Ethan stifled a bizarre urge to bury his face in her hair. “Not even close, I’m afraid.”
His hand rested comfortably on her hip now and he thought maybe he would survive this ride with his dignity intact. As long as she didn’t squirm anymore.
Jill tilted her head to whisper privately. “I’m really sorry about this, Ethan.”
Her breath tickled his jaw. He shivered, praying she wouldn’t notice. “Don’t worry about it, sunshine. It’ll be over soon enough.”
She laughed and the sound shot through his body and straight to the traitor between his legs. He stiffened, unable to move Jill without attracting more attention to his sudden discomfort. Geez, he thought. I haven’t been this embarrassed since the eighth grade.
He knew the very second she became aware of his arousal. She stilled and her breath caught. He waited, afraid to make any move, and a little curious about what she would do.
If she wasn’t interested or—God forbid—she was downright disgusted, he’d just have to pass it off as an involuntary response to physical contact. Technically, that was true enough. He just wouldn’t tell her how badly he wanted to bury said involuntary response inside of her.
It seemed like forever before she lifted her face higher. “Too bad this car doesn’t have a backseat,” she whispered for his ears only.
Ethan’s inflamed senses exploded. It had been too long since he felt this kind of desire and anticipation, and he had to exercise considerable restraint not to pull up on the emergency brake, stop the car and bend her over the hood.
He had to appease his hunger with what little he could get. He ran his hand over her back, her ass, then traced the line of her bra strap across her back. The ride seemed endless and by the time Rip pulled into the motel parking lot, Ethan’s need had grown so painful he wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk.
He practically pushed Jill up and out of the car, then managed to climb out himself. All he wanted to do was check in, assure his mother he wasn’t lost anymore and then take Jill—anywhere and any way he could get her.
They said nothing on the way into the office, but he was intrigued by the rosy flush of her skin. Was she as eager to be with him, or was she regretting her brazenness in the car? He couldn’t summon the courage to ask her.
A young man wearing a weary smile and nametag that read Hello, my name is Donnie greeted them. “Howdy folks, what can I do you for?”
Ethan stepped up to the desk. “Can you tell me what room Debra Cooper is in, please? She’s with the senior tour group.”
Donnie shuffled some papers, and then clicked through endless computer screens. A clock on the wall ticked off the seconds and Ethan’s pulse pounded in time. If Donnie didn’t click a little faster, he was apt to embarrass them all by taking her right there on the lobby floor.
“I’m sorry, sir. I do have the individual names of the tour group, but Debra Cooper is not listed.”
Frustration—of several varieties—made his tone harsher than he intended. “Look, she’s got to be here. She’s with the senior tour group from New Hampshire.”
Understanding lit Donnie’s face. “That explains it. We’ve only got one group here tonight and they’re from New York.”
He looked at Jill and watched her eyes widen. He didn’t even have to ask. She hadn’t confirmed it was the right tour group when she called. He exhaled, and his lungs weren’t the only thing deflating.
“Sorry, mister. You’ve got the wrong motel.”
Chapter Four
Jill winced when Donnie said the words, mentally kissing her orgasm goodbye. Sex? Heck, at this point she’d be lucky if he ever spoke to her again.
She was wrong.
“New York?” Ethan demanded. “You didn’t ask if it was the right senior group?”
His derisive tone made her sound like an imbecile and her chin lifted automatically. “I didn’t think to.”
His expression changed from disbelief to downright menacing. “You didn’t think to? Didn’t you think that small detail might be kind of important?”
As always, embarrassment fueled her temper and she shouted at him. “I was tired and upset! And you weren’t any help. All those damn numbers I had to call while you just sat there. We could have taken turns at least.”
He opened his mouth to speak several times, then shook his head. He didn’t need to speak, his face said it all. He was cursing the day he’d ever met Jill Delaney and she knew it.
She fought the urge to cry with grim determination. She wasn’t going to take all the blame for this. He should have called himself if he was so perfect.
But it hurt so much when he looked at her like that. Feeling the hard length of his cock under her ass had given her a thrill the likes of which she hadn’t felt in years, but it would be nice if he could at least try to like her.
“Now what?” he muttered, and she got the impression he was talking more to himself than to her. That was fine with Jill. She didn’t have much to say to him, either.
“It’s too late to keep going,” Ethan continued. “Even if we managed to locate her tonight, we’re both too tired to drive. And who knows if there’s a car rental place around?”
“There’s one around the block,” Donnie said. Jill felt a quick flash of relief, but it died when he said, “It’s closed up for the night, though.”
“She’s probably close by,” she said hopefully. “Maybe the bus driver stopped just up the road a bit.”
“We don’t know that for sure and, as Donnie here pointed out, we have no way to get there,” Ethan snapped, and she stuck out her tongue when he turned back to the desk. “We need a couple of rooms, I guess.”
Donnie clicked his way through the computer screens again, then smiled at them. “We have one room available—a king-size bed with a view of the pool.”
“I said we need a couple of rooms,” Ethan repeated. “As in two.”
The night clerk’s smile faded a bit. “I’m sorry, sir, but we only have one.”
One room, one bed—two people. She watched Ethan drop his shoulders and shake his head. Great. Won’t this be cozy?
Despite her best effort to hold it back, laughter suddenly shook Jill’s body. Ethan turned and gave her a cold, questioning look that only made it worse. Tears blurred her vision as she covered her mouth, trying to stop it.
“What exactly is so funny?”
Jill shrugged, unable to find the right words. She wasn’t sure there were any words because she didn’t even know where the laughter came from. The only thing she knew for sure was that she and Ethan were going to be spending a lot more time together than either of them had anticipated.
And the look of horror on his face when Donnie told him there was only one room available had been her undoing. Just minutes ago he’d been so hot for her she’d thought Rip was going to get one hell of a show for his forty bucks. And now, when the perfect arrangement for spending the night together had presented itself, he looked as if he’d stepped in a fresh pile of cow shit.
Ethan threw his hands up. “Fine. We’ll take it. Jill, you have a credit card, right?”
Her good humor evaporated as quickly as it had appeared. “Why do I have to pay for everything? As you so joyfully pointed out, I recently quit my job.”
A hint of redness crept up his neck. “I don’t have my wallet. It’s in my mother’s purse.”
Jill gave him a much-exaggerated look of shock. “Oh my, Mr. Perfect Planner. You mean you didn’t foresee this little problem?”
“Very funny,” he said in a clipped tone. “It hurts to ride for a long time with a wallet under your butt.”
“It does,” Donnie agreed, nodding at Jill.
“I know all about riding around with a lump under my butt,” she said, and she had the pleasure of watching Ethan’s face flush a deep crimson.
“Do you want to sleep tonight or not?” he growled.
“Fine.” She dug in her purse and pulled out the single credit card she had with h
er. The rest of her cash, traveler’s checks and credit cards were in her suitcase. She’d been terrified she’d forget her purse somewhere between New Hampshire and Florida and be left with nothing.
She slapped the credit card into Ethan’s palm, filled out the form and handed him their room key. After Donnie gave them directions to the room, he wished them a good night with a suggestive smile. Judging by his tone she was surprised he had enough restraint not to wink at them.
“Yeah, sure,” Ethan muttered under his breath as he practically pushed Jill down the hall. “A good night, my ass.”
She thought about apologizing, but decided against it. It was just a coincidence that bad things happened to him when she was around. If he didn’t understand…tough. A few screwups on her part didn’t merit righteous arrogance on his part.
By the time Ethan let her into their room and closed the door behind them, her temper had redlined. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
The room was hot and stale. He went straight to the air conditioner. “Why don’t you do me a favor and be quiet for a while?”
“No, I won’t.” She felt a moment of satisfaction when the ancient unit coughed and sputtered to life, blasting him with dust.
Ethan swore and lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe his face, giving her a view of smoothly taut abs. Jill swallowed hard, balling her hands into fists as her panties grew annoyingly moist. The urge to touch him was back with a vengeance, but she fought it.
How the hell could she want to straddle him and strangle him at the same time? He frustrated her more than any person she’d met recently, and here she was wanting to run her hands over his stomach?
She wanted to free his erection from his jeans and torment him as he’d tormented her in the car. Her imagination conjured an image of Ethan squirming as she ran her tongue over the head of his cock, refusing to take him deep against her throat. She could almost hear him begging.
“Can this day get any worse?” was what he actually said.
“Don’t ever say that out loud,” Jill warned, tossing her purse onto the nightstand. “You need to lighten up. Your blood pressure must give your doctor nightmares. And keep him in yachts.”
He turned on her so fast she took a step back. “Lighten up? Lady, do you know why I came on this trip?”
Not good. He was back to calling her lady again. “I guess because your mom wanted you to come.”
“That’s right—my mother who hates to travel and who has had a lot of upheaval since my father died last year. She needs me.”
Jill gazed into his dark eyes and saw the anguish behind the anger. It occurred to her that his worry over his mother must have been in the forefront of his mind all night—except for that brief, delicious distraction in the MG, of course. And she had foiled him again. He was blaming her for more than inconvenience. She was keeping him from taking care of his widowed mother—a task he obviously took very seriously.
Which was sweet, even if it was keeping her from having that orgasm. Any guy who loved and cared for his mother so much had to be pretty decent.
“I am sorry, Ethan,” she said quietly, thinking maybe she did owe him an apology after all. It wouldn’t kill her and it might make him feel a little better.
“You should be.”
Or…maybe not. “She’ll be fine with the tour group. The guide will take care of her.”
“With the same attention he gave us?” His anger was almost a physical presence in the room. “I’m supposed to take care of her, not strangers.”
For a split second, Jill wondered if she should be afraid of this man she barely knew. He was little more than a stranger, no matter how much her body might want to shimmy up against his. But there had been plenty of opportunities for him to lose his temper in their short acquaintance. He could have blown his top when she mucked up his fender. Or when she locked herself in the bathroom, which had actually caused him physical pain. He hadn’t really lashed out even when she called his mother a bitch.
Wow, have I done anything at all right? She definitely had her work cut out for her if she was going to rehabilitate his opinion of her.
“I didn’t do any of this on purpose.”
Ethan towered over her and smirked. “Didn’t you? I saw the way you looked at me on the bus.”
Damn, he caught her. Embarrassment made her voice harsh. “You think I sabotaged our vacation just so I could have sex with you?”
Was that a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes? “Are you denying you want me?” he asked in a husky tone she’d never expected to hear come out of his mouth.
Jill’s skin prickled with heat and she shoved him back with both hands. He tripped and sat down hard on the edge of the bed. She walked toward him, her finger pointed accusingly at him.
“What about you?” she demanded. “What about when we were in Rip’s car, huh? What was that about?”
She couldn’t take her eyes off his mouth. His jaw relaxed and the corners of his lips turned up just a bit. Right now it looked utterly kissable. Dragging her gaze up to his eyes, she was jolted by the smoldering heat that wasn’t there just a second ago.
Ethan reached out and snagged her belt loop, hauling her toward him. “You want to know what that was about? I was imagining you naked on a tropical beach, spread out on a towel like an all I could eat buffet.”
Jill’s legs quivered like two overgrown gummi worms at the image of Ethan’s head between her thighs with her fingers tangled in his hair. She didn’t fight him when he hooked his hands behind her knees and pulled her forward until she straddled his lap.
“And what, exactly, was I doing naked on a beach?’’
“You were licking piña colada off my cock, actually.”
She wasn’t sure which surprised her more, the words coming out of Mr. Uptight’s mouth, or the rush of wet heat between her thighs. But one thing was sure—kissing off her orgasm might have been premature. Yes!
“I…I don’t even like you,” she said, just so they were on the same page. Not that it mattered. Her mind may not like him very much, but her body was about to pounce on him.
He grinned and ran his hands up her sides, over her breasts. “I don’t like you either.”
Jill moaned, damning her nipples for hardening at his touch. They could at least make him work for it. “And I don’t… My life is such a mess.”
Ethan forced her to lean back and bent his head, licking the hollow at the base of her throat. She almost came right there and then. “And my divorce hasn’t been final long and my mother’s lost—or I am. What does any of that have to do with this?”
She was sure that all had a lot to do with this, but she’d be damned if she could remember what.
“Look, sunshine,” he said. “We’re both more or less adults here.”
“More or less?”
He ignored her indignant interruption. “Why not enjoy ourselves instead of spending the entire trip sexually frustrated?”
“You mean, like vacation sex?” Hot, naked and sweaty sex just for the sake of hot, naked and sweaty sex? No strings? What a bargain.
“Exactly.”
His breath was hot and ragged on her moistened flesh. Do I really want to do this? Now was the time to stop—to take the coldest shower of her life. She knew Ethan wouldn’t take no well at this point, but he’d already shown himself to be a fundamentally decent guy and she had faith he would stop if she asked him.
But Jill wanted him—wanted him so much it scared her silly. She didn’t even like him. But his lips traced a path of fire up her neck and she plunged her fingers into his thick, mahogany hair. “Will you still hate me in the morning?”
His chuckle vibrated across her flesh. “I promise.”
Jill put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back until he was lying on the bed. She only broke eye contact for the split second it took to yank her T-shirt out of her jeans and pull it over her head.
Ethan’s gaze left as hot a trail as his mouth when it m
oved over her skin. He stared with a raw hunger that made her feel like the sexiest woman on the planet. Like a goddess. She moved her hips slowly, grinding the crotch of her jeans against his. She could feel the constrained length of him through the denim and she shivered with anticipation. He sat up and nipped at her nipple through her lacy bra, but she shoved him down again.
Jill couldn’t remember the last time she had felt like this. Couldn’t remember if she even had ever felt like this. Her body ached for his touch. And yet she was afraid she would shatter if he put his hands on her.
Which was ridiculous. Vacation sex was shallow and meaningless. It was only about the pleasure, and she’d better remember that.
“You’re a beautiful woman, sunshine,” he said in a low, husky voice that sent a tremor down her spine. He reached for her breasts, but she pushed his hands away.
“If you start singing ‘You Are My Sunshine’, I’ll have to gag you.”
He grinned wickedly. “That might be interesting.”
“Why, Mr. Cooper!” Jill exclaimed in a mock-Scarlett voice. “How scandalous!”
Slowly—very slowly—she ran her fingers under her breasts to the small clasp nestled between them. She felt him tense between her thighs and saw the bead of sweat on his forehead.
His tongue flicked over his lips. “I want to see the rest of you—all of you. Right now.”
She simply smiled, very deliberately opening the clasp with a faint click. His eyes never left her fingers. She snapped it shut, and then opened it again. Click…click…
In the blink of an eye, Ethan flipped her to her back and Jill laughed at the growling sound he made. He pushed back the flimsy fabric of her bra and stared down at her breasts.
His hungry look was so intense Jill’s amusement slipped away. She pushed her hips up against his, urging him to move…to do something. She needed to come, badly.
And he knew it, the bastard, and took his sweet time. He nipped at her jaw and his tongue blazed a hot, wet trail down her neck. His mouth brushed over her collarbone, and his kissed the hollow at the base of her throat. His teeth grazed over the soft skin there and a groan of impatience escaped her.
Twice Upon a Roadtrip Page 5
