Page 42 of Save the Last Dance (Take the Backroads #1)

Steering her between the wagons, she could see the middle one was open. A side panel had been removed for easier access and was now acting as a ramp of sorts. From within the hay—the wagons were still full of leftover bales—Nina could see a glow of light.

“Go on,” he urged. “Climb up, unless you want me to carry you.”

“In there?” she clarified, peering around at how isolated they really were back here. She couldn’t even see the fairgrounds.

“Only if you want your surprise.”

Securing her purse under one arm, she gripped the wooden slats of one wall on the wagon and pulled herself up. She had to climb a couple of hay “steps” before she could look down into the wagon and discover what Mack was talking about.

One layer of hay bales covered the wagon floor, but other than that, stacks of the bales made privacy walls six feet high the whole way around.

Down in the center of the straw room, there was a big quilt spread out like a picnic blanket.

A few stray pillows and blankets had been tossed to one side, and a small cast-iron lantern set on the low setting.

A strand of small white lights rimmed the hay bales and they glowed with a softness that suggested they were solar powered.

A champagne bucket rested beside the blanket with what looked like a bottle of sparkling water inside.

“I hope it’s not too cold for you out here.” Mack stood behind her, staring down at the blanket with her. “I figured the hay would cut the wind.”

“I trust you to keep me warm.” She shivered again, but not from the cold. Carefully, she climbed down into the clean, sweet-smelling hay, her nerve endings hyper aware of him as he followed.

There was so much she wanted to say to him.

So much she wanted to ask. But right now, with the memory of their dance playing in her mind, his body grazing hers as they moved, she found she couldn’t hold a thought in her head long enough to have a conversation.

She wanted Mack with a fierceness that surprised her.

“I adore it,” she said simply, setting aside her purse and sliding out of her jean jacket.

For a moment, she stared up at the stars where more white lights winked at her.

Then, she met Mack’s gaze again as he joined her near the blanket.

“From the song and the dance to this…incredible place. I love everything about tonight.”

Arching up on her toes, she slid her arms around Mack. Gently, she kissed the thin scratches still on his face from the night before.

She watched in the soft light as his eyes closed for a moment, his lashes surprisingly long.

So she kissed his eyelids, too, and dragged him down to the blanket with her.

He cushioned their fall with strong arms, making sure he fell first. He dragged pillows closer and tucked one under her head.

They stared at each other, breathing one another’s air.

The hay bales blocked the sound from outside, all except for an occasional rustle of tree branches overhead as the breeze blew.

A yellow poplar leaf drifted down onto Mack’s shoulder and she brushed it aside, taking an appreciative feel of his muscles as she did.

He smoothed her hair off her cheek and away from her neck. Then, leaning closer, his mouth brushed a spot just under her chin. She closed her eyes, her fingers digging into his upper arm while he kissed her. Licked her. Nipped at her ear.

The cool breeze hit her skin, driving her closer to him.

He gave off heat like a furnace, his whole body hot, hard and ready for her.

Desire for him curled through her with a needy edge, and she tugged at the hem of his shirt, hardly understanding why her hand moved so low.

She kissed his chest through his shirt, savoring the warmth and the male scent of him.

She hoped this night would be the first of many. But if it wasn’t, she planned to store up every delectable memory and tease out each touch to imprint it on her brain for the rest of time.

Hid kisses dipped lower on her collarbone while his hands found the hem of her blouse and lifted it higher.

Off. He skimmed away one strap of her bra and traced a path over the swell of her breast. Before his tongue reached the crest, she flung her thigh over his, her body already hungry for more of him.

He gripped her hips and sealed her to the stark ridge pressing against the fly of his jeans.

A wave of want made her moan aloud. She needed him. Needed the completion only he could bring her.

She arched against his kiss, his mouth curving to the tight, aching nipple and feasting there. Already, an orgasm shimmered close to the surface for her. She squeezed her thighs tight against it, wanting the moment to last. Her breath grew short and she tensed.

“Let go.” The words were a hum of vibration against her, the rumble of it traveling over her skin and landing between her legs in a phantom touch. “I’ve got you.”

He touched she seam of her jeans, cupping her through the denim, and she flew apart hard.

Sensations rocked her and she gasped for air while Mack worked the palm of his hand against her.

Heat flooded her cheeks and chest, her skin warming as if a sexy fever had taken hold of her.

She closed her eyes, riding out the sensations as they slowed.

When she lifted her eyes to his, he looked at her with a gaze so hot and possessive she thought it might melt the clothes right off her.

Reaching for the front clasp of her bra, she unfastened it and shimmied out of the pale blue satin, liking the way Mack’s eyes followed her every move.

She undid the snap on her jeans and wriggled out of them, too, leaving on nothing but her underwear.

She moved to peel away his shirt, too, but he hauled it over his head almost instantly, recognizing what she wanted.

“Nice.” Admiring his powerful chest, she laid a kiss on his pec, absorbing the heat of his skin. “I could get used to this.”

She hadn’t meant it as any kind of declaration, but as soon as she said it, she levered back to check his reaction, wondering if she’d broken the mood.

His brown eyes glittered as hot as ever. “Please do.”

Reassured, she went returned to raining kisses over him while he grabbed another quilt and slid it over her.

She’d forgotten the chill in the air since she seemed to operate on a thermostat all her own.

Flicking open the button on his jeans she heard his swift intake of breath. Felt him twitch beneath her palm.

He rolled her onto her spine then, letting her see how much he’d been holding back for her sake.

He shed his jeans and his boxers in a flash, his boots already gone.

Her heartbeat went crazy, pounding in a fury as he gripped the delicate satin of her panties and hauled them down her thighs.

She wanted to hold on to the moment forever.

The fierce want in his eyes. The strong, sculpted beauty of his body. The tender way he touched her.

He rolled on a condom he produced from underneath the cast-iron lantern, obviously hidden there ahead of time. Nina’s eyes burned at his thoughtfulness even though it reminded her how careful he’d always been about…that.

Chasing the idea away before it stole the moment from her, she arched up to kiss him so that their mouths met an instant before he eased inside her. She cried out with pleasure at the feel of him, her fingernails gently clutching at his shoulders, holding him closer. Closer.

The friction of his chest against her breasts caused another little sensual storm inside her, a pleasurable stroking that mirrored the rest of what was going on between them.

Tension coiled tight in her again. She traced the muscles of his back with her palms, sliding her hands down to the bottom of his spine and out to his hips.

With the next thrust, she held him there, deep inside her. She rocked her hips against his, quick, tight movements of her own that made sweat pop along his brow. She could see it glisten in the lantern light, could smell the scent of him mingling with the fragrant hay.

When his release came, he thrust hard again, over and over.

He anchored her to him with one arm, squeezing her tight to him while his heart slugged a relentless beat.

It echoed her own heartbeat and she focused on that, knowing how much this connection cost him, too.

And that’s what put her over the edge for the second time.

Feeling what she did to him, knowing that he was as helpless in the face of it as she was, shred every wall she’d ever built against him. Her body convulsed around his until she was breathless and spent, her skin flushed with heat.

For long moments, she couldn’t think. Couldn’t speak.

She snuggled against Mack’s chest, loving this closeness almost as much as she loved him.

She knew she loved him now. Maybe she’d never stopped.

That was probably why her other relationships hadn’t lasted.

Why the couple of guys she’d tried to date were never The One. She’d never stopped loving Mack.

She closed her eyes against the knowledge, not ready for it.

Even if she could find a way to have a future with Mack, they weren’t there yet.

Too much uncertainty lingered between them.

And she was no longer that impulsive teen who jumped into life with both feet.

For now, they had tonight. That was enough.

“Nina?” he said finally, long minutes afterward.

“Mmm?” She kissed his shoulder, wishing they could fall asleep right here, under the stars. She was incredibly comfortable. More relaxed than she’d felt in a long time.

“I wanted to have the first dance with you.” He propped himself on his elbow, staring down at her where she lay. “Will you save me the last one, too? It’s…part of my plan.”

She forced herself to really focus on him. To think about what he was saying.

“You’re putting a lot of effort into my surprises this weekend.” She wondered what it was leading up to.

“I have meetings I need to attend on Monday back in Nashville. A life I have to return to. But I want to talk to you before I go.”

Why couldn’t they talk now? She wasn’t sure if she was excited about this new surprise or scared.

“I don’t think I’ll be ready for the weekend to end.” That wasn’t the same as saying she loved him. But she was showing her hand a little.

“Me, either.” He cupped her shoulder and rubbed his thumb over her collarbone. “I’m just hoping it’s not too late to figure out a way to be together.”

Which told her past this weekend, he didn’t have any more of a plan than she did.

Closing her eyes to hide the hurt that he hadn’t changed his mind about building a real life with her, one that included at least the possibility of a family, Nina went back to memorizing every beautiful moment of the time they had left.