by Cari Quinn
Shane smoothed his thumb over her cheek, then dropped his hand to her hip. He held her there against him, sliding his hand down the outside of her thigh to her calf and finally to her foot. He flicked his nail along the sole of her foot, and she laughed into his mouth.
“Time to go.”
She nodded and swung her leg over him and reached for her jeans. When he didn’t move, she looked over her shoulder. “What?”
“You’ve got one hell of an ass, Sunshine.”
She let her hair fall forward so he couldn’t see her smile. “Pilates and hiking.”
“Pilates? Is that where you can hold a pose for a really long time?”
She wiggled into her jeans. “That would be yoga.”
“Damn.”
She winced and rolled onto her back to cinch her jeans. Her thigh and inner muscles twinged. She’d had more action in a few days than she’d had in way too long. “I’m too impatient for yoga.”
He held up her shirt in front of him. “I don’t think I can wear yours.”
She looked down. She didn’t want to give his up. It felt good and smelled like him. “Sorry, you gave it to me.”
“So now it’s yours?”
She stood and stepped into her Chucks. “Yep. Sorry.”
He jammed their leftovers into the bag. “I don’t see how that’s fair.”
She curled her fingers into the overlong sleeves. “Mine now.”
His eyebrow rose. The stone face was back, but his green eyes were lit with humor. “I’ll remember that, Kendall.”
Disappointed that Sunshine seemed to have been a slip, she took the bag from him. It was definitely time to get moving before she got in over her head any more today. “Go ahead and throw the sleeping bag in the truck. I want to take a few pictures with my phone.”
“Sure.”
She dug out her cell and framed in the view from their blanket. No matter what came next, she had today and a slice of perfection. She turned and caught him doing the same thing. She stepped out of the way. “Oh, sorry.”
“I’m not.”
She followed him back to the truck but couldn’t wipe away the smile. He loaded up their gear and climbed in with a new shirt on. It was a simple dark blue with long sleeves that accentuated the breadth of his chest and ropy muscles of his arms. The man was more dangerous now that she knew what everything looked like under his clothes.
“So where are we headed?” Kendall asked.
“You’ll see. But first we’ll stop at that little shop I saw when we drove in.”
“Good thing, because someone stole my sandwich.”
His lips twitched. “It was a good sandwich.”
She buckled her seat belt and looked down at her phone. The picture didn’t quite do the view justice, but it was damn close. She stuffed it into her bag and reached for her brochures.
They were quiet, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. She wasn’t sure what was going on in his head, but it felt like they’d left some of the tension between them on the pretty vista.
They drove out to the main road and took advantage of one of the tourist traps that dotted the area. She snagged a few postcards for her mother and a fistful of candy. Shane—surprise, surprise—had bottles of water and power bars on the counter. He only lifted an eyebrow when she dumped the array of junk food into the mix. She held on to the postcards. As the older man rang them up, Shane plucked the postcards out of her hand.
“I can pay for those.”
“What did I tell you?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m assuming that doesn’t cover souvenirs for my mom.”
He didn’t say anything, just thanked the man and gathered their bags. Well, good to see some things wouldn’t change even if they were adding sex to the road trip. She went around to her side of the truck and again was surprised when he opened the door before she could.
“You’re going to spoil me.”
He put the bags in the back and smacked her on the ass. “Get in.”
“Ah, that’s more like it.”
They got back on the road. “So, driver, what am I putting in the GPS?”
“Nothing. I know where we’re going.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Really? You know how to get to New York from here?”
“Go east.”
“Ass.”
He grinned. “Just relax. I’ll get you there, Kendall.”
Instead of worrying about it, she enjoyed the scenery. The tree lines grew more dense, the sunlight filtering through with a bleed of red and orange. The horizon was a fiery mix of perfection and cliffs and trees and water. And finally the road narrowed, and the cliffs proved just how small Shane’s impressive truck really was. They closed in, the shale color marbled with minerals and bleaching from time and the sun. The temperature dropped, and she was suddenly glad she’d stolen his thermal.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?”
The cab darkened, throwing Shane’s face into shadows that emphasized the sharp angles of his face, but she could see his lips twitch. “Worried I’ll get you lost?”
“More like I’ve watched way too many episodes of Supernatural and don’t know what’s in those trees.”
“You’re more likely to see a moose out there than a wendigo.”
“Someone watches crap television like I do.”
He shrugged. “Sanding can get monotonous. It’s either television or music most nights when I’m working. And most of the time Sam and Dean don’t get all mushy.”
“Heaven forbid.”
Without the sun, the only relief in the darkness was their headlights. Finally he pulled around a clearing and parked.
“Where are we?”
“Technically still the park. It’s a warm enough night. I thought we’d sleep in the truck bed tonight.”
“You know how to romance a girl, Justice.”
He reached under the seat and clicked a light under his chin. “Afraid?”
She tucked her hands into her sleeves. “No.”
The light went out. “Grab the food. I’ve got a lantern in the back.”
There was still enough light that it wasn’t pitch black, but not by much. She jammed her feet back into her shoes and reached for their bag. She slid out of the truck and simply stared.
The cliffs towered above them, making a dome of pinpricks in a navy sky. Dark evergreen trees lined the clearing, leaving them completely alone. Night sounds penetrated her shock. A light breeze kept the trees in a constant state of sway. Instead of scaring the crap out of her, it was so serene she was afraid to speak.
She felt her way along the truck bed and peeked over the open tailgate. He stood above her with a Coleman lamp.
“I’m not much for camping, but wow.”
He smiled down at her and held out his hand. “We’ll eat and get some rest. If we leave at dawn, we can get into Nevada tomorrow.”
She dumped their food onto the truck bed and let out a quick laugh when he hauled her up as if she weighed nothing. He rested his hand on the small of her back, keeping her close. The two sleeping bags were zipped together and a pair of pillows lay against the tool chest. Glamorous it was not, but the sentiment made her smile.
They ate, but neither one of them seemed inclined to ruin the peace of the night. The sky sparkled as the moon rose. They quietly climbed into the supersized sleeping bag. There was a thin pad underneath it, so it didn’t feel like they were sleeping on steel.
She stretched out next to Shane. The sky dragged her attention away from conversation. She lived in a small town with a view like this every night if she wanted it. But with the craziness of her life, she never quite got the chance to just be.
Shane seemed to give her that. In so many ways.
He curled his arm under her head and rolled her in close. She smiled into his chest. Only the tip of her nose was cold. Between Shane’s body heat and the long day, she slid into sleep.
Chapter Eight
Between getting his furniture company off the ground and the early schedule with Justice Construction, he hadn’t had much opportunity to date anyone. And the few times he’d found someone to share a night with, he made sure to leave before the morning afters.
But he liked her weight, liked her smell on him, liked her hair sliding across his throat—hell, he didn’t have one thing to complain about with her and the horizontal. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. The only thing he knew definitively was that it was a dangerous thing.
A pearly mist curled around the basin of El Capitan. It was an impressive mountain, and he’d done his fair share of rock climbing with Kain when they were in college. In the end it was the water that interested them more. They’d traveled during the school breaks to find waves in Australia, Hawaii, and South Africa.
It had been a very long time since he’d been in the park. And having Kendall there with him felt natural. Everything about her felt right and scary as fucking hell. Had this been the old man’s plan all along? Finding family for him?
He wove his fingers through her sunlight-colored strands. Dew dotted her hair, adding another layer of freshness to her fall scent. The curls coiled around his fingers and wrist. The dawn came with the birdcalls of the hawk and fluttering song of the sparrows. The world was coming alive, and it was time for them to go.
One more stop and they’d leave California in their rearview mirror. He would miss it. His life and his friends had been so much a part of the cliffs and waterways of Monterey. But there was nothing there for him any longer. Every day since his dad had died, he’d felt a little more detached from the land and the house. Kain was the only thing holding him to Monterey. And it just wasn’t enough any longer.
Maybe he’d find something new and amazing in New York. Or maybe their shared house was a conduit for them both to start fresh lives. There was a loneliness in Kendall’s eyes sometimes. When her smiles faded and the conversation died away, he caught a look as she took in the miles of trees and foliage of Yosemite. Even in the cliff sides of Monterey, he’d sensed a similar restlessness inside her.
Was it that kinship that drew him to her, or was it more? It felt like more. Why did it have to be now? He didn’t even know where he was going to live. And she sure as hell hadn’t been in his plan.
The longer he was in her company, the more he wanted to be close to her. He’d known the flush of lust and had fallen in love in his senior year of college. He’d even contemplated forever with the exciting environmentalist. But the lure of the Peace Corps had been her dream and hadn’t melded with a business major who already had a job already waiting for him.
And when he and Julie had decided to go their separate ways, the loss had barely made a wave.
Kendall crashed in on him like an Australian Gold Coast undertow. The waves were amazing, but the ride was full of warning signs and breakers that could snap him in half. And like surfing, this woman was just as addicting.
She tucked her chin lower into the blankets, and her calf stroked along his leg. He tried to focus on the butter-light sun peeking around the cliffs as it burned off the fog, but her hand brushed his belly and zeroed in on the ridge of his cock under his zipper. He ground his molars together. “C’mon, Sunshine. Time to wake up.”
Kendall moaned into his neck. “It can’t be morning.”
He rubbed his ear against his shoulder to stop the buzz of warmth and the soft teasing of her voice from distracting him. “Oh, but it is. And we’ve got to get on the road. Nevada won’t get driven across by magic.”
She propped herself up on her elbow. The wide neck of his shirt slid across her collarbone and uncovered half her shoulder. She was heavy-lidded and soft from sleep, and he wanted nothing more than to settle in and spend a lazy day with her. He must have stared just a touch too long because her smile transformed into a sexy smirk. She pushed a wild hank of curls out of her eyes. When it all fell forward again, she groaned. “Still want me to keep my hair down?”
They weren’t tight curls. Just wild waves that seemed to have a mind of their own. “Do you do anything I ask anyway?”
She drilled her finger into his chest. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
He caught her hand and drew it up to his mouth. He nipped the webbing between her thumb and forefinger before letting her go to sit up. If he didn’t get up now, he wouldn’t. “We’ve got a long drive ahead.”
She lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt and scraped her teeth over his shoulder. “Vegas?”
He focused on the mountains and the birdsong. On anything but how bad he wanted to lie back and lose himself in her again. “Too far south.” He looked down at her. “This leg of our tour across America is going to be boring.”
She reached for her jeans. “We’ll find something.”
He swallowed back a groan when she rolled up onto her knees. She’d changed into a pair of sleep shorts with miniature Tweety Birds all over them that she’d picked up before the trip. They were ridiculous and hugged her hips like a second skin. Warner Brothers cartoons should not induce a boner.
He hiked his jeans on and stuffed his feet into his boots before jumping over the side of the truck bed. Remove the temptation, and just maybe they’d get out of there without him doing something stupid. He dragged out two bottles of water, her knapsack, and his toiletry kit from the truck.
“Heads up.”
She looked up and caught her bag. “Thanks.” Unruffled, she tucked the water bottle in her bag. “I’m going to go do the nature thing. I’ll be right back.”
He did the same and started packing up the truck. A few minutes later she came back with jeans and a dark red shirt on, her hair tucked through a black hat. She looked like she was sixteen, for fuck’s sake.
“Do I get my shirt back?”
She shook her head and opened the passenger door. “I told you it was mine.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yep.” She put her bag in and stood on the running board. “Well, come on. The desert awaits us.” She slapped the top of the cab and grinned before disappearing into the truck.
He shook his head and stowed the rest of their gear. If he didn’t know firsthand just how female she was, he’d have thought she was any of his buddies. No muss, no fuss, and as easygoing as a summer afternoon. Both of their lives were about to change, and she acted like she was on vacation. Then again, wasn’t he treating this like a vacation? He should be on a straight path to New York with as few detours as possible.
“Idiot,” he muttered and jumped to the ground. He got in the truck and started it. “Got everything?”
She sipped her bottle of water, her phone in her hand. “Yep. Just checked in with my mom.”
“Have you told her yet?”
“I…” She sighed, and a frown creased between her brows. “I’ll have to since your supplies are going to the house.”
He backed down the pitted road. “Don’t you think she deserves to know?”
“I’m going to tell her, but I wanted to do it face-to-face. It’s not exactly an over-the-phone kind of conversation.”
“Didn’t you do that with your friend?”
She turned in the seat. “Bells is different. It doesn’t affect her life. She just has to be there for me.”
He frowned. Wasn’t that a parent’s job? How many times had he gone to his father to help him figure out problems over the years? From what he could tell, Kendall acted more like a mother than a daughter. She was a grown woman and independent as hell, but something felt off there.
He pulled out onto the main road. The park was full of cars and families. Trees lined the road, and blue skies
burned off the pearly gray of the morning. The sun glowed behind the mountains, and it felt more like early October instead of the middle of November. She sat forward. “Oh, wow. It’s gorgeous.”
The drive was familiar. It had been a good fifteen years since he’d been here, but memories overlapped. His mother’s wide smiles and shining dark eyes. Camping and hiking had filled their summers until his mother got too sick to travel.
Kendall opened the window and unclicked her seat belt before leaning out. He reached over and grabbed one of the belt loops from her jeans. “What the hell are you doing?”
She had her phone in her hands. “When am I going to see a view like this again? I need a picture.”
“I’m driving, Kendall.”
Instead of getting back inside, she grabbed on to the handle by the door and sat on the window frame. “You’re driving slow enough.”
“Jesus.” He slowed to a crawl. “Get back in the truck.”
She wriggled back inside and sat down. “Spoilsport.”
“Put your damn seat belt on.”
She slid across the bench seat and held her phone up. “Smile.”
He jammed his molars together.
“There we go. Perfect picture. I wouldn’t want you to smile. It would make the picture look fake. Such a growly bear.” She waggled her eyebrows and got back on her side of the truck. “I can’t believe how amazing this park is. No wonder there’s so many families here.”
Once upon a time he thought he’d bring his own family here. He gripped the steering wheel until his heart rate finally returned to normal. He focused on following the winding road out of the park. “Does Winchester Falls look like this?”
“Not all that different. The mountains aren’t quite as impressive, of course, but we’re close to the Adirondacks. So it’s really just a matter of perspective.”
