mine and he says, “Anywhere else need my attention, Dr. Cross?” I nearly die. Because I want to say all of me.
I want him in the shower, in my bed, everywhere. Wherever I can get him.
Every last inch of me needs every last inch of him.
Luke
I knew she could do it. She thinks all she’s got to flaunt is that great big brain of hers, but I never met a girl who’s so damn hard on herself. Truth is, she’s tough as nails.
—Luke’s Confessional, Day 11
We pull in front of a bed-and-breakfast in the little mountain town of Julian. When we get there, we see Will Wang waiting on the platform. We jump out of the cab and throw our shit on the platform at his feet.
“Congratulations, team,” Will says. “You are in first place.”
Fuck yes. We’ve held our lead.
I turn to Penny and engulf her in a hug. We’re covered in sweat and dirt, and yet she smells damn good. I pull her scent into my lungs, and suddenly I want to keep her against me for the rest of the night, just like this.
No, I want more than this.
I want her. Me. In a room. All night long. I want to drag her body to me and undress her and explore her every inch with my mouth.
And I don’t think even that will be enough to knock her out of my system.
Fuck yes, we’re in first place. We get to continue this adventure. But right now, I just want to take her up to bed.
Will grins widely and says some stupid shit about how Julian is known for their apple pies and how tonight we’ll be treated to a relaxing dinner with a dessert of pie à la mode as well as a night at one of the town’s best bed-and-breakfasts.
But the thing I zero in on? Bed.
As in, Nell and me. In bed. Together.
And I sure as fuck plan on not sleeping over the covers this time. From the way she’s holding my hand as we go inside, I don’t think she’ll mind.
“I’m so glad,” she says as we take a creaky elevator to the top floor of this little Victorian house. “I feel so gross. It’ll be so nice to take a shower and have dinner and relax right now. I’m . . . starting to feel a little sore.”
“Oh yeah? Where?”
“My shoulders, from the monkey bars, and . . .”
I run my hand up her spine to her fragile shoulders and knead the muscles of her neck. Her head drops back.
“That’s nice.”
Our room is small, but it has its own bathroom. The second I close the door, we drop our bags, and I draw her to me. I crush my mouth to hers and press her up against the door. She lets out a moan as I run my hands under her shirt, cupping her tits. She feels warm and sweet, and my mind is whirling. I spit out half-formed thoughts as I kiss her. “I want this. Want you.”
“Take me.”
Sweet invitation. I intend to. As soon as I can.
And then it hits me.
I half assed it when I packed for this trip and forgot a bunch of things that could have come in handy. But the thing I’m regretting most?
Protection.
I kiss her hairline and force myself to tear away from her. “Fuck. I’ve got to get something. For us. Okay?”
She gives me a confused look, which morphs to disappointment. She drops her eyes over her dirty fatigues and cringes. “That’s okay. I guess I’ll go take a shower, then. I really need one.”
I cup her chin in my hand and settle a soft kiss on her lips. “I won’t be long.”
The cameras are swarming over every last inch of this tiny bed-and-breakfast, making it more like a zoo. There’s no gift shop, so I go outside the back entrance, trying not to call attention to myself so that I get a camera following me. Once I’m sure I haven’t been followed, I search up and down the hilly streets for a drugstore, all the while thinking of Penny, naked and showering in our room. It may be that the world is plotting against us, because all the stores I go past are either closed or they don’t carry condoms. Twenty minutes later, I end up finding a gas station that sells only one kind, extra-large Crowns, suspicious because the package has a layer of dust on the top and I can’t find an expiration