Tim kissed her. He whispered, “I meant it when I said you’re not getting away from me again, sweetheart,” in her ear. “I love you, and you’re mine. I don’t care what I have to do to show you.” He nipped her earlobe before stepping away. Her knees practically unhinged, but somehow she remained upright.
Without a doubt she loved him. And, God help her, Jack too, despite how he’d treated her.
Unfortunately, it couldn’t work. Tim wasn’t there when she had it out with Jack. He hadn’t seen the look on Jack’s face. And she refused to take Tim away from Jack. Most likely Tim wouldn’t want to leave Jack anyway. What might have been had things worked out differently between the three of them?
Gwen didn’t talk much as they picked up the RV, loaded the Toad, as they called the Element, and drove north out of the LA area. Much of the time Liam sat in the passenger seat and stared out the front window. He knew better than to try to get her to talk in the dark mood she was in.
She felt guilty as hell for making love to Tim when she suspected nothing more would ever come of it. If Jack couldn’t man up and tell her how he felt, what did that say about the strength of his feelings?
Not very damn much, in her book.
Later that evening, as they pulled into the campground they’d made their reservations at, she turned to Liam. “Why did you do that to me?” she quietly asked. “You set me up.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “I didn’t hear you complaining. You love them, they love you. Time for you to fight for what you believe in.”
“Tim loves me. Jack hates me.”
“Funny, it seems Tim said Jack loves and misses you. My MS must be fucking with my language comprehension.”
She glared at him before storming out of the RV to the office to pay for their space and find out where it was. When she returned, he hadn’t moved.
“They. Love. You,” Liam emphasized. “Deal with it. They want you. They miss you.”
“Jack sure has a funny way of showing it, telling everyone but me. Nice. Sounds like everyone else is trying to convince Jack of how he feels.”
“Ouch. Neurotic much? Jack was supposed to be here today, too. Didn’t Tim tell you that?”
“Yes.”
“Then what’s your problem?”
“I don’t have a problem! I already agreed we’d go to Rapid City, didn’t I? If he really loves me, maybe by the time we get there he can figure out how to say the damn words himself, ’kay? If not, it’s not like I’m too much worse off than I am now.” She threw the keys down on the table and fought the urge to throw something.
“Harsh, sis. Really harsh. His mom’s in the hospital. Cut him some slack.”
“Last time I saw him, Detective Dick-for-brains was able to use a fucking phone and a computer. He could have called or e-mailed me. Oh, big surprise, he hasn’t.” She snatched her keys from the table and stormed outside again. She made three aimless, stomping laps around the rig before she could get her thoughts together and remember what she was supposed to be doing.
They’d stay at the campground for a week in order to avoid a storm to their north. Liam always worked enough flexibility in their schedule to allow for detours and downtime, especially since Gwen did all the RV driving and still needed time to write. Unfortunately, the forced stay for the weather meant Gwen couldn’t use driving to take her mind off the afternoon’s events.
Gwen stormed to the back of the rig and started unhooking the Element from the tow dolly. Liam emerged from the RV, leaning on his cane and watching her without saying anything. After Gwen moved the Element out of the way, she returned to the RV and Liam guided her back into their space. He handled hooking up the sewer connection and set up the levelers, while she rigged the electrical, water, and cable and got the slide-out positioned. This park had free Wi-Fi, meaning they didn’t need to rely on their slower air cards. Over the past few months they’d developed a smooth-running routine, and within an hour they were set up, showered, and eating dinner.
After doing his research, Liam had opted to buy them the gently used thirty-foot Class A with a diesel engine, reassuring Gwen she’d soon easily learn how to drive the rig. Just big enough for them to have room to comfortably move around in, including a back bedroom one of them could escape to if needed. He’d had more confidence in her driving skills than she had, but after two weeks of practice before heading out on the road, she did admit to feeling comfortable. They frequently bunked together in the large queen-size bed in back, although sometimes one or the other opted to sleep on the comfortable sofa bed if either of them needed alone time.
Tonight, she needed alone time. Once Liam realized she wasn’t budging from her laptop at the dinette table, he kissed the top of her head before heading to the back. “See you in the morning, kiddo.”
“Sleep tight.” She knew she wouldn’t sleep much, her mind roiling, thinking about Tim and Jack. She tried to work and ended up playing Solitaire on her computer. At one point she thought she heard noises in the back bunk, like maybe Liam was talking to someone on the phone, but she turned on the TV and channel surfed to drown him out. Stretched out on the sofa bunk and cuddled around her pillows, she tried to fall asleep as the TV played.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, she thought she heard Liam moving around. Knowing he’d call for her if he needed help, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. She heard what sounded like people softly talking outside, but she’d gotten used to noises like that when staying in a park. She preferred sacrificing the relative privacy of boondocking for the security of parks, in case she ever needed to get help for Liam in a hurry.
She dozed, then felt someone crawl into the bunk with her. At first she thought it was Liam, and she settled back against him…
Until the man’s hand comfortably settled between her legs. She let out a frightened scream and tried to pull away when a familiar voice asked, “Do you have any idea how fucking expensive it is to take a taxi from Laguna Beach to here?”
Tim.
“Hey, sis, let’s change up bunks for tonight,” Liam said from the other side of the cabin. “I have a feeling you’re going to want to sleep late.”
She sat up and glared at Liam, who stood by the door with an amused look on his face. Tim stared up at her, his blue, wide-eyed, innocent look soon melting her irritation.
“I’m all for a little sleeping late,” he said.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I told you I wasn’t letting you get away again. Besides, I want to see more of this fair country of ours. I needed to get back to Rapid City anyway, so I called my buddy Liam here, and he told me where you’d shacked up. Figured if I wanted to catch up with you guys, I’d better do it sooner rather than later.”
“Come on, Gee. Quit playing hard to get,” Liam scolded her. “Go take the bedroom tonight. I’ll keep the TV turned up loud.” He grinned.
Fortunately, in the dim light she knew neither man could see her blush. She climbed out of bed and considered locking herself in the bedroom away from Tim. Until he stepped through the door with her, closed it behind him, and kissed her as he pushed her down to the bed.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a proper welcome back at the store,” he said. “Let me make it up to you.” He lifted her T-shirt and sucked her right nipple into his mouth as he cupped her left breast in his hand.
Her protest died on her lips. She buried her fingers in his shaggy hair and bit back a happy moan as he moved back and forth from one breast to the other, sucking and biting at her nipples until her pussy ached to feel his cock inside her.