The Mighty Quinns: Dermot-Dex. Kate Hoffmann

you didn’t start sketching naked men.”

      “You weren’t naked,” she said.

      “I can remedy that.”

      “No,” she said, a playful smile touching her lips. “I’ll take care of it.” She reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head. “Now, you sketch me. I showed you my drawing, now you show me yours.”

      “I can’t draw,” he said. “My brother Cam, now, he can draw.”

      She stretched out on the blanket beside him, bracing her head in her hand. The sun filtered through the leaves in the trees and felt warm on her bare skin. She smiled to herself.

      There were times when, as a teenager, Rachel would come to this spot and put aside her sketchbook. She’d turn her thoughts to boys, to the secret crushes that she developed on classmates. She’d been an awkward girl with plain clothes, not the type that got noticed. A wallflower was the most apt description.

      “I had my first kiss right here in this spot,” she said.

      “Tell me all about it,” Dermot urged.

      “I told a boy I liked that I’d found a huge piece of gold buried beneath this tree and I’d split the money for it if he’d help me carry it out. And then, when I got him here, I tried to kiss him.”

      “What happened?”

      “He hit me with a stick and told me I was as ugly as a toad. And then he ran away.”

      “I’m not running,” Dermot said.

      “You’re paid to stay,” she countered.

      He set down the sketchbook and crawled across the blanket. “I’m not planning on going anywhere,” he said. “I’m not going to hit you with a stick and I think you’re just about the most beautiful thing I’ve ever set eyes on.”

      Rachel smiled and pulled him into a deep kiss. He was charming and maybe he did know exactly what to say that made her feel like the only woman in the world. But she didn’t care. She’d been alone for too long and she was going to enjoy Dermot Quinn while she could.

      Rachel pulled him down on top of her, their naked bodies coming together in a way that felt so perfect. His shaft was hard and hot between them, nestled in the juncture of her thighs. And here, alone, under the late-summer sun, she’d make a memory that she’d never forget. A memory of being with a stranger who felt more like a long-lost lover.

      “Are we going to do this?” he whispered.

      She drew her leg up along his hip, his body fitting ever closer. “We’re alone and we’re naked. It is the next logical step.”

      “I came prepared,” he said.

      Rachel brushed her lips against his and he captured her mouth in a long, delicious kiss. She’d never been with a man who was able to dissolve her insecurities and inhibitions. Was it the fact that they really didn’t know each other? Did that make it all so much easier?

      There were no expectations between them, no arguments or fundamental differences. She didn’t know anything about his past, about the women in his life or his plans for the future. All Rachel knew was that in six weeks he’d be gone and she’d be alone again.

      His body was hard and muscular and she couldn’t keep herself from touching him. Dermot held on to her waist and rolled her over on top of him, then pulled her knees up against his hips. A lazy smile curled his lips as he cupped her breast in his palm.

      “I’ve never done this,” he said.

      “Had sex?”

      “No. Done it outside. I mean, I have done it in a tent, but never in the great wide open. What if someone comes along?”

      “They’ll get an eyeful,” she said.

      “I’ll be sure to make it good.”

      He began a gentle, yet deliberate exploration of her body and Rachel closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of his caress. He knew exactly what he was doing, tracing a path from her lips to her breasts to the spot between her legs.

      She was already damp with desire, and when he touched her there, a current shot through her body. Goose bumps prickled her sun-warmed skin and she felt a tremble inside her. She was already so close, but she didn’t want to surrender quite yet.

      Rachel reached down and touched her lips to his, teasing him with a kiss that was both playful and filled with promise. Her tongue flicked across his bottom lip, and when he groaned, she smiled.

      She’d never felt in control before, never felt as if she had anything to offer a man sexually, besides her body. But with Dermot, it all seemed so natural and in balance. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

      Rachel knew everything would change once they took this last step. Though their high-speed affair had taken an unconventional path, from now on, they’d know each other intimately. She’d be completely vulnerable to her feelings, to the effect he had on her body and her soul.

      When he reached for his jeans, she knew what he wanted and she impatiently grabbed the packet from his hand. Waving it at him, she smiled. “You did come prepared.”

      “I’ve been prepared since the first time we kissed,” he said.

      “You knew this would happen?”

      “I knew what I wanted. But I didn’t know that you’d want it, too.”

      She tore open the condom package and gently sheathed him, smoothing her hands along the length of his shaft. Then, she positioned herself above him and held her breath as she slowly sank down.

      The sensation of him inside her, buried deep, was almost more than she could bear. A gasp slipped from her lips and she felt the tension within her heighten at the thought of what they were about to do. She moved above him, and before she knew it, they’d begun a slow, steady rhythm.

      Her mind focused on the spot where they were joined, and when he touched her there, Rachel knew how it all would end. Her pulse quickened along with her pace and he continued to tease her, each flick of his finger sending wild sensations coursing through her.

      Her hair tumbled around her face and she tipped her head back and closed her eyes. The breeze warmed her skin and the leaves rustled above her head. There was no place on earth she’d rather be.

      She looked down at him and smiled, smoothing her hands over his chest. Her lips found his nipple and she sucked gently, teasing at it until it was hard. There was so much to love about his body, so many tempting places to explore.

      But he brought her back to her own release when he touched her again. Rachel groaned softly, her eyes going wide as the first shudder consumed her. As if he were waiting for that first sign, Dermot drove deep, and like a wave crashing over her head, her body dissolved into deep and shattering spasms.

      For a long moment, every nerve in her body tingled and every synapse in her brain fired. Shudders rocked her, and in the midst of it all, Dermot came, losing himself while buried deep inside her.

      Their orgasms melded into one perfect release, and when they were both spent, he pulled her down on top of him and held her close. Rachel rested against his chest, listening to his heart as it slowed to normal again.

      Dermot furrowed his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head. “I guess it’s true what they say about farmers’ daughters,” he murmured.

      “Oh, it gets much better than this,” Rachel said.

      “How is that possible?” he asked, drawing back to look into her eyes.

      “The county fair starts next weekend. There are rides and cream puffs and corn dogs.”

      “Is there a place for us to do this?”

      “No,” she said. “But there are pig races, which for some folks around here is better than