“You couldn’t if you tried. But I don’t want you disappointing that professor who hired you, either. You need to get to work.”
“I do.”
“And if it’s okay, I want to help. I love being your spotter.”
“Then you’re hired. How much do you charge?”
He laughed. “I’ve already been paid in full. This has been a great afternoon. Possibly the best of my life. Now let’s get moving.”
As they dressed and settled in to observe the eagle nest, she kept thinking about that comment. This had been a great afternoon for her, too. Possibly the best afternoon of her life. But she was reluctant to say so because she didn’t want him to think she was getting attached.
He was free to say it, though, because he’d already declared his independence. He could rave about their time together, knowing that she wouldn’t expect him to stay. It was a lopsided situation.
Somehow she’d set the record straight without being too obvious about it. She had to let him know in no uncertain terms that she didn’t want him to stay. Then she could relax and make any appreciative remarks she cared to. She simply had to find the right moment.
LUKE HADN’T BEEN kidding. Today had been outstanding, an afternoon he wasn’t likely to forget. He had high hopes for tonight, too. Sex in a tent could be a lot of fun. They’d also sleep in that tent, though. Both of them had to work the next day, and all he needed was for Emmett or Jack to catch him dragging around tomorrow.
As the sun started its descent, Luke announced his plan to cook dinner, and Naomi seemed grateful for that. He’d tucked two frozen steaks in his saddlebags, and they would be about ready to put on the grill now. He left her to finish up her work on the platform and walked back to the campsite.
Once there, he gathered firewood and soon had a nice little blaze going in the rock fire pit that he found near the tent. He took a couple of foil-wrapped potatoes and tossed them into the flames. The corncobs, still in their husks, would go on top of the grill once the flames died down a bit.
Next he fed Smudge oats, and because Luke still had a little time, he unrolled his sleeping bag in the tent. Hers was pushed over to one side. It might be the way she normally arranged it, but he’d pretend she’d done that to make room for him in case he showed up. He liked to think she’d hoped for that.
As he smoothed out the sleeping bag and tucked a couple of condoms under it, he found himself whistling. Good sex certainly could make a guy feel like a million bucks. And it wasn’t only the good sex. Being with Naomi was a real kick.
He’d already started estimating how often he could make it out here. He wouldn’t have another afternoon off for several days, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t spend some of his nights with her, if she didn’t mind sharing her tent.
Normally when he became sexually involved with a woman, they got together only a couple of times a week. That had been plenty. He realized that his thinking was different this time, but he explained it away by the novelty of the situation.
His former girlfriends had lived in apartments, so they’d either spent time at his place or hers, or at a hotel for variety’s sake. For some reason he’d never thought to take any of them camping. The professional women he’d dated hadn’t seemed like the camping type. Maybe he hadn’t given them enough credit, but he couldn’t imagine any of them going without makeup and taking a quick bath in a mountain stream.
Today he’d learned something valuable about himself. He loved having outdoor sex during the day. He was amazed that he’d never tried it before, but now that he had, he was a real fan. Not every woman would agree with him on that, but he’d been lucky enough to hook up with a woman who was willing to go along.
Having a platform high in a tree helped, too. They weren’t as likely to be caught in the act. Actually, if they were going to continue with those episodes, they’d be wise to bring the ladder up. That way they really couldn’t be caught in the act. He’d see what Naomi thought about that suggestion.
Before he left the tent, he took off his hat and laid it brim-side up on what he now considered his side. A hat only got in the way when there was a beautiful woman around, so why wear it? He wanted to be free to kiss her any old time he had a chance.
He had the corn and the steak cooking by the time she walked into camp. Even with her clothes and her hiking boots on, she still looked like a wood nymph. She matched the environment, and he liked that about her.
She sniffed appreciatively. “Smells wonderful, Luke. I haven’t had steak in ages. You’re hired as the camp cook, too.”
“I’m happy to accept the job.” He crouched down and turned the steak with the long-handled fork he’d brought with him. “I like to make myself useful.”
He glanced over his shoulder and caught her eyeing his butt.
“You’re very useful.” She ogled him openly now, hamming it up. “There’s something really sexy about a guy slaving over a hot campfire, especially when he can fill out a pair of jeans.”
“Watch out.” He grinned at her. “I’m liable to start feeling like a sex object.”
“I know how you would hate that—having me pester you constantly to strip down so I can worship your body.”
“Yeah, that sounds awful. When does the pestering start?”
“If that steak didn’t smell like heaven, it would start right away. But I don’t want to interfere with this promising meal preparation.”
“Tactical mistake on my part.” He stood. “I should have waited to put on the steak until after you’d come back to camp, in case you wanted an appetizer.”
“I’ll settle for a kiss.”
He laid the fork on a rock and walked toward her. “Think we can stop with a kiss?”
“With that steak sizzling on the grill? You bet. Every cowboy and cowgirl knows it’s a crime to burn a good steak.”
He cupped her face in both hands. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Then he tilted her head back and brushed the corner of her mouth with his thumb. “Open up, Naomi. I’m coming in.”
She moaned softly and met him halfway, parting her lips and welcoming the thrust of his tongue. He delved into her warm mouth with the urgency of a man who’d been denied for weeks, instead of mere hours. She tasted so damned good.
Vaguely he heard a popping sound but didn’t realize it was the sound of his shirt being unbuttoned until she slid both hands up his bare chest and pinched his nipples. His cock swelled in response. He lifted his mouth a fraction. “You’re not playing fair.”
“I didn’t say I would.”
“Then neither will I.” He slipped a hand under the back of her T-shirt and unhooked her bra. Then when he made a frontal assault with that same hand, he discovered that her nipples were as rigid as his.
She moaned deep in her throat.
“You’re asking for it,” he murmured against her mouth.
“Uh-huh. Make it fast.”
Fire licked through his veins. He backed her toward the tent. “Get in there and take off your shorts.” He released her, unbuckled his belt and unfastened his jeans.
By the time he crawled in after her, she was in the process of kicking away her shorts and panties. He felt under his sleeping bag, located a condom and knelt at the tent entrance while he quickly took care of that chore.
Then he was on her. With his booted feet sticking out of the tent, he took her with such enthusiasm that he lifted her bottom right off the floor of the tent.