Letting one hand slip under my bulky jacket, I formed it around her waist. “You know I can’t resist you when you say please.”

She winked. “I know.” Tossing the covers over our heads, Josie’s mouth reconnected with mine at the same time her hand returned to my stomach. Her fingers traced patterns into my skin as her mouth played with mine, sucking and nipping and smoothing and all of the things I didn’t know could make a person’s toes curl. Before, a kiss had been nothing more than a prelude, a stepping stone, a necessary evil. A means to an end. I’d never paid attention to a kiss because it had never been anything more than a segue to sex.

But that kiss, with that girl . . . that was something else entirely. If a person could only choose one memory to take with them into their next life, that would be the one I’d take. That would be the one I’d carry through all of my lifetimes. I didn’t need to have lived them all to realize that memory I was making with Josie was the thing men sold eternities for. It was the thing I’d sell mine for.

I managed to keep my hands on her waist and in the bend of her neck, and as each second passed, it became easier and easier to keep them from straying into newfound “danger” zones. A few weeks ago, those areas had been my primary targets. Now they were danger zones. Irony was really making me its bitch.

When Josie’s fingers trailed along my belt line, skimming just below the surface, I let out something between a sigh and a groan before returning the favor. She might have been in a dress, but fingers skimming the area just south of the navel packs a powerful punch even through clothing. When she moaned around the kiss we were tangled up in, I came close to hiking up her dress, lowering my fly, and making her moan again and louder. Then, like she knew the internal war I was fighting, Josie’s mouth slowed and her hand moved away from the sensitive skin. She knew what she was doing. She knew how to “make out” and when and how to tap the brakes. That was a relief since everything inside of me was dying to punch the gas. A minute ago, I’d been in control. Thirty seconds and one moan from Josie later, I was utterly out of control. Right then, I was back to having a grip. I was returning her slow, soft kiss when something thumped the outside of my truck, jolting us.

“Hey, Black, why’d you pay to come to a drive-in if all you were going to do was fuck your date?”

Josie froze as my eyes narrowed. “Watch your mouth, Mason,” I ordered, peeking my head out from beneath the blankets just enough so he could see my murderous expression without catching a glimpse of Josie. I didn’t mind Colt finding out about Josie and me, but I wasn’t sure if she was ready yet. Even if she was, that probably wasn’t the best time.

“What? It’s not like fuck isn’t your second language and we all know that whoever that girl is beneath you is a far cry from a lady, so don’t tell me to watch my mouth again, asshole.”

I was ready to jump out of the back of my truck to see if Mason had such a loud mouth when I stood toe-to-toe with him, but Josie grabbed my belt buckle and tugged me back down.

“Hey, sweetheart, you do realize you’re with Garth Black, right? The guy who wouldn’t know commitment if it crawled up his ass and took residence.”

Josie gave my belt buckle another tug, and I could almost hear her thoughts—they were that strong. Why would you want to go out there with him when you can be in here with me? Exactly. No reason I’d rather go flick Colt’s hat off his head when Josie’s body was beneath mine and keeping it warm. “At least that’s not what’s shoved up my ass most nights of the week.”

Colt raised his middle finger at me as he tapped my truck again. “Way to go all out and get your truck washed for your date tonight. This thing used to be black, right?”

If Colt thought he could teach me a thing or two about trucks, he must have forgotten which state was listed on his birth certificate. “I’ll get around to washing my truck, Mason. When it rains.” Josie was still covered and quiet, but when Colt took a few steps closer, I shifted. In addition to the blankets, I was blocking her from his view. “It’s a truck, god dammit. You don’t have to wash it and wax it and tweak its headlights to get it to perform.”

“Whatever you say, Black. Whatever you say.” Colt shook his head and walked toward the concessions. “Enjoy your night.”

I watched him until he was out of sight before twisting around and sliding the blankets back. “I really hate that guy.”

Josie wore an amused expression. “You don’t say.”

“Why in the hell did he have to be here tonight? My night was about perfect until he showed up with that overly white smile and tanned face.”

“I didn’t know he was coming, but he said a couple of his brothers would be in town for the weekend. Given the limited choices for entertainment, I suppose it’s not a huge surprise we’d all end up in the same place.” Josie hadn’t let go of my belt buckle, but instead of tugging on it forcefully, she was tugging on it playfully. “Do you want to talk about Colt the rest of the night or would you like to get back to what we were doing?”

Damn, there was a special place in heaven for a girl who could tell you what she wanted without a hint of shame. “Colt who?” My hands found places on her as I shifted back on top.

Then she shoved my chest away and pivoted on top of me. Josie’s eyes gleamed before she lowered her mouth to mine. “My turn.”

IF A MAN could die from making-out exhaustion, I figured I was close. I didn’t know some of the things Josie had taught me could be done with a mouth. I also didn’t realize that having a woman basically hold me captive and have her way with me could be so freeing. With the addition of a bit of boob fondling and a whole bit more of Josie rocking her hips into mine, we’d had a successful, insanely-sexy-without-actual-sex make-out session. Josie was showing me all sorts of things I could do that I never would have thought possible.

The second movie had already been playing for a while when I simply had to come up for air. Or hydration. Or sustenance. Something. “Are you warm now?” I cupped her face with both hands. She certainly felt warmer. Actually, she almost looked flushed.

Her lips moved to the corner of my mouth. “I’m definitely something now.” Her lips moved to the other corner. “But I wouldn’t say warmer is the first thing on my mind.” To prove her point, her hips slid down mine again.

I wasn’t sure who, but one of us was close to giving in. An intermission was in order. Plus, the clothed grinding was nice and all, but my dick had to be close to being rubbed raw. I needed a few minutes to calm my shit down, rehydrate, and tend to my wounds. “Come on. Break time.” I checked to make sure Colt wasn’t in sight then grabbed Josie’s hands and pulled her up.

“I thought we had one of those when you took a breath ten minutes ago.” She grinned at me as she finger-combed her hair and straightened her dress.

After zipping my coat back up on her, I redid all of the buttons she’d managed to get undone on my shirt and tucked it back into my jeans before leaping over the side. “You’re right. I’m weak. You are the making out champion.” Josie grabbed my hands to steady herself before jumping out of the bed. “But whatever you just did to me in there, I flew past warm straight into hot. I need one of those slushie things to cool down, and I need the sugar before I go into hypoglycemic shock.” Making out with Josie burned a hell of a lot of calories.

“You’d better get two so you’ll have reserves.” Josie grabbed my hand as we headed for the concessions. Everyone else had gotten their drinks and snacks during the real intermission, so it was mostly quiet inside. That was part of my plan. I still didn’t know how Josie felt—well, after that make-out session, I knew how she felt—but I wasn’t sure if she was ready for us to be a public item yet. As much as I wanted the whole damn town to know we were together, I also knew we would give the rumor mill enough fodder to keep its channels busy into next year. The hometown sweetheart hooks up with the trailer-trash bad boy. I didn’t want Josie at the center of a bunch of malicious gossip, and the only way to protect her from that was to keep us a secret.