Author: Nicolette Day

“Nate…,” she whimpered, working her hands under his soaked T-shirt, tracing every dip and ridge of his flesh as if she were memorizing them.

That little bit of skin-on-skin contact had his cock throbbing like mad. He thrust against her, unable to stop himself. Rain beat against his back and flavored their frenzied kisses. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew this needed to stop. He couldn’t fuck her out here on the side of the road. Hell, he shouldn’t be touching her at all.

Lilly didn’t deserve to be another casualty in his life. She deserved more. Much more, of things he could never give her.

He grappled for a single scrap of self-control, just enough to pull away, but it wasn’t there. She fucking owned him.

“Tell me to stop,” he pleaded against her mouth. Even as the words left his lips, his hand inched its way under her dress, slipping inside the silk panties to find her wet and ready. “Fuck, Lil…please tell me to stop.”

“Why?” she nearly sobbed. She moved her hips, searching for that perfect friction until his fingers slid through her slick folds.

He tore his mouth away and pressed his forehead against hers, shuddering. Why? Because he was leaving. And if he let himself sink into the sweet heat his fingers were getting a taste of, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to walk away from her again.

He was too fucked up to give her what she really needed. And there wasn’t a doubt in his mind—he was going to hurt her.

The last thought was enough to summon his wits. He broke contact and took a step back from her, peeling her legs from his waist, then plowing his fingers through his hair. Fighting for control.

She straightened, clinging to the edge of the truck fender, eyes wide. “W-what’s wrong?” Rain sluiced down her face, sheeted off the truck, and bounced off the pavement.

He raked his teeth across his bottom lip, feeling the loss of her taste far deeper than he should. “I can’t do this, Lil. I’m sorry.”

She stared at him for a split second, then slid off the bumper and jerked her dress back down into place. She was shaking. “Are you trying to humiliate me, Nate? Do you really hate me that much?”

His gaze snapped to meet hers. “Don’t you ever fucking say that. I don’t hate you. I would never want to humiliate you. That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is it about?” she asked, her voice breaking. “What was it about a year ago?”

“What happened between us that night was—”

Amazing. Terrifying. Like nothing he’d ever felt with another woman, and it had only been one night. A night that had pulled him under deep enough to scare the shit out of him and make him run like a hail of bullets were at his heels.

“A mistake,” she finished for him, moisture glinting from her eyes that had nothing to do with the shitty weather. “Just say it, Nate. I was a mistake.”

When he didn’t respond she spun around and headed for the passenger side of the truck, where she grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. Then she whirled and stalked down the road.

Panic gripped his chest. That’s how badly she wanted to get away from him. She’d put herself in danger just to do it.

This was what you wanted. Right, asshole?

Hell, no.

“Lilly, wait!” He took off after her. “Will you stop for a minute and talk to me?”

“I don’t see the benefit for me in that,” she snapped. “I’ve made a fool of myself enough for one night. And I think you’ve made it perfectly clear what you want from me.”

“Lil—”

“So let me be clear.” She stopped to face him, and the hurt in her eyes made Nate’s chest twist with a sharp pain. “I don’t want anything from you either. Including this damn ride.”

She spun and started walking again, her heels sloshing through the water running across the road.

He rubbed a hand over his jaw and went after her. “Princess. You’re going the wrong way.”

“If it’s away from you, it’s the right way,” she muttered. “Stop following me. And don’t call me princess.”

“You’re acting like a child. Damn it, Lil! Can you not come back here and let me explain?”

That stopped her. She turned, the gritty pavement scraping beneath her ridiculously high heels. Her eyes narrowed to angry green slits. “Child? Have you ever heard the expression ‘You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar’?”

“No,” he lied, irritated.

She threw her hands up and started marching down the road again. “Google it!”

“This is your last warning, Princess.” He strode forward, tension banding his chest. “You’re not going to like what happens if I have to chase you down.”

She didn’t stop. Without turning or breaking stride, she lifted a hand and flipped him off, putting a little extra swing into her hips.

He took off after her, his feet pounding the wet pavement. When he reached her, he caught her around the waist, swung her up, and tossed her over his shoulder.

She screamed and beat on his back with her fists, but he just turned back toward the truck and started to whistle. Not because he was feeling especially jovial, but because he knew it would piss her off. And right now, pushing her buttons the way she pushed his felt too fucking good to resist. He was vibrating with a dangerous combination of anger and lust. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to feel the brunt of both.

“Is this you actually trying to get away from me?” He caught her calf just before she kneed him in the chin. “It’s cute. In fact, now that I think about, the nickname Princess might not be so fitting. I should call you something more appropriate. Like Tinker Bell.”

She gasped, and swung her purse at him. So he snatched it away from her and tossed it into the cab. Then he beeped the doors locked, shoved his keys into his pocket, and started walking.

He was getting her off the side of this damn highway and out of the storm if he had to carry her the whole damn way to Vermont.

“Put me down you…you…Neanderthal!” She pushed at his back and kicked her legs, but he held her firm. “You are so going to regret this. You have to sleep sometime. And when you do, you’re going to wish you’d never closed your eyes—”

He slapped her hard on the ass, just once, silencing her. She was lucky he hadn’t bitten it instead. The way that perfect curve of delectable flesh was swaying right in front of his eyes made him want to sink his teeth into her, then kiss the sting away.

“Did you just…spank me?” Outrage colored her voice.

Even now his palm ached and his cock twitched, daring him to do it again. “Words weren’t working,” he said, trying to judge by the light in the distance how far the next road was. A mile. Two maybe. Definitely too far to be walking in this kind of storm, but he didn’t see another option. If he had to get back into that truck with her, he only saw it ending one way. With him between her thighs.

“That’s because I have absolutely no interest in what you have to say!”

“Well, maybe when you see my handprint on your ass tonight, it will serve as a reminder to pay better attention.”

He bounced her on his shoulder to get a better grip, and a gentle oomph rushed from her lips. “To what? To the fact that you’re an asshole? FYI, I don’t need a reminder of that. The giant chip on your shoulder kind of gives you away.”

He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around her thighs. “Then make it a reminder not to piss me the hell off. Because if you keep up with the lip…”

“You’ll do what, Nate? Spank me some more? Retaliate again?”

Tempting. All too tempting.

“Keep talking, Princess, and you’ll find out.”

Chapter Eight

“Dirty Dick’s Brew and Grub?”

Lilly hesitantly stepped out of the rain and walked past the steel door Nate was holding open for her.

Oh. Now he decided to be a gentleman. After he’d spanked her, and carried her over his shoulder caveman-style all the way to Fox Creek Road.

She could still feel his damn handprint on her ass. If he thought he was getting away with that, he was sadly mistaken. She wasn’t blind, or stupid. He wanted her. Maybe not all of her, but he wanted her in his bed again. That kiss they’d shared hadn’t lied.

She was done with being on the receiving end of his mood swings every time he got a damn hard-on. If this was how he wanted to play it, then game fucking on.

“It’s dry inside, and they must have a phone we can use,” he said. “This isn’t the time to be picky.”

She shivered as a breeze from the air-conditioning swept over her sopping-wet dress. He shook the excess water out of his hair and guided her toward the surprisingly busy bar. A jukebox played a twangy tune in one corner and a few couples were actually dancing. Laughter and the clank of beer bottles echoed through the room. There were only a few barstools open, and Lilly slid onto one while Nate remained standing beside her, his eyes scanning the place as if he were casing it.

“Holy hell, what happened to you two?” a perky bartender asked as she propped her elbows on the bar, giving her girls a boost. The move seemed practiced, and had probably earned her enough tips to buy a new car. She tossed her long black hair over one shoulder and her eyes skidded over Lilly before eating up the sight of a dripping wet Nate Jennings. Lilly had to give him credit. He didn’t seem to notice the woman’s blatant perusal, or if he did, he chose to ignore it.

“We broke down a couple of miles back,” Nate said.

“And you walked here?” The bartender hiked a perfectly manicured brow. “In that mess?” She jerked a thumb toward the entry door where rain sprayed inside every time it opened. Thunder rumbled, adding another layer of sound over the music, and the lights flickered.

“Unfortunately, yes. Do you have a phone we could use? I need to get a tow and find us a place to bunk for the night.”

The woman’s lips slid into a slow smile that said she had just the place for Nate to bunk down tonight. She called over her shoulder for someone named Hank to take over.

“Sure thing, sugar. Right this way.” She motioned for Nate to follow her around behind the bar.

“Hang on.” His gaze slid over Lilly and he hesitated, looking torn. His jaw tensed as he scanned the crowd. “Think you can stay put?”

She crossed her legs, allowing her wet dress to slide up her thighs, and leaned forward on her elbows putting her girls on display. She knew she was creating the desired effect when Nate’s eyes darkened as they drank her in, inch by soaking inch.

“What if I don’t?” she asked innocently. “Are you going to spank me again?”

Without another word, he stalked away toward a dark-haired woman on the dance floor. Surprised, Lilly watched him, trying to quell the unreasonable jealousy that burned her up inside at the sight of the friendly smile he flashed the other female.

What the hell? Surely, he wasn’t trying to score a hookup now. Not after he’d just kissed her—and rejected her—on the side of the road.

She scowled as she watched him pull out his wallet and hand the woman two hundred-dollar bills. The brunette smiled brightly and slid off her denim jacket and handed it over. What was he up to?

He strode back to Lilly and draped the jacket over her shoulders, a frown making lines between his eyebrows that she wanted to reach up and smooth away. “Put your arms in,” he ordered.

She obeyed—but only because she was freezing. “Did you just…buy that woman’s jacket?”

“Yes.” He tugged the material closed over her chest and took a step back.

“Why?”

He planted his hands on her knees, the touch like flames compared to the clammy temperature of her skin, and leaned in until his lips brushed her ear.