Nick Of Time (Blue Ridge Romance 2) by Allison B. Hanson Page A

was a relationship really. Not that he wanted a relationship.
    He wasn’t making sense, so he gave in to the physical part and let his thoughts scatter in the wind.

Chapter 5
    S he woke up next to Tucker. The afternoon and evening before felt like a dream. But sunlight was streaming in through the high windows, proving it was day, so she had no choice but to believe it was real. Especially when Tucker was sleeping next to her. Naked.
    She started to shift so she could crawl over him.
    “Don’t do it,” he mumbled.
    “Don’t do what?”
    “Go out there. Stay here.”
    Not being one to listen, especially to Tucker, she pulled back the covers and then squealed.
    “Holy shit! It’s cold.”
    “I told you not to go out there.” He lifted his head to look at her. His shaggy hair was a mess. Well, more of a mess than normal.
    “We have to go out there at some point.”
    “Fine. Let me throw more wood on the fire, and when it warms up again we’ll get up.”
    “What will we do while it’s warming up?” she hinted, trying to sound seductive and falling flat.
    “Hmm. That look on your face should give me the proper motivation to hurry if freezing my balls off doesn’t work,” he joked and got up. He quickly tossed on two logs while Nichole watched his bare ass. It was really nice.
    She had already been with him numerous times. More times in twenty-four hours than she’d been with anyone else. Including Dennis. Though with Dennis, she could now understand why he wasn’t really into multiple rounds of sex.
    She felt the familiar pain slash through her heart, but she put on a smile and waited for Tucker to come back.

    Nichole was smiling at him when he came back into bed.
    He’d seen her smile plenty of times in the years he’d known her. He’d even thought she was pretty, and she’d been a favorite fantasy when he was growing up, but this was real.
    She was really there, wanting him.
    And she was absolutely beautiful. Long auburn hair flowed over the pillow. Her eyes were blue or green, depending on her mood or what she wore. At the moment, they were bright green.
    He kissed her for a very long time before he rolled over and made love to her for probably the fifth time since they’d been there. But who was counting?
    They giggled while trying to stay under the covers until the room heated up. Eventually, they were making their own heat, and the covers fell away. He touched her everywhere, loving the little sounds she made and the way she moved, completely uninhibited.
    She wasn’t faking it; he could tell. He knew guys always thought they could tell, and maybe there were times before when he hadn’t been sure, but not this time. Not with Nichole. Mainly because he didn’t think she’d bother to fake for him. She would be more likely to call him out on it, or post it on a billboard if she wasn’t satisfied.
    When they’d made it to the finish line at the same time once again, he flopped down next to her, pulling her against him so he could kiss her hair.
    They didn’t speak for a long time, and unlike the night before, they didn’t break into fits of laughter either.
    There was something else between them now.
    Worry, maybe?
    No. Uncertainty.
    Where would they go from here? Would they go back to busting on each other and insulting each other every chance they got? Would they date? Did she want that? Did he?
    “It seems we have something in common,” he said, trying to feel out what she might be thinking.
    “Yeah. That song was really coming together,” she teased, and he felt a small wave of relief.
    “That song is going to be a hit,” he told her while smiling up at the ceiling. Then he went for it. “What happens now?”
    “I guess we’ll take a look outside to see if we’re still trapped. I saw some pancake mix in the pantry. Are you hungry?”
    “You really have to ask? I did deliver the goods half a dozen times.”
    “Please. I was already turned on by the Vette. Your rental car did