Chapter 3 - Zoe
I know I should leave. Even though I’ll be working in Lang Creek, a hundred or so miles south of here, it still feels like I shouldn’t jump into bed with a strange man on my first night in the Adirondacks. It’s not professional, and it sets the wrong tone. The responsible thing to do, as a single mother and newcomer in this area, is to stay professional and leave.
That’s the responsible thing to do, but I’m not feeling responsible tonight. How would anyone in Lang Creek even find out? It’s a two- or three-hour drive. It might as well be a different universe. How fast can news travel around here?
I nod to the bartender and he pours me another drink as I settle into my seat–Ethan’s seat. My cheeks are still flushed and my heart is still thumping from that conversation, with my cheek burning from where his lips brushed it. All I can manage to do is to look at the stage and watch Ethan perform.
I can enjoy the anonymity for a little while longer before I drive down to Lang Creek tomorrow. For now, I’m just a single woman in a bar, enjoying the attention of a very attractive lead singer.
Sure, he’s the lead singer of a tiny three-piece band in a tiny little town in the mountains, but it still counts, right?
He meets my eye as he sings and my heart does a backflip. The heat between my legs is still burning, and all I want is for him to press me up against the wall and take me right now. I wonder what it would feel like to have his huge, muscular body pressing against mine, to feel the heat of his breath on my neck and his hips grinding against mine.
I watch his hands move up and down the guitar and I wonder what they would feel like on my body. His fingers might sink into my flesh and he would pull me close to him. I would feel his cock against me, even through our clothing.
I close my eyes for a moment and try to imagine what it would feel like to run my hand up and down the length of his shaft. My center is pulsing, like there’s a ball of fire in the pit of my stomach. I haven’t been this turned on in far, far too long. I haven’t had sex with a man since Mark died. Six years suddenly feels like a long, long, long time.
And now? Now I’m about to start a new job in a small town a couple hours’ drive from here. I don’t know anyone, and I feel more relaxed than I have in years. I’m out on my own, enjoying the attention of an incredibly sexy man. I watch his biceps bulge against his t-shirt as he grabs the microphone, his blue eyes burning into me. Is it possible to pass out from arousal?
As my body continues to heat up, and Ethan continues to look me up and down, a small voice gets louder and louder inside my head.
Why not?
Why not have a night of fun? Why not spend the night with him, and feel the touch of a man again? Why not relax and enjoy myself?
Almost as soon as the final note is played, Ethan turns to his bandmates and hands one of them his guitar. The drummer glances over at me and shrugs before grinning at Ethan. My cheeks burn, but then in a moment Ethan is beside me.
“You wanna get out of here?”
“What about your gear? Don’t you have to pack up?” I ask as I watch the other men on stage. Ethan grins, sliding his hand to the small of my back.
“They’ll manage without me tonight.” His eyes flash and my whole body trembles. The warmth of his hand on my back is distracting and intoxicating. All I want to do is melt into his arms and inhale the musky smell of his body. I want to feel his hands all over me and taste his lips. I want to touch his cock and feel him inside me.
I haven’t been attracted to a man in so long that I’ve forgotten what it feels like. I can hardly think straight. I nod to Ethan and he leads me out of the bar. The air is cold, and I lift the collar on my jacket up.
“It’s freezing out here!” I exclaim.
Ethan chuckles. “Where did you say you were from? This is pretty warm for this time of year.”
I grin. “I’m from Seattle,” I answer. “But still, this isn’t warm.”
“West coast, hey,” he says, almost under his breath. He slips his hand into mine and guides me down the street. “What are you doing over here? You said you took a job in this area?”
For some reason, I don’t want him to know who I am. I don’t want to tell him about my life back home, or my daughter, or my job. I just want to be someone else for one night. I don’t want to have the problems and burdens of my regular life. I just want to feel the touch of his skin against mine and feel young again. I want to go back to his place and have mind-blowing sex, and then pack up my things and leave in the morning.
If he knows who I am, he can find me again, and then things just get messy. I have to go into a new work environment and assert myself. I don’t want to be branded as anything but professional. How am I supposed to be Lang Creek’s new fire safety consultant if they know I jumped into bed as soon as the plane landed? It’s hard enough making it in this industry as a woman, let alone a single mother who’s coming in to teach veterans of the job how to implement new procedures.
So, when Ethan asks me what I’m doing here, I hesitate. I let my lips curl upwards and shrug as my hand traces over his shoulder.
“I don’t want to talk about work,” I reply. I look up at him through my lashes and bite my lip. “Like you said, we only have one night together. Why waste our breath on things that don’t matter?”
Ethan’s eyes flash and I see pure, unadulterated desire in them. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close. I fall against him as his hands slide down to my ass. His head dips down towards me and his chest rumbles against me.
“Who are you,” he growls. Somehow it doesn’t seem like a question. “You just appeared here, out of nowhere.”
I curl my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. My whole body is shaking and when his hand cups my ass, I feel like I might climax right there in the middle of the road. His body is warm, almost hot. The desire pulsing through my body is making me dizzy. When he stares at me with those icy blue eyes of his, I want him so badly that a whimper escapes my lips and I tremble in his arms.
He growls again, and finally crushes his lips against mine. His hand squeezes my ass as his other hand tangles into my hair. He tilts my head back so that my mouth opens wider as he kisses me harder. I moan, wrapping my arms around him as my panties soak through.
He’s strong, but his touch is soft. He kisses me hungrily and growls as his hands explore my body. His hand squeezes my ass and then brushes up under my shirt to rest on the small of my back. The feeling of his skin on mine makes my head spin. I melt against him, feeling the smooth, hard muscles of his chest as my breasts press up against him.
When he growls again, I pant and pull away. My hands are still on his shoulders, and I look up at him. I know my cheeks are flushed, and my chest is heaving up and down. It takes a few seconds for me to speak, and when I do, my voice is scratchy and low.
“Where’s your place?” I ask. Ethan smiles and dips his chin down to nod. He grabs my hand in his and points his chin down the road.
“This way,” he says, and the two of us walk down the moonlit street as the heat of our desire carries us forward.