Personal Adventures (2 page)

Chapter Two

The yard was littered with debris and cars were already stacked two deep in the driveway when Elise pulled up at the rental she shared with three other girls. She groaned and hit her head on the steering wheel. The last thing she needed was her roommates and their current flavors throwing a party.

“Hey, Elise is home,” her roommate Nicole called from where she sat on the porch, flicking her cigarette ashes over the side. A gangly man Elise vaguely recognized from the bar had an arm slung around her hips.

Getting out of the Jeep was the easy part. Forcing herself to pick her way up the side of the drive and up the rickety stairs was another matter.

“What’s going on?” she asked Nicole.

“It’s our Friday.” Nicole shrugged and crushed her cigarette on the rail. “Some of the guys are coming over later.”

“Friday?” She squinted. “It’s Thursday.”

“Exactly.” Nicole saluted her with her cigarette butt and turned to plaster her lips against her smoking buddy’s.

Elise slipped into the house, keeping her head down. She rarely knew half the people who showed up at these parties nowadays. Most of them were drifters, migrant workers or hippies out to see the world. It was an interesting mix of people, but she didn’t stick around long enough to get to know many.

“Hey, Elise.” A man stepped into her path, beer in hand.

The ridiculous beaded jewelry she took in stride. “Hi, Danny. How’s the shop?” Danny’s family operated the local Trader’s Village, a kind of souvenir mecca for anyone wanting kitschy Indian trinkets. She’d worked there a few summers before finding her way to Adventures. He’d been a good friend, no matter what her parents did or who they owed.

“Same old. Hey, saw your mom and dad last week.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. A weight settled in her stomach, it was time for the same old song and dance. “Yeah, they called me. Said they were back.”

“Your dad—”

Holding up her hands, she silenced him. “If they owe you money, I’m not paying it.”

He sighed and sipped his beer. “Damn, I’m going to get in trouble, but I couldn’t say no.”

She reached for his bottle and took a sip before passing it back. “Do people tell you no often?”

His brows drew down and he blinked several times, as if rolling her question over in his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re good-looking, charismatic and people like being around you. The same goes for my dad.” His eyes flashed. Before he could protest, she held up a hand. “But where you would cut off your hand to help family, Dad would forget. He means well, so we keep helping him.”

He glanced away from her. He wanted to see the best in people. She understood that, and it was one of the reasons she liked him. But she’d stopped trying to clean up her family’s messes after she turned twenty-four and found herself staring down the barrel of a gun. Her father had skipped out on bail and a bounty hunter had come to collect him. The resulting scene hadn’t been pretty, and she’d never forgotten her parents’ flippant attitude about pulling her into their problem.

“Hey.” She smacked his shoulder. “If I hear from them, I’ll remind my dad, but I can’t promise anything.”

Danny caught her hand and squeezed. His features softened and one side of his mouth kicked up. He really was handsome. Short, dark hair perpetually sticking up in odd directions gave him a sexy, mussed look. He wasn’t quick to smile, which made them all that much more precious when he did. He was built big and toned from outdoor activities. “Sorry for dragging you into it.” He wiggled the bottle at her. “I wasn’t thinking.”

Heat radiated from her hand. She’d never noticed how sexy his eyes were. The way he focused on her in the midst of the crowded room. Shaking her head, she tugged out of his grasp. “You aren’t even buzzed.”

Elise watched Danny sidle closer as if it were a scene in a movie, happening to someone else. She’d had a crush on him as a teenager, but it had been eclipsed by shame for her family. He was a good guy. He worked at the courthouse—she knew he aspired to be involved with politics—he still put in hours at the family business, and he accepted her, apart from her family. On paper, he was who she should fall madly in love with. It was a storybook tale that would never be true.

He leaned closer, his shoulder brushing hers.

Danny was going to kiss her. The warmth he’d roused a moment ago cooled. She wasn’t really interested in him. He didn’t inspire the wildness in her. He’d be another Greg, someone who she dated, kissed and even had sex with, but he would never touch her heart. He was safe, predictable and dependable.

“Maybe you are drunk.” She turned so his lips landed on her cheek.

He planted a chaste kiss on her cheek. Anyone looking would assume it was a friendly peck. Despite her brush-off, he didn’t release her. He looped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her against his side. “You sure about that?” he asked, and she knew he didn’t mean his level of inebriation.

She sighed and stepped out of the embrace. “If I said, ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ would that make a difference?”

He let her go and leaned up against the wall. It was a shame she couldn’t be attracted to him, but she liked Danny too much to lie to him like that.

“I heard you and Greg broke up. I didn’t like that guy.” His mouth screwed up as if he’d tasted something foul.

“Yeah, not many people did, I’m finding out.” She leaned against the wall next to him and watched one of the partygoers shamble past with a lampshade on his head. It merited only a slightly lifted eyebrow since she’d seen that done before.

“I always thought you and that Casey guy would end up together.”

“Carey,” she corrected automatically.

“Yeah, what about him?” Danny sipped his beer and stared down at her.

Elise tracked her other roommate Shannon as she tried to walk a straight line across the room. She hadn’t seen their third roommate yet, but knowing Amanda, she was already locked in her bedroom with her latest boyfriend.

“We’re friends,” she said, the word stabbing her heart.

“No you aren’t.”

Rolling her eyes, she glanced at Danny. “What? Is everyone an expert on my love life except me? I just had this conversation with Lou.”

He tossed his head back and laughed. “That’s funny, because Lou and I talked about it a few nights ago.”

Irritated, she pushed off the wall and faced him. “Then why did you try to kiss me?”

He smiled sheepishly. “Can’t blame a guy for trying? Anyways, that guy’s good people. I talked to him a couple weeks ago about the possibility of working with him on something for Adventures. He wants to try to involve more of the community, bring in more revenue. I like him.”

That was Carey. He saw something bright and shiny and he toyed with it. His head was full of ideas. Most of the time he talked them out to her, and she was jealous that he’d shared that one with Danny. Carey wanted to get Allen to allow them to coordinate more experienced tours. Getting the cooperation of the reservation was a step in that direction. But what was he playing at? Allen had shot down the few ideas she’d thrown at him, and she’d been around a lot longer than Carey.

“You know everyone wants to see you happy. Me included. If this guy makes you happy…” His voice trailed off and he shrugged. “I’m going to head home.” He passed her his half-empty beer. “Finish that off for me, will you?”

She nodded and rolled the bottle in her hand. There was something seriously messed up with her when a man as good-looking as Danny made a pass at her and she shot him down. But he didn’t excite her like Carey did. Danny would make a good partner, he’d want family dinners and a stable life. She’d never been good at stable, preferring the oftentimes demanding and exciting chance of the unknown.

So why didn’t she take a chance on Carey? She loved him and she stood to have her heart broken someday. But she’d been through enough breaks in her life to know she could heal. She was tough enough to take him on.

* * * * *

Elise operated on autopilot. The last few hours were a blur. Probably because her brain had checked out when she’d decided to follow her gut instead. She parked her Jeep in front of Carey’s shed, a short distance from his house.

The trees blanketed out the sky, creating a cathedral over her head. Here and there she could catch a glimpse of the moon and stars, but that was it. She could have pulled up next to his truck, but she parked in her usual spot, in front of the shed—a rectangular structure made from trees cut from the reservation. She remembered Carey buying the lumber from Danny’s brother and hiring her cousins to build it. He was always interested in supporting the local businesses, even when she’d pointed out that it wasn’t the cheapest. He’d replied with a line of logic that had left her scratching her head but respecting him nonetheless.

Out of habit she walked to the front of the shed and put her hand over a section of wood where he’d drawn two stick figures in a boat on the wood and then tried to carve it. They’d been unloading his personal gear after a weekend spent kayaking the rapids and he’d lost interest in the project. The image hadn’t worn away yet, but with time it would disappear until only she remembered it. He’d called them two peas in a pod then. Even now the memory stirred up warm, fuzzy feelings.

She couldn’t count the number of times she’d loaded gear into her Jeep before they sped off to explore some out-of-the-way bit of the mountain or an intriguing bend in the river. Those were the times with him that had become special to her.

He was her coconspirator in all her personal adventures. It was still weird having him with her sometimes. She’d never realized how lonely her life was until he was in it, dragging her along to discover a really great rock face for a climb or a tricky mountain biking trail. Half the time now she pretended as if she’d never been to the special places they found. Rediscovering them with Carey, watching the way his face lit up and how he shared her love for the great outdoors was magical.

Elise gulped down a deep breath to steady her nerves and pushed away from the shed. Her stomach fluttered and her palms were moist. The cool evening air caressed her legs and whispered up her skirt, kissing bare flesh. Her nipples were tight, hard peaks. She had tried to find her one real bra with actual lace, but it had been a lost cause. If it wasn’t for her lack of breasts she could have borrowed one of her roommates’ bras like she’d “borrowed” the dress she wore. Her breasts weren’t much more than walnuts, but it was the idea of getting ready that had mattered at the time. She didn’t typically need to wear a bra and she never wore a dress, but she’d do both for Carey.

Ahead, light spilled from every window in the cabin. The tall pines stood sentinel around it. It was a beautiful home he’d had built not long after taking the job at Adventures. She’d been jealous of it in the beginning, but she spent a lot of time there, so she got to enjoy it almost as much as he did.

The house was a variation of the single-room cabins settlers used to build, very no-nonsense. A dividing wall separated his bedroom from the rest of the house, and the bathroom had an entrance into both spaces. The front and back porches made up three fourths of the square footage of the actual house, and more often than not was where they hung out. Again, he’d used local people to build it. In true bachelor style, it was furnished with comfort in mind, but that was how she liked things as well, so she had no complaint about the cabin or Carey. Except that she wanted what he had.

As she stepped around the truck, her stomach threatened mutiny. Who was she kidding? She didn’t have any business being here.

Movement in the far right window rooted her to the spot. Had he seen her? If he hadn’t, maybe she could back out of the drive and leave. Peering at the window, she waited for any sign that she might have been seen.

Carey stepped into view, perfectly framed by the window, buck-ass naked. And what a nice ass it was. The round globes were as tan as his chest. Elise imagined him sunbathing naked on the rocks behind his house. Her mouth dried. Wide shoulders tapered to a stomach she knew was firm and flat. He was muscular from hours of hard work, not hanging out at a gym. The tattoo circling his right arm stood out. She’d gone with him to get the tattoo and let him squeeze her hand. It was a simple black silhouette of the mountains, but it symbolized his love for the great outdoors.

He turned, giving her a profile shot. His head tipped forward and his hand grasped his cock. He didn’t jerk himself hard, but it was a strong touch, sliding up his stiff flesh.

Oh god.
Elise’s heart knocked against her chest and her breath hitched. She wanted to do that. She wanted to feel his skin against her palm, caress him in a way that would make him groan.

Her knees wavered at the hedonistic thoughts. Swaying, she caught herself with a hand against the hood of his truck.

The headlights flashed and the horn began honking. Elise yelped and jumped back, her heart racing as the continuous sounds of the alarm echoed through the night. She looked from the truck to the window—

Carey was gone.

“Shit!”

Chapter Three

Carey pulled on his cargos, hissing as he tucked his erection into his shorts. Grabbing his keys off the dresser, he stalked through the house. The damn raccoons had been getting into his trash, setting off the truck alarm and being a nuisance the last few weeks. It was getting old, and their timing sucked. Tomorrow, he vowed he would figure out how to disarm the alarm system. He’d been fantasizing, giving in to the urge to imagine it was Elise touching him. He couldn’t help himself.

Yanking the door open, he clicked the key fob. The truck chirped and was silent. He blinked into the darkness, turning his head to listen for the scamper of little feet. If he could figure out where they ran off to, maybe he could set some traps and drive them away from his house to be released.

Something scraped the ground and a bigger spot of darkness moved in the shadows. He gripped the doorjamb. Bears hadn’t bothered his place, but there was a first time for everything. His pulse kicked up.

“Sorry. It’s just me.”

His mouth snapped shut and the air whooshed out of his lungs. Shock and surprise struck him dumb.

Elise.

He bounded off the porch, not trusting his ears or his light-blind eyes. Closing in on her, he couldn’t believe she was really there. He’d thrown the gauntlet down, so to speak. Had she come to talk to him about it? Could she want the same thing he did?

His sight slowly adjusted to the twilight filtering down through the pines, and damn if it wasn’t her, but as if she’d stepped out of his most recent fantasy. She wore a dress. A simple, sleeveless thing in green with a plunging V in the front, but it was a dress. Elise didn’t wear dresses. She joked about how she didn’t even own one. Her hair was loose, curling down around her shoulders. He’d never seen it anything but straight before. Didn’t even know she would curl her hair. And, if he wasn’t mistaken, she wore a hint of makeup. Like frosting on a damn cake.

The pressure against his fly redoubled. Controlling his lust around her was a nuisance usually, but it was out of control now. The things he wanted to do to her would get him struck from the friend’s list for sure.

“What’re you doing here?” His voice was deep and husky. He couldn’t hide his erection and he didn’t bother to hide his desire. She’d known he wanted more when they spoke, and coming to him dressed as she was might as well be an invitation.

Carey stopped just outside touching distance. He didn’t trust himself not to sling her over his shoulder and take her inside. If he made it that far. His control was on a tight leash right now.

Elise’s mouth opened and closed. She looked like a fish out of water, and part of him enjoyed her discomfort. Being around her was damn uncomfortable for him when he always wanted her.
Them.
He wanted them, together. He wanted to bring her home, spend time with her. They already spent most of their off time camping and hiking together. He just wanted to connect the dots from what they had to what they could have.

He folded his arms across his chest and waited. She flipped her hair over her shoulder. Soft-looking fabric molded over her athletic body, hugging her curves and draping over her bare breasts.
Hell yeah!
He knew she didn’t wear bras. At least during the summer she wore a bathing suit under her life vest that covered and supported her. But in the winter, when her nipples would be hard from the cold, she was bare under her ski gear. She probably thought no one could tell through the fleece and thick sweaters, but he’d had a long time to study her and know the shape of her body.

“My roommates were having a party and I wanted to get out,” she blurted when he didn’t say anything.

His eyebrows rose. Sure she ranted about her roommates plenty, but she usually put up with their antics.

“You should have called.” His voice was cold, but damn he wasn’t going to balls-up just to be brushed off. He wanted her to admit they had some potential.

She blinked up at him, the wide-eyed-girl act not like her. Elise was full of bawdy laughter, a real ball buster. She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. The night was cool with the bite of fall. Guilt stabbed at him. He didn’t have to be cruel. She was his best friend.

“You’re right,” she said. “Sorry.”

She spun around, maybe to go back to her Jeep, but he didn’t give her a chance. Lunging, he captured her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. He sucked in a breath as his dick was trapped between them. Her body heat soaked through his clothes. Leaning forward, he smelled her hair, felt the texture of the strands against his jaw.

She didn’t relax, but neither did she stomp his foot.

Dipping his head, he nuzzled her ear, taking full advantage of the situation. “Did you think about what we talked about earlier?”

Now her body did stiffen. He felt her ribs expand sharply against his arm in a silent gasp.

He’d take that as a yes.

Carey ran his hands over her shoulder. She shivered, maybe from his touch or maybe from the chill. He was going to bet on his touch. He could count the number of times she’d let him touch her when it wasn’t a casual brush during work. A few hugs during rough patches with her parents. She’d put her head on his shoulder one night after drinking too much. And then there was his favorite moment. They’d gone camping and her jacket had blown off a cliff, so they’d huddled under his blankets, his arm around her shoulders. He was tempted to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming.

Lifting a hand, he ran it down her side and over the swell of her hip. “You don’t own a dress. Where’d you get this? I like it on you.”

She wiggled in his arms and huffed when he wouldn’t let her go. He’d let her push him around before, but not now. She was so tiny in comparison to him. She didn’t even come up to his chin. Hell, he could probably pick her up under one arm easily.

“It’s too dark to see anything,” she quipped and landed an elbow against his ribs.

Ah, there was the spunk he missed.

Carey’s chuckle turned into a grunt. She wasn’t pushing him away per se, so maybe he could prod her. He scraped his chin against her neck, his stubble making a soft rasping sound against her skin. Elise rocked up on her toes and squirmed. She was responsive as hell, just like he’d imagined. Tightening his hold on her waist, he brought her back snug against his chest.

Elise had never hugged him, and went out of her way to avoid contact. It was a heady thing to have his hands on her now. He wanted to touch every bit of her but restrained himself. She hadn’t given him permission yet, and he did play by the rules. Most of the time.

“Where’d you get the dress?”

“It’s Amanda’s.” Her voice trembled as his hand glided over her lower stomach. What kind of underwear did she wear? He’d wondered often enough. She was too sensible for a thong. Normal bikini briefs didn’t have enough spunk. He couldn’t decide if string bikini or boy shorts were more her style. Tonight, he just might find out.

He smiled, though she couldn’t see it. “Did you wear it for me?”

She swallowed, hard. He could hear every change in her breathing in the quiet night around them. “I thought you wanted me to leave.” Her voice wavered.

She was nervous. His exotic, ballsy best friend was as nervous as he was. Only he had accepted that they were sink or swim. He couldn’t be around her and not be attracted to her. Maybe she didn’t want him bad enough yet, but she wanted him.

Carey could smell a softer, more feminine fragrance she’d never used before on her hair. She smelled of vanilla and spices. She hadn’t just shown up, she’d gotten ready for him. More than she had for any of her shitty boyfriends, he’d bet.

“I want you to stay,” he said against her ear. “But I don’t think you want to stay the same way I want you to stay.” To drive home the point, he rocked his hips forward. His cock throbbed. He’d been imagining what it would be like to sink into her, and now here she was.

Her already tight body coiled tighter. He braced for a kick, a blow, anything that told him to back the fuck off.

She canted her head, her eyes slashing back at him. He watched her tongue dart out to swipe over her plump lips. “Are you sure about that?” It was a verbal punch, soft and low.

After he picked his jaw up off the ground, he tightened his hold on her. “Am I sure that I want you to stay? Hell yes.”

Elise made a disgusted sound he knew well. Hernose scrunched up. She rolled her eyes at him and said exactly what she thought. “Are you always so self-centered? We’re talking about me here.”

“Sorry.” He couldn’t help but chuckle.

Her head bumped his chest before coming to rest on his shoulder. “No, you aren’t.”

He didn’t know if she had relaxed intentionally, but her shoulders were no longer hunched, her body was molded against his and she was bantering with him. He loved their easy back and forth. But it was better, because he didn’t have to keep his hands to himself. She wasn’t stopping the slow brush of his hand down her side or the hold across her waist.

“You’re right.” He sighed. “I’m not. But I am sure.” The muscles across his chest were tense and he would be lying if he didn’t admit that his heart beat a little too fast. Elise could still tell him to go fuck himself and walk away.

Carey eased his hold on her and nudged her shoulder, turning her in the cage of his arms. She went slowly, their bodies brushing in a tantalizing dance of temptation.

Her gaze locked on his sternum.

Hands around her waist, he tugged her closer. There was a proud, stubborn tilt to her nose and a noble cast to her face from both sides of her heritage. Elise was a woman who worked hard for what she wanted and didn’t expect help from anyone. He respected the hell out of her.

Grasping her right hand, he placed it on top of his shoulder and flattened her palm against his skin. If she needed a little encouragement to take the next step, he was willing to lead her. He was a team player, after all.

Calluses from rowing and climbing dotted her palms, creating a strange effect he was inclined to enjoy as he slid her hand down his shoulder to his chest. Buttery smooth skin and rough calluses. What would that feel like against his dick? Against his balls?

Plucking her left hand, he repeated the action until both her hands splayed over his chest.

She was darker than he was. Each spring she browned like baking bread, while he burned and suffered his way through the first few weeks.

“You’ve got to wear more sunscreen.”

Carey tilted his head. Was she reading his mind? What next? Would they finish each other’s sentences?

Her gaze lifted to his face. They could have been anywhere, talking about anything. “You’ll get skin cancer if you don’t, you know?”

He gave her the most serious expression he could muster. “I’m touched that you’re concerned.”

His hands alighted on the swell of her hips. She had a fine ass, and hips he never wanted to let go of.

Elise slid her palms down and back in tiny increments. Did she realize what she was doing? She stroked down and over the hard nubs of his nipples, up and over his collarbone. Couldn’t she feel the zing of electricity between them?

“Kiss me,” she ordered.

He’d had time to think about how he wanted to tackle her. Part of him wanted to throw her up on the hood of his truck and go at it. But he wasn’t a kid to gorge himself.

Lifting his hand, he pushed her hair away from her face with his knuckles. Elise leaned into the touch, putting the barest pressure against his hand.

Her hair fascinated him. Combing his fingers through the mass of dark locks, he was startled by how soft it was. There were depths to her he didn’t know but he wanted to discover them.

“Carey,” she said, sounding both irritated and uncertain. The skin between her brows creased and she frowned.

“Shh.”

She pushed at his shoulders but he tightened his hold on her.

“I thought you wanted…” Her mouth snapped shut and her hands balled into fists.

Bending his neck, he tried to tug her closer but she resisted.

Frowning, he didn’t employ his usual charm. “You thought I wanted what? To bend you over the moment you said yes and have a quick fuck?”

“Uh.”

“Sure, that sounds like fun. Later. Or is that what you’re here for? Get a wild ride in and bounce?” His cold tone surprised her, he saw that much. But he needed her to understand that what they had wasn’t something to walk away from after a night. It was something that you held on to with both hands for as long as you could. He dropped a hand to her ass and squeezed. Her ass that was made for a man’s hands. God, how he wanted to hold her right there as he drove into her.

“Carey.” She shook her head as if clearing cobwebs and pushed at his shoulders.

“What?” Allowing his voice to warm, he tried again. “What do you want, Elise?”

She glared at him, doing her best to cross her arms over her chest but he squeezed her closer. “I thought I wanted you to kiss me, but now I don’t know.”

“It’s called savoring.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “Hasn’t anyone ever taken their time with you? Or do you take charge and lead your boyfriends around by their balls?”