Chapter 40

Lawson

“Where are we going?” There’s a smile, a lightness in her voice that hasn’t been there in a long time.

“You’ll see.” I wink at her and take the next road to the left.

“You mentioned lunch back on campus. Are you planning some romantic picnic?”

I frown. “I wish I’d thought of that, Princess, but honestly I’d just planned to eat a meal with you while staring at your mouth.”

“Oh.” She doesn’t sound disappointed, but there’s an edge to the word that I don’t like.

“The conversation got super serious really quick, and that wasn’t planned either.” I make another right and come up to the fast food place. “I don’t have a picnic planned, but we can grab something quick and then go someplace where it’s just you and me.”

“That sounds perfect.” She leans her head on my shoulder as we wait in line at the drive-thru. I’m thankful for the adjustable console in the truck. She’ll never sit apart from me again.

The speaker crackles with a generic menu suggestion when we make it to the ordering sign. “No onions,” she whispers.

No onions mean kissing, and I’m totally down for that. I place our order and wait to move up to the window.

“How was class today?”

“Are you asking about school or the boys in my classes?”

“Both,” I say telling the truth.

“Was Jim one of the guys you umm… met at the parties?”

“His name is John,” she corrects. I know that, but don’t want to give her the satisfaction. “And no. I haven’t seen any of them since their respective parties. There’s a chance they aren’t even college students.”

She leans away long enough for me to pull cash out of my wallet, but then her tight little body is back against mine.

“Why are you asking?”

I shrug and hand the cashier the money.

“You planning on tracking them down and beating them up.”

“Fuck, I wish,” I mumble.

Her lips form a smile against my skin.

“Does it turn you on that I want to beat up the men that hurt you?”

“I hurt me,” she corrects. “They were just the catalyst that allowed it.”

I take my change and pull up to the second window.

“I love how possessive you are.”

My heart clenches at the word love coming from her lips. She may not be saying it in the context I want, but I’ll take what I can get.

“I love how you fight for me, knowing exactly what you want and not taking no for an answer.” She nips at my neck and as sweet as her words are, it doesn’t stop my cock from jerking in my jeans. “How you knew what I wanted, what I needed, even when I didn’t.”

“It’s my job, Princess.”

“I let less than a dozen words spoken in one sentence two years ago ruin me. I let them have power over me.”

She pauses as our food is passed through the window. I hand her the bags so she can place them beside her on the seat and reach to place the drinks in the backseat console. I’ll be damned if I’m separating us while this conversation is still going.

With my mind, I beg her to continue, but she remains silent as we head out of town. It isn’t until the city scene transitions into empty fields that she begins again.

“I wasted two years of my life pretending to hate you. I let my anger fuel my bad decisions while I was self-destructing.”

I pull over at a deserted rest stop, no longer able to concentrate on driving, and when I turn her face up to mine, I no longer see the pain that’s been on her beautiful face all afternoon. I find acceptance and a small smile that tells me everything is going to be okay.

“I’m tired of wasting time.”

“What are you saying, baby?”

Her eyes drag down to my lips before focusing back on mine.

“I’m not fighting you anymore. I’m not running from you. I’m not pulling away when all I want is to be near you.”

I kiss her lips, soft and sweet, full of promises of forever rather than instant sexual gratification.

“That’s the second best thing I’ve heard from your lips.”

I kiss her again.

“And the best thing?”

Smiling I turn her chin and run my tongue down the soft slope of her neck, and nip at her earlobe before whispering, “That tiny whimper you make when I sink inside of you.”

She makes that sound now, and my balls tighten as if programmed to respond. I groan and flex my hips up when her hand strokes down my length.

“You sure are a dirty talker.” She squeezes with just the right amount of pressure. “Are you sure about my new diet?”

Her lips find mine, tongue seeking entry which I allow without hesitation.

“I think you can splurge.” My hand wraps around the back of her head, and I angle her mouth to the perfect position. “A cheat meal so to speak.”

She stiffens in my arms, and that’s when I know that although she may want to forget about her anger and her pain from two years ago, it’s still something she’s going to have to work through.

“Seeing as I know how hungry your pussy is.” She relaxes. “I might be persuaded to feed it my cock.”

“Right here?” she pants, pulling back and reaching for the hem of her short skirt.

“No.” Damn, that was difficult to say. I ease the rejection with a swipe of my finger over the wet lace between her thighs.

“You know I thought it was hot fuc… making love in this truck the first time.” Her hips swivel against my fingers, and my resolve begins to slip. “Don’t you want to smell my pussy in here for the next couple of days?”

“Jesus, Princess.” I conjure the willpower that seems to be non-existent around her. “I won’t be able to smell your pussy, taste your pussy, or thrust every inch of my cock inside of it if I’m sitting in jail pending addition to the sex offender list.”

Her eyes narrow until I point down the road. The Rhode Island State Police car rolls by, the officer taking in the scene. Delilah shoves her skirt down and repositions herself in her seat as the patrol car turns into the rest area and parks behind us. I pull out my license, insurance, and gun permit placing them on the dash.

A couple of years ago, my first instinct when watching a cop walk up to the back of my truck would’ve been to run. Today? I simply roll the window down and place my hands on the steering wheel, smiling when he introduces himself.

“Hello, Officer.” The purr of Delilah’s voice pisses me off because it’s not directed at me, but my cock doesn’t mind and remains thick in my jeans.

Officer Hamill leans in further, looking around and I don’t miss the deep inhale of his breath.

“You folks eating lunch?” His knowing smile tells me he can smell more than just the fast food.

“Yes, sir,” I answer.

He takes the documents from the dash and tells me he’ll be right back after making sure everything checks out.

“We weren’t doing anything wrong,” Delilah mutters as she looks over her shoulder at the officer as he slides back into his car.

“We were only minutes from getting arrested.” My eyes trail up her golden thighs.

“He had no clue what was happening before he pulled up.”

I shake my head. “See the way he leaned in.” I check the rearview mirror and run my finger up her thigh, the fabric of her skirt lifting the higher I go. “He knew exactly what we were up to.”

She slaps my hand away. “You’re giving me a complex. I feel like I need to shower.”

“You have the sweetest pussy in the world, Delilah and you smell positively intoxicating.” I pin her with my eyes. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he has to wait in his car for his erection to dissipate, or worse yet, trump up some fake charges and arrest me, so he can have a chance at you.”

“I’m yours,” she whispers.

“I know, baby, but you can’t blame the man for being desperate.”

She catches movement out of the corner of her eye and straightens again just before the officer reaches the window.

“Everything looks good, Mr. O’Neil.” He hands me the documents back. “Have a nice day. Drive safe.”

I chuckle when I hear him mutter ‘lucky fucking bastard’ as I situate my license back in my wallet.

“You’re incorrigible,” she mutters and puts her seatbelt back on. “Let’s get out of here. I’m hungry.”

The look in her eye tells me that our meal has been forgotten. I can’t get out of that rest area and back to my house fast enough.