When he broke off the last kiss, Kory noticed her breathing was a little heavier than it should have been, but she knew it was because she was feeling desperate. She also felt alive, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, and she wanted the humming feeling in her body to be quieted, sated, and she only knew of one way to do that.
The problem was she didn’t know if Stone felt the same way. Maybe he had no idea what his kisses were doing to her. His eyes searched hers in the dark and his voice was quiet, but she heard him as though he were the only sound out there. “I want you, Kory.”
Her breathing quickened again, because it was exactly what she’d wanted to hear. “I want you too, Stone. Desperately.” Oh, God, she’d admitted that?
His voice was firm and commanding. “Let’s go.” She let him lead the way back, and it seemed farther than they’d come. How long had they been out there walking? Everything seemed familiar on the way back, so she knew it was her desperation that made it seem like it was taking longer to get back.
She knew it wasn’t true, though, because they were walking faster back to the truck than they had when they’d been sauntering along earlier.
They got to his truck and he kissed her again. “You sure you’re up for this?”
“Yeah.” She was primed, her entire body on pins and needles, wanting to feel his naked body up against hers. She was more than ready.
“Okay. Let’s go to my place.” He opened the door and helped her in the truck, even though she didn’t need it. Once she was in, he closed the door and got in his side, revving the engine and turning the truck around and out of the parking lot.
When they got to the road, Stone didn’t head back toward the heart of town. He instead went the other way, and Kory wondered where he lived. She didn’t know why she would have assumed he lived in town, but she had. Maybe it was because tattooing felt like such an urban activity that someone like Stone seemed like he belonged in the middle of it all. But they drove out to where there were no more street signs, no street lamps, and few houses. They were in the rural part of Winchester, where there was a little farming and a lot of camping. It made the river walk seem tame.
She turned down the blaring music. Somehow, out there, away from town, it seemed disrespectful. “You live out here?”
“Yeah.” He turned down a small dirt road and after another mile turned up a winding driveway. There were a few houses that they passed, but there was plenty of room between them. They were almost in the forest, and Kory could tell from the outlines of trees that some of them were evergreens. His speed slowed as he climbed the drive, and she could see the outline of a house and then the headlights washed over it. It had a rustic look to it, but the house was fucking huge. As he maneuvered the truck up the curved slope of the driveway, she noticed the place was three stories high. The second level had a deck that scaled the house from one side to the other. The front drifted out of view as Stone continued driving toward the back where there was a garage, but he didn’t park in it.
She was left with one question: How much fucking money did a tattoo artist make anyway?
She knew Stone was good and knew his work was in demand. She knew he was a co-owner of the business, but her mind couldn’t wrap around how much a place like this must cost. Well, she didn’t know that he’d bought it anyway. Maybe he’d inherited it. She’d been quieted more than once tonight by feeling overwhelmed, and this time, she’d been so taken aback that Stone was opening the door to her side before she’d even registered it.
He grabbed her around the waist to pull her off the seat. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Letting me get the damn door for once.”
She giggled until he kissed her again, fanning the flames inside. Part of her wanted him to take her right there, but she didn’t know that she wanted her first time with Stone to be sloppy, sordid, and cheap feeling. They’d come this far, so she wanted to at least be inside. Maybe they could be outside sometime, but the timing now wasn’t right.
He led her toward the back door, and she asked, “How come you don’t have a porch light on? It’d make it easier to find the keyhole, don’t you think?”
They got closer and then a light turned on. “Sensory lights. They turn on when there’s movement.” She nodded. “And then I don’t have a shit load of bugs swarming over my head when I get home at night.” He punched in a code on a panel next to the door—some kind of security code that Kory figured disarmed what was a burglar alarm.
“Good thinking.”