Taking the Heat

by Victoria Dahl

  Veronica had felt as though she’d used up all her braveness just getting to the city. And she wasn’t even sure it could be called bravery, when she’d had no idea how difficult it all would be.

  The trail took one last turn and they had to climb up two big rock steps, but they finally made it to the clearing she’d been aiming for. The trail cut between two huge boulders, then edged around a little ravine. Right at the top of the ravine, she stopped and faced the town.

  “Here we are.”

  “Wow,” he answered.

  The setting sun turned the sky pink and gold in the west, and the highest peaks of the Tetons clawed at the colors like dark gray talons. The lower hills that marked the natural boundary of the town were already black with shadow, but beyond the grid of city blocks, the Elk Refuge stretched out for green miles. The river cut through the refuge, a winding line of deep blue that looked like a silk ribbon dropped into the middle of the grass.

  Veronica sat down on a flat rock and Gabe joined her, but they didn’t speak for a long time. They just looked at the scenery.

  The breeze picked up, shaking the trees around them. For the first time in a while, Veronica felt totally at peace.

  “You take it for granted a little when you grow up here,” she said. “It’s not like there are parts of the valley that are ugly. It’s all beautiful. I didn’t realize how much I’d miss it when I went to the city.”

  “Why did you move?” he asked, sounding totally dumbfounded.

  She shrugged. She wasn’t sure why she’d done it, why it had been so important to her for so long. Maybe that was one of the things she needed to unpack in her life. Why going far away had seemed like the solution to everything. “It’s complicated. And it was a mistake. I can’t imagine ever going back.”

  He was quiet and she looked up to find him watching her. He looked more serious than he ever had.

  She shrugged again. “Maybe I just spent too many years living in paradise.” She lifted her chin toward the view. As a teenager, she’d spent a lot of time outdoors, but she’d always thought of it as her only option for escape. She hadn’t realized how much she’d loved it until she didn’t have it anymore.

  He still watched her, as if he was trying to puzzle something out, but she didn’t want to reveal more. In the end he only nodded and bumped his shoulder gently against hers. “So...tell me what it means to be ‘pretty much’ a virgin.”

  Veronica gasped in horror. “I’m not telling you that!”

  “Come on. I’ve been wondering about it. The things you told me that first night.”

  “When I was drunk!” she yelped.

  “Yes, when you were drunk. And being honest. I mean, I was obviously intrigued, but after that kiss... I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

  “Oh, God,” she whispered, her face going as hot as fire as she let her head drop. But her face wasn’t the only part of her heating up. That kiss had been so, so good. And if he was interested in what she’d said, then he was...interested. Hadn’t she just been thinking that she’d do almost anything to get her hands on him?

  She felt him lean closer. “I only want to know what you want,” he whispered, his voice so close to her ear it made her shiver. “What you’re looking for.”

  Just his voice was enough to make her warm, but then...then his lips touched the side of her neck. She inhaled so sharply that it sounded like a gasp. His warm mouth touched her again, and the brush of his beard sent goose bumps scattering along her skin and down to her hardening nipples.

  “I don’t want to tell you about that,” she whispered, but she was arching her head away from him now, giving him more room to work. No one had ever kissed her this way. Softly. Slowly. As if he was exploring instead of persuading.

  “Okay.” The word whispered over the skin behind her ear. She felt his fingers slide along the base of her skull, then trail down the nape of her neck. “Just tell me one thing, then. Anything.”

  His tongue was shockingly hot when it touched her neck. Just a little flick that made her gasp again.

  “I...” she tried, then groaned when his mouth opened against her and sucked gently. “I...I know a lot of things,” she managed to say. “All of it, really.”

  “Mmm.” The sound vibrated against her.

  “And I’ve done things.”

  “What things?” he whispered.

  Oh, God, she couldn’t say any of this out loud. It was too much. She didn’t want to tell; she just wanted to do. With him.

  He drew back a little, and she followed him, her body leaning closer, chasing after his mouth.

  “Come ’ere,” he murmured. She wasn’t sure what he meant until his arm slipped under her knees and he lifted her up and onto his lap.

  She grabbed on to him in shock, feeling as if she’d slide right off his knees, but his legs were strong, and his arms stayed around her to hold her steady.

  She wasn’t sure that sitting on his lap was quite...appropriate. But when his mouth settled into the crook of her neck and he tasted her again, any thought she’d had for returning to her own side of the boulder vanished. She didn’t want to go anywhere. She wanted to be right here on his hard thighs, with his hands spreading over her back and his mouth creating magic on her neck.

  “Oh,” she sighed, settling more comfortably into his chest.

  “You’ve obviously kissed before,” he said. “You’re very good at it.”

  He kissed his way up to her jaw, and when she turned toward him, his mouth caught hers.

  Was she good at it? She had no idea, but he made her feel hungry and languid and right. But she got to kiss him back for only a brief moment before his mouth left hers. “Have you come before?” he asked, his voice a little rougher than it had been.

  Oh, God. She closed her eyes. “Yes,” she answered.

  He kissed her lower lip. Bit it gently. Let it go. “With a man?”

  She didn’t want to say. She couldn’t. She was a challenge. Hard work for a guy. No one wanted to be hard work in bed. But she finally shook her head. “No.”

  He exhaled deeply. One of his hands slid up her back to cradle the nape of her neck. His fingertips felt textured against her skin. Calloused. “No?” he murmured against her mouth.

  She shook her head, the tiniest movement, letting her parted lips brush over his. He kissed her again finally. An urgent, dark kiss, his hand still on her neck, keeping her close.

  Wanting to be even closer, she twisted toward him, sliding her knee up, and then his hand was on her leg, lifting it over his thighs so that she straddled him.

  Veronica held him now. Her hands slid up his shoulders and his neck, and she cradled his face and kissed him more deeply. His hands went to her thighs, and his fingers rubbed slowly up and down, up and down, from her knees to the tops of her legs. She wanted him to go higher. She was spread open, straddling him, and she wanted him to rub her there. Right there. She wanted it to feel the way she’d always hoped it would. But his hands stayed on her thighs.

  When he raised his head, she followed him, and he gave in and kissed her again. Triumph flared bright inside her. He wanted her. He couldn’t resist her mouth. His fingers tightened on her thighs. Yes.

  When he pulled away this time, his breath was rough. She stroked her fingers down his beard and put her mouth to his neck. She wasn’t done tasting him. She wanted more. She felt his moan through her tongue and teeth and she dragged her hands down to his chest and the hard muscles there.

  “Tell me what you’ve done,” he groaned.

  “No,” she whispered against his neck. She didn’t want to. It was all silly. She’d done things that everyone else had done; it just hadn’t been good.

  One of his hands slid up her hip, her waist, her ribs. He cupped her breast through her shirt and slid a thumb over her ni
pple. Veronica groaned with sharp need. It felt so good and it was torture. A small, stingy promise of what she’d feel if he touched her clit.

  But then he rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger and she hissed at the pleasure.

  “I just want to know,” he said. “I don’t want to shock you. I don’t want to move too fast.”

  “Shock me,” she urged.

  He tugged her shirt up and her bra down and he closed his mouth over her nipple.

  Veronica cried out. She couldn’t help it. The pleasure was so sudden and sharp that it nearly hurt. She threw her head back as he sucked at her. When she opened her eyes, she saw stars. Stars just starting to shimmer above them in the purple sky.

  “Oh, God,” she breathed.

  Above the sound of her own pounding heart, she heard a chittering and closed her eyes to ignore it. But then Gabe’s mouth left her breast. Her nipple ached at the shock of cold before he tugged her shirt down.

  Her head swam with dizziness when he lifted her leg and swung her around to her original position.

  “I’m sorry,” he said gruffly as the chittering sound grew louder. A biker flew past them so quickly that it felt like a sudden storm, the wind hitting them hard. “I shouldn’t have done that here,” Gabe continued.

  Veronica blinked, trying to clear her head, but she was still stuck in the pleasure. She wanted to get back to it. Who cared about bikers or hikers or anyone else?

  She kissed him again and took his hand to slide it back under her shirt. Her nipple felt cold until his palm covered it with heat.

  Gabe groaned. “Men have touched you here before?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said, no longer shy.

  His hand slid down her belly and over her shorts. “And here?” He cupped her, his big hand holding her sex in a careful grip. His fingers pressed lightly.

  “Yes,” she moaned.

  He kissed her neck again, and she arched into his mouth as the heat of his hand soaked through the fabric that covered her pussy. “Have they licked you here, Veronica?” His fingers pressed gently.

  The thought of him doing that filled her head so completely that she squirmed against his hand. She wanted his hot mouth there. She wanted his tongue. She wanted to grip the messy waves of his hair and hold him to her pussy. “Yes,” she finally answered. “Just...just once.”

  His breath huffed against her throat. “I want to do that.”

  Oh God, oh God, oh God. She wanted that so much. His middle finger stroked her, a whisper of a promise that sent little sparks of pleasure flying through her. “Yes,” she urged.

  “Shit,” he rasped. “You’re killing me. Not here. Not now.”

  “But if you—” she started, but his pained laugh cut her off.

  “And not on a fucking rock. Not this first time, anyway.”

  She was going to suggest that there was a meadow only a few yards back, but even in her ridiculous state that seemed too desperate. As desperate as she actually felt.

  In fact, she felt so damn tight and needy that she wanted to suggest they skip that altogether. She wanted to say, It’s dark—just tug down your shorts and fuck me right here. But that was crazy. Crazy. To get well and truly laid for the first time in some hurried, frantic fuck on a public trail.

  She nodded, kept nodding. “Okay,” she said as his hand left her. Her pussy felt freezing cold without the cover of his fingers. She was a little mortified to think she was so wet she’d soaked through the fabric of both her underwear and her shorts. Then again, she was utterly thrilled that anyone could make her that wet. For a while now she’d been wondering if she could even get that turned on.

  She could. She definitely could.

  He eased her closer, arms around her waist, and rested his forehead against hers. “I think we lost track of time,” he said casually, as if her hip weren’t now pressed against his erection. He was hard. So hard that she was having trouble forming a sentence and wasn’t sure why it was so easy for him to talk. Maybe it was just experience.

  She shifted, pressing her hip more tightly to him, and she was rewarded with the sound of breath hissing past clenched teeth. It made her smile.

  “Don’t torture me,” he rasped.

  “I just wanted to see if you were enjoying this as much as I was.”

  “Are you kidding?” he sounded slightly offended. “I’m in serious pain.”

  She should have felt bad, but a laugh bubbled up in Veronica’s throat. He was aching and hard as a rock. For her.

  She pressed her hip against him again, then laughed at the strangled noise he made.

  “Holy shit, you’re cruel,” he complained.

  “I’m sorry. But you just teased the hell out of me.”

  His teeth flashed white in the twilight when he smiled. “That’s good to know.”

  “Almost as good as knowing this,” she said. Feeling sexy and bold in a way she never had before, she brushed her fingers over the front of his shorts.

  “No,” he said immediately. “We’re not starting again. I can’t take it.”

  Her laughter was husky even to her own ears. “But I’m having fun, Gabe.”

  He growled something she couldn’t quite make out and kissed her brusquely on the forehead. “We’ve got to go. It’s almost full dark.”

  “I know,” she sighed, but she turned to look out at the view instead of moving. The sky was purple and indigo in the west now, the Tetons nothing but silhouettes against the fading light. The Gros Ventre mountains to the east picked up the last glimmers of light on their snowy peaks, but above them the stars blazed in the dark sky. The lights of Jackson twinkled cheerily below.

  Now that her heart rate was returning to normal, Veronica shivered. Gabe pulled her back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

  “It’s hard to leave,” he murmured.

  “Yes,” she said. “It’s hard.” Her giggle ruined the moment and she didn’t care.

  He groaned and set her on her feet. “That’s it. No more mocking my pain. Your fun is over, lady.”

  “God, I hope not. It just started.” She dug in her pack for her fleece jacket and a flashlight.

  “All right,” he said. He’d brought his own flashlight and a circle of light appeared at his feet. “The fun is only over for tonight.”

  She pulled on her jacket and they started down the trail. “And here I was hoping you’d come back to my place,” she said to his back. Adrenaline rushed through her body as the words left her mouth. She’d just invited him over. They were going to have sex. Tonight. And the thing was...she felt nervous about it in only the best way. In fact, she was so excited about it that she didn’t notice his silence until he finally broke it.

  “Not that I wouldn’t love to,” he said. “I mean, I’d really, really love to, but...”

  She stopped. He took two more steps before he stopped and turned toward her.

  “But what?” she asked.

  He didn’t say anything for a long moment. She wanted to shine her flashlight in his face in the hopes of reading his thoughts.

  “You’re not coming over?”

  “I don’t think I should.”

  “Why?” she asked, then wished she could take it back. Why? sounded too much like Please. Suddenly cold, she zipped up her jacket and then forced herself to start walking again. Why? Why wasn’t she ever enough?

  He cleared his throat as she brushed past him. It must be difficult to explain to a woman why you didn’t want to sleep with her. She was utterly confused. He’d seemed so turned on only a few minutes ago. He’d said he was in pain.

  It was the virginity thing. Or the pressure to make her come. Why the hell had she told him that? No one wanted to—

  “Because,” he started, interrupting her though
ts, “I want it to be really good for you, Veronica. If we have sex. If you decide you want to.”

  She stopped again. If? Was he insane? She wanted it. Really badly. “Gabe, I... I shouldn’t have told you all that stuff. It’s no big deal, honestly. I’ve even... I mean, it’s hard to explain, but I’m not even technically a virgin, I guess. It’s really—”

  “You absolutely should have told me. Everything.”

  She shook her head. She knew he couldn’t see her. They were beneath the trees and not even a hint of light got through. The circles of their flashlights bounced on the trail at their feet.

  She shook her head again. “I’m not looking for some weird moment with candles and stuff. I just want to do it.”

  “Get it over with?” he asked.

  “No! Well, yes. But no, I mean, I want to. I wanted to do it back there. On that rock! You turn me on more than anyone ever has and—” Shit. Why did words keep coming out of her mouth? “I just want to have sex because I want to. Like anyone else would!”

  A few heartbeats passed. Veronica wanted to kick herself.

  “You were that turned on?” he finally asked.

  “Oh, my God, don’t pretend you didn’t feel it.” Her crotch was still cold.

  Even his chuckle was sexy. She was starting to hate him and his sexiness. “It’s different to hear you say it, though. It’s nice.”

  “Shut up,” she grumbled. At least her face wasn’t cold. Her face felt hot enough to melt steel. If she turned off her flashlight, maybe she’d see the red glow of her face reflecting off the leaves.

  “Listen.” His hand settled on her shoulder. She was glad she couldn’t see him in the dark. He was close, though. Close enough to slide his hand over her hair. “I’m not planning to show up with candles and champagne. I just don’t want to rush it.”

  “I turn twenty-seven tomorrow. This hasn’t been a rush.”

  “Tomorrow?” he asked. “It’s your birthday?”

  She waved a dismissive hand. “Yes, and I’ll still be a virgin for some reason I don’t understand.”