Running my hand down my body now as the shower pelted onto my skin, I wrapped my hand around my dick and gave it a tug. I’d been going around with a semi virtually twenty-four-seven since I’d started seeing Emma . . . maybe even a little before that, if I were being honest. I knew what we needed—a space where we could be alone, where we weren’t likely to be seen together by anyone with a big mouth. Taking her to my grandparents’ farm wasn’t going to accomplish this goal; while it met the criteria of being out of the way, sneaking away to make use of an empty bedroom wasn’t practical. Gram and Pop were pretty open-minded, but that would be pushing their limits. Besides, I was pretty sure that no matter how desperate Emma and I were to be together, alone, neither of us would be comfortable having wild sex a floor above my grandmother’s kitchen while she was cooking dinner.
And wild sex was the only kind I could imagine us having at this point.
But even if a good hard fuck wasn’t on the agenda today, I was looking forward to spending the day with Emma, and I didn’t want to be walking around hard, so I rubbed one out in the shower, my eyes closed as I pictured Emma and remembered the feel of her body beneath my hands.
Half an hour later, dressed and ready to head for Emma’s place, I left the keys to my truck on the hook next to the door and instead selected the keys to the powder blue Thunderbird convertible that waited in my garage. It was the perfect day for this car, and I had a feeling Emma would appreciate it.
I wasn’t disappointed. When I pulled up next to her trailer, she was sitting on the deck, curled up in the lounge chair. She jumped to her feet, her eyes bright. The flowy, sleeveless dress she wore swirled around her knees as she stood.
“Oh, my God, Deacon. Where have you been hiding this?”
“Not hiding. Just wasn’t the right time to bring her out yet.” I jumped out of the car and came around to draw Emma close to me. “But today, everything feels right.”
“I’d have to agree.” She circled her arms around my neck and tugged my face close to hers, parting her lips as she kissed me with the same heady abandon that I’d been feeling for weeks. I slid my hands down her body, snugging her closer to me, fitting my throbbing cock against the juncture of her thighs. I wanted nothing more than to drag her over to the damn lounge chair and finally sink into the heaven of her sweetness.
“Emma . . . baby . . . God, I want you.” I flexed my fingers over her ass. “How bad can the bed in your trailer be? I think we can compensate. We’re smart, creative people.”
“It’s not so much bad as rickety. We’d likely end up on the floor.” She ran her fingers through my hair. “I know. I’m going crazy, but I still don’t think the trailer is the answer.” She sighed and eased back. “Also, your grandparents are expecting us, and I really don’t want to meet them while I’m sporting the just fucked by Deacon look.”
“Baby, that’s a look I think you’d wear well.” I sucked in a deep breath. “But you’re right. One thing at a time, and the first thing is getting over to the farm.” I offered her my hand. “Shall we?”
Emma slid her hand into mine. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Since we were running late, I promised Emma that I’d take her joy riding on the way home. It would’ve been a faster route to just off-road it between the trailer and the farm house, but since the convertible wasn’t four-wheel drive, I took the country back road instead.
“It’s so pretty here.” Emma craned her neck, taking in the fields that made up the outer boundaries of the property. “I can imagine that it must have been a perfect place to grow up. All this land. All the room to run around.”
“I always loved the farm, even when I knew I didn’t want to stay here,” I agreed. “Still do love it. Someday, I’m going to move back out here and take over some of the operations.”
“Really?” Surprise flared in her eyes. “How would you do that and practice medicine at the same time?”
“I’m not talking about making the change tomorrow,” I retorted. “Eventually, though, I want to have a family, and when I do that, I’d like to move into a less rigorous practice. Maybe family medicine. If I did that, I could work the farm, too—not on the scale Pop is doing now, but I could hire help and rent out some of the acreage, too.”
“You’ve thought about this quite a bit, haven’t you?” She cocked her head. “Is this your five-year plan?”
“It’s a plan. I don’t have it on a time limit.” We rounded a bend in the driveway, and the house came into sight. It wasn’t pretty—it had been built by my family over several generations, added on to and changed as time and circumstances had dictated. Still, it was home, and for me, there was no more beautiful sight.
“I love it.” Emma leaned to the right so she could see the whole thing. “It looks exactly as I’d expect a farmhouse to be. Oh—look at the porch.” She snuck me a teasing glance. “Did you sit outside there on warm summer evenings and make out with your girlfriend when you were a teenager, Deacon?”
I shook my head. “Never had a girlfriend when I was a teenager. I was too blinders-on for college and med school. And if I did make out with a girl, it was more likely to be in the cab of my truck, in the parking lot of the high school after a dance, or maybe in a secluded country spot at the end of a long summer day.”
“That’s very specific. I’m guessing it happened often enough.” She snickered. “So you were a hook-up guy who lured the starry-eyed girls into your truck?”
“I don’t know about them being starry-eyed.” I stopped the car in the back of the house. The front was for company only. “I never hooked up with a girl who I knew liked me as more than a friend, because those types were too dangerous. They had expectations, and no way in hell was I going to get caught in something that might trap me here. So the girls who made out with me in the truck were all on the same page I was. They were just looking for a good time.”
“And yet, here you are. Back in Harper Springs. What made you change your mind?”
“I never did. The plan wasn’t ever to leave town forever. I don’t hate Harper Springs—just the opposite. But I knew I needed to get away long enough to finish my education, so I could come back and be the man I wanted to be. The medical degree was always the goal. And then while I was in med school, I came up with the plan for the oncology wing.”
“You waited a long time to make that dream come true,” Emma observed. “It must have taken incredible patience and drive.”
My lips curled into a smirk. “Baby, if you haven’t noticed, Ihaveincredible patience, when it’s something worth waiting for. As for the drive. . .” I leaned to whisper in her ear, my palm framing her jaw. “I’ll be happy to demonstrate that for you at the first possible chance.”
Emma made a breathy little sound. I turned her head toward me and was about to kiss her when I heard the door bang behind me and a familiar voice calling my name.
“Deacon Girard, what are you doing pestering that woman out here in the car, when you could be inside, acting like a gentleman and introducing her to us? Stop messing around, boy, and get yourself in here.”
