“Remember Ronnie? He took a job driving truck.”
“Yeah?” Utah barely kept from pacing the small area where they waited for an employee to bring them information. “Like my pa.”
She bit her lower lip. More and more he was talking about his father.
Because it’s eating at him.
The secret siblings, the extra-marital affairs—Utah was trying to wrap his head around it.
His eyes burned with pain he rarely showed. “You think my ma ever knew?”
Caroline’s heartstrings tugged. “No.” She laid a hand on his forearm. “No, I don’t.”
He snorted out a hasty breath. “Damn that man to hell.”
The employee returned with word that there was no record of a person named Jefferson Davies living in the county.
“I can’t find him in the state, either,” Caroline said quietly to Utah.
Then she thanked the employee and led an agitated Utah from the brick edifice. While they grabbed dinner at a local diner, he talked about his father’s extended road trips. “Sometimes he’d be gone longer than he’d promised, and my brothers would get angry. Especially Clinton.”
“What about your mother?” she asked gently.
He waved a hand, nearly knocking over his glass of water. He hadn’t touched his steak and eggs, though he’d dumped copious amounts of ketchup on his home fries. “She just said he got stuck on the road…that routes were disrupted for construction, or there was an accident in the winter. How could she have been so naïve?”
“She loved him.” Caroline rubbed the back of his knuckles, white from gripping his fork.
“But why?” He glared past her. “What did he have that drew these women in?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say, “I can see what—you have the same take-me-to-bed-and-love-me look.” But that would probably just irritate him more.
While he talked, her mind whirred with the information. In the past few days she hadn’t had a good block of time to write. The feature on alcoholism seemed hokey now—overdone. But she longed to put more down on screen about Utah’s story.
She watched the gray ribbon of road stretching before them. What answers lay at the end of that road? Would Utah ever find out what—besides lust—had fueled his father?
What lay at the end for her? Passion had led her on this journey. But eventually she’d have to return to her old life. Right?
Out of the corner of her eye she peered at Utah. His strong profile did things to her that should be illegal. Her nipples bunched into two aching pearls. Her pussy clenched hard, and her clean panties grew moist.
His revelation that he wanted to restore the ranch to its former beauty scared the hell out of her. If he asked her to marry him—and he would—and she turned him down, which she would, they’d be living in the same hometown. A few miles would separate them.
Maybe he’ll just ask me to move in with him. No commitments. No rings.
Even as she thought it, she dismissed the notion. He’d never let her off the hook. At eighteen he’d wanted her as his wife, and now he seemed more determined.
She toyed with the hem of her cotton knit dress. What
were
her feelings about marriage now? After a few years on her own, was she really so averse to the doctrine? Jeremy had been a planet in a solar system all his own. Utah was earthier—far from the tequila-soaked scumbag she’d married.
Utah caught her looking at him. Something in his eyes softened and took on a dark glimmer. “Sweetheart, if you keep looking at me like that, I’ll have to pull over.”
“Like what?” Her voice was too wispy with longing.
“Like you’re hungry, and I’m a big steak.”
“Make it a cupcake, and I’ll think about it.”
He threw his head back and laughed. The sudden joyous sound vanquished any tension ebbing from him and made Caroline smile in response.
“Cupcakes. Okay.” He whipped off the road, and she found herself sitting in a grocery store parking lot, tapping her fingers on her knees and trying to keep from twitching up her hem and touching her throbbing pussy.
A few drops of rain spattered the windshield. She kept her gaze trained on the automatic doors of the store. When Utah emerged, her heart skipped. Need hummed in her veins along with the desire to just confess her love and get it over with.
In spite of the rain, he crossed the parking lot slowly. He filled out a pair of Wranglers to perfection, and his hat was worn low enough to catch the attention of a few other shoppers. His walk though… Caroline shoved out a shaky sigh.
His long strides were a full-body event. His shoulders rolled, hips moved. Roped arms swung at his sides, even the one carrying a square-shaped shopping bag.
He tossed her a grin as he passed her window and circled the truck to get behind the wheel. Without a word, he set the bag in her lap.
She pulled the plastic aside, expecting to see generic cupcakes in a clear package. But she found a white paper box. She pulled it out, heart thumping as if it knew something she didn’t.
When she tipped the lid open and set eyes on two white confections thick with white icing and crusted in white sugar, her throat closed off.
These were wedding cupcakes if she’d ever seen one.
“Why did you choose these?” She tried for a hard tone, but her voice came out as a squeak.
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “They had a big selection. Want me to go back in? They had chocolate.”
“Nooo. This is good.” She lifted a cupcake and handed it to him. The sight of his tanned fingers against the dainty cake made her chest tighten. His eyes were a warm weight on her.
She shook off the feeling that they were taking the first bites of their wedding cake and picked up the second cupcake. When she gathered the frosting on the edge on her tongue, she moaned.
“Oh my God, this is good. What kind of grocery store is this?”
“Apparently one with a good bakery.” He watched her without care to his own cupcake. She swirled her tongue around and around the cupcake until he groaned. “You’d better stop licking that cupcake, woman, or I’m going to attack you.”
A dark heat plummeted right between her thighs. “Yeah?”
“
Hell
, yeah.”
She deliberately licked the crest of the cupcake.
“Fucking hell.” He sank his teeth into his cake. Over the top, his eyes widened in surprise. “This
is
good,” he said around a mouthful.
The frosting on his lip caught her gaze, and she couldn’t stop thinking of how he’d taste. She leaned toward him. He leaned toward her. Closing her eyes, she waited for the brush of his hard, sweet lips.
Cake mashed over her face.
Her eyes flew open. Cake and frosting were shoved over her cheek and lower jaw. A fat plop of frosting fell onto her breast.
“Damn, I’d better get that.” He dove for her, hat flying. She squealed as his mouth covered her breast through her dress and bra. She smashed her cupcake on the side of his face and ground it in.
White crumbs clung to his stubble. How was it possible he looked more dangerous than ever?
He bit into her nipple and then drew it back with his teeth. She sucked in a sharp breath and tangled her fingers in his hair, smearing the locks with frosting. Want thrummed in her core.
The scents of man and sugar filled the truck. She dipped her head and snaked her tongue over his temple, collecting some sugary goodness.
Rain began to fall harder. Within moments the side windows and windshield were blurry with water. No one could see them.
“Take me, Utah.”
He growled and raised his head. She giggled at the mess on his face. “You laughin’ at me, woman? You don’t look much better.” He dragged a forefinger through the cake on her chin and brought it to his lips. While he sucked it off, she curled her toes in her flip-flops.
“Let’s see if everything tastes as good.” His eyes hooded as he reached under her skirt. His warm touch on her inner thighs spiked her need. She angled her hips and parted her thighs, encouraging him to touch her.
When he pulled the lace covering her pussy aside and found her soaking center, she cried out. He nibbled on her jaw, cleaning off the cake as he ruffled her wet folds. She tugged his head so their mouths brushed. In a heartbeat, the kiss turned from playful to purposeful.
He swiped the inside of her mouth with his tongue, feeding her the flavors of musk and cake. She tipped her head to draw him deeper. Each velvety pass of his tongue sent her higher.
As the kiss spiraled out of control, she fumbled with the front of his jeans. His cock lay under the denim, a thick ridge she craved. Another deluge of rain hit the truck, blotting out the sound of their raspy breathing.
He traced a path up and down her slick pussy, hesitated, and then plunged his finger deep. Her walls flexed around the invasion. She worked faster to free him.
When the heavy belt buckle swung open, she popped his jeans button and slid down the zipper. Not waiting a second, she reached into his boxers and gripped his shaft. The veined length laid hot and heavy on her palm.
“Shove these off me,” he growled.
She let go of his cock and pushed on his jeans as he rotated his hips to help. When his erection sprang free, she wished they weren’t on a truck seat with a gear shift projecting up from the floor. At least there wasn’t a console to make love around.
He tugged on the top of her dress, and the fabric stretched downward. Then he eased her breasts from her bra cups. The cloth hoisted her tits high, the tips straining. “Christ, you’re beautiful.”
“And you’re delicious.” Using the flat of her tongue, she licked the side of his face, removing some of the sticky cake.
His blue eyes darkened a split second before he claimed her mouth. Their teeth scraped, tongues tangled. He pinched her nipples until she cried out. Then he reached under her dress again. With the pluck of one finger, he snapped the elastic side of her panties.
“Hey! I only have a few pairs.”
“You don’t need them anyway.” He drove two fingers right into her pussy. She bucked off the seat. He thrust them in and out until her juices coated him. “Ready for me?”
“Never more ready.”
He angled his body between her legs. The tip of his spongy arousal poised at her wet opening.
Shock rippled through her. She was shot back in time a couple of weeks to their first union—where they didn’t use a condom.
He paused as if realizing he was unsheathed too.
“Don’t stop. Just pull out at the end,” she rasped.
It wasn’t birth control, but she was burning up too much to care.
He held her gaze, and in one smooth glide, joined them. Her quivering muscles clamped around his length. When he drew backward, she shook, already on the verge of release.
She stared at him. God, he was beautiful. Dark hair spattered with frosting, a cord standing out on his neck. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his mouth contorted into an expression of bliss as he fucked her without a barrier between them.
Pressing her breasts together, she strummed her nipples. He moved faster. She twisted them. He churned his hips. As she plucked them hard, he lunged for her mouth. Their lips clashed in time to the slap of their bodies and the rain dumping over the truck.
“Put your leg on my shoulder.”
She hooked her ankle up so her flip-flop hung around his ear. It would have made her laugh if she wasn’t on the verge of orgasm. Her pussy pulsated around his invasion. Half of her prayed he was quick enough to pull out while the other part was beyond caring.
So what if she had little Davies babies and married the man she’d love her entire life? The only thing stopping her was…her.
He ground his cock against her innermost spot. With a wild cry, she came. Waves crashed over her. Before she hit the peak of her release, he pulled out and replaced his cock with his fingers.
Come spurted over her lower belly and thighs. His groan was the most masculine thing she’d ever heard. She rode his hand, wishing it was his cock.
Their breathing was music to the rhythm of the rain.
“This is the second time I’ve orgasmed in this truck,” she murmured as aftershocks hit her.
“While it’s raining,” he added. He turned his head and kissed her ankle.
With a laugh, she let her leg slide down his body and rest on the steering wheel. He pushed back to his knees and hurriedly zipped his pants. She stretched out an arm and opened the glove compartment. Inside were some work gloves, a spark plug or two, and a stack of fast food napkins she’d stowed away.
He took them from her and cleaned the evidence of their passion. He wadded the mess into his fist and pulled down her dress with the other hand.
“These panties are ruined.”
A knock on the truck window made him jerk and Caroline shriek.
She’d forgotten all about them being in the grocery store parking lot. A peek through the side window revealed that most of the rain was running off the windshield, leaving them in plain view of anyone in the area.
“Oh my God.”
A man in gray with a uniform hat stood at the window.
Utah slanted a look at her. “Let me do the talkin’.” He rolled down the window while Caroline arranged her knees to keep the panties still clinging to her left upper thigh from being visible.
“Hello, Officer.”
“You two know why I’m here, don’t you?” His mouth was set in anything but amusement.
“Um. I think so,” Utah drawled.
“Having sex in public, public nudity.”
“You probably couldn’t really see anything,” Utah argued.
The officer leveled his gaze on Utah and then past him to Caroline. She clenched her fingers.
“Apparently enough was visible for someone to make a call to the police department. You realize this is a family grocery?”
Caroline’s heart sank at the thought of corrupting minors. But the encounter
had
taken place in the height of the downpour. It was highly unlikely anyone had even crossed the parking lot to or from the building at the time with children.
“I need your ID. Yours too, ma’am.”
Utah opened the glove compartment again and located his driver’s license, and Caroline dug out her wallet.