Been There Done That (Leffersbee #1) - Hope Ellis Page 0,120
the car around a familiar curve that made my heart beat that much faster.
Were we going to . . .?
“I heard from Eddie,” she said, and I groaned.
“He really went complaining to you?”
“He said you’ve been, and I quote, a ‘narcissistic asshole’ all week. Tormenting the staff, throwing wrenches in all their plans. Said he would’ve knocked you unconscious and sent you back to me if you hadn’t already left.”
The open road slowly transitioned into dense forest, muting the waning evening light. She slowed, prepared to cut into a place I’d once known very well. It was the setting of our horniest teenage years.
Cooper’s Field.
“So I told him,” she said, driving farther into the shadowy expanse, “to just send you home. ‘Cause I knew what you needed.”
I leaned over, rested my hand on the warmth of her upper thigh. God, it felt good to be able to touch her again.
“Uh-huh. And what was that?”
She aimed a full-on grin at me before returning her attention back to the windshield. “Me.”
We both laughed. I unbuckled my seat belt and reached for her, unable to wait any longer. I loved seeing her this way, confident in the love I had for her and in the claim she’d staked on my heart. I needed her like I needed air and I loved that she knew it, owned it.
She pulled the truck past the middle of the clearing most often used by visitors and tucked the truck under a shadowed copse of trees.
As soon as the vehicle was properly parked I snatched her across the bench seat and held her against me, filled my lungs with the scent of her.
God. I’d needed this.
“You poor baby.” She pulled back just enough to study me in the darkening interior of the car. “You haven’t slept that well, have you?”
I didn’t have to fake my piteous expression. “And I haven’t been inside you in days.”
She slapped at my hands when I hooked my thumbs in her jeans.
“Down, boy. Let’s eat.”
Things were definitely looking up. “There’s food?”
She jerked a thumb toward the window. “Get out.”
I held her to me as I climbed down from the running board, ignored her squawking protests to put her down.
I just didn’t want to let her out of my arms yet.
We rounded the back of the truck. I helped Zora clamber up and craned my neck to see what secrets awaited me in the truck’s bed.
She climbed over to the supplies and blankets stacked neatly against one corner. I grinned when she stood and shook out a blanket.
“Really? A picnic?”
Zora busied herself with turning on several electric lanterns, strategically arranging them. “Yes. Get the food out of the cab. There’s coolers. Behind your seat.”
I returned to the cabin to find several coolers I hadn’t noticed. By the time I’d rejoined her, she’d turned the bed into a makeshift lounge with bright pillows and a quilt.
I jumped up, set the food aside and tackled her in the middle of her efforts.
“Nick!”
“Zora.” I turned us until she was under me, slid my hands into her hair and gripped the thick roots of it. I looked down into her face, thinking this was all I ever wanted or needed, ever again.
“I can’t live without you.” I surprised myself with the admission. I couldn’t help my raw delivery, the flare of panic I felt at the idea that anything might separate us again. Even I could admit that I was a pain in the ass without her.
Her expression softened as her gaze moved over mine. She pulled my head until our lips met.
“You don’t have to. Because I sure as hell don’t want to live without you.”
Our eyes met. Something in me settled, quieted to calm.
This was real. We were doing this.
We were we.
Zora and I sat up and worked together, unpacking the food and plating it. I grinned at the sight of a familiar, age-old thermos.
“Is that what I think it is?”
She rolled her eyes as she set out camping bowls. “Yes. It’s my mother’s gumbo.”
That did it. This was one of the best days I’d had, ever.
“You’re so spoiled. I told her I was picking you up and bringing you here. She threatened me with death if I didn’t pick up this up. She made it just for you. Walker’s jealous. You’ll be hearing from him.”
I rubbed my hands together gleefully as she poured a healthy portion into the bowl. The air was immediately saturated with the scent of slow cooked meats, seafood, and spices.