Chance Encounter

11

ONCE AGAIN THEY ALL gathered in the lodge. Jo sat next to Brian and took his hand. Chance stood behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, his face a mask of strength and careful control.

No insight to his thoughts there, thought Ally in frustration. He’d hidden everything, and if he remembered what they’d been doing in the woods only a little while before, there was no sign of it.

And yet when their gazes met, his eyes flickered with that heat that made her knees quiver.

Okay, he remembered.

Then Brian looked up at Chance with an expression of nervousness and fear, and Chance sent him a small, reassuring smile, one that brought both a sheen of tears and a smile of hope to Ally.

See? she reassured herself. Tough as Chance was, his heart wasn’t immune. And if it could accept Brian, maybe it could accept her as well.

She looked at the people she’d grown to care so much about and felt such a burst of warm emotion she could hardly speak. They were a unit.

And she was part of that unit. For the first time in her life, she belonged. Not because of what she could do or provide, but because she as a person was wanted and welcome. She needed them, and they needed her.

She loved that. She’d come for the adventure, was still here for the adventure, but contrary to what she’d once thought, she’d definitely be leaving a piece of her heart here when she left.

“Tell us,” Chance urged Brian.

With a deep breath, Brian did just that. He and Monica had been together, carving their initials into the tree and “messing” around, leaving by three-thirty so she wouldn’t get caught by her father. They’d been gone by the time the fire had started, at approximately four o’clock. He hadn’t wanted to say so before because he hadn’t wanted to get her in trouble, which she’d be bound for if her father had known the truth.

He’d been protecting the girl.

Ally’s heart broke, but for the moment at least, Brain was free from more trouble with the law. She wanted to believe he’d been scared straight by the events, but she wasn’t that naive. Whatever he felt was well hidden beneath his tough bravado.

The boy reminded her so much of Chance, and his equally tough bravado. But she’d seen past the facade now, and there was no going back.

If only either one of them would let her all the way in.

MUCH LATER SHE CAME across Brian. He was alone in the huge, deserted locker room in the lodge, staring at his opened locker. Just staring, all tough guy gone, just one lone teenager, unsure of his future.

Ally’s heart twisted, and she stepped toward him, but it turned out he wasn’t alone at all.

Down the aisle, about fifteen lockers away, stood an equally silent, an equally alone Chance.

Everything inside her reacted at just the sight of him. She thought she’d been quiet, but she must have given herself away somehow, because he turned his head and looked right at her. Though his eyes flared with some emotion she didn’t dare place, he said not a word. Hadn’t said one word directly to her since they’d ravished each other.

Her face flamed, but oddly enough, it wasn’t embarrassment making her hot, but the actual memory of what they’d done. How it had felt. Incredible. She wanted to feel it-him-again.

But since she couldn’t say so, she looked at Brian. “I don’t know about you,” she said quietly. “But I’m glad it’s over. And I wanted to tell you how proud I am.”

He lifted one shoulder, still staring at his biking helmet and gloves.

“You going for a ride?”

“I have work.” He slammed the locker and started to walk away, only to stop before he got to the door. With his back to both her and Chance, he said, “You believed me. You always did.” He turned then, and looked at her from eyes blazing with confusion and pain. “Why?”

That, at least, was simple. “Because I believe in you.”

Brian’s gaze shifted to Chance, then down to his feet, which he shuffled around a bit. “Chance told me the same thing.”

Ally looked at Chance, who held her gaze with an unreadable expression. “Then you know it’s the truth,” she said.

Brian’s smile transformed his tough, hard face into what a fourteen-year-old’s should look like. “Yeah.” He shot a sideways glance at Chance. “You’re not mad anymore because of Monica?”

“I was never mad because of Monica,” Chance said.

“But she’s the daughter of your competitor.”

“You’ll see who you want.”

Brian ran his fingers over the helmet Chance had given him. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t want me around anymore if you found out.”

“You thought wrong.”

“Yeah, well. Cool.”

“Look, uh…” The big, uninhibited, overtly sexual Chance grimaced. “Do we need to have the birds and bees talk?”

“Jeez!”

“Do we?”

Mortified, Brian shook his head. “No.”

“Good. That’s good.” Chance’s smile was all relief. “Let’s ride.”

“I have to pick up trash.”

“You can do that afterwards.”

Looking as if he’d won the lotto, Brian grabbed his gloves.

“Be safe,” Ally called out, waving, but Brian was already gone.

Chance took his gear, shut his locker and moved toward the door, which meant he had to walk directly past her, in an aisle not quite wide enough for him to pass by without touching her.

Refusing to turn her back and make it easy for him, Ally held her ground and looked directly into his eyes as he turned sideways to go by her.

Their thighs brushed. His arm swept across the front of her. Though the touch was barely there, and in no way intentional, her body reacted.

And he could deny it until the end of time, but he wasn’t unaffected either. He looked at her, and at the emotions blaring there she nearly cried.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m glad Brian’s safe from trouble-”

“No, I meant about…before.”

“You mean when we made love outside?” New life, new rules, she reminded herself. Hold nothing back. “Against a tree?”

He winced and raked his hands through his hair. “Yes. God, I’ve never felt like such a stupid teenager in my life. Not even when I was a stupid teenager.” Swearing again, he put his hands on her hips and snagged her close. Then he cupped her face, stroking his fingers against her cheek. “Did I hurt you, Ally?”

That wasn’t what she expected. And with him touching her, his voice low and grim with concern, she found herself speechless.

“Did I?” he demanded.

“No.” A small, shy smile escaped. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

Some of his intensity faded and his lips curved slightly. “Yeah?”

She smiled, and thought maybe she’d reached him then, maybe she’d gotten past that protective barrier, but he stepped back, robbing her of his warmth.

“You’re sorry about what happened,” she said bluntly, her voice not quite as strong as her resolve. “I thought it was usually the woman who had regrets. No, wait.” She pressed her fingers to her eyes so that she didn’t have to see that tortured look on his face. “I have no right to press you-”

“Chance?” Brian poked his head back into the locker room, his expression both eager and anxious. “Did you change your mind?”

Chance didn’t take his eyes off Ally. “No, Slick. We’re going. I just need a moment here.”

But Ally didn’t want to hear his regrets, didn’t want to hear why the most amazing experience of her life could never happen again, so she turned away and smiled reassuringly at Brian.

Or she hoped it was a reassuring smile, and not the near-tears she really felt. “He’s coming right now,” she said. “He’s all yours.”

THE RIDE WAS GOOD, and so was Brian. He’d developed an amazing biking skill over the past few weeks, and damn if Chance wasn’t growing fond of the obnoxious, surly, sour fourteen-year-old.

He was growing fond of lots of things lately. Things, and…people. One woman in particular.

He was showered, changed and standing at his office window, staring out at the mountains, seeing only Ally, and that light in her eyes that shone whenever she looked at him.

Then he caught sight of a kayak on the river and his heart all but stopped.

She was out there alone. Dammit, he was tired of saving her pretty butt. He wouldn’t do it again.

He wouldn’t.

But the kayak could tip, and he knew she wasn’t a strong swimmer, and that the current was tough, and…and he raced out of his office, swearing, furious at both of them.

Running down the hallway, he skidded to a surprised halt at the doorway to her office, because there she sat behind her desk, on the phone, wearing not a bathing suit but a long, flowing sundress, covered with a million tiny flowers. Her hair was a little messy, as if she’d not given it a second thought all day, and he decided he liked that. Her lips were naked.

He liked that, too. He liked a lot of things about her, especially those little noises she made when he was deep inside her.

With a flick of his wrist, he locked her office door. At the startlingly loud sound of the lock falling into place, she faltered in midsentence, sent him a wide-eyed doe look that made him hot.

Still staring at him, she gripped the phone tighter.

Oh yeah, he already felt better. With a wicked smile, he pulled off his shirt.

Ally stuttered into the receiver, obviously struggling to maintain her side of the phone conversation.

Sending her a slow wink, he perched a hip on her desk. Just looking at her made him hungry for a taste of her, and he licked his lower lip.

Ally stared at his mouth, hers open, and dropped the phone. Blushing, she quickly picked it up, apologizing into it.

Enjoying himself immensely now, Chance leaned in and toyed with a strand of her hair. Then he stroked a finger over the very tip of her earlobe.

She abruptly rose and turned her back to him.

He simply stood behind her, slid his hand around her waist to her stomach and pulled her back against his already raging hard-on. Spreading his fingers wide, he touched as much of her as he could. His thumb brushed the underside of her breasts, then he cupped the soft curves. Her hard nipples pressed into his hands and he rasped his thumbs over them.

Letting out a choked sound, she stammered out some excuse, and finally hung up. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair messy, and she backed away from him, avoiding his gaze. “You’re back from riding all in one piece.”

“Yep. You look good enough to eat, Ally.”

Suddenly she was the picture of busy; the piles on her desk, her filing, her computer. Anything and everything had her attention, except him.

Leaning back against her desk, he pulled her between his thighs. “Why are you so nervous?”

“I’m always nervous before I get dumped.”

“Dumped?”

“Don’t look so shocked,” she said, searching his gaze. “I know what you’d like to do to me. You’d like to ship me back to where I came from. Pretend I never showed up.”

“No, actually, that’s not what I’d like to do to you.”

She blinked, then blushed. “Be serious.”

“Oh, I’m being very serious.”

She slowly shook her head and backed away from him. “Don’t tease. Not about this. Just dump and go.”

He didn’t want to “dump” her. In fact, he wanted more of her, and he was even beginning to think maybe he could never get enough.

“Chance?” Her voice was tentative now. “What happened up there, between us? In the woods?”

He skimmed a finger up her arm, over her jaw and into her silky hair. “I was hoping you’d know.”

She shook her head.

“I’m sure this is no surprise,” he said softly. “But I’m not comfortable with what you make me feel.”

She searched his gaze for a long, long moment. “I’m not comfortable with very much when it comes to you,” she finally said.

“So we’re even.”

She seemed fascinated by his mouth, and he nearly groaned when she licked her dry lips. Blood drained from his head to parts south. He ran his thumb over her lower lip, but she caught his hand.

“Don’t,” she whispered. “I can’t think when you do that.”

“Thinking is overrated.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He pulled her closer, so that they were touching from head to toe, and all the delicious hot spots between. His hips slid against hers, and she let out a dark, needy sound that inflamed him. “Do you want me, Ally?”

Against his throat, she moaned.

He skimmed his hands over her luscious, warm body, then back up again, beneath the material of her dress now, bending his head to kiss her neck because he couldn’t get enough. He stroked the backs of calves, her knees. Her thighs, and when he discovered no stockings, no nylons, nothing but Ally, he nearly came right there.

She wrapped her arms around him and bit his neck. “You make me…wild,” she whispered.

“Wild is good.” He slid his fingers down, down, between her thighs, and found her hot and wet. “Do you want me?” he asked again, though he’d never asked a woman that before. He’d never cared that much, but he cared now. “Ally?”

“Jo is right outside-”

He stroked her with slow precision, nearly blind with need. “Yes or no.”

“Yes!”

Scooping her up, he set her on the desk, stopping only to shove all the papers to the floor. By the time everything hit with a loud thunk, he’d scooped up her dress, slipped off her panties, fought with her fingers to get his jeans opened, and got a condom out of his pocket.

“Let me,” she murmured, then bent to the task.

She didn’t know what she was doing, and that in itself got him so hot and bothered he had to take over.

She tilted her head up and looked at him from sexy, sleepy eyes. “Am I doing it wrong?”

He could only let out a choked laugh. “No, you’re doing it right. Too right.” Pressing her thighs apart with his hands, he stepped between them and entered her. At the hot, wet feel of her, his knees nearly buckled.

“Oh, my,” she whispered.

Definitely oh, my.

Gripping her hips, one stroke from bliss, he set his forehead to hers and forced himself utterly still. “Don’t move, not yet.”

“I can’t help it.” She arched against him, head thrown back, eyes closed, breasts thrust out, easily the most incredible sight he’d ever seen, and for a moment it was all he could do to just hold on.

He was lost. He was so lost. In her.

Her eyes fluttered open, glossy and filled with desire. “Chance…” Tenderly, she cupped his face, brought it down to hers and kissed him. Then she moved against him, bringing him even deeper inside her.

And suddenly, so close to her he had no idea where he ended and she began, he realized the truth.

He wasn’t lost at all, and hadn’t been since she’d stepped off the plane and into his life.

And soon enough, she was going to step right back out of his life.