by Noelle Adams
Ethan shook his head. He was propping himself up so that he wasn’t touching her very much, but his body was literally on top of her. It made Ashley feel even more like oozing away. “I don’t think they can see very much. It’s really overcast. If we get the truck moving a little and you scream a few times, I think that’s all they can expect.”
He started to take off his shirt, and Ashley felt a pang of concern when she remembered his injury. “Are you going to be able to manage this with your arm?” she asked softly, lying very stiffly on her back and trying not to accidentally touch his body.
“Of course,” he said easily, smiling a little. “Just don’t reach out and clutch my noble wounds in your ecstasy.”
Ashley grinned back, glad at the break in tension. “It will be hard to restrain my lust. Watching you get the truck rocking will certainly be a big turn on for me. But I’ll try to contain my passion.”
Then they were ready for action. Three orgasms—coming up.
Ethan moved over her and lowered himself until he was supported by his forearms. “Is this okay?” he murmured, keeping his face as far from hers as was possible. It was still too close. She could feel his breath on her cheek. “I’d straighten my arms, but it still hurts.”
Ashley nodded, blushing deeply. She could feel his body on top of her, even where they weren’t actually touching. She had spread her legs so he could lie in between them. Their bellies were pressing against each other. He was holding his chest over hers, but occasionally her breasts would brush against it.
But the connections made by their pelvises were the most disconcerting to Ashley.
She took a few deep breaths, nodded. Hoped he couldn’t tell that she felt like she was on fire.
Ethan didn’t start moving, but instead continued scanning her face. “You’re sure you’re comfortable with this.”
She was definitely not comfortable, but it wasn’t because of the reasons Ethan thought. How was she supposed to tell him that she was most uncomfortable because she wished they were doing this for real?
She couldn’t tell him. “I think it’s you who’s uncomfortable. What’s the problem? Don’t think you have enough power and stamina to get the truck moving hard enough or keep it rocking long enough? Performance anxiety?”
Ethan chuckled, his laughter sending vibrations throughout Ashley’s body in very delicious and terrifying ways. “You wouldn’t believe the ways in which I can rock this truck. Better than your wildest fantasies.”
Ashley snorted and looked unimpressed. “You might be surprised at how wild my fantasies are.”
Okay, that sounded a little bit more sexual than she had intended. She’d always been kind of old-fashioned, after all, and she wasn’t in the habit of talking that way. She thought she saw something hot flicker briefly in Ethan’s eyes, and she felt herself blushing again. So to cover up her embarrassment, she added, “Anyway, all you have to do is move. I have the challenging job. I’ll probably be hoarse by the time this charade is over.”
“Ready?” Ethan asked, tensing his body a little.
“Ready.” She smiled up at him, trying to look brave.
Ethan began a slow thrusting motion that immediately started to shake the truck forward and backward. Ashley felt kind of like she was in a rocking chair. Nothing too scary there. And the body contact was still pretty manageable. So what if she might burst into flames?
After a moment of getting into his rhythm, Ethan prompted, “Your turn.”
Damn—her turn. She could do this. She could do this. She could cry out in erotic pleasure with the best of them.
“Oh,” she groaned, almost choking over the embarrassment.
Ethan cocked an eyebrow at her inquiringly, managing to look composed and smug despite their situation and his constant thrusting motion.
“Don’t say it,” she grated through her teeth. “Or I swear I’ll hit you.”
He stifled another grin and kept quiet.
“Oh, yes,” she tried again, a little louder. “So good.”
Ethan nodded encouragingly, still clearly trying to keep from laughing. Seeing him look so relaxed and good-natured distracted Ashley a little from her awkwardness. She loved to see him look happy, and it had been so long since she had.
So she tried even harder. “Oh, God, yes, baby, that feels so good!” That was a pretty good effort, Ashley thought. She sounded throaty, sexy, and passionate.
“Don’t come too soon,” Ethan murmured, the corner of his lip twitching. “I don’t want them to think I don’t take my time. This is my reputation on the line, after all.”
Ashley giggled, but kept up her cries of desire. “Yes, just like that! You’re so good. So good.”
“Better than good, I think.” He sped up his tempo a bit. “Really, Ashley, have a heart.” He was still smiling, but his face was now damp with perspiration. The night was hot, after all, and he was exerting himself.
“Incredible,” Ashley exclaimed, her voice trembling a little from her mirth. “You’re absolutely incredible. Feel so amazing, so good, better than anything.”
She almost lost it when she saw Ethan’s pleased expression over her more elaborate descriptions of his performance. It took a moment to contain her amusement. She could feel Ethan silently shaking with mirth too, which fueled her humor even more.
His approval spurred her on to higher flights of vocal fantasy. “Yes, yes, my stallion,” she shouted. “So hard, so big, so good.” At Ethan’s expression, she quickly corrected, “So incredible. My stallion.” Then she got a bit carried away. “Ride me like there’s no tomorrow.”
Ethan choked a little and broke his tempo; his face descended to the nook between her neck and shoulder as he shook with repressed hilarity. He was touching her everywhere now—she could feel the heat and strength and motion of his body. She became acutely aware of her nipples against his chest and the growing sensations between her legs.
When he had gotten himself under control, Ethan increased the urgency of his rhythm. The truck was really rocking now. “I think you can come now,” he told her, a bit breathlessly.
So she came, or made it sound like she came. “Oh, yes, oh, yes, oh, yes, Baby, baby, baby!” She built up the momentum of her voice with each word.
Ethan slowed his motion down a bit, gave her a dry smile. “One down.”
“Two to go,” Ashley finished for him. “I did pretty good, didn’t I?”
“Not bad,” Ethan allowed, adjusting his position so he could wipe the sweat off of his forehead. “But if I’m your stallion, then you should be the one riding me. Even in bliss, correct use of metaphor matters.”
Ashley scowled at him. “Next time I’ll call you a pony. Then see what happens to your reputation with the motorcycle gang.”
“Ready for another go?”
Ashley sighed. “If we must. Go ahead and pleasure me some more.”
Ethan started the truck bouncing once again. Ashley began making some more passionate moans and sighs.
She was feeling pretty relaxed right now. Would have been perfectly content had it not been for her body’s reaction to Ethan’s proximity and the erotic words she was shouting into the dark night. But now her body was already sensitized, and she became painfully aware of every brush, push, and thrust of Ethan’s body on top of her.
Oh, well. Maybe her arousal would improve her performance. “Yes, Ethan, good, so good, so amazing.” Her voice did sound more genuine to her own ears, like she really did think Ethan was amazing.
Imagine that.
Ethan’s face had sobered suddenly, and his expression was now focused, controlled, and driven. He wasn’t even really looking at her anymore.
She was starting to get worried about her physical responses when she felt a drop of moisture on her face. It startled her, since it didn’t seem to come from Ethan’s face, although he was definitely perspiring.
Then she felt another one. And another one. Until she finally realized what was happening.
It was starting to rain.
At first, it was just a sprinkle, but Ethan paused in his motion, and she heard a rumble of voices from the bikers on the hill.
Then the clouds opened up, and it was pouring for real.
“Shit,” Ethan muttered, pulling off her. “Although, maybe for once disasters worked to our benefit, since this is going to be the end of the show.”
It was indeed the end of the show. From the sounds in the distance, the bikers were leaving to get out of the rain. “Let’s get in the cab,” she said, straightening up.
She still felt uncomfortably aroused, but she was also getting soaked, which was an almost welcomed distraction.
They got their stuff together and scrambled out of the truck bed and into the cab.
She was shivering as she sat in the passenger seat and tried to dry herself off with one of the least wet blankets.
Ethan was wiping his face and forearms with another of the blankets. “You okay?” he asked, eyeing her face carefully.
She knew what he was asking, so she gave him a sincere smile. “Yeah. I’m really fine. I’m glad we were interrupted when we were, though.”
“Me too.”
“Only now I’m wet.” She shivered again and wished she had some cozy pajamas to change into.
“Come here,” he murmured, re-angling the steering wheel and reaching out with his good arm to pull her across the bench seat toward him.
She came willingly, curling up in the crook of his arm.
He was warm and strong and Ethan—even though he was just as wet as she was.
The rain pounded on the hood, the roof, the windshield, and Ashley tried not to the think of the arousal she’d just been feeling a few minutes ago.
“I bet you wish you weren’t so sweet and hadn’t offered to fill Miss Horner’s truck up with gas,” Ethan said after a few minutes. His hand gently brushed her wet hair back from her face. “You never would have gotten dragged into this ridiculous farce.”
The strange thing was she couldn’t regret it. In spite of everything. She was closer to Ethan now than she’d ever been before, and she didn’t want to take it back. “It is kind of a farce,” she murmured, rubbing her hand idly on his flat belly.
He slouched almost sideways in the seat so they would both be more comfortable. “A string of disastrous cars. Ant nightmares. An orgasm-obsessed motorcycle club. And you seem to be suffering the brunt of it all.”
“You’re the one who got shot, Ethan.”
She felt him release a long sigh. “I guess.” He tilted his head until it felt like he was nuzzling her hair. “I don’t know another girl who could have made it through all this, the way you have. Without ever losing your…”
“My what?” Her breath hitched at the understated appreciation in his tone.
“Your spirit.”
She couldn’t help but look up to check his expression, and she almost gasped at the warm look in his eyes. She smiled and reached a hand up to caress his face. “You have a pretty good spirit too.”
His face softened even more. “I thought I was arrogant and bossy.”
“Well, you are. But you’re more than that.” Afraid she might have revealed too much through her affectionate haze, she added, “That wasn’t a crack about girls before, was it?”
“What?”
“You said you didn’t know another girl who could have gotten through this the way I have. Was that a crack about girls?” Her tone was teasing, not sharp at all.
“No. The truth is I don’t know of another person who could have done what you have. And put up with me on top of everything else.”
She smiled and snuggled against his chest again, half-hugging him as she got more comfortable. “You’re not that hard to put up with. It’s just that a person has to figure out that you don’t mean most of what you say.”
It sounded like he was smiling as he murmured, “And you’ve figured that out, have you?”
“Yeah. I’ve figured that out.”
They fell into silence, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. It felt full, rich, meaningful.
Ashley was feeling so close to him emotionally that it affected her physically. Her unsatisfied arousal from earlier starting to build again, and she began to shift against him as her body felt increasingly sensitized.
Her hand became more presumptuous too. Stroking his chest, his abdomen, dying to go lower toward his groin.
Then somehow it was, quite apart from her conscious will. She wriggled a little as her knuckles brushed against his groin.
He was hard, the bulge tight and obvious in the front of his trousers. She sucked in a breath, the knowledge making her own feelings that much more intense.
“Ashley,” he rasped, jerking slightly and then adjusting in the seat.
“Ethan,” she murmured, feeling shy and excited at the same time. If both of them wanted this, then surely it wasn’t such a bad thing. Surely it wasn’t something she had to be so afraid of. She moved her hand so she was palming him gently, experiencing a matching tightening between her thighs.
He gave a hard jerk and a ragged gasp. “You shouldn’t—”
“It’s okay. I kind of…if you want to—”
With a guttural sound, he moved her hand off his body and then he moved her body away from his.
She straightened up, startled, confused, and disappointed.
He was flushed and damp—either from remnants of the rain or from perspiration—and something was painfully stretched on his face. “I’ll be right back.”
“But it’s raining. Ethan, where are you—”
He reached down to pull one of the guns up from under the seat. “If anyone approaches you, shoot them.”
Then he was out the door and striding through the rain, away from the truck before she could figure out what had happened.
Well, that made some confusing things clear. Whatever his body’s reaction to her, he obviously didn’t want her at all. He wouldn’t let her be with him that way.
It was fine. If felt kind of crushing right now, but it was probably better in the long run. She would never be able to have the safe, neat, secure life she wanted if she got involved sexually with Ethan.
She’d talked herself into this by the time Ethan returned fifteen minutes later. He didn’t say anything. Just resumed the same position, slouched sideways on the bench seat. Without a word, he pulled her against him again.
She didn’t demand an explanation. She didn’t complain about the way he’d treated her. She thought she understood, and she could live with it.
She wanted him. A lot. In ways she’d never realized before. But she could resign herself to never having him, since that was what he wanted and that was probably best.
She just snuggled against him and tried to get to sleep.
And it was end of the sixth day.
Day Seven
near the Quad Cities, Illinois
Ashley awoke once again snuggled up to Ethan.
She was no longer even embarrassed about it, so she didn’t try to pull away or pretend to still be asleep. She shifted a little, stiff from their awkward sleeping positions in the cab of the truck, and felt him adjust his arms around her.
Glancing up, she saw that he was awake. “Hey.”
“Morning.” He half-smiled at her.
She raised up one hand and tried to tame her hair a little. She could only imagine what it must look like after getting wet last night.
“I don’t think that will do any good,” Ethan said, his partial smile turning into a full one. “Your hair is far beyond such minor aid.”
Groaning, she lowered her head back down to Ethan’s chest. It seemed a very intimate gesture. One she would never have dreamed of doing four days ago. But it felt nice—she could hear his heart beating. And since he didn’t object or try to get up, she figured she’d indulge herself while she could. “You’re supposed to tell me that I look enticingly tousled.”
“You look tou
sled all right,” he murmured. His hand had idly moved to the center of her back.
“But not enticing.” Her voice was slightly muffled by his skin. She raised her head to glare at him. “Thanks a whole fucking lot.” It was funny how the events of the night before hadn’t seemed to change anything significant between them.
“I thought we already had a talk about your language several days ago,” Ethan continued, a smile in his voice. “You’ll offend my delicate sensibilities.”
“I guess you’ll just have to spank me after all.”
There was a rather awkward moment after that one, as both of them thought about the possibility. Recovering quickly, although she felt unnaturally hot, Ashley went on, “And here I was thinking that you had been getting slightly less smug. But you have to go and prove me wrong again.”
“I can only be what I am,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “Even six days with a woman as bossy and demanding as you can’t change my true nature.”
Ashley tried not to giggle at his resigned expression. “I think you’ve gotten it mixed up a little. You’re the bossy and demanding one. I’m just muddling through as best I can without strangling you.”
“Believe me,” he drawled. “That goes both ways. You are the most infuriating woman I’ve ever had the misery to know.”
They smiled at each other.
After a moment, Ashley glanced away. “You did go to sleep last night, didn’t you?”
“Of course.”
Ashley studied his face carefully. “You’re lying. You stayed awake all night again. You and your martyr-complex.”
He didn’t try to deny it. Just shrugged slightly.
“How is your arm?” Ashley asked when he didn’t respond.
“Good,” Ethan replied, meeting her eyes evenly.
She scanned his expression once more. “You’re lying again. Make sure you take your pain killers.”
“Bossy, bossy, bossy,” Ethan grumbled, moving her hand from where it was resting on his chest. “I was planning to drive today. I don’t need any drugs.”
“I’m driving. You’re still injured and feeble. Take your pills.”
“No.” Ethan’s lips took on a very familiar sneer.
