Chapter Seventeen
By the time Kenzie had changed into a clean T-shirt and brushed her teeth so she wouldn’t have fungus breath, she was sure of two things. One, she was never going to get the pizza sauce out of her sweater.
And, two, Danny’s guest room was lovely, but she didn’t want to sleep in it.
The only thing she didn’t know for sure was what she was going to do about it. Sleeping with Danny wasn’t going to make it any easier when they parted ways. And they would part ways.
But it was going to hurt anyway. When he said goodbye to the campground she would have to do the same to him with a smile on her face because they were just friends, and that would be painful.
Why not give herself a happy memory to savor during the loneliness that stretched out in front of her? A fun trip to the bookstore, delicious pizza and one night in Danny’s bed.
When she went downstairs, she found Danny on the porch, beer to his lips and his eyes on the river. She paused with her hand on the slider, watching him. Other than his throat working as he swallowed the beer, he seemed unusually still, as if he was lost in thought.
Then he turned, his gaze finding hers and holding it. Time seemed to slow, marked only by the steady pulse of her heart beating, until his mouth curved into a warm smile. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, though, and she took a deep breath as she pulled the sliding glass door open.
“How’s the sweater?”
She shrugged. “Too soon to tell.”
“Do you want to run it through my washer?”
One thing not on her list of things she wanted to do with Danny tonight was a load of laundry. “Thanks, but we’ve got some really good stuff at home we use because, believe it or not, we deal with stains on a pretty regular basis.”
He laughed as she sat down and picked up her beer. “I can imagine.”
“It’s so peaceful here,” she said, settling into the comfortable cushion. The man knew how to pick outdoor furniture. “It’s like a dream vacation spot—like if it was an Airbnb and I was looking, I’d pick this one—but it’s your home. You get to live here.”
“I got really lucky. I could afford it when it went on the market because it was badly in need of updating but the owners didn’t want to do it, so they let it go as is. And having a big family with a lot of DIY skills didn’t hurt.”
“Do you get wildlife out here?”
“I get deer a lot. Birds, though I don’t know what kind even though my grandmother has told me several times. Only one bear, though. It eventually wandered too close to town, so the conservation officers relocated it.”
They were making too-polite small talk. Something had changed while she was upstairs and it wasn’t just her, Kenzie thought.
They were both aware there was nothing in front of them but killing time until they went upstairs to separate bedrooms, where both of them would lie awake wishing they weren’t in separate beds.
“Danny?” She waited until he turned to look at her before continuing. “Why did you kiss me before you left for the dentist?”
He sucked in a breath, a flush spreading over his neck. “I’m sorry about that. It just felt—look, it’s no secret I want to kiss you again. Just because it’s a bad idea doesn’t mean the urge magically goes away.”
“I feel like we’re in some alternative timeline right now. Like a time-out from our regular lives. And I have bad ideas sometimes, too, Danny.”
Heat flared in his eyes, making her shiver. “A time-out from reality. I like that.”
“It won’t make it any easier to go back to being just friends tomorrow.”
“It’s already hard.” His mouth curved into a wicked grin. “That’s what makes it a bad idea.”
She took another swig of her beer and set the bottle on the table before pushing herself out of the chair. Once she was standing in front of him, one leg on either side of his, he grabbed her hips and hauled her forward so she was straddling his lap.
“Just a time-out,” she said, threading her fingers through the back of his hair. “It doesn’t change anything.”
“A time-out,” he repeated, his voice low and husky.
“This is such a bad idea.” Then she lowered her head and claimed his mouth.
The kiss was hot and hungry, inflaming her until she squirmed on his lap. His hands cupped her ass, tugging her hard against his erection, before sliding up her body to cup her breasts.
She moaned against his mouth, and he captured her bottom lip between his teeth for a second. Her fingers tightened in his hair and then his tongue slid over hers.
When she rocked her hips, grinding herself along his hard length, he growled low in his throat. Then his hand slid between her legs, rubbing her through the fabric. She sucked in a breath as the friction heated her body.
Then the chair made an ominous creaking sound and they both stilled.
“Maybe it’s time for a tour of your bedroom?” she asked, slightly out of breath.
“We’ve reached a point where the chair collapsing under us would probably lead to a very embarrassing trip to the ER, so that’s a good idea.”
She giggled and carefully climbed off of him. He wasted no time getting up, and, after taking a second to adjust his jeans, he opened the slider and put his hand on the small of her back as she stepped inside.
He kept that hand there as they started up the stairs, though by the time they got to the top step, it had slid down to her ass.
When she stepped across the threshold into his room, she wasn’t surprised to see sleek Shaker furniture and more neutrals, though the comforter was a pattern of pine green and earthy reds, giving a pop of color.
That was all the tour she got before his hands were on her again. She peeled off his T-shirt and tossed it on the end of the bed, desperate to feel his naked skin under her hands.
Kenzie lost track of everything but his hands and mouth on her body as they took their time peeling off each other’s clothes. When his lips closed over her nipple, she moaned, and his chuckle vibrated through her body.
Finally, he threw back the comforter and top sheet before lifting her onto the mattress. She stretched out on his bed, running her hand over the sheets while he took a condom out of his nightstand drawer.
She was momentarily distracted by the feel of his sheets. “Are these flannel?”
“What?”
“Are these sheets flannel? They’re very soft.”
“Yeah, they’re flannel. I think the sheets on the bed in the guest room are the same, aren’t they?”
“I don’t know because I haven’t been in it,” she pointed out. “But it’s almost June. You don’t change them out when it gets warm?”
“Nope. I like them year-round.”
“Do you wear flannel sleep pants, though? Flannel sleep pants would probably make sparks when you rub them against the flannel sheets. You don’t worry about sparks?”
“I never used to.” He climbed over her and rested his body weight on his forearms, looking down at her. “I don’t think they’re that kind of sparks, to be honest. It’s just static electricity.”
“True. It would be kinda funny, though?”
“Me rubbing my sleep pants against my sheets until my bed bursts into flames?” She laughed so hard, she was making his body shake. “I am absolutely not getting up and digging out my flannel pants to try it for you.”
Actually, Kenzie was pretty sure if she asked him to, he would. He loved to make her laugh. “No, I don’t want you putting any clothes back on right now. Not when I finally got you naked.”
She ran her hands over the muscles of his back, loving his skin even more than the sheets. He kissed her deeply, their breath mingling as he devoured her. Then he gave her a wicked grin and started devouring his way down her body.
Danny lavished attention on her breasts until she squirmed, her body craving more. Only when she stretched, trying to reach the condom, did he abandon her sensitive nipples and start kissing his way down her stomach.
“You might want to grab a fistful of that flannel,” he said in a husky, teasing voice, and then he buried his face between her legs.
He was relentless, licking and sucking and sliding his fingers inside of her, until—clutching at flannel—she moaned his name and orgasmed hard against his mouth.
The smile on his face when he finally reached for the condom packet was smug, but she didn’t call him on it because he’d certainly earned a little smugness.
Once he’d rolled on the condom, Danny paused, gazing in her eyes with a look that seemed to see into her very soul.
That slow smile of his took her breath away every time, and she reached up to cup his face.
She stroked his jaw, and then sucked in a breath when he caught her finger between his lips before sucking it into his mouth.
The hot, wet tugging triggered an answering tug deep inside of her.
Kenzie couldn’t wait anymore. “Now, Danny. Please.”
When he finally reached between their bodies and guided himself into her, she closed her eyes and dug her fingers into his hips to urge him deeper. He resisted her, going slowly but filling her more completely with every stroke, until he was totally inside of her.
Danny’s body stilled, and she could feel his muscles trembling from the restraint as he bent his head and closed his mouth around her nipple.
He sucked, gently at first, and then harder.
When she made an impatient sound, deep in her throat, he lifted his head to grin at her.
Then he lowered his lips to her other breast.
When she couldn’t take it anymore, she buried her hands in his hair and hauled his face to hers. She kissed him, dipping her tongue against his, as she lifted her hips and urged him to move.
Slowly at first, Danny obeyed. With slow, even thrusts, he moved within her. She closed her eyes and released his hair to run her hands down his neck and over his shoulders. The muscles in his back flexed with each thrust, and she trailed her nails over them.
His pace quickened, and he nipped at her mouth, then at her throat. “I’ve needed this since the first day I met you, Kenzie. Look at me.”