What Might Have Been Read Online Free Page B

that brown beater you drove in high school.” He smoothed his hand over hers and tangled their fingers together. “Whatever we all called it.”
    “The Turd? How could I forget the old girl?” Speaking of her first car brought back fond memories and eased the tension building in her lower back. The little Tempo hadn’t been the prettiest car, but had run well and got her where she needed to go. “She was ugly as sin, but she started in that blizzard during our senior year when no one else’s did.”
    “The truck suits you,” he murmured.
    As he spoke, Tanner inched even closer. The spicy scent of his cologne drifted around her. If she tipped her head back, she could kiss him. The fluorescent lights of the parking lot glittered in his eyes, along with something else. Lust?
    To hell with common sense and protection. Time to live a little…and find passion in his arms, if only for one night. She took the lead and eased him against the fender.
    “You said you wanted to fix some mistakes. I’m staying at the Free Bridge Inn over in Butler and I hear the restaurant is pretty nice. Drinks are on me.” There. She’d met him flirt for flirt. She drew lazy circles on his side with the pads of her fingers, dipping lower with each pass until they rested at his hip. She wasn’t a giddy teenager anymore. She knew who and what she wanted—on her terms. “It’s not much, but it’s something.”
    “You’re hard to ignore.” He tucked a rogue lock of her hair behind her ear, lingering a bit too long for courtesy. She didn’t care. When his lips parted, her heart thundered in her chest. Using the pad of his index finger, he caressed her jaw.
    “Best way to be.” She ground her hips against the bulge in his pants. The bite of the zipper rubbed her clit. “I take what I want.”
      “And you want me?” His breath caught and his eyes dilated. A thin strip of blue ringed the dark depths. “I’ve got the silver Beemer.”
    A BMW? He had moved up in the world from the rusty two-tone Chevy he had sped around in during high school. Although it crossed her mind to feel him all over, she settled for his chest and poked him with the tip of her finger. The steely muscle never moved. “Just keep up with me.” There, she’d made a joke to lighten the otherwise heady mood.
    “Is that a challenge?”
    “Absolutely,” she purred. Maybe she could handle this romantic thing after all.
    He wiggled his brows. A rebellious gleam sparkled in his darkened eyes. “I like a woman in charge. You’re on.”
    Untangling herself from his embrace, Macy strode along the side of the truck. She unlocked her door and slid up onto the seat. In the rear view mirror, she watched Tanner cross the lot. He moved with such grace and confidence. Even if she wanted to look away, she couldn’t.
    She gulped air and rubbed her forehead. The man would be a challenge, but she welcomed it with open arms. If he made love like she’d imagined in her fantasies, the experience would be sheer bliss. But reality never quite matched fantasy. If she could just rebuild the walls around her heart while she took the ride of her life in his embrace, she’d be fine. Talk about asking the impossible.
     
    Five minutes later, Tanner pulled out onto the highway en route to Butler. He memorised the shape of her tail lights. Memorised! The rational part of his brain took over. Macy Shibley was dangerous. She managed to get under his skin with her crooked smile and compassionate nature. Hell, he even liked her feisty streak. Damn it if she didn’t have the power to bring him to his knees all over again.
    But this was supposed to be a one-night-to-reconnect-and-then-on-with-his-life thing.
    He glanced in the rear view mirror at the stop light and smoothed his hair back into place. This wasn’t just another date. This was his chance to find out if what might have been in high school still existed between them. He pressed the accelerator and drummed the steering wheel. If