A Nantucket Wedding(61)

“I want to take you someplace,” Ethan said.

“You mean now?”

“Right now. It’s someplace private, where I can kiss you the way I want to.”

“Oh.” Jane sat back in her chair and hugged herself. “Are we drunk?”

“Maybe a little bit. Jane, you had only two cocktails. I don’t think your faculties are affected.”

“I don’t know,” Jane said thoughtfully. “I feel…different. You know, I’ve always been good. A good girl, a good sister, a good student, a good wife.”

“Let’s go find out what else you’re good at,” Ethan suggested, and signed the bill and took Jane’s hand and led her to her car.

He drove, which was a relief to Jane, because she felt, not drunk exactly, but not herself. In all the years of her marriage, she’d never so much as lightheartedly flirted with another man. But had she ever met a man like Ethan? He was gorgeous, and smart, and funny, and unpredictable. That was the pull, that he was unpredictable, and she felt, when she was with him, that she could be that way, too.

She leaned back in her seat and looked up at the stars. At some point, she reached over and put her hand on Ethan’s thigh. His quick intake of breath surprised her, and she felt a sense of power, a sense of herself as a sexually attractive woman, and that was delicious. She scarcely paid attention to the road as Ethan drove out of town and around the rotary and down the winding Polpis Road. They passed the Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum, and several mega-mansions, and then Ethan turned right. He slowed down. They were on a rutted dirt road, with shrubs and bushes scratching at the sides of the car. No lights shone.

    “Where are we?” she asked.

“On the moors. No one’s ever here, and I know a really private spot.”

In the moonlight, the landscape was slightly rolling and open and vast.

“It’s conservation land,” Ethan said, as if reading her thoughts. “No buildings allowed here. Only deer, birds, and mice inhabit this area. Maybe a few feral cats. Over there”—he pointed—“is a spot where we pick wild blueberries. The purest taste in the world.” He turned again, driving off the road and onto a small grassy area tucked beneath overhanging trees.

He cut the engine. For a moment, they sat in silence, letting the night air, the night sky, the few small night noises, encompass them.

“Jane.” Ethan pulled her face to his and bent to kiss her.

Oh, his mouth was sweet. The night air was slightly cool, and his arms were warm as he embraced her. He took a moment to slide his seat and hers back as far as they would go, and then she reclined and he moved over her, still kissing, still warm and sweet. He was in no hurry. He smelled like sunshine and gin, and his body was strong and muscular. When he put his hand on her breast, Jane gasped. A honeyed longing surged through her body, and when he put his knee between her legs, she almost bit Ethan’s mouth from the sheer rush of desire.

Ethan put his hand under her dress and slid it up to her waist. Jane twisted beneath him. At the same time, in the back of her mind, which mostly was molten with need, a small, clear voice said: Are you really going to do this?

    “Ethan,” she said, her voice husky and low. Gently she pushed him away.

Flash. A blinding white light illuminated Ethan’s face, the dashboard of the car, Jane’s hands, and the greenery around them.

“I don’t believe this,” Ethan muttered.

Quickly he returned to his own seat, but he couldn’t get the back fully raised before a man in a brown uniform with a badge saying RANGER on the pocket appeared at the driver’s side. As Jane struggled to raise her own seat, she looked back at the source of the blinding light and saw a large four-wheel-drive parked behind them, a spotlight on the dashboard.

“Good evening,” the ranger said politely. “How are you folks doing?”

“We’re okay, thanks.” Ethan glanced at Jane, his expression unreadable.

“I guess you’re not aware that this area is closed at night.”

“Ah. No. Was not aware.” Ethan nodded, staring straight ahead.

“So I’ll have to ask you all to move along.”

“Okay. We’ll do that.”

Ethan’s voice was strange, Jane thought. Was he mumbling? She was completely alert, mortified, and also oddly proud of herself. The good Jane who never caused a problem in high school had been caught making out in a secretive off-limits-after-dark spot and ordered to move along by an official in a uniform. She kind of wanted to take her phone out and snap a shot of the ranger.

The ranger returned to his truck. The spotlight went out, and the truck backed up and around a corner. And then it stayed there. Waiting.

Ethan started the car and pulled out onto the dirt road, slowly retracing their path to the main paved road. He didn’t speak, but after they were headed toward town and the ranger’s truck was no longer behind them, Ethan burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry, Jane,” he said. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Hey, it was a thrill! A completely new experience.”

“I know, right? I wanted to ask the ranger not to tell my parents, but he might not have thought that was as funny as I did.” Reaching over, he took Jane’s hand. “I’m sorry. I had no idea the moors were closed after dark. Man, what a shock that spotlight was! Worked better than a cold shower.”