She lifted her hips to his mouth and he gripped her thighs tightly, devouring her in a way he’d dreamed of doing every night since he’d met her. Her scent and her taste filled him with emotions and sensations he hadn’t felt in years.
He felt her body jerk beneath his mouth in an explosive orgasm. She screamed his name, but he kept his mouth crushed to her, sucking harder and hoping this was one intimate kiss she would never, ever forget.
Moments later, after he felt her body go still, except for the shuddering of her breath, he slowly withdrew his tongue—but not before brushing his lips over her womanly mound. Marking. Branding. Imprinting.
“Walker...”
“Yes, baby. I’m here.” He eased over her body and kissed her.
Bailey’s breath caught in her throat. When Walker finally released her mouth, she could only lie there enmeshed in a web of sensations that had left her weak but totally fulfilled. Never in her life had she experienced anything like what Walker had done. How he had made her feel. The pleasure had been so sharp she might never recover. He had taken her to rapturous heights she hadn’t known existed between a man and a woman.
“I think we better go,” Walker said softly as he rezipped her jeans, placing a kiss on her stomach. When she felt the tip of his tongue around her belly button, she whispered his name.
He took his time refastening her bra, cupping her breasts and licking her nipples before doing so. Then he pulled her sweater down before helping her into a sitting position. She was tempted to resist. She wanted to lie there while memories washed over her.
“Your breasts are beautiful, you know, Bailey.”
She shook her head. No, she didn’t know. No other man had ever complimented her breasts. But then, no other man would have had a reason to do so. She drew in a deep breath, rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes. Had she actually experienced an orgasm from a man going down on her? In a parked truck?
“The lake is beautiful tonight.”
How could he talk about how beautiful the lake was after driving her into a sexual frenzy and blowing her mind? And just think, he hadn’t even made love to her. What he’d given her was an appetizer. She could only imagine what the full course meal would be like.
She slowly opened her eyes and followed his gaze through the windshield to the lake. She knew he was giving her time to pull herself together, clear her head, finish straightening up her clothes. She took another deep breath. In her mind she could still feel his mouth on her breasts and between her thighs. It took her a while to respond to what he’d said. “Yes, it’s beautiful. I love coming here. Day or night. Whenever I need to think.”
“I can see this being a good thinking spot.”
She decided not to add that he’d just proved it was a good making-out spot, as well. She glanced over at him and saw the buttons of his shirt were still undone, reminding her of when her tongue had licked his skin. Her blood seared at the memory.
“What we did tonight was wrong, Bailey. But I don’t regret it.”
She didn’t regret it, either. The only thing she regretted was not taking things further. They were adults, not kids. Consenting adults. And if they had enjoyed it, then what was the problem? “And why was it wrong?”
“Because you deserve more than a meaningless affair and that’s all I can offer you.”
She didn’t recall asking for more. “What makes you think I want any more than that, Walker? I’m not into serious relationships, either. They can get messy.”
He lifted a brow. “How so?”
“Men have a tendency to get possessive, territorial. Act crazy sometimes. Trust me, I know. I grew up with twelve of them. That’s why I have my rules.”
“Bailey’s Rules, right?”
“Yep. Those are the ones.”
“So if you don’t do affairs, what do you do? I assume you date.”
“When it suits me.” No need to tell him she’d never had a steady boyfriend. “I assume you date, too.”
“Yes, when it suits me,” he said, repeating her words.
“So we understand each other,” she said, wondering if they really did.
“Yes, I guess you can say that,” he said, buttoning his shirt. “And now is as good a time as any to mention that I’ve decided to return to Kodiak right after the wedding on Saturday instead of on Monday as planned.”
Her jaw dropped in surprise. “You’re leaving Saturday?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked over at her. “There’s no need to stay here any longer than that. What I have to tell the Outlaws won’t change. Your family is good people, and it will be Garth and his brothers’ loss if they listen to Bart and decide not to meet all of you.”
She didn’t say anything while she considered her plans for him to be interviewed by one of her writers. “I need you to stay until Monday...at least.”
He glanced over at her with keen, probing eyes. “Why do you need me to stay until Monday?”
Something cautioned her to choose her words carefully. “Remember earlier, I told you there was something else I needed to discuss with you?”
He nodded. “Yes, I remember.”
“Well, it was about a favor I need to ask.”
“What kind of favor?”
She nervously nibbled at her bottom lip. “Today I found out that you used to be an actor. Ty Reklaw.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute. “So what of it? And what does that have to do with me staying until Monday?”
She heard a tinge of annoyance in his voice and had a feeling he didn’t like being reminded of his past. “I understand you were at the peak of your acting career when you left Hollywood to return to Alaska. I was sorry to hear about you losing your family. Must have been a difficult time for you.”
She paused and when he didn’t say anything, she pressed on. “It’s been almost ten years and you’re still alone, living on your island. It just so happens that Simply Irresistible will be doing an article about men who are loners and I would love to make you our feature story.”
He still didn’t say anything. He merely stared at her. She swallowed deeply, hesitating only a second before asking, “So will you do it? Will you let me schedule an interview for you with one of my writers to be our feature story?”
It was then, there in the moonlight, that she saw the stiffening of his jaw and the rage smoldering in his gaze. “No. And you have a lot of damn nerve. Is that what this little truck ride was about, Bailey? How far did you intend to go to get me to say yes?”
Her gaze narrowed. “What are you asking? Are you insinuating I used my body to get my way?”
“Why not? I’ve been approached in the past by reporters who will do just about anything for a story.”
“Well, I’m not one of them. The main reason I asked you here was to apologize for my behavior last night. Then I wanted to ask a favor of you.”
“And why do you think I would want to be interviewed? I left Hollywood for a reason and I’ve never looked back. Why would I want to relive those years?”
“You have it all wrong. The article we plan to publish will have nothing to do with your time in Hollywood. You’re a loner and we want to find out why some men prefer that kind of life.”
“Have you ever considered the fact that not everyone needs to constantly be around people? It’s not as if I’m some damn recluse. I have friends. Real friends. Friends who know how to respect my privacy when I need them to. And they are the ones whose company I seek.”
“Yes, however—”
“But you wouldn’t understand that. You’re dependent on your family for your livelihood, your happiness and your very reason for breathing. That’s probably why you’ve made it one of your rules never to stray too far away from them.”
His words fired her up. “And is there anything wrong with that?”
“Not if that’s how you choose to live. Which is nobody’s business. Just like how I choose to live is nobody’s business, either. What makes you think I want to broadcast how I chose to live after losing two of the most important people in my life?”
He wasn’t letting her get a word in. “If you just let me finish, I can explain wh—”
“There’s nothing to explain. You just got this promotion to features editor and you need a story. Sorry, I refuse to accommodate you. Go find your story someplace else.”
An hour or so later, Walker was back in his guest room and still finding it hard to accept the ease with which Bailey had asked that favor of him. Did she not realize the magnitude of the favor she’d asked or did she not care? Was she so into her family that she had no understanding or concept that some people preferred solitude? That not everyone wanted a crowd?
He could only shake his head, since he doubted he could get any angrier than he was at that minute. And he had just warned himself not to let her or any woman who’d shown the same persuasive powers Kalyn had possessed to get close to him. Yet he’d fallen under Bailey’s spell after that first kiss. After the second, he’d been a goner.
Even now, memories of those kisses were embedded into the core of his soul. The mere idea of another woman getting that much under his skin stopped him cold with a helplessness he felt in every bone of his body.