CougarHeat (2 page)

They’d been in Skagway for the
summer, working in the tourist trade. During the warm months, since its port
was a popular stop for cruise ships, there were more jobs that needed filling
during that time. It had been Cindy’s idea for both of them to look for work in
the borough. In between jobs, Aspen had thought it was a great idea.

The job aspect had worked out, but
the trip back to Anchorage left her in desperate straits. Her so-called friend
had turned on Aspen. Because of a man. Cindy had met a guy who worked on a
cruise ship. He’d come into port in the middle of the summer and started a
whirlwind romance with her friend. They’d only been together for a couple of
days before he’d had to leave, but he and Cindy had talked all the time on the
internet.

Then he’d returned to Skagway two
days before Aspen and Cindy were due to head home to Anchorage. He hadn’t
wanted Cindy to go, and had arranged a job for her on the same cruise ship he
worked.

Aspen had been happy for her
friend, and had been all prepared to travel to Anchorage by herself by bus.
Then the night before she was to leave, Cindy and her boyfriend had a big
fight. Cindy decided to go home after all.

They’d been well on their way when
Cindy had gotten a call from her boyfriend, who managed to make up with her and
have her once again ready to take the job on the cruise ship.

Aspen had tried everything to get
Cindy to at least drive her to the closest bus station. But oh no, Cindy hadn’t
wanted to take the time to do that. With no care as to what Aspen would do, her
traitor of a friend had dropped her off at the truck-stop diner before heading
back to Skagway and drove away without a backward glance.

So here Aspen was, alone and
abandoned in the middle of the highway with no way of getting to the bus
station. She didn’t think she’d even be able to get a taxi to come out there to
pick her up.

She picked up her extra-large
suitcase and turned around to face the diner. She needed to find a ride. Surely
there was someone who wasn’t an axe murderer inside and wouldn’t mind dropping
her off at the bus station. It was either that or hitchhike, which wasn’t
something she felt comfortable doing.

“Are you needing some help?”

Aspen looked in the direction of
one of the semis parked off to the side. A man who looked about ten years older
than her stood at the back of it, smiling. It wasn’t exactly a friendly smile.
More like one that said she was a morsel he’d like to eat. Considering he had a
pot belly and needed suspenders to keep up his pants, she wasn’t flattered, by
any means.

She did her best not to make eye contact
and shook her head. “I’m good.”

“Are you sure? I couldn’t help
noticing the girl you arrived with just left you. And from the way she was
driving, I’d say she ain’t coming back.”

“I’m perfectly okay. Thanks for
asking.”

Aspen turned in the direction of
the diner again and started walking. She heard the sound of the man’s footsteps
following a short distance behind her, but forced herself not to look over her
shoulder. She didn’t want to encourage him.

She’d made it almost across the lot
to the diner’s entrance when the man closed the distance between them. “I think
you’re not being truthful,” he said behind her.

She spun around, not liking how
near he was to her. There was also no mistaking the look of lust in his eyes.
Aspen tried not to gag when he eyed her up and down and licked his fleshy lips.

“And how would you know that?”

“Well, I heard the argument you had
with your friend as she got your suitcase out of the trunk of her car. You both
had your voices raised. If you want, I can drive you in my semi.” He looked her
up and down again. “I wouldn’t mind the company.”

She and Cindy had been having a
heated conversation as her friend kicked her out of her car. But there was no
way Aspen was going to let this idiot know she was stranded. He more than gave
her the creeps.

“Thanks, but no thanks. Despite
what you thought you heard, I’m meeting my boyfriend here.” Aspen looked around
the parking lot until her gaze landed on a black pickup truck parked off on its
own. “And he’s already here. He must be in the diner. I’ll go wait for him at
his pickup.”

Aspen turned in the direction of
the truck and hoped like hell it wasn’t a woman who owned it. To her, the
pickup looked as if it belonged to a guy. And that it was used as a working
vehicle.

The man followed her. “Why aren’t
you going into the diner to meet him then?”

“I told him I’d be at his pickup
when I arrived. Since I’m on time, he should be out in a minute or so.”

At the passenger side of the truck,
the man reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. “Come on,
admit you’re alone. There’s no one waiting for you.”

Aspen tried to break free of his
hold, but he held her too tight. “Let go of me,” she said in a loud voice, fear
slowly rising to the surface.

“What the hell is going on here?”

She looked to her right and saw a
drop-dead-gorgeous man a short distance away, walking toward them. Aspen sent
up a silent prayer that the hunk would play along before she said, “Hi, honey.
I told you I wouldn’t be late.” She then looked at the man holding her arm.
“There’s my boyfriend now.”

She yanked out of the man’s grasp
and quickly walked over to the hunk. Once she stood in front of him, Aspen went
on her tiptoes and kissed him. She only thought to give him a quick peck on the
mouth, but it turned into a lot more than that when the man put his arms around
her waist and tugged Aspen against his chest. He then proceeded to kiss her
thoroughly, his tongue pushing between her lips and exploring her mouth.

It only lasted all of five seconds,
but it was enough to have a jolt of desire shooting through her body. Once the
hunk ended the kiss, she could only stare at him as her heart beat rapidly
against her ribs.

“Babe, tell me what’s going on
here,” the man said in a deep voice that made her toes curl.

It took Aspen a few seconds to get
her brain functioning enough to understand what he’d asked. “He thought I lied
when I said I was meeting you here. He saw Cindy drop me off and figured she’d
left me here against my will.”

The hunk took her suitcase and put
his free arm around her shoulders, turning her so she was tucked against his
side. His body was hard with muscles.

“You were harassing my girlfriend?”
he asked the man.

The man shook his head. “It’s just
a misunderstanding. I thought only to offer her a ride. I didn’t mean anything
by it.” He appeared to be scared shitless, which didn’t surprise her since the
hunk had to be around six-foot-two and was all solid muscle.

“Good, because if it was more than
that, I’d have to set you straight.” He then looked at her. “Let’s go. It’s
getting late and we have a lot of miles to go before we can stop for the
night.”

Aspen let out a silent sigh of
relief that he was willing to play along and nodded. He turned her toward the
pickup and unlocked the passenger door for her. She got inside the cab and shut
herself in as he went around to the bed to put her suitcase there before
getting into the driver’s side.

As they drove out of the diner’s
parking lot and merged with the highway traffic, Aspen looked out the cab’s
back window to see the man watched their departure. There was no question in
her mind that he wouldn’t have stopped harassing her if the hunk hadn’t come
along. Just another reason why Cindy was no longer considered a friend.

Taylor glanced over at the woman
who sat next to him in the cab of his pickup. She was the same one who had
caught his eye back at the diner. Up close, she was even prettier. He now knew
her eyes were blue-gray, and at around five-foot-five, she fit perfectly under
his arm.

He’d come out of the diner to see
her being harassed near his pickup by an asshole who couldn’t keep his hands to
himself. Taylor, of course, had to intervene. He’d even been willing to play
his part as her “boyfriend” when she’d called him “honey”, but he hadn’t
expected the kiss. Her lips pressed to his, he’d found himself unable to pass
up getting a taste of her. At least she hadn’t minded, had in fact seemed to
enjoy it, if he went by the scent of her desire that had rolled off her.

“Ah…thanks for back there,” she
said as she looked at him. “I don’t think that guy would have left me alone if
not for you. I’m Aspen.”

He shot her a quick smile before
focusing back on the road. “Taylor. No problem. He’d gone too far. You don’t
have to worry. I’m not like that.”

“Nice to meet you, Taylor. I have
to say you don’t give off the same creepy vibes he was. If you don’t mind, can
you drop me off at the bus station? Cindy, my friend, who is no longer one,
did
abandon me back at the diner.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

“Thanks. And sorry about that whole
you being my boyfriend
and the kiss. I didn’t know what else to do to
get rid of him.”

Taylor chuckled. “Don’t apologize,
especially for the kiss. That’s one thing I’ll never complain about—being
kissed by a pretty woman.”

A glance over showed her cheeks had
taken on a nice shade of pink. “I can’t say it was any hardship for me to do
it.”

“Where are you headed?”

“Anchorage. What about you?”

“The same place. I’ve been living
in Juneau for the last few years, but all my family is in Anchorage. It’s time
I moved back.”

Aspen nodded. “I was working all
summer in Skagway. I’m ready to go home. I miss seeing my mom and dad.”

“Any siblings?”

“An older sister. She’s quite a bit
older than me…eight years. I was a surprise for my parents.”

“I have a younger brother. There’s
only a year between us.”

Taylor took the exit off the
highway and headed for the nearest bus station he knew. The trip wasn’t long
enough for him to learn all that much about Aspen. But with them living in the
same city, it was an opportunity for him to ask her out. Even though she was
human, he wanted to get to know her better. And he doubted she was the kind of
woman who would be interested in a one-night stand. He’d had enough of them to
know when the opposite sex was only looking for a good time with no strings
attached. Aspen didn’t seem to be like that. They’d shared a kiss and she’d
apologized for it.

At the bus station, Taylor pulled
into a parking space and shut off the pickup’s engine. He turned in his seat to
face Aspen. “I’ll stay with you until you catch your bus.”

She shook her head. “You don’t have
to do that. I don’t want to hold you up. You have a long drive still before you
reach Anchorage.”

“I’m not ready to say goodbye to
you yet. Plus, I’d feel better if I saw you safely on the bus.” He smiled. “And
maybe before you do get on it you’ll give me your phone number so I can call
you and set up a date.”

Aspen smiled, making her whole face
light up. “I’d like that.”

“Good. Now let’s see about getting
you a bus ticket.”

Taylor got out of the truck and
went to the back to collect Aspen’s suitcase. He fell into step beside her as
they walked to the station’s main building. Once inside, he let Aspen take the
lead. She headed straight for the wicket. There were only two people ahead of
her.

Once it was her turn, Aspen asked
for a ticket for the next available bus to Anchorage. It turned out she’d
missed the last one of the day by about ten minutes. She’d have to wait until
early the next morning. Seeing the crestfallen expression Aspen wore, Taylor
thanked the woman at the wicket and pulled Aspen off to the side.

“Before you buy your ticket, I want
you to consider something first,” he said.

“Okay.”

“I know you really don’t know me,
but I can assure you, you’ll be safe in my company. Why don’t you ride to
Anchorage with me? We’re both going there. That way you won’t have to spend the
night in the bus station, which I’m not fond of. I’ll even let you take a
picture of me with your cell phone and you can send it to your parents so
they’ll know who you’re with. Plus, I have some very good friends back in
Juneau who I can call who would be happy to vouch for me not being a murderer
or anything.”

Aspen’s gaze searched Taylor’s face
while she appeared to think over what he’d suggested. She then asked, “You’d
really let me take your picture?”

“Of course. If it will make you
feel safer with me, then go right ahead.”

“Okay.” She took her cell phone
from her purse and got him to smile before she took the picture. Instead of
sending a text, Aspen put the cell away.

“Aren’t you going to send it to
your parents?”

She smiled. “No. I just wanted it
so I can look at it later. I wasn’t going to pass that up.”

Taylor laughed. “I would have
gladly let you take my picture, anyway. So what’s your answer? Do you want to
make the trip to Anchorage with me?”

“Yes. If you had wanted to hurt me,
you could have done that right after we left the diner. I don’t think I’ll be
in any danger with you. Plus, you did save me from the jerk at the truck stop.”

“Great. Let’s get on the road
again.”

He guided Aspen out of the building
and to the parking lot. That she’d agreed to stay with him pleased Taylor more
than it should. With what was going on with his family group, he really had no
business getting closer to a human female. But the thought of leaving her
behind hadn’t sat well with him. He was drawn to Aspen, whether it was a good
thing or not.

Once again inside his truck and on
the highway, he said, “You should at least let someone know about the change in
your plans. What if your friend calls your parents looking for you and you’re
not there yet? I’m going to stop at a motel for the night. I’m not going to
take the chance of falling asleep at the wheel.”

“I guess you’re right. Cindy and I
had planned to drive right until it was late, then stop for the night. The
delay at the diner and the bus station will have me not showing up on time. My
parents would worry. I’m going to be living in the apartment above their
garage.”

Out of the corner of his eye,
Taylor watched Aspen take her cell out of her purse again and quickly type out
a text message. It wasn’t too long before her phone
binged
with a reply.
She sent two more texts before she put away her cell.

“Done,” she said. “Just so you
know, I told them you were someone I met in Skagway, and that you were nice
enough to offer me a ride when Cindy bailed on me. My mom is a bit of a
worrywart. If I’d told her how I actually met you, and that I accepted a ride,
she’d be up all night, pacing.”

“I can understand why she’d worry.”
Silence fell between them before Taylor started the conversation again. “So
where would you like to go out on our date?”

Aspen chuckled. “You move fast,
don’t you?”

“Well, I do have your undivided
attention right now. I figured we can plan it all out on the drive.”

“That’s very proactive of you.”

“Nothing wrong with being
organized.”

“I guess not. Since you’re asking
me out on a date, I’m figuring you didn’t leave a girlfriend behind in Juneau.”

“No. I haven’t had one in a few
years. And I take it you don’t have a boyfriend.”

“I find it hard to believe a man as
good-looking as you has stayed single for so long. Correct, I have no
boyfriend. I was too busy working all summer. Plus, I hadn’t planned to stay
beyond that in Skagway. Unlike my former friend, I’m not into long-distance
relationships. As far as I’m concerned, they rarely work out.”

Taylor glanced at Aspen and let out
a short laugh. “I’ll have to take your word on that. I’ve never had one. It’s a
good thing we’ll both be living in the same city.”

“It does make it easier. If you
don’t mind me asking, why did you decide to make the move from Juneau to
Anchorage?”

“I don’t mind. My father’s very
sick. He’s in a bad enough way my family wants me to come back home.”

“Sorry to hear about your dad. And
here I was holding you up.”

“It’s okay. Seriously. I’m not all
that overjoyed to be making this trip, anyway. I had a falling out with my
family four years ago. Yesterday was the first time I’d actually spoken to one
of my relatives since then. If I’d had my way, I’d still be back in Juneau. I
had to say goodbye to some very good friends.”

“Families can be a pain in the butt
at times. I’m not very close with my sister. Her being so much older than me,
she still likes to think of me as her bratty little sibling. Even though I’m
twenty-seven, she can’t treat me like an adult. It drives me crazy.”

“I can see that would be annoying.”

Now that their conversation was
moving along smoothly, Taylor was pleased Aspen had no problem keeping it
going. He found her to be good company. The miles and hours passed without him
realizing it. If he’d been alone, he would have more than likely spent the time
dreading his first meeting with his father.

It was full dark and well into the
night before Taylor decided he’d had enough of driving. He turned off the
highway and found the closest motel. He parked the truck in front of the
manager’s office.

He undid his seat belt and turned
to look at Aspen. “Are you okay with getting your own room?”

She gave him a sheepish look.
“Would you mind sharing one with two beds? I’d feel more comfortable if I
wasn’t alone. I’ll pay for half of it.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want
to do? I thought you’d want your privacy.”

Aspen nodded. “After the incident
at the truck stop, I’ll feel safer.”

If that was what she wanted, Taylor
had no problem sharing a room with her. He didn’t say anything, but he wondered
if Aspen was worried that if they weren’t staying together he’d leave her
behind in the morning. She’d already had one person abandon her out in the
middle of nowhere with no way of getting home.

“Then it’s a room with two double
beds. You can wait here. I’ll go in and book it.”

As Taylor got out of the pickup, he
smiled to himself. So far his trip home had turned out to be surprising in a
good way. Having spent hours with Aspen, talking and getting to know her, he
was more attracted to her than when he’d first seen her at the truck stop. Not
only was she beautiful, she also had a great personality. For the first time in
his life, he was seriously considering having a relationship with a human
female.

* * * * *

Aspen looked at the door to the
manager’s office. It had only been a minute since Taylor had gone inside to
book them a room. She was sure he’d be a few more yet.

She silently sighed at the prospect
of spending the night with Taylor. He was totally gorgeous. Even though Aspen
wasn’t letting it show on the outside, on the inside, she was drooling all over
him. She’d screamed with glee to herself when he’d asked her out on a date. Her
luck had definitely turned for the better after meeting him. Not only was he a
hunk, he was also a great guy.

And how could she resist him when
he’d come to her rescue the way he had? There had been a few other people in
the parking lot when the jerk had accosted her, but Taylor had been the only
one to step up and chase him off for her. That put him in her good book.

Aspen’s stomach growled, reminding
her it had been a long time since she’d last eaten. She looked out the pickup’s
window and saw a café next to the motel. She didn’t think Taylor would mind
getting some food. The last time he’d had anything had to have been back at the
diner. That had been hours ago.

She caught movement out of the
corner of her eye and turned her head to watch Taylor stride to the driver’s
side, then get in. She smiled. “You booked the room okay?”

He started the truck. “Yeah. We’re
good to go.” Taylor backed up, then drove the short distance to the parking
spot in front of their room.

After getting out of the pickup,
Taylor unlocked the room’s door. Aspen stepped inside and looked around. It was
nothing special. Just the typical motel room found anywhere. There were two
double beds with a small table between them, which had a lamp, telephone and
digital clock sitting on it. The only other thing in the room was an old-model
television. No LCD or LED flat screen here.

“It’s not great, but it should do
for the one night,” Taylor said.

She turned to look at him and chuckled.
“It’s a motel, after all. I saw there was a café. I don’t know about you, but
I’m hungry. Feel like going over there and getting something to eat?”

“Sure. I’ll bring the bags in, then
we can go.”

Taylor turned and headed toward the
door. Aspen nibbled her bottom lip as she gazed at his muscled ass. His jeans
showed it off perfectly. Maybe they could get a head start on their date. He
hadn’t tried to touch her again, but she felt it was because he wanted her to
feel comfortable around him. If she had her way, she’d be more than happy to be
in his arms, maybe getting a kiss or two or three or ten.

He came back not even a minute
later carrying her large suitcase and one for him. Taylor put hers on the floor
at the end of one of the beds. “I still have some boxes in the pickup, but I
don’t want to bring them in here. I’ll cover them with a tarp.”

Aspen nodded, then watched him go
out again. She went over and stood in front of the single window. It was pretty
dark out there, and the lighting in the lot left much to be desired. But Taylor
appeared not to have any problem seeing as he got inside the bed of the pickup
and set to work covering what was inside it. He bent over with his ass in her
direction. Aspen wondered what he would do if she went out there and gave it a
good squeeze.