Kate Hoffmann - The Sexy Devil

Instead, they’d been sent off to separate bedrooms, for the sake of the children. Angela was in one room with Brit and Beth while he’d been given another room with Davey, his three-year-old nephew. Of course, Dave and Lauren took the big bedroom, with the comfortable bed, the bed Max should have been sharing with Angela.

Max opened the closet and pulled out a pair of sleeping bags and set them next to the door. If they couldn’t sleep together inside the cabin, then they’d sleep together outside.

He walked down to the pier and tossed the sleeping bags into the boat, then jumped down into the cockpit. The aft seat folded out into a comfortable lounge, almost as wide a bed. He unzipped the sleeping bags and laid them out, then surveyed his work in the pale moonlight. It wasn’t the Ritz, but it was certainly better than what they’d been given.

If Max had had his way, they would have driven back to Chicago as soon as Dave and Lauren arrived with the kids. But Angela had insisted on staying and she seemed to enjoy the time with his family, even if it meant playing endless games of Chutes and Ladders and Candyland with the girls.

Now that they were officially in a relationship, family would probably become part of the picture and strangely enough, Max didn’t mind. He hadn’t introduced a girl to his family since his senior prom date in high school, but he felt reasonably certain that Angela would be in his life for more than just a few months.

As he walked back up to the cabin, he contemplated the possibility that he’d met the girl he was going to marry. Max had always thought once he found her, everything would fall into place. He never considered that he might have to convince her to take a chance on him.

When he walked back inside, he headed for her bedroom. Max knocked on the knotty pine planks, but the knock was met with silence. Was she already asleep? He knocked a bit louder and a moment later the door opened. She looked at him through sleepy eyes. “What are you doing? You’re going to wake the girls,” she whispered.

“What are you doing?” Max asked, his gaze taking in her pretty face and tumbled hair.

“Trying to sleep,” she said. “But it’s impossible. They keep wriggling around every time I close my eyes. They’re all arms and legs. Between the lumpy mattress and their elbows and knees, I feel like I’m being assaulted.”

“If you come and sleep with me, I’ll be much nicer,” he said.

She peeked out the door. “Where are we going to sleep? On the floor?”

“Come on. Come with me.” He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her along through the dark cabin. When they reached the door, he pulled her into his embrace and they stumbled out onto the porch, caught in a desperate kiss.

He furrowed his hands through her hair and molded her mouth to his. It had been at least two hours since he’d last kissed her. “I don’t like sleeping alone.”

“You weren’t alone.”

“I didn’t have you there. That’s alone.”

“Where are we going?”

The moon was nearly full, lighting the way for part of their escape, before disappearing behind a cloud. Though the air was still warm, there was a damp breeze coming off the lake. Angela shivered and Max slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

They hurried down to the pier, then laughing softly, stripped off their clothes and jumped in the water. Though the air was chilly, the water was warm.

Max stood on the sandy bottom, his arms wrapped around her naked body, his face nuzzled into the curve of her neck. “Someday, I’m going to steal you away to a deserted island. Just you and me. No one else.”

“Why?”

“I just want to see what it would be like to be completely alone with you,” he said. “With no distractions or interruptions.”

“We’re alone now,” she said.

Max looked out across the lake. In the distance, a light from a motorboat was visible, slowly skimming across the water. He furrowed his hands through her hair and pulled her into a fierce kiss. “Do you know how difficult it is being around you without touching you?” he asked, sliding his hand over her breast. “I like being able to do this whenever I want.”

Angela sighed softly. “I like it, too. I like falling asleep with you and waking up with you. And swimming naked with you.”

His lips found her breast and he teased her nipple to a peak. She shivered and he pulled her closer. “The very first time I kissed a girl, I was sitting on a pier on the other side of the this lake.” Max pointed to a light across the water. “The white light to the left of the blue one. We met on that pier and I kissed her.”

“So this is where it all began?” Angela asked.

“I guess you could say that. God, I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up. I didn’t know what to do with my hands. I wasn’t sure where to put them.”

“I see you’ve figured that out,” she teased.

“I remember how exciting it was. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it would burst out of my chest.” He kissed her again. “Kind of like now.”

“I was a junior in college before I got my first kiss,” Angela admitted.

“Really? How can that be? You’re so damn kissable.”

“I was a very late bloomer. As you know, I lived in a fantasy world throughout my teen years, dreaming of this gorgeous baseball player I knew.”

“I feel bad,” he said. “I wish I’d have known you back then.”

Angela shook her head. “No. You would have thought I was just pathetic. I wouldn’t have been able to put together a coherent sentence. Believe me, it’s much better that we met now.”

“I guess so,” he said. “So, when did you bloom?”

“Are you asking me when I first had sex?”

“Yes.”

“You answer first.”

“Well, surprisingly late. I fooled around a lot, but I didn’t want to do anything that might mess up my future in the major leagues. It was the summer after I graduated from high school. She was the older sister of one of my teammates. After that, there was no going back. What about you?”

“I was twenty-one. By my junior year in college, I’d decided it was time to put a little effort into my appearance. I tossed aside the ugly duckling and tried to become a swan. And it worked. Sort of.”

“It sure did,” he murmured.

He kissed her again and when he drew back, he fought the urge to tell her exactly how he felt. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was falling in love with Angela. By tomorrow night, they’d have known each other a week. He was already imagining what it would be like to know her for the rest of his life.

“Are you cold?”

“It’s a little chilly out here.”

“I’ve reserved a private room for us.” He pointed to the boat. “It’s got a beautiful lake view, a nice big bed and all the privacy we could want.” He helped her back onto the pier and then held her hand as she stepped down into the boat.

He grabbed a towel and dried them both off, admiring the sight of her naked body in the moon light. Then they crawled beneath the sleeping bags and pressed their naked bodies together for warmth.

“What do you think?”

“I’ve never slept outside before.”

“Never?”

She shook her head. “What if I have to go to the bathroom?”

“You walk back up to the house,” he said.

“But aren’t there animals outside?”

“Wake me up. I’ll come with you.”

She drew a deep breath, then relaxed. “No pillows?”

“Do you want a pillow?” Max asked.

“Yes, please. And a bottle of water. And my lip balm. I left it on the beside table in the bedroom.”

“We’re supposed to be roughing it,” Max said. “I don’t think lip balm and bottled water qualify.”