Suspended (21 page)

He held her closer, dragging in the taste of her until his
muscles stopped throbbing. He dropped their bag and gripped the waist of her
pants and hauled her up. Her arms went around his neck, and her legs curled
around him. Just like that they were locked in. But he couldn’t be pissed off.
Not when she tasted so fucking good.

“Get a room!”

He tore his mouth from hers, and her laughter pushed some of
the cobwebs out of his head. The disgusted
tsk
from a woman old enough to be his grandmother made him blush. He set her down
and bent for their bag. “You make me forget myself.”

“I think you should forget yourself more.” She walked ahead.
“I like this Shane,” she said over her shoulder.

He took off after her, and she skipped into a run. His legs
were a hell of a lot longer, and he hoisted her up under his arm. She kicked
out at the air. Her laughter filled the parking lot, and people turned to them
with smiles.

“Shane. No, put me down.” Her laughter released his own, and
he put her down next to the truck, caging her in. Her curls fluffed around her
shoulders as her ponytail sagged. He slipped the tie out, and she rolled her
eyes. He didn’t care what she wanted right then. He dipped his fingers into her
hair and tipped her head up. In the semisecluded part of the parking lot he
took his time kissing her until he heard that soft quake in her throat. He
nipped her chin and chased the sound, trailing his lips down her neck until he
reached her clavicle.

She wound herself around him, up off the ground, hanging on
to him as he pushed her into the door. He ground his hips into the V of her
legs. “You drive me insane.”

She slid her hand up the back of his head, holding on tight,
resting her forearms on his shoulders. He attacked her neck again. Anything to
keep the scent and taste of her surrounding him. Her thighs flexed at his
waist, his name a chant between kisses. He tore his mouth away and sank his
teeth into the smooth skin between her shoulder and neck. The thin-strap tank
top hugged her chest and torso like a second skin. No bra.

He groaned.

She was a tiny thing with little palm-sized breasts. She fit
him better than any other woman had in his life. But he didn’t want to take her
against the side of his truck. He wanted to stretch out with her and lose
himself in her scent and softness for hours.

“Dammit.”

The pads of her fingers dug into the top of his head.
“What?”

“Look around.”

She peered at the small parking lot, her dark eyes finally
clearing. “Not exactly the right place for this.”

“No.”

“So let’s go find a secluded spot and steam up the windows.”

He nibbled on her earlobe. “We need to get some miles under
our belts.”

She flipped open the top button of his jeans. “Not the belt
I’m worried about.”

He grabbed her hand and gently lowered her to her feet. “You
have no idea how much I want to do just that. Part of me wants to move enough
clothes so that I can get inside you.” Her eyes widened, the doe color
obliterated by her pupils. “I laid next to you all night and couldn’t stop
thinking about wrapping your fingers around the slats of that headboard and
driving into you until the walls came down. Until whatever deity wanted to be
offended tapped me on the shoulder and told me to stop. And I wouldn’t have
stopped.”

The pulse in her neck fluttered madly.

“I wanted to dent the damn mattress, and still it wouldn’t
have been enough.”

Her chest heaved, and she sawed through her lower lip.
“Where can we find another place that’s got that headboard?”

He laughed. “Christ, you make it hard to be smart.”

“I don’t want you smart. I want you to let go and smile. I
want you to drive into me like that until neither of us can stand. I want it so
much it scares me.”

He pressed his forehead to hers. “You scare me even more,
Kendall. I had a plan.
Have
a plan. Not
had a plan. Fuck. We both know that New York is the endgame.”

“Don’t think about New York. Just let it be about us. No
promises, no tomorrows, nothing but this.” She laid her hand against his chest,
her palm digging the cross of his rosary into his skin. “Just us for as long as
it takes.”

He nodded and caught her mouth in a harsh kiss. He’d been
planning for as long as he could remember. Day-to-day wasn’t his way. But for
her he’d try. For a chance to hold on to this a little bit longer, he would.

He bit her lower lip until it went a deep berry red. And
when her lips were swollen and full, he kissed her harder. Then he pulled away
and laced his fingers behind his neck. “Get in.”

Without a word, she opened the door and climbed in. He
cracked his fist into the front corner panel of the truck, and the pain cleared
his head. Driving was what mattered now. He’d have her tonight. And they would
be a little closer to New York, even if he was wondering if New York still held
all the answers he was looking for.

* * * *

Kendall woke with a growling belly. Damien Rice’s soothing
voice filled the cab of the truck, and sunlight streamed over her shoulder.

“Morning, sleepyhead.”

She squinted at the dashboard clock. “Why’d you let me sleep
so long?”

“What am I supposed to do? Prop up your eyelids with
toothpicks?”

She jammed her overshirt behind her back against the door.
“You could”—she gasped—“talk to me.”

“I was talking, and then you were snoring.”

“I do not snore!”

“You keep telling yourself that, Sunshine.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ass.”

“Nag.”

She swung her leg out and nudged his thigh. “Was that a
smart-ass remark there, Oscar?”

“No, you’re just a nag.”

She dug her toe into his thigh. “Jerk.”

“You want to make a pit stop? There have been signs for a
place called Mom’s.”

“Where are we?”

“Someplace called Salina.” He shrugged. “I need something
more than a Coke.”

She lifted the empty bag on the bench. “You ate my
M&Ms.”

“You snooze, you lose.”

She took a swig of her lukewarm soda and winced. “Yeah,
maybe we can get a sandwich or something.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

She stretched and turned to look out her window. “Wow,
desert is gone, huh?”

“Yeah, all about the mountains here. It’s cooler too, so
you’ll probably need that shirt before we go in.”

She looked down at her tank top. “What? I’m covered.”

He gave her a sidelong glance. “One wrong move and everyone
can see the trio of freckles around your nipple.”

She pulled the shirt away and looked down. “Huh. I don’t
think I noticed those before.”

“They’ve been there all your life.”

She shrugged. “I don’t look at them. Do I look like the kind
of girl who stands in front of the mirror and checks out all my flaws?”

“What flaws? Christ, Kendall, you’ve got a rockin’ body.”

She laughed. “I’m too skinny. I’ve been told that all my
life. And when I had braces? Kids in my class kept asking me if I was going to
fall forward because my head was too heavy.”

“You’re tiny, but it’s all muscle and softness. Believe me,
I’ve enjoyed it all.” He pulled into the parking lot and found a spot along the
back of the building.

She watched the flush slide up her chest and felt it in her
cheeks. “Yeah, well, you’re already getting laid. You don’t have to lie about
the merchandise.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not a smooth talker.
That was my father’s way. That’s how Kain works, but that’s not me. I say what
I mean.”

She’d only been teasing him. He was so incredibly intense
sometimes. “All right.”

He unhooked his seat belt and cupped her face. “I don’t know
if I ever want to get to New York. I’ll be bashing heads if I find out there’s
a town full of idiots who have no idea how beautiful you are.”

She covered his hand. His eyes were so fierce. “It’s a
little different when you’ve gone to school with all the guys you know since
kindergarten, Shane.” And none were like him. No one had ever treated her like
spun glass one minute and an exciting sexual equal the next.

“Doesn’t stop people from growing up and grabbing a clue.”
He curled one arm around her waist. He feathered his mouth along her cheek,
bypassed her mouth, and coasted down her neck to her shoulder. He nosed off one
strap of her tank top and pulled down her shirt until the tops of her breasts
showed. He lowered his head to swirl his tongue around her nipple, then sucked
until it beaded to a point. “Now look.”

Her nipple was a deep pink from his strong pulls, and a tiny
triangle of freckles shone against her fair skin. He dragged the first knuckle
of his finger around the tip. “Creamy and freckled and tipped with pouty little
nipples. This is what I see when I look down. This is what I can’t keep my
mouth off of. Just a small part. There’s so much that I want to touch and
taste.”

“What am I supposed to say to that?”

“You don’t have to say a damn thing. Just believe me when I
say you’re beautiful.”

She smiled slowly. “I’ll try and remember.”

“I’ll keep on reminding you.” He reached behind her and
dropped her shirt in her lap. “For now, put this on.”

“Bossy.”

He grabbed his wallet off the dash and got out. She let her
head tip back against the bench seat. The overwhelming man was like a shot of
adrenaline. She jumped out and followed him into the whitewashed brick
building. It wasn’t a big place and reminded her of a million different
mom-and-pop cafés in the Adirondacks. A sign invited them to seat themselves,
and a woman with an honest-to-God beehive hairstyle came out from the back with
a smile. Pastel purple shadow and mascara-heavy lashes finished her retro look.

“I’m Maude. You folks hungry?” She dragged an old-style
ticket pad out of her apron. “Drinks?”

“Iced tea.”

“Make that two,” Shane said.

“You got it.”

Kendall looked around at the checkered plastic-coated
tablecloths and simple salt and pepper shakers beside milk bottle vases. A
single white carnation with its fluffy petals leaned against the opening of
each vase. “Did we go back in time?”

The corner of Shane’s lips tipped up. “The side of the
building said 1929.”

“Maybe 1959 for this table.”

“Maybe.”

Maude bustled back with their drinks. “Need a few more minutes?”

Kendall picked up her menu and scanned quickly. “Roast beef
club for me.”

Shane took the red-and-white plastic board from her. “Burger
and fries.”

Maude scribbled their orders. “Salad bar?”

They both shook their heads. “Okeydoke. Be back in a jiff.”
She winked.

Kendall turned to Shane with a huge grin. “Can’t wait to see
if everything comes out on a Corelle plate with blue flowers.”

Shane took a sip of his tea and choked.

She waggled her eyebrows.

Three men in jeans and button-down shirts came in—two with
wide buckles under expanding waistlines and a third who was long, lean, and
could have been a stunt double for Sam Elliott. Not quite as handsome, a touch
craggier if that was at all possible, and probably twenty years younger than
the actor. He had an interesting face—an arresting face. He definitely didn’t
have an off-the-rack JC Penney’s shirt on like the other two. His was tailored
to fit his rangy body.

He smiled and tipped his cowboy hat at her as they walked by
and took a seat at a larger table a few feet away.

She turned back to Shane, laughed at his quirked brow. “Oh,
stop. I just thought Sam Elliott walked in the door, that’s all. But he’s too
young to be him. Cold be his son, though. Jeez.” Again just a mild, blank look.
She shrugged. “
Road House
, baby. He
was hot.”

Shane laughed. “What am I going to do with you?”

“I have a few ideas.”

Shane’s eyes lit with that inner fire that left her buzzy.

Maude exploded from the back door. “William Doyle, as I live
and breathe. What are you doing off that ranch? Lucinda usually keeps you boys
watered and fed.”

The Sam Elliott look-alike sighed. “I had to get off the
ranch before I killed all those idjits working on my stables.”

Kendall shifted to listen. Shane tapped her wrist. She
turned her hand and caught his but didn’t stop listening. This she understood.
Small towns were about gossip. And she was tired of thinking about her own
problems.

“Those boys are hard workers.”

“No, they have ability but no drive. Goddamn lazy shits.
Pardon, Maude.”

“Well, the kids these days don’t have the sense God gave a
flea.”

“They work plenty hard when I stare at their—uh, when I’m
present. But I have a whole ranch to run. I don’t have time to babysit,” Doyle
said.

He nodded to the two men across from him. “Pat and Charlie
have foals to deal with and new horses to buy for the expanded stables.”

Kendall turned around. “Isn’t that what you used to do?”

Shane shook his head tightly. “That’s not a quick day job,
Sunshine.”

Kendall pulled out her phone and looked at the calendar.
Eleven days until Thanksgiving. If they pushed it and traveled all day and
night and Shane possibly allowed her to drive, they might be able to put in
twelve hours a day and make it to New York within three days.

He covered her phone. “You’re scheming.”

She looked up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’ve got that I’m-about-to-blow-up-Shane’s-world smile on
your face.”

“No, I’ve got the I’m-about-to-save-our-asses smile on my
face.” She stood up.

“Kendall.”

She ignored him and walked down to the table of men. “Hi. I
couldn’t help but overhear what you gentlemen were talking about.”

The man had taken off his hat, and it sat on the chair
beside him. Salt-and-pepper hair fell around his ears. Freaking Sam Elliott. It
was uncanny. He arched a bushy brow. “Ma’am. Just what do you think you could
do to help my predicament?”