Chapter Forty-Two
The engine rumbled when he turned it over. As soon as they slipped through the gates that surrounded the Thanes’s community, Chance rolled down the windows. Her hair flew in the wind, and he cranked the music loud enough for them to sing.
Maybe Chance didn’t have a specific place he was taking her to. That’d be okay. Music and the open road worked for her.
An hour might’ve passed. She could only guess. The drive had been like a road trip of winding hills and two-lane straightaways. He never looked at a map, and she didn’t question where they were going.
They slowed, and his truck rumbled onto a well-worn driveway draped on both sides by thick trees. Chance slowed in front of a rustic sign. Jane read it aloud, “The Mud Palace.”
“The Mud Palace,” he repeated affirmatively.
“What does that mean?”
He grinned, lifting a shoulder, then urged his truck off the gravel road.
She pushed up in her seat as they bumped along.
The makeshift path was hard to see. After a few seconds, the ride smoothed out.
He’d found a groove in the dirt tracks and followed them even as they disappeared into the tree line.
The road wound up a hill and opened onto a cleared area. A handful of mud-caked sport-utility vehicles were parked in the field—then the name clicked. It was some kind of off-roading extravaganza. Chance rolled to a stop, and she took it all in.
Dense woods surrounded the field. Several marked and blazed openings were wide enough for monster trucks to pass.
“Where do you want to go?”
She didn’t have a clue. The trail markings might as well have been written in Greek. Jane pointed toward a trail on his side.
“Good choice.” He angled to the far left and drove back into the tree cover. The incline grew sharply until they summited the hill. It opened into another clearing—except it had small hills and valleys like a golf course on steroids.
Instead of sand traps, Jane saw… her eyes rounded. “Is that mud?”
They rolled to a stop. Chance dangled his wrist over the steering wheel, laid back even as the truck engine revved. “It’s not called the Mud Palace for nothing.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like this.” She tried to take the sprawling space in, then turned.
He grinned. “You want to drive?”
Jane balked as though Chance had asked her to land a shuttle on the moon. “I think I’ll let you start.”
“All right. Let me know when you change your mind.” He rolled up their windows. The engine roared. “Hang on, Mary Poppins. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
Jane was certain that this place wasn’t on a map. “Did you grow up around here?”
They rumbled forward. “A little farther south, more in the mountains.”
Midas the mountain man. He’d wanted to see the real her, but she loved seeing the real him.
Across the mud pits, Jane watched other off-roaders—a Wrangler, a dune buggy, and one monster truck—splash and spin over the landscape. Her heart raced as their truck approached, ready to do the same. He cut her a quick, mischievous glance and pressed his foot to the gas.
They headed straight for the nearest mud pit. Anticipation built in her chest. Her fingers clenched, and Jane held her breath as the truck dove into a pit. Mud splashed. She squealed in delight. They rocked side to side. The engine rumbled as they streaked through the mud and up the embankment.
“Fun?” he asked.
“Yes,” she laughed and hollered at once. “Wait—we can’t see!”
The wipers swiped some of the mud away. “Sure we can.”
Not nearly enough. Nothing would be in their way, but the low visibility heightened her excitement. Chance jerked the steering wheel. They fish-tailed over the slick field. His laughter boomed, mixing with her eager shrieks.
“Eeek!” She pointed then gripped the door. “Watch out—whee!”
Mud rained in clumps. The truck slid and spun, and the poor windshield wipers raced to remove the never-ending coat of mud. They squished into swamps and carved out tracks as their wheels spun. She jostled back and forth in her seat, shouting where he should go next.
Finally, Chance pulled to the side. She pressed her hands to her chest, surprised to find her heart racing. “I need a break to catch my breath.”
He laughed, and she tipped her head back. After a moment, she faced him. “Wow.”
He agreed. “Adrenaline packs a hell of a punch.”
She smiled. Her eyes sank shut. Adrenaline still buzzed through her.
The hairs on her arms had stood, electrified.
Her eyes opened, and she looked at him. His casual posture belied the fierce hunger on his face.
Jane could blame her adrenaline rush all she wanted, but that didn’t change the fact that Chance was the reason for her visceral reactions.
The space between them was too small, too warm.
Heat crawled up the back of her neck. Everything about Chance—physically—made him mind-numbingly gorgeous.
But his kindness and laughter, his sense of humor and easygoing yet fiercely protective nature—that made him hotter than the sun on an August day.
But even that wasn’t the reason Jane’s heart jumped and her panties dampened.
She was vividly aware of his feelings toward her.
The man had made a list of places to kiss her, and he liked to hold her hand.
That combination was one hell of an aphrodisiac.
He pulled in a deep breath and shook his head as though holding himself back. Then he quickly grinned.
“What?”
His blue eyes danced. “Your turn.”
“Oh no! No, no, no.” Jane inched back, trapped against the door. “I didn’t survive Syria to die at a place called the Mud Palace.”
“Babe.” His finger motioned her closer. “Get behind the wheel. No more running from what you want.”