powerfully appealing.
“Let’s just enjoy the rest of the afternoon and let tonight take care of itself. Okay?”
Sierra thought that was a perfect idea. She felt her shoulders relax, knowing that her secret could be held off for one more day.
They rode through the tall pines, hemlock and fir trees. Sierra knew she should separate herself from Drake, but instead, she laid her head down on his back and wrapped her arms around his waist, savoring the feel of his body. She tried to keep her fingers still, she tried to ignore the heat. But as they rode through the tall evergreens, she couldn’t ignore the incredible need to touch him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, knowing he couldn’t hear her above the roar of the engine. But it still felt good to say the words finally, to apologize for what her father did so many years ago. It was almost cathartic as she whispered the apology and she sighed with the release of her guilt.
Drake had to grit his teeth against the need that surged through him with her arms around him like this. He heard her whispered words only because he was extra-sensitive to everything about her, wanting her like this. He loved having her arms around him, even if he knew she wouldn’t want him to do anything about it. It showed that she trusted him at least while he was driving her through the forest. That was something, he accepted.
But when they arrived back at his house, she didn’t move away from him like she normally would. Like he was expecting her to. Instead, she sat up and he could tell that she was looking around, the sudden silence causing the earth to seem much quieter.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly, not turning his body because she still had her arms wrapped around his waist and he liked them there. He simply turned his head so he could see her out of the corner of his eye.
Sierra nodded her head, still leaning against him. It was as if she were hugging his whole body since her inner thighs were still pressing against his outer thighs, her chest against his back and her arms around his waist.
“I guess I’d better….”
He shifted suddenly and shook his head. “You don’t need to do anything, Sierra. Except relax. Come inside and have a glass of wine, I’ll start a fire and we can just talk. No pressure. Let’s just talk.”
She wanted that so desperately, she knew she should say no, should ask that he drive her back to her house and she could put all of her energy into her work. Instead, she heard herself say, “Okay. A glass of wine sounds nice.”
He stood up and helped her off of the ATV, then pushed it carefully back in his garage with the other toys he had stored there. She spied a motorcycle and what looked like climbing equipment. The man certainly enjoyed his outdoor sports, she thought.
“I have a great bottle of wine that you’ll probably like,” he said and took her hand as he led her into the house.”
“That would be nice,” she said, her eyes relaxed. Nothing was going to happen but they would sit down and get to know each other better. A glass of wine never hurt anyone, she told herself firmly.
He opened the bottle expertly, then flicked a switch and the fire came to life, the flames licking the top of the fireplace. There was even a crackling sound, the look and feel from this gas fireplace to be similar to a wood burning one.
She was just as impressed with this living area as she had been at his city penthouse. “You don’t seem like the type to enjoy a gas fireplace but you have a large one here and back at your other place.”
He shrugged as he sat down next to her with his own glass, placing the bottle of wine next to them on the coffee table. “I normally prefer a wood fire, but I chose a gas fireplace in both places so I could enjoy it more often. A wood fire doesn’t turn off and on as easily so if I only have an hour or two, I can still light up the fire and have a nice evening or afternoon.”
She knew that made sense, it just seemed so out of character with him. It was what she would prefer as well, even though she lived in an apartment. “So how did you get into