Different Roads (12 page)

            Just
inside the door, I stopped to scope the place out. Shelley squeezed in beside
me, "It sleeps six," she announced cheerfully.

            I
glanced around, and my eyes landed on a narrow ladder that led up to a loft
with one full-sized bed. "Since I know how you hate heights I'll just take
that bed," I said and nodded toward the loft.

            "Just
drop your stuff, and meet us down by the dock," Shelley said. "Tim's
anxious to get some fishing in."

            "Yeah,
I'll be down in a few minutes," I waved her off dismissively. I climbed
the ladder and tossed my bag on the bed, claiming my spot for the weekend. I
took a deep breath of the stale air inside the cabin and tucked a few stray
strands of hair that had worked free of my hair tie back into place. I pulled a
worn baseball cap -- one of Seth's -- out of the side pocket of my duffle bag
and put it on, pulling my ponytail through at the back. I stepped slowly down
the ladder and froze in my tracks when I heard a wolf-whistle.

            "Nice
view," Damon laughed. "Ya know it's hard to picture that ass of yours
without my hands framing it.

            I
rolled my eyes, "Tell me one thing, Damon," I said as I turned to
face his leering grin. "Do you go out of your way to be an asshole, or is
it a natural gift of yours?"

            He
threw back his head and laughed, "It's a gift. And I am a natural,"
he paused, his eyes turning dark. "If you'd give me about five minutes,
I'll show you just how gifted I really am baby."

            Now
it was my turn to laugh, "Five minutes? Really? I should have known you
were one of
those
guys."

            His
eyes narrowed into slits, "What the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

            I
walked over to him and cupped his face in my hands, "Means it takes a
helluva lot longer than five minutes to satisfy me
baby
," I leaned in
close enough that I felt the warmth of his breath against my cheek. I knew I
was flirting with disaster being that close to him and breathing in his
intoxicating scent. I wasn't afraid that he might call my bluff. I was more
afraid that I might give in to the strong physical attraction I'd felt for him
since the first time we met.

            His
hands came around my waist and he yanked me against his rock hard chest, "Play
with fire baby, you're gonna get burned."

            "Hey
Jaq..." Shelley started to say as she walked back in on us. "Whoops,
sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt."

            "You
didn't," I said and wriggled free of Damon's hold. Less than a minute in
such close proximity to his very maleness and my body temperature had kicked it
up a notch -- or ten. "I'm coming."

            "Pfft,
not yet, but I'll definitely take a rain check on that," Damon whispered
behind me, spreading warmth all the way down to my toes.

            I
hurried away from him and grabbed my fishing pole and tackle box, "Let's
go drown some worms," I smiled at Shelley.

            As
soon as we were outside, Shelley folded her arms in front of her chest, "I
don't think Damon Blackwell's the kind of guy to let a woman tease him for very
long before he starts demanding a little return on his investment."

            "I
know," I sighed. "And the more I'm around him, the more I wish he'd
just pin me down and have his way with me."

            "Now
you're talking," she nodded. "I think you need to go for it, see if
he's as good as he seems to think he is."

            I
took a deep breath and blew it out through clenched teeth, "He scares me a
little bit."

            "Scares
you? What are you afraid of?"

            A
wide grin crept across my face, "Afraid I might like it."

            She
punched me playfully in the shoulder, "No such thing as being too good in
bed, I always say."

            "For
someone who's had, what, maybe three different sex partners her whole life? You
sure have a lot of things you always say," I snickered.

            "Yep,"
she bumped her hip against mine and said, "Know what else I always say?"

            "No,
what?"

            "The
thing about sex is, even the worse I ever had was still damn good," she giggled.

            "It
would have to be fan-freaking-tastic to be better than what I had with
Seth," I said quietly.

            She
stopped walking and put her hand on my arm, "Stop right now. I do
not
want to hear that man's name come out of your mouth the rest of this
weekend." I opened my mouth to defend myself, and she held up her hand
waving me off. "I mean it. Not one word. And no more comparison sex
either."

            "
No
more
? What do you mean
no more
? I haven't had
any
sex to
compare," I huffed.

            "You
need to blot what's-his-name right out of your memory, and get on with your
life, Jaq. At least for a few days," she said, winking at me as Damon
approached. "And this is as good a time as any to get started."

As
we got closer to the water, Shelley wandered over to sit with Tim. Damon turned
left and headed toward a cluster of guys. I avoided everyone and took a right
to put some distance between myself and Damon.  I followed along the water's
edge until instinct told me to park my butt on an old log that had washed
ashore. Comfortable, I settled in to fish and just be alone with my thoughts.

            I
sat there for maybe an hour staring out across the small, still lake. The fish
weren't biting, or at least I didn't think they were. Hell, some sneaky crappie
could have stolen my bait a long time ago, and I probably wouldn't have even
noticed. I didn't care. It's not like my heart was into it that much anyway.

            I
heard him coming before he actually arrived, but I pretended not to notice
though I had to admit, he smelled better than the fish bait and dank water in
front of me. I felt the heat radiate off his body as he stood behind me, so
close his legs brushed against my back. His hand on my shoulder made me stiffen
momentarily until he waved a beer in front of my face. "Beer for your
memories Jaq?"

            I
turned to look up at Damon and shielded my eyes from the sun with my hand,
"Thanks," I snatched the bottle from him before he changed his mind
about giving it to me. "Don't mind if I do."

            Uninvited,
he plopped down next to me on the log and stretched his legs out in front of
him. "At least the beer's cold," he said.

            "That
it is," I agreed and tipped my head back for a big gulp. "I guess the
fish just aren't biting today."

            "Thank
God," he grinned. I glanced at him through narrowed eyes. "Think
about it. Who the fuck wants to clean and cook a bunch of stinking fish
anyway?"

            I
snorted, "Not me. I don't even eat the stuff. It tastes too fishy for
me."

            He
raised an eyebrow and a smile flirted with the edges of his mouth, "There
are so many bad things I could say right now."

            I
rolled my eyes, "I can only imagine where that guttermind of yours is
headed."

            He
held up his beer, "To dirty minds everywhere."

            "To
dirty minds," I said and clinked my bottle against his. "Not that I
have one, of course."

            He
threw back his head and laughed heartily, "Of course not."

            We
were silent for awhile. I reeled in my line and checked to make sure the bait was
still there, and it was. "I guess I picked a shitty spot to fish," I
sighed and sat the pole down next to me on the ground. "Story of my
life."

            Damon
shot me a questioning glance, "What do you mean?"

            "Sometimes
I just don’t make the best choices, I guess." For some reason I was
starting to feel all philosophical and sorry for myself.

            "How
so?" Damon asked.

            I
took a deep breath and pushed to my feet, "Nothing. Forget it."

            His
hand darted out and wrapped around my wrist gently, "You mean about that loser
Seth Thomas? That douche fucked up big time when he let you go."

            Still
very aware of his calloused fingers on my arm, a small smile crept across my
face and my traitorous heart sped up. I asked, "
Douche
? Did you
just call my ex-boyfriend a douche?"

            He
yanked me down onto his lap and his eyes burned into mine. He waved his free
hand around the general area, "All this beauty and you want to spoil it by
dredging up shit that should just be buried and forgotten."

            My
eyes dropped to his mouth and I tugged my lower lip between my teeth before
leaning closer and breathing in the musky smell of him which clouded my senses
and dampened my panties. My thoughts flooded with conflict. Did I really want
to go there with Damon Blackwell? Or did I want to spend the whole weekend down
here feeling fucking sorry for myself?

My inner slut screamed in my ear for me to
ride him like a bucking bronco tonight and forget about him tomorrow. But the
teeny tiny good girl part of my psyche was trying to steer my thoughts back
onto a different set of train tracks. Before Saint Jaq had a chance to win with
her irritating voice of reason, Damon brought his arms around me and pulled my
hips tightly against his rock hard body.

"Stop over-thinking shit by always
trying to do the right thing Jaq. Show a little bit of that wild side you
showed me that one time," he whispered right before his mouth was on mine.

My hands raked through his hair, pulling
him closer. I returned his kiss fervently as my tongue explored his mouth and I
sucked on his bottom lip teasingly. A soft growl escaped through his parted
lips, "Jesus girl, you're driving me fucking crazy."

I pulled back and grinned at him,
"Isn't this what you wanted me to do?"

His mouth trailed kisses along my jaw and
down my neck to my shoulder. When his eyes met mine they were black with
passion, "It's all I've thought about since the first time I met
you." He shifted me off of his lap, stood up and adjusted the crotch of
his pants. "But unless you want me to fuck you right here on the bank of
this lake in broad daylight, we better go somewhere else to continue."

I was so hot I could have done him right
then and there but my wonderful roommate chose that moment to come check up on
me. I shot her a venom-filled glare and her eyes went wide with the realization
of what she'd interrupted. Her hand flew to her mouth, "Oops, sorry."

"You need to wear a fucking cowbell
around that neck of yours Shelley so it isn't such a surprise when you're
smiling face appears," Damon muttered through clenched teeth, mumbling
something unintelligible as he stalked off.

"Your timing either sucks ass or
it's perfect," I shook my head at her. "I haven't quite decided yet."

Her cheeks turned bright red, and she
burst into a giggling fit, "Oh my God," she pointed over her shoulder
in the direction Damon had gone. "Five more minutes and you two totally would
have had each other's clothes ripped off and been going at it like two cats in
heat." Apparently, Shelley thought it was the funniest thing ever as she
wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

I groaned at her and threw my hands up
in the air, "I give up." I grabbed my tackle box and pole, weaved
around her, and headed toward the cabins.

"What? Wait. Where are you
going?" she called after me.

"To find you a freaking
cowbell," I yelled back.

After
the sun went down, so did the temperature. I grabbed a blanket and pulled the
cooler of beer out onto the balcony. I started a fire in the pit and sat lost
in my thoughts. I stared out over the tree tops into the clear night sky and
didn't hear the patio door slide open. I didn't have to turn to know who the
footsteps crossing to where I sat belonged to.

            Damon
didn't ask my permission to share the quiet space, and I was glad he didn't.
Even though I secretly craved his company, if he'd have asked, I would have
told him to go away. He slid a chair over and propped his boot clad feet next
to mine on top of the cooler. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him reach
into his shirt pocket for a cigarette. With the flick of his thumb he lit it
and the cherry-red glow flared up as he inhaled deeply. "Just so you
know," he blew out the smoke. "I only came out here so I could smoke.
Not to try and get into your panties or anything."  

            I
sank deeper into the canvas chair and pulled the blanket around my shoulders. I
hoped he wasn't able to see the hint of a smile that played at the corners of
my lips, "Damn. Just when I was gonna let you," I whispered.

            His
head snapped in my direction, "Somehow, I doubt that," he chuckled.