More than One Night

by Heatherly Bell

  He pointed to the bar. “Seriously, go back inside with your friends before I carry you in there.”

  She snorted. Let him try.

  “Not until you tell me why you’re being so mean.” She wiggled, getting comfortable.

  Sam gave her his back, shoulders appearing rigid under the black leather jacket. He may or may not have muttered a curse under his breath. Then he carefully and methodically removed his helmet and shut off the motorcycle.

  “You’re here with your girlfriends. Dancing with each other. I got the feeling it was a man-free zone.”

  “That’s a cop-out. You’ve met Zoey. And that’s Carly with us. They’d love seeing you.”

  “Sorry. I’m not the best company right now.”

  She thought back to the conversation she’d seen him having with Julian. “Did Julian say something to you? Does he...know about us?”

  “No. I wouldn’t do that to you. What we have is between us and no one else.”

  “And what do we have?”

  She’d put him on the spot but she didn’t care. One of them was going to have to come out and admit they had something special between them. Something worth fighting for.

  And it would be nice if he went first.

  When he didn’t respond, she climbed off the motorcycle, using his back as leverage. She half walked, half strutted her way toward the bar.

  “Good night, you pain in the neck.” When she turned, he was right behind her.

  It didn’t take him but five seconds to have her pushed up against the wall of the building, two arms braced on either side of her. His eyes were hooded as he lowered one hand and oh-so-casually circled her neck.

  “Pain in the neck, huh?”

  His large body was tall and imposing as he towered over her. In his black leather jacket, biker boots and literally windblown hair, he looked wilder than usual. But her body hummed because she didn’t feel at all threatened or trapped. Instead, another tingle rode up her leg and settled between her thighs.

  “Actually the pain is lower but I was trying to be nice.”

  He grinned, slow and easy. “How low? Here?” One hand dropped from her neck to her butt and he squeezed.

  Gulp. Oh boy. “Yes, you’re in the general area.”

  His hand took a slow slide up her body, moving from her behind to the small of her back, her waist, along the curve of her elbow, and ending with her neck. He leaned in and kissed the pulse point there.

  The pulse point reacted as if she’d swallowed a magic dancing bean. “Sam...”

  His hands were busy, one now under her dress and easing its way to the elastic of her panties. She sucked in a breath at his touch.

  “What?” he whispered into her ear. “You don’t want this now?”

  Her resistance, what little she’d thought she possessed, faded to black. She did want him, just not here in the back of the Silver Saddle and near the dumpster.

  “Sure I do.” To prove it, she wrapped hands around the nape of his neck. “Just maybe not...right here.”

  With his fingers, he tipped her chin and she met blue eyes that looked dark. He studied her from underneath long lashes. “Why not? Is it the dumpster?”

  Among other things. They were outside, for one, and anyone could walk up and see them. She’d never had sex in public even if the idea was a little intriguing.

  “Well, yeah.”

  “Funny. It would be perfect.” He gave a sideways look in its direction. “I did go through a lot of garbage in the desert and sometimes it still messes with my head. Maybe I don’t like the idea of dragging you down with me.” He took a step back. “I can make you happy for a little while, but maybe I’m never going to be what you need.”

  White-hot anger pulsed through her. “Who said I need anyone? I take care of myself, Sam Hawker. I know what you’re trying to do here and it won’t work.”

  He was trying to let her off easy, so she wouldn’t feel guilty about having slept with him again. She heard his message loud and clear before he’d ever said one word.

  He was still haunted by this past, which hurt her heart. But most disturbing of all was that Sam didn’t feel good enough for her.

  He quirked a brow as if waiting for her to elaborate.

  “You want me to give up on you and I won’t ever do that.”

  He cocked his head. “Anything is better than your pity.”

  They were going there again. To that place where he wouldn’t let her feel an ounce of compassion for what he’d been through. She probably didn’t know the half of it and never would, but whatever it was, he didn’t deserve to carry this kind of pain around with him forever.

  She drilled her finger into his chest. “For the last time, I don’t pity you. I hurt for you. And you can’t stop me.”

  The back door opened and out came Jimmy, the owner, carrying a trash bag. “Hey. Everything okay here?”

  “Yeah,” Jill said. “All fine.”

  Jimmy was former Army, and as he glanced casually in their direction, Jill noticed a two-second look pass between Sam and Jimmy. It was a simple nod in which a thousand words were exchanged between them. At least.

  They didn’t need words. She envied that instant tribal connection that Sam had with Jimmy, with Ryan, with Julian and the other guys. It was the membership card to an exclusive club no one ever wanted to join.

  Jimmy hauled the bag into the dumpster and strode back inside. For one second Jill heard the sounds of Brett Eldredge singing before the door muffled the sound.

  “Go back inside with your friends,” Sam said.

  “Please?”

  “Please, go inside.” He strode back to the motorcycle and straddled it between long powerful legs.

  She walked back to him before he could put on his helmet. Setting her hands on his shoulders, she met his indigo eyes straight on. Neither one of them blinked for one long moment.

  She would try this “no words” gaze that had passed between Jimmy and Sam. That had often passed between Ryan and his war buddies. No, she was not former military and had only small clues of what they had been through. Ryan also didn’t talk much about his service. But she had an imagination. A good one, last she’d checked.

  And no matter what Sam had been through, no matter who he’d hurt or who he’d failed, that would never make her better than him.

  She raised her hands from his shoulders to frame his face. Stared into beautiful blue eyes framed by long dark lashes. Then pressed her forehead to his.

  “What are you doing?” Sam said. “The Vulcan mind meld?”

  She pulled back in time to see his twitching lips.

  “Shut up. I’m trying to tell you something.”

  “Words work, too.”

  “You’re right.” She traced the rough bristle on his jawline, thinking of the irony behind his words. “I’m not too good for you. I don’t feel sorry for you. You keep telling me you’re not what I need. Maybe that’s true, but you’re exactly what I want. And I reserve the right to make that choice for myself, Sam Hawker. You hear me?”

  “Yeah,” he said on a rough whisper. “I hear you.”

  He pulled her close and kissed her with a long and deep kiss that had her heart aching for an entirely different reason.

  “Jill?” The doors to the Silver Saddle opened and Carly and Zoey stepped outside.

  Jill slowly and reluctantly moved out of Sam’s arms as they dropped to his side.

  “Go inside, Mr. Spock. I’ll see you later.” He winked. “Get a good night’s sleep because tomorrow I have a surprise for you.”

  She smiled and watched as he slipped his helmet back on, started up his Harley and drove away into the velvet dark night.

  “What was that about?” Carly asked, coming to Jill’s side.

  Jill sighed. “That was just me, riskin
g it all.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  You’re going to have to get your hands dirty sometime.

  Jill floated in the cool waters of the lake, trying to get comfortable with the feel of a board strapped to her feet. Or strapped to the laced-up boots on her feet. The boots that matched the ski vest she wore over a pair of bright pink board shorts. She remembered ordering these from the catalog, thinking they would be a nice choice for their female clientele, not quite imagining she’d be the first to wear them.

  Relax and fall forward.

  Keep your arms straight.

  Let the boat do the work of pulling you up.

  Sam’s next-day “surprise” had been to show up at her trailer shortly after she’d arrived to start her day, all the men in tow, to give her a wakeboarding lesson on the lake. They all seemed very excited about it, so she didn’t have the heart to make excuses.

  Surprise!

  To his great credit, Sam had brought coffee with him.

  God, she adored this man.

  Yes, it was time she tried another sport she’d never attempted before. The guys had been giving her a minilesson for the past thirty minutes. Soon it would be time to put it all into practice, if she could get all the parts moving and in sync. Since she’d never been accused of being graceful, either on the water or out of it, this could be a challenge.

  But no, she was not afraid, worried, or intimidated. Nor would she back down. This was a job for her alter ego, Angelina.

  That girl was a firecracker.

  Julian was at the wheel of the boat a few feet away from her. Michael, Ty and Sam all provided instruction.

  “Ready?” Sam said.

  “Hell, yeah!” she shouted. Angelina did, anyway.

  Sam went over the instructions once more and then smiled and gave a thumbs-up. She returned her slightly quivering thumb. Julian started up the boat and it began to slowly pull away.

  Jill remembered to let the board drop, to let it slice through the water, relax her knees and... She forgot what was next. She managed to get up and stay up for three glorious seconds. Going under, she came up sputtering and blinking water from her lashes.

  Sam and the boat were only a few feet away. “Once you’re up, don’t look down.”

  “What?” She shook her head, flinging water out of her ears.

  “Keep your eyes on the boat—it will help with your balance,” he shouted, pointing to his eyes.

  “Okay,” she shouted back, then gave him another thumbs-up.

  Gosh, there was so much to remember.

  “You can do this, bossy lady!” Michael called out.

  “You know it,” she said, not at all certain he was right.

  The next few times weren’t much better.

  “Don’t pull with your arms,” Sam yelled over the loud whir of the motor. “Let the boat take you up.”

  “Okay.”

  She’d get up, a great achievement, but then couldn’t stay up. And she was getting tired by the fifth or sixth time.

  Sam dived into the water and swam to her. “You okay?”

  “Sure I am.” She didn’t appreciate his furrowed brow. The obvious concern in his gaze. She gripped the baton. “Let’s go again.”

  Moving closer, Sam’s hand skimmed down her spine to her behind and he spoke softly. “You can give up now, babe. We’ll try again another time. It was a good effort.”

  “No! I’m not done.” She held the baton tighter. “How long did I stay up? Three seconds?”

  “Five last time,” he added helpfully.

  “Really?” That was longer than she’d suspected since frankly she’d thought those three seconds had seemed more like one. “Okay, I think I can stay up this time for longer. I’m getting this.”

  Sam went over everything with her for the twentieth time.

  “Last time,” Sam said in no uncertain terms. “The guys want to break for lunch.”

  “Oh, of course.”

  This time, she was up, enjoying the spray of the lake’s water on her cheeks, the bright summer sunshine nearly blinding her. And then she was down. Sam swore it was thirty seconds that time but she didn’t believe him for one second.

  And it wasn’t until much later in the day that Jill realized that breaking for lunch might have been Sam’s way of allowing her to stop without losing face.

  Later that afternoon a dried Jill sat in her trailer, thinking about Sam’s words on the day of their trial run. He obviously meant that for someone who’d opened an extreme sports park, she didn’t seem all that interested in a good physical challenge. Now that he knew the reasons why she might be a little delayed in that area, he understood.

  As she sat behind her desk, every muscle in her body ached in a good way. She’d forgotten how much energy swimming took out of her. She hoped today she’d shown Sam that she wouldn’t give up easily. On anything or anyone.

  Certainly not on him.

  He kept quietly hammering away at her tired heart, putting it through the wringer.

  She wasn’t too good for him, and Sam of all people had a heads-up on one true fact about her. No matter what she looked like, and whether or not she resembled the girl-next-door type, Sam knew better. He should know she was far from perfect. She couldn’t stay up on that board if her life depended on it. Yet.

  She’d had plenty of limitations put on her. Even Ryan worried occasionally, though he was much better at keeping it from her. Sure, she’d never climb Mount Everest but she’d now been across the zip line at night. Holding Sam’s hand, but she hadn’t even needed him the second time. That was only the beginning of bigger and better things. Eventually, she’d rock climb and learn to stay up on a wakeboard and everything else, too. Climb a smaller mountain. Baby steps.

  She checked email and found one from a board member who had suggested adding longer excursions to their offerings. One-or two-day trips to the mountains for rock climbing. Snow trips to the Sierras in the winter for skiing and snowshoeing. It would be another stream of income and a way to add interest. And she was again asked whether or not she’d had a chance to check out the résumés they’d sent over or interview someone for the general manager position.

  But she would need more guides, not a corporate drone.

  On it. Jill hit Send, and went back to her mountain of emails.

  In her spare time, of which she had so much these days, she researched wildflowers. She’d been seeing them in her dreams. Pretty purple, blue and yellow flowers that grew tentacles long enough to wrap around Jill’s neck and squeeze. The city council meeting was tonight and she’d be ready with a list of suggestions for how they could protect the endangered wildflower. Among them?

  Put a little fence around the flowers with a marker describing their name and plight.

  Hire a professional arborist to dig them up and move them to a different location.

  And... Okay, she had nothing else. She needed more ideas.

  Or maybe what she really needed was more of Sam. A little tension relief. More of his agile hands making his way under her dress and her panties.

  But something else he’d said twice now bothered her. She’d done something very wrong if he thought for one second that she felt sorry for him. There was a difference between pity and compassion. She could never feel sorry for Sam, a man who’d lived his life on his own terms, made his choices and owned every one of them. He’d already accomplished what she’d tried so hard to do with her life. What she was still doing with this place. With her life. Moving forward, owning it, living on her own terms. Doing life, Jill’s way.

  Last night and again this morning she’d fallen a little bit deeper for Sam. She could continue to see him in secret. No one would be the wiser. But Sam wasn’t anyone’s dirty little secret and he sure wouldn’t be hers.

  Stretching, she forced herself to
do fifty jumping jacks. Heart racing and fully functional thank you very much, she slowed down and felt a trickle of sweat roll down her back. Physical activity could be addictive. Sometimes she understood why Sam continually had to find the hardest and toughest physical challenge.

  She stepped outside of her trailer into the warm day and blinked into the bright sun.

  This afternoon the guides were busy coordinating routes and trails, and cleaning equipment after the friends’ weekend. She took a walk down the trail toward the hill that stretched up a good two hundred feet and in the distance saw a mirage. It had to be one, because no one in their right mind would climb without a harness.

  But yet there was Sam, freestyling it, while the men looked on from below.

  For one brief moment she wondered if he was trying to sabotage this park. Or get fired. An accident could mean the termination of the park before it even opened. Cal/OSHA’s guidelines for employees were strict and she had every intention of following them. Safety first. She didn’t need her crazy adrenaline junkie employee/boyfriend pushing the limits. She wanted to yell but if she spooked him, he might slip off. Instead she quietly walked to the bottom, where Michael, Ty and Julian stood. Big smiles on their collective faces. Ty turned as he heard her walking toward them.

  “What are we doing here?” Jill asked.

  “Oh, um, hi, boss,” Ty said, a frozen smile on his face. “Hey, good work today on the lake.”

  “You’ll get it next time,” Michael said.

  “Uh-huh. What in the name of god is he doing?”

  “Freestyling,” Julian said, walking toward her.

  “Oh, I’m aware of that,” Jill said, trying not to bite off a piece of her tongue in fury. “The question of the day is why?”

  “We may have bet Sam he couldn’t do this,” Michael said, looking as guilty as a sinner at church.

  She already knew from experience it was best not to dare Sam in any way, shape or form. He’d dived into a cold lake and made her follow him. He’d broken her bed. What was next? Walking through fire? No. She wouldn’t allow it. He would not do this to her or to himself.

  “Are you mad at him?” Julian asked. “He’s not going to get hurt. I would make sure of that. Seriously. He’s done this before.”