Second Chance (11 page)

She knew he was going to kiss her
again, could see it in the slow descent of his head, the way he looked at her
lips, but for the life of her she couldn’t stop him.  Couldn’t stop herself.

Not with her heart beating so
rapidly, the anticipation that coursed suddenly in her blood heating her,
making her so aware of the strong body above her, the firmness of his lips as
he tested hers lightly.

His kiss deepened and she opened
for him, letting him in so easily, his flavour flooding her as he slipped
inside to taste.

The kiss was slow, deep, drugging,
dragging her under in a pleasurable haze that grew slowly hotter as she kissed
him back.

His hand on her upper chest shifted,
slid lower to lay between her breasts, fingers fanning out so that he touched
both before he trailed lower to her stomach, palm sliding around to grasp her
waist so he could pull her into him, against him.

As his kiss grew hungrier, more
demanding, she felt the hardness of his body against her, every ungiving muscle
pressing into her softness.  His hand moved to the small of her back, arching
her up into him, the only thing separating them their clothes.

She couldn’t think, could only
feel.  The heat of his skin, the hot decadence of his kiss as he plundered her
mouth, the hard band of his arm that pressed against her breast as he reached
over to grasp the small of her back in an unrelenting hold to keep her against
him.

She felt it.

Just as she felt the heat coursing
through her body, the pluck of desire that spiralled in the pit of her stomach
to twine even lower, the unbidden budding of her nipples that pressed into the
hard swells of his chest.

She felt it all.

When he released her lips and
lifted his head enough for them both to get their breaths, every puff of air
between them a shared moistness, she felt the loss keenly. 

“So very tempting, Tam,” he
whispered huskily.

There was no denying the carnal
light that glowed in the pale depths of his grey eyes.  That it could be there
for her was…just…wow.

Then the thick, dark lashes
lowered, hiding his eyes, and Grant leaned down again, his lips brushing the
corner of her mouth, trailing along her cheek and down to her throat, a light
scrape of his tongue over the pulse that was beating so erratically.

As naturally as though she’d done
this a million times with him, Tam arched her neck, turned her head, giving him
access to the sensitive skin, her breath catching as he nuzzled beneath her
ear, his warm breath a hedonistic puff against her skin.

His hand slid from her back to
rest low on her belly, palm pushing gently, causing heat to bottom out inside
her, filling her with a tingling in her secrets.  Slowly his hand trailed
higher to cup one breast.

No accident this time.  A
deliberate cupping, long fingers reaching out to curl over the soft globe.

Her senses spun as he palmed her
breast, flattened it slightly, little splinters of fire arcing out from his
touch as he massaged her breast, the tight little nipple pressed so erotically
against his palm as, with gentle mercilessness, he pressed harder, deeper, making
her feel his hand in a deliberate, careful push.

Helplessly she arched up into his
touch, turning her head towards him as a soft moan slipped from her.

He caught that moan, swallowing it
as he took control of her mouth, lips pressed to hers, deepening the kiss once
more, demanding entrance.

Caught up in the heat, the
passion, the desire rising rapidly, she submitted, gave him what he wanted,
rewarded by his low growl of approval, a growl that reverberated sexily through
her.

His taste sweeping through her,
the warmth of his body making her crave more, she slid her hand up his arm,
over the bunch of bicep to the broad shoulder, around to slide up into all that
thick black hair, slipping back down to cradle that chiselled cheek, thumb
rasping across the beginnings of stubble.

So damned sexy.  He was so damned
sexy that she needed to feel him, feel more, have more.  Do more.

Grabbing hold of his shirt at the
back, she pulled it free from his jeans, laying her hand flat on the small of
his back, feeling the power beneath her hand as he shifted, the heat of his
skin as she smoothed her palm up higher.

In response his hand left her
breast as his lips left hers, his mouth pressing soft, damp kisses along her
throat as his marauding fingers found the button on her blouse, flicked it
open, flicked another open, and then those long fingers eased inside to trail
across the exposed flesh of her breast, over the top, tapping the straining
nipple once, making her jolt with desire before shifting lower, and then those
fingers were sliding beneath her bra, smoothing up, heading for the straining
nub.

Arching up into him, she bent her
knee, feeling a hard thigh slide between her own to press against her mound,
nudging her, making her push her hips against him.

“Grant…”  Her moan was lost in the
air.

He lifted up slightly to look down
at her.  His eyes were hot, lips moist from their kisses, jaw tight.

“Tam, I-” He stopped, stiffened.

In a pleasant haze of arousal, she
blinked up at him.

He twisted to look over his
shoulder.  “Damn. 
Damn
.”  Abruptly, he pushed up onto his knees.

Not understanding, she came up on
her elbows.  “Grant, what-”

“Get dressed.”  Yanking his shirt
down, he looked at her, his gaze settling on her breasts.  With a groan, he
leaned down, slid an arm beneath her back and with astonishing ease lifted her
into a sitting position.

Reality came crashing back as the
sounds of several cars registered.

Several thoughts registered at the
same time.

Oh shit, people are coming! Oh
crap, my lime green and black polka dot bra is showing!
  Her widening eyes
locked onto Grant as he stood. 
Oh holy heck, what happened? What did I do? 
This isn’t me!

Bending, Grant held out his hand. 
“Those cars will be here any second.”

Yeah, they would be, she could see
the dust in the air just around the bend.  Just as it was obvious that Grant
didn’t want them seeing him and Tam in the position they were in.

Embarrassment flooding her,
ignoring his hand, she started to push up as the first car appeared.  She
didn’t get far before a big hand clamped onto each side of her under her armpits
and she was hauled up with surprising efficiency.

No man had ever done that to her,
yet Grant did it as though it was no problem, as though her weight meant
nothing.  Tam could only gape at him before a blush heated her cheeks.

Oh geez, he had to have felt her
weight.

There was no sign of the man who’d
been kissing her so thoroughly, in his place was a quiet, efficient man who
simply stated, albeit a little tightly, “If you don’t want them to see that
saucy bra, I’d suggest you do up your buttons.”

Horrified that she could even
forget for a minute that her generous boobs were on display in a fluorescent
coloured bra, Tam fumbled the buttons into place with shaking hands.

Jesus, she was shaking all over. 
Her heart was thundering, her blood was surging, and her womanhood was…oh boy…moist
and hot and throbbing and…
No no no!

As the first car pulled up nearby,
Tam bent over and started gathering her things together.  Shame pumped through
her, pushing down the desire.

Oh God, what must he think of
her?  This wasn’t her, she didn’t do this, didn’t allow a man she barely knew
to touch her, kiss her, feel her up.  Allow him liberties with her body.

A body that wasn’t as prefect as
the male specimen she’d been handling in turn.

With people turning up,
undoubtedly he was thinking the same thing.  There was nothing on his face but
polite pleasantness as he picked up the blanket, giving it a shake as he greeted
the people exiting the car.  “G’day Eric, Jill.”

“Hi Grant, Tam,” the local doctor
and his wife, Jill the bookshop owner, greeted him cheerfully in return.  “Good
day for a picnic.”

Masking her turbulent feelings,
hoping she betrayed nothing on her face, Tam managed to smile back.  “Just heading
off now so you’ll have the run of the place.”

“Didn’t chase you off, did we?” 
Jill looked meaningfully at the blanket.

Oh crap.  Tam might not have been
in town long, but she’d been there long enough to know that Jill loved gossip.

“I spent the morning here,” she
replied.  “Grant arrived for lunch.” 
Lunch only, nothing to see here,
people.

Eric opened the back door of the
car to let out a Labrador, who immediately ran over to greet Grant enthusiastically.

Laughing, Grant bent down to pat
him.  “Hey, Bruiser, how are you? Here for some play?”

“Loving the river.”  Eric took an
esky out of the back seat.  “Good for him on a hot day.”

Jill wandered over to Tam.  “So,
Grant met you here, huh?’

“It wasn’t planned.”  Jamming the
book into the picnic basket, Tam grabbed it and the pillow and strode the short
distance to her own car.  “Guess we both had the same idea of spending some
time at the river.”

“You were here alone?” Jill
frowned.

“I’ve already been ticked off
once,” Tam muttered, stowing the gear in the boot of her car.

“Grant told you off?”  There was
an incredulous tone in Jill’s voice, a speculative look in her eyes as she
studied Tam. “I’ve never heard him raise his voice.”

“He didn’t yell.”  Nope, he’d been
deathly quiet - right before he kissed the living bejesus out of her and made
her body cream for him.

Right before he got her up and
dressed quickly before anyone could see them.  For her modesty?  For him?  Not
wanting the town gossip to breathe a word of catching them doing anything else
but being together having a friendly little chat?

Don’t think about it, don’t
think about it, don’t think about it!

As though conjured up by the
panicked thought, Grant appeared at her elbow, leaning in to place the blanket
and esky in the boot.  His features were relaxed as though they’d done nothing
but discuss the weather and the poor season the local footy team was having.

As though he hadn’t kissed her so
hotly and cupped her breast.

She couldn’t stop the burn in her cheeks.

Straightening, she shut the boot
to see a second car pull in beside Eric’s, relief washing through her when Jill
crossed over to greet Cheryl and Ernie as they got out.

Intent on escape, she gave them a
casual wave and walked around to the driver’s door.

Before she could open it, a warm
presence was at her back, a big palm on her waist making her breath catch, then
Grant leaned past her to unlatch the door and open it.

“Thanks,” she muttered, still
unable to look at him, mortified beyond belief.

She made to get into the car, only
to have her way blocked by his arm.

“Tam.”  Her name was a soft
command.

“Not now.”

“Look at me.”

Taking a deep breath, she tilted
her head back to smile brightly up at him. “Thanks for the company.  Catch you
around.”

Rather than just let her slide
past him, Grant shifted so that he completely blocked her way.  She hoped she
looked as calm as he did, but she bet her heart was racing a hell of a lot
more.

“Are you all right?” he asked
quietly.

“Fine.  Sure.  Never better.”

He opened his mouth to say
something, only to frown when his name was called.  Jerking up his head, he
smiled over the hood of the car.  “Be right there, Ernie.”  His gaze dropped to
her again.  “Tam, I’ll see you tonight.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I think it is.  What happened-”

“It’s forgotten, don’t worry about
it.”

A frown creased his brow.  “What?”

  The mobile peeled out from the glove
box where she’d stashed it.  Normally she’d have ignored it, but now it was the
perfect excuse.  “Excuse me.”  When he didn’t move immediately, just kept
looking down at her, she arched one brow.  “I need to answer that.”

His mouth tightened, a muscle
jumping in his jaw. Slowly, he backed away.

Gratefully, she dropped into the
seat, leaning over to flip open the glove box and take out the mobile.

One glance at the screen had her
swearing silently.

“Dingbat 1?” Grant studied her
face.

Just what she needed, a reminder
of why what had just happened with Grant should never have happened.  Couldn’t
happen.  Had happened before and she’d been fool enough to fall for it until
she’d realised.  Fooled twice.  Make that three times, though the third was
unexpected.  Oh crap.

Not in any mood to deal with it
right now, Tam tossed it onto the passenger seat.

Concern filled his eyes.  Leaning
down, Grant regarded her.  “Are you in trouble, Tam?”

“No.  Yes.  No.”  With a sigh, she
started the car, reaching out to grab the door handle.  “I have to go.”

He didn’t relinquish it.  “Talk to
me.  Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Annoyance was a way better emotion
than embarrassment.  Tam glared at him.  “My business, Grant.  Now, if you’ll
let the door go, I’ll leave and take care of
my
business.”

“Why are you so upset?”

“It shouldn’t have happened,
that’s why.”

His name was called again.

Taking her chance, Tam yelled,
“He’s coming.”

Grant’s eyes narrowed.  “This isn’t
over.”

“It is for me.”  She put the car
in gear.  “If you could shut the door?”

Stepping back, he swung the door
closed, but rather than move away he kept his hand on the window sill while
leaning down to look in at her.  “I’ll see you later.”