Hearts on Fire (7 page)

He cranked the engine, but instead of putting the truck in gear and leaving, he sat there, arguing with himself.

So what if the sex was good?

It was fucking better than good, and you know it.

This is all about the sex, then. You’ll get over it. You’ll get over her.

It’s not about the sex. She isn’t like the rest of these people. Hell, even her camper labels her an outsider.

Just leave, asshole. Put the truck in gear and get the fuck away from her.

“Fuck it.” He pulled the key from the ignition with one hand while reaching for the door latch with the other.

There was nothing civilized about the way he felt, but he forced himself to ring the all-too-civilized doorbell on the fancy rig. He’d count to ten, and if she didn’t answer, he’d get the hell out of there, forget about her, forget the way she couldn’t get out of his bed fast enough this morning. Fuck, he’d probably scared her to death the night before.
What kind of guy uses a woman that way—on a first date?

An
only
date. No first about it. It was a one-night stand, pure and simple. Just a hookup.

So why are you standing here like a scorned lover, waiting for her to open the door?

No sooner had he thought the words than she stood before him. The surprise on her face quickly turned to a frown then she tried to pull the door shut.

“Wait.” He wrapped his hand around the edge of the door, preventing her from shutting him out. She eased her grip on the inside handle, letting him open the portal wide. She filled the narrow entryway, her arms crossed over her midsection. She had put on some sort of black pants that hugged her body like they’d been painted on. Her top was made from the same stretchy material in a shade of pink that emphasized the blush creeping over her cheeks. Her feet were bare.

“What do you want?”

He shook his head, overcome by just the sight of her. “I don’t know.” Holding the door open with his shoulder, he stuck his hands in his front pockets. “Not sex, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just wanted to see you again.”

She shifted, resting one foot on top of the other. Her vulnerability did something to him, made him want to be who she needed him to be
. You’re abso-fucking nuts, Steve.
“Can I come in? For just a little bit? I promise I won’t touch you.”

“I have to work later.”

“I won’t stay long. Just a few minutes.”

She looked everywhere but at him, and he began to think he’d felt something she hadn’t. He straightened, intending to leave her alone like she clearly wanted him to do.

“Okay. For a few minutes.”

At the sound of her voice, he jerked his gaze up to hers. Her face was a blank mask he couldn’t read. Did she really want him to come inside? Fuck, he didn’t care. He was so fucking happy to be invited in.

She stepped back, allowing him room in the tiny entry. He pulled the door closed behind him. Her arms remained crossed over her midsection. The thought of her feeling the need to protect herself from him shot a spear through his heart.

“Nice place.”

“You haven’t seen it,” she said. “But thank you. It’s home.”

“You live in this year-round?” He looked around, taking in the kitchen/eating area just behind the driver’s seat. Beyond, the place seemed wider.

“Yes.” She extended her arm. “Go ahead. Take a look.” She followed him into the living area that was, indeed, wider.

“Huh. I didn’t notice the…what do you call it?”

“A pop-out.”

Even with the extra room, he felt as if he’d been stuffed in a can. “Nice.”

“Have a seat. Would you like something to drink?” A half step put her in front of the dorm room sized refrigerator.

“Water?”

She pulled two bottles out, handing him one as she eased past his legs to sit opposite him. After taking a long drink, he capped the bottle and set it aside. He leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs, his hands clasped between them. Now that he was here, he didn’t have a clue what to do or say.

Shannon lifted her water bottle to her lips. His brain, stuck in sex-with-this-woman mode, conjured an image of those very same lips wrapped around his dick. Said appendage reacted in the predictable way, making him even more uncomfortable. He forced his gaze down, but the sight of her neck conjured another image no less unsettling. Realizing there wasn’t a square inch of her body he could look at and not think carnal thoughts, he closed his eyes.

The ball was in his court. He’d come to see her, not the other way around. “This is awkward.”

“Just a little. I thought we were done.” She capped her water, the plastic making crinkling sounds in her hand. “You don’t have to pretend last night was anything more than it was.”

He jerked his gaze up. “I’m not pretending.” He sucked in a short breath and let it out. “I didn’t come here for sex. I’m all out of condoms, remember?”

Her face turned red. Yeah, she remembered.

“Last night was…incredible. Different. I’m usually a once is enough kind of guy, but…well, you know. I get it. You don’t stay in one place for long, and I’m a stay put kind of guy, but I was wondering…. I thought….” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Hell, do you want to spend the day with me? I mean, until you have to go to work? We could go to the beach. Have something to eat, walk a little.”

She stared at him as if he’d grown two heads, and he felt as if he had, and neither one could think straight. “I’d like to get to know you better. I know you’re leaving in a few days, but I don’t want you to leave thinking I’m that kind of guy.”

“And you want to see if I’m that kind of woman.”

“I deserve that, I suppose.” Knowing he’d insulted her didn’t make her verbal slap sting any less. “I know you felt it, too. Last night was more than sex. Maybe we won’t be anything more, but last night wasn’t like any one-night stand I’ve ever had. I have no idea what else we could be to each other, but maybe if we spend some time together—not having sex—we can figure it out.”

Her gaze dropped to where her hands twisted the plastic bottle around and around.

“If you don’t want to, just say so, and I’ll go. I just thought….”

“I haven’t been to the beach in years.”

He almost jumped for joy at her softly spoken words. She wanted to spend time with him! “What time do you have to be back?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Shannon’s tongue felt like a wad of cotton in her mouth, even though she’d downed nearly an entire bottle of water minutes before. Her heart was tapping out a crazy rhythm—had been since she opened her door to find Steve standing there.

God, he made her motor home feel cramped, made her feel cornered, trapped—but in a good way—sort of. He seemed solid, like someone she could depend on, like an immovable object she could cling to in a storm. It had been a very long time since she’d had anyone to cling to, and she’d never had anyone like this man.

He was right. She didn’t have any experience with one-night stands, but the time they’d spent together had been more than sex for her. Knowing he’d felt something, too, scared the living daylights out of her. She had no idea what he wanted from her, and she had no right wanting anything from him. But that hadn’t kept her from reliving every minute of their night and wishing she could have the same kind of connection in her life.

“Noon. The faire opens at ten, but the crowds don’t show until then.” He looked as disappointed as she felt. “If you give me a minute, I can ask someone to watch my booth for me.”

“You can do that?”

The hope in his voice buoyed her. She nodded, rising to her feet. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Shannon hurried to the small camper parked next to hers and knocked on the door. “Nadya, it’s me, Shannon.”

The gypsy fortune-teller opened the door, a smile on her face. “Come in, come in.”

“I can’t stay.” Shannon stepped into her friend’s living space. The older woman had been nothing but kind to her since the day Shannon had joined the traveling troupe of actors and craftspeople. She didn’t actually believe the old woman could tell fortunes, but that didn’t matter as much as her friendship did. “You’ve turned me down every time I’ve offered since your tent burned, but, please, can you use my booth today? You don’t have to try to sell anything; just keep it open so no one steals anything.”

“Has something happened? Is everything all right?”

Shannon hugged the other woman. “Nothing’s wrong, but thanks for caring. I just want to get away for the day…you know, see the beach, do some shopping, enjoy the area before we move on.”

Nadya held her at arm’s length, her gaze assessing. “Yes, I see. You’ve found the man the crystal showed me.” She nodded. “This is good.”

Shannon opened her mouth to cut the fortune-teller off before she could get started again on her prediction that a big, strong, handsome man would come and sweep her off her feet, but before she could get a word in, she was being shoved out the door.

“Go. Spend the day with your young man. He is strong, no? His shoulders are wide enough to carry your burdens.”

Shannon’s feet hit the ground.

“Hurry. Don’t keep him waiting.”

She stared at the closed door for a second before turning back toward her motor coach.
Unbelievable.
Nadya had made the prediction months ago. Shannon had joined her for dinner in her tiny camper one night. After dinner, the woman had brought out her crystal ball—claimed she heard it calling her—and began to spout nonsense about a man searching for Shannon. The last thing Shannon needed was a relationship, and the idea of a man out there looking for someone like her—someone with enough baggage to sink a ship—was ludicrous. The prediction had been nothing more than an old woman’s wishes and a way to nudge Shannon back into the living.

Hand poised on her own door latch, she paused. A wave of panic overtook her.
What if the prediction is real? What if Steve is the man Nadya had been talking about?

The night before had been special, and Steve had felt it, too. Her heart knocked against her ribs. A man with shoulders wide enough to carry her burdens.

Steve’s shoulders were the widest she’d ever seen.

No. Impossible. I don’t want a relationship.

Opening the door, she stepped inside. The man stood. His presence stole the breath from her lungs. She put a hand out to steady herself. Lord, his shoulders brushed both sides of the narrow hallway, but it was more than just his size. It was
him
. The way he looked, all hot, muscled male, and the way he smelled, like a warm summer day, and the way his eyes took all of her in as if he’d been looking for her, and then, there she was—sort of startled, but happy.

No. No. No. No. There is no man looking for me, let alone this one. Get a grip, Shannon.

“All set?”

She nodded. “Yes. Let me get my purse and a hat.”

He stepped back into the widest part of the camper and turned sideways, allowing her room to scoot past. Once inside the bedroom, she leaned against the wall. Eyes closed, she focused on her breathing, which hadn’t been normal since she first saw Steve on her doorstep. Going off for the day with him could possibly be the worst idea she’d ever had.

It’s all Nadya’s fault. She put that crazy idea in my head. There is no man. There is no man. There is no man.

“Shannon? Is everything okay?”

Okay. So there is a man.
She pushed away from the wall, grabbing her purse from the bed and her hat from the dresser. Jerking open the door, she faced him. “Everything is fine. Just fine.” She scooted past him. “Let’s go.”

The drive to the beach was quiet. She didn’t know what to say to him. Somehow, he’d gotten under her skin, and she was torn between the path she’d chosen for herself and the path a man like him tempted her to follow.

She had good reasons for the life she’d chosen, and up until she’d noticed a little girl standing alone amid the confusion and chaos of a potential disaster, she’d been content. Looking back, she decided she wouldn’t have done anything different. Megan had been in danger. And somewhere within Shannon, the heart of the mother she’d once been still beat. She could no more have turned a blind eye to the child’s distress than she could have stopped breathing.

I can’t do this.

A few days before, she would have said, “I don’t want to do this.” But then she’d met Steve, and wants had turned to needs.

He had her thinking about things she had sworn never to contemplate again and reassessing everything in her life. His showing up on her doorstep only made the situation worse. Why couldn’t he have just left her alone? Why did the one man she’d been attracted to in years have to be the one who couldn’t be satisfied with a one-night stand?

He pulled into a parking lot facing the beach. A few optimistic souls paddled around on surfboards, waiting for a wave to come along. From the looks of the ocean water, they might as well pack it up and go home. Other than a few lacy whitecaps breaking on the shore, the water appeared calm.

“Want to get out and walk a while?” His voice jerked her back to the here and now. “Or we can just sit here.”

“Let’s walk.” She opened her door, slapping her hat on her head as her feet slid to the ground. She had to end whatever Steve thought they had before it went any further, and the things she needed to say required lots of space. The cab of one pickup truck couldn’t possibly contain all the hurt inside her.

She slipped out of her sandals then took off down the deserted stretch of sand, needing the few seconds it would take for him to catch up in order to gather her courage. She made her way to the wet sand left behind by the receding tide and gave in to her need for open spaces. The early morning sun, coupled with the salty breeze, cleared the cobwebs from her brain.

“What’s your hurry?” he said, matching his long stride to her shorter one.

“Sorry.” God, why did he have to be such a nice guy? “This was a good idea.”

“Want to tell me what’s going on? Are you mad because I showed up at your door?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not mad, but I am concerned you might be under the impression that last night meant more than it did.”