Purgatory Masters(6)
“Uhmm. Well…”
“Spit it out, Maggie. We aren’t teenagers anymore.”
She frowned at him. “I’m perfectly aware of that. I just don’t know how to start the conversation with someone I’ve known since high school that I’ve been studying power dynamics between couples for nearly a decade. It’s not usually a topic that makes people comfortable.”
Tucker smiled. Perfect. “I’m not most people. And I’m not uncomfortable discussing sexuality one bit.”
When she didn’t respond, a glance in her direction showed a lovely flush of red creeping up her neck. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
Her hands knotted in her lap. “You didn’t. I just—well—it seems a little surreal to be sitting here talking to you about this. Aren’t we supposed to be asking each other little things like what did we do after high school, are we married or do we have kids?”
Tucked laughed. “If you say so. Since your life is making you squirm, why don’t we start with mine? Ask me anything.”
“I’m not uncomfortable. Maybe I just don’t want to know.”
Uhh huh. “Fair enough.” He dropped the small talk and stared at the road stretched in front of them. The snowfall had not eased and the road coverage got heavier the closer they got to the lake. While keeping an eye on the road, he also watched his passenger. She’d changed since high school quite a bit. She wasn’t as skinny as he remembered. She’d filled out in more ways than one. From what he’d been able to tell she’d put on curves in all the right places, especially her hips. God, did he love a round bottom. His cock began to fill, forcing him to shift in search of more room.
Her long brown hair had been cut to well above the shoulders. He was aware enough to recognize the trend but it really worked for her. The hair curled around her pretty face, drawing his gaze to her full pink lips and bright green eyes. There was so much he wanted to know about her, but there was also a lot he’d never forgotten. The last time he’d touched her they’d been too young to understand the spark between them, but they weren’t kids anymore.
“Do you think we’ll make it? The snow is getting harder and the road looks precarious.”
Her questions pulled Tucker from his wayward thoughts and brought his focus back to the road. She was right. Out here it didn’t look good. Fortunately his four-wheel drive could handle it.
“Yeah, we’re almost there.” He continued the trip without conversation. Between his lascivious thoughts and the storm raging outside he had enough on his plate. This wasn’t exactly how he’d hoped their reunion would go. He’d been planning for a little more finesse and a whole lot less stress.
The truck hit a hole covered by snow and Maggie bounced with a little scream. In any other situation that scream would have sounded lovely. Particularly if she was underneath him and begging for him to let her come. Instead, she held on to his door with a white-knuckled grip of death and fear written all over her face. Time to distract her.
“I left a couple of years after high school. The situation with my dad got worse after my mom left.” Thank God he didn’t have to rehash that part of his life. She’d still been here when his mother disappeared and his father had been suspected of foul play. “When my mom returned, my dad turned nutty in ways I can’t even begin to explain. The situation escalated to the point that if I didn’t leave I was afraid of what I might do.”
“Tucker. You can’t—”
“I know. His behavior wasn’t my fault, but I really hated him. The kind of hate that festers in your gut and if you aren’t careful can turn into something really bad. I was afraid I’d end up like him so I took off.”
She reached out and stroked his arm. He fought the instinct to shrug off her sympathy. Instead he focused on the feather-light touch of the woman he craved.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“College as far across the state as I could get. I played a little football at first, but after a couple of years it got stale. I came home when my dad died and decided to stay. I guess I was more attached to small towns and family than I thought.”
Her hand slipped from his arm and he forced himself not to snatch it back.
“Are you married?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Never married. I did add it to my bucket list though. One day.” He winked.
“Wait. You have a bucket list? Aren’t you a little young for that? I thought that’s what old people did when they started worrying about dying.” She smiled at him and some of the heaviness that had begun creeping into their conversation eased.