Applewild by Heather Lin Page B

to the backseat of his car.
    Monroe took a moment to survey the crowd. She was sweaty and out of breath, and her head spun from the alcohol. There were still plenty of people talking and laughing by the fire; a few were dancing and singing to the music. Rodney was gone. Probably in the woods, or… Oh, God, no. She could see a bare ass peeking over the tailgate of the Applewild truck. She averted her gaze and took another swig of beer. She tried to keep herself from looking for Alton, but she couldn’t help noticing he wasn’t there to look for.
    Which probably meant he’d also found a partner for the evening.
    Monroe sat on top of a wheel well in the truck bed and emptied her bottle. The evening had not gone as planned. She just hadn’t been interested in Rodney, next to Alton. She shouldn’t be interested in Alton, but she was. If she’d opened up to him, they might be somewhere together right now. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t with people she’d known for years, and because of that he’d apparently become more interested in somebody else.
    “It looks like your night took a turn.” The only English-accented voice in a fifty mile radius spoke behind her.
    “I’m having a fabulous time.” Monroe gave him a wry smile. “Where did you end up?”
    “Taking a piss.”
    “Really.”
    Alton came around to sit on the tailgate, legs dangling off the edge. “Where did you think?”
    Monroe didn’t answer. Music still blasted around them. They had to raise their voices to hear each other. Alton looked her way to make sure he hadn’t missed her answer, and she shrugged. His grin told her he already knew. He stood and held out his hand. She let him help her stand. He pulled her close, so their bodies were almost touching, and she raised her eyes to his.
    “Did you think I’d gone off with someone else?” he asked.
    “It’s not my business.”
    “It could be.”
    Monroe held his gaze. The MP3 player had been playing a sexy, upbeat song with a Latin vibe, but of course it changed to a melancholy tune about love and liquor just as the tension between Monroe and Alton grew heavy again. And this time he wouldn’t dig into her past. And this time she would have no reason to break the connection.
    He surprised her by taking her hand in his again. He linked their fingers and held her hip, guiding her, dancing in a slow circle. He was so close she could smell the beer and cigarettes on his breath—and something else. He’d gotten his hands on whiskey somewhere along the line. She closed her eyes. Her and alcohol. That seemed to be his remedy for Sophie.
    She didn’t mind as much as she should.
    His hand moved upward, sliding beneath her long blond hair to rest on the nape of her neck. He massaged the spot gently, melting her tension, making her knees weak. He knew exactly what he was doing. The people around them faded away until they were the only ones in existence.
    Alton leaned in and kissed her lips once, sweetly, then pulled back. She knowingly fell for the ruse and followed his mouth, standing on her tiptoes to drink in more of the sensual caresses until she couldn’t be sure who was kissing who, caught in a delicious game of give and take.
    She pushed Alton’s jacket off his shoulders, and he removed her blazer. She ran her fingertips over his t-shirt, exploring the muscles of his chest and abdomen through the fabric, grasping his solid arms. The air between them was pure electric. Sensation assaulted Monroe’s body as it never had before, leaving her short of breath and aching for release. Alton groaned into her mouth as her hands caressed him, and his own palms slipped under her shirt, creeping up the smooth flesh of her back. Her hips were locked against his, and she could feel his erection straining against his jeans.
    She didn’t resist as he lowered them both down into the bed, out of sight for the most part, although she remained vaguely aware of the fact she’d just turned her nose up at Rodney