route-66

Charlie had kissed a lot of guys. And Connor's kiss had been the best ever. Ever, ever, ever.

Charlie swallowed. He was gloriously sexy. The hottest man she'd ever seen with his sculpted chest and abs., narrow waist, long muscular legs dusted with dark brown hair. Her gaze roamed over every inch of him before settling on his erection. It was big, thick, and hard for her. Her mouth watered in anticipation.

With a gentle touch, she brushed the hair off his forehead. "I was sort of hoping you'd be a little more relaxed today."He took her hand and kissed it."I'm very relaxed.""Finally?" She raised her eyebrows and snuggled closer."You feel a little stiff."And getting stiffer by the second. He had zero control around this woman. "We should probably do something about that.

He parked the car, pressed the button for the roof to fold back, and undid his seat belt. "It's an emergency."Goldilocks giggled. She unfastened her belt and hopped onto her knees. "Yes, I can see" - she glanced down at his crotch - "That we're in danger of a detonation. What's the protocol in a situation like this, Mr. Environmentalist?""I'm afraid I have no choice but to advocate for release.

Oh, crap.The last person she wanted to run into this morning when she had to be super-professional was Hot Pool Guy. Before she had a chance to hide behind a plant or something, his gaze connected with hers and held her hostage.He flashed a smile and headed her way. Shit. She got to her feet thinking she'd say a quick hello before telling him she was meeting someone and excuse herself. Look away from those amazing dark eyes before you get yourself in trouble. She forced her attention down.And found a logo on the breast pocket of his white polo shirt.Word.Heritage.Fund.Kill her now.

Goldilocks in the flesh. He zoned out for a second, lost in the smooth texture of her skin, so he had zero time to react when the bikini top flying through the air hit him in the chest....She contemplated the ground for a second. "I'd like my top back, please.""I don't know," he teased. "It could be construed as a deadly weapon.

The only time I get to be alone is while traveling.""Except this week," Charlie said.He turned his head and she saw herself reflected in his shades. "True. And you're not at all what I expected."Not that Connor had had any idea what to expect. But he would've preferred if she hadn't been the beautiful blonde who wore skimpy red bikini tops and starred in his dreams last night.

Feel free to check out the hotel and talk to the staff," he said slipping out of bed. "And I'm happy to give you an up-close look at what we're doing." When she didn't answer, he glanced over his shoulder. Then cleared his throat.Her attention jumped from his ass to his face. "Sorry, what did you say/""I said---"She sat up, letting the sheet fall to her waist. And damn if she wasn't the most gorgeous thing with her creamy skin, pert breasts, and mussed hair.He moaned like a guy totally whipped and stalked back to the bed where he climbed on top of her."Connor." She giggled and wiggled beneath him. Her arms went around his neck. "What are you doing?""Forgetting the time." He kissed her and didn't leave until they'd both had their fill.

Charlie brought her dandelion to her mouth. "I've heard that, too. But this happens to be something I've done a lot and it's easy. Just take a deep breath, put your lips together, and blow." She closed her eyes and blew. When she lifted her lids, she found him watching her.Or rather, watching her mouth. She let go of the flower stem and swallowed. "I'm thinking those lips of yours could make any man's wish come true.

I've always had this fantasy of being at the top of a Ferris wheel with a gorgeous guy and having him kiss me.""Really? That's your fantasy?""One of them." She narrowed her eyes, but it didn't diminish their light."And I fit the bill?" he said, unable to stop himself from moving his stare to her mouth. Christ, he wasn't expecting her to say any of that, but now that she had, he had the urge to fulfill all her fantasies."You asked." She shrugged and started to turn away.He caught her jaw and tilted it up to his. "Do you want me to kiss you?"Long, dark eyelashes reached the arch of her brows. "We shouldn't""That's not what I asked."She squirmed, her breath caught."Yes," she whispered.

You are so going down for that." He grabbed the keys and headed back to the road. "When you least expect it," he added over his shoulder."I'm shaking in my shoes," she called out."You're not wearing any.""Exactly."Damn, he liked this girl.

Connor couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard him mumble, "First Dean, then McCall. These boys are dropping like flies.

Oh, I can picture myself rattling along Route 66 on that thing, headphones on, singing along to ZZ Top's 'Sharp Dressed Man' or the opening line from 'Born to be Wild' by Steppenwolf - 'Get your motor running...' The trike brings out that in all of us, which is no bad thing. Forget Viagra, get yourself a trike!

The sad truth is, John and I and the kids only took Route 66 once on our trips to Disneyland. Our family, like the rest of America, succumbed to the lure of faster highways, more direct routes, higher speed limits. We forgot about taking the slow way. It makes you wonder if something inside us knows that our lives are going to pass faster than we could ever realize. So we run around like chickens about to lose our heads. Which makes our little two- or three-week vacations with our families more important than ever... As for the time that elapsed between those vacations, that__ another thing altogether. It seems to have all passed breathlessly, like some extended whisper of days, months, years, decades. (pp.39-40)

Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.

This is exactly the sort of thing that makes traveling wonderful for me, the reason I defied everyone. The two of us together like we have always been, not saying anything, not doing anything special, just on vacation. I know nothing lasts, but even when you know that things are just about over, sometimes you can run back and take a little bit more and no one will notice.