Things Good Girls Don't Do (14 page)

Looking around at the jungle of vegetation, he said, “What the hell does that look like?”

She pointed to a plant about a foot from his leg and he pictured his death by poisonous snakes and oozing sores.

Chase let her lead him by the hand like a child, checking around his feet for anything slithery. Every once in a while he’d hear something scurry into the bushes, making him jump. Katie would squeeze his hand and give him a smile until he started to relax.

Suddenly, Katie stopped, leaned up to give him a kiss, and whispered, “That’s 115.”

After that he figured a little oozing death was worth it if it meant he could kiss her 114 more times.

Chapter Seven

K
ATIE HADN’T BEEN
to Rainbow Falls since high school and she couldn’t wait to see Chase’s face when he saw it. They came into the clearing surrounded by bushes and trees and she squeezed his hand. “We made it.”

The large spring waterfall came out several feet below the canyon rim and formed a clear pool that ran down into Snake River. The sun hit the water in such a way that sprays of color arched down to the middle of the pond. She looked up at Chase’s face, delighted to find him smiling.

“Cool huh?” she said.

“Yeah.” Dropping her hand, he surprised her by reaching down to take his shoes off. “What are you doing?” she squeaked.

Tossing each shoe by a bush and pulling his socks off, he asked, “Can’t a guy take off his shoes for no reason?” As he straightened up, he started unbuttoning his jeans. “It’s hot out here. Thought maybe it would be a good time for a swim.” He pushed the jeans off his hips and said, “You did want to try skinny-dipping. Figured we could cross one more thing off the list.”

“But it’s still light out!” she said.

Katie watched him slip his jeans over powerful thighs, and when his hands reached for the bottom of his shirt, her mouth watered. “So?”

The T-shirt came up and off, revealing tanned skin with several tattoos on his biceps and one on his chest. He slipped his thumbs into the waistband of his boxers and bent over as he dropped them to the ground, his stomach muscles bunching.

Chase stood up and raised one eyebrow at her. “Are you coming?”

She stared at him, naked as a jaybird and so amazingly put together her heart kept stopping as her gaze traveled over him. He had nice arms, just the right amount of definition to make them hard, but not too bulging, and his pecs were a thing of beauty. A light, happy trail started below a set of abs that would make a saint stare, and below that . . .

Blushing, she averted her eyes. He was already standing at attention and she hadn’t even stripped yet. Besides the fact that he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen, she’d never really been naked in front of someone in broad daylight. There had been mornings with Jimmy, but they had been under the covers and in the moment. Never just putting all her goods out for anyone to see.

And that was another thing: someone could discover them, and she was surprised that the thought was more exciting than scary. More than anything she wanted to show this man that she could be daring. That she could let loose and be wild. That she knew how to have fun.

With steely resolve, Katie reached up to take her hat off and set it on top of the nearest bush. Turning her back to him, she slowly started undoing the straps to her halter top. She was a little self-conscious of her lack of a bra beneath, but the open back of her top hadn’t allowed for one. Tossing the shirt on the bush to join the hat, she kept her back to him, kicked off her cowboy boots as gracefully as possible. Her hands unsnapped the buttons of her jean skirt and she shimmied out of it, shaking it out when it touched the ground. Laying the skirt out on the bush, she bent over to take off her socks, knowing that his eyes were probably glued to her lace-covered butt in the air and trying hard to ignore it. Standing up again, she took a deep breath and wiggled out of her underwear, her last shield of modesty. Bared to him and anyone else who might happen along, she stood back up, folded her arms over her breasts, and took a deep, bracing breath before facing him.

Chase looked her over from head to toe, his gaze filled with hunger. A strangled groan escaped him and he moved toward her across the dirt. He’d barely taken a step before he yelped and picked up his foot. “Shit, there’re stickers. Hold on.”

She watched him yank out the sticker and slip his shoes back on. Walking to where she stood, he picked her up in his arms, holding her high against his chest like a knight carrying his lady. She’d never been carried before and she felt an overwhelming giddiness spread through her, taking away some of her nervousness. The heat of his bare skin and muscles sent tingles of awareness through her, and she wanted to run her hands over him.

Snuggling closer, she said, “You know this is really gentlemanly and romantic. Like Rhett carrying Scarlett up the . . . oof!”

Suddenly she was flying through the air toward the pond. Chase had tossed her in. She took a breath right before she hit the cool water and spluttered to the surface a moment later, yelling, “You cretin!”

Laughing as he kicked off his shoes again, he dove in near her, and stayed down long enough to swim up behind her, saying, “You were getting all mushy. It had to be stopped.”

Turning to face him, she knew he was right. They had agreed to keep things light and casual. She had almost demanded it. So why did it hurt her feelings that he hadn’t wanted to hear her compliment him? She had called him chivalrous, which, in her opinion, was high praise. Did it make him uncomfortable because he wasn’t used to someone seeing his sweet side? There was so much she didn’t know about him, yet here she was, naked as the day she was born, and frolicking in her favorite childhood spot. Why wasn’t she freaking out? And why did everything about being with this man feel so right?

Katie couldn’t really be mad at him, but she could seek revenge for his callousness. She reached up and tried to push down on his head, but he didn’t budge. He was too tall to dunk, and his laughter was getting on her nerves. Finally giving up on plan A, she swam away from him and proceeded to plan B: splashing him in the face. Chase stopped laughing, wiped the water from his eyes, and swam toward her with an evil grin. Shrieking, she tried to swim, but he caught her a few feet away and picked her up as if he was going to toss her again.

Wrapping her arms around his neck like a barnacle, she cried, “No, please, please, please, I’m sorry, don’t!”

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, but she didn’t feel the familiar rush of air or the sting of the water. Instead his body started shaking, and she opened up one eye to see him laughing again. Relieved that the danger seemed to be over, she cried, “I hate being dunked and tossed. Steph’s brothers used to love to torment me because I was a screamer.”

Chase’s laugh faded and she was suddenly aware of her naked breasts pushing against his hard chest. The sensation of his skin against her erect nipples made her shiver, and she watched his eyes darken like the ominous clouds forming to the south. Their mouths were so close she could feel his breath on her lips when he asked, “Are you cold?”

Katie shook her head. “No. Not even a little.”

When he dropped his head to kiss her, she met him halfway. He tasted like sunshine, spring water, and Chase. She slid her hands from his neck over his wet shoulders, while his big hands rested on her butt before running over her thighs, squeezing her muscles as their mouths played.

It had been so long since she’d had a man touch her, and part of her was still surprised by what she was doing. Letting him touch her so intimately, and here, in her special place, where anyone could come upon them . . .

No one is going to come here with a storm rolling in. Don’t be paranoid.

Putting a few inches between them, he moved his other hand up to skim her stomach and circled her nipple with his finger. Opening his hand to cup her flesh, he squeezed and teased her breast as he made love to her mouth. Forgetting her reservations, she moaned as he rubbed between her legs, and she felt his erection pressing against her sensitive flesh.

She didn’t register the thunder, it was so faint at first, but she did start to feel a chill in the air right before the first raindrop hit her cheek.

“It’s raining,” she said, coming up for air.

“It’s just a little drizzle,” Chase said, trying to bring her mouth back to his.

As if the fates were working against them, the sky burst open and started dumping buckets of rain.

“Shit!” he said, laughing.

“Let’s get out of here!” Pulling away from him, she started swimming toward shore. They climbed out of the water, and she tried to walk gingerly toward her now-soaked clothes, but halfway there she stepped on a sticker and winced. It wasn’t the first time, but it still wasn’t pleasant.

Chase’s hand rested on her back and he yelled over the pouring rain, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’ve stepped on these things a million times.” Holding on to his arm, she bent over to pull it out, trying to see through the downpour and ignore the sounds of rumbling thunder getting closer to them. She let go of Chase’s arm to walk the last few steps cautiously and grabbed her boots, struggling to slip them onto her wet feet. Gathering her clothes, she held them against her chest and turned, laughing when she caught Chase hopping from foot to foot, trying to put on his own wet shoes.

Swiping his clothes from the bush, she waited until he stood back up and thrust them at him. He gave her a wide grin and, using his free arm, reached out and yanked her into his arms, taking her mouth in a hard kiss. She would have stayed right there, kissing him in the rain like every girl’s fantasy come true, except she could hear the thunder closing in. Storms in Idaho could come on quick and change rapidly, and although they were pretty safe from lightning in the canyon, she didn’t want to take any chances.

When the next crack of thunder caused the earth to shake, she pushed him away and grabbed his hand, tugging him toward the trail. The sound of their feet couldn’t be heard over the deafening rain and as they reached the SUV, she ran to her side and jumped into the passenger seat. She started to retie her halter top just as Chase dove into the driver’s seat and threw his clothes in the back.

He gave her a weird look and asked, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Putting my clothes back on?” she said, pausing to look at him but releasing the straps when she saw his intense stare.

Moving across the seat, he slipped his hand into her wet hair and gently pulled her toward him. “Why the hell would you do that? I’m not done with you yet.”

She didn’t know what was pounding harder, the rain on the roof or her heart as he covered her mouth with his. Chase yanked Katie’s top off, his hands wreaking havoc over her skin, sending hot waves of ecstasy with each soft touch. She leaned her head back as his mouth found the sensitive skin of her neck and he breathed across her collarbone. “Let’s take this to the backseat.”

Giddy, nervous, and excited at the same time, she kicked of her boots and tried to climb gracefully over the middle console but ended up face first on the backseat with her feet in the air. She twisted around and dragged her feet back, watching as Chase followed her, his naked muscles flexing as he moved. She couldn’t believe she was going to do this in the back of a car like some crazy teenager.

Chase sat next to her on the bucket seat and reached for her. As their hands moved over each other’s bodies, he slid one between her legs to play with her wet folds. Moaning, she moved her head to the side as he kissed along her neck, collarbone, and finally down to take her nipple into his mouth while he fondled her.

Katie arched against his hungry mouth and felt pressure building as his clever fingers manipulated her in swift, sure strokes. It was just as intense as it had been in the laundry room, maybe more so. She cried out when he slipped a finger inside her and rubbed his thumb quickly over her clitoris, working her inside and out. Unable to hold on to a coherent thought or come up with one reason why what they were doing was wrong, her breath came in short gasps as she felt that muscle-tightening throb that told her she was close. As the orgasm hit her hard, taking her higher than she’d ever gone, she cried out, “Chase!”

When she finally came back to herself and stopped trembling, one coherent thought struck her.
Maybe it doesn’t feel wrong with Chase because he’s the right guy for me?

G
OD, HE WANTED
to hear her cry out his name again
.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t been with other women, and maybe some of them had even called out his name, but when Katie did it, it was like an awesome song. Watching her fall apart as she came and that one, desperate cry, was something he could listen to over and over again.

Reaching down to his wallet and pulling out a condom, he kissed her parted lips, murmuring, “You are so beautiful.”

Her blue eyes opened slowly and the smile she gave him was soft and sexy. “So are you.”

Smiling in return, he ripped the condom package with his teeth and slipped the latex over his erection. Once he was sheathed, he pulled her into his lap and tongued her nipple again until she made soft, mewling sounds. Rubbing against her wet flesh, he teased her with his touch, stopping only when Katie reached down and wrapped her hand around him. He let her take the lead as she adjusted his cock until he was pushing against her opening. He wanted to go slow, to make it good for her, but then she whimpered, “Please, Chase, I want you . . .”

It was all he heard before he was thrusting up and inside her tight, honeyed warmth, lifting his mouth away from her breast to shout with pleasure. He held on to her hips as he pumped into her, and she leaned forward to kiss him as she met his movements. Chase could feel how close he was and sweat broke out on his forehead as he groaned. “Firecracker, I’m not going to last.”

“It’s okay, I can’t go again anyway,” she whispered. He tried to concentrate on her expression, not how good she felt, and saw she really believed that.