Jules opened her mouth to respond, and then snapped it shut. She enjoyed being around him, a lot actually. Too much. To keep him from flirting with her she asked, “So where are we going?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.” That irresistible smile appeared on his face again. She could have sworn he knew how her stomach did a double-dip every time he looked at her with hunger lacing his gaze. “Follow me,” he added, leading her across the parking lot until he stopped in front of a shining motorcycle.

“Wow! That’s our transport?” Jules eyed the bike completely enthralled. She’d always loved riding on a bike, but her mother wouldn’t let her. In the city it wasn’t fun and out here a truck was more practical on the rough terrain, so she’d never actively pursued getting her own bike.

“You like her?” Tyler grinned with pride like a little boy.

“Much. I didn’t know you rode a bike, I thought you owned that white truck over there,” she pointed across the parking lot.

“Yeah, that’s mine. More practical. But for this special occasion I organized something more thrilling,” he said, handing her a helmet.

“Safety first?” she asked, as she slipped the helmet over her head.

“Always. Especially with such a precious cargo. Get on.” He straddled the bike and patted the seat behind him.

Jules hopped onto the bike, her thighs pressed up against Tyler’s, her panties already wet with desire. Since she had the perfect excuse, she allowed herself to snuggle up against his broad back, her hands slinging around his waist.

“All set?” Tyler asked, revving the engine and speeding out of the camp.

She used the increased speed to clutch him tighter, and found that her hands quite liked the position they were in. Ducking in behind him to shelter from the wind, she inhaled his masculine scent. The heat radiating off of his muscular back almost undid her.

Without thinking, her hands explored his ripped abs, barely concealed beneath his tight leather jacket. With a wicked smile, she acknowledged his increased breathing and his tightening muscles beneath her touch. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one consumed by desire.

The humming vibrations of the motorcycle did nothing to tone done her arousal and by the time they’d arrived at the lake, her panties were thoroughly soaked. Tyler parked the bike and she got off, her legs slightly wobbly.

“You liked the ride?” he asked, removing his helmet and helping her with hers.

“It was fantastic.” I never knew it could be such an erotic activity.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, his eyes sinking deep into her soul. She gave an involuntary sigh, which caused his lip to quirk up as he leaned towards her.

Now kiss me already, she thought, but his face lingered a breath away, giving her all the time in the world to step back, but she simply couldn’t. Caution, principles, rules, were all thrown out of the window, because suddenly kissing him was all she could think about.

The tension drew out, making her insides roar with anticipation, until she couldn’t resist the magnetic pull anymore and inched her face nearer to his. The next moment his lips crushed over hers, his tongue darting into her mouth. He tasted of wind, salt, and unbelievable pleasure.

Jules writhed and moaned, gripping his shoulders, pulling him closer to her. She needed to be pressed flush against his hard body, feel his strong arms around her. Tyler’s hands slid down her back, cupping her ass and hoisting her on the seat of the bike, as if she weighed nothing more than a feather. She wrapped her legs around his hips and gave herself over to his kiss.

Licking, biting, sucking he explored her mouth with lips, tongue and teeth, while one hand kneaded her ass and the other tilted her chin this way and that as he ate at her lips. Quivering with the intense sensations rushing through her, she closed her eyes to absorb everything he offered her.

A crow carked, destroying the magic of the moment and Jules’ rational brain kicked in again. She broke the kiss and took a steadying breath before she said, “That was nice, but it doesn’t change anything.”

Tyler tapped her nose. “Then I’ll just have to try harder. One day you’ll accept the futility of your resistance.”

Good Lord! If he tries any harder, I’m going to melt into a puddle of lust at his feet. “I will never stop resisting,” she said, looking around the beautiful clearing near the lake.

“I must warn you, I do like to work for my reward.” Tyler grinned and grabbed the picnic basket he’d tucked away inside one of the motorbike’s saddle bags.

“A picnic? What else do you have in store?”

“Wait and see. I’m a man of many surprises.” He stretched out his hand to help her across a fallen trunk.

Jules smiled. She spent most of her working time climbing across much bigger trunks and didn’t need the help, but she still appreciated the gesture and took his hand – if only to feel the zinging tingles his touch produced.

Not that it helped in any way to calm her nerves, she wasn’t good at that dating stuff. It’s not a date. Just a picnic between friends after two hard days.

And who exactly do you think will believe that line of bullshit? Her inner voice objected.

“This is not a date,” she said aloud.

Tyler turned around, his dark blue eyes scrutinizing her face before he answered, “Okay, what do we call it then?”

Again, he’d caught her unawares, racking her brain for a suitable answer. “Questions, questions, nothing but questions. Don’t you think it’s my turn to ask something?”

“Sure, anything you want.” He sent her another one of those devastating smiles that seemed to land straight in her core, causing butterflies on the way and making her want to be bold.

“Truth or Dare?” she said.

“If that’s what you want.” They had reached the shore and he unpacked the picnic basket, including a huge beach towel for them to sit on.

Suddenly she wasn’t so sure anymore, but Jules didn’t back down from a challenge, even if she might not survive the flames of this particular fire unscathed.

“Where are you from?”

“That’s an easy one. Los Angeles.” They shed their leather jackets and settled on the beach towel. Then he wrapped his arms around her from behind. Delicious shivers raced through her body. “Me, too.”

Tyler’s hands moved up and down her stomach, making it difficult to think. His mouth came so near to her neck that she could feel his warm breath on her skin, as he growled, “We’re from the same city. We love doing the same things. We even have the same job. Looks like we have more reasons to hook up than to not.”

“In your dreams.”

“Was that a question?” Tyler asked, his tongue doing very distracting things to her earlobe.

“Yes…no…so what did you dream about last night?”

“Sure, you want to know?” His lips nibbled on her earlobe and his hands inched up her ribcage.

She swallowed hard. That must have been the most stupid idea she’d ever had in her life, but admitting it? No way! “Yes.”

“Hmm. I was dreaming about you. You were standing in front of me with damp hair from the shower, clad only in a towel. I slipped the towel off of your precious body, scooped you up into my arms and carried you over to my bed, where I started worshipping every inch of your glorious, naked body with my mouth and my hands.”

Her breathing became ragged and a flood of lust washed over her. And just like that, he’d laid her on her back and rained showers of kisses on every exposed inch of skin. His eyes wandered down her body, leaving trails of fire in their wake. Jules threw caution to the wind and wrapped her hands around his neck, needing to feel his mouth on hers.

“God Jules, you’re gorgeous,” Tyler murmured between kisses. His hands slipped beneath her shirt and pushed it up.

“Tyler wait,” she said, sitting up.

Perplexed by her sudden move, he took his hands off of her body. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just want to make clear that this is only sex. Pure and simple. To take off the edge we’ve been feeling. It won’t entitle you to any kind of relationship.”

“I’ll take what I can get, but it won’t keep me from trying harder to make you realize that we’re a match made in heaven.”

She sighed.

“Are we still playing Truth or Dare?” Tyler asked.

“I guess…”

“Then ask me how much I want you.”

Despite knowing better, she did what he wanted and asked him the question.

“I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my whole life, more than I even want to be a firefighter. From the first moment I saw you, you’ve consumed my thoughts and while I have to admit that at first I wanted to have just sex with you, I completely and utterly fell in love the moment you knocked out the drunk in the bar.”

“…you…you’re serious?” she asked, the love-word terrifying her. How could he claim to love her after such a short time? But deep in her heart she knew the answer, she was just too frightened to admit it.

“Dead serious. And you…” he pressed a kiss on her head, “…you are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I’m willing to wait for as long as it takes for you to realize it.”

“You don’t have to say that just to sleep with me.”

“I know.” He smiled. “But I want to say it, because that’s how I feel.”

To keep him from shattering more of her core beliefs, like true love didn’t exist, love at first sight was a fluke and relationships couldn’t last, she grabbed some grapes and shoved them into her mouth.

“I’m hungry, too,” Tyler said and settled beside her, carefully keeping his distance as they ate.

By now Jules had thoroughly convinced herself, this was a bad idea. A very bad idea. Still, she didn’t have the guts to stop what was happening. The tension between them engulfed her, sent tiny little shocks through her veins and the anticipation squeezed her center tight. “Did you bring condoms?”

For a moment he stared at her, baffled. “Is that your idea of romantic?”

“I don’t do romance, but I like to be prepared,” she said.

“As it happens, I do have one or two tucked away in my pocket,” he chuckled. “So, does that mean we’re finished eating and I can make out with you again?”

“Okay, let’s get it over with so we can get on with our lives,” she said, not really believing her own words.

“I bet you’ll be singing a different tune once I have you writhing with pleasure.” He licked his lips and pressed them on hers, devouring her mouth in a mind-numbing kiss.

Writhing with pleasure? What kind of cheesy line is that? But her thoughts didn’t go further than that as she absorbed the sensations consuming her.

Tyler grabbed her shirt and pushed it up over her head, taking her bra along with it, before he laid her down on the beach towel. She didn’t care that someone might see them; all she cared about was feeling his calloused hands on her skin. They roamed up and down, kindling a flame she’d never experienced before.

One hand trapped her nipple between his fingers, rolling, squeezing, pinching. Then his wet mouth closed over her other nipple, his heated tongue teasing it into a tight peak. Jules gasped when his teeth grazed on her delicate skin. The sensation was exquisite.

“God Jules, I’ve never wanted a woman as badly as I want you,” he murmured when he released her nipple and licked his way down to her jeans.

She took the opportunity to divest him of his t-shirt and stared in awe at his exposed abs and chest muscles. It’s not like she hadn’t seen them before, but now, so close, she couldn’t suppress a moan and used her hands to roam across his hot skin. “Let me taste you,” she said and changed places with him, coming down on him, licking across his stomach until she reached his jeans and opened the zipper.

His immense erection sprang out the moment she pushed down his boxers and then she took him deep into her mouth, sliding his shaft in and out of her lips. He rewarded her with a carnal groan. When she kneaded his balls with her hands, he stopped her and said, “Wait. Or it’ll all be over before it started.”

“Long time without sex?” she asked with a grin.

“Much too long fantasizing about you every waking moment,” he answered and divested them of the rest of their clothing, before he levered his body across her, pushing one thigh between her own and caging her with his arms.

“Jules, if you truly believe this attraction between us isn’t something that will last, I’ll never touch you again after tonight, I promise. But I sure hope you’ll change your mind.”

“Stop talking and just fuck me already.” She arched up against him, rubbing her core against his muscled thigh. He pulled her flush against his body, one hand grabbing her ass and guiding her core to rub up and down his thigh, eliciting groans of delight from her throat.

“Like that?” he inquired softly.

“Incredibly. Don’t stop touching me.” Jules raked her nails down his back, gently scratching his skin. Tyler groaned and trailed his fingers across her hips, removing his leg from between hers. His fingertips teased the sensitive inside of her thighs, making her muscles tremble, until they reached the small patch of hair guarding her womanhood. When he delved into the dampness and entered her with two fingers, a whimper of delight escaped her. Within minutes she exploded to the rhythmic rubbing of his fingers. She dug her teeth into his shoulders to keep herself from screaming. When the orgasm washed over her she couldn’t think of a better place to be than in his arms. And maybe, just maybe, not all relationships had to end badly.

“So sexy,” he murmured as his fingers slid out of her and she took his hand, kissing her own juices from his fingers. He placed kisses across her face and over her collar bone, before he took a moment to sheathe himself with the condom and then poised himself at her entrance, pushing her thighs apart.

“God, Tyler. I can’t take much more. Would you get inside me already?” Jules whispered brokenly to him, her breath coming in gasps as he kept rubbing his erection up and down her core.

“Your wish is my command,” he said and finally, deliciously, penetrated her, with one long soft stroke.

“Slow is nice, but right now, I need hard and fast. Please?”

He chuckled whispering, “Don’t beg for things you can’t handle.”

“I’m pretty sure I can handle you.”

“Point taken,” Tyler said and in the same moment he unleashed his entire passion, pounding into her like a maniac. Jules wrapped her arms tight around his shoulders and hung onto him, countering every of his strokes with a move of her hips. She’d never before felt such a frantic need to be taken. Panting for breath, her body pulsed around him until they came together in one long release. The earth stopped spinning while wave after wave of delicious pleasure rolled over her and she barely noticed when Tyler collapsed on her body, his weight pressing her into the earth beneath.

“That was…fantastic,” she admitted.

“It was.” He wanted to roll off of her, but she held him in place.

“Don’t. Not yet. I like the feeling of having you inside me.”

He chuckled. “I’ll crush you, sweet Jules.” Then he propped himself up on his elbows to take some of his weight off. “You are amazing—“ Whatever he wanted to say was cut off by the blaring of the alarm.