I knew he could speak since I’d just heard him muttering to himself. Maybe he was deaf? I decided to try again.
“Did I hurt you?”
After several seconds, his head shook, yet his gaze stayed locked to me.
Well that ruled out him being deaf.
“Do you need help getting up?” I tried a different tactic seeing as how he was still sitting on the road, in the rain. All I got in return was another shake of his head.
“Are you going to get up then?”
“Probably not.” His deep, rough voice washed over me sending shivers down my spine. I had never heard someone’s voice sound like sex before. I couldn’t say the feelings it evoked weren’t entirely welcome. It had been a long damn time since I felt this visceral of a reaction from a man. Even before George.
Unsure what to say to that other than “are you crazy?” I quickly took in the stranger’s appearance as the lightning in the sky replaced the darkness.
He was tall, with dark hair that was in need of a cut. The ends curled around the collar of his long sleeved thermal shirt. Thick strands flopped forward, hanging on his forehead, water dripping from them.
His arms strained the fabric of his shirt, showcasing toned muscles underneath. And his hands were the perfect man hands—strong with thick veins. Amazing.
His face was that of an Adonis. Perfect bone structure—square jaw, straight nose. His lips were utterly kissable, the bottom one pouty and fuller than the top. I wondered what it would feel like to bite that lip as he thrust into me over and over again.
My thoughts had my insides tightening and heat rising up my body. My thighs squeezed together and I bit my lip. Why was I suddenly so turned on? This was crazy.
I cleared my dry throat and opened my mouth to speak. When no sound came out, I tried again—successfully this time. “So you enjoy sitting in a puddle in the middle of a road in the dead of night? Getting drenched by the rain?” Incredulity laced each word.
“No. But the way my luck is going today, I’m probably better off here.” Again, that voice hit me. I was torn between asking him to read me the encyclopedia and telling him to never speak again.
“At least let me give you a ride somewhere seeing as how it’s kind of my fault you’re down there.” The words were out of my mouth before my mind had a chance to remind me what a very bad idea that could be. The fact that he might be a serial killer aside, I was far too vulnerable to be alone with a man who looked and sounded like pure sin.
“That isn’t necessary.”
“I insist.”
His mouth quirked up on one side, giving me a lopsided grin. “You don’t even know me.”
“Well no…” I hedged.
“Who’s to say I’m not going to do unspeakable things to you once we’re alone?” The double entendre was not lost on me. Not with the way his eyes did a slow once over of my body.
As if the night couldn’t get any crazier, I felt myself reacting to his perusal. My nipples tightened, my breasts grew heavy and my legs trembled. He quirked his eyebrow when I didn’t answer him right away. By the devilish gleam in his eye, I would say he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
“Because you could already be doing them,” I informed him.
His eyes did another lazy perusal of my body before he rested his heated gaze on my face. “Damn right I could.”
I took a step back. The stormy hunger in his eyes sparked something inside me. Something dark and wild. Something I had never explored but that had always hung at the edge of my conscience.
“Last chance,” I said with a slight smirk and a shaky voice. This time it wasn’t my nerves getting the better of me, but the lust raging through my veins. I wanted this man—this beautiful stranger—and I felt uncharacteristically reckless enough in that moment to explore the physical attraction if given the chance.
TWO
The man seemed to think on my offer for several moments. Not wanting to stand outside any longer and figuring I might force his decision, I turned and made my way back to the car.
I was reaching for the door handle when I heard the clopping of heavy steps in the rain puddles behind me. “Wait up.”
When he made it to the passenger side of the car, he gave me a small and unsure grin. “You sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
Once we were settled in the car, I started the engine and looked over at him. “Where are you headed to?”
“Not sure.”
“That explains a lot.” Maybe this really was a bad idea after all. Was it too late to change my mind?
No. I wouldn’t back down. I wanted to be a little crazy, a little impulsive. I wanted to see where this would go. And beyond all else, I was being a Good Samaritan.
I put the car in drive and started down the dark road. The rain had finally let up enough to make the road a little more visible. It was something, but it still felt as though we were crawling along the pavement.
We sat in silence as I wracked my brain for something to say. I wanted to ask him questions about himself. Who was he? Where was he going? But I was too afraid the answers might shatter my illusion of a hot stranger on this rainy night.
Eventually his voice cut through the silence immediately causing my heart rate to increase. “I was on my way to Waterloo when my car broke down outside Smithtown. My phone died before I was able to hike it to a spot that had service. Decided to keep going until I found a town.”
“And you thought it was a good idea to walk in this weather with no umbrella and no coat?” I cast an incredulous glance his way before turning back to the road. “I would have taken my chances on someone finding me sitting in the car on the side of the road.”
“It wasn’t raining when I started walking. Twenty minutes later the sky opened up and dumped buckets of water over me,” he explained with a thread of annoyance in his voice.
“My phone’s right here if you want to call someone. A girlfriend or wife perhaps?” I stopped myself from smacking my forehead at how idiotic I sounded fishing for information.
“No girlfriend,” he said with a smirk. “The ride is more than enough. I’m afraid I don’t know anyone in town so that phone call wouldn’t do me any good.”
My face flushed at the little chuckle he let out while answering my question. Embarrassment was quickly replaced with excitement knowing he wasn’t attached to anyone. Especially since the sparks flying between us were enough to set the car on fire.
“I can take you to Waterloo. I’m headed to my mom’s, it’s about twenty minutes past that. There’s a good mechanic named Charlie you can call in the morning to tow your car. Just tell him Maci sent you.”
He gave me a sidelong glance that heated me from the inside out. “Thanks, Maci.”
“You’re welcome…” I trailed off waiting for him to insert his name.
“Jax.”
“Jax,” I echoed. “With this weather there’s no way Charlie will be going out tonight so you’ll have to wait until the morning.”
My words were a bit rushed in an attempt to prevent him from calling Charlie tonight since I was hoping to spend some more time together. Preferably between the sheets.
I was the type of girl that once I got an idea in my head, I couldn’t let it go. It either worked out great for me or ended epically bad. My fingers were crossed tonight would end with me seeing stars and screaming out in orgasm.
“So you live outside Waterloo?” Jax asked me as he fiddled with the radio.
“Yeah, I guess.” I shrugged.
“You guess?” He let out a little chuckle. “How is it you don’t know where you live?”
“Well technically I live there right now.”
“I sense a story here.” He pivoted in his seat so he was facing me. His wet jeans squeaked against the leather.