Secrets of a Summer Night (Stone Gap Mountain) (4 page)

He frowned down at her, his gaze zeroing in on her purse. “You’re leaving because I was going to sit down?”

“I’m ready to go home.” She’d had enough of watching Emma and her friends. Uncle Bruce had sung the MacGregor brothers’ praises during a post-fire phone call, declaring them and the job Emma had taken to be perfect for Em on numerous levels.

But her and Rand? Not so much.

Rand’s gaze narrowed on her, and she squirmed beneath the intensity. Man, he really did have gorgeous eyes. She loved staring into them when she sat atop him and…

“I don’t like sneaking around, Laney. Maybe this is our hint to leave things be. Frank is my friend, and you’re his
daughter
.”

Like she needed the reminder? “Just follow me out in a few minutes. Go get a drink at the bar, and if anyone asks why you were talking to me, all you have to do is say you were asking if I’m liking the rental.”

He wiped a hand over his face and grimaced. “I’m too old to play games. If we’re going to do this, we need to be real about it.”

Real? She was being real. She was almost thirty years old, and she deserved a life with whomever she wanted. “I’m not in the mood for a fight. Look, I want to get out of here. I’ll meet you at your place, okay?”
 

She didn’t wait around for Rand’s response. Laney made her way out of the bar, not bothering to say goodbye to Emma or her friends. None of them would even know or really care that she’d left until later, and even then they’d assume she left during the busy-ness of the night, which is exactly what she wanted.
 

The air was humid and sticky, tinged with scents of cigarette smoke and asphalt. The noise from the bar shut off with the closing of the door, but the dull thud of music and sporadic bursts of laughter could still be heard as she walked along the outside of the building and parking lot.
 

Frank would never understand. Never accept that she and Rand could possibly have anything in common. That it could ever be more than sex.

So was it true? Was that why she kept putting off confiding in anyone—because she didn’t want to face the truth herself? Or because she wanted more and doubted Rand’s feelings for her
were
more than unbelievable sex?
 

Ten minutes later, she was on her way to Rand’s. The radio was so annoying Laney turned it off but immediately wished she hadn’t because it made her more aware of the silence and her jumbled thoughts.
 

The streets heading out of town were relatively empty, with only a handful of cars at the red lights and a few small groups of college kids walking to and from Zailer University.

As she drove out to Rand’s house, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to live there herself. Like a girl playing pretend, she pictured herself as hostess to his parties, the lady of the beautiful house nestled along the lake.

She turned up his driveway, loving the age-old feel of the tree-lined drive, the way the four white columns rose into the air like soldiers standing guard.
 

The night sounds surrounded her as she got out and made her way up the porch steps. She sat in one of the big, black rockers lining the front when Rand pulled to a stop near her Jeep and got out, his expression still dark and broody from their earlier conversation.

Beneath the light of the moon, she was able to make out his masculine stride and broad shoulders. He looked tough and strong, and all she could think about was how much she wanted to be with him regardless of their age difference or the impact it would have on both their relationships with her father.
 

“What happened?” he asked, stopping in front of her long enough to tug her out of the seat and into the house behind him once he’d unlocked the door. “What sent you running out of the bar tonight?”

She inhaled and sighed. How easily he could read her. “Am I a bitch?” she asked, surprising herself by the bluntness of the question.
 

“Why are you asking that?”
 

He shut and locked the door behind them with a decisive click, one that sent electricity racing through her raw nerves. “Because I’d have to be, wouldn’t I? For being even remotely upset that my little sister lucked into a job paying more than I make?” she said, turning to drop her purse onto the entry table. “Everything has turned out better for her than it was before the fire.”

“It’s not better for you?”
 

Oh, that was the real question, wasn’t it?
 

She could hear the tension in Rand’s tone as he voiced the query, and when she turned, she saw that he waited for her answer, hands fisted.

In some ways, yes, better for her. But did he feel the same way? And if he did, why not say it? In the time since that first encounter on her blow-up mattress, he hadn’t said a
word
to her about why he was with her. Nothing. It was very old-school alpha male, and she wasn’t sure she liked not knowing what he was thinking or his high-handedness in demanding she be the one to decide and speak first when it came to owning up to their secret relationship. “You know what, forget it. I’m leaving.”

Rand grabbed her arm as she moved by him, not hurting her but not letting go either. Her heart skidded out of control, and heat pooled low in her belly. All from his touch and that look in his eyes.

Okay, so maybe she liked the alpha-male thing a little.

“I’m not sure why you’re upset, but you shouldn’t be driving like this.”

“Oh, so you do care if something happens to me?”

His eyes glittered in the dim light of the foyer. He let go of her arm but stepped toward her, matching her step by step as she backed up, all the way until her shoulder blades hit the door.

“You know I do. And if I didn’t know better,” he said, lowering his head until his breath hit her mouth, “I’d say you were trying to pick a fight with me. But you’re smart enough to know to ask for whatever it is you want from me, right?”

Laney closed her eyes and leaned her head against the door. She had to ask for what she wanted, demand it. But would he give it to her? “I want... you.”

“Honey, you have me.”

The way he said it made it seem very real. If only it was true. “No, I mean… As crazy as it sounds, I’m falling in love with you, but neither one of us is willing to tell Frank the truth because we both know all hell will break loose.” A huff left her, her eyes burning with stupid tears. She had to blink fast to get rid of them.
 

“Delaney… Honey, I love you too.”

Her heart picked up speed once more. He’d said it. He’d actually said the words! “You do?”

His big, calloused hand slipped between them and grabbed hold of her belt, tugging her toward him.
 

“You know good and well that I do.”

Joy filled her. Surged through her chest, spread through her body. Seared her soul. If they loved each other— what were they waiting for? Approval? Really? “You love me.”

Saying the words aloud cemented them in her heart because she
believed
them. “Show me,” she ordered. “Show me, and then— We’ll go back into town. Together.”

Rand’s thick eyebrow lifted. “People will talk.”

“Screw what anyone says. Frank included. He loves us both. He’ll get over it eventually. Especially when he sees that we’re not just messing around.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.” The words were so easy to say now. “I want to be with you.”

“Forever,” Rand added.

“Forever.”
 

Without another word, Rand yanked the buckle open. Her pulse pounded through her body, and she couldn’t look away from him as Rand unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, stripped her, every move performed with just enough force and purposeful intent to send her desire spiraling higher.
 

She got into it, too, yanking at his shirt and smiling when buttons popped and went scattering across the floor. She buried her head against his recently injured shoulder, kissed the skin as she opened the sides of his shirt and shoved the material away. His skin was salty. Warm. Thoroughly intoxicating. “
Hurry.
”

“The wait will make you appreciate me more,” he said with a growling chuckle.
 

They finished undressing each other, every stroke of their fingers and swipe of their tongues saying all the words they couldn’t verbalize.

Since Rand was taking too long, she took matters into her own hands, ducking out from under the arm trapping her against the door and hurrying to the gorgeous, curved staircase. Rand immediately came after her, and she let him catch her halfway up the stairs, breathless and needy for him.
 

One of his hands curved around her and fastened over her breast, the other dragging her hips back against him as he surged inside her without the least bit of resistance.
 

Balance was precarious. She held tight to a spindle and one of the treads, her mind whirling as he began to pump inside her with slow, maddening strokes when she wanted fast and hard and mind-blowing.
 

He tugged her off-balance, somehow kept them both from tumbling down the stairs, and moved inside her at the same time, his breath rough in her ear. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Only feel. He possessed her, mastered her, took control, and made her beg for more until finally she couldn’t withstand the bombardment, and the tension burst, her cries echoing off the walls as she climaxed.

Yeah, she’d tell her father. She’d tell everyone. Scream it to the world.

Forever.

Read more about Laney and her family in the first full-length Stone Gap Mountain novel featuring Emma Wyatt and Ian MacGregor titled BLIND MAN’S BLUFF BY KAY STOCKHAM.
 

About the author

Kay Stockham always wanted to be a writer, ever since the age of seven or eight when she copied the pictures out of a Charlie Brown book and rewrote the story because she didn't like the plot. Through the years her stories have changed but one characteristic stayed true--they were all romances. Each and every one of her manuscripts included a love story.

Published in 2005 with Harlequin Superromance, Kay's first release was a Waldenbooks Bestseller. Kay has also been a HOLT Medallion, Book Buyers Best and RITA Award finalist who has contracted fourteen books with Harlequin Superromance and a novella with Berkley Publishing and multiple books with Kindred Spirits Publishing.
 

For more information regarding her work, please visit Kay's website at
www.kaystockham.com
.