Free Swept Away by Kristina Mathews Page B

“Straight to your bed?”
    “Well…yeah.” Cody took his sunglasses off and a slow, sensual smile spread across his face. “Most of them are tourists, just up for the weekend, so there’s not a lot of time to get to know each other.”
    “So what, do you just snap your fingers?” Lily could see how women would be attracted to him, but wondered how so many of them just jumped into bed with him so quickly. “And these women just agree to meaningless sex?”
    “It’s not meaningless.” He sounded defensive. Maybe even a little hurt.
    Lily shrugged and hopped back on her bike. She started to say something about how she wasn’t the kind of girl who could engage in meaningless sex, but then she realized she’d been doing it for years. Sex couldn’t get more meaningless than her futile attempts at conceiving a baby. She and Brian had long ago stopped pretending it meant anything else. Foregoing the wine, the music, the sexy lingerie, they’d made no attempts at foreplay. They’d made no attempts at connection.
    “Hey, slow down.” Cody pedaled alongside her. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah, sure.” She stopped. Straddling her bike, she took a slow, deep breath. “Sorry. Who am I to judge what you do with your personal life?”
    “I’d like for you to be a part of my personal life.” For the first time since she’d met him, Cody sounded sincere. “What do you say we stop for a picnic?”
    “Sure.” Lily dismounted her bike and flashed him an apologetic smile. He wasn’t a bad guy. At least he was honest. Besides, there was a good chance that Carson wasn’t all that different. He probably had his share of casual relationships, too.
    She parked her bike on the side of the trail and followed him to a soft grassy area surrounded by thick tangles of nearly ripe blackberries. The river flowed over small stones and gravel, making a soft, almost musical sound. It was the perfect spot for a picnic. It would even be romantic, with the right guy.
    Cody pulled a thin blanket from his backpack and spread it on the ground. He brought out a loaf of bread, a container of sliced cheese, a bunch of red grapes, and a bottle of wine. He pulled two plastic wineglasses out of his pack and undid the cork with his pocketknife.
    “Can I help you with anything?” She was starting to feel a little nervous. He’d gone to a lot of trouble putting this together and would most likely expect her to fall for it. To fall for him.
    “No. I got it. You just sit there looking gorgeous.” He poured them each a glass of wine and set to work on the bread and cheese.
    “Oh please, I have horrible helmet hair.” Lily caught herself trying to smooth it down. She didn’t want to draw any more attention to her appearance.
    “I like helmet hair. Almost as much as bedhead.” Cody drew the words out, slow and seductive. It was almost comical. But Lily knew he was serious. He really thought he could win her over this way.
    “Okay, you win.” Lily took off her sunglasses and inspected him closely. “You’ve got the right build. Broad shoulders, narrow hips. Tall, probably six-three at least. Lean and strong. Any major diseases run in your family?”
    “What?” He seemed thrown off balance by her sudden change in attitude.
    “You want to have sex with me.” She plucked a grape from the bunch and popped it into her mouth, watching him watch her. “And I want something too. I want to have a baby. So…we might as well get down to it.”
    “A baby?” He couldn’t have looked more terrified if a grizzly bear, a mountain lion, and a rattlesnake had snuck up behind her.
    Lily laughed out loud. “You should see your face. I take it you’re not interested in becoming a father any time soon.”
    “No. Definitely not.” Cody let out a relieved breath. “I’d make the world’s second worst father.”
    “Who would be the first?”
    “The bastard who left me and Carson in the hospital when our mother died.” The bitterness in his voice