Chapter Seventeen #2
Rob always wanted to spend as much time as he could with her, but he realized the critical mistake too late—because they were right in the middle of the campground she just gave him a goodbye wave and they went their separate ways. No goodbye kiss.
There was heat in her eyes before they split, though, and a promise in the smile she gave him.
But in that moment between him saying he had a question for her and then telling her what the question was, Hannah had tensed up.
She’d been anticipating a question she didn’t want to hear, and all Rob could come up with as an explanation was that she’d been afraid he’d ask her to define their relationship or ask her about where she saw it going come the end of July.
That was a conversation she clearly didn’t want to have, so if he wanted things to keep on as they were—which he very much did—he was going to have to keep his mouth shut.
On Tuesday evening, Hannah stood on the step of Rob’s house, trying to calm her nerves.
Apparently, she was really doing this. If the butterflies in her stomach and the fact she hadn’t been able to sit still for the last hour weren’t confirmation enough, she’d shaved her legs. That was no easy feat in the tiny camper bathroom.
It was ridiculous to be nervous. Not only had they already had their hands all over each other, but he’d spent the night in her bed. And he’d been almost naked at the time. She would very much like for him to be in a bed with her actually naked.
“You know I can see you with my superspy doorbell, right?” His voice came out of the device with a slightly tinny note.
Startled, Hannah pressed her hand to her heart and laughed. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
“Were you planning to actually ring that doorbell or just come in or...?”
“I was just standing here to test how good your surveillance system is.”
Rob pulled the door open. “It’s not as effective as Stella, but I knew you were out here.”
She looked at the device. “Even if I don’t ring it?”
“I have a confession.” He chuckled. “I actually knew you were out here because I’ve been looking out the window every two minutes for the last hour.”
“I’m right on time.”
“But today felt ninety hours long.” He grinned and stepped back. “Are you coming in?”
As soon as Hannah crossed the threshold, Rob hauled her up against him and kicked the door closed. She was ready when his mouth claimed hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was hungry and she moaned as he backed her up against the door.
Only when she was melting in his arms and she wasn’t sure if being pinned between his body and the door was the only thing holding her up did Rob break off the kiss. He smiled, the heat in his gaze almost as potent as the feel of his lips on hers.
“Wow,” she said breathlessly. “Way better than a welcome mat.”
“Wait until you see dinner.”
She wouldn’t say it out loud, but the last thing Hannah wanted to do right now was sit down and eat a meal, because food was the last thing on her mind. The first thing on her mind was stripping Rob’s clothes off. But he’d invited her for a date night and dinner was part of it.
She toed off her shoes and kicked them toward the small pile of men’s shoes next to the door, and then she followed him into the kitchen.
From what she could see of the house from here, there wasn’t much in the way of decor—which wasn’t surprising since they’d been focused on the campground—and it was badly in need of updating.
But it was clean, and not the kind of clean that spoke of a panicked surface cleaning because a date was arriving.
“It was hot today and we both eat a lot off the grill, so I hit my aunt up for her Cape Cod chicken salad recipe and made wraps, with a side salad,” he said. “I hope that’s okay. I do have some microwave pizzas as a backup.”
“Sounds perfect,” she said, and she smiled when he pulled her chair out for her. “The wraps, I mean, though I do like a good microwave pizza from time to time.”
All the anxiety about this date that had built up over the last few hours melted away over dinner. They fell into easy conversation, and Hannah liked that they both seemed to be avoiding talking about anything that could circle back to their families or their jobs.
This night was just about them, as it should be, and the light meal was delicious. It also made for minimal cleanup, which was a bonus.
“What do you want to watch?” he asked while he dried the few dishes they’d used. She’d offered to wash since drying and putting away were hard when you didn’t know where anything went.
“I don’t know. I like most things, but I don’t watch horror. I’m not a huge fan of movies about or set in space. And I should warn you it’s really annoying to watch historical movies or true crime with me.”
“I’ll watch almost anything, but my warning, I guess, is that it’s not a great idea to watch a movie with me if it’s based on a book I’ve read.”
She laughed. “Oh, that probably should have been on my list, too.”
“I suspected that about you.” He chuckled. “It might be fun to watch one based on a book we’ve both read and see which one of us is more annoying.”
“We’d need a third party to judge objectively, and somehow I don’t see people lining up for that job.”
“If Stella was here, we could have her lie down between us and whoever’s speaking when she sighs and leaves the room wins.”
“I’m not sure Stella is impartial,” she pointed out.
“I’ve seen her running off to visit your site.”
Hannah pulled the plug in the sink and used the sponge to wipe around it while Rob dried and put away the last of the dishes she’d washed. Then she wiped down the table and called it good.
“How about a tour of the house?” he asked, running his palms over the sides of his jeans. “I mean, there’s not much to see, but I guess it’s something people do.”
She shrugged. “I’m more of a point-out-where-the-bathroom-is-and-my-bedroom-is-none-of-your-business kind of a host, but it is something people do. And I want to see it. Maybe I can claim I was gathering counterintelligence if the paranoia crowd finds out I was in here.”
“You can tell them you were on a mission to disable the spy doorbells.”
Hannah laughed as she followed him down a hallway, past doors that were closed over enough so she couldn’t see in.
“I guess we’ll start at the end of the house and work our way back,” he said, pushing open a door.
They walked into a small and plain but very neat bedroom.
It had a queen bed and a dresser, and a small closet.
There was a line of shoes—mostly of the rugged work boot variety—under the window, and a folded pile of sweatshirts on what looked to be an extra kitchen chair.
On top of the dresser was a zipped case she assumed held toiletries, and there was one nightstand with a small lamp and a charging dock.
“Straight for the bedroom,” she teased. “I like that. I thought you’d be messier, though.”
“Confession—this is Brian’s room. With fresh bedding, of course, but I, uh... I have a twin bed. Joey and I have twin beds in the other room. Also, hey! Why did you think I’d be messy?”
“Not messy. Just not this...neat. Did Brian claim this room because he’s older?” She paused, running the list of brothers through her head. “Wait, Joey’s older than Brian. How did Brian get the big bed?”
“Actually, Stella got the big bed.” Rob shrugged. “And Brian’s her human.”
“And Brian’s brothers didn’t fight it because it’s for Stella. You’re all very sweet, you know.”
“We really are, though wrangling a campground full of people is easier if that doesn’t get around.”
She didn’t think Rob could hide the fact he was sweet. Sure, she was biased, but he was a nice guy no matter who he was talking to. He even managed to make friendly small talk with Dave and Sheila, which was no easy feat.
Those quiet alarm bells started going off in the back of her mind again.
She was already swimming toward the deep end of the pool with Rob, and if she made love with him tonight, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to touch bottom anymore.
Being able to tell herself the kisses were just a flirtation and that the night he spent in her camper was simply him being kind weren’t much of a life vest, but the little white lies had kept her head above water.
Spending the night with him was the equivalent of tossing the life vest away.
When he gathered her hair and pulled it aside so he could kiss the back of her neck, every argument against getting naked with Rob in that bed became invalid. Or maybe not totally invalid, but something to worry about tomorrow.
His other hand skimmed down her ribs and side until he grasped her hip and pulled her back against his body. The rigid length of his erection pressed against her and she closed her eyes.
She’d definitely worry about tomorrow when tomorrow came.
Rob kissed his way down her neck, and then he released her hair and turned her in his arms. She tilted her head back to meet his kiss and slid her hands under the hem of his T-shirt so she could run them over his naked back.
They kissed their way toward the bed, only pausing to peel his shirt off, and then hers. His hand cupped her breast and she arched into the touch as he deepened the kiss.
But when he popped the button of her shorts, she had a moment of clarity and leaned back. “Wait. We’re in Brian’s room.”
“I changed all the bedding,” he said, his hand sliding down to cup her ass. “We can go to my room if you want, but it’s a twin bed and I can’t guarantee we won’t fall off.”
Then he shifted his hand to the space between her thighs and she stopped caring whose bedroom it was.
By the time their clothing was scattered across the floor and she was naked on the bed, she didn’t care about anything but the feel of his mouth and his hands. He explored her body, touching her and kissing her until her fingernails bit into his shoulders and a whimper escaped her lips.
Hannah heard the crinkle of a condom wrapper and then he covered her body with his, grinning down at her. She buried her hands in his hair and pulled his face down for a hard, thorough kiss as he reached down and guided himself into her.
Yes, she thought as she lifted her hips. He thrust into her, moving slowly at first as his tongue danced with hers, until he filled her completely. Hannah wrapped her legs around his, holding him there so she could savor the feeling.
His breath was hot against her neck as he dipped his head to close his mouth around her breast. He sucked hard on her taut nipple and she gasped, her legs releasing their hold.
Rob rocked his hips, and Hannah lost herself in the sweet friction.
She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms. Then she stroked his back, reaching down to feel the curve of his ass.
His fingertips bit into her hip until he slid his hand down to the back of her knee, lifting it so he could thrust harder and deeper.
The orgasm rocked Hannah and she might have sighed his name or she might have screamed it. She didn’t know anything but the waves of pleasure that took her breath away as she gripped his shoulders.
His orgasm wasn’t far behind, and she raked her nails over his back as he found his release. Then, when he collapsed on top of her, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him close as they found their breath.
He buried his face in her neck, pressing kisses there as their breathing slowed and their bodies relaxed. Lifting himself onto his arm, Rob kissed her sweetly as he withdrew, and then he kissed the tip of her nipple.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, and then he slid out of bed, leaving her missing him already.
When he returned from the bathroom, she took a turn.
And then she had a moment of hesitation, wondering if getting dressed, kissing him goodbye and then heading back to her camper was the right thing to do.
Maybe if she could maintain the slight bit of distance of not actually sleeping with him, she could tell herself she wasn’t in too deep.
Then Rob shifted, lifting his head to see where she was, and even in the dark room, she could feel the impact of his gaze on her. When he pulled back the covers, she climbed into bed and smiled when he drew the sheet over her before pulling her closer to his body.
“We never did watch a movie,” he muttered against her hair.
She laughed softly. “I never intended to.”