by Kate Hunt
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I tell her.
Her irises gleam. “Don’t make me come over there and kiss you.”
“Is that a threat?”
She glides closer to me. I wrench her body to mine. My hard-on presses against her thigh and she draws in a sharp breath.
I seal my lips to hers. Slide my tongue between her parted lips. Taste her for the first time. She tastes like honey. Like cream.
Like home.
A siren wails out on the road and Madison pulls back from me to look.
“They aren’t coming for us, sweetheart,” I say.
“I know,” she says, shoving me playfully. “Race you back to the pier?”
I let her swim ahead of me for most of the way back. But when we near the pier, I move ahead and climb up out of the water first so I can hold out a hand and pull her up.
The sight of her wet bra and panties clinging to her body is nearly enough to bring me to my knees.
“So you really have to leave tomorrow?” she asks, pulling her clothes back on, wetness instantly blooming through the fabric.
“Yep,” I say, pulling on my own clothes. “Got delivery dates to make.”
“Right,” she says.
I look over and catch disappointment in her eyes.
Oh, babygirl. This doesn’t end here. No fucking way.
“Want a tour of my home-on-the-road?” I ask.
“Depends. You got a coffeemaker?”
“I do. Got a whole little kitchen setup.”
She shoots me a look of disbelief. “You do not.”
“I do. I’m not bullshitting you.”
“Okay. This I have to see.”
One conversation-filled walk later, we reach the parking lot I pulled the rig into earlier today. I open up the driver’s door and place a hand lightly on Madison’s lower back as she steps in.
“Oh my God,” she says as she moves back into the sleeper cab. “It’s so spacious!”
I’ve spent so much time here that it doesn’t faze me anymore. But if I try hard enough, I can still remember how stunned I was by the sleeper cab, too, the first time I stepped foot into it. Not only is it a big space, but it’s decked out. I’ve got small kitchen appliances, quartz countertops, heat and A/C, a TV installed on the wall, a full-sized bed.
“This is unreal,” says Madison, still looking around in awe. She peeks into my bathroom, and when she sees that I have a shower, she looks over her shoulder at me with her mouth agape.
“We should wash off this lake water,” I say, threading my fingers through her wet hair and angling her face up to me for a kiss.
“Good idea,” she murmurs as my lips meet hers.
Chapter Three
Madison
We peel off our wet clothes as we kiss. We fumble our way into the shower. It’s small, but we both fit—just barely. Titus’s body cages me in against the wall like a protective shell, the heat radiating off him as hot as the water that’s streaming down over us.
The magnitude of his hard-on pressing against my thigh doesn’t escape me.
I’m driven crazy with desire as his huge hands run over my body, slipping over me, caressing me. As Titus lowers his head and moves his mouth to my breast, taking a pebbled nipple into his mouth and sucking it hungrily, I shut my eyes and tilt my head back.
I don’t know how it’s possible to feel so comfortable and open with someone I’ve just met, but I am. Completely.
Titus’s hand moves between my legs, gliding over my clit, and I let out a high whimper. I can’t take it anymore. I need him.
I fumble to turn off the shower water. I dig my fingers into Titus’s biceps—oh my God, these beastly biceps—and murmur something about him showing me his bed. The next thing I know, a thick, plush towel is being draped around me. Then Titus is scooping me up and carrying me into the back of the sleeper cab—a cozy area with a freakin’ full-sized bed. The towel wrapped around me falls onto the floor; the bedsheets feel like silk against my skin when my back hits the mattress.
The mattress shifts beneath us as Titus joins me on the bed. Kneeling in front of me, he kisses one of my knees, then slides his lips down the inside of my thigh and I let my legs open for him.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he grunts, his mouth dropping between my legs.
His lips close around my clit and I clutch the bedsheets, gasping at how incredible it feels. He sucks me and licks me and does I don’t even know what with his tongue—all I know is that he’s making me breathe so hard that my lungs are starting to burn.
A string of half-formed words falls out of my mouth—and then I can’t speak at all. All I can do is cry out as a tidal wave of an orgasm washes over me and renders me boneless.
“You taste like heaven, you know that?” Titus murmurs as he moves up over me. When he kisses me I can taste myself on his tongue. I slide a hand between us, finally touching the wonder that is his hard cock. Jesus, it’s so big. So heavy.
“Um,” I say, awe and nervousness simultaneously rushing through me. “Titus…I, uh…I don’t know if you’re going to fit.”
“I will, baby,” he says, kissing me again. “We were meant to do this. I’m meant to be buried inside of you.”
His words send red-hot bolts of desire up my spine. When he lowers his hips and the throbbing head of his cock presses against my cunt, it feels like time suddenly stands still. Then he moves his hips forward and pushes into me and I can’t even breathe for a second.
It feels so fucking unbelievable already. Like we’re two becoming one.
“Keep going,” I gasp.
He sinks into me, more and more and more of him, until all of his glorious length is inside of me. My thighs quiver; my body pulses with heat; my heart beats in triple-time.
But that doesn’t even compare to how it feels when he starts thrusting into me.
“Oh my God,” I squeak, pressing my forehead to his as he drives into me over and over again. Every circle of his hips elicits a louder moan from my mouth.
“You feel so fucking amazing,” Titus grunts.
“You…” My mouth hangs slack. “You…oh, God. Yes. That’s so good.”
He starts pumping faster, his cock rapidly thrusting in and out of my wetness. Breathlessly, I run my hands over his broad shoulders and then through his hair and pull his mouth toward me for a kiss. When his tongue pushes into my mouth and takes control I feel a wild swell of heat in my core.
And then it crashes over me again, so much harder this time—and the feeling of him spilling into me makes my own orgasm all the more intense. The pleasure continues to radiate through me in waves as we both come down the other side.
We keep kissing for a long time before Titus pulls back to look me in the eye.
“Stay with me tonight,” he says.
Shit. Why did he have to say that? I run a hand through his hair, buying myself a little more time.
But it’s no use. He’s waiting for my answer.
“I can’t, Titus,” I say softly.
“Because?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, but…”
I can’t vocalize the rest. The truth is, it feels dangerous to stay. Sleeping next to him could easily make this feel like something more than it is. And that’s just asking for trouble. No. We should just enjoy this for what it is and say goodnight and go our separate ways…
And yet I’m also having a really, really hard time imagining myself leaving right now.
“Stay,” he says again.
I take a breath. “Okay. Fine. I’ll stay. But one night. That’s it.”
“That’s all I’ve got, too,” he reminds me. “I have to leave tomorrow, remember?”
“Right,” I say.
He rolls onto his back, pulling me on top of him. I flush at the feeling of his hard-on beneath me. Jesus, he’s ready again already?
Not that I’m about to complain.
Titus pulls my face down to his and kisses me. I grin
d against his cock and he curses under his breath.
“I’m going to come back for you, you know, babygirl,” he says.
I’m about to tell him that I really did mean it when I said I can only be with him for one night. But then he slides into me again, and there’s no use even trying to form a coherent word.
“Maaaadison!”
I laugh as Bailey tackles me with a hug. It’s a week later, a sunny afternoon, and she’s finally here. It’s so good to see my best friend—and the rest of her family too. Her husband Dax and their twin girls are also here at the park; even their old dog has come along on the trip.
“God, you look great,” Bailey says, pulling back from our hug to look at me. “You’re, like, glowing.”
“Because I’m happy to see you!” I say, which isn’t a lie, but isn’t the entire truth, either. Ever since that night with Titus, I’ve been in a ridiculously good mood. And not just because of the countless orgasms he gave me. We also spent a lot of that night just hanging out, just talking, and it really nourished my soul.
I’m still sticking to my guns—I really did mean it when I told Titus that one night was all I could give him. But that doesn’t mean I can’t continue to enjoy the enduring feelings from that night.
I look down at Bailey’s twins and smile. The two girls grin back up at me. They’re both dressed in jeans and bright pink shirts, but even in identical outfits and matching smiles I can tell them apart.
“Hi, Linnea,” I say. “Hi, Cara.”
The girls groan.
“You were supposed to be tricked!” Cara says.
“Sorry, girls,” I say, laughing. I look up at Bailey’s husband. “Hey, Dax. Good to see you.”
“You, too,” he says, smiling at me before turning to Bailey. “Hey, I’m going to take the dog on a walk and let you two catch up.”
“Thanks, babe,” says Bailey.
“Girls?” Dax says to their twins. “Want to come along?”
They reply in unison. “No! We want to hang out with Auntie Madison!”
Dax shoots a questioning look at Bailey and myself.
“They can hang out with us,” I say.
“Yeah, we’ll take them over to the playground,” says Bailey, then rises up on her tiptoes to give her husband a kiss.
“All right,” Dax says. “See you girls later.”
As we walk across the park, the twins take off in a sprint ahead of us toward the playground. Bailey and I walk at a more casual pace.
“It’s so good to see you, Bail,” I say, bumping my shoulder into hers.
“So good to see you,” she says, nudging me back. “How’s the café?”
“It’s good.”
“Joe still there?”
“Of course,” I say with a grin.
I’m still telling her about how work’s been when we reach the playground. The girls are going down the biggest slide. Linnea is at the top, about to slide down.
“Auntie Madison!” she calls out. “Come over here!”
Bailey quirks an eyebrow at me. “You’re being summoned.”
“I’ll try to be quick,” I say.
When I go over to the girls, they inform me they need me to watch them each go down the slide and then declare a winner. Amused, I tell them to go ahead. Linnea slides down first, singing as she does; Cara goes next, twirling her arms in the air as she descends.
“Oh, gosh, girls,” I say, sucking air in between my teeth. “Sorry, but that was clearly a tie.”
“Really?” says Cara.
“Really,” I say. “Pinky swear.”
With the girls’ permission, I head back to Bailey, who has taken a seat on a wooden log along the perimeter of the playground.
“I don’t know why you think kids aren’t for you,” says Bailey. “You’re so good with the girls.”
“That’s because they aren’t my kids,” I say as I sit down beside her. “It’s easy to be good with them when they aren’t your own.”
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever. You can keep believing that.”
“Anyway,” I say. “Tell me how you’ve been. How’s business?”
“It’s good. Busy. Dax has been busy, too,” Bailey tells me. Bailey makes these adorable little hand-carved bowls and sells them online; her husband makes dining tables.
“Not too busy, though, I hope,” I say.
“No. We’re good about keeping everything balanced. Trust me, we have plenty of family time. And plenty of one-on-one time.” Bailey wriggles her eyebrows at me and we both burst out laughing.
“Okay. Good,” I say.
“Actually…I have some news. I’m pregnant again.”
“What? Bailey!” I throw my arms around her and give her a hug. “That’s really exciting. Congrats.”
“Thanks, sweetie.”
“How have you been feeling?”
“A little sick, to be honest. But Dax has been amazing. Spoiling me even more than usual.” She smiles. “I always feel like I’m bragging when I talk about him. But he really is the perfect guy for me.”
“Aw. Bailey. That’s really sweet.”
“How about you, missy?” she says. “You meet the man of your dreams yet?”
I snort. “Yeah, right.”
“Damn it. Really? Nothing? Because when we were driving down, I had this feeling…”
I peel a splinter off the log beneath us. “Well…okay. Fine. I did meet a guy recently. But it’s not…we’re not dating or anything. I mean, it’s not even a possibility. He was just passing through town.”
“What, was he on the run or something?”
I shoot her a look. “No. Although…he certainly looked like he could snap a man in half.”
“Yeah? And what does he do?”
“He’s a long-haul trucker.”
“Did he show you his huge truck?”
Bailey starts cracking up before I can get a word in.
I sigh.
“Oh my God!” says Bailey, grabbing my arm. “He did!”
“You’re so immature.”
“Oh, come on. I’m just teasing.” Her cheeks are still rosy with laughter. “So? How was it?”
“Surprisingly, it was actually luxurious,” I say. “He has appliances and everything—”
Bailey groans. “I don’t care about his truck, Madison. You know what I was talking about.”
My thoughts drift back to that night with Dax. All at once, all the sensations of the evening cascade through me—the weight of his body against mine, his masculine scent, the taste of his kisses, the way he dominated me. Claimed me. My heart is getting all fluttery just thinking about it.
“It was…he was…really, really amazing,” I say.
Bailey grins. “Remember when I met Dax and you told me I’d just met my soulmate? Honey, I hate to break it to you, but—”
“Don’t say it,” I warn her.
Linnea and Cara suddenly appear by our side.
“Don’t say what?” Linnea demands.
“Nothing,” I say quickly.
Bailey gives me a knowing smile, then turns to her girls.
“What do you say we go find Daddy and get some ice cream?” Bailey suggests.
“Only if Auntie Madison comes with us,” says Cara, tugging on my arm.
“Of course I’ll come with you,” I tell them, and start tickling both girls at once.
Chapter Four
Titus
Two Weeks Later
“Thanks again for the help,” the warehouse manager says, extending a hand to shake mine. “Where you off to now?”
I’ve just helped him and his crew unload their shipment from my trailer, the last of my cargo. The boxes were heavy as hell, but it felt good to break a sweat, felt good to do something different than sit behind the wheel.
Ever since I said goodbye to Madison, the days have felt like carbon copies: getting up at five o’clock every morning, zapping a breakfast burrito in my microwave, completing the daily pre-trip inspe
ction, logging a few hundred miles, refueling both the rig and myself, logging more miles, turning in for the night.
And all the while, thoughts of Madison have consumed me. I haven’t been able to stop thinking of her kiss-swollen lips, the rosy tips of her nipples, her heart-shaped ass…fuck, I can’t even put into words how badly those thoughts have made me want to turn my rig around and drive right back to my girl.
But I’ve had deliveries to make. Deadlines to meet. And plans to see a few other people first.
“Gonna go see my family, actually,” I tell the warehouse manager. “They’re only a few hours from here.”
“That’s good,” he says, nodding. “Been a while since you seen ’em?”
“Yeah,” I say, shutting the trailer doors. “Too long.”
It’s about a four-hour drive to get to the town where I grew up, the highway cutting through stunning swaths of land along the way. When I finally get there, I pull the rig into a parking lot and give my brother a call.
Luca has known about my plan to visit for a while now, but our folks don’t know I’m coming. I didn’t want to disappoint them if for some reason my schedule changed, and I also thought it would be nice to surprise them.
“Yo,” says Luca when he picks up the phone.
“Hey, man,” I say. “Just got into town.”
“Cool. I’ll be there in a few.”
It literally does only take a few minutes before Luca’s truck pulls into the lot and flies into a nearby parking spot. When he gets out of the driver’s seat, we greet each other with a hug. Luca might be my younger brother, but he’s no little brother—he’s as tall and big as I am.
“Don’t tell me you skipped class to pick me up,” I say. Luca’s a college senior at the small university right here in town.
Luca grins. “Nope. Don’t worry. I was just working on a paper. And it’s not due for another week.”
“Atta boy,” I say, slapping his shoulder.
We get into Luca’s truck and head to the house, making just one quick pit stop along the way so I can pick up some flowers. As we drive, Luca catches me up about the usual stuff—school and parties and girls. I never did the whole college thing—just wasn’t for me—but Luca’s stories never cease to keep me entertained.
