15. Main Feature

MAIN FEATURE

I never thought a blindfold could be comfortable. But it is. The silk rests softly over my eyes.

Drake helps me out of the truck, using the maneuver to sneak in another kiss.

Hot, molten, sexy as sin, his lips capture mine, worshiping me as his expert tongue does things I never dreamed possible.

I ache for him.

After a simple kiss?

How is that possible?

Scott never made me feel this way. Hell, I never made myself feel this way when frustration drove me to take care of things myself.

I surrender beneath the quickening rush of his exhales feathering against my skin. He moves from my mouth to my neck, teasing and tickling, as he works up to suck on my earlobe where that talented tongue turns me into a quivering mess.

His low, throaty chuckle tells me two things. First, he's having fun with me. Second, he's a masterful kisser and knows it.

His confidence is dreamy. In his hands, beneath the expert torture of his tongue, I can lower my defenses and do something I've never done before.

I can be soft, willing, and captivated. I can blissfully surrender, letting him take the lead. There's no thought about the physical act to come. Instead of enduring sex, I luxuriate in the gentle nibbles and kisses, licks and nips Drake is intent on delivering.

He moves from my earlobe back down the sensitive skin of my neck, making me burn beneath the heat of his kiss. The man is one hundred percent focused on my pleasure. Yet another thing I'm not accustomed to.

I moan as his hand wraps in the hair at my nape, gripping and pulling with intent. Drake's certainly a take-charge kind of man, and right about now, he could ask me to do anything, and I'd say yes.

Dear Lord, when did I start trembling? When did I start making those delirious moans? He turns me into a wanton creature, and I've never been that. I've never not been in control.

My skin burns beneath the heat of his mouth, then shivers as he moves on to stimulate and torture the next square inch. I can barely think, but there's one thing I want.

"When are you going to let me remove the blindfold?" I ask, after catching my breath from his kiss.

"Soon, city girl." He whispers the endearment into my ear, nuzzling my neck before grasping my hand and leading me forward. "The ground is a bit uneven, but you should be okay."

"I'm not going to trip, am I?"

"If you do, I'll catch you."

I believe him.

A part of me wonders if he'll always be there to catch me when I fall—both in the literal sense and the figurative. That's another thing I've never had.

I've never been able to lean on anyone else. Scott called it needy when I asked for his help and was always put out of his way to assist me with whatever problem I was having.

Drake's already gone above and beyond.

His kisses move from my throat to meander along my collar bone. He ends his exploration at the tip of my shoulders.

"You're tickling me." I wriggle in his arms.

"Get used to it, luv. I'm going to be doing a whole lot more soon enough."

I've lost count of the number of moans spilling from my mouth.

We aren't in town. Or, if we are, we aren't on Main Street. The ground beneath my feet is uneven and crunches with dirt and gravel. Maybe my thoughts about a renovated barn aren't that far off base.

But he wouldn't kiss me like this in a parking lot. Drake doesn't seem to be that kind of man who would maul his blindfolded date where others can see.

So, where are we?

His fingers tighten as he guides me over the uneven ground, telegraphing his excitement. My skin shivers with the absence of the heat from his mouth.

"Almost there." He pulls up short and releases my hand. "Don't move."

The air holds an earthy scent, full of loam, dirt, pine, and wood smoke.

A fire?

The crackling of wood drifts to my ears. The aromatic smell of wood smoke brings back memories of the summers I spent in Peace Springs as a girl. I love camping out, staying up late, watching the stars overhead, and wishing time would stand still so that it would never end.

Gravel crunches under Drake's boots and another set of footsteps joins his. I lift my hands to the blindfold, curious as to who else is here, but stop. Keeping the blindfold in place seems important to Drake. I don't want to ruin whatever surprise he has planned.

Low tones of a conversation drift to my ears. Male voices. The deep rumble of Drake's and another, vaguely familiar, voice.

"Thanks," Drake says.

"No problem. Have fun."

Is that Bert?

Crickets chirp all around me. Cicadas fill the background with a droning noise. The gentle calls of songbirds roosting for the night complete the evening melody.

A light gusting of the wind brings other scents to my nose, deeper pungent aromas of animals and the sizzling of—steak?

The deep throaty rumble of a diesel truck sounds. Tires crunch over gravel and fade away.

Drake returns. "You doing okay?"

"You've got my attention," I say. "Was that Bert?"

He snickers. "Yeah, I asked him to get a few things set up."

The clatter of a generator sputters and hums. The only reason I have any familiarity with that sound is from my summer camping trips. My uncle always had a generator on hand, especially in the heat of the summer.

While we roughed it on the land, our tents were cooled by portable air conditioning units at night. There is roughing it and roughing it .

"Please," I beg. "Can I take the blindfold off?"

It's killing me wondering what Drake is up to.

He has a way of filling up space, even when I can't see him. His palpable presence tingles along my skin and hitches my breath. He's in every inhale and each beat of my heart, enveloping me in a world of what-ifs and what may be.

He cups my cheek. "God, you're beautiful." His fingers trace a path over my skin, skimming over my lips.

Compliments make me self-conscious, and I turn away. "Drake..."

The heat of his lips brushes over my mouth. "You're amazing." His fingers slide under the silk at my temples. "Keep your eyes closed. I'm going to remove the blindfold, but don't look just yet."

"Okay." I press my hands against the hard ridge of his abdomen, drop them to my sides where I fiddle with the hem of my skirt. The overwhelming nearness of him makes my knees weak and my legs unsteady.

The silk lifts.

Strong hands grip my shoulders, and Drake spins me to face the other way.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I say.

The tip of his nose presses against the side of my neck. "Open your eyes, city girl."

I blink to clear my vision. A firepit crackles with burning wood. Two wooden chairs stand before it. A generator hums somewhere off to my left, black electrical wires snake to a table placed on the far side of the fire where a projector flickers in the waning light of dusk.

Strung between two massive oak trees, a white sheet stretches between the branches. Rope passes through corner grommets and loops around the branches, pulling the fabric taut. The lower corners are fixed in place, tied to two large rocks.

"A movie screen?"

A Star Wars movie trailer scrolls across the makeshift screen.

"I thought a night at the movies would be a treat. The drive-in isn't open during the week."

"So, you made one?"

My mouth waters with the aroma of whatever is cooking on that grill. I approach the firepit, leaving Drake where he is.

"What is this?"

"Well, my first thought was to cook steak. But it's a bit of a production."

Four skewers of meat are propped over the fire. Drops of fat and other juices fall from the meat to sizzle in the fire below.

I spin around. "I can't believe you did all of this."

"I'm full of surprises."

"Well, this is one hell of a surprise." I point to the screen. "I love Star Wars ."

"Awesome. I've got all of them loaded up and ready to play."

"All of them?"

"Yup," he says. "All of them. You did say you didn't have anywhere to be in the morning."

I did at that.

The sun dips below the rim of the valley walls and the temperature drops.

Dusk ushers in the coming of night, and as the day fades, the sky blossoms with one of the most remarkable sunsets I've ever seen.

"This is simply amazing." I twirl in a circle, trying to soak it all in. "What a perfect place for a first date."

"I'm glad you approve, and a first date means there will be many more. I consider tonight a roaring success already." His grin is simply stunning, even with the scar.

Once we know each other better, I'm going to ask about that scar. For now, it doesn't matter. I'm officially head over heels, entranced by the man standing before me.

"We're going to have to wait until it gets a little darker before we can see the movie screen."

I glance at the screen and the faded image of a battle in the stars. I feel like I need to pinch myself because none of this can be real. Instead, I breathe in the crisp night air, drawing the wonderful aromas deep into my lungs. "What happens if I get cold?"

"We snuggle." The corner of his mouth turns up.

Snuggling sounds like fun.