant’s entrance and rounded the side of the building where he’d seen Duane go moments before. The side lot was empty save for a handful of cars and, for a long moment, Nate saw no real sign of life, then a flicker of blue caught his attention. He glanced out in the distance where the twilight of late evening settled and the breath stilled in his throat even as his heart took off at breakneck speed.

  A man stood in the distance, a man with Duane’s build, Duane’s clothes, Duane’s everything, but this man wasn’t Duane. This man was hunched over and quickly moving away. This man’s blue shirt and jeans seemed to evaporate into nothingness and his flesh soon followed suit as the dark covering of what looked to be hair encased his frame. His limbs lengthened and his movements grew faster, his jog ascending to an all-out run, and then in a flash he was gone.

  “Nate?”

  Nate shook his head and blinked furiously at the sound of Kelsey’s voice just behind him. He had to be losing his damned mind to believe he’d seen what he just thought he’d seen. Either that or lack of sleep thanks to one very sexy bed partner was to blame for his odd hallucination. Whichever the case, he wasn’t about to say anything to Kelsey. At least, nothing more than he had to in order to placate her.