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“Naw, hell, I was going to offer you my black-eyed peas if it means you’ll keep makin’ those little sounds in your throat.”
“I’m making little sounds?”
He nodded. “If you stop, I’ll cry. A lot.”
I drank the watery-but-no-one-knew-any-better beer, and I ate my fill. And when a stocky man in a Georgia State T-shirt asked me to two-step, I politely declined. He almost argued, but Jed gave him sort of a no-doubt-terrifying-to-the-male-of-the-species territorial glare, and Mr. Georgia State scampered away.
Two more, I thought. Two more, and I could go home. With the plaque locked up tight in Jed’s truck, I was well and truly relaxed for the first time in days. It was the same relief and euphoria I’d felt after finding the candle. I was getting a little bit addicted to that feeling, and it was leading to some dangerous thoughts.
Those thoughts focused on Jed’s lips and how they’d felt against mine earlier that day. And how relatively easy it was to sit here in this crowded bar and talk about nothing at all with him. I didn’t feel that constant nagging pressure to say the right thing or use the right fork. Because Jed had seen me having a possum-fueled panic attack wearing nothing but a towel. After that, there was nowhere to go but up.
After a bit too much Hank Williams, Sr., and far too much good food, Jed drove us back to the motel. The car park was dark, the night moonless under a cloudy sky.
“I had a really nice time,” I told him as we walked to the doors.
“Try not to sound so surprised,” he chided gently.
“I’m not surprised! All right, I’m a little surprised. Thank you for driving me down here and helping me. Thanks.” I leaned forward and meant to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head at the last minute, and I managed to catch his mouth instead. I gave an exasperated little huff. “Really, again?”
“You kissed me!”
“It was an accident!” I cried.
“There’s no such thing as accidents, only things you mean to do and put off until a moment of panic.”
“That’s awfully philosophical,” I mused.
“No, I’m not talkin’ about all mankind, just you in particular.”
I stared at him, long and hard. I watched as the smug little grin faded from his expression. And he was just a man, looking at a woman, as if he wanted her desperately. I don’t think anyone had ever looked at me that way.
I was not drunk. The beer we’d had was barely enough to give me a pleasant buzz. I was making a decision without thinking, for the first time in a very long time. It felt really good, but in the morning, I was probably going to regret it. At the moment, I did not care. I wish I could blame it on the drink or being tired or homesick or under the influence of some bizarre magical ritual. But I just wanted him. His skin was warm and smooth under mine. He was solid and strong, and he was looking at me as if I hung the moon and stars. I wanted to feel his skin against mine, to have him drag that stubble across my collarbone and bite at my throat.
“Oh, hell.” I sighed, shoving him against the door and attacking his mouth. I didn’t even care when our teeth clacked together. His tongue slipped past my lips, tangled with mine. Hands that had hesitated with uncertainty at my sides now curled around my back.
I hitched my leg over his hip, rising against him. Once again, his hands found purchase under my rear as he lifted me. He pushed into my room and whipped me around, pushing me against the door. He yanked my shirt over my head. I pushed him back onto the bed and unbuttoned his shirt, grinding down on the growing bulge of his lap. He moaned.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked, lightly pulling at the ends of my hair. “You’re not drunk, are you?”
I laughed. “No! On that beer? Don’t be silly!” I kissed him again. “No, I’m not sure about it. But I’m going to do it anyway. It’s a new thing for me.”
He chuckled. “Well, thank you for experimentin’ on me.”
“You’re so pretty!” I exclaimed as I pulled his shirt away. “It’s just not fair. I mean, really. You’re just . . . so damned pretty! Do you get that a lot?”
“Not nearly enough,” he said, shaking his head. He pushed my hair from my face and grinned up at me. “And you’re pretty, too.” He kissed the tip of my chin, nuzzling my neck. “The first time I saw you, I couldn’t look away from your face.”
I slipped my fingertips up the length of his spine, twisting them into his hair and pulling his head back, so we were eye-to-eye. “You mean, when I was naked?”
He grinned wickedly. I jiggled my hand slightly, forcing him to nod. “Yes.”
I bit my lip, keeping my head tilted even as he turned and lowered me to the mattress. “I don’t know whether it’s a compliment that you could only look at my face when I was naked.”
“I will stare at your breasts right now if it will make you happy.”
I considered it for a long moment. “I think it would.”
He helped me unclasp my bra and threw it over his shoulder. He sat back on his heels, pursing his lips and squinting as if he was considering my nipples very carefully. After a few moments of this, I became uncomfortable and tried to cross my arms. He caught my wrists, shaking his head. He dipped his head to mine as he pressed my wrists to the mattress.
