FAST RIDE

FAST RIDE

A Novella

by

Debby Conrad

Copyright

Copyright © 2012 by Debby Conrad

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Dedication

For my mother, the most unselfish woman I know.

Thanks for always being there when I need you.

CHAPTER ONE

H
olly Mayfield was
horny! There was no other explanation for the way she’d been feeling. For the past few weeks, she’d been restless, irritable and thinking about mind-blowing sex every waking minute.

Was that normal? And would it pass before everyone she knew realized she was sex starved? Even when she’d been married to Greg, she’d never been a sex maniac, but lately all she thought about was doing the horizontal two-step.

And that wasn’t all. She’d fantasized about doing it in every position she could think of and a few positions she’d never even tried but thought might be interesting.

She wanted to lose herself in a man’s arms, hear him talk dirty in her ear, and drive her wild with need. She wanted his hands and mouth all over her body as she screamed out with pleasure. And she wanted to hear him call out her name when she pleasured him.

There was only one man who could put a smile on her face in those X-rated fantasies of hers--her neighbor, Kenny Larson.

Her pulse sped up in response. Kenny was movie star gorgeous, with the good breeding looks of JFK Jr. and the bad boy image of Nicholas Cage, all rolled into one. And he had this sultry way of looking at her that made her want to strip naked and let him have his way with her.

But he was also cautious, conservative and sensible. And never once had he come even close to making a pass or a suggestive remark to her. Most of their conversations during the past two years were nothing more than heated arguments over any topic that happened to come up.

This was why Holly didn’t think it would be quite as easy as she’d dreamed to get Kenny to satisfy her needs. He basically had no use for her. And how could she blame him? Every time she was near him, she somehow turned into a blundering, inept kook. It only took one look from him, and she’d either stumble, drop whatever she was holding, or say something that made her look and feel totally moronic.

Yet, she still wanted him more than any man she’d ever met, including her ex-husband.

Boy, was she ever hot, thinking about Kenny and all that sweaty sex they could be having. The fact that it was ninety degrees out didn’t help either.

Preparing to water the flowers, she moved to the side of her lakefront cottage, garden hose in hand. She had a feeling she’d see Kenny staring out his kitchen window. Her instincts were correct, she learned, as she rounded the corner.

She watered her flowers daily before dinner, with the exception of when it rained. And most days, Kenny would be perched at the window, watching her, driving her crazy with sexual needs she’d thought were long ago buried.

Trying not to think about Kenny, she lifted a hand to wipe the perspiration from her brow and wondered if this heat was ever going to go away. Falcon Ridge, Pennsylvania had always had a reputation for the cool breezes off Lake Falcon, but not this year. The high temperatures and unbearable humidity had been torturing their small community since mid-July, and here it was nearing the end of August.

Although those hot sticky nights was another reason for which to blame her restlessness, Kenny was the main reason. She pictured a naked Kenny in her bed, lying between the cool sheets beside her. Dark hair, almost black and green eyes the color of jade. A well-muscled torso and killer smile.

A killer smile that could make her melt from the inside out. A small moan escaped her lips. Great! So much for trying not to think about him.

Absorbed in her lusty thoughts, Holly lost her grip on the garden hose and let out a wild shriek as she bent over and made a grab for it. But the thing snaked through the bed of colorful impatiens, spraying a cold mist on the front of her shorts and T-shirt before she was able to retrieve it. She looked down at her sopping, wet clothing and let out a low laugh. As cold as the water dripping from her was, it did nothing to cool her off internally. Her mind was still on hot, steamy sex.

Turning to the side slightly, she saw Kenny was still watching her from his kitchen window.
He must think I’m the clumsiest thing alive.

That’s it, she decided. There were only two ways to get over him. One was by having an affair with him. Then, afterward, maybe she’d realize, once the sex proved not to be such a big deal, that she and Kenny had nothing in common. No reason to form any long term commitments or emotional attachments.

Or two, she could put her house on the market and move far away. Maybe join a convent, where she’d have to stop thinking about attacking her neighbor.

But it didn’t take long for her to realize she couldn’t sell her house and move--she loved this cottage. She’d painted and decorated every inch of the place when she’d bought it two years earlier. Besides, her eight-year-old son Jordan had friends here in Falcon Ridge and was looking forward to starting second grade in a few weeks.

Okay, so she was back to thoughts of seduction. If she and Kenny did have an affair, with no strings attached, he could satisfy her sexual cravings and she could move on. Move on to what, she didn’t know, but it sounded like a plan.

All right, she knew what she wanted and needed. Now, the only problem was, getting Kenny to agree to it.

She knew for a fact he hadn’t been with a woman in three years, not since his wife and son died.

Could it be he wanted to keep it that way? Or was it that he hadn’t met anyone who could light a candle to his dead wife?

If that were the case, she wondered what Kenny might think of her. Holly had about twelve pounds to lose to be at her ideal weight, and her breasts were on the small side.

Would Kenny find her inadequate? Unappealing? Well, there was only one way to find out.

* * *

“Kenny, did you hear me?”

Kenny reluctantly dragged his gaze from the kitchen window where he’d been enjoying Holly Mayfield’s nicely rounded ass. He glanced over his shoulder at his sister. “What did you say?”

Libby ran a hand through her short, dark hair and glared at him with those green eyes. “I asked, for the second time, if you wanted to go out for dinner this evening, or stay in and eat leftovers.”

“That’s fine,” he said, not realizing he hadn’t actually answered her question. He was anxious to return his focus to his neighbor as she watered her flowers.

Holly had a very seductive look about her. Although he was sure she had no idea she could arouse him with a single flip of her shoulder-length, red hair or by simply running her tongue along her top lip--two things she did often. Right now, however, he blamed the hard-on he was hiding beneath the folded newspaper in his lap on the fact that she had wiggled her shapely ass while trying to pick up a runaway garden hose. When she turned to the side, he could see she was soaked. He could also see she wasn’t wearing a bra beneath that skimpy, white, and now wet, T-shirt of hers.

“What are you looking at?” Libby came to stand beside him at the kitchen table.

“Nothing,” Kenny said, quickly averting his gaze to the newspaper.

“Uh, huh,” his sister said knowingly. On more than one occasion Libby had hinted the reason he and Holly argued so intently was because they were attracted to each other. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Libby, always the mender and the nurturer, not to mention, matchmaker at heart, didn’t get it. He and Holly continually butted heads, no matter what the subject. They were complete opposites. She was ditzy and carefree, although he was impressed with her talent as a jewelry designer. And he was logical, cautious, and guarded. There was no room in his life for someone like her.

He straightened in his chair and pretended to study an article in the paper about another epidemic of the West Nile virus. He’d tried telling himself it wasn’t Holly who was the cause of the erotic dreams and fantasies he’d been having lately, but just the lack of sex in general. That was enough to drive any man crazy, and doing without it for three years was certainly cause to put him over the edge.

No wonder he got a woody every time Holly paraded past him. It had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with his dick having a mind of its own.

Ever since his wife Karen and their two-year-old son Scott had their lives snuffed out by a drunk driver, he’d avoided getting emotionally attached to a woman, sexually or otherwise. And if he ever did decide to get involved with someone, it wouldn’t be with his next-door neighbor, who Kenny suspected was still in love with her jerk of an ex-husband.

“Instead of staring at her through the kitchen window like a peeping tom,” Libby said a few moments later, “why don’t you ask her out sometime?”

Kenny forced himself to laugh. “Why would I want to ask Holly Mayfield out? I can barely stand to be in the same room with her.” Although he had grown fond of her freckled face son.

Libby shrugged and ran a hand through her dark cropped hair. “I don’t think you realize how lucky you are to be alive. Maybe it’s time you found someone to prove it to you.”

He was about to dispute her theory when the patio door slid open and in walked Holly. “Anyone want to go out for pizza?” she asked, licking her top lip. “I’m famished.” She’d changed into a bright pink, low-cut, fitted blouse tucked into skin-tight jeans. Jeans that showed off her curves ever so nicely.

Yeah, I’m famished, too
, he thought, but not for pizza. And damn if his cock wasn’t standing at attention again.

“Greg and Chloe have Jordan for the weekend. I thought about staying home, taking a long, hot, bubble bath and enjoying the quiet. But I’d rather be with people tonight.” She picked up a box of crackers from the counter and dug in.

Kenny ignored the images of Holly in a bubble bath that were trying to force their way into his head.

“Kenny and I were just deciding whether to go out or stay in,” Libby said, opening the refrigerator. She screwed up her face. “Nothing in here of much interest. Pizza sounds good to me.” Closing the refrigerator door, she met Kenny’s gaze and arched a brow.

Kenny faked a yawn. “I’m kind of tired. Why don’t you two go? I’ll just make a sandwich or something.”

The truth was, pizza sounded great, but he had no desire to sit across a booth from Holly and listen to her complain about her ex and his girlfriend while Kenny would be thinking about all the erotic things that luscious mouth could be doing to him. And he was tired of giving himself hand-jobs at night due to her arousing the hell out of him. Best to keep his distance from her and maybe those sexual feelings would fade away.

“Well, if you ladies will excuse me,” he said, setting the newspaper on the kitchen table, “I have work to do.”

“Wait, Kenny,” Holly said, tripping over a throw rug. The box of crackers flew from her hand and landed on the floor. She scurried to her knees to pick up the box and the few crackers that had escaped.

Her denim-clad butt was the focus of his attention before she stood and faced him again. He noticed the bright pink stains that had appeared on her cheeks.

She smiled sweetly. “I want to get your opinion on something.”

His opinion? This should be interesting. He happened to know Holly didn’t care for his opinions any more than he cared for hers. To think she would ask his advice about something, no matter how trivial, truly surprised him.

She pushed a strand of hair away from her face and blinked several times before speaking. “I’ve been thinking about having my breasts enlarged.”

Jesus.

She blinked again, her big brown eyes growing wide. “What do you think?” she asked, lifting her arms away from her sides, inviting him to check her out.

His gaze lingered on her small breasts before meeting her eyes, and once again he grew hard as a baseball bat. Jesus.

“Holly,” Libby said sternly, “you know how I feel about cosmetic surgery.”

“Yes, I know,” Holly said, glancing over her shoulder at Libby. “And I respect your opinion, both as a friend and a physician. But I’m really looking for a man’s input. Kenny’s in particular.”

Holly turned her attention back to Kenny, imploring him with a look. She was obviously waiting for a response.

“I . . .” He paused. “Jesus, Holly, what the hell do you expect me to say?”

“The truth.”

“I think . . . I think they’re perfect, just the way they are.” He was being honest with her. She wasn’t exactly a sex goddess, in spite of his erotic fantasies saying otherwise, nor was she what he would call beautiful. But she was attractive, when she wasn’t whining about her ex. She was short, petite even, with a head of thick, shoulder-length, red curls, a thin smattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks, and lips a little too full for her small face. Lips he knew would be perfect for--

“Really?” She chuckled, her smile reaching her eyes, and brought a hand to her chest. “I have to admit I was actually terrified just thinking about having surgery.”

“Then why were you even considering it?” he asked, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

“I don’t know.”

“Because your ex’s girlfriend had hers done a few months ago. That’s why, isn’t it?” Kenny asked, feeling quite certain that was the reason.

Her smile faded.

“You’re still trying to compete with a twenty-three-year old,” he accused.

“I am not.”

“Hey, you two,” Libby said, crossing her arms. “Do you always have to bicker?”

“The hell you’re not,” Kenny said, ignoring his sister. “You must be pushing thirty. When are you going to accept it?”

Holly crossed her arms now. “I’ll be thirty-five next month, thank you very much.”

He raised a brow then slid his gaze down the front of her. Not bad for thirty-five, not that he had any intention of vocalizing his thoughts. Holly wouldn’t believe him anyway.

“Like I said, when are you going to accept it?”

“For your information, I was thinking of having an affair, and I wanted to make sure my assets were, you know, worthy.”

Libby’s mouth dropped open and Kenny shook his head in disbelief. “Someone ought to take you over their knee and spank some sense into you.” And he wished he was the one who could do it. “Worthy, my ass,” he mumbled. With that, he rolled his wheelchair out of the kitchen and down the hall to his study.