Parking Lot Encounter

Christmas was only a few short weeks away, but the weather didn’t seem to have gotten the message. Instead of snowing it was like someone had failed to completely shut-off some giant cosmic tab allowing rain to drip steadily down all week. The result was that even the holiday decorations were wet and depressing. The dismal weather was taking a toll on everyone. People were shorter tempered than normal. If something didn't change, it was going to be a miserable holiday season.

Carolyn’s shoes slapped against the wet sidewalk while her mind wandered.

Footsteps pounded on the sidewalk, causing Carolyn to pick up the pace as she cast a nervous glance over her shoulder. A man was rapidly approaching, the expression on his face leaving no doubt about what his intentions were when he caught up with her.

“Oh no you don’t,” Carolyn hissed before breaking into a run.

She did her best, but her heels and short legs were no match for his sneakers and runner’s body. It took just seconds for him to catch her.

He grabbed the back of her heavy coat and yanked. Carolyn shrieked and started to stumble backward before his strong hands clamped around her arms, steadying her.

“Got you,” he whispered in her ear. His hot breath fanned her cheek and Carolyn’s knees started to buckle.

“What are you going to do with me.” Carolyn lifted her chin defiantly and shivered as he nipped the side of her neck.

“Show you who’s in charge.” He laced his fingers through hers and tugged her towards a nearby park bench. “Teach you it’s never a good idea to run from me.”

He tugged at her until she straddled his hips and his swollen, jeans encased cock rubbed against her core. 

“Oh!” Carolyn worked her hands between their bodies and fumbled with his belt. 

Their tongues tangled in a soul scorching kiss as she freed his cock and he pushed the front of her skirt out of his way.

“Mine,” he whispered. “All mine.”

“Less talk,” Carolyn’s fingers stroked his warm flesh. “More-”

“Hi.”

The voice startled Carolyn out of her fantasy.

A man was sitting on a park bench that had been placed next to the large statue of one of the town’s founders. Both arms were spread wide and resting on the back of the bench. The hood of his dark green raincoat was pulled up, but since he had his head tipped back, allowing the rain wash over his face it couldn’t be doing much to keep his face dry.

A vapor cloud appeared and disappeared in front of Carolyn’s face with each breath. She adjuster her trajectory, angling towards the far side of the sidewalk, suddenly aware that while this area did have security cameras, they wouldn’t do her a damn bit of good if she was attacked.

She slipped her free hand into her coat pocket and wrapped her fingers around her small canister of pepper spray. If he turned out to be a crazed attacker, between her knees, pepper spray, and umbrella she was well-armed. Not that she wanted to find out if she could handle herself in a confrontation.

“Just the woman I was waiting for,” the man rumbled.

Carolyn stifled a groan even as her heart kicked into double time. She’d recognize that voice anywhere. Her grip on the pepper spray softened though she didn’t entirely drop it.

“What are you doing here?”

Juror number eight slowly pushed himself to his feet and Carolyn’s mouth watered. It should be against the law for a man to make such a simple, common movement look so drop-dead sexy. “Waiting for you.”

“Why? It’s wet and cold out here. And you’ve just spent two days sitting in a jury box. Surely, you must be ready to get back to your normal life.”

He moved closer, not stopping until he was edging into, but not quite invading her space.

“I wanted to talk to you. I tried in your courtroom, but you bolted,” he reminded her. “I figured you had to leave eventually and since this is the way to the parking lot that’s reserved for employees, I figured you’d come this way.”

“You’d make a good detective, Juror Number Eight. But that doesn’t really answer my question. Why are you here?”

“I’m Seth Cannel, by the way.”

“Oh!” The corners of Carolyn’s mouth kicked up in a small smile. “You’re not actually named Juror Number Eight. That’s kind of disappointing.”

Seth’s eyes sparkled. “You’ve got a sense of humor. Fantastic! You were so serious during the case I wondered if you found much to smile about.”

“There’s not much funny about a woman setting her cheating boyfriend’s car on fire.”

Seth shrugged. “I guess that depends on your point of view. At least he and his bonus girlfriend weren’t in it at the time.”

“Only because they had the good sense to get out when she started pouring gasoline and

were standing, bare-ass naked, on the curb when she lit the match.”

“I’ll bet he learned a lesson.”

Carolyn floated a brow. “You think?”

“The next time he cheats, he’ll either be smarter about getting caught or he’ll be smarter about taking flammables away from his current girlfriend.”

“You saw the guy. Do you really think he’s capable of doing anything smart?”

Seth shrugged one shoulder. “I hope so, otherwise he’s going to wake up with a scorched ass.”

Carolyn giggled. It sounded rusty, making her realize that it had been a long time since she’d last engaged in lighthearted casual talk. She’d forgotten how good it felt.

Seth tipped his head to one side and studied her.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” He said it with the same casual air that anyone else would announce that they’re going to the grocery store.

Carolyn’s stomach twisted. “What?”

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he repeated, still calm.

Carolyn fought against the portion of her psyche that wanted to swoon and preen at his words, forcing her rational nature to prevail. “Mr. Cannel.”

“Seth. The way you say Mr. Cannel reminds me of my fifth-grade English teacher who hated me. I still have nightmares about him. ‘Mr. Cannel if you don’t properly diagram this sentence, I’ll be forced to give you detention. Mr. Cannel, how do you expect to amount to much if you don’t understand the importance of iambic pentameter?’” Seth shuddered. “He was a horrible teacher.”

“Mr. Cannel,” Carolyn ground out between gritted teeth. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I want no part of it.”

“I’m not playing a game. There’s something about you.” Seth promised in a low voice. He cocked his head to one side, studying her. “When I found out I’d been summoned for jury duty, I was pissed. The last thing I wanted to do was waste my time jumping through whatever hoopla the justice system decided to throw my way.”

Carolyn’s eyes narrowed. “Waste your time? Hoopla? Just so you know, I happen to take our justice system pretty damn seriously.”

Seth ignored her. “I was prepared to sulk and do anything possible to be rejected but I saw you at the front of the room and … I’m not real sure how to describe it. I guess the best way to put it is that suddenly spending a few days doing my civic duty didn’t seem so bad. Since that day, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” He shoved his hands into his coat pockets. “I realize that’s awkward, and me sitting out here, waiting for you to leave, that comes across as … well, stalkerish, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I didn’t talk to you and let you know … that I’d regret it the rest of my life.”

“I’ve been thinking about you too.” The words flew out of Carolyn’s mouth before she could stop them. She caught the tip of her tongue between her teeth. There was no way in Hell she was going to tell him about the explicit and naughty direction her thoughts had taken.

Seth’s expression brightened. “Really?”

“Yes,” Carolyn admitted. “But-”

Seth didn’t notice that she’d continued talking. He reached out and ran the pad of his thumb along her cheekbone. The touch was so light, it might have been a butterfly landing on her skin, but it sent an electric jolt through Carolyn that was so strong, the sentence became anincomplete thought and her knees shook.

Heat, hot and liquid, formed deep in her core and slowly spread.

“So soft,” Seth whispered. “I wondered what you looked like under your robes.”

His gaze racked down the length of her body. Carolyn swallowed as he took in the expensive black peacoat, the heavy black leather purse, sensible knee-length black and gray plaid skirt, and plain white tennis shoes. Serviceable clothes that not only allowed her to look professional, but also hid the extra thirty pounds she couldn’t get rid of. They revealed about as much about her body as her judge’s robe.

“Pretty,” he purred.

He reached out with his free hand, wrapping his long fingers around her wrist and tugging her closer to him. His long fingers wrapped around her wrist and he tugged her against him. His warm breath washed over her face.

His head dipped low, edging beneath Carolyn’s umbrella. His sensual lips parted. His eyes started to close. “Do you taste as good as you look.”

Carolyn’s lips parted. She swayed closer, pulled along by his unique magnetism before she caught herself. The closer he got, the harder it was to hang on to her common sense.

She jerked back, moving away from him so quickly, her shoes squeaked against the wet sidewalk.

“Mister Hudson, why are you here?”

“I just wanted … needed to see you.”

“You’ve seen me, so now you can leave.”

“I wanted to see you, past tense. Things have shifted. Intensified. Now, I want to know what you feel, what makes you tick, the type of ice cream you like, what music you dance to. I want to know everything there is about you.”

“Mister Hudson, if this is a weird challenge or a game of let’s see if we can mess with the local judge. It’s not a game I’m interested in playing.”

Seth cocked his head to one side and studied her. There was no humor in his face, just deep curiosity. “Someday, you’re going to tell me exactly what that means or how you came up with the idea that I’m playing games cause I’m not.”

Carolyn’s tightened her grip on her umbrella. “There’s not going to be a someday, Mr. Hudson. Our association ends here.”

“I think you’re wrong.” Seth’s voice had dropped so low, it was barely audible above the drizzle. “My Spidey senses are pinging, telling me that you’re …” He ran his free hand through his snow-dampened hair and took a moment to arrange his jumbled thoughts into coherent words. “Maybe you’re not quite as into me as I’m into you … yet, but I think you’re intrigued enough to let me take you out for dinner.

“I’m not. What I am is cold and tired. I want to go home.” She hoped he didn’t notice the slight quiver in her voice. “And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. You can go and work your wiles on someone else who might actually believe this whole insta attraction, at first sight, is real and worth pursuing.”

Carolyn tilted her chin high and pointed her feet in the direction of the parking lot. As she dug into her pocket for her keys, she felt Seth Hudson’s eyes on her, calmly watching she dug her keys out of her pocket and beeped her car open.

Raindrops caught on her car’s door handle rolled down Carolyn’s chilled hand as she hesitated, unable to convince herself to follow through with actually opening the door.

It didn’t make any sense. She’d always been decisive. Whether it was in court or in her personal life, once she’d made up her mind, it stayed made up. She didn’t waffle and she didn’t look back. So why was she standing here, poised between two options, unable to commit to either one?

She took a deep breath and silently cursed. She’d met Seth. She’d told him she wasn’t interested. It was time to climb into her car and forget about him once and for all. Right?

Fascinated by the difference between her pale softness and his darker strength, Carolyn ran her hand along his broad shoulders, tracing the contours of his powerful muscles and enjoying the way the firelight made it feel like he was glowing.

Heart pounding, Carolyn turned around. Seth was still standing where she’d left him, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, rain dripping off his face. His eyes locked with hers.

Funny, she’d always that there was no way reality could ever live up to the fantasy, yet somehow, even though fantasy Seth was one of the hottest things she’d ever seen, flesh and blood Seth was better.

She had two choices. She could climb in her car, drive home, and let her little fantasy play

out with the help of her bright pink vibrator. Or, she could break all her personal rules, and bend a couple of professional ones, and take a spin with the flesh and blood version.

She had a hunch she knew which one would be better.

Seth raised an eyebrow, the move simple yet sexy.

Carolyn’s breath rattled in her throat and she licked her lips.

“I changed my mind.”

Nothing happened. Seth didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. First, Carolyn thought the dripping rain had drowned out her words. Then she wondered if he’d heard her, but that he’d also changed his mind and was plotting how to find his next conquest.

A lump formed in her throat. She’d been right. She was nothing more than an interesting challenge. A game he’d already grown bored with.

Her mind whirled, trying to come up with a graceful way to pretend this weird situation she’d somehow landed in when he exploded into action. Water splashed around his sneakers as he waded through a puddle, closing the distance between them.

Seth’s long fingers wrapped around her wrist and he tugged her against him. His thumb lightly stroked the suddenly hypersensitive skin along her wrist as his warm breath washed over her face. The tip of her tongue darted out and moistened her upper lip, the small motion attracting his attention. His grip on her hand tightened, slowly drawing her even closer.

Heat rippled through her veins.

His tongue traced the seam of her lips, teasing them apart. Moaning, she leaned against his chest, letting him support her weight as his hands roamed up and down her back. Muted lights danced before her closed eyes as she lost herself in sensations she’d never felt before.

Red hot blood pounded through her, roaring past her ears and causing her heart to race before it pooled at her core. The unexpected pressure was so intense she moaned and squirmed closer to him, pressing herself against his thigh in a desperate and instinctive attempt to get some relief.

Groaning in response, he released her hand and looped an arm around her waist, holding in her position as his other hand tangled in her hair and he deepened the kiss.

Carolyn lifted her hands, pressing both palms against his chest and surrendered to the desire sweeping through her.

She’d experienced her fair share of kisses, but nothing like this.