by Tawna Fenske
Will cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, were the two of you on a date?”
“Yes!” Marley said a little too quickly. “A date. That’s right. Doug and I are on a lunch date.” She looked at Doug, who was still studying Aunt Nancy.
Then she looked at Will. Her hazel eyes were bright and electric with something Will couldn’t quite read. Tension? Lust? She blinked, and Will watched her lips part softly. He ached to kiss them. To touch her again.
He expected her to look away, to turn her attention back to her date and dismiss Will like she had every right to.
But instead, she gave him a small, desperate smile.
Get me out of here, she mouthed.
Will’s heart pulsed thickly in his chest.
He was torn between the urge to tell her off for her stupid plan of dating men based on the size of their wallets and the urge to pull her body against his and order her to never look at another man again.
Marley shifted in her seat, and Will caught the scent of blueberries and saw the warm light flash in her golden hair.
Something besides his heart pulsed.
He turned to Aunt Nancy. “How long do you think you can talk about paraphilia and Native American sex toys?”
“At least six hours without taking a break.”
Will stood up and shoved the tray in front of his aunt. “Enjoy your lunch,” he said, then nodded at Doug. “You enjoy learning everything you’ve ever wanted to know about bizarre sex acts. Marley, you’re coming with me.”
He extended a hand and watched her hesitate, deciding whether to take it or whether to stick around and finish out her date.
She put her hand in his and let Will pull her to her feet.
Chapter 18
They’d driven five miles before Will let go of her hand to turn onto a gravel road. Marley could still feel her fingers tingling even after he drew away.
“You haven’t asked where we’re going,” he said, glancing over at her.
Marley smiled, leaning back against the seat and thinking that just five minutes in Will’s company left her feeling more relaxed and happy than an hour with any other man. Why had she not noticed that on all her other dates? How had she missed the fact that every neuron in her body seemed to breathe better when she was near him?
Frankly, she didn’t care where he took her.
She peered through the windshield as he made a sharp turn toward the river. “Are you driving me into the woods to leave me for dead?”
Will was quiet a moment, both hands gripping hard on the steering wheel as he arced the car around a sharp corner and into a deserted clearing in the trees. He made another turn, transporting them deeper into the trees.
“I’m taking you into the woods to tear your clothes off and make love to you on a blanket at the edge of the river.”
Marley’s heart stopped. Her toes curled inside her shoes, and she had a distinct sensation that her body was melting. “Oh,” she breathed. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Will pulled the car onto the shoulder of the dirt road and turned to look at her. “Was that consent, or an indication that you think I’m joking because half the words out of my mouth are inappropriate sex jokes?”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
Marley swallowed, dizzy with the intensity in his eyes. “I’m covering both my bases.”
“What?”
“If you’re joking, I want you to know I appreciate the humor.” She took a breath, wondering how the temperature had risen twenty degrees despite the air conditioning in the Volkswagen. “And if you’re serious, it’s consent.”
Will nodded and put the car in park. “I’m serious. For once. I’m tired of seeing you go out on dates with other men and knowing not one of them is right for you.”
“And you’re right for me?” She didn’t really expect an answer. Frankly, she didn’t care, since all her nerves were singing in harmony, Hell, yes.
“Hell, yes,” Will said, and pried his hands off the wheel. “I can make you smile for real and I can make you laugh and I’m dying to see what else I can make you do.”
Marley’s stomach did a flip, and it was all she could do not to melt into a slobbering puddle on the floor of his car. She folded her hands in her lap, worried she’d lunge for him if she didn’t. “Okay.”
Will held up one hand. “I realize the following phrase should never be uttered by a man hoping to have sex in the next ten minutes, but I need to text my ex-wife and my sister.”
Marley blinked. “Right now?”
“Someone has to go get Aunt Nancy. Or rescue your date, as the case may be. Two seconds.”
Will pulled out his phone and began typing furiously. Marley tried to decide whether to be annoyed or pleased, and decided life was too short not to pick pleasure. Besides, she could see over Will’s shoulder that he’d mistyped half the words. This was a man distracted, and Marley liked being that distraction.
Will shoved his phone back in his pocket, and Marley grinned at him. “Got a blanket?”
Will nodded and turned to pop open his car door. Marley’s hands were shaking so hard that by the time she got her door open, Will had managed to open the trunk, grab a thick quilt, and make it around to Marley’s side of the car before her shaky legs made her fall on her ass.
“Need a hand?” he asked.
“Thank you,” she said, and let him pull her out of the seat.
“This way,” he said, and led her down a short trail before veering sharply to the right.
“Don’t the rules of hiking say you’re supposed to stay on the trail?” Marley asked, wiggling her fingers a little in Will’s grip.
“Yes, but the rules of outdoor sex say it’s wise not to give your fellow hikers a peep show.”
“I’ll have to read that book.”
Will stopped so abruptly that Marley smacked into the back of him. She stepped back and gasped as she realized they were at the fringe of a lovely little clearing overlooking the river.
“Beautiful,” she said, gazing down at the ripples in the water.
“Yes,” said Will, and Marley looked up to see him gazing down at her.
Her heart wedged in her throat as her mouth went dry from lust and heat, and she lost the ability to think of anything clever to say.
She licked her lips. “Should we spread it out?”
“What?”
Marley grinned. “The blanket. Should we lay it on the ground?”
Will laughed and took a few steps back. He shook the blanket out, and Marley caught the edge of it, her hands barely cooperating. She gripped the corners of the quilt and pulled it to the ground, careful to avoid the pointy rock she knew she didn’t want poking her in the small of her back. She watched him kick his shoes off and use them to anchor opposite corners of the blanket.
So thorough.
“Are we really going to do this?” she asked, her voice quivering a little. “I mean, we keep saying it’s a bad idea for all these reasons and—”
“And I can’t remember a single one of them right now.” Will pulled her into his arms, crushing her pleasantly against his chest. “At least I’m trying very hard not to. How about you?”
Marley looked into those mismatched eyes and shivered with desire. “Yes. I mean no. I mean y—”
“Good.”
Then he kissed her. He was gentle at first, testing. Giving her one last out if she wanted it.
She didn’t. Marley kissed him back hard and deep. She drew back for one breathless moment and looked him in the eye. “Did I ever tell you I studied Jiu Jitsu?”
Will quirked an eyebrow. “I think you just trumped me for the weirdest pre-sex comment. Or is this another one of those pseudo hobbies for winning friends and influencing people—”
“I really know Jiu Jitsu,” Marley said, bear
-hugging him from the side. “Which is how I know how to do this.”
She locked her hands around him just above his hip. Shifting her weight behind him, she slid her left foot parallel with his and stuck her butt out, pulling them both to the ground. He toppled easily, probably more from surprise than from any real martial arts prowess on Marley’s part. She dropped to the side of him, cushioning his fall with her thigh.
Will landed on his back and rolled to face her, laughing. “Remind me not to doubt you again.”
“Gladly.”
The ground beneath them was softer than she’d expected, cushioned with pine needles and fallen leaves. Will slid an arm around her shoulder, pulling her tight against them and making the space between them vanish. His lips found hers again, and he kissed her harder this time, giving no chance for her to protest.
Not that she had any intention of doing that. She wanted him badly. She ached with it, her back arching to press her pelvis against the hard length of him. He broke the kiss, and Marley leaned back, panting.
“You’re sure no one’s going to find us here?” she asked.
“Not sure at all. There’s a very real possibility some hiker could trip over our legs at any moment.”
“As long as we’re prepared,” she said, as she untucked his T-shirt.
Will began to kiss his way down her neck, lingering in the hollow of her throat as Marley gasped and writhed and went dizzy with sensation. His fingers slid to the opening of her shirt.
“Buttons,” he said. “Much easier to remove than a pullover. Clearly you thought of my convenience when you got dressed this morning.”
“Absolutely,” Marley breathed, moving against him as his fingers undid the buttons one by one. “When I put my clothes on for a long Saturday at the office, the first thing I considered was the prospect I’d end up naked in the woods with you on my lunch break.”
“Thoughtful of you.”
Will kept flicking buttons open, planting soft kisses on each patch of newly exposed flesh. By the time he undid the last one, Marley was gasping with need.
“Please,” she panted.
“Please what?” he asked, his Adam’s apple vibrating against her hip bone.
“Please take me.”
Will laughed. “We’ve waited thirteen days, four hours, and fifty-six minutes,” he said, slipping his hand around her back to unhook her bra. “We can wait a few more minutes for me to fully undress you.”
“Is full undressing really necessary?” Marley grinned. “Because I can just hike up my skirt, slip my panties off to the side, and—”
He silenced her with another kiss as his fingers deftly flicked open her bra clasp. Marley moaned with the release of pressure, feeling more build up inside her as Will moved from her mouth down her collarbone and over. He drew her nipple into his mouth and Marley sucked in a breath, arching against him to savor the feel of his tongue against her.
She felt a rock digging into one hip bone, so she shifted her weight, rolling so she was on top of Will. He rolled with her, his mouth not losing contact with her breast for even an instant.
“That’s talent,” she said aloud, startled by her own words.
“I try,” he murmured, releasing one nipple and moving toward the other. “For my next act, I plan to juggle flaming watermelons.”
“If that’s one of your sister’s euphemisms, I’m game.”
Will laughed and swirled his tongue around her nipple, making her gasp. She gripped his shoulders, certain she’d topple over if she let go. Will’s hands slid around her back, fumbling for the zipper on her skirt. He tugged it down, and Marley shivered a little as the chilly forest air hit her bare skin.
“This is wrong,” she breathed.
Will’s lips froze against her bare belly. “If you’re coming up with another reason to stop this, I’m throwing you in the river right now with a rock tied to your ankle.”
Marley laughed. “As erotic as I find your death threats, that’s not what I meant. I just think it’s wrong that you’re still wearing all your clothes and I’m half-naked.”
“You’re totally right. You should be completely naked by now. I’m losing my touch.”
Will angled up and flipped her on her back. Marley gasped, amazed by both the maneuver and the fact that he’d managed to avoid impaling her on the rock. Before she could catch her breath, he was tugging her skirt down over her hips, pulling her panties with it and leaving her bare beneath the trees with the scent of juniper and river water in the air and a faint coat of dust on her skin.
She’d never felt so sexy.
Marley reached up and grabbed the hem of his T-shirt. “You weren’t as considerate with the buttons,” she said. “Either I can chew through this, or you can help me—”
Will yanked the shirt over his head, making his coppery hair stand up with static electricity. Marley laughed and grabbed his belt buckle with both hands. As she began to unfasten it, Will explored her flesh with his hands. His palms made a slow journey over her hips, her belly, the juncture of her thighs…
“Please!” she gasped as his fingers slipped into her, making her buck and arch against the heel of his hand.
“So soft,” he murmured into her hair as Marley finished tugging his buckle free and jerked open his button fly.
“Not the adjective I was thinking,” Marley said as her fingers circled the smooth length of him.
Will made a hissing sound between his teeth as she began to stroke him, softly at first, then with more pressure. His fingers were still inside her, and Marley struggled to keep her rhythm as she lost her mind to the dizzying heat of his touch. He was throbbing in her palm, so smooth and hard all at once. Marley ached to take more of him, to feel every inch of him against her, inside her.
“Please tell me you have a condom,” she whispered.
“I always bring condoms when I take my elderly aunt to the bank.”
She stopped stroking and blinked up at him, hoping like hell he was kidding. Or serious—the two things were confused in her mind with him. Will’s mismatched eyes flashed with mischief.
“I’m serious, though it’s actually the other way around,” he said. “Aunt Nancy’s the one who brings the condoms. She considers it her duty to keep me well-stocked.”
“And to think my elderly aunt just gives me peppermints.” Marley slid her hands down his shaft once more. “So how long are we going to fondle each other before we’re too turned on from the petting and just fuck each other’s brains out?”
“Subtlety is not your forte, Ms. Cartman.”
“I have plenty of other fortes, Mr. Barclay.”
“I can’t wait to see some of them.”
“Allow me to show you.”
She slid her hands to each side of his hips and shoved his jeans down, moving them out of the way. She was glad now he’d had the foresight to toe his shoes off earlier. It made it much easier for her to push his jeans off, enjoying the ripple of muscle as he kicked them off the rest of the way. His boxer briefs went with them, tangled somewhere in the legs of the denim.
“Not wasting any time with gradual undressing this time,” she breathed, sliding a hand around to stroke his bare backside as he lay back down beside her.
“Hell no. If I don’t keep my hands on you at all times, I’m afraid you’ll run.”
“I’m not running,” she said, and leaned up to kiss him. “Not this time.”
They lay side by side like that for a while, kissing, touching, stroking, gasping. When Marley was dizzy and panting and certain she was going to explode at any second, Will reached into the pocket of his jeans.
“Need help with that?” Marley asked, watching as he tore open the condom wrapper.
“Nope,” he said, kissing her as he rolled the condom on and rolled onto her in one fluid move.
Marley gasp
ed from the hot, solid weight of him and the force he used to push her legs apart with his hips. He hesitated for an instant, giving her one last moment to say no.
“Yes,” she whispered, and twined her legs around him. She pressed her heels into the back of his thighs and arched up, drawing him inside her in one slick motion.
They both gasped at once from the shock and heat and pleasure of it. He began to move, slowly at first, giving her time to catch her breath and adjust to the rhythm. Her thighs were still clenched tight around him, drawing him inside her as she savored the flex and release of muscle, the soft scrape of his leg hair against her bare inner thighs.
His breath was soft against her throat, and his gentle gasps of pleasure made her dizzy. He drew back to find her lips, to kiss her soft and deep. Marley kissed him back, drawing her nails down his back as he quickened the pace of his movements.
He opened his eyes and smiled down at her, his mismatched irises sparkling in the dappled light of the forest. Marley smiled back, trying to remember if she’d ever felt such a strong urge to grin like an idiot during sex.
“I think this is the longest you’ve ever gone without cracking a joke,” she whispered as he thrust into her, his rhythm quickening again as Marley arched to feel him.
He grinned wider. “I save the jokes for awkward moments. So far, there haven’t been any.”
“It’s still early.”
He thrust into her again, deeper this time, harder. She could feel her thighs starting to quiver, her body tensing around him as a gentle hum started in her brain and throbbed outward. Marley cried out as the pleasure surged into a new dimension, one where sounds and smells and sights went blurry around her and the only thing left was this sensation, this dizzying, throbbing, all-consuming sensation.
“You’re close,” Will murmured against her throat.
A statement, not a question, but she nodded anyway as he thrust deeper into her, quickening his pace again. Marley could feel her breath coming harder, her heartbeat slamming hard against her ribs. Or was that his heart? They were intertwined now, just one solid mass of raw sensation and pleasure and—
“Oh, God!” Marley cried out, bucking against him as the first wave hit her. She screamed and clutched a fistful of the blanket, her fingers clawing the pine needles beneath it. She closed her eyes and gave in to the sensation, feeling wave after wave of it crashing against her. Will moved into her again and Marley matched him thrust for thrust, twining her legs around him to contain the sensation.