Holding her gaze, he gloried in her response, her body arching into his, her thighs trembling. Driving home, he let go, his rhythm matching hers. His gasps blended with her cries, and… a tune? The chime of his mobile?
Who would be calling him? And why?
“Is that… is that your?—”
“Yeah.” He gulped for air. “I’d better….” Holding the condom in place, he made a quick trip to the bathroom. While he was inthere, the tune, a snatch ofComin’ Through the Rye, stopped. A moment later the phone pinged with a message.
When he returned, Sara stood with his jeans in one hand and his mobile in the other. “They left a message.”
“I heard.”
“You do have good ears.”
“My eyesight’s perfect, too, if you’re taking stock.”
“I am, and I’ve decided your heart’s way too big.” She handed over his mobile.
“It matches my schlong.” That earned him an eyeroll. He grinned and checked his mobile. “It’s from Rance.” He tapped the message.
Hi, buddy — got some bad news. Thunder’s temporarily out of commission. Acted up on the way into town so I stopped by the dealership. Some tricky computer malfunction. They need to do a complete diagnostic, which means an overnight stay. Sorry. Thunder should be back in operation by tomorrow night, though. Hope you and Sara took advantage of me being at work.
He glanced at her. “Good thing we did.”
“Thanks to you. And by the way, I looked at the time when I pulled your phone out. We should probably head over to the house.”
“Hate to, since we won’t have tonight.”
“But we’ll be together at the house and when you come back here, you can finally get some sleep. I’m sure you need it.”
He laid the mobile on the bedside table and gathered her close. “I need you.”
“And I need you.” She gazed up at him. “I’ve tried to pretend that comes as a big surprise, but a part of me always knew I’d fall like a ton of bricks.”
“Have you ever seen a ton of bricks fall?”
She smiled and shook her head. “Have you?”
“I did, yeah. A ton is about four hundred and fifty bricks, or about a hundred square meters. I took part in a demolition once. A ton of bricks coming down makes your ears ring.”
She wound her arms around his neck. “When you make love to me, my ears ring. Must be all those bricks falling.”
“Must be.” He gave in to the urge to kiss her, just once more, and then he didn’t want to let her go.
But he had to. He might as well get used to it. His future would be filled with moments of pulling her close and letting her go. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was better than nothing.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Sara had steered clear of drama classes in high school, leaving that activity to Lani. As she spent a tortuous evening with her family while trying not to act like she was sleeping with Kieran, she was convinced everyone knew and had decided not to bring it up.
More than once she was tempted to confess, just to relieve the pressure. But then what? Rance’s scheme would collapse. If they all saw right through her and had decided to look the other way, she could continue to enjoy a few hours with Kieran every night until the week was over.
She had a moment of panic when he started toward the front door at the end of the evening. He’d have to drive that little white car back to Rance’s cabin by himself. What if he ran into a problem? Or forgot and drove on the left when someone was coming from the other direction?
No one else seemed concerned, especially him. He promised to be back early in the morning so he and Desiree could prep for another call to his grandmother. On the way out he tipped his hat. Adorable.
After he left, everyone said good night. Desiree and Andy headed toward their bedroom and her parents split off toward the kids’ wing.
Sara braced herself as she and Lani trailed behind. If her parents planned to say anything, this would be the moment.
