Bucking the Rules(54)

“Don’t stop,” she managed to gasp. It seemed like hours—but was really less than a few seconds—before he lifted himself off her to reach in the glove compartment and fish out a condom.

“The glove compartment? Really? Aren’t you worried your parents might find that when you return the truck at the end of the night?” she teased.

“The way you make me feel, stashing these babies all over the damn state wouldn’t be enough.” He slapped her thigh playfully. “Take those panties down. Now.”

She’d barely managed to get them off one leg when he was back on her, thrusting her knees wide and pushing inside her. Her whole body tightened, contracting under him, around him, and they both groaned.

In their frenzied pulsing together, she knew it wouldn’t last. Couldn’t last. Nothing this intense, this primal could go on forever. Could even go on for more than a few minutes. They’d combust otherwise.

And her body responded to the urgency, the danger of being caught and the unholy pace Trace was setting. After only a few more thrusts, she tightened and her body vibrated with an impending climax.

“Baby, I hope to God you’re close because—”

“Yes.” She placed a palm on either side of his face. “Yes, yes, oh, my God …”

The rest of her prayer was lost as his mouth took hers and he joined her in climax.





“Well.” Jo sat up beneath him and wiped a hand across her face. A piece of hair stuck to the corner of her mouth and she couldn’t seem to get it. He reached down and fixed it.

“Thanks.” She settled herself a little more. “Wonder if any of the staff came out here and saw us.”

Trace snorted and hopped down to the pavement, the open door sheltering him from anyone inside the restaurant. “If they saw the truck rocking like I think it was, they’d have been idiots to come investigate.”

He wasn’t sure how he expected her to react to that. Blush? Moan? Hang her head in her hands?

Nah. Not Jo. A small, secret smile crept across her lips, like she was the cat who found the stash of cream and was quite pleased with herself at the discovery. “You’re right. Besides, no need to make anyone jealous.”

Damn, he wanted her again already. Wanted to taste that satisfied smile, spend hours rediscovering all the secret places on her small, curvy body. Only this time, he’d rather do it in a bed.

He bent one knee, shook it a little, trying to work out the stiffness. After his fall from Lad, the leg was still giving him some trouble when he didn’t move it around enough. That would ease over time, though. He’d had enough experience with being thrown to know that.

“Ready to drive this thing home, cowboy?” Jo patted the dashboard, and he realized he was still half-frozen, hand on his belt, pants not quite fastened yet.

“Yeah, sorry.” He finished dressing and closed her door, walking around the front to get in and start the truck. As the engine came to life, he knew what he wanted to say next. Needed to say next.

“I like you.”

Jo’s hands paused in the middle of pulling her hair into a tail. “I like you, too. That’s why we went out to dinner, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is.” He rubbed a hand down his face. Why wasn’t he good with words? “I mean, I really like you.”

Jo just shook her head. “I got it. We did our date thing.”

“I want another.”

She opened her mouth—likely to argue—then shut it again. “Why? What’s wrong with what we had? Sex when we want it, no commitment when we don’t. No obligation.”

“Because there’s more here.” He watched her, focusing hard on her face in the dim light. Damned if he was going to turn on the cab light just to have this stupid conversation. One he should have waited until they were at home to have. “I want to try having more with you. You’re not an obligation to me.”

Her shoulders slumped forward, as if defeated. That was not the reaction he was trying for, and he felt guilty for a moment. But only a moment.

“What if I say no? Are we done? Done with everything?”

“No,” he said slowly. “That’s shooting myself in the foot for spite.” He grinned sheepishly. “Much as I like you, I like being with you in bed, too.” She snorted, and he shrugged with a sheepish smile. “Why deny it?”

She laughed hard, shoulders shaking, her hair falling from the messy tail and framing her face. She laughed so hard she had to reach up and wipe tears away.

“You know, just when I think I have you pegged, cowboy, you surprise me. I like that. It keeps me on my toes.”