Chance Encounter

Their thighs brushed. His arm swept across the front of her. Though the touch was barely there, and in no way intentional, her body reacted.

And he could deny it until the end of time, but he wasn’t unaffected either. He looked at her, and at the emotions blaring there she nearly cried.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m glad Brian’s safe from trouble-”

“No, I meant about…before.”

“You mean when we made love outside?” New life, new rules, she reminded herself. Hold nothing back. “Against a tree?”

He winced and raked his hands through his hair. “Yes. God, I’ve never felt like such a stupid teenager in my life. Not even when I was a stupid teenager.” Swearing again, he put his hands on her hips and snagged her close. Then he cupped her face, stroking his fingers against her cheek. “Did I hurt you, Ally?”

That wasn’t what she expected. And with him touching her, his voice low and grim with concern, she found herself speechless.

“Did I?” he demanded.

“No.” A small, shy smile escaped. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

Some of his intensity faded and his lips curved slightly. “Yeah?”

She smiled, and thought maybe she’d reached him then, maybe she’d gotten past that protective barrier, but he stepped back, robbing her of his warmth.

“You’re sorry about what happened,” she said bluntly, her voice not quite as strong as her resolve. “I thought it was usually the woman who had regrets. No, wait.” She pressed her fingers to her eyes so that she didn’t have to see that tortured look on his face. “I have no right to press you-”

“Chance?” Brian poked his head back into the locker room, his expression both eager and anxious. “Did you change your mind?”

Chance didn’t take his eyes off Ally. “No, Slick. We’re going. I just need a moment here.”

But Ally didn’t want to hear his regrets, didn’t want to hear why the most amazing experience of her life could never happen again, so she turned away and smiled reassuringly at Brian.

Or she hoped it was a reassuring smile, and not the near-tears she really felt. “He’s coming right now,” she said. “He’s all yours.”

THE RIDE WAS GOOD, and so was Brian. He’d developed an amazing biking skill over the past few weeks, and damn if Chance wasn’t growing fond of the obnoxious, surly, sour fourteen-year-old.

He was growing fond of lots of things lately. Things, and…people. One woman in particular.

He was showered, changed and standing at his office window, staring out at the mountains, seeing only Ally, and that light in her eyes that shone whenever she looked at him.

Then he caught sight of a kayak on the river and his heart all but stopped.

She was out there alone. Dammit, he was tired of saving her pretty butt. He wouldn’t do it again.

He wouldn’t.

But the kayak could tip, and he knew she wasn’t a strong swimmer, and that the current was tough, and…and he raced out of his office, swearing, furious at both of them.

Running down the hallway, he skidded to a surprised halt at the doorway to her office, because there she sat behind her desk, on the phone, wearing not a bathing suit but a long, flowing sundress, covered with a million tiny flowers. Her hair was a little messy, as if she’d not given it a second thought all day, and he decided he liked that. Her lips were naked.

He liked that, too. He liked a lot of things about her, especially those little noises she made when he was deep inside her.

With a flick of his wrist, he locked her office door. At the startlingly loud sound of the lock falling into place, she faltered in midsentence, sent him a wide-eyed doe look that made him hot.

Still staring at him, she gripped the phone tighter.

Oh yeah, he already felt better. With a wicked smile, he pulled off his shirt.

Ally stuttered into the receiver, obviously struggling to maintain her side of the phone conversation.

Sending her a slow wink, he perched a hip on her desk. Just looking at her made him hungry for a taste of her, and he licked his lower lip.

Ally stared at his mouth, hers open, and dropped the phone. Blushing, she quickly picked it up, apologizing into it.

Enjoying himself immensely now, Chance leaned in and toyed with a strand of her hair. Then he stroked a finger over the very tip of her earlobe.

She abruptly rose and turned her back to him.

He simply stood behind her, slid his hand around her waist to her stomach and pulled her back against his already raging hard-on. Spreading his fingers wide, he touched as much of her as he could. His thumb brushed the underside of her breasts, then he cupped the soft curves. Her hard nipples pressed into his hands and he rasped his thumbs over them.

Letting out a choked sound, she stammered out some excuse, and finally hung up. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair messy, and she backed away from him, avoiding his gaze. “You’re back from riding all in one piece.”

“Yep. You look good enough to eat, Ally.”

Suddenly she was the picture of busy; the piles on her desk, her filing, her computer. Anything and everything had her attention, except him.

Leaning back against her desk, he pulled her between his thighs. “Why are you so nervous?”

“I’m always nervous before I get dumped.”

“Dumped?”

“Don’t look so shocked,” she said, searching his gaze. “I know what you’d like to do to me. You’d like to ship me back to where I came from. Pretend I never showed up.”

“No, actually, that’s not what I’d like to do to you.”

She blinked, then blushed. “Be serious.”

“Oh, I’m being very serious.”

She slowly shook her head and backed away from him. “Don’t tease. Not about this. Just dump and go.”

He didn’t want to “dump” her. In fact, he wanted more of her, and he was even beginning to think maybe he could never get enough.

“Chance?” Her voice was tentative now. “What happened up there, between us? In the woods?”

He skimmed a finger up her arm, over her jaw and into her silky hair. “I was hoping you’d know.”

She shook her head.

“I’m sure this is no surprise,” he said softly. “But I’m not comfortable with what you make me feel.”

She searched his gaze for a long, long moment. “I’m not comfortable with very much when it comes to you,” she finally said.

“So we’re even.”

She seemed fascinated by his mouth, and he nearly groaned when she licked her dry lips. Blood drained from his head to parts south. He ran his thumb over her lower lip, but she caught his hand.

“Don’t,” she whispered. “I can’t think when you do that.”

“Thinking is overrated.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He pulled her closer, so that they were touching from head to toe, and all the delicious hot spots between. His hips slid against hers, and she let out a dark, needy sound that inflamed him. “Do you want me, Ally?”

Against his throat, she moaned.

He skimmed his hands over her luscious, warm body, then back up again, beneath the material of her dress now, bending his head to kiss her neck because he couldn’t get enough. He stroked the backs of calves, her knees. Her thighs, and when he discovered no stockings, no nylons, nothing but Ally, he nearly came right there.

She wrapped her arms around him and bit his neck. “You make me…wild,” she whispered.

“Wild is good.” He slid his fingers down, down, between her thighs, and found her hot and wet. “Do you want