Page 57 of Tasting Fire
After pulling on his gloves, he shifted a tray inside his toolbox and pulled out a pair of bolt cutters.
“This is illegal, isn’t it?”
“Chickening out, Em?”
“Think we could make the case that we saw something suspicious? Believed someone might be in danger inside the fence?”
He swung the bolt cutters onto his shoulder and strode toward the gate. “Maybe, but we won’t get caught.” With careful precision, he positioned the jaws on what looked like a weak spot in the chain. As he squeezed the handles, his arms flexed in a way that made Emmy a little hot.
She wanted to see his arms work like that when his body was above hers. They would coil and bunch. Just like the muscles in his butt would when he pushed inside—
Schlunk.The chain slid to the ground and Cash opened the gate with an ear-bleeding screech. “You ready?”
More ready than he probably realized.
“Let’s do this.” Emmy stepped through the gate and into the tall grass, thankful she’d opted for long pants. Chiggers weren’t normally out quite this early in the year, but she wasn’t willing to risk a billion red itchy spots all over her legs.
Chigger bites were the antithesis of sexy and fun.
She angled toward the ladder that would lead up to the catwalk ringing the water tower. Cash was right. The whole thing looked like a strong wind would take it out.
The four legs were a combination of baby blue painted spindles and rusted joints. The ladder steps were open-grated metal that groaned when she put her weight on them.
“Maybe I should go first,” Cash said.
“I’m lighter. And how stupid do I look? I want someone to catch me if I fall.”
“Then get to climbing.”
Emmy took the stairs slowly, less because she truly feared they were unstable and more because she wanted to savor the experience. Feel the bite of the metal through the soles of her shoes, the rasp of the handrail through her gloves, the bliss of the sun on her face.
Halfway up, she shivered with sudden awareness and it traveled through her torso and tightened her nipples. “You’re ogling my ass, aren’t you?”
“Would you be ogling mine if I was climbing above you?”
“You better believe it.”
“And there’s your answer.”
The rest of the way up, she put a little more sway into each step.
“You’re doing that on purpose.”
“What?”
“Making me want to bend you over, rip those sweatpants down, and fuck you right here.”
Shiver? No, this time, Emmy’s body reacted with a full-on quake. She blew out an unsteady breath. “I’m adding water tower sex to my list.”
“Sweetheart, this old tower wouldn’t withstand what I plan to do to you.”
When Emmy pulled herself up to the catwalk, her inner thighs were quivering, and it had nothing—nada—to do with the climb. “Today,” she said. “We’ve been dancing around this since I came back. When we leave here, we can go back to my place or yours. I don’t care which. I just want—”
Cash stepped up beside her and pulled her around so they were front to front. With his thumbs, he tilted up her face so she was looking into his. “I want, too. Anticipation isn’t a bad thing, though.”
“I think I’ve been anticipating this since the day I left town for college.”
Cash’s smile was both slightly sad and infinitely interested. “Come with me.”
