by Bijou Hunter
“Justice, stop bugging your sister so she can get going.”
“Are you queefing kidding?” Justice balks. “She’s sitting on me, and yet somehow I’m the bad guy?”
“Yes.”
Journey gets up and holds out a hand for Justice. Once they’ve cleaned the grass off of their bare legs, they join us on the porch.
“I guess we should go,” Journey tells me.
“Probably.”
Justice rolls her eyes and walks inside. Journey follows her long enough to say something to Otto. After grabbing her bag, she returns to the porch.
“Bye,” she tells her family.
“Bye!” they yell in unison.
Journey only sighs. “I wish you hadn’t come.”
“You look tired,” I say, caressing just under her left eye. “Were you up all night thinking about me?”
Journey narrows her eyes and unveils a truly nasty look. When I don’t run away screaming, she shrugs.
“Yeah, maybe a little bit, but only because I didn’t want you to come.”
Opening my Jeep’s passenger door for her, I ask, “Was I dressed when you were thinking about me?”
“I don’t know what you look like naked,” she grumbles.
“Do you want to?”
Journey gives me the once over and I catch a hint of a grin. “A little bit, yeah.”
“Well, you’ll need to suffer a bit longer. Naked and the woods don’t mix. The last thing I need is chigger bites on my ass.”
When Journey smiles big at me, I’m certain my hunger for her isn’t a mistake. She possesses a face I could look at forever.
14 Snake Charmers
Journey
Donovan drives out to the Rock Crest Falls Park next to the Hunter’s Luck Lake. He no doubt feels more comfortable in his part of Clinton County than mine. I don’t blame him for needing a break from the gossip of Tumbling Rock.
We make lame chit-chat on the drive. Donovan tells me about his job in the most roundabout way possible. I’m no better. I actually explain how I like “things” and don’t like other “things.” We’ve quickly fallen into a contest to see who can be more obnoxiously vague.
Despite our awkward conversation, I’m relieved to see Donovan. For days, I’ve second guessed everything from our pizza date. Was I really interested in him? Did we have any chemistry or was it all in my head? Now I’m nearly giddy to sit next to him.
Donovan’s scent makes me smile so much I’m forced to cover my mouth. He smells like soap and deodorant. Nothing fancy from a guy like Donovan, just a clean male scent.
After we arrive, Donovan straps on his backpack full of supplies. I do the same even though mine mainly consists of sugar. Having slept like crap, I’m yawning five minutes into our walk through the tediously scenic woods.
“What would you do right now if you weren’t with me?” I ask, wiping my exhausted eyes.
“Probably sitting in my backyard with Kitty.”
“Do you have friends you spend time with?”
“I stay to myself.”
“Are you anti-social or do people think you suck?”
Donovan flashes me a smile so brilliant that I feel it in my gut. “Can I pick a third choice?”
“What would that be?”
“I haven’t found the right people to call friends. Do you have friends outside your family?”
“No. I’m anti-social.”
“I never would have guessed.”
I stop walking and look up at the sunny sky. Feeling Donovan’s gaze is on me, I wonder what he sees. Does he have any idea I’ve lost all confidence when it comes to him?
“The only real relationship I’ve ever had was with a chick in high school,” I say, still looking up. “I couldn’t stand men back then. My step dad super grossed me out about the opposite sex, so I thought maybe I was a lesbian. Two weeks into the relationship, I realized I didn’t like women either.”
“Too chatty?” he teases.
“Too everything. Women have a lot of feelings.”
“No shit,” he says, laughing.
Shaking my head, I give him a quick angry glance. “Men aren’t so great.”
“Yeah, that’s why I don’t date them.”
My irritation relents under the power of his smile. “It’s not that I dislike people per se. I enjoy working with patients at my job. I want to spend time with my family. So people as a whole don’t repel me. I’m just picky.”
“So am I.”
“We’re nothing alike.”
“What was her name?” he asks, walking again.
I hurry to catch up, admiring his decision to test me. “Who?”
“Your girlfriend?”
“Why?”
“Just curious.”
“Are you planning to fantasize about her and me while you do your business?”
“Now I am. Hell, why’d you put that in my head?”
“Poor guy,” I mutter, grinning despite my better judgment. “Holly and I never did anything sexy enough to put in a porno.”
“When did all that happen?”
“My senior year in high school.”
“I’m relieved I don’t remember much from my senior year. It’d probably be a lot of awkward moves and embarrassing pickup lines.”
“Were you a hound in high school, chasing all the girls?”
“Naw. I hung out with a bunch of stoners. The girls weren’t into sex. I think it was all the pot.”
“A law and order kid tight with a bunch of stoners. I’m sure your family was thrilled.”
“My mom was wild, and I’m the bastard of the family. No one was all that surprised by my choice in friends. Of course, when I joined the sheriff’s department, they were downright shocked.”
When I recall how handsome he looked in his uniform, I instantly regret getting myself hot. “Why did you want to join?”
“I liked the idea of helping people.”
“You’re full of feces. I bet you only wanted to do it to make your family think you’re one of them.”
Donovan glances down at my smiling face, likely realizing I’m as capable of challenging him as he is me. “That might have been some of it. As a kid, though, my favorite movie was Smokey and the Bandit. I figured I couldn’t be the Bandit moving bootleg booze over state lines, so I might as well be Smokey.”
“I’ve always gotten an outlaw feeling about you.”
“Probably. Can’t change the fact I come from outlaw blood. Having seen both sides growing up, I can’t say which choice is better. Some people aren’t meant to live straight and narrow. Others won’t survive on the wild side.”
“Could you survive?”
Donovan hitches up his backpack and keeps walking. “Sure, but I’m not sure I’d like giving up all the perks of the straight and the narrow.”
“My dad plays the average man well. I’d never know he was anything besides a mechanic who rides a Harley. That’s the thing about being an outlaw around here. You need to have a day job to make yourself look legal.”
“How many hours do you think Court’s ever spent at the storage units?”
I smile until our arms touch. He’s moved too close. I know he’s at fault since I’ve been very careful about not stepping into his personal zone. I want to retain my self-control, and I can’t do that if I’m locking lips or staring into his eyes like a horny schoolgirl.
Keeping my plan in place would be a heck of a lot easier if Donovan didn’t have dreamy fricking eyes and such an inviting smile.
Cocking an eyebrow, he asks, “What does the look you’re giving me mean?”
“I was just thinking you’re an annoying hag.”
“You probably won’t believe this, but I was thinking the exact same thing about you.”
“Hurtful,” I say, struggling against how much I want to kiss his smiling lips. “Do you miss the ease of hookups rather than enduring this crappy dating stuff?”
“Not particularly. Wait, wer
e you purposely being an annoying hag so I’d want to ditch you and hook up with a friend with benefits? Poor, Journey. Don’t waste your time. Since we met, I’ve been like a dog with a bone.”
My brain instantly imagines what my sisters would say in response to his last comment. Great, I hear them even when they aren’t babbling.
“I don’t like dating,” I say, stepping away from him as we walk.
“When I think of dating, I get the heebie-jeebies about hearts, flowers, and boring chit chat. You need to do what I do and think of us as two people hiking and looking at leaves and talking about family and how stupid hiking is.”
“Okay,” I say, forcing myself to step closer. “Hiking really is stupid. It’s just walking.”
“I also never expected the woods to smell this much like a zoo.”
Swallowing hard, I slide my arm through his as we walk. Donovan glances at me with his blue eyes and lifts a brow.
“That seemed painful.”
“It was.”
“Let me know if you need medical attention, and I’ll call someone.”
“Smart ass.”
“Only with you.”
Smiling, I soak in the feel of him against me. Donovan radiates a lot of heat in the already warm day. Against my better judgment, I lean my head against his arm. I like how his breath catches because it proves this man is at least a tiny percent as crazy over me as I am for him.
15 Snake Charmers
Donovan
Journey settles down once we begin complaining about hiking. She even gets the giggles after we quietly mock a gung-ho couple passing us. Her arm remains linked with mine while we shuffle down the path. I know for Journey this move is a big deal. So is her every smile, and she smiles at lot as we spend the next hour inching along the paths.
“When my coworker talked about hiking on a date,” I say, wiping sweat from my head, “I thought it sounded like a horrible idea.”
“Do you now feel vindicated?”
Grinning, I nod. “The company is sexy as hell, but I could do without the allergies.”
“Poor, copper. All you wanted was to get in my pants, but now you’ll spend the night with red, watery eyes.”
Journey reaches to caress my face before pausing mid-air and considering whether to continue. She finally allows her fingers to brush over my cheek. I think about how Journey went from shoving me against a car to barely capable of touching my face. Had the light of day zapped her courage?
“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten?” I ask when she studies me for too long.
Thrown by my question, Journey thinks about the question for nearly a minute before smiling.
“Poppy’s dad was on a health kick years ago. Back then, I was certain he was having an affair. Christine was working a lot, and Paul isn’t the kind of guy to spend time alone. So one night during his health kick, he made an awful tomato and tofu concoction that he shoved into half of a grilled green pepper. That was the entire meal. Poppy was around seven. When her dad said that was all we got for dinner, and we could eat it or starve, she started bawling.”
“Did you eat it?”
“Frick no. We didn’t starve either. I was driving by then, and Jared bought me a used blue sedan. Once I had the car, I found a job and stopped listening to Paul. I hadn’t been good at listening to him before then, but he was just white noise after my car. So I took Poppy and Justice to Burger King for dinner. Paul tried stopping me. The dipfrick even made threats. I made threats too. When he said he’d call the cops if I hit him, I warned how I’d say he hit me first. Paul always backed down when it came to violence. His strength was emotional abuse. The physical stuff scared the piss out of him.”
“You’re a good big sister.”
“Don’t talk down to me,” Journey grumbles, yanking her arm free.
“I’m not. I’d have fucking loved to have a big sister to stick up for me growing up. Oh, and a sister to buy me food too.”
Studying me, Journey decides I’m square with her. Her arm slides through mine, and we walk again.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like to be an only child.”
“It was lonely.”
Journey’s taken back by my honesty. She stops walking for a moment and stares up at me. I don’t flinch under her intense gaze. She wants me to open up, so I plan to be an open book today.
“Did your mom raise you alone?”
“Off and on. At times, we moved in with my grandparents. Mom would get in over her head. Once she felt more centered, she’d begin fighting with them a lot. Soon, we’d move out, and she’d try to do it alone.”
“What was she like?”
I’m not particularly surprised Journey knows my mom is dead. Word gets around Tumbling Rock. No doubt the minute people heard about our first date, they began bombarding her with my life story.
“Mom was stubborn, self-centered, stubborn, restless, and stubborn. You get the picture.”
“I can’t imagine growing up in such an uncertain situation.”
“I bet you can. Your stepdad sounds like a piece of work.”
“Paul’s the kind of man capable of breaking down insecure people. I’ve never been insecure, though. I’m me, and I’ve always been me. I don’t get upset when people don’t want to be my friends. I never care if I’m popular. I’ve had lots of friends, but they were never close. I don’t trust people with my heart. Even as a kid, I kept them at arm's length. People need to earn my trust, and Paul never did. He was so clearly an insecure douche from day one that I never gave a flying frick what he thought of me.”
“So nothing anyone can say will hurt you?”
Journey frowns as if I’ve asked the dumbest fucking question ever. “Of course, if my mom, dad, or sisters said something cruel, I’d feel it. I trust them. My father less so since I didn’t know him that well growing up. We’d visit him, and he’d feel real, and I’d begin to trust him, but then the visit would end, and I’d start all over. With my sisters and mom, I’m completely open. If they turn on me, I’ll have no protection.”
“You make human contact sound so aggressive.”
Journey isn’t sure if she wants to smile. Finally, she relents to my laughter.
“That’s what it feels like to me. Not so much when I was a kid, but once I got older, I saw how people struggle to be in control. Well, mainly Christine does. She is great on her own. With certain people, she turns into a nervous little kid. I never want that to happen to me.”
“You kinda act like that with me.”
“Eat feces, cop,” Journey says, laughing and tightening her hold on my arm. “I’m cool as ice with you.”
“Sure, little lady. You’re a damn iceberg.”
Glancing up at me, she sighs. “I’m sorry I said your face was made of feces.”
“Considering you kiss the damn thing, I sure hope you don’t think my face is made out of shit.”
“I miss saying ‘shit.’ Oh, and a good ‘fuck off’ would be an excellent release.”
“Have at it.”
Journey glances around. “There could be kids in the woods.”
“Not yours, though.”
“Oh, yeah, so who cares?” she says, grinning.
Journey lets go of my arm, leaving me cold. After leaning forward and taking a deep breath, she lets out a string of cuss words that’d make the nastiest meth head nod with approval.
“Feel better?”
Wearing a glorious smile, Journey wraps her arms around me. “Yeah, I do.”
I take advantage of her happy mood and plant a kiss on her grinning lips. Journey tightens her grip, nearly knocking me off balance. When she grabs me with such ferocity, I can barely contain my need to have her under me in bed. I want her to call my name out when she comes. I ache to feel her pussy tighten around my cock and know I’ve brought her pleasure. Making Journey come apart is all I desire.
I’m blinded to all else, but the feeling never lasts. The world returns, and I’m j
ust Donovan Mooney. Soon, I’m left with only negative thoughts killing all of my dreams. I can’t win this woman over. I won’t keep her with me. There’s no future for us. I’m only fooling myself.
Quiet is the right kind of living for me. I spend most of my time alone. I enjoy the silence. Journey probably won’t want everything so quiet, but she doesn’t complain while we sit on a bench and drink water.
She caresses my forearm and leans down to look closer. “You have blond hairs on your arm.”
“That I do.”
“I hadn’t noticed that about you,” Journey says and then leans back. “Seems stupid, I’m sure, but I realize I hadn’t paid much attention to you on our first date. I was too busy wondering why I was sitting with you rather than with my family at home.”
“Did you ever figure that out?”
Journey gives me a little smile. “I’m not ashamed to say I went out with you simply because of lust. You looked really pretty at the fair.”
“And you were damn handsome.”
Journey shares my smile. “Is it so bad that I’m uncomfortable chasing men?”
“I’d lose all respect for you if you chased me.”
“Nice to know you have standards.”
I reach out and pretend to brush something off her face. Her skin is unbelievably soft under my touch.
“I want to chase you.”
“Except isn’t the fun part of chasing having one person make it hard to catch them? Have I made it too easy for you?”
Laughing is a bad move to make with a woman like Journey, but I can’t help it. She’s wearing the sincerest expression when she claims to have made the chase too easy for me.
“What’s funny?” she asks, partly amused yet mostly leery.
“Your idea of easy isn’t the same definition most people would use.”
“Well, I don’t have much experience with dating. To me, it feels like I’ve given in too quickly.”
“Oh, you’ve given in, have you? Well, then let me claim my prize.”
Leaning across the table, I cover her lips with mine and suck tenderly. Journey doesn’t react coldly. Instead, she presses closer and opens her mouth for my curious tongue. I taste mint first and then the heat of her intense arousal that I’m not expecting.
