The Hail Mary

by Ginger Scott

  “How is that even possible? It’s L.A.—they don’t sell out of flights. When people want to go there, they just make more. There are literally hundreds of flights.”

  Reed pinches the bridge of his nose, and eventually he starts nodding. It isn’t a happy nod, but it’s a resolved one.

  “Yeah, that’s better than nothing. We’d talked about that. I don’t think she made any plans, but I might need you to help her out if she did. Or I’ll just go on my own…I’ll let you know in a minute.”

  “Yeah…yeah…”

  After one final pause, Reed hangs up and blows out heavily, the force flapping his lips and cheeks. It makes me smile. I turn my face away again until I can get it in check.

  “Looks like I’m going back with you. Jason’s just going to fly back to OKC, and he’s taking another flight on game day. It’s booked up, and he offered to call Jerry and see if we could get the private jet, but that feels super diva. You can get to Arizona, unless…how do you feel about driving?”

  I furrow my brow to mask my excitement, internally amused that I’m now excited about driving through the damn desert in that Jeep. Karma’s a funny bitch.

  “I mean, I guess I still could. That was our original plan, and I didn’t schedule any sessions yet.” My pulse speeds up, like a bomb ticking and ready to blow. I’m on the verge of confessing everything.

  “Yeah, all right. If you’re okay with it. We’ll get our trip after all.” There’s a hint of my Reed in his response, like he’s shedding some of the weight of Trig and the day.

  “I’d like that,” I say, shrugging a shoulder. “I guess I’ll drop the car off then and we’ll just hit the road in the Jeep? Maybe get dinner?”

  Dinner. Like a real date. Granted, at the airport rental car terminal, but still.

  “Yeah,” Reed says, already dialing Jason back.

  I let my grin spread in front of him now, living on the edge knowing that he might see it. I’m hit with that happy-kind-of-cry feeling, and I think it’s a window of relief. Reed tells his brother to set it up and have the Jeep brought to the airport, and I pull into the lane marked RENTAL RETURN. He gets off the phone with his brother just as I pull in and hand over the keys to the guy checking for dings on our sedan. Reed grabs his bag, then opens the trunk to pull mine free along with the one Jason, bless his heart, left behind.

  “I’ll just give it to him when he gets in Sunday,” Reed says, and I wonder if that’s true or just a lie Jason told him. I have a feeling he’s flying straight to L.A., in the seat that Reed was supposed to be in. Maybe he’ll make a few clients on the trip.

  We sign for the car and take our things to the bridge that spans from the parking garage to the terminal on the other side of the accessway. The divot between Reed’s eyes has grown deeper, and I’m afraid that if I don’t do something to loosen it now, it won’t ever leave him. We make our way to the people-mover, and both stop on the belt, letting it do the work for us while people in a bigger hurry rush by. I stare at Reed’s reflection in the glass overlooking the mountains and sprawling desert city stretching out to the west. I think of a dozen different things to say that I keep to myself—until I come up with the one thing that might just lift this blanket that’s smothering him.

  “Hey, you know what?” I tug at his arm and he relaxes enough to lift his arm and run his palm over my back.

  “What?” he asks.

  “I’m actually pretty excited about the Jeep,” I say, lifting myself up on my toes.

  Reed’s mouth pulls in on one side with a grin that says he doesn’t need my pity.

  “You hate the Jeep.” His head falls to the side and his eyes study me like a jury assessing my guilt.

  “I don’t hate the Jeep. It’s not my favorite smooth ride, but you were looking forward to this. And I kinda think it’ll be fun now,” I say, remembering the sound of the soft top flapping in the wind. That novelty wears off after about twenty miles.

  Reed eyes me a little longer, turning so his chest is facing me. His smirk grows by a hint, and I revel in it, because I feel like it means progress.

  “Yeah?” he leans forward, closing the slight gap between us.

  I grab hold of the front of his long-sleeved shirt with both hands, tugging on the gray cotton playfully, then stepping in so my chin is resting on his chest and my eyes are peering up at him.

  “Yeah,” I breathe out.

  He swallows and shifts his weight so his hand can press on my back and draw me close enough to kiss. With eyes staring down at me, he gives in to a full-blown smile. His wavy hair flops over his brow and I reach up to move it, cupping his other cheek in my hand as I kiss his lips and leave my mouth on his for the rest of the people-moving ride into the terminal.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Reed

  I’m running on adrenaline. It’s a potion made of urgency to get to L.A. and anticipation for this drive. I was really bummed when I found out I wouldn’t be able to drive with Nolan like we’d planned. I guess my brother’s screwup has its positives.

  She has to be exhausted. She’s been driving for nearly nine hours, and we hit the road pretty quick. She got up at five this morning to make her first flight that brought her to Santa Fe. That’s a lot of travel in one day, and it’s night now.

  “I’m really fine to drive, you know,” I say one more time. She’s brushed off my previous three hints.

  “I’m good.” She yawns for punctuation. I lean forward and press my palms on the dash and force her to glance at me. We’ve long left the city and are hitting the stretch of desert that goes on forever, trailing along the Mexico border and over the Colorado River.

  “I just wanted you to get to relax for once,” she says.

  “Bullshit,” I tease. She wrinkles her brow. “You wanted to avoid my back-road hopping.”

  “Maybe that, too,” she grimaces, pulling over to the side of the road and putting on the hazards.

  I got this cool book called Blue Highways once for Christmas. It’s all about the things you see off the main drag and into small, little-known places. Peyton was one and we were doing a cross-country road trip and I decided to get creative. I drove us about seventy-six miles before the road we were on just dead-ended in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming. Nolan was hungry and desperate for a bathroom. She’s never forgotten.

  I keep maps now, though. You can’t count on internet access for your map app out in nowhere…or Wyoming. I keep a list of the roads I’ve been on, too. I’ve only hit about five percent of them.

  “I’ll stick to the plan. Besides, you know I love this drive at night,” I say.

  She smirks and flings her buckle free.

  “The ship is yours, Captain.”

  She kicks open her door and I do the same, meeting her in the light beams by the front bumper. She drags her hand over my chest, but before she can get by me completely, I wrap her up in my arms and swing her around, sitting her on the front of my Jeep just like I did when this thing was new.

  “Goddamn, you’re pretty out here.” I palm her knees, then run my hands down her jeans to the ripped cuffs just above her ankles. I grab the threads and shake her feet a little, then pull them around me as I scoot in as close as I can. She lets her head fall against mine as her arms wrap around my shoulders.

  “Just out here, huh? Smooth talker.” She giggles.

  I roll my head against hers back and forth and squeeze at her sides in her ticklish spot until she lunges into me and pants out for me to stop.

  “You’re especially pretty out here,” I clarify.

  She leans back, holding onto my arms to brace herself, and looks into my eyes. I love the way her gaze flits from my right eye to my left, a suspicious smile on her lips.

  “All right, Johnson. I’ll let you off the hook…this time.” Her sleepy eyes blink long and slow.

  “Phew,” I tease.

  The desert wind carries a chill and it pulls her hair loose from the band at the base of her neck. I tuck the wi
ld strands behind her ears and pull her rolled-up sweater sleeves down, then rub the top of the knit with my palms to warm her up. She leans forward into me, cuddling and shivering at the same time.

  “Your Jeep’s heater is shit, ya know,” she jokes.

  I bust out a heavy laugh and rub her back.

  “I’ll have the boys take a look.”

  Never, not once, has she suggested we get rid of it. We could own a garage full of Jeeps at this point, but I don’t think I would ever want any other one.

  “We should probably hit the road,” she says, her tired gaze tilting up to meet mine. My thumbs run along her cheeks and I slide my fingers into her hair and dust her lips with a kiss.

  “I’m already late. What’s a little later?” I say, going in for a second kiss. We’re the only fools out on the road this time of night. I’m taking advantage of having this little slice of moonlight to call our own.

  I feel the curl of her top lip lift, the way it swings up in a perfect letter M, between both of mine; I grab on with my teeth and hold it hostage for just a beat. Her tongue slips out, urging me to kiss her deeper. I slide my hands around her back and pull her into me completely and take her mouth with mine.

  She whimpers when my hands find the bottom of her sweater and feather their way up her ribs to the lacey trim of her bra, and her fingertips loop into the top of my jeans, unbuttoning them just enough so she can reach inside and feel how ready I am for her.

  “How much do you hate this Jeep?” I chuckle the words against her lips and she laughs against me in return between heavy breaths.

  “I could learn to love it,” she says.

  I pull her against me tightly, sliding my hands under her ass and lifting her from the Jeep until I’ve carried her to the passenger door. I glance to the left and the right, not a hint of light glowing in either direction. I bring my hard gaze to her hazy one.

  “Get in,” I order.

  Her breath hitches as I set her in the seat. She lodges her feet just inside the door and scoots back until her spine is resting on the center console; her body is arched and waiting for me to taste it. I pull her sweater up swiftly, and she lifts her arms until I free her of it completely. I rest my knee on the seat between her legs and kiss the pale skin between her breast, my scratchy chin running along the silkiness of her bra as I kiss her hard nipple only half-hidden under thin lace.

  “I like this one. It’s new,” I say, biting her hard peak through the fabric. She pushes up into my mouth and cries out lightly.

  “I got it months ago. I’ve just been saving it,” she confesses.

  I growl like a caveman because I’m stripped to my most basic needs right now looking at her—feeling her.

  With tortuous strokes of my tongue, I work the peak of her breast until I’m sure it’s raw. Impatient to do the same to the other one, I run my palms up her stomach to the cups of silk and lace and pull them up over her swollen breasts so I can kiss her other nipple skin to mouth. I suck it hard, until she cries out under my control and raises her hips with need.

  I lift my head and pull her bra up until it’s free from her body, too, discarded in the driver’s seat along with what is now my favorite cream-colored sweater. She pulls the band from her hair, letting her hair spill out over her shoulders and the inside of the car. It’s gotten longer since the last time I saw her—maybe I just haven’t noticed. I see her now, though. I see us. I’ve missed this.

  I stand as she leans up on her elbows, her lips red and raw from our kissing and the places where her teeth bit down to hold back her cries. Her naked breasts are rising with each breath, a steady pace that’s somehow speaking to me, telling me to hurry it the fuck up.

  I unbutton her jeans and unzip slowly, letting my hands trail down the front of her panties as I tug her pants down to the curve of her hips, and she lifts enough for me to drag them down her thighs and knees until she can kick them away completely. Her hands reach up, fingers flexing, almost dancing with passion while she squirms in her seat and lies back over the console so far that she’s no longer looking at me. It’s the hottest goddamned thing I’ve ever seen.

  “You ruin me, woman,” I growl, grabbing at her flesh above her knees and sliding my hands up her legs until I find the warm center between them.

  I slide my thumbs over the soft strip of cotton as she writhes under my touch and trail my fingers up to the band of silk that cuts just below her bellybutton. Slipping my fingers underneath, I roll the lacy top down until I can almost see the soft pink skin. If I didn’t look up, I never would have noticed. The car’s lights shine enough, though, that the glow traces my profile.

  “We have company,” I say, chuckling sinisterly. I feel dizzy, not really in a position to cool down but knowing I’ll need to. We’ve been interrupted…again.

  I expect Nolan to sit up and curl into a ball or to drop to the floor of my Jeep, mortified. I prepare myself for it, stepping in closer to give her cover, but soon, I feel her hands cover mine where they rest on her hips. She begins to urge them down, taking her panties off more until she brings her knees up high enough for me to slip them away completely.

  This is a colossally dangerous idea. It’s also the hottest fucking thing we’ve ever done. Our first time on a mountain has just been eclipsed. I am never selling this Jeep. If it catches on fire, I will have the scraps welded into a piece of art.

  The car heading our direction is maybe a mile out, the lights a dim glow in the distance that flickers with each tiny hill the travelers roll over.

  “Are you sure?” I ask, running my finger over her slick pussy just to add to the persuasion. Her breath leaves with a whimper as she lifts her head and bites at her bottom lip.

  “God yes, Reed,” she begs, her toes curling at the edge of the seat while her knees fall open for me.

  I look to my left at the growing headlights as I unzip my jeans to pull out my cock, wrapping my hand around it and stroking twice. I grab Nolan’s hips and slide her toward me, hooking one leg with my hand and holding it to my side, my fingers digging into my favorite muscles on her body and moving up to her ass. I grab my cock with my other hand and guide it into her warm center, pushing deep inside as I let out a groan.

  “Goddamn,” I say, my eyes unable to stay open, drunk on the euphoria of just how amazing it is to be inside of her. I pull out completely and wait while she pants with need until I can’t take it anymore, and I fall back inside.

  Her body arches more and her hands form fists that pound against the driver’s seat and steering wheel just as the car that was in the distance lights us up for anyone to see. It flies by with a roar, the motor rushing to the next mile, the tires eating up pavement. I pull out of Nolan again and push back inside harder. She cries out a “Yes!”

  “Come here,” I beckon her, scooping her into me, lifting her with my cock pulsing inside until I’m holding her in my arms along the side of the Jeep, hidden from the road. I walk us to the wheel well and brace her body against the cold metal as her hands fall onto the hood to hold herself in place while I slide my cock in and out at a frantic pace. She hums out our sweet rhythm, breathing out a chorus of pleases and yeses until her head snaps forward and her eyes meet mine.

  Her gaze is determined, chasing that ultimate bliss that I get to give to her. I’m the only man who gets to give this to her, and I’d almost forgotten how much pleasure I get from just watching her come undone. My hips rocking in and out, I pull my shirt up and over my body so I can feel her hands on my bare skin. Our breath is turning to fog, and our bodies are damp with a sheen of sex and sweat.

  I can feel it coming, but I hold on long enough to push Nolan completely over the edge, falling deep inside her with almost violent thrusts that slide her body back an inch at a time on the metal of my Jeep. When I feel her body start to tighten and pulse around me, I let my weight collapse on top of her, my tongue tasting the salt and sweat forming at the base of her neck as I kiss along her jawline and run my hands over her breas
ts, up her arms and to her wrists. I pin her arms above her head as I kiss and continue to push until every bit of me loses control. I come in her hard, my warmth making her slick and soft, sending tremors throughout her body again as I finally let my cock slip from her and slide along the swollen folds between her legs.

  I’m out of breath, sticky and exhausted, but so damn happy. And deep in love. This woman is my everything, and I think with all of the shit we’ve been through, and everything we’ve avoided, I somehow forgot how perfect every piece of her is for me. How undeniable we are together—physically and emotionally.

  “I’m pretty sure that was illegal,” she finally says, her voice faint and satiated.

  I laugh and kiss at her neck.

  “I know it was,” I say, stepping back enough for her to slide to the ground and stand between me and the Jeep. “Here,” I say, handing her my shirt—literally the only piece of clothing in immediate reach.

  “That was hot…but I also desperately wish I had a shower,” she says, laughing halfway through her words.

  “Blue highway?” I raise a brow.

  It takes her a few seconds to get my meaning, but when she does she nods excitedly.

  “Definitely,” she agrees. I think this might be a first. Nolan is willing to let me explore a back road. It’s not completely uncharted territory for us. There are a lot of ranches out this way, and some of them are for tourists. There’s bound to be a motor lodge nearby.

  I help her gather her clothes and redress then I take a sweatshirt out of my bag and climb into the driver’s side.

  “I’m too sleepy to drive now anyhow,” I say.

  “I’m fucking exhausted,” she yawns.

  I laugh quietly because she’s been exhausted all night. She’s also stunning like this—after that. When she’s sleepy. When she’s mine.