A Date with Desire

by Heather McGovern

  The complication twisted inside him, eating at him, because it wasn’t right. A woman like Anna shouldn’t be anyone’s secret. Least of all his. He was lucky to have a couple of weeks with her in his life, and here he was—hiding.

  “But my sister sort of knows,” he confessed.

  “How? We’ve been so discreet.”

  “I know. But Sophie knows all, and that’s okay. She’s got ESP or something, but can keep a secret like a vault. I don’t mind her knowing.”

  Her small smile grew that much more, and he had to kiss her, the perfect curve of her lips too much to resist.

  The kiss was sweet, her lips soft against his, but he couldn’t get rid of the gloomy sensation hanging over them.

  Never, in all his years, did he think he’d feel this way, but he wanted to know what else was troubling her.

  If something was wrong, he wanted in on the issue. The problem was, she didn’t want to talk about it.

  She’d gone to see her mom to seek some kind of amends or closure. Either that didn’t happen or things went down ugly. She didn’t have to talk about the visit with her mother if she didn’t want to, but there had to be something he could do to help.

  “What do you have planned today?”

  “I don’t know. Nap. Maybe read.”

  The book sitting on the porch railing had a mile-long title. All he saw were the words “dealing” and “death.” Not the sort of tale she needed, to get her out of her head.

  “Nope. I don’t think so. Let’s do something.”

  “Don’t you have work today?”

  He had a shit ton of work to do today: a company to call about the wiring for the festival, a call to make to their insurance company, plus whatever Roark would likely text him to take care of. “Yes, but I have all day to do it. I can work on things later. Right now, I want to make sure you’re okay.”

  “Absolutely not. I’m not going to pull you away from work.”

  “Work can wait.”

  “And so can I.” Her face grew stern. “Do what you need to first, and then come back. If you can. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here and we’ll do something. I’ve been selfish enough taking up so much of your time. Now that you have the green light on the festival, you need to run with it.”

  Her insistence sounded neutral enough, but a certain word she used lit up like flares. Anna was not selfish. He knew that kind of talk because he used to use it. The doubt, the self-deprecation.

  She was right about him needing to handle work first, and then fun, but she was wrong about the rest.

  “All right. I’m going to get my stuff done, then I’m going to come back here, free for the rest of the day, and you and I are going to spend it together. Deal?”

  “Deal. But how about something that doesn’t involve water?”

  * * *

  He took care of his tasks that day, responsibly but with an added sense of urgency.

  Fancy talk for working his ass off as fast as he could without screwing up.

  With Anna gone yesterday, they’d already spent a day apart. He wasn’t looking to make it two days.

  Normally, if he was hanging out with someone, he wanted his alone time. Required it to keep from getting twitchy.

  Not with Anna.

  They had a little over a week left, less if he got busy with the festival. The more the event became a reality, the more his free time would be eaten into with extra jobs. And now that he couldn’t have her along to help, their window of opportunity was shrinking even more.

  So hell yes, he had a sense of urgency.

  He took care of hiring a wiring tech for the power to the vendor tents, and he got a quote on renting the tents themselves, both well within budget. By the time he ticked off the last item on his list, it was almost five.

  He jumped in his SUV and broke a few speed limits rushing back. As he took the turn at the gravel road that led to the cabins, a brilliant idea bit him. He parked the SUV, hidden behind a copse of trees, and dug the garage key out of the glove box.

  He never did this. Ever.

  The only exception was the time Sophie’s little sedan got a flat in a vicious autumn thunderstorm, and he’d spotted her on the way back up the mountain. They’d made it back in one piece, but both of them looked like drowned rats.

  Roark had paced a path in front of the fireplace, knowing they were both out in the storm. There were tornado warnings in surrounding counties, and even though tornadoes never made it up the mountain, big brother still worked himself up into a fret.

  In all fairness though, he fussed over them that whole night. Had Wright whip up some soup and homemade bread, went and got dry clothes, built a fire. A full-blown mother hen he’d been, and Dev couldn’t lie, it’d felt nice.

  Sophie had since gotten a better car, and Dev started paying attention to the weather forecast, but they all still recalled that night with fondness.

  Dev reached Anna’s cabin on foot, and only had to knock once before she jerked the door open.

  “You must be ready to go.” He laughed.

  “I don’t know, am I?”

  She still had on the sundress and the little denim jacket that went with it. The issue was the shoes. “Do you have any boots?”

  “Hiking boots.”

  “You need to put those on. Sandals won’t work.”

  She scrunched her brow. “With this dress? I think I packed some booties though. Hang on.”

  What the hell were booties?

  Moments later, she reappeared with black boots that looked like they’d been hacked off just above the ankles.

  Booties. Made sense now that he saw them, and hell. The shoes were hot.

  “Booties, huh?” He followed her down the porch stairs.

  “That’s what they’re called.”

  He could think of a few places he’d like to see those booties. Around his waist, over his head, under his bed.

  Anna stopped walking and he bumped into her, his focus on the swish of her skirt over the booties, not on where he was going.

  “Where are we going?”

  Damn good question.

  “Um. Keep walking.”

  She put a hand on her hip, doing nothing to cool him down. “But I don’t know where I’m supposed to go.”

  He put his hands on her shoulders and spun her around, facing down the drive to the cabin. “That way. Just keep going in that direction and I’ll tell you when to stop.”

  They walked along for about half a minute before she shot him a look over her shoulder. “What are you doing back there?”

  “Walking. What are you doing?”

  This time when she stopped, he managed not to run smack into her. “Are you staring at my behind?”

  “Maybe. How many pairs of these booties did you pack?”

  “Only these.” A smile lit her face. The first full, genuine one of the day, and not a hint of gloom. “You’re bad. And shameless.”

  He moved closer, into her personal space. “You like it.”

  She didn’t budge an inch. “Lord help me, I do.”

  With both hands on her waist, he drew her in, her breasts pressed to his chest. “Today took forever. I thought I’d never get back.”

  “But you did. And just in time.” She laid her hands on his arms, easing her fingers underneath his short sleeves.

  He kissed her. None of this was part of the surprise, but screw it. They didn’t get a proper kiss this morning and now, waiting almost another full day to have her in his arms again, the surprise could wait.

  Anna slanted her mouth over his, opening so sweetly for him, the hesitance and gloom of this morning lifting away.

  She was softness and desire pressed against him, and he was going to end up with a hard-on. Riding with a boner was not fun, but he wasn’t about to stop.

  “Is this the surprise?” Her breath came heavy against his lips. “Sex in the woods.”

  He had to chuckle, because that was one hell of a good idea for late
r. “No, but now it’s on the to-do list.”

  Kissing his way down her neck, he reached the spot that made her rise up on her toes, her body humming with need. “Then, what . . . what’s the surprise?”

  “It’s down the road a little ways.”

  Suddenly, her fingers were in his hair. Threaded through the longer strands, holding him in place yet somehow tugging at the same time. A low, needy sound grew in her throat. “We should go or we’re not going to make it.”

  He wasn’t sure they were going to make it anyway.

  “Okay.” He started walking with her still in his arms.

  If they kept this up, they were going to end up falling down again.

  He peeled himself away with a groan, trying to adjust against the stiffness in his jeans. “We . . . Jesus. Okay, it’s right up here. Don’t walk in front of me or we’re back to square one.”

  The road curved, and to the right was the stand-alone garage.

  And his 1970 Harley.

  The red was a darker shade than her nails, but as shiny, the chrome getting shinier as he worked on it and replaced parts, the new leather seat made for two.

  He climbed on the bike and shifted the weight of his stance, adjusting to have someone ride with him. “Do you know how to ride?”

  Anna looked at him, her mouth slowly falling open.

  Seconds passed and no answer.

  “I said, do you know how to ride?”

  “Um . . . a bike?”

  A blockade couldn’t have stopped the wave of smug satisfaction. “Yes. A bike.”

  “No?”

  Anna moved her legs closer together, her neck dotted pink, her breath catching, her eyes almost swallowed whole by her black pupils. Whether she was aware of the looks she was giving him didn’t matter. Hunger rolled off her, and she no longer tamed her desire the way she had that first day.

  “Do you want a ride?”

  She stepped closer, and for a second he thought she would join him. Throw her leg over and set off to the see the sights. Leave their lust on hold for later, like they had earlier.

  Instead she grabbed him; both hands curled into his T-shirt and she bent down, her lips crashing into his.

  * * *

  Good god, she was shameless.

  As bad as Devlin.

  No, worse.

  Because they were right here on the road to the cabins, where anyone could pass by and see them. They weren’t supposed to be seen together and here she was, ready to climb all over him and that motorcycle.

  She needed to get herself together. Maintain some level of chill.

  But there was no chill.

  Devlin on that motorcycle, white T-shirt stretched tight over his sculpted shoulders, jean-clad thighs doing that thing they did when he spread them over the Harley.

  A whimper left her lips, and he caught it, kissing the noise back into her mouth, chasing it with his tongue. He snuck one of his hands around behind her, cupping her bottom and pulling her closer.

  The hem of her dress hiked up and he took the opportunity to slip both of his hands underneath.

  “Oh . . . hell, are those lace?” He kept moving his hands, his fingers dancing around the elastic waist, her dress high enough she could feel a breeze. And all she could think about was Dev and his thighs and her dress hiked even higher.

  “Anna.” He purred her name against her neck. “Are these lace?”

  What was he even talking about? She couldn’t hold a thought while he worked his mouth into the V of her dress, stretching the top of it down. “Is . . . is what lace?” Without meaning to, she arched into him, wanting him to kiss more, harder. Needing his hands on her, like before.

  Everywhere.

  After surviving her mother, the long drives to and from, too much time to think and be alone, she longed for this. For Devlin. He was wild strength, a force of nature, blowing through her life and twisting her all around, and she loved it.

  Cupping her jaw, Dev deepened the kiss and in that moment, all she knew was him. All she wanted was this.

  She wanted to kiss him out in the open, unashamed, for him to take her, here or anywhere else. She wanted to let go. Not the kind of letting go that meant she felt nothing. The letting go where she was open to feeling everything, without a care for whether what they were doing was proper, whether or not she looked okay, because to Dev, she was always more than okay.

  When she shifted around to kiss him deeper, his knee slipped between her legs. Instead of slowing down, she moved forward until she straddled his leg.

  “Hell yes,” he muttered against her lips, slipping his hands down the back of her panties, holding her in place, his fingers splayed wide so the tips brushed against the seam of her bottom.

  She squeezed her legs together around his, the cleft of her sex swollen with need. She barely managed not to rub herself against him and dry hump his leg.

  Except then she did, the friction making her moan out loud.

  “I want more,” Dev growled. “We’re . . . I’ve got to get off the bike.”

  She attempted to move, but her legs were wobbly and uninterested in relocation.

  “Here.” He leaned forward, getting off the bike, both of them stumbling away but managing to stay upright. “In here. Come on.”

  “Where—” She squeaked as he took her hand and tugged her toward the side door of the garage.

  He got them inside, the door closed, and that was as far as they got.

  Dev was on her. Pushed back against the door, his mouth on hers, hands back under her dress, massaging her bottom until he ran one hand down the back of her leg and hoisted it up over his hip.

  “God, yes.” She’d definitely said it out loud this time.

  Possessive in his hold, he pressed his hips against her, the hard line of his erection rubbing her the right way.

  Her head fell forward, his mouth not an inch from hers. His breath came in short, hot puffs of air as he slipped a hand in the waistband of her panties, the first brush of his fingertips like a shock wave.

  “You like that?” He teased her, moving his hand lower, pressing his fingers against her, stroking down enough to tease her opening, then slipping inside.

  Her body buzzed with his touch, her desire. Nothing else crowding her mind, only the two of them and ecstasy.

  “Will . . .” To say that took more than a bit of courage, but she wanted it, and she knew she could ask him.

  He’d want her to. He’d get off on it.

  “Will you make me come again? Like this?”

  “I’ve got a better idea.”

  He tugged at her denim jacket, shucking it off and tossing it on the nearby work table. His lips were a hot brand on her skin, down her neck, across her shoulder. He nudged the straps of her sundress until they fell off her shoulders. With his teeth he gently nipped and teased the sensitive places near her collarbone.

  Then he kissed her lower, tugging at the dress and her bra, until one breast was revealed. He laved attention on her, flicking his tongue over her nipple, taking her into his mouth.

  She could come, like this, if he touched her, even lightly, in the right spot.

  But suddenly, Devlin was gone.

  Her leg fell and she made an unattractive noise of protest, but then he was back.

  Tugging at her panties, yanking them down her legs, jerking his head in a sharp nod, brooking no argument that she needed to step out of them, right now.

  Her panties were tossed aside too, and then he knelt down before her, putting her leg over his shoulder.

  Dev put his mouth on her.

  No preamble, no warning. Just hot and wet, urgent and seeking, and she cried out.

  With his tongue and teeth, he played her. One hand holding her hip against the door, the other working with his mouth, until her legs began to shake.

  Shake and tremble, threatening to let her fall.

  But she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Not caught between Dev and the door.

  He growled
hungrily against her, the sounds of a man starving for more, and she flew apart like shards of glass.

  With her fingers dug into his hair, she came. Her body trembled with the impact, and he held her, waiting until she settled before getting to his feet.

  Desperately, he kissed her neck, the curve of her exposed breast, situating himself between her legs. “Is this what you wanted? What you imagined?”

  Better.

  “I want you, Anna. Right now.”

  Yes. Now.

  Dev had her pinned against the door, his hair disheveled, skin hot. The garage was dim, well-used, and the rich, smoky scent that she’d associated with Dev since that very first day, was here. The building itself—the mechanics and oils, a wood stove for heat—all of it was a part of him, and the smell was one she associated with comfort and need, happiness and sex, now multiplied. Surrounding her.

  Still kissing her, Dev tugged at the button of his jeans. Able to stand without wobbling, she helped, moving his hands out of the way to work the zipper, then he shoved his jeans and boxers down. He tore the wrapper of the condom open with his teeth and rolled it on, before pushing her flush against the heavy door, and hooking her leg around him once more.

  Bending low, he took himself in hand, and the long, slow slide of him pushing inside her made her eyes roll back in her head. A hint of soreness lingered from the last time they were together, her body unaccustomed to this much action.

  God, she loved it.

  The dull throb between her legs, aching for his friction, filling her and handling her because he knew what she’d want. He knew because he’d asked, and he’d keep asking. Giving and taking in ways no one else ever had.

  Dev’s hands were on her hips in an instant, his breath hot on her cheek as he leaned forward, keeping her locked in tight. “Put your arms on my shoulders. Hold on to me.”

  She did as he instructed, using the hold for leverage. He eased out and slid back in, her bottom bouncing against the door. But after a moment, he filled her and stayed in close, thrusting roughly inside her.