Heated Rush - Leslie Kelly [49]
Usually the two-and-a-half-hour trip back home seemed interminable and boring. Each mile passing under her minivan’s plodding tires always darkened her mood.
Though she adored her family and loved going home for holidays, there was always the inevitable conversation she’d give anything to avoid. The one where they all cornered her and demanded that she at last admit she was lonely and miserable living away from them all in the big city.
That she never did—and that it wasn’t true—didn’t keep them from repeating the refrain during at least one family meeting every single time.
This trip, though, was shaping up to be entirely different. Maybe it was the man by her side, whose presence would provide some physical barrier and also, hopefully, get the clan off her back for a little while. Or hell, maybe it was just the sheer pleasure of riding under the brilliant, bright blue sky, with the wind blowing wildly in her hair and hard rock music pouring from the speakers.
It was…freeing. That was a good word for it. She felt free of her family expectations, her business stresses, her ugly romantic history.
Free to just enjoy the wind in her face and the strong, solid presence of the man sitting beside her. And while she would very much like to feel free enough to ask that man to pull over and make love to her under the vivid summer sky, she knew they didn’t have the time. Not for the kind of lovemaking she wanted to do with him now.
Last night had been hard and fast and frantic. Utterly mind-blowing.
Today? If she had her way and could actually get him to pull over into a secluded country lane? She’d want hours and hours of deep, sensual pleasure under the hot, drugging rays of the sun.
Annie shifted in her seat, still tender. She was very aware of his possession of last night, and wanted so much more she could barely stand the wait.
“Thank you for driving,” she said, needing to think about something else. She spoke loudly to be heard over the engine, the music and the wind. “Though, I think this car is expensive enough to put those pimp or drug dealer thoughts into a normal person’s mind.”
“We’ll make sure they know it’s a rental.”
As if he knew she had been thanking him for even more, Sean reached over and put his hand on hers, squeezing lightly. “It would be nice to just keep on heading west until we hit the Pacific.” He wagged his eyebrows. “Or to pull over and have a nice, long…picnic.” Shaking his head, he added, “But we are almost there.”
How, she wondered, could the man be so intuitive, knowing that she’d love nothing more than to keep on going, see something new—the big beautiful ocean—and skip the whole ordeal with her folks altogether? Why did he seem to know her so well after a few short days when her own family hardly knew her at all after twenty-seven years?
Had anyone? Really, had there ever been a single person who’d totally gotten her? Not just her goals, but her deepest dreams, her conflicts, the way she was torn between wanting to seek out new experiences and yet also have the warmth and happiness of family? The daring to see the world…and the stability of a home and a life filled with love and warmth?
She didn’t think so. Not ever.
Sean released her hand, needing to downshift, and distracted her from her morose thoughts. “How’s the big boy holding up back there?”
She glanced at the backseat. Wally, who was usually very fussy in the van, had settled in nicely. He was sprawled in his crate, either asleep or doing a good impression of being that way. Though sheltered from most of the wind, he obviously enjoyed the feel of it ruffling his belly fur because he appeared completely comfortable.
She still couldn’t get over how the ultraspoiled cat had taken to Sean right away. Wally obviously liked the man’s touch as much as Annie did.
Don’t even go there, she reminded herself. Riding beside Sean, feeling his heat, smelling that musky, male scent of his skin, was distracting enough. Giving in to the memories of every delicious moment the night before would probably have her saying to hell with the time,