he genuinely wanted. She was curled up against him like she belonged there, and something elemental in him longed to be accepted by her, to erase the past and be made whole again. To be worthy of her. It was selfish, bu t he couldn’t help himself.
Before his slumbering conscience could kick in he jiggled her a bit and smiled as she slowly raised her head from his shoulders and looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes. “Hey,” he said. “The song is over. Do you want to get out of here?” She nodded and he grabbed her hand, heading for the closest reception hall exit door before she could change her mind. He looked around warily for any of her relatives to notice their departure, but no one even spared them a glance.
Without a single word, he dragged her towards his truck and helped her slide into the high cab. She exposed a lot of silky leg climbing clumsily into the passenger seat and he felt more blood rush to his groin at the sight. He could easily imagine just pushing her down on the seat and kissing his way up those thighs to her hot, moist centre. There he could gorge himself on her sweet honey until she came in a rush, maybe for the first time.
The image of what she would look like with her skirt up around her waist and his face buried between her thighs was so vivid he could practically taste her. Gritting his teeth he barely resisted the impulse to take her right there. But no matter how depraved he was, seducing an innocent in a parking lot was too low, even for him. He could wait a few more minutes to get his hands on her. Maybe.
He raced around the front of the vehicle and climbed into the driver’s seat. He was surprised to find that she was sitting in the middle of the bench seat instead of the opposite side. When he slid behind the wheel she was pressed against him from thigh to shoulder. His hands actually shook at her nearness as he turned the ignition key and put the truck in gear. He should have asked her to slide over and fasten her seat-belt, but he couldn’t res ist her warmth and softness.
“Where are we going, Mark?” She asked sleepily as the truck left the parking lot. She placed her head on his shoulder and cuddled even closer. He though he was going to lose it as he breathed in the sweet strawberry scent of her hair, and felt one of her small h ands wrap around his upper arm.
“I’m taking you home. You’ve had enough fun for one night, don’t you think?” He said, sounding very much like one of her concerned cousins, but feeling like a complete fraud. The last place he wanted to take her was to her parent’s place. They would still be at the reception, but he knew seeing her there in her childhood home, would remind him of exactly h ow wrong it was to be with her.
Her head jerked up and she glared at him. “Why are we going there? I thought you wan ted to go somewhere. And talk.”
He hadn’t said anything about talking, but if that’s what she wanted to believe then he would humor her. “Where did you want to go then?” He aske d, already heading out of town.
“I don’t know. Let’s just drive. Okay? But don’t take me home yet.” She settled her head back on his shoulder and sighed, content to watch the streetlights fade away into the night.
Mark drove very fast to the most secluded place he could think of. He’d never been to the Valleyview Country Club at night before, but he remembered the guys from his high school talking about using the view from the ninth hole as an excellent lure to get their girlfriends to go parking with them. He’d never been. In fact, those same guys had ribbed him mercilessly for being a virgin. He never told them about his extra duties at work. He wasn’t exactly ashamed of them, but he knew it wasn’t something he wanted getting around. Especially to the Kingstons. He was fairly certain they wouldn’t be thrilled to find out that he was servicing their clients in a manner not intended by their landscaping contract.
By the