The feel of his arms around her brought Beth comfort. He’d spent every night he hadn’t been working in her bed. She knew some in the lifestyle would feel that there needed to be some separation. Maybe they were right, but she couldn’t bring herself to make him sleep in the other room or even go home. Not having him beside her when he was at the fire station was bad enough.
“Are you ready for today?” he asked.
“Not really.”
His chest vibrated with amusement. “It’ll be fine. You have nothing to worry about.”
Beth snorted. “I’ll remember you said that when it’s time to meet my parents.”
“Bring it on.”
They lay there for several minutes just enjoying each other. Eventually, though, they had to get up and begin getting ready. There was no use putting it off anymore as tempting as that might be.
Drew’s parents lived roughly an hour east of St. Louis. As they drove farther into Illinois, civilization fell away and they were surrounded by nothing but fields. He’d said he grew up on a farm, but Beth was envisioning more along the lines of what she was used to in Ohio. There was nothing except fields for as far as the eye could see. She didn’t even think they’d passed a house in the last ten minutes.
“You okay over there?” he asked.
“Yeah. I just thought there’d be more . . . houses.”
He smiled. “That’s southern Illinois for ya. Fields as far as the eye can see.”
“Is it like this where your parents live?”
“Pretty much. There’s a small town about ten miles down the road, so there are a few more houses if you head in that direction.”
He said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Of course, to him it probably was. Beth couldn’t imagine living so far out of touch from everything. She’d grown up in the suburbs and that’s what she was used to. This felt as if one could get lost.
Fifteen minutes later, they turned onto a road that looked only marginally better than a gravel driveway. They seemed to keep going farther and farther out in the middle of nowhere.
Then she noticed a mailbox up ahead. Drew put on his turn signal even though there was no one behind them. She guessed it was showtime.
Beth reached for his hand as they drove up the long driveway toward the house. That, at least, was how she’d pictured it—an old two-story farmhouse with a wraparound porch. She wondered if Drew’s parents ever sat outside on a hot day sipping iced tea.
He pulled up to the house and parked the car alongside a fence. “You ready?”
“No,” she said.
Drew squeezed her hand and shot her that teasing grin of his. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
She rolled her eyes. “So I need a big strong man to protect me from your family?”
“You never know. Mom might have some secret truth serum or something lurking in her cupboards. She’ll make you tell her all your secrets.”
Beth shook her head and laughed.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be alone tonight. Camping, remember?” Drew’s eyes were sparkling. He loved teasing her as much as she loved teasing him.
Taking a quick look around, Beth confirmed that they were still alone before leaning across the console and whispering in his ear. “I’m going to make you beg for it tonight.”
She saw the muscles in his throat move as he swallowed, making her grin. Drew could tease her all he wanted as long as he remembered that she would always get the last word. The only thing that kept her from pushing things right then and there was the fact that any member of his family could come out to greet them at any given minute. Beth didn’t think finding her sitting in Drew’s car with her hand wrapped around his cock would be a great first impression.
Reluctantly, she pulled back enough to meet his gaze. His pupils had dilated, and Beth wondered if she looked down at his lap whether she’d find him aroused. Her train of thought did nothing to help her current state one bit. “We should go inside. Your mom’s probably wondering what we’re doing out here.”
He looked toward the house. “She’s probably at the window watching.”
“Oh, goody.”
Drew chuckled. “Come on. We should go inside before I start tenting my shorts.”