Page 73 of Maid in America

“I meant to ask… why a blue orchid?” His hand slid beneath the hem of her shirt, stroking the sensitive skin where her inked image resided.

“They represent rarity and calmness. Seeing it reminds me to focus when my emotions are getting the best of me.”

“I like that.”

With his hand beneath her shirt, he tickled her for a moment. She giggled joyfully and nearly dropped the last bit of her sandwich.

“Stop,” she begged.

Barrett’s fingers slowed. He closed his eyes and wished he could capture the sound of her laughter to play on repeat forever.

Chastity finished her sandwich, hopped out, and walked to the edge of the lookout, peering down at the height of the drop-off and staring out at the dusky sky. “It’s stunning out here.”

“You’ve never been?” Barrett scooted to the edge of the Wrangler, allowing his cowboy boots to drag in the dirt.

“No, not to this lookout.” Chastity returned to him, leaning in for a kiss, lips soft and warm.

He wrapped his arms around her. As the kiss deepened, she climbed atop his lap. His eyes widened with surprise as she nestled onto him. His hands ran up her bare thighs, his erection emerging between them, stiff and hard beneath his zipper.

He pulled his face away, eyes peering into hers as if to assure that she was alright, searching her flushed face for any sign of unease. When he saw nothing, he gestured to his crotch. “Sorry about him. Poor bastard has no manners.”

Instead of a verbal reply, she ground her needy pelvis against his lap, diving back in to claim his mouth with her own. As their lips met, the current between them grew to the force of a riptide, and he purred. His demanding hands gripped her, winding around slowly into her shorts to massage her ass.

His stubble scraped against her chin. Her hair tickled the sides of his face. Their breathing turned ragged as they squirmed, one of his hands moving to the back of her neck to pull her closer.

She pulled away for a moment, eyes lusty, even in the waning light.

“What’s wrong?” he panted.

She looked around. “Now that the sun’s down, it’s freezing out here.”

“Want to move this party to the back seat?”

She nodded, and a mischievous smile spread all the way across her face. She hopped out again and crawled into the backseat. Barrett closed up the hatch, turned on the car, and cranked the heater.

“Ummm, Barrett?”

“Yeah?” As soon as he looked in the back, he let out an exasperated sigh. “Dammit, you weren’t supposed to see that yet. I was going to give that to you at the end of the night.”

“This is for me?!” she shouted.

“You don’t know how hard it was for me to find a blue orchid around these parts.”

“Barrett!” She clutched the pot of the sickly, spindly plant to her chest.

“It needs a bit of TLC.”

She fingered the pale cerulean petals and gave him a smile of appreciation. “Thank you. I love it.”

“Happy housewarming.”

She squealed, handing it up to him. “Would you put it on the floorboard? I don’t want her getting crushed.”

“Sure thing.”

He set the planter on the floor and joined her in the back seat. They stared at each other for a moment, Chastity’s smile fading back into something more intense. Her breath hitched as he approached, running his fingers through the hair at the base of her neck, gripping some with a firm and steady fist. He licked his lips, eyes refocusing on her mouth, pulse thundering in his neck like a jackhammer.

Her head drifted back with the pressure of his grasp, and she let out a soft moan as he caressed the exposed skin of her neck and shoulders with his mouth. She squeezed her legs together to ease the ache as his tongue glided across her chest, plunging down into the top of her bra as he pulled her hair back harder.

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