Without You Here (3 page)

My breasts tightened, at that, and my mouth went dry. "I'm thirty-two," I said.

"That's a damn lie."

"It's a lie that makes you feel better, isn't it?"

He was gazing hungrily at my lips. "Yeah. I guess." And then he kissed me.

Honestly, with all the talking we'd done about it, I didn't expect it to be anything great. But great can't begin to describe what happened to me during that kiss. He filled me up in places I hadn't even realized were empty. I wrapped my arms around him and sank into him. I let him take me over. I didn't care if I ever came back.

He kept a hand at the back of my neck, fisted in my hair. A short, low moan vibrated in his chest. And way too soon he pulled back. His hand stayed in my hair. I'm sure if he'd let go I would have fallen over. "Well that sucked, didn't it?" he said, his voice suddenly weak.

I licked the taste of him off my lips. "Wasn't the worst. But definitely nothing special," I lied.

He nodded. "Good. Then. Pressure's off." And he kissed me again, his tongue ravaging my mouth. All gentleness fled and in its place was white hot wanting. His and mine. I touched him everywhere. Shoulders, face, hair. I threaded my fingers through his hair and pulled his lips tighter against mine. His hands moved, too. My waist, back, the sides of my breasts. He trailed long, hard kisses down my throat while he unfastened the top two buttons of my blouse. And then he kissed his way down between my breasts, which he cupped and squeezed together.

He pushed me gently to my back and kept slowly undoing buttons and kissing his way down my body. He'd never done this with anyone but his wife. It kind of made me feel special. But maybe after tonight, he'd end up doing it with lots of women. Maybe I would awaken him to what he was missing. I wouldn't indulge that little part of me that hoped I was special to him.

He made it down below my belly button and then my whole body was shivering. He looked up and grinned. "You're a responsive one, aren't you?"

I pushed up on my elbows. "This has already been the best sex of my life."

His grin widened and he kept his eyes on mine as he tugged on the zipper at the side of my skirt. Then he kissed the bit of my skin he'd bared there on my hip. "Oh, God," I moaned, letting my eyes roll shut.

And then there was a loud bang. My eyes popped open and Wyatt's head popped up. Our eyes met. "Shit," he said.

There was another bang and now I knew it was a gun shot. My body rushed with endorphins, but in my mind, the whole situation seemed so bizarre I could only laugh. Wyatt scrambled up and reeled in the fishing lines. "We gotta go," he said. He grabbed a small, hand-held lantern and set it aside. Everything else he crammed in the tackle box while I rushed to zip and button my clothes.

There was another shot and then a voice calling from close enough that I could make out what he said. It was a craggy, harsh old voice. "I know you kids is out there!" he shouted. Popped off another shot. "Throwing your wild parties on my property!"

Wyatt muttered curses and then gathered up his things. He held a hand out to me and pulled me to my feet. He was grinning. "This has never happened to me, I swear to God. But we have to run."

There was the sound of brush and weeds being shoved aside and tromped through. I could just make out curses and the words "drugs" and "orgies" and then the voice shouted, "I called the police on you damn kids!" After which there was another gun shot. We were long gone, though. We made it to the path in the woods that cut to the other end of the lake. Wyatt held the lantern out and I kept one hand on his arm to help steady me. I should have taken off the damn heels, but there was no time now. We came out of the woods in time to hear sirens in the distance, but approaching fast.

"Oh fuck," Wyatt said. He grabbed my arm and hauled me towards the truck. He threw his stuff in the back and we clamored in. "Can't go back the way we came," he said.

"He thinks it's kids partying. He won't press charges against you, will he?"

"Oh, yeah. He will. He hates my guts." He put the truck in gear and started driving toward the lake. He turned and drove along its edge. "There's another little trail on the other side of this dam."

"Why does he hate you?"

He shrugged. "I guess 'cause I knocked up and married his only daughter."

And there in front of us in the middle of the dam stood an old man aiming a shotgun at us. Wyatt laughed. "Crazy son-of-a-bitch," he muttered. Then he gunned the gas. Kenny stood in the middle for a long time, but then he jumped to the side, nearly falling in the lake. Wyatt rolled down his window and gave a one-fingered salute to Kenny, who spat a string of curses after us.

I watched out the back window as Kenny shook his shotgun at us. There in the distance I could see two sets of police lights headed this way. Wyatt glanced back. "Looks like they called out the whole force. Wonder who's keeping the sin soaked streets of Hadley safe."

I laughed and hugged onto his arm. "I feel like Bonnie and Clyde."

He slung his arm around my shoulders and brought me to his side.

We bounded down an even worse road than before and I was getting the beginnings of a headache when we finally burst out of the woods onto a gravel, county road. Wyatt turned south, away from the direction we'd come, so we wouldn't run into the two police officers. Not that it would have been that bad. Wyatt probably knew them both by name and it was such a small offense. But still, we had other things we'd rather be doing than talking ourselves out of getting arrested.

"I guess he's been having problems with kids using his lake to party," Wyatt said. "Getting on graduation time. Damn teenagers." Then he looked at me. "No offense."

I laughed. "I'm not a teenager."

"No? You sure?"

"I'm sure. I've left my teen years in the past, I swear."

"Thank God," he muttered.

He drove on, making a couple of turns, until we wound up back on the main highway. "You got anywhere to be tonight, Ettie?" he asked.

"No."

"You wanna camp out with me? Sleep under the stars?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Give us a chance to finish what we started." He shot me a killer wink and then drove on. He drove with just his wrist propped on the top of the wheel. Until we got to yet another back road. This one led up. Up hills and around curves. And then, once again, we were off down a rutted dirt track. The woods were thicker, here. The branches scraped against the sides of the truck. And then suddenly they were gone and we were in a clearing. The clearing ended abruptly and I could see there was some kind of view. Wyatt turned the truck around and backed a little closer to the edge. Then he parked it and I jumped out and ran to the ledge.

It was the most amazing sight. The moonlight spilled over a valley down below. A river snaked through the lush, green country side. There were a few homes dotting the landscape. And cows and horses. But it was all so far away.

"Pretty, ain't it," he said, from right behind me.

"It's heavenly. Thank you for bringing me up here."

He gave my shoulder a squeeze and went back to the truck. I heard him moving around, but I couldn't tear my eyes off the scenery. And then he was back, his hand on my shoulder, pulling me toward the truck. He'd laid out a couple of sleeping bags in the back. I guess it was about normal for a man to carry around fishing stuff and camping stuff in his truck. In this part of the country, there's not just a whole lot else to do.

I hopped up on the tailgate and kicked my feet out to him. He removed first one shoe and then the other. He ran his hand up the back of my calf. At this rate, I was going to come the very moment he touched me.

He brought my foot to his lips and kissed along the arch. He trailed nibbling kisses along the bases of my toes. I leaned back on my hands and moaned. "Mmm. No one's ever gone after my feet like this."

"I've never been a foot guy. My wife never wanted to be touched there," he said between kisses. "These are just too cute to resist. And I like the way it's getting you worked up."

I giggled. "I like it. Oh, holy fuck I like it," I gasped as he hit a particularly sensitive spot and sent my nerves vibrating all the way up my legs.

Then he bent my knee up and started kissing along the inside of my thigh. I watched him, awestruck. His eyelids were heavy. He was lost in what he was doing. He was nibbling on my thigh because he wanted to, not just because he was trying to get me worked up. That had always been the problem with sex in the past. Men seemed to just be getting me off out of obligation so they could get to what they deemed the good part. Not Wyatt. He let out a low hum and then he looked up at me and smiled. "Yummy," he said. And then went back to kissing.

I ran my hand through his hair. His hands slid up beneath my skirt and gripped the waistband of my pink, lace panties. I lifted for him and he peeled them off, tossing them into the truck bed. He pushed my skirt up and nibbled his way higher up my thigh. He inhaled deeply and let out a soft sigh. I thought he would put his mouth on me, then. But he bypassed that sweet spot and went over to the other thigh.

"Fuck!" I sobbed in frustration, dropping my head back. I was panting all out, now. Sweat dampened me everywhere.

I heard him chuckle at my curse. He grabbed hold of my ankles, pushing them up towards my bottom and spreading me further. And then he was there. Finally, blessedly there, licking and sucking in all the right places. He teased me for what felt like an eternity. Bringing me close to release and then easing back. He did it twice. And then the third time I fell to my back and cried out, "God, no, please!"

Then he gripped my thighs and plied me with his tongue one last time. This time he didn't stop and I climbed higher and higher until I fell into the mad oblivion of orgasm. He stayed with me, making it last longer than I’d ever felt. I don't know if I said anything or screamed anything, but I was dizzy when it passed, and my chest heaved, sucking in breaths.

Wyatt hopped up on the tailgate and nonchalantly took off his boots. Then he got to his knees and scooped me into his arms like I was a rag doll. He laid me on the pallet he'd made and kissed me. I tasted myself on his lips and the communion of it made my heart warm and want and ache and need. I held him close to me, but he reached back and grabbed my wrists to pry me off. He sat back and pulled me up. He nodded down at my blouse. "I wanna watch you undress," he said.

And with that I was hot and ready all over again. I stood on my knees and steadily unbuttoned and shed my blouse. Then I nodded at him. "Now you," I said.

He was barely paying attention. He undid a couple of buttons and then peeled his shirt over his head. He was only doing it so he could get his turn out of the way. But I enjoyed the moment so much. As he stretched, I could make out the lines of his abdominal muscles. He was a bulkier guy, with strong, powerful muscles, so I was surprised to see how lean he actually was. Not an ounce of fat on him. I licked my lips, salivating at the narrow trail of hair leading down into his jeans. And that's where I was focused as I removed my bra and tossed it over my shoulder. Then he was there in my space. I looked up and our eyes met. His were full of so much conflict that it almost hurt to look at him. He shook his head sorrowfully, like he was about to do something he didn't want to, but that was out of his control.

And then he took my mouth with his and flipped me onto my back. He pulled off my skirt and then shoved out of his jeans. I was about to exclaim at the size of that thing when he moved down and sucked one of my breasts into his mouth, which effectively severed my powers of higher thought from the workings of my body. His hands were all over me, then. No more teasing. No more playing. Just fast, hard taking. We paused only to put a condom on, which I had in my purse because it hadn't occurred to him to carry any. And then he was there inside of me. The first thrust was a shock. I thought it was too hard, too fast...that it stretched me too much. But then he was moving and grinding against me and I was lost to the power of his thrusts.

I came first and then he shoved into me hard and groaned into my neck. His body tensed and shuddered. He wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me against him.

And then he relaxed. I felt it. But he didn't move. Not for a long time. I was glad for it. I needed a moment to recover, myself. I had tears pouring down the sides of my face and I didn't want the poor guy to misinterpret them. Unfortunately, he pushed up on his elbows before I was able to finish crying. Well, not really crying. Just...expelling some excess emotion through tears. Now that's not my fault, is it?

He looked like the whole incident was weighing pretty heavy on him, as well. But when he saw my tears, he smiled kindly and wiped them away with his thumbs.

"I'm an emotional lover," I said.

"You apologizing for that?" he asked.

"Yeah. I can't have you thinking that was anything special. I cry every time."

He nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't anything special for me, either. I'm already forgetting it, actually." He rolled to his back and laced his fingers in mine.

"Good. A completely forgettable evening for both of us, then."

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it.

I don't know how long we lay there staring at the stars. Not talking. Just holding hands. The sweat drying on our skin. But eventually it started feeling like it was about to end. And I desperately didn't want it to.

"Wyatt?" I asked.

"Mm?"

"If you invited me home with you, I'd say yes."

He was silent. Silent for way too long. "Ettie, I can't."

My heart sank. I held tighter to his hand, praying he wouldn't pull away. I was being stupid. We'd had a little fun. That's all this was. I just wished he wasn't so wonderful. I took a deep breath, steeling myself to end this on my terms. But then he rolled to his side and hooked his arm around my waist. He brought me back against him, spooning me and nuzzling his lips into my neck. He had his other arm beneath my neck with his hand resting on my breast. I was wrapped up in him. And I guess I dozed off this way.