When she catches me reading, she hisses like a territorial cat. “No peekin’!”
“Even though it’s my dick inspiring this masterpiece?”
She pecks my cheek. “Sorry, but that’s exactly why. Can’t risk upsettin’ the delicate balance of creative cock magic.”
22
TALLY
The endof my cigarette glows cherry-red. Smiling, I puff smoke rings around the full moon hanging like a light in the sky. After I got dressed, Rust drove until we found this quiet spot to make camp for the night. I’d take this meadow of wildflowers in the middle of nowhere over a luxury suite in some fancy hotel any day.
“I didn’t know they made air mattresses for truck beds now. Do you take lots of girls stargazing like this?” I ask.
Rust’s fingers brush mine as he steals the cigarette and takes a drag. “Just you. I use the mattress for solo fishing trips in the summer. That’s what I bought it for originally, but I like this much better.”
A flicker of something warm blazes through my chest.
“This is the most fun I’ve had on a da—” I cut myself off.
What the fuck was I about to say?A date?!
Nope.
I can’t call this a date. It’s most definitelynot a date. Dates aren’t casual. Dates imply feelings… and Iforbidfeelings.
Pussy tingles? Yes, please.
Heart tingles? No, sir.
“This is the most fun I had on adayout in a long time,” I finish my sentence.
“So to summarize: getting double stuffed with corn on the cob and eating gas station snacks on the bed of my truck is the blueprint?”
I pretend to pluck a glittering star from the velvet sky. “Don’t forget about the battery powered fairy lights you hung up on the truck cab. You really thought of everything.”
Rust laughs. “That’s bare minimum. You know you’re every country boy’s dream girl, right? No, I take it back. You’re every man’s dream girl, no matter where they come from.”
I turn on my side and the air mattress shifts. Our bodies collide gently. The soreness between my legs reminds me how good he felt inside me and my face heats as I meet his gaze. If I’m not careful, I could lose myself counting the golden flecks in those brown eyes.
I tap his chest. “And you’re the greenest red flag I’ve ever met. Douchebag on the outside with the backward caps and the sleeveless flannels and the big truck. But you’re a sweetheart underneath.”
Rust quirks a brow. “You forgot the most important part: I’m a wild animal in bed.”
I giggle, dragging my fingers over the short faux fur blanket beneath us. “Seriously though, your dirty mouth should be recognized as a weapon. Where did you learn to throw out those lines?”
“Had some inspiration. I’m not much of a TV guy, but when I get to the city, I try to pick up a spicy romance book from the library. They’re a wellspring of panty-incinerating knowledge.”
“Huh, clever boy. You cracked the code. Most guys feel threatened by book boyfriends.”
“Now that’s plain stupid. They’re an instruction manual to be a better lover.” Rust takes a last drag from the cigarette before dropping it in an empty beer can. “But full transparency: I imagine every heroine as a curly redhead with a sharp tongue and killer curves. And I cast myself as the morally grey male main character who sweeps her off her feet.”
“I’ll let you have your grand delusions.”
Finally, I accept the fate gravity and the air mattress have destined for me. I cuddle up to Rust, slinging my leg over his hips, my head resting on his chest. He wraps an arm around me and holds me close.
His pulse is quick, thundering against my ear.
On the outside, he’s unflappable. But behind that nonchalant exterior and that quick-draw tongue always ready to crack a joke, he’s human. Vulnerable.
