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Authors: Sarah Ballance
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things. If someone had told her that a day later she’d be riding shotgun with a tattooed hottie doing eighty through the desert, she’d have laughed. Or fled.
She certainly would never imagined she’d feel so free.
She caught her reflection in the side mirror and barely recognized herself. Smiling. Sun kissed. Hair all over the place, probably from the breeze that struck while she was hopping up into the truck. Laughing, she pulled it back, then felt the heat of his gaze.
“You’re so damn pretty,” he said. He paused, looking her way. Hesitant, like he wanted to say something else, but in the end he turned back toward the road.
But she didn’t. She watched him, knowing he could feel her eyes on him, but did it anyway. She itched to touch the stubble that darkened his jaw. Already knew what it felt like against her skin. She couldn’t forget the softness of his lips or the tenderness with which he explored her mouth. Something deeper had simmered, flaring in his eyes, but he remained so gentle. If it was a strategy, she had to give him credit. Already he had her longing for the crush, for the explosion of demand and utter possession of her body he promised. The tease wasn’t enough. Every good girl thing she thought she’d known about herself had been obliterated by this man, and the desire to get closer to him had her vibrating on a frequency that had nothing to do with the hum of the tires on the pavement.
The miles flew, the distant shift of the mountains against the horizon the only real indication of the passing distance. She hadn’t realized a world this vast existed outside of her own, that a relatively bare terrain could seem so wild. Or that she could harbor a need so fierce. She ached for him, the desire to be touched coiled so tight she couldn’t imagine the force of the explosion.
In no time, they were off the interstate and entering the park. He greeted the guy at the entrance station by name, then rolled through.
“You didn’t have to pay?”
“Annual pass. I was here two days ago showing it to the same man. They know me.”
She didn’t respond. She was too blown away by the scenery to form words. Red rock and desert scrub stretched as far as the eye could see. And not just any rock, but endless thin layers of sediment that swirled and looped, somehow at once meticulous and wild.
“Wow.” She had never imagined nature could be more stunning than the jagged peaks of the Rockies, but then again, she could never have fathomed anything like this.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked softly.
“I almost feel like an intruder.”
“You up for a walk? The park is open until sunset.”
Sunset. Here. With him. She shivered, though it had nothing to do with the temperature. She’d forgotten her jacket, but the air was still warm. She wished she at least had a bra, but she’d hand-washed her one only to find her luggage suspiciously devoid of another. Not such a big deal for hanging out at her hotel or for the duo of dresses she’d brought for the two formal events she planned to attend, but another issue entirely when she realized she’d be out. With him. She was far from cold—probably too long adapted to what she’d left behind eight thousand feet up in the snowy Rockies—but she knew temperatures fell quickly in the desert. January could be frigid after sunset.
She glanced at Jax and decided there’s be no absence of heat in the desert that night.
“I’d love to walk with you,” she said.
He steered into the next parking area. His was the only vehicle there. The world was theirs alone, and something about that felt so incredibly right.
She jumped down before he could help her, and with the chirp of his door lock, they left civilization behind. In some ways, she felt like they’d left earth entirely. The rocks in the park took every alien shape imaginable, from the delicately streaked dunes to arches and columns and beehive formations. The path they walked meandered
She certainly would never imagined she’d feel so free.
She caught her reflection in the side mirror and barely recognized herself. Smiling. Sun kissed. Hair all over the place, probably from the breeze that struck while she was hopping up into the truck. Laughing, she pulled it back, then felt the heat of his gaze.
“You’re so damn pretty,” he said. He paused, looking her way. Hesitant, like he wanted to say something else, but in the end he turned back toward the road.
But she didn’t. She watched him, knowing he could feel her eyes on him, but did it anyway. She itched to touch the stubble that darkened his jaw. Already knew what it felt like against her skin. She couldn’t forget the softness of his lips or the tenderness with which he explored her mouth. Something deeper had simmered, flaring in his eyes, but he remained so gentle. If it was a strategy, she had to give him credit. Already he had her longing for the crush, for the explosion of demand and utter possession of her body he promised. The tease wasn’t enough. Every good girl thing she thought she’d known about herself had been obliterated by this man, and the desire to get closer to him had her vibrating on a frequency that had nothing to do with the hum of the tires on the pavement.
The miles flew, the distant shift of the mountains against the horizon the only real indication of the passing distance. She hadn’t realized a world this vast existed outside of her own, that a relatively bare terrain could seem so wild. Or that she could harbor a need so fierce. She ached for him, the desire to be touched coiled so tight she couldn’t imagine the force of the explosion.
In no time, they were off the interstate and entering the park. He greeted the guy at the entrance station by name, then rolled through.
“You didn’t have to pay?”
“Annual pass. I was here two days ago showing it to the same man. They know me.”
She didn’t respond. She was too blown away by the scenery to form words. Red rock and desert scrub stretched as far as the eye could see. And not just any rock, but endless thin layers of sediment that swirled and looped, somehow at once meticulous and wild.
“Wow.” She had never imagined nature could be more stunning than the jagged peaks of the Rockies, but then again, she could never have fathomed anything like this.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked softly.
“I almost feel like an intruder.”
“You up for a walk? The park is open until sunset.”
Sunset. Here. With him. She shivered, though it had nothing to do with the temperature. She’d forgotten her jacket, but the air was still warm. She wished she at least had a bra, but she’d hand-washed her one only to find her luggage suspiciously devoid of another. Not such a big deal for hanging out at her hotel or for the duo of dresses she’d brought for the two formal events she planned to attend, but another issue entirely when she realized she’d be out. With him. She was far from cold—probably too long adapted to what she’d left behind eight thousand feet up in the snowy Rockies—but she knew temperatures fell quickly in the desert. January could be frigid after sunset.
She glanced at Jax and decided there’s be no absence of heat in the desert that night.
“I’d love to walk with you,” she said.
He steered into the next parking area. His was the only vehicle there. The world was theirs alone, and something about that felt so incredibly right.
She jumped down before he could help her, and with the chirp of his door lock, they left civilization behind. In some ways, she felt like they’d left earth entirely. The rocks in the park took every alien shape imaginable, from the delicately streaked dunes to arches and columns and beehive formations. The path they walked meandered
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