Taking Chances: Tangled Up Part 5

But just to be sure, Bree slid her hand down between them, creating s.p.a.ce where she really didn't want any separation at all. But when her hand found the steel column behind denim, she didn't mind as much. And when Max gave a heartfelt, "f.u.c.k," she happily pressed harder and stroked him.

"More," she repeated, while she had his attention. Or while she had his c.o.c.k's attention, anyway.

Apparently he decided to follow her lead. His hot hand slid from her face, down her neck and chest, to her breast. He covered the mound, kneading gently but watching her face. Bree felt the need to squeeze her legs together in response, but she couldn't with the big, hard storm chaser between them. Instead, she tightened her thighs around him. Max moved his hand, rubbing her cotton bra and tank top over the tingly flesh of her breast and causing her nipple to tighten. That hadn't happened in a while, either. The last time she'd tried s.e.x with a nice guy, versus her typical just-this-side-of-legal guy, his playing with her b.r.e.a.s.t.s had annoyed her. She'd moved things along quickly so he'd leave them alone.

With Max, he could stay there all day. Though she wouldn't mind if he got his mouth involved. The mouth that she'd had no idea could do what it did. With how good he was lip to lip, she'd love to feel those lips a few other places.

Max squeezed her nipple between his fingers, and Bree jerked as heat streaked through her.

She gasped and arched closer.

He did it again, and she opened her eyes, having not realized she'd closed them, to find him watching her with heat and a touch of what she could only call smugness.

Smugness.

Huh. But it was definitely that.

With his eyes on hers, he slid the bottom of her shirt up.

Yessss.

He gave another little growl, and Bree realized she'd said that out loud.

Instead of trying to cover that up, she decided to help uncover the part she wanted him attending to. She lifted her shirt so it bunched above her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Max's smug look disappeared.

Ha.

Without a second of thought, Max pulled down the cup of her bra, exposing her breast. He took in the sight. He brushed a thumb over the stiff tip, and Bree felt her c.l.i.t pulse.

d.a.m.n. She'd missed this.

The want, the coiling desire, the sweet build of a pending o.r.g.a.s.m.

She'd had some really good s.e.x in the past. But the problem had been that it seemed she could only get really riled up when there was an edge of trouble to it all. Fortunately, she'd quickly realized that one-night stands with strangers or the s.e.x in places where they could get caught were both really bad choices. So she'd resigned herself to so-so s.e.x with nicer men, a great vibrator, and erotic romance.

But when Max put his mouth on her nipple and moved his hand over her belly and down to cup her through the navy-blue polyester uniform, she wanted to shout, "Hallelujah!"

If Max could get her going like this, this fast, in a ditch, then maybe she could have great s.e.x that wouldn't get her badge pulled. Or give her rope burns. Yeah, that had happened once.

Bree gripped the back of Max's head, arching closer to his mouth and hand, urging him on. She stroked him firmly through the denim covering the part of him she was suddenly very interested in, and she found herself wanting to strip them both down. Here and now.

"Dammit, have to feel you," he muttered against her nipple. He switched sides, and she spiraled into the hot need, not noticing he'd moved his hand again until she felt him slide between the polyester and the cotton of her panties.

She knew he instantly felt how hot and wet she was, and if the primal rumble she heard and felt against her breast was any indication, he liked it.

He wasn't slowed a bit by her pants still being zipped. Even so, she sucked in her lower belly so he had more room. He took advantage. His fingers slipped under the top edge of her panties and up against her c.l.i.t.

"Yes, Max. d.a.m.n," she gasped, arching her back.

"That's it," he urged. "Show me what you want."

What she wanted? His fingers moving faster, pressing harder, filling her up, making her come. She really thought that was pretty clear. Telling him all that out loud was going to take more breath than she had.

"I'm so close," she managed.

"Are you going to come for me, Bree?" he asked, his voice low and gravelly.

The huskiness sent desire skittering along her limbs.

"Please. Yes."

This is weird, a corner of her mind insisted. It should be weird, anyway. This was Max.

But her body, particularly the part Max was so masterfully stroking at the moment said, Max has great hands, long fingers, and a magical mouth. Shut the h.e.l.l up and enjoy this.

A moment later, she didn't have a choice.

Max slid two thick fingers into her while sucking on her nipple at the same time, and she came apart ten seconds later.

And she came apart.

She felt the o.r.g.a.s.m shatter inside of her, shards of pleasure flying out and covering everything. It wasn't just her girl parts that were happy, but her mind and even her heart felt the overwhelming combination of pleasure, joy, and relief.

She hadn't felt that combination since they'd gone zip-lining in the Appalachians last year.

Bree threw a forearm over her eyes and breathed in deeply and contentedly. She knew some people rolled over and went to sleep after s.e.x. She was always revved up. After good s.e.x, anyway.

She pulled her arm away as she felt Max shift beside her. She could tell he was getting up and off the tarp.

She'd had good almost-s.e.x. She'd had an o.r.g.a.s.m, and she was long overdue for one that wasn't self-inspired. But that hadn't been s.e.x.

"Hey, what-"

"Radio," he said, not looking back.

Bree pulled her clothes back into place and scrambled to her feet as he headed for the truck. Radio?

Then she heard the squawking from the CB that must have caught his attention.

He leaned in through the pa.s.senger-side window, his jeans pulling across his a.s.s and his shirt riding up.

Bree swallowed hard.

It was like that switch was still turned to on and the light was shining brightly.

Max, the most important person in her life, had just kissed the bejeezus out of her and given her an o.r.g.a.s.m that was still making her nerve endings jump. And that wasn't all that was ricocheting through her body. Emotions-desire, amazement, happiness, and . . . fear-bounced around inside her head and heart. This was Max who had just touched her like that. That was awesome. And . . . now what?

He said something into the radio, and she had to force herself to pay attention as she climbed up the side of the ditch. She pulled the tarp along behind her. She was pretty sure the s.e.x-in-the-ditch moment had pa.s.sed.

But there were other moments to come. He was here for three days. And this was Max. She couldn't stop herself; she was already thinking about his next visit and the trip they were planning in the fall. Another trip. Bree's entire body got hot and happy at the idea of adding amazing s.e.x three times a day to their vacation itinerary.

Maybe they should have done that a long time ago.

But they hadn't . . . because of her.

A couple of years ago, on their skiing trip, she'd taken a nasty spill on the mountain. She'd been shaken up, hurt, scared. Her neck had hurt, and she hadn't been able to move her arms or legs at first. Her arms and hands had tingled, and she'd had a hard time focusing her eyes for several minutes. She'd been positive that she was paralyzed and would spend her life in a wheelchair. Max was the first person to reach her-of course-and everything they'd done together, everything she'd planned to do with him, had raced through her mind, adding to her panic. Thankfully, it had turned out she'd only had a concussion and had been in shock. The moment the paramedics cleared her and she realized she could independently move all her limbs, she'd launched herself into Max's arms . . . and kissed him.

Later that night, Max had sprung a romantic night in his cabin on her.

And she'd panicked.

She'd chalked up her reaction on the slope to the adrenaline of the moment and had told him so. She'd told him that sleeping together would ruin their friendship and that trying a romance between them wasn't worth the risk. And she'd believed it. Max's friendship was the most important thing in her life. They could both get s.e.x elsewhere, but they'd never find a friendship like theirs again.

Then she'd walked away. And gone out to the bars-partying, drinking, and singing karaoke all night long with a bunch of strangers.

Was that what was happening here? Was this just adrenaline and the relief after a near-death experience making her feel what she was feeling with Max?

Maybe. But she wasn't quite buying that this time for some reason.

When he turned away from the truck a moment later, his face held a completely different expression from what she'd been expecting.

"What is it?" she asked immediately, stepping close.

"Chance was. .h.i.t."

Every bit of adrenaline that had been coursing pleasantly through her post-o.r.g.a.s.m body suddenly seemed to reroute to her head and her heart. Instead of tingly arms, legs, and more intimate parts, her mind started to spin, and her heart began to pound.

"How bad?" she asked.

He leaned in and turned up the radio.

"We had some wind gusts up to one hundred and seventy," a crackly voice on the radio said.

Another answered, "We can confirm. We tracked the storm moving at forty to fifty miles per hour."

"Location?" someone asked.

"Highway eight, four miles north of town."

Bree mentally pictured exactly where the other trackers were. They'd been on the other side of the storm from where she and Max were.

The local weather service and law enforcement relied heavily on storm spotters, and she knew there were a few in the area, as well as more serious ones who'd noticed the radar and headed in this direction from some distance. This was Chance, after all. The odds of seeing something big were pretty good.

Storm chasers always wanted to see a big one and, while they also took their role in warning the public and helping with safety seriously, they also rejoiced when something like an EF4 formed.

Which was what had just hit Chance. The wind speeds alone categorized it at a four even without knowing what kind of damage it had left behind.

Her stomach dipped. Damage. In Chance.

"EF4," she said out loud.

Max gave a single nod.

He looked grim, and rightly so, but it was tough for a moment to reconcile this guy with the one who'd had his hands down her pants only a few minutes ago.

Bree brushed that off.

They had much bigger things to deal with at the moment. And for the next several foreseeable moments.

Their hometown had been hit by an EF4 tornado.

For the third time in a row.

But as Max took the tarp from her and stuffed it in the back of the truck, it felt like they were stuffing some other things away to be dealt with later, too.

They didn't talk as they b.u.mped into town over the debris-strewn highway, each absorbed in thought. The closer they got to town, the slower it was. Max had to zigzag around a variety of unidentifiable obstacles-wood, plastic, metal. There were branches, some obvious shingles, fence posts, wood, and an overturned car.

She couldn't believe she'd gotten caught up in s.e.x while a storm was ravaging her hometown. What had she been thinking? They'd been in a ditch. Not the s.e.xiest location for a seduction; that was certain.

But that made the whole thing even more incredible. Max had made her forget things like a storm, the ditch, and Chance. There was definitely a niggle of guilt about that, but overall she was mostly just overcome by the fact that it had happened at all.

"Max, I-"

"Not now."

She pressed her lips together at his short retort.

"But-"

He sighed heavily. "I know you want to rehash the whole thing, but now is a really f.u.c.king terrible time for it."

It was true that Bree didn't bottle too many things up. If she was happy, p.i.s.sed off, excited, worried, or stressed, pretty much everyone knew it.

"I just want to say . . ."

She trailed off as Max looked over at her. She had no idea what she wanted to say. What the h.e.l.l happened back there exactly? Thanks for the o.r.g.a.s.m. Let's do it again soon.

I don't want to lose you.

Those were all very real possibilities, but none really fit the churning emotions in her chest.

Max nodded. "Yeah, that's where I'm at, too."

Of course he knew that she was feeling a confusing mix of elation and fear.

Max pulled up next to another overturned car, and they both ran to be sure no one was trapped inside. It was thankfully empty.