Part 53 (1/2)

Muldoon pushed his seat back as far as it would go, which was far enougha”thank you, Mr. Forda”as he unfastened her jeans.

He had to stop kissing her to pull them off her legs, which was dangerous because that meant she could talk.

”Oh, my G.o.d,” she gasped, even as she helped him by kicking off her sneakers. ”You actually want to ... Anyone walking past can see us!”

”No, they can't,” he said.

She wasn't wearing any underpants, which would have been a really excellent discovery if he'd been taking his time. As it was, it only served to distract him.

”I happen to know that we're not invisible. At least I'm nota”

”No one's walking past,” he told her, cupping her with his hand, quickly trying to calculate how, in their limited amount of s.p.a.ce, he could kiss her there.

No, there was really only one way two people their size could make love in the front seat of a truck like this one.

He pulled her on top of him, so that she was straddling him.

”Mikea””

”No one's walking past.”

”Easy for you to be blasa”I'm the one who's naked and you're not!”

”I noticed.” He grinned at her as he dug a condom out of his wallet. He'd put it there just a few days ago, in a burst of hope. ”I'm finding that to be quite an incredible turn on. Shades of slave girl and cruel master.”

That completely cracked her up. ”I think you just like the idea of getting caught,” she said, but she pulled her T-s.h.i.+rt over her head and her bra off her arms so that she really was completely naked and waiting for him.

It almost seemed a shame to unfasten his pants. But he did it without hesitating, quickly covering himself with the condom. ”Who's going to catch us, slave girl? It's after four A.M.”

”It's after four?” Her voice rose in dismay.

He grabbed her hips and pulled her toward him and...

”G.o.d!”

He was inside of her, and she was laughing. He hoped it was because this felt as mind-blowingly wonderful to her as it did to him. He was in heaven with her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his face and her body straining to get even closer to his.

”Suddenly four A.M. doesn't seem so awful anymore,” she gasped, and he had to laugh, too. ”In fact, it's my new favorite time of day. Oh, G.o.d, if you don't slow down, I'm going to come right away!”

He didn't. ”Tell me,” he demanded. ”Tell me when. I'm going to come with you.”

What he was doing to her was apparently really right. She was making a lot of wordless noise, deep, s.e.xy sounds of intense pleasure, and it was pus.h.i.+ng him hard against the edge of his own release.

Was she coming? He wasn't completely sure.

”Tell me,” he ordered.

”I'm... yes!” she said. ”Yes!”

He let go.

The crash of pleasure was so intense that he shook, that bright colors actually cart wheeled before his eyes.

And she was feeling that pleasure, too. Right at that exact same moment. Knowing that made it ten times better, and he started to laugh.

It was either that or cry.

Joan collapsed against him, and he held her close.

”Oh, man.” He could feel her heart pounding, racing in time with his. ”Oh, baby. That was amazing. Fast, but amazing.”

She sighed, a bone-deep sigh of contentment that made his throat ache.

Please, G.o.d, let her realize that this was not just another mistake, that what they'd found together could truly make her happy.

She sighed again. ”Can you really do that?” she asked. ”Come on command?”

”It's just a control thing,” he said. ”You fight it, and you fight it, and then you stop fighting it. And bang.”

”Bang?” she repeated, lifting her head to look down at him.

”Yeah.” He smiled back at her. ”That's pretty much how it happens.”

She touched his face, the amus.e.m.e.nt in her eyes changing to something tender, something that had a hint of sadness. ”What on earth am I going to do with you?”

He tried to make it into a joke. ”Something really kinky I hope.”

She opened her mouth, as if she were going to speak, but headlights swept across them.

A car was pulling into the parking lot.

Joan leapt down onto the floor on the pa.s.senger's side of the cab, scrambling for her clothes.

”They parked on the other end,” he told her. ”It's safe to come back.”

But she didn't. She quickly pulled on her clothes before sitting back in her seat. ”G.o.d,” she said, as he refastened his own belt buckle. ”I haven't had s.e.x in a motor vehicle since college. That was... something of a novelty.”

He didn't want to be a novelty. But he tried to keep things light. ”Stick with me, babe. It'll be high cla.s.s all the way. Tomorrow I'll take you out and we can get rocking' in my boat.”

”Tomorrow we're both going to be a little busy,” she said.

”Not tomorrow night.” He started the truck with a roar and pulled out of the hospital lot. ”Can I see you tomorrow night?”

Joan glanced out of the window, as if gauging how fast they were moving and if it were possible for her to jump out of the truck and get away from him without injuring herself.

Not a good sign.

She gave him a smile that was forced, and his heart sank even further. ”I don't know what I'm going to be up to, with Brooke, with Donnya”G.o.d, now that Tony's visiting...”

”I know you have things to do,” he said quietly, ”but sooner or later you will be done for the night. I don't care if it's really latea””