Wah-nah-nah-nah.
"Dune buggies?" I asked, excitement blooming in my chest.
"Yeah. If you're game." He peered over at me, an expectant grin on his face.
"Oh, I'm game," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt and throwing the door open to step out onto the gravel lot.
I'd been in Vegas for more than six months, but like most places I’d lived, I'd yet to leave the city limits. Now, surrounded by nothing but white sand against the breathtaking backdrop of the canyons, that tight feeling in my chest began to loosen. Something about this frontier of wide open spaces was almost as calming as being on the ocean.
Reid got out of the car and gestured toward the shed. “Come on. I’ve got ours reserved.”
We walked side by side and paused just inside the double doorway of the rusty structure.
“Hello?” Reid called.
A man came into view, a wide grin splitting his wrinkled face. He had one visible tooth in his whole head, and showed it proudly. His cheeks were a wind and sun ravaged shade of maroon, and he wore a grimy baseball cap that sported a Marlins logo.
He wiped his hand on his overall shorts and held it out to Reid.
“Bucky Reynolds. How they hanging?”
Reid didn’t hesitate, taking Bucky’s hand in his own and giving it a shake. “Reid McDaniels, and this is Lola.”
“Hey there, Reid, Lola. Glad to meet you both. I got yer rides right here. Just doing a quick tune up on one of them. It was making a god-awful squealing sound yesterday when I took her out, but I got that squared away now.”
He gestured for us to follow him as he picked his way through discarded mufflers and old, shredded tires that littered pretty much every square inch of the place.
He stopped when he reached the opposite side of the shed. The back wall was like a garage door and was rolled up, and in front of it was a line of buggies, twelve strong.
“For you, big fella, I got old Blue Balls.” He pointed a finger-gun at a cobalt blue vehicle that sported a jaunty red flag sticking out of it. “And for the lady, I picked her the Green Goddess.” He elbowed my upper arm and jerked his chin toward a poison green buggy that had a lightning bolt license plate attached to the back. “She’s fast and slick, and can turn on a dime. Handles like a dream.”
I nodded, hoping to look impressed.
Truth was, I’d never driven a dune buggy. In fact, I’d never driven before at all. I was a city kid and it just hadn’t been a priority. I wasn’t about to tell Reid or old Bucky here that. Because, at that moment, I was more excited than I could remember being since I’d gotten to Vegas. The Green Goddess was calling to me, like a siren’s song, and the need for speed was coursing through my veins so hard, I was practically shaking.
Besides, how hard could it be?
“You ready, Lo?” Reid asked, holding out a helmet that Bucky had selected for me.
I nodded and jammed the thing on my head, saying a quick and dirty prayer that it didn’t house lice. Because, lice or no, I was getting in that dune buggy.
“Ready.”
Reid helped me into the Goddess and then climbed into his car. I clutched the warm, smooth leather of the steering wheel and sucked in a breath of gas-infused air.
This was going to be awesome.
Bucky went over the controls quickly, and I paid close attention, take mental notes. As he wound down, he gave me a warning scowl that didn’t look in the least bit scary.
“Now, you two seem pretty smart, and you already signed the release, so I’m going to spare you the extended riot act and go for the condensed version. Don’t act like shit-heads. Use your brains. Have fun and be safe.”
He patted the bars over my head and flashed his tooth at me one last time.
“Go on then, girlie, and kick up some sand.”
We started our buggies and the seat beneath me vibrated to life. It was a random, boring old weekday, and here I was, like a kid on Christmas about to drive for the first time ever with Reid McDaniels.
Much better than how the week had started, that was for sure.
Reid’s buggy revved and then shot from its parking spot out onto the sand. His loud, exuberant laugh spurred me on, and I punched the gas. The buggy leapt forward, vibrating beneath my thighs as I zipped along. Sand sprayed all around me, pelting my calves even as the hot desert wind battered my face, but I didn’t care.
I felt totally free.
Reid swerved right and I followed as close behind as I dared as we whizzed around humps of sand, dipping and flying. It was amazing. Like my cares were behind me, in the dust.
Reid poked his head out and waved at me and I waved back. He slowed a little to let me catch up and I pulled beside him.
“Follow me,” he called, veering off before making a figure-eight in the pristine grains.
Follow him, indeed. I was going to catch up and then leave him sucking my exhaust. Who ever said driving was hard? I was barely an hour in and I felt like a pro.
I pressed the gas to make my move, and then let out a squeal as something darted out a few yards in front of me. I jerked the wheel hard, but all muscle memory seemed to disappear and instead of the brake, I nailed the gas. My eyes stung as sand sprayed me in the face and I swiped ineffectually in an effort to see. When my vision was finally clear, it was too late.
I barely swallowed my scream as I plowed straight into a five-foot high wall of sand.
The buggy kept whining but was barely discernible over the blood rushing in my ears. My heart slammed against my ribs as adrenaline pounded through me.
I wasn’t dead. So that was a plus.
I’d just started moving limbs and taking stock when I heard another buggy pull up next to me.
“Jesus, are you okay?” Reid had launched himself out of his car and was standing over me, his voice filled with concern.
I blinked furiously, still partially blinded by sand as I tried to make him out. As I went to assure him I was okay, I realized my mouth was also full of the stuff and I sputtered as the humor of the situation struck me all at once.
Here I was, trying to show off for the cute boy, congratulating myself on my mad driving skills and all it took was a tiny little lizard to throw me off my game. Karma was clearly toying with me and, as I swiped the sandy drool off my lips, I started to laugh in wheezing gulps.
“Come on, Lo, talk to me,” Reid demanded, bending closer to examine me.
I held up a hand and shook my head, swallowing a big lungful of air.
“I’m fine, I’m good.”
His worried face collapsed into relief as he realized I wasn’t crying.
“You scared the shit out of me,” he admitted, the color returning to his cheeks. I wanted to reassure him, but I was still belly laughing.
I swiped at the tears leaking from the corner of my eyes and shrugged. “I don’t know how to drive,” I admitted, swallowing another laugh. “I mean, I know how it’s done. I’ve seen people drive loads of times, but I’ve never actually done it myself.”
He helped me out of the buggy and I shook the sand from my hair and clothes.
“Could’ve fooled me. You were doing great out there.”
“Yeah, but I’m not going to lie, I definitely wouldn’t trust me in a crisis situation like that. A lizard jumped in front of me and I straight panicked.”
“Well, luckily, aside from eating some sand, you look like you’re okay. And the car seems no worse for wear. I think it’s safe to say we dodged a bullet.”
His gaze traveled from mine to lock onto my mouth and then suddenly, I stopped laughing.
“You have some sand…” He stroked his thumb over my bottom lip and I gasped as a bolt of heat rocketed through me.
“Th-thanks,” I murmured. Instinctively, like he was a magnet, I stepped in closer but stopped just short of touching him before I pulled back.
He squinted and then broke eye contact to peer out over the desert. “You think you can manage to keep on going without killing yo
urself?” he asked lightly.
I nodded, willing my feet to move when they clearly wanted to stay planted right where they were, close to Reid. The tension between us faded and a smile tugged at my lips. “I think I can manage, so long as no more desert creatures try to kill me.”
We climbed back into our buggies and took off again. My pulse was still pounding, as much from my almost-kiss with Reid as from my little mishap, and I still felt the need for speed. The next hour went by in a flash as we tooled around the open desert. A couple times, he flagged me down to pull over and look at a neat patch of cactus or a wayward tumbleweed, and I did they same when I saw the bleached skull of an animal that I was pretty sure was a stegosaurus.
One of those times, we got out of the buggies and traced our names in the sand.
Just as the sun started to paint the sky pink, we made the winding ride back to Bucky’s garage. We’d barely pulled into our parking spaces when the buzz in my blood began to fade.
I’d had an awesome time, and I didn’t want it to end. A fact that only made me think I should definitely let it end.
The sooner the better.
“How’d it go, love birds?” Bucky asked, tooth a-flashing.
I could feel Reid’s eyes on me and I rushed to answer. “Awesome. Lots of fun.” I didn’t want the friendly mechanic to find something wrong with the buggy that Reid had missed, so I came clean about my little mishap, but he brushed it off.
“Happens all the time. As long as she’s still running, we’re good.”
Reid and I stripped off our helmets and turned them in. After a promise to come back soon, we were on our way.
The sun was just starting to set and the ride back was quiet. I knew we were both wondering where this was going to take us next. I didn’t have to wonder long, as he pulled up to my house and turned to face me.
I tried to keep my pulse steady as I reached for the door handle.
Moment of truth.
Did he expect me to ask him in?
Did I want to?
“I’ll walk you to your door.”
We got out of the car and fell into step beside one another as we made our way up the brick path.
“You going to invite me in?” he asked softly.
The butterflies in my stomach exploded into flight and I stared up into his face, my gaze catching on his mouth.
I wanted to. More than I could even express. But that didn’t change the fact that we were on different paths. His ended here. Mine criss-crossed the United States. Hell, maybe the world. This was one tiny little cross-section. A moment in time where we’d collided and it would be over before either of us knew it.
I opened my mouth to answer, still not sure of what was going to come out, when he nodded slowly.
“It’s okay,” he said. Then he slipped one hand around the side of my neck to cup my nape. And when his lips touched mine, I shivered. It was barely a brush of mouths. Tentative and sweet. Before I had a chance to react, he was straightening again.
“I had a great time today.” His dark gaze burrowed into me and he offered me a pained smile. “Good night, Lola.”
He gave me one last, long look before he turned and headed down the steps. I stared after him, frozen in place.
That was two times now. Twice that I was left wanting as I watched him walk away.
Last time, I’d wondered if he was right. If I needed more time to think, or figure out what I wanted. Right then, though, I didn’t need to wonder.
Tonight, I wanted Reid.
Now, what to do about it?
Chapter Six
Reid
I rolled over and peered at the clock before flopping onto my back.
Twelve fifty-seven.
I stared up at the ceiling and blew out another sigh.
I’d been lying in bed for the past forty minutes, no closer to sleep than when I’d climbed in. After a half day of work and the rest of the day in the sun, I should’ve been tired, but instead I was wired.
Thoughts of Lola and our day together kept running through my mind and I couldn’t get them to stop.
What a fucking chump.
Gorgeous, amazing, sexy girl. But even if I did manage to figure out how to fit her into my life, she had no clue what she wanted. Another sure sign to run the other way.
I jammed my eyes closed and groaned. How many guys could do that? WOULD do that? Twice, even, when she was standing there, wanting me as much as I wanted her, even if she didn’t want to admit it to herself.
I launched myself off the bed and crossed the room, knowing that there would be no rest for me or my aching cock if I just laid there staring at the ceiling.
The rest of the house was already asleep and I padded quietly down the hall and out the French doors leading to the kidney-shaped swimming pool in our backyard. It was small, but it was big enough that a hundred laps or so would surely get rid of some of the tension gripping me.
I made for the edge of the pool before stripping down to my boxers. There was no need for a slow ascent. The water was only marginally cooler than the air, so I planted my feet and dove in.
The water enveloped me like a warm bath, and I swam to the bottom of the pool. The silence was a comfort, soothing my racing mind, and I only kicked upward again when I was purely out of breath.
I broke the surface with a gasp and began to cut through the water, moving at a speed conducive for swimming and nothing else.
This was good. Therapeutic.
As I passed the center of the pool, a chirping sound caught my ear.
My cell.
I swam over to the edge of the pool and fished around in my discarded clothes until I located the now-silent phone in my pants pocket.
Two missed calls.
Both from Lola.
I wiped my face off and stared down at the glowing face like it held the answers to all the mysteries of the universe. I was still frozen with indecision when it came alive again in my hand.
Lola. A text this time.
Hey…what are you doing?
What I wanted to say? Trying to get you out of my head. But what I actually typed back was, Taking a swim.
I should’ve left it like that. I thought about it, but my thumb had other ideas as it tapped out, What are you doing?
The words hung out there for a long time, and I found myself breathing harder than I had when I’d come up from the bottom of the pool.
I was thinking of going for a swim myself.
I paused as I tried to recall the layout of her house. Did she even have a pool or—
“Is there room for one more?”
My gut clenched and every drop of blood in my body drained straight south as her husky voice washed over me.
I turned to see her standing just inside the fence, tugging off her shirt and tossing it aside.
My synapses were firing left and right as I took in the vision in front of me. In another minute, my brain was going to go offline altogether. I struggled to get the words out past the grit in my throat.
“I don't want you to have regrets."
She took another step toward the pool, and then another. “I don't want to either, Reid. Which is why I’m doing this. I’m leaving soon. There’s a job waiting for me in New York and I need to take it. It’s only fair that you know that going in. Which is why I’d like to be friends.”
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, and wriggled her shorts and underwear over her hips, and to the cement, leaving her totally naked.
“But tonight, I want more.”
I wasn’t about to lie to myself. I’d hated at least half the words she was saying. But the other half? Jesus, I was only flesh and blood. And she was…everything.
I set my phone down and waded slowly toward her, my starving gaze taking in every inch of her. The curve of her neck, the slope of her full breasts, the pink, stiff nipples that seemed to be begging for my mouth.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I heard mysel
f ask in a voice so low, I barely recognized it. “You had a serious scare the other night and—”
“No.” Her dark eyes went stormy and she held up a hand. “I’m not going to think about that. If I give what happened the other night even one ounce of power, it's going to consume me. This is about me and you.”
I stared into her beautiful face and tried to work up the strength to refuse her. To tell her to leave. To turn around, run back home and lock her door before I could change my mind.
Boy Scout to the end.
But as deep as I dug, I had nothing left. All that existed was Lola. Buck naked, nothing but inch after inch of golden skin, and a tattoo on her hip that would haunt my dreams. Two tiny ballet slippers with ribbons streaming from them.
I held my arms out to her and her trembling lips curved into a smile. She set down her phone, stepped into the water and down the steps, gasping when it sluiced gently over her curvy hips.
"It's just cool enough to feel good," she said, her voice breathy with nerves.
To engage in this kind of intimacy with a person...trusting a man to take care of you in the most vulnerable possible situation, had to be scary for her so soon after the attack. But, shit, did I admire her for it. I knew all too well that trusting someone after having been hurt was a tall order for anyone.
And she's trusting you, buddy. So don't fuck it up.
I walked toward her slowly, ignoring the pulse of blood in my cock, and the tingle at the base of my spine. There would be time to address my needs later. Or maybe not. It didn't matter one lick. All that mattered was Lola.
When we reached each other, I didn't hesitate, pulling her into the circle of my arms and dipping my head to meet her mouth. She was shaking, but when I moved to pull back, she closed her arms around my waist and held me tighter.
"Don't treat me like glass, Reid. If I was going to break, I would've already."
When I kissed her the next time, I didn't hold back. I slipped my tongue between those plump lips, stroking it against hers, and she responded instantly, angling her body toward mine, pressing her bare breasts against my chest, branding it with her hard nipples.
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