Slow Hands (23 page)

Alec sighed. He had things to do himself. Check on Ian and Beau. Call Ostman. Buy more condoms. Sleeping with Keira was probably wrong, but he knew better than to think he wouldn't do it again.

"Darryl's lending me a tent. It might be late, but I'll be there before dark."

Nodding, she moved to get up, wincing at the soreness between her legs. She caught Alec's sympathetic grin, more pride than pity.

Then her eyes dropped to his thick erection, her mouth watering. No wonder she was sore.

Her nipples contracted as desire rippled down her spine. She wanted him again . . .

She glanced at the clock, looked back at temptation, calculating. She had an hour. And she'd need every second.

Alec's morning erections were killers. It would take at least two, maybe three, orgasms to do it justice. Was she up to it?

She eyed his beard, knew there was no time for him to shave. Which meant
girl on top.

With a sigh—resignation or anticipation?—she pushed him back against the mattress, flat on his back, as she reached for a condom.

She moved down, crouched between his legs. She tore the foil pack, palmed the rubber. Then she grasped his shaft at the base, amazed at the heat, the strength.

At her touch. Alec jerked. Swore. "Hurry. Or I'll do it."

She knew he referred to the condom. "I think you'll like my way better."

Bending low, she boldly ran her tongue over his flesh, up and down, until her saliva glistened on him. She heard his choked intake of air as she drew back and quickly sheathed him, the moisture from her mouth making it easier to cover his distended penis,

She took a moment to marvel at the miraculous stretch of latex. Then she straddled him.

"I'm driving, okay?" She positioned herself over him, lowered slightly, felt the resistance of her body.

"Fine." Alec grinned, flexing once, pushing deep inside her. He reached up, tweaked her nipple. "I'll just see if I can tune in anything on the radio."

Keira was thirty minutes late picking up Franny. Alec's erection had proved to be a fractious four-banger that they'd finally conquered in the shower.

Franny took one look at her and hugged her. "You did it. How was it?"

Keira felt like she winced with every step, but she'd tried to hide it. Her nipples were sore too. Raw. Felt like they'd been chewed on.

Which they had. While she'd remembered Alec was a breast man, she'd forgotten his obsession for her nipples, his penchant for using his teeth.

"Is it that obvious?"

"It's the razor burns." Franny pointed to the side of Keira's neck. "I'll be right back. I've got something in the shop that will fix that. Unless, of course, you'd like to show off for Scarlet's sake? Whisker burns are like a royal flush—beats anything."

Keira shook her head. While she and Alec were supposed to be acting like they'd renewed their relationship, she didn't want to sport hard proof that they were intimate.

As much as she had enjoyed it, she knew she'd stepped over the line. Making love with Alec could only cause her grief. She couldn't have a physical relationship without involving her heart, which explained why she'd
never been interested in any of the men she'd occasionally dated. It also explained why her heart felt tender now.

She loved Alec.

But was there any way to make him love her again ... enough to stay?

The campground at Culverleaf Park was jammed. Kids swarmed like little termites, on bicycles, skates. Parents followed, pushing strollers or tugging on dog leashes.

Keira and Franny drove slowly through the sites looking for Fred and Mabel's shiny aluminum Airstream. Since Fred participated in the mock battle, they always came up the night before and reserved several adjacent sites.

Mabel waved as they approached.

The self-appointed camp hostess, Mabel, ran the show. "Pitch your tents right over there." She pointed to a shaded, private spot near the woods. "Then grab a hot dog. And hurry. Show starts in an hour."

Both Keira and Franny had new pop-up tents that proved easy to set up. They ate, then followed Mabel to the far side of the park where the
battle
would unfold. Mabel set her lawn chair in front and readied her video camera.

The reenactment of the Battle of Freedom was more fiction than fact, more comedy than drama.

The Native Americans fought valiantly against the white settlers, but couldn't drive them out. Then the chief's son kidnapped one of the settlers' daughters. But the brave fell in love with his captive and eventually set her free.

She returned home, and convinced her father to seek peace. The enactment ended with a hilarious scene of the settlers passing around jugs of moonshine.

Afterward, most of the crowd drifted to the nearby arts and crafts show. By the time Keira and Franny toured all the booths and returned to the campsite, Darryl was there, which pleased Franny.

Alec had also arrived, but was busy helping Scarlet and Cissy pitch their tents.

"I swear, I just don't know a thing about this outdoor stuff," Scarlet gushed.

Keira scowled, reminding herself she had no real claim on Alec. Nor he on her. Anything between them was supposed to be an act to fool Griggs.

Regret washed over her. Sleeping with Alec changed nothing. Not the past. Not the future.

Sally and Stan arrived with Reggie.

As soon as the tents were pitched, they all drifted down to Culverleaf Lake to swim. Except Scarlet and Alec.

Scarlet had commandeered Alec to help her unload more gear from Cissy's car.

Keira knew exactly what Scarlet was up to: Snagging Alec. Rumors of Keira and Alec renewing their relationship wouldn't stop Scarlet.

The sandy beach was crowded, the water a welcome relief to the afternoon heat.

"Feel like a race?" Reggie swam up beside Keira.

She nodded, pointed to the floating dock anchored about twenty yards out, in the deeper water. The dock, with its twin diving boards, was a favorite spot with the teenagers.

"Last one there loses," Reggie said.

Keira was a strong swimmer, but Reggie won. Swimming back, though, she beat him. And squealed when he dunked her, demanding a rematch.

At dusk, Mabel herded the group to the campsite for supper, then preened while everyone praised her cooking. She'd even baked cookies and brownies for dessert.

Later, the group split, with the women packing up food while the men gathered firewood. By the time it grew dark, a large blaze burned. Mabel tossed around bags of marshmallows, while Fred passed out sticks he'd sharpened.

Alec came over and sat by her. "Where'd your afternoon playmate go?"

Keira shot him a look, wondered how he knew she'd spent time with Reggie. Alec had never shown up at the beach. "Guess I could ask you the same about Scarlet."

Franny leaned forward. "Reggie got a call from some climbing buddies who just made town. Said he might not make it back."

"Good," Alec muttered.

"Ahem!" Sally stood, got everyone's attention. "Time for ghost stories. And I've got a good one."

Scarlet walked up, frowned at Keira, then smiled at Alec. "Can you squeeze in one more?"

Franny scooted closer to Keira, pushed her friend against Alec. "Sorry. No room. You'll have to sit over there." She pointed to the empty lawn chair between Darryl and Fred. "And hush. I want to hear this story."

Sally cleared her throat, again, dramatically. "There was a couple who came into town last year, for the reenactment. They wanted to find a little peace and quiet to, you know—
do it
—in the woods, so they drove to the far side of the park and followed one of the logging roads back to the lake."

"What road?" Cissy interrupted.

"The one near old man Carson's farm," Darryl offered. "Right, Sally?"

Sally nodded. "But when they finally decided to head back, their car wouldn't start. The guy had no choice but to walk back to town for help. Knowing it was pretty far, he told his girlfriend to wait in the car. Now, she's pretty scared. They're in the middle of nowhere, and it's dark. He promises she'll be fine, but just in case, she should lock all the doors and huddle on the floorboard, where no one can see her."

"I would have walked back with him," Scarlet said.

"Shhhh!" Franny hissed.

"Before he leaves, her boyfriend tells her not to get out of the car, for any reason, until he returns." Sally's eyes were wide in the flickering firelight. "Hours pass, and the woman stays hidden. Once she hears this scratching noise, but is too scared to look out."

Cissy interrupted. "What kind of scratching noise?"

"I don't know," Sally snapped. "A regular scratching noise. Then she hears a rapping on the window, and a voice says, 'Ma'am, it's the sheriff's department. Open up.'

"Relieved, the woman unlocks the door, figuring her boyfriend is with him. But the deputy pulls her toward his patrol car, and tells her not to look back."

A log fell on the fire, sending up a shower of sparks.

Sally paused, took a deep breath. "The woman looked back anyway and saw her boyfriend's body hanging
from a tree above the car. The scratching noise she'd heard . . . were his toenails dragging against the hood."

Franny grabbed Darryl. "I've heard that story a million times, and it still gives me chills.'

"That the dumbest story I've ever heard." Fred said. "Who wants a beer?"

"Wait!" Scarlet stood, hurried to her cooler. "I brought strawberry wine."

Fred did nothing to hide his disappointment as Scarlet handed out plastic cups of wine.

Smiling broadly. Scarlet carried the last two glasses over to where Alec sat, handed him one, then held up her glass. "Here's to Alec's return."

Keira ignored the toast and emptied her glass.

Alec frowned, sniffed the wine. "Strawberry, huh?"

Scarlet nodded. "Yeah. Drink up. I'll go get more."

While Scarlet had her back turned. Fred poured his wine out. When Alec would have followed suit, Keira grabbed his cup and drained it. For all of Scarlet's faults, she did make an excellent strawberry wine, which rivaled moonshine in potency.

When Scarlet returned, she eyed Alec's empty glass. "Ready for more?"

Alec shook his head, held up a can. "I switched to beer."

Sally launched into another ghost story, this one a bastardized version of the Headless Horseman. Fred pronounced it more lame than the first one.

By eleven, everyone started heading toward their tents.

Scarlet latched on to Alec's arm when he stood.

"Would you be a doll and walk Cissy and me to the bathhouse? After all those ghost stories, we're scared."

Sally snickered. "Oh man!
I
forgot to tell the story about the woman found murdered at a campground bathhouse."

Scarlet squealed. Scowling, Alec walked with her and Cissy.

Keira watched them disappear, then followed Franny and Darryl back to their tents. Scarlet was doing everything to enlist Alec's help. No doubt trying to get him alone.

Climbing into her tent, Keira stretched out on top of her sleeping bag. She felt restless all of a sudden, knew she wouldn't sleep. The tent was stuffy, which was strange because once the sun went down, the temperature had dropped. The heat from the campfire had felt good. Now she was so warm she perspired lightly.

She wondered briefly if she had a fever.

Then she felt a twinge. Low.

Memories of last night replayed in her mind.

She closed her eyes, tried not to think about making love to Alec.

She rolled over, but the brush of the sleeping bag felt coarse on her skin, the air in her tent stifling. In minutes, her clothes were soaked from perspiration.