He had to stop this now, even if he didn’t really want to. They’d already had one mishap, and he wouldn’t trust the last condom in his wallet. It came from the same box as the one that broke. Rikki had already said they shouldn’t tempt fate. And as much as he wanted to bury himself inside her sweet, tight heat, he didn’t think they should, either.
He reluctantly dropped his hands to her hips and pulled his mouth away from hers, then dipped in one last time for a nibble of her lush lower lip before resting his forehead against hers.
After regaining his equilibrium and breath, he opened his eyes and smiled into hers. “Did you want help setting up the darkroom? It might get our minds out of the bedroom. At least, I hope it will.”
She caressed his cheek and his eyes nearly crossed as she shimmied off his lap and stood.
Grinning, she asked, “Now who’s being a killjoy?”
Chapter 10
The day of the field trip dawned cool and sunny. She tossed a pair of fleece-lined gloves into her camera bag. The fingertips of the gloves flipped open, allowing the dexterity necessary when making adjustments on her cameras. Since Sam mentioned they would be making a fire, and a meal would be provided, she didn’t worry about making room for food.
Sam would be there soon. The refuge was out in the boonies and difficult to find. He’d offered to drive her. Sure, she could have found it herself, but riding with him meant at least an hour alone with him.
She plopped down on the hardwood floor near the front door and inventoried her supplies. Gloves, Windbreaker, and rain gear just in case. Three camera bodies and multiple range lenses. Tripod. Drawing her knee up, she rested her chin and closed her eyes, doing a mental review of everything else. She’d dressed in layers, silk camisole under a long-sleeved T-shirt and a thick sweatshirt. She’d tossed a fleece jacket across the arm of the couch for extra measure. She grinned. Wearing that many clothes guaranteed a smashing party when she let Sam take them off her later.
Tingles raced over her body as she lost herself in reliving their night together. He’d stayed to help her put up the portable darkroom. Then he’d kissed her, a lingering, sensual farewell that had curled her toes. She smiled when she recalled the game he’d played when she tried to extract his hands from under her T-shirt and push him out the door. The melting sensation Sam had awoken boiled to the surface, throbbing with a ferocity she wasn’t expecting. Breath caught in her throat at the ghost-like memory of Sam’s fingers fondling her breasts.
The fact was, he’d made her believe she was more than just big knockers to him. That increased his appeal ten-fold as far as she was concerned. They had a lot in common, and so far, she hadn’t experienced the uncomfortable lulls in conversation she’d found with other men who were only interested in her chest. Sam really seemed to like her for her mind.
A sharp rap on the front door jerked her out of her pleasant reverie. A glance out the sidelight window revealed the subject of her daydream. A broad smile revealed the even white teeth that had nibbled on her lips. Humor and something more primal—hot desire—lit his gorgeous eyes. Heat rushed between her legs as she pushed to her feet to let him in.
Opening the door, she gestured for him to enter and walked toward the sofa to grab her jacket. “Come in. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
Sam grasped her wrist, pulling her backward into his chest, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “We have plenty of time. Come here and let me say hello to you properly.”
He dropped his hands to her hips and spun her around. Lowering his mouth to hers, he greeted her with a hungry, open-mouthed kiss, searing the inside of her mouth with his tongue. She threaded her fingers into his short dark brown hair and responded with abandon to his eager, seeking lips. He ran his hands into the back pockets of her jeans and flexed sensuously on her buttocks as he pulled her closer. Where had she left the fire extinguisher? She was about to go up in flames.
Rikki dropped her hands to Sam’s shoulders and pushed. The seal between their lips broke with a soft popping noise. “Unless you want me looking at you like I could eat you with a spoon in front of your students, we’d better stop now.”
“You’re probably right.” He rested his forehead against hers and moved his warm palms up to the small of her back, stroking little circles as he went. “But, damn, baby. I can’t get enough of you. I dreamed about you—about us—together. I don’t mind telling you, it’s been a hell of a long time since I woke up with the kind of raging hard-on I had this morning.”
“You really do say the sweetest things.” She snickered then pushed out of his arms, smacking his bicep lightly as she moved away. “Unless you think we have time for a quickie, I’ll just grab my bag.” Glancing back over her shoulder, she spied him watching her butt, his eyes glazed and jaw clenched tightly. His cheeks flushed in the apparent embarrassment of being caught and he rolled his head back on his shoulders, heaving a giant sigh toward the ceiling. She ignored the sweet ache between her legs, walked to the couch, and grabbed her jacket. Sam bent to zip her camera bag closed but paused, surveying the contents.
“Hey, I don’t see a film camera in here. Didn’t you want to try it out? It might be interesting to see a side-by-side comparison of digital versus old-school.”
“I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.”
“Do you have a 35mm body? You can use one of your newer lenses. Although you’ll lose the autofocus feature.”
“Since I wouldn’t use it with astro painting anyway, I don’t see a problem,” she said. “Aw, damn. I guess I might as well toss the old relic of a camera in there. Do you have room in your pack to lug along an extra tripod?”
“If you have one, I’ll carry it. I’m eager to see how this will work.”
“Let me get my spare. I brewed coffee. Can you pour it into the thermos? I figured we might need some tonight.”
Sam grinned. “I know I will.”
His chuckle padded across her heart the way a cat kneads a lap contentedly before settling in to be stroked and petted. There was a rightness to it, to him.
Distracted by the sensation, Rikki walked back to the spare room and dug through another equipment bag to find the ancient camera body and some of the film Silas had sent with the darkroom. Rooting around in the closet, she finally found an extra tripod. There weren’t any clothes, just a photographer’s vest and several file boxes with information about the various museum sites the Sims exhibit was visiting during the tour. Sheesh, she knew women who had to pack extra bags to contain all their clothes. She had to pack extra for her camera equipment.
The camera body with her grandfather’s name engraved on the back opening sat on the shelf where she’d left it. Holding Silas’s old camera reminded her she hadn’t confessed her real name to Sam. She ran her thumbnail over scratches that branded her a liar. “Shit,” she muttered. It would have been easier to tell him before she’d gotten physically involved. Before they’d had such amazing sex. And it had been. Amazing. But while she’d made love to Sam, he’d been with Rikki, a woman he thought existed independently of Marguerite, the woman he’d constantly bashed as a pampered, spoiled child.
She should tell him now and pray he wouldn’t see it as a lie. The truth was bound to come out, and wouldn’t it be better if he heard it from her? Anxiety gripped her shoulders as she squinted, unseeing, at the piece of equipment her irascible grandfather had given to her when she’d left Bar Harbor. Damning evidence of whom Sam had actually slept with.
She couldn’t tell him. She knew she should, but the idea terrified her. She didn’t think she’d survive another episode like the one she’d endured when she was nineteen and her lover dropped her like a bad habit.
But she wasn’t that girl anymore. She wasn’t Marguerite.
Until she’d met Sam, she had walked around in a film negative. He added color and light and shadow, completing the picture for her. Her initial burst of interest in him had changed faster than a high-speed shutter, developing into soli
d respect and desire. With the right kind of focus, lust was in danger of evolving into something stronger. From where she stood, it was beginning to look more like love.
Her shoulders slumped and she dropped down onto the twin bed next to the closet. If Sam found out she’d kept the truth from him, even if it was a lie of omission, would he ever forgive her? Would she ever forgive herself?
“Hey, are you okay?”
She jerked upright. Sam stood framed in the doorway, a concerned look on his face.
Rikki shook off her trepidation. “Yeah, I’m okay. Did you get the coffee?”
“I did. Are you ready? We should probably try to get to wildlife refuge before the kids. They could get into a lot of trouble without adult supervision.”
Pushing herself off the bed, she walked to the doorway and paused, placing her hand over Sam’s heart. She stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed a light kiss to his lips. “I’m ready. Let’s go paint some stars.”
* * * *
They’d chattered about photography, nature, sports, and construction on the drive to Assabet, the cab of Sam’s truck never silent. No uncomfortable lulls, no searching her brain for topics of conversation. The hour-long trip had passed pleasantly while they conversed like two old friends. Happiness had thrilled down Rikki’s spine when Sam had reached for her hand once they’d left Granite Pointe behind and set out on the highway. He had swept the pad of his thumb gently across the back of her hand, the soft friction generating a welcome, warm sensation that traveled up her arm straight to her heart. Even better, he hadn’t let go until they approached the turn-off for the park where they’d meet the kids from the photo club. Then, before he released her, he’d pulled her hand to his lips and had pressed a kiss to her knuckles. At the simple gesture, delightful shivers had traipsed through her like clouds skittering across the horizon.
“We’ll set up along the river first. My buddy is a park ranger and reserved a shoreline spot for us where there aren’t too many trees.” Sam braked at a fork in the road, squinted at a faded signpost, then turned left. Proceeding slowly down the rutted road, he compared the campsite numbers on the roadside to the paper in his hand. “This must be the place.”
Rikki dragged her eyes from his profile and turned her attention out the front window. “Oh, Sam, it’s perfect.”
Trees with leaf buds, plump and ready to burst open, formed a crisscross pattern across the road. The site bordered the slow-flowing river. Gray branches and a spring-green canopy arched over the picnic area. A magnificent old tree bowed over into the river, its black-brown bark stark against the gray of the river. Water churned around the branches trailing on the surface. Rikki pulled a small digital Canon from her pocket and began snapping the dramatic image. She imagined how stunning the scene would be on a foggy morning with mist floating off the river.
Obligingly, Sam stopped the truck to let her take pictures. She adjusted the brightness setting, snapped another couple of shots, then dropped the camera into her lap.
“I’d love to see this at dawn. Do you know how haunting this would be in a low-light setting?” She fidgeted in her seat, battling her muse’s demand to pick up her camera again. The images she’d captured so far were sufficient. She’d known the second she took the best photo from that vantage point. She’d bet her favorite camera it was the way a baseball player knew a ball would soar out of the park the second the bat connected. Adrenaline spread through her like spiders, creeping and crawling through her chest and along her arms.
A broad smile stretched the corners of Sam’s mouth. “I have sleeping bags, if you really want to stay.”
She shook her head ruefully. “It sounds tempting, but the weather forecast calls for clear skies, rising temperatures, and sunshine tomorrow. The conditions won’t be favorable.”
“Let me know when you think you want to come back. I’ll bring the camping gear.”
“Deal,” she said, a grin to match Sam’s on her face. Camping with him would be a sensory adventure she didn’t want to miss.
Sam put the truck back in gear and eased forward into a parking spot. “I brought wood so we can make a campfire over here, under the trees. The best spot for us to set up our camera equipment will be there, along the riverbank.” He lifted his hand from the steering wheel and gestured toward a flat, sandy section of land. “There is nothing overhead to mar the focus. Unless you see a better location...”
“I’ll look around, but the riverbank makes the most sense. It’s flat, and as long as it’s solid, should be good.” She flashed back to the spit of land where they’d met, when the bank hadn’t been stable enough to keep her from tumbling into the water. “I’ll unload the equipment if you start the fire.”
“Deal.”
Putting his shoulder to the door, he paused, appeared to think better of it, then twisted toward her. Desire changed his eyes to steamy, mesmerizing cobalt. Leaning across the center of the truck, he lifted a hand to her cheek and urged her lips toward his. His mouth, soft and warm, possessed hers, shortening her breath. After a brief moment, he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth on hers, demanding more. Without hesitation, she responded, welcoming the intrusion of his tongue and plunged her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer.
Sliding his hand down her arm, he cradled her wrist, then pulled her hand to rest along his chest. His heart thumped violently, racing, echoing her speeding pulse. His lips curled into a smile. He laced his fingers through hers and pressed, flattening both against his body. The warmth of his hand, the rhythmic thud of his heart, and the sensuous insistence of his lips rocked her. It changed mere passion into something more enduring.
The loud blare of a horn interrupted the brief interlude. Sam jumped away from her, disentangling their fingers, pink staining his cheeks. Moving his hands to his lap, he attempted to hide the evidence of their steamy kiss from the group of students pulling into the spot next to his truck.
Chapter 11
Flustered heat flooded Rikki’s face as four rowdy teenagers clambered out of the luxury SUV, laughing and talking loudly, looking at Sam’s truck speculatively. Brett, the driver and self-appointed stud on campus, whistled suggestively and cocked a thumbs-up gesture to Sam while leering at Rikki. Sam’s expression flashed from embarrassed to grim and he shifted in his seat. Rikki battled to keep her eyes from traveling to his lap to see if the situation had returned to normal, as befitted a high school teacher about to interact with students.
Suzannah, glaring through the passenger window at her, stepped up behind Brett and grasped his shoulder possessively, rocking her hips against his backside. She swept her hand down the boy’s chest toward the top of his jeans, stopping on the snap, then raised it, palm out and fingers up, a clear gesture of “hands off the merchandise.” The girl’s expression remained hard as she whispered into Brett’s ear. Whatever she said made a wicked grin erupt on his face.
Rikki wished she could lip-read. It looked like Suzannah had muttered “wait until later,” but she couldn’t be sure.
Sam cleared his throat next to her and released a wry chuckle. “Thank God they honked to announce their presence. The knuckleheads might have gotten more than an eyeful if they hadn’t.” He pulled the keys from the ignition and glanced at her. “Not regretting coming, are you?”
Smiling, she shook her head. “No. But I do regret that it isn’t already midnight. We’d be on our way home.”
Home. He liked the sound of that. He wiped all traces of emotion from his face and pushed open the truck door. “Your lips to God’s ears, baby,” he muttered. He clapped his hands to get the students’ attention. “All right, kids, unload your equipment and let’s get set up.”
Rikki drew a deep breath before jumping out of the truck cab. She reached behind the seat and grabbed her camera bag and Sam’s, then walked to the picnic table under the towering oak tree. Depositing the bags on the bench, she was zipping up her jacket when Suzannah followed her over, standing on the far side of the table.
The situation and the girl’s aggressive stance reeked of a face-off.
“Looks like we’ll all learn a lot tonight,” the girl said, her voice snarky. Animosity and anger glinted in her eyes in the waning sunlight.
Rikki didn’t begin to understand the girl’s antagonistic behavior, unless it stemmed from the confrontation in the grocery store. But it was clear the teen suffered from mean girl syndrome. Rikki had seen her in action with Katie. She’d already pegged Suzannah as the type of girl who’d march through the center of a hallway, forcing everyone else to hug the wall. But Rikki’s days of being a wallflower ended a long time ago. Suzannah couldn’t have anything in her arsenal capable of making Rikki cringe and shy away.
“You will if you listen and follow directions. You’d better hurry. The best spots are being taken.” She walked away to grab another load from the truck.
“Bitch!”
Rikki paused, considering whether to acknowledge the slur or let it go. This was a school-sanctioned event, and the blatant disrespect all but begged for a response. Fortunately for Suzannah, the approach of two more cars distracted her. Shrugging, she dismissed the girl’s rudeness and continued toward the parked vehicles.
Five more teens piled out of an upscale import, jumping carelessly in the way of an older Ford Taurus. The beat-up vehicle reminded Rikki of her first car. Her parents could have afforded the newest cars for her and her brother when they’d started driving, but fortunately, Silas was smarter than their parents. He’d insisted they earn their possessions. They’d each had to work for their toys. Rikki and Gunnar had both bought cars with their own money as soon as they’d gotten their licenses. Gunnar had found a black Charger he couldn’t live without. That car was still in his garage. Rikki’s pride and joy had been an old forest-green Mustang GT with a five speed manual transmission and no air conditioning. She’d loved that car and had driven it all through college.
Exposed to Passion (Five Senses series Book 3) Page 10