He could have sworn she licked her lips again.
Finally, they pulled into a clearing. “Here we are.” The place looked exactly as it had the last time he’d been here. Not much. A weathered mobile home sat rusting in the sunlight.
“We should have the place to ourselves,” he said, killing the engine. “Deer season is still months away. Though you can hunt pigs any time, not too many hunters come here in the heat of summer.”
She nodded, her gaze on the mobile home. He couldn’t tell from her expression whether she was appalled or approved. “This is yours?”
“I don’t own it, no. The trailer house comes with the lease. I’ve got the place for five years.”
Unlocking the door, he stepped inside and flicked on the lights. “Wait here. Let me get the windows open to let out some of the heat. It’s like a furnace in here.”
He left her outside, hoping she’d find something to admire in the primitive beauty of the landscape. As he opened the windows he saw buzzards circling in the sky above them.
A bad omen? Or merely a dead animal?
Once a breeze was blowing through the trailer, the heat level dropped tremendously. He flicked on the two ceiling fans, then took a deep breath and went to get Jewel.
She was watching a small lizard sunning on a rock.
“It’s still warm, but bearable now. And more than a little dusty.” He wiped perspiration from his brow. “But it won’t take long to get it cleaned up.”
“Does the air conditioner work?”
“Sometimes.” He gave her a rueful smile. “I turned it on, but the generator wasn’t running. I’ll try it again later. Come on in.”
Stepping aside, he expected her to brush past him, to breeze around the place and inspect it, the way women do. Instead, she moved close and wrapped her arms around him.
His heart skipped a beat. “Jewel? What’s up?”
She sighed. He felt the movement of her breasts like a caress. Chest to chest, she tilted her head to look at him, and gave a slow, sensual smile.
“Make love to me,” she said.
At first, he wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly, though his swift and instant arousal belied his confusion. “Are you sure?”
She leaned into him, rubbing her body against his like a mischievous cat. “Positive.”
He searched her face, his throat tight. “Jewel—”
“Just once, I want to make love to you without any compulsion.” Voice tight, her expression was fierce. “Just once, I want to have sex because I want to. Because I desire you, need you.” She kissed his chest at the collar of his shirt. “Crave you.” She moved higher, to where the pulse beat at the base of his throat. “And long for you.”
As he started to speak, though who knew what he was about to say, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him full on the mouth. And he was lost.
