Hitched (24 page)

Yeah, she’d climbed today. Kind of. And it hadn’t been all that fun.

Scott helped her get out of the equipment—something else she hadn’t considered—and she said, “I’ll let you know about the lessons.”

It was going to be a big expense, for one thing. And, though she’d never admit it to him, Gavin might have been right about it being too soon after the pneumonia. She was way more tired than she should have been and it had taken way too long to catch her breath. And her shoulder hurt now.

“Hey, don’t let today discourage you. It just takes some time and planning.”

Planning. Planning was the antithesis of spontaneous. She knew all too well about planning.

She gave Scott her credit card and took his business card. If she decided to sit down ahead of time and plot and plan her next fun outing, she’d give him a call.

But it wasn’t likely.

She’d plotted and planned enough to last her a lifetime. Her mom had been too busy taking care of everyone else to take care of things for herself—like funeral plans. And Allie’s dad couldn’t handle any of that. Hell, Allie planned out the week for her dad and brothers from meals to appointments to chores she needed help with around the house. Which was part of the reason she’d been unable to work up any interest or energy to plan her wedding.

She was
not
going to plot and plan for
fun
.

On that note, she stepped out onto the sidewalk, looking around. What sounded good? What was something she could just go
do
? Something that required no prethought, no reservations, no special equipment. Just something that felt good at the moment.

One sign on a storefront two blocks down, away from the touristy shops, caught her eye. It was another of the businesses that the people of Bend frequented but that was too rustic for visitors. It wasn’t exactly new, but it did sound good at the moment.

The sign read simply
Saloon
.

Chapter Eight

Gavin took only one step between his truck and Denali Adventures before Scott Travis pointed down the street. He was grinning.

Gavin didn’t have to look to know where Scott was pointing. The sign read
Saloon
in big red letters, but that was to keep up with the old-fashioned feel of the restored main street storefronts. The locals always had and always would call it The Hub.

It only took a second for his eyes to adjust to the dim light inside the bar.

Nick, the bartender, pointed to the table by the jukebox, but Gavin didn’t need Nick to tell him where Allie was. He found her immediately.

For one thing, he was always incredibly aware of her, wherever they were. For another, there were only four other people in the place and none of them were female. Jack and Dodger were on their regular stools—which meant it was after ten a.m. The other two were twentysomethings from out of town. Gavin knew almost everyone in Bend—all eight hundred and sixty-two of them—and he’d never seen these guys before.

They looked from him to Allie, and Gavin figured they’d been paying attention to her since she’d walked in.

The fact that they sat three tables away told Gavin they either hadn’t made a move yet, or they’d been shot down. He was good with either scenario.

“Tequila with a straw?” he asked, taking the chair across the tiny table from Allie.

She seemed to be brooding. “Sprite,” she told him, stirring the clear liquid in her glass with the straw.

“Hard to get liquored up with no liquor,” he commented.

She shrugged. “Knew I wouldn’t be able to find my way back to your house sauced and knew Lydia wouldn’t come for me.”

She had a point.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Well, it’s official. I can’t have any fun without you.”

“Glad to hear it.” And he was. He loved being the one to make her smile.

She sighed heavily. “Yeah, but now you want to be all serious—not fun anymore. So where’s that leave me?”

“I don’t want to
just
be fun,” he corrected.

“You said you wanted to be my vegetables,” she reminded him.

“And vegetables aren’t fun?” He sounded like an idiot, but she’d started this.

“Vegetables are an analogy,” she said.

“Thank god.”

“Vegetables are the serious stuff in life. That stuff that you have to deal with, even if you don’t want to. And the fun stuff is…chocolate frosting. It’s not
necessary
, it’s extra, but it’s wonderful.” She stirred her soda again, seeming lost in thought. “Given the choice, ninety-five percent of people would pick chocolate frosting over broccoli any day.”

He frowned. “And I’m the broccoli and you’re in that ninety-five percent?”

She looked up. “No.
I’m
the broccoli.”

Now he was confused. “What am I?”

“You’re like carrot cake. A little bit of both.”

He smiled. “Do you like carrot cake?”

She gave him a sad smile. “Love it.”

Surprise rocked through him. He’d been working on the assumption that all of the emotions—including love—that they’d always freely talked about were still there. He’d heard her sing that she’d always love him. But she hadn’t actually said it, until now.

He reached out and took her hand. “What am I missing here?” he asked, sensing there was something. “I’m both good for you and fun. What’s the problem?”

“
I’m
the broccoli,” she said again. “And I can’t be chocolate frosting.”

“Then I’ll be enough for both of us.”

She shook her head. “What about my brothers, Dad, Josh, everyone?”

Gavin decided that he could happily live to age one hundred and twenty-seven and never hear Josh Brewster’s name again. Ever.

“They need…” he prompted.

“Fun stuff, sweet stuff that’s just
good
, not only what’s good for them. But I’m broccoli. They put up with me because they do need me, but I’m not fun. They wouldn’t pick me.”

Okay, this was one of those moments he pretty much sucked at. He’d really rather go get her a can of frosting and a giant spoon and hope she’d feel better, but he knew he needed to say something. Something good.

“You could be frosting, Al.” He wanted to be more broccoli-ish, himself. If he could do that, Allie could be more dessert-ish. Maybe.

She was serious. A worrier. An organizer. It was how she was wired. And there was nothing wrong with that. Unless she felt like there was.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Chocolate frosting is a lot to ask of broccoli.”

“Well, how about you start with something smaller,” he said with a smile. “Like whipped cream. Or even sprinkles. And work up to the frosting.”

She thought about that—with an expression that was way more serious than a discussion about dessert toppings called for.

“Stop overthinking,” he told her. “That would be a good start.”

She wet her lips and nodded, then got up and held out her hand. “I’m going to practice on you.”

He shoved his chair back and took her hand. “Happy to help.” He had no idea what this was going to entail, but he was ready and willing.

She led him to the parking lot and stopped beside his truck. It wasn’t hard to find. It was one of five trucks in the parking lot.

Gavin dug in his pocket for his keys.

“Do you remember Tim Carlson’s party?” Allie asked.

He dropped the keys.

He stared at her. Did he remember her suddenly pulling him into the kitchen and going down on him in the corner, regardless of the fact that there was a houseful of people coming and going from the room?

“Um…yeah.”

“That was pretty chocolate-frosting-like, don’t you think?”

Jesus. Gavin closed his eyes and sucked a breath in through his nose. That had been chocolate frosting, whipped cream
and
sprinkles. With a cherry on top.

“Yeah. I’d say,” he choked out, looking at her again. “Definitely chocolate-frosting-like.”

She stepped close. “I’m in the mood for more. Right now.”

She ran her hand up and down over his fly. The semi-erection he had going from just the mention of that near-public blow job surged fully to life.

“We almost got caught,” she said, stroking him again.

Almost. Gavin gave a hoarse chuckle. Three guys had walked in on them, seen what was going on and left with huge grins. “No one stayed to watch, but we definitely got caught, babe,” he told her.

Her eyes widened and her pupils dilated. “Really?”

“The whole party knew how lucky I was that night.”

She pressed harder against the hard length behind his zipper and Gavin groaned. Did the idea of being seen like that turn her on?

She unsnapped and unzipped him before he could complete the thought—or even his next breath.

“How many people saw us?” she asked, slipping her hand inside the denim and cotton.

Her bare hand against him knocked the rest of the air out of his lungs.

“You never told me,” she went on, stroking him as she spoke. “Did you like that they saw me doing that to you? Because the idea of someone watching me suck on you and lick you, seeing how much I want you, what I’m willing to do to please you, makes me hot, Gavin.”

He grew harder in her hand and she smiled up at him slyly, clearly noticing.

“You kind of like it too, huh? You’d like for people to see what we do to each other.” She looked down. “Let me do it here, Gavin. Just like this.”

The woman he loved and wanted more than anything was begging to give him a blow job?

Was he an idiot?

He cupped the back of her head, staring into her eyes. “You want that, Allie? You want someone to come by and see what you do to me?”

She licked her lips. “Yes,” she said breathlessly. “I want them to see how much I want you, how I’m willing to do anything, anywhere.”

He kissed her roughly, his heart pounding and his cock throbbing. Then, still holding the back of her head with his hand in her hair, he looked up and down Main Street. Bend didn’t even have—or need—a stoplight on their main drag. There simply wasn’t enough traffic to pose a threat. The tourists mostly stayed on the east end of Main, but they occasionally wandered down here. They definitely could get caught.

He looked back at Allie. She was watching him, her eyes hot, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “Tim’s party was a little less of a risk,” he reminded her.

She swallowed hard. “I know.”

He looked deeply into her eyes. She was totally turned on. Gavin shook his head. “I didn’t know this was a fantasy. I would have let the guys watch back then. I know they would have gladly stayed.”

She gave him a naughty smile. “Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

He groaned. Turning Allie on was fun.

“Would you have wanted them to get involved?” He had no idea what he’d do with an answer of yes, but watching her breath catch was worth asking. He’d never been into sharing women and sincerely doubted he’d be
able
to share Allie, but he asked anyway.

She shook her head. “No. Not that. Just the watching. And it’s just a fantasy. You’re all I need or want. But the idea of showing the world that I’m all yours makes me…” her eyes dropped to where her hand was still in his pants, then back to meet his gaze, “…hot. And wet.”

Gavin coughed as want swept over him.

Well, who was he to argue with that? Watching her eyes sparkle like they were now was irresistible. Even without knowing about the hot and wet part.

They were on the far side of the truck. Yes, they could get caught, but it was unlikely anyone would really
see
anything. They might assume a lot—but Gavin could definitely live with that. And even if they did see something—even everything—he wasn’t so sure he’d mind that either. Having Allie want him like this was addictive. Addiction made people do crazy things.

His fingers curled gently into her scalp and his eyes met hers as he pressed just enough to encourage her to go to her knees in front of him.

They both moaned as she complied. Her hands went eagerly to his pants, tugging his fly open and pushing his briefs out of her way. He wasn’t fully exposed—that was the one drawback to public sex, he supposed. Well, that and the risk of arrest, of course. But Allie didn’t let his clothes slow her down. On her knees in the soft dirt outside The Hub, she took the head of his cock in her mouth without hesitation.

He grabbed for the rearview mirror to stay upright.

She licked up and down his length, swirled her tongue over the tip and then sucked him into her mouth again. The wet heat of her mouth was amazing all by itself, but Gavin couldn’t lie—that she was on her knees in the parking lot made it even hotter.

He moved just enough to thrust in and out a few times, just enough to have heat racing through him from his cock to his toes. But he had no intention of finishing that way—or even going any further. When he hauled her to her feet, she protested and he shook his head. “You want more?”

She smiled and licked her lips. “You make me wanton.”