"This is a hiding place I haven't used since I was a kid," he told her, looking around to see if they'd been spotted yet. "See how those branches seem to form a ladder? Up you go."
"What?"
"Into the tree. Hurry. See how it leans against the rocky cliff? There's a cave just beyond that ledge."
There was a cave and it took only seconds for the two of them to reach it, first Charity, then Ross right behind her.
Charity looked around. It was just high enough so that they could stand. It was clean. A bed of soft leaves had been piled against one wall by the wind. "What a neat hideout this must have been when you were a kid," she said.
"It's even better now." His hands slid down her sides. "And it's all ours."
She looked up at him, eyes wide. "You don't mean..."
His face came down, his lips touching hers. "I do mean," he breathed into her open mouth. And then he covered her and the kiss deepened, his tongue exploring, testing, coaxing.
"What a relief," he whispered against her cheek. "You still taste as good as ever. It wasn't a dream."
Tension slipped away and she sighed happily. "Ross, I missed you so much." She turned toward him, searching for his mouth. "Don't go away and leave me like that again."
He muttered something she couldn't understand be cause his lips were on hers once more. She opened to him, hungry for everything he could give her. His hands moved across her back and slipped up under the tennis skirt, sending a thrill through her.
She tried to break away. "Ross, you're crazy, we can't-"
"Oh, no?" His voice was a growl that tantalized her senses. "You just watch me, lady. We can."
His hands cupped her bottom, skin to skin, pulling her up against him and into the heat of his own desire, fully evident within the thrust of his hips. Her arms rose to circle his neck and she arched against him, crying out softly as the sensation of his strength shimmered through her.
He put a finger to her lips. "No noise," he warned, half laughing. "That's the one drawback to making love in the middle of a tennis party.''
She sighed, not sure she would be able to remember that rule, let alone follow it. There was no way she was going to deny him what he wanted. She wanted it, too. Maybe it was wrong to do it here, so close to the party, so close to his mother. But she didn't care anymore. She was his, all his. And she would make love with him wherever he wanted.