something worse that tore at him—regret.
“Oh, no,” he told her firmly. “You’re not going to regret this.”
“Just…what did I do?”
He cradled her face between his hands. “You came to Alaska with me. Have some perspective, Allie. You didn’t steal anything, you didn’t kill anybody. You didn’t lie to anyone. You did the most honest thing you could. You did what your heart told you to.” He would never forget how it felt for her to choose him in front of everyone.
She’d been pressing her lips together. Now they parted as she breathed in deeply.
“Kiss me.”
That wasn’t a good idea. He was weakening anyway, the longer they were together. Out here, far from interruptions, with that look of need in her eyes, it was almost certain he’d crumble. The old Gavin would have stripped her by now. To hell with proving he was ready for serious, ready to be everything she needed.
But the new Gavin knew how it felt to just stop, to enjoy a moment, to not rush and push and work all the time. Being with Allie, helping her through those times when she just needed to let go and feel free had been great. They’d had some amazing experiences. Fun, over-the-top experiences. But he wanted more now. He wanted to sit back, to know he could make her happy with less, without all the craziness, by just being him.
How could he keep up that exciting, spontaneous, take-her-breath-away pace forever? And forever was what he wanted.
“Allie—”
“When you kiss me, it all makes sense. I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be. I feel like I’m spinning out of control, but when you kiss me, the spinning stops.” She put her hand against his cheek. “Please.”
Well, fuck. Like he had any hope of resisting that.
He pulled her in and she met his lips hungrily. She held his head still, her lips moving against his as if she couldn’t get enough. Her tongue slid along his and she turned to straddle him. Somehow his hands ended up under her shirt.
Just feeling the skin of her back wasn’t a problem though, he reasoned. But the moan when he ran his palms up and down the length of her spine was going to be a problem. Because he wanted more of that. A lot more. He moved his hands to cup her breasts, his thumbs stroking over the tips, eliciting an even better, deeper moan. She pressed down against him and he moaned.
“Yes, like that,” she panted against his mouth. “More.”
Another truck drove by, the rumbling on the road pulling Gavin out of his lust-filled daze. “Al.” He glanced into the rearview mirror as, predictably, the truck’s brake lights lit up. No one drove past without stopping to be sure all was fine.
“Al.” He squeezed her hips and shifted her back off of his erection.
“More,” she whispered, staring at his mouth.
“Later.”
She pushed her hair back from her face and said, “I couldn’t even bring myself to pick out my bridesmaids’ dresses.”
“Wh—”
“Hey, Gavin. Everything okay?”
Jeff Pinkett, the local mechanic, grinned through the truck’s open window. He leaned on the door, clearly enjoying what he’d stumbled upon.
“Well, Jeff, I have a gorgeous woman on my lap. Yeah, I’d say things are okay.”
Jeff grinned at Allie. “So, everything’s working the way it should here?”
She chuckled instead of blushing, and Gavin looked at her in surprise. She was usually all about not causing a scene or embarrassing herself—or anyone else.
“We haven’t checked everything out yet but I have no concerns at this point.”
Jeff hooted with laughter and Gavin found himself grinning at her.
“’Kay, I’ll leave you to it then,” Jeff said. He gave them a wink and sauntered off.
Gavin was sure The Hub—and therefore all of Bend—would hear all about it later. Truthfully everyone would love some gossip about him. He was straitlaced here. No one knew his family, his past. He had nothing to live down or prove. He could just be whoever and however he wanted to be.
As Jeff drove off, Allie started to laugh. At first it was just a giggle, but it quickly built and the next thing Gavin knew she was laughing so hard she had to wipe her eyes.
God, he loved seeing and hearing that. And with the way she wiggled in his lap, he felt it too.
She quieted after a moment and drew a deep breath. “That was awesome.”
She slid off his lap and onto the passenger seat, still breathing in deeply and smiling. He told himself it