Whirlwind Romance

by Kris Bryant

  “We should probably get back to the table,” I say, noticing couples around us break apart as a new, fast song blasts through the speakers surrounding us. Kate nods and I reluctantly drop her hand. We head back to the table. Hunter looks at me and raises her eyebrow. I give her the quick I-don’t-know shoulder hike hoping Kate doesn’t see.

  “Here’s to a fantastic birthday celebration. I haven’t danced or laughed this hard in a long time,” Brian says. He slides into the chair between me and Kate and holds up his longneck for us to toast. “And here’s to a successful and safe chase.” I know he means the weather, but in my mind he means Kate.

  Chapter Nine

  The night air smells fresh and clean and I take a deep breath after stepping outside. I can only be around a group of people for so long before I need to be alone. I’m sure Maddox is going to be happy to see me. He’s been cooped up in the SUV for about two hours and I’m sure he needs to expel some energy.

  “How you doing, boy?” I open up the lift gate and he takes off like a bullet. I smile at his enthusiasm. I watch as he sniffs and marks his temporary territory. He trots back over to me and jumps back into the car. He stands as close to me as possible. “Too bad you can’t be inside celebrating with us.” I rub his nose and scratch his ears and we hug for a bit.

  “How come you’re out here when your party’s in there?” Kate walks toward us and I can’t help but admire her slender body and the slight curve of her hips. I lick my lips imagining her beneath my body, my hands touching her smooth skin, my lips tasting her. I smile because I’m sure if she knew where my mind was, she wouldn’t be this sweet.

  “I knew Maddox needed to run for a bit and I needed to recharge.” I close the lift gate and walk around to the front to roll down the side windows for Maddox. When I close the door and turn around, Kate is very close to me. I catch my breath at her nearness. Even though it’s nighttime and we’re partially hidden in the shadows, I can still see her face. Her eyes are searching my face, darting back and forth between my eyes and my mouth. “What are you doing, Kate?” I ask. I don’t know how I’m able to speak with her so close to me. I can feel her body heat and smell her skin and I have to stop myself from closing my eyes and getting lost in the fantasy of her nearness.

  “I want to give you your present,” she says.

  Before I have a chance to respond, her body is flush against mine and her hands are suddenly wrapped up in my hair, her nails scraping the back of my neck. I fall back against the driver’s door, the force of her body and the weakness of my knees make it too hard to hold us up. She waits only a second before her mouth captures mine. Her lips are warm and delicious and I moan when I feel her tongue touch mine. She is hesitant at first, testing my reaction. The moment she feels my hands slide down to her waist, she presses into me and boldly sucks my tongue into her mouth. Her hands leave my hair and slide down to bring my hands closer to her waist. She is aggressive, which makes my attraction to her go sky high. Usually, I’m the aggressor, but she makes me want to drop to my knees and do anything she wants.

  “Kate, Kate. What are you doing?” I ask. I don’t really want an answer, I just need to get ahold of this situation. I link my fingers with hers and gently push her from me. “What’s going on here?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” She tries to pull away, but I hold her fast.

  “No, no. I don’t want you to stop. I just want you to make sure you know what you’re doing.”

  “You think too much, Tris. It’s just a kiss.” Yeah, right. I think not. That was more than just a kiss in my book. That was an ‘I-need-you-now’ kiss that leads to hot and heavy sex.

  “If that was just a kiss, then I can’t wait for more,” I say. My confidence is growing and I’m starting to feel more in control. I take her hands and wrap them around my neck again. If this is my birthday present, then I sure as hell am going to enjoy it for as long as I can. I pull her back to me, sighing as her body molds against mine again. I can feel every curve and I’m surprised that I missed her warmth in the twenty seconds our bodies were apart. We kiss again, this time with more passion. Her hands trace along the waistband of my jeans and I feel her fingertips slip under my shirt to graze my bare stomach. I start quivering.

  She pushes me up against the car again and this time I relent. I spread my legs so that she can get closer to me. I’m trying very hard not to reach down and pull her hard against me, wanting the hot friction of her body between my legs. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to stop myself. She’s a fantastic kisser and I want more. Her full mouth is soft, yet demanding and my body is burning. Just as I’m ready to reach down and slide my hand up her skirt, anxious to feel the heat of her bare skin in my hand, Maddox leans out of the window and licks the side of my face. We quickly break apart.

  “Maddox! Back, now.” I point to the back of the SUV and he folds his ears and slowly crawls to the other side of the seat. Kate starts shaking with laughter and I join in. “Talk about a mood killer. I’m sorry.” She presses her forehead against mine.

  “It’s okay. I want to give you your gift before I forget,” she says. I’m confused because I thought that hot make out session was my present. She opens the car door, reaches below the seat, and pulls out a brown bag. She’s smiling as she hands it to me. She takes my breath away. I’m not used to seeing this carefree side of her. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to wrap it.” I tear into the bag and she laughs at my enthusiasm. I pull out a transparent cylinder of water. She smiles at my perplexed look and takes the cylinder from me. “If you shake it, a tiny tornado forms inside. Like this.” She shakes the tube, holds it up to the moonlight and sure enough, a tornado swirls around inside for a few seconds. I smile. There is writing on the bottom of the cylinder, but it’s too dark for me to make out the words. “You can read that later. I know it’s kind of corny. I also want to thank you for letting me chase with you and Hunter. It’s been an incredible experience.”

  I pull her close to me. “Thank you, Kate. It’s sweet of you to think of me on my birthday.”

  I lean into her and kiss her softly at first, taking the time to learn her mouth, feel her lips against mine, taste her sweetness on my tongue. She presses herself into me again. I’m trying to be respectful and not strip her down in a dark, makeshift parking lot, but she’s really making it difficult. I don’t want to lean against the car for fear that Maddox will interrupt again so I gently push Kate back against the pickup truck parked next to us. She moans when her back hits the metal. She reaches down and rubs my upper thigh. My muscles bunch under her fingertips. She’s driving me crazy.

  “Kate, not here. We have to stop.”

  “Nobody can see us. We’re completely alone,” she whispers. She’s staring at my lips and she’s so sincere that I want to melt into her. I’m not one to fall into bed with somebody I just kissed for the first time, but her warm body pressed against me is making me rethink my morals. She’s aggressive and I think we’d have more fun behind closed doors in a big bed than standing up against a rusty pickup truck in the middle of the night in Kansas. “It’s okay, Tris. It’s okay,” she croons.

  That does it for me. I move against her, devouring her mouth. She moans and I’m hoping it’s because she’s as turned on as I am and not because I’m too rough. At my hesitancy, she hisses a yes. I pull her skirt up until I feel the soft silk of her panties. I want to take my time, but the excitement of being out in public and the newness of her in my arms is too much and I not-so-gently tug them down. She wiggles out of them and kicks them somewhere. Her thighs are warm against my hand and I slip my fingers to her wet and swollen slit. Her arms tighten against me and she tilts her hips forward, easing my strain of trying to slip inside. I pull away to see her face as I slide one finger, then two inside of her. She bites her bottom lip and scratches my shoulder. She lifts her right leg up and puts it on the SUV behind me, giving me full access. I want to drop to my knees and bury my face into her warm pussy, but I
like what we are doing too much to stop. She thrusts her hips against my hand. I pump deeper inside her.

  “Oh, God, yes, Tris. Don’t stop,” she says.

  I anchor her with my hand on her neck and shoulder, hoping I’m not marking her or holding her too tightly. She doesn’t seem to mind and I stare at her in amazement as she opens herself up to me completely. Her eyes are narrow slits, but I can tell she is watching me. Her hips are moving in sync with my hand and I know she’s getting close. I want to touch her everywhere and taste her, but I only have two hands and both are busy right now. Her moans are getting louder and the only way I know how to keep her quiet is kiss her.

  I glide my hand under her light sweater and move my fingertips up and over her ribcage. I need to feel the sweet heaviness of her breast in my hand, feel her hard nipple between my fingertips. I peel down the lace of her bra. Even fully dressed she feels amazing. I break from kissing her and move my mouth down to her breast, biting and sucking through her sweater. Her hands grab my head and push me further into her breast. “Harder, Tris, harder,” she says. She pulls her sweater up, allowing me full access. The second I suck her firm nipple into my mouth, she explodes. The sweater drops onto my face and her hands grab the back of my neck as she rocks against my mouth and my hand at the same time. It’s a beautiful moment. I’m in awe of this woman.

  I’ve had passionate interludes before, but Kate has taken me to a whole new level. I don’t want to leave the sweet warmth of her body. I just got started. I know that this isn’t the time or place really and what we did was in a moment of weakness. I gingerly put her bra back in place and look up at her.

  She pants heavily and cups my face. “Wow.”

  I can’t help but feel victorious. We kiss again and I gently slip out of her. My fingers are soaked with her juices. Without thinking, I bring them to my lips to taste her. I feel slightly embarrassed as she watches me. I hear her breath catch and a slight moan escape her lips and I know she’s fine with it. We stand there, staring, gauging each other’s reaction. I pull her into me and we hold one another for I don’t know how long. I can feel the tiny shakes still rocking her body. I’m not sure what to think about what just happened. What an incredible day this has been. Saw a tornado, took great photos of it, saved a baby goat from barbed wire, and had sex against a beat up truck with a beautiful woman under a starry Kansas night.

  Chapter Ten

  “You did what?” Hunter asks. We’re back at the hotel, Kate in her room, and Hunter and I in ours. I sit on the end of the bed and rub my face in my hands a few times. I’m so very tired. Maddox plops down beside me, ready to go to bed.

  “I went to the car to let Maddox out and she followed me. One minute she’s talking about giving me my birthday present and the next we’re up against a truck having hot and heavy sex.” She stares at me for a full five seconds before busting out laughing.

  “Casanova.”

  I grin and shrug my shoulders. I’ve never had sex when we were out chasing storms. Maybe that’s it. We were coming down from the high we shared after seeing that tornado near Hays and felt the need to connect and reaffirm we survived it.

  “You can’t say anything.” I don’t know why I’m whispering or why I’m thinking we need to keep it a secret. “I mean, we didn’t really talk about what happened. It might be awkward in the morning when we’re all together.”

  “Why aren’t you with her now?” she asks.

  I don’t know the answer. I just stare at her. I don’t even know what happens now. “It’s been a long day and Kate practically fell asleep at the party.”

  “Well, you did help her expel some serious energy.”

  “I don’t want to go to her because I don’t want her to think it’s just a sex thing,” I say.

  “Maybe that’s all she wants,” Hunter says.

  I don’t like that. I lie on the bed and frown. I don’t like that at all. Now I’m going to be awake even longer just thinking about Kate and what all of this means, if anything. Sometimes Hunter is infuriating. She’s always been my voice of reason though.

  “Maybe it was so good, she wants more,” I say. Hunter laughs.

  “Maybe so, Tris. Just don’t expect anything. Keep it simple.” Hunter knows I tend to dwell on things, especially when I have somebody new in my life. She’s right, though. I just need to chill and wait. I roll over and close my eyes. It really has been quite the day.

  ❖

  We aren’t in any hurry to get up this morning. Yesterday was exhausting enough. Even Maddox just looks at me when I try to take him out. I slept on and off for about seven hours and I’m still tired.

  “What’s on the horizon?” I ask.

  Hunter’s hunched over her laptop. She shrugs her shoulders. “After yesterday, most of the activity is either way north or way south. There might be something happening in Oklahoma. We will just have to keep watching this system.” She points to an area where two fronts, a warm one from Mexico and a cold one from the Rockies, are destined to meet. Right now, there’s nothing forecast for that region, but we know how fast storms pop up. When we see a tornado, we forget about the six hundred mile days of riding in a car. We forget about greasy fast food and unsanitary bathroom breaks in the middle of nowhere. We even overlook uncomfortable catnaps in the car. Seeing a twisting rope of fury and energy from the sky erases the miserable experiences leading up to that moment.

  “Let’s head to Oklahoma then.” I know I need to talk to Kate. I have no idea what to say though. Before I have a chance to dwell on it, we hear a knock at the door. I freeze and stare at Hunter. She lifts her eyebrow at me. I turn to the mirror and quickly primp before she opens the door.

  “Good morning, Hunter,” Kate says. Hunter invites her in. We make eye contact. She looks fantastic. “Good morning, Tris.”

  “Yes, it is, Kate,” I say. We smile at each other and I swell with instant energy, the adrenaline rush of yesterday courses through my veins again. Not the tornado, but the frenzied coupling against the truck. Hunter clears her throat and I snap out of my trance. I could get lost in Kate’s deep blue eyes for days. “I just need to grab some stuff out of the bathroom, then we can go.”

  “I’m going to let Maddox out for a bit before we hit the road. Tris, fill Kate in on what the plan is for the day,” Hunter says. She grins, winks at me exaggeratedly, and gives me two thumbs up behind Kate’s back. I bite the inside of my cheek trying not to laugh. Kate shuts the door and I close the distance between us.

  “How did you sleep?” I ask. I don’t know what else to say. I have a hundred different questions I want answers to, but this one is safe and will let me know how the rest of the conversation will go. She slides her hands up my arms and rests them gently on the back of my neck.

  “I slept so well. I’m sorry I wasn’t better company when we got back here,” she says. She’s actually apologizing to me. She gently rubs her thumb over my bottom lip then leans forward and gently kisses me. Her soft, warm mouth tastes delicious and for a split second, I want to walk her backward until we fall on the bed.

  Our kiss is delicate at first, but turns passionate within moments. She moans as I slide my hands to the small of her back and pull her closer to me. I want to go lower, but we really don’t have the time and reluctantly I end the kiss. I stare at her for a few moments, then brush a stray hair away from her cheek.

  “Don’t worry. I was pretty tired, too,” I say. I didn’t fall right to sleep because I kept worrying about what Hunter said. It’s too soon to question Kate, so I just enjoy the feel of her body next to mine and her warm breath against my mouth. She is soft and tender against me. Her body is perfect, every curve fitting against mine. I wish it was July and we’re back home where time isn’t an issue and we don’t have this job to do. I kiss her again because I know our private time is limited on the road.

  “I enjoyed last night,” she says. I’m trying not to smile arrogantly because that’s not who I am. I wine and dine, I don’t paw
and maul and have smoking hot sex against a car.

  “That’s not how I usually do things,” I say. She smiles against my neck. Her mouth leaves a tiny wet mark on my skin and I try not to shiver.

  “It was fine, Tris. I promise.” She slides her hand down the center of my chest, her fingers lightly grazing my breasts until she reaches the low waist of my jeans. I can’t help but moan. “It’s too bad we don’t have more alone time.” I wonder if it’s too late to put the proverbial sock on the door. It is as I hear Hunter making a big production of coming back into the room. We break apart, but I’m still kind of holding her and she isn’t pulling away. I guess we’re going to be out in the open.

  “You girls ready?” Hunter asks. Kudos to her for not making a big deal out of this. She grabs my bag and we follow her out to the SUV.

  Chapter Eleven

  “We have to stop. Oh, my God,” Kate says. Hunter’s already trying to find a safe place for us to park. It’s hard when the streets are blocked with debris. She puts on the hazard lights and we all start moving. I grab my backpack, thrust a flashlight in Kate’s hand, and we head out. I’m always completely amazed at the destruction left by a tornado. There’s so much going on around us that it’s overwhelming and we don’t know where to start. It looks like a war zone. We hear people calling so we cross the street. There’s somebody trapped in a mobile home that has been tossed about thirty feet from where it was before the storm hit.

  “We think Gloria is still inside.” An older man is pointing to the trailer now on its side, personal items torn to bits litter the surrounding area.