Текст книги "Tie Me"

Автор книги: Olivia Cunning

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 11 страниц)

Chapter Eight

Dawn stroked Kellen’s back as he lay trembling on top of her. She knew he was having a difficult time with the emotional aspect of this. He seemed to be okay with the physical part. Her body thanked him for that. She’d never been with a man who could stare directly into her eyes while he made love to her. It was as if Kellen wasn’t only making love to her body, but also to her soul. He’d touched her everywhere—inside and out.

“I just need a minute,” he said, his voice shaking almost as much as his body was. It made her heart ache for him.

If he cried, she was going to bawl right along with him. A tight knot was already lodged firmly in her throat.

“Take as long as you need,” she whispered. “I like the weight of you against me.”

She was actually finding it difficult to draw air, and the top of this piano was almost as comfortable as a cement floor, but her minor discomfort couldn’t possibly match what he was going through emotionally. She almost wished they’d waited before taking this step. What if he hadn’t been ready? What if by diving headlong into the physical side of their attraction, she’d completely ruined those deeper connections that she wanted to explore with him? The sex had been phenomenal and she had no doubt that it would get better between them as he shed the restraints of his past, but she would be devastated if her successful seduction hurt him. He was hurting enough already. And she didn’t have a clue what she should say to him. So she just lay there, holding him, until his trembling abated and he slowly withdrew from her body. She immediately missed the fullness of him inside her. She hadn’t realized the physical connection was so important to her until it went missing.

Kellen rose up on his elbows and stared directly at her forehead. “I… uh… thanks?”

Thanks? And not a statement, but a question. Wow, when had Mr. Deep and Sensitive vanished? Shit, was he one of those guys who pretended to be wounded to get in a woman’s pants? It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been duped into having sex.

And, okay, she supposed that thanks were appropriate, but for some reason she got tickled by the earnest look on his face and started to laugh.

“Uh… you’re welcome?” she said in the same uncertain tone he’d used.

He grinned and then snorted as he tried to hold in a laugh. “That was pretty uninspired,” he said. “Let me try again. Your body is like a river of warm pleasure washing over me like… uh…” His eyes darted to the side as inspirational words apparently escaped him.

“A river of warm pleasure?” She was really laughing now. “You should have stuck with thanks.”

“Sorry for being lame. I have a hard time stringing coherent thoughts together after a really intense orgasm.” He grinned. “So yeah. Thanks!”

She wrapped him in an affectionate embrace, a little surprised that he wasn’t making excuses to leave.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” she asked, crossing her fingers behind his back.

Yes, sex had definitely happened too soon with this deep and tortured man. She wanted him to stick around, but maybe it would be better to convince him to stay with something other than another really intense orgasm. Not that she’d mind another one herself.

“What’s upstairs?”

She couldn’t tell if he was joking. “Uh, something more comfortable to cuddle on than this hard piano.”

He winced as he shifted slightly. “Such as a porcupine?”

“Even more comfortable than that.”

“I don’t think I can spend the night in your bed, Dawn,” he said. “Not because you aren’t the most wonderful thing that’s happened to me in a long, long time, but because…”

He didn’t have to say the words; she could read them on his face. He felt guilty for having sex with her. He probably even felt guilty for being attracted to her and talking to her and eating her fucking French toast, not to mention her pussy. Even in the low light given off by the single candle, the guilt in his eyes brought his reality crashing down around her. She knew letting go of Sara was difficult for him, and she wasn’t making it easy on him by jumping into this relationship at rocket speed, but someone had to shake him up. It might as well be her.

He glanced around the mostly dark room. “Would you settle for a sofa?”

“Anything’s better than this piano,” she said. “For resting on. Making love on it fulfilled a long-standing fantasy of mine, and the experience greatly exceeded my expectations. So… uh… thanks?”

He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose before scooting off the edge of the piano. Once standing, he stared down at her. “I never made love on a piano or even fantasized about it, but I will be from now on. You look absolutely stunning lying there.”

She basked in his attention as his gaze touched upon every inch of her naked body. She liked looking at him too. Especially when he was dripping wet as he had been the first time she’d seen him. “Have you ever made love on the beach?”

“Yeah,” he said, looking suddenly detached and forlorn.

Must have screwed Sara there, Dawn figured. She was starting to recognize that lost look as an indicator of that woman commandeering his thoughts. “And?”

“Sand everywhere,” he said. “In places you don’t want it. Making sandpaper out of body parts that have no business being abrasive.”

“Ouch,” she said breathlessly, a little curious to know what that would feel like, but she wouldn’t admit that to him. Mostly because it would make him think of her.

Would Dawn have to spend every moment with him watching what she said so she didn’t set off Sara triggers? Was he even worth that much effort?

Hell yeah, he was.

Kellen removed the condom and disposed of it among her waded-up attempts at musical scores in the wastepaper can. She pretended not to be affected by watching him do something so intimate. Every little thing he did fascinated her for some stupid reason. She’d probably weep at his masculine beauty if she watched him shave. Sheesh, she was glad the man could not read her thoughts. It was bad enough that he knew how quickly she’d become physically attached to him—if he had any idea that she was already making an emotional attachment, she wouldn’t be able to gaze at him for long, because he’d be gone.

“Making love on the beach seems as if it would be romantic,” she said.

“Romantic, yes, but also uncomfortable.”

She chuckled as he approached the piano again. “Apparently, making love in uncomfortable locations turns me on.”

He laughed and lifted her from the piano, cradling her head against his shoulder. Her arms automatically circled his neck. She expected him to set her on her feet, but he carried her to the sofa and sat with her on his lap.

“Tell me about your parents,” she said.

“While I’m naked and holding you in my arms?”

“Yep.”

“My mom had a drinking problem and I never met my dad. Tell me about yours.”

“My mom has a stick up her ass and my dad makes sure she keeps it there. I see them twice a year.”

“Christmas and Thanksgiving?”

“Lord, no. They spend the holidays on their private island in the Bahamas. No way am I marooning myself in their company when I’m supposed to be feeling good will toward man and thankful for my gifts. I see my father for a week in April. He reviews my financial situation with his tax attorney. It’s great fun. And I also get the pleasure of their company at the family reunion each year in July. That’s when they all get together and talk about which politician they’re currently courting and who has the most expensive yacht.”

“Can’t even begin to relate to that.”

She chuckled. “Me neither.”

“Didn’t you grow up in that environment?”

“Not really. I had a piano teacher and a variety of tutors, a housekeeper who made sure I was fed and clean, but mostly I had me.”

“You must have been lonely. I can relate to that. My grandfather owns a piece of land outside Austin. He lived in one trailer, and my mom and I lived in another. I made sure Mom was fed and clean, and grandpa tried to teach me how to find peace through connecting with the earth. I learned a lot from him before he died. He was half-Comanche and had a unique way of seeing things. When he passed, he left everything to my mom, so she started buying top-shelf vodka. Then my senior year in high school, she met some guy and left me on my own. I was eighteen, and she decided I’d rather finish school in Austin than follow her and Henry to Florida.”

“Did she ask you how you felt about that?”

“Nope, but she was right. I preferred to stay on my own. But her not giving me the choice made me feel unwelcome and unwanted.”

She squeezed his arm reassuringly. She’d never felt wanted either. But she wanted him and hoped that he wanted her too.

“I’ve never admitted that to anyone,” he said. “Not even Owen. When my mom moved out, he and I made it out like it was a huge party. I guess I needed that lie, that I was glad Mom left. Owen tends to dwell on the good and pretend the bad doesn’t exist. He keeps me going most days.”

“I think I’d like to meet him. It’s hard to find a good optimist.”

He laughed. “Yeah, Owen wears optimism like a shield.”

“Do you know who your father is?”

“Yeah. I never met him though. He contacted me when I was sixteen. Sent cards and letters, but I didn’t want to have anything to do with him. I was too angry at him for abandoning me.”

“You’ve never met him? Not even once?”

“No. He got killed in a car wreck before I could allow myself to forgive him. And then it was too late. I didn’t even find out about his death until a week after the funeral. I’m not sure if I would have gone had I known.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Before Sara was diagnosed, that was my sole regret in life,” he said. “Not getting to know my father when I had the chance. When Sara got sick, my list of regrets grew exponentially.”

“You don’t regret knowing her, do you?”

“Never. I regret not making her last months more about living and less about dying. I regret letting her convince me that the lump I found in her breast was probably nothing. Did you know that when breast cancer is caught early, it has a near one hundred percent cure rate?”

Dawn hated that he carried that guilt. How was he supposed to know what was going on inside her body?

“They didn’t catch it early, did they?”

He shook his head. “It had already metastasized into her lungs. Breast cancer doesn’t even run in her family. She didn’t smoke. She ate healthy and took care of her body. So why did it happen to her?”

“It was just chance,” Dawn said.

“I don’t believe in chance.”

“You believe in destiny,” she said.

He nodded slightly.

“So you think she was destined to die at… how old was she?”

“Twenty-four.”

“Jesus,” Dawn said, sudden tears springing to her eyes. No one should die that young. “Does it make it easier or more difficult thinking she died because it was her destiny?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I just really can’t bring myself to believe that she suffered like that for no reason. But even though I’ve tried rationalizing her death, I can’t come up with any sound reason for her to be taken so young.”

Dawn didn’t believe in destiny or fate. She believed in chance. So it was hard for her to understand where he was coming from. In her mind, there was no reason for Sara to die other than her cells had become cancerous, due to some chance event that would never be identified, and she’d died. She knew Kellen wouldn’t find that any more comforting than not having the sound reason he sought. And Dawn’s beliefs weren’t important here. She didn’t want to convince him that she was right and he was wrong. All she wanted was for him to find that comfort he needed, even if she wasn’t the one who gave it to him.

“Maybe you’re not meant to know the reason she died so young,” Dawn said.

“I’m sure I’m not supposed to understand it,” he said, “but that doesn’t stop me from trying.”

They sat silently, and Dawn found herself missing the sound of the storm raging outside. She could use a distraction from her thoughts and was certain Kellen’s thoughts were equally as turbulent.

“So how many men have you slept with?” he asked.

Or maybe he was thinking about her vagina.

“Why?” she asked.

“You seem a little inexperienced.”

“I do?”

“You’re great at what you do,” he said. “That trick with the candle wax had me ready to explode.”

“I made that up on the fly,” she said.

“Nice.”

She chuckled. “But to answer your question, four. Including you. You count, right?”

“I’m hoping by the end of the night, I’ll count double.”

That sounded promising. Was he thinking of getting intimate with her again? Yes, please. She’d never known a guy to come twice in one night, so if Kellen managed it three times, she’d definitely count him double.

“How many woman have you slept with?” she asked. It was only fair that he share the same information. Then she remembered he was a rock star. She’d probably have a stroke when he spouted some astronomical figure.

“Actual sex or fooling around and foreplay?”

“Actual sex.”

“Four,” he said. “Including you.”

She gaped at him for what felt like five minutes and then sputtered, “Liar!”

“I didn’t call you a liar. Why do you think I’m one?”

“Because. Because you’re a gorgeous rock star. You must have women hanging all over you.”

“Yeah, but I don’t have sex with them. I only have sex when I feel a connection with a woman, and that doesn’t happen very often.”

So was he saying he felt a connection with her?

“I have fooled around a lot,” he said. “I’m not a saint.”

“Then why did you tell me you’ve only been with three other women?”

“Because I place a certain emphasis on being inside a woman. It’s important to me and I thought maybe it was important to you too. If it’s not, that’s okay. I just wanted to know what kind of woman destiny insists I feel a connection with.”

There he went with that destiny stuff again. Couldn’t they have just met by chance, had a few things in common—most notably music—found each other attractive and decided that a little pleasure would go well with their newfound compatibility?

“Tell me about your other lovers,” he said. “I want to know what I’m up against.”

Her eyes widened. This was like taboo stuff to talk about so early in a relationship. But wait—was this even a relationship yet? Hardly. But she found herself telling him anyway.

“I lost my virginity on prom night.”

“Cliché,” he said with a soft smile. “Was it good for you?”

“No. It was awkward and it hurt and I didn’t even like the guy. I hadn’t ever been on a date before. My dad somehow talked one of his colleague’s sons into taking me to his prom, since I was homeschooled and would have missed out on all the fun. I didn’t know anyone there. I was so socially awkward and apparently naive. He gave me my first kiss. First tongue kiss. First boob fondle. First touch down below. First penetration. All in the same night. I didn’t know how to stop him. I wanted him to stop, but I was scared and confused, so I just let it happen. I never saw him again after that night, and I’m glad. I’d probably have thrown up if I ever had to be in the same room with him again.” Just thinking about that night so many years ago made her feel queasy.

“What a scum-sucking son-of-a-bitch,” he said. “You don’t count that one, Dawn. That’s called date rape.”

She shook her head. “Except I never told him no. I just thought it. And thought it. And thought it. But I never said it.”

“If you didn’t want to do it, it was rape. I’ve had a lot of women who can’t take no for an answer. It’s never progressed to actual intercourse, but even being touched when you don’t want to be touched doesn’t feel right. It bothers me every time it happens.”

Dawn’s belly flipped over. “But I touched you when you didn’t want to be touched. I’m sorry if it bothered you.” She hadn’t even thought that her coming on so strong to Kellen might have made him feel the way that Jonathan Kingsley had made her feel. How wretched of her.

He chuckled. “Are you kidding? The only kind of bothered you caused was hot and bothered. I wanted you to touch me so badly I thought I was going to rip those boxer shorts in half with my boner. There is a difference between reluctance and rejection. That asshole stole something from you that he had no right to take.”

Not many people knew what had happened to her on prom night. It wasn’t like she could have told her parents. She didn’t have close friends until college, and they’d thought losing her virginity behind a Dairy Queen was funny, because she usually told it as a humorous story. She didn’t know why she’d expressed her true feelings when she’d told Kellen about it. And Kellen’s understanding about why it had been so mortifying made her feel better.

“You know, it wasn’t your fault,” he added, and gently rubbed his knuckles up and down her bare arm.

Kellen was right—it hadn’t been her fault. But for a long time she’d blamed herself for not knowing what to do or how to make him stop. It had never occurred to her to blame Jonathan Kingsley.

“I hope the other two treated you right,” Kellen said. “I don’t want to hear about some other jerk hurting you.”

“No. There was just the one jerk. My second lover was my only long-term boyfriend. We dated for months before we finally slept together. Michael was even less experienced than I was, but once we became intimate, we had a whole lot of fun figuring out what felt good. We broke up after college. He wanted to go to China and teach English. I told him to have fun without me.”

“You didn’t want to go with him?”

“Our relationship had grown stale. I’d fallen out of love with him, but he never did anything wrong, so I didn’t know how to break up with him. How do you end a relationship just because it’s boring? His going to China finally gave me the excuse I’d been waiting for.”

“Aww, you didn’t want to hurt his feelings, did you? I didn’t realize you were so nice.”

“Nice? I was a doormat. But those were the end of my doormat days. I dated several guys after college, but I was so wrapped up in my music that none of those relationships progressed and I ended up sleeping with only one of them. That was a couple of years ago.”

“Well, that explains why we jumped into bed with each other so quickly. We were both hornier than a bucket of desert toads.”

His sense of humor continually surprised her. He seemed so serious and deep, and then he let loose with something like that.

“I can tolerate horniness,” she said. “I think I jumped into bed—or rather onto piano—with you because you’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met. I’m usually expert at controlling my baser needs. I’ve been called an ice princess and a cold bitch more than once at the end of a third date, fourth date, and fifth date with no action.”

“I’ll have to take your word on it. I didn’t experience any ice or cold.”

“Just a princess and a bitch.”

“Neither. If I had to describe you, I’d say you’re hot, talented, sexy and… horny.”

“You got at least one of those right.”

She shifted so she was straddling his thighs. Did she notice that her wide-open, bare crotch was perfectly aligned with his cock? Of course she did. And she’d be doing something about that soon, but first…

“Your turn,” she said. “Tell me about your other three lovers.”

He was silent for a long moment. God, she hoped he wasn’t thinking about her again. But of course he was. Dawn had point blank asked about her. Dumb, Dawn. Real dumb.

“First there was Jennifer, then Becca, and I’ve already told you about Sara,” he said. “So did you major in music in college? What was that like? I had some guitar lessons, but never studied theory.”

“What?” she sputtered. “That’s not fair. But if you don’t want to share, I’ll just make stuff up in my head. So Jennifer was your sweetheart all through elementary school, but she moved away before you went through puberty. When she returned some years later, she’d grown boobs and—”

He covered her lips with one fingertip.

“Nothing as romantic as that. Jennifer was my first groupie. We were both in high school, but she was a year older than me. She used to come to every band practice. She watched and danced and cheered and dressed in next to nothing and fed my ego. So I screwed her. She fed my ego some more. And I screwed her again. And again and again and again. Like three times a day. She eventually decided she liked drummers better.”

“She cheated on you?”

He nodded.

“Well, that sucks. Did you love her?”

“I liked her. A lot. What seventeen-year-old doesn’t like to get fucked three times a day? I was young and horny and needed my ego fed. No long-term damage was done when she switched band members, though watching her make out with Snake was weird. Not as weird as William Pierce suddenly insisting that everyone call him Snake, but yeah, a bit weird.”

“So that didn’t end too badly. What about Becca?”

“If you ever meet Owen, you cannot let him know I slept with her.”

“Why?”

“Because she was his one. Or at least he thought she was at the time.”

“You slept with your best friend’s girlfriend?”

“Oh no. She never dated him. He thought he loved her and she rejected him. She didn’t reject me though. I’m not even sure why I slept with her. I wasn’t really attracted to her. She came on to me and it just sort of happened.”

Dawn snorted. Yeah, that sounded like a boy’s reasoning. It just happened.

“Stop that.” Kellen squeezed her until she giggled. “Sleeping with her wasn’t worth the orgasm. For years, every time I looked at Owen, I thought about the time I slept with Becca and I was revolted by my actions. Having sex with her is what made me decide that I’d only sleep with women I felt a connection with. Sex for the sake of sex was never worth pursuing.”

“But the only other woman you’ve slept with is Sara.”

“Yeah. And you.”

Dawn sat back on his thighs and tried to read his expression, but there just wasn’t enough light on this side of the room to even guess how that made him feel. “I’m not sure I’m ready to hear that.”

“So don’t listen. I’m a little tired. I tend to talk a lot about things better left unsaid when I’m drunk or tired.”

“Do you want to sleep?”

“No.” He stroked her hair. “I want to spend more time with you.”

“Great,” she said, “I want to spend more time with you too, but can we talk about something more superficial? I’m feeling a bit… overwhelmed. This is a lot of heavy stuff for a first date.”

He chuckled. “You’re right. We should save some heavy stuff for our second date.”

Second date? Yes!

“How about we leave all the talking for the second date and the rest of this one can be all about pleasing your pussy?”

She laughed, simply because his suggestion made her uncommonly happy. She’d love the rest of the night be all about pleasing her pussy.

“I think it should be about pleasing your cock too,” she said.

“Ladies first.”

She squealed in surprise when he grabbed her around the waist and started to lift her over his head.

“Put your legs over the back of the sofa,” he instructed.

She could scarcely see the back of the sofa. “Why?”

“Because I don’t think I can hold you to my mouth like this for more than twenty seconds.” He tipped his head to trace her cleft with his tongue. “And I’m going to need at least twenty minutes.”

Feeling completely off balance, she slid one leg over his shoulder and the back of the sofa and then the other, so that his head was between her legs.

“Now lean back.”

She clung to his head like a treed kitten. “I’ll fall.”

“I’ve got you.”

She still didn’t feel secure, because she wasn’t sure what to expect and the room was so dimly lit, but she did trust him, so she let go and cautiously leaned back. He helped support her with a hand on her belly and another under her back until she found herself virtually upside down with her head between his knees, hair trailing down over his shins and the floor. Good lord, her legs were draped over the back of the sofa, and Kellen was seated beneath her with his face between her thighs and his hands gripping her ass. What in the world had she gotten herself into? She felt like some sort of perverse acrobat.

“Perfect,” he said. “Let me know if you get dizzy.”

She was already dizzy, but as his mouth latched onto her clit and his strong hands dug into her ass to pull her to his face, she could only focus on the pleasure between her trembling thighs.

The rapid flicks of his tongue against her clit made her come far too quickly, and she was actually pouting when he slid her ass down his belly so she could right herself again.

“You’re so good at that,” she said. “I scarcely have time to figure out where your tongue is before I’m coming.”

“I’ve had lots of practice.”

But not on Sara, because Dawn remembered Kellen saying that Sara hadn’t enjoyed oral. Dawn began questioning the girl’s sanity.

“On who?” she asked, wishing she could suck the words back in as soon as they erupted from her mouth. She honestly didn’t want to know how many women he’d draped upside down over his body so he could be comfortable while he licked them to orgasm.

“Women I tied up with Owen, mostly. We haven’t done it for months though.”

“Why not?” Oh, shut up, Dawn. Just shut up. Thinking about Kellen tying women and putting his mouth on them made her stomach ache when she had no business feeling jealous of women he’d been with before her.

“Owen gave me a thoughtful Christmas present. Perhaps a bit too thoughtful. It reminded me of Sara. Made me question what I was doing. So I stopped doing it.”

“What did he give you?”

“A leather wrist cuff.”

She touched the leather band around his right wrist.

“Not this one,” he said, capturing her hand and circling it with a loose fist to hold it against the worn leather. “I’ve had this one since I started playing guitar. Sort of a good luck charm. Owen gave me a cuff for my other wrist. I was down on the beach trying to get rid of it when the storm hit.”

“Trying to get rid of it?”

“Yeah, I said goodbye to Sara and tossed the cuff into the ocean. It washed back to me in a matter of minutes. Destiny at play again. I don’t think she was ready for me to let her go yet. And then I heard your song and… I’m not sure what possessed me to come to your door. It was as if I couldn’t stay away.”

“Oh, that was definitely destiny,” she said with a smile. Maybe it was wrong of her to progress her own agenda by using his beliefs to draw him in. Or maybe it had been destiny that had landed him on her doorstep. She didn’t have all the answers. Sometimes she wondered if she had any.

“I’m sure it was,” he said. “I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to do now. Being with you feels right, unless I think of Sara. And then it feels so very wrong.”

Dawn shifted so she could face him. She straddled his thighs again and took his face in both hands. She could just see the sparkle of his dark eyes in the candlelight. “Then don’t think of her,” she said. “Think of me.”

She kissed him deeply, pulling away when his hands tightened on her hips and his kiss turned desperate.

She yanked her mouth away. “Who’s kissing you, Kellen?”

“You.”

“Say my name.”

“Dawn. Dawn’s kissing me.”

She lowered her head and kissed his neck, nibbling and sucking on the corded muscles of his throat. He moaned.

“Who’s making you moan, Kellen?” she whispered in his ear.

“Dawn,” he said breathlessly. “Dawn is also making my spine tingle and my belly quiver.”

“Is Dawn making your dick hard?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She kissed his chest and stroked his skin with both palms. She loved the excited hitch in his breathing as much as she loved the texture of his skin against her hands. “Who’s touching you, Kellen?”

“Dawn.”

She slid onto the floor between his thighs and felt around in the dark until she had his thick shaft captured between her hands. “Who’s giving you head?”

“What?”

She directed his cock into her mouth and rubbed his rim with her lips stretched tight over her teeth.

“Dawn,” he gasped.

She sucked as she began to bob her head, taking him deeper with each dip. She loved the way he was chanting her name under his breath. Unexpectedly, his fists clenched in her hair and stopped her motions. He fell free of her mouth, and she looked up at him in question, cursing the darkness because she couldn’t see his face at all. Had she done something wrong?

“Where’s your bedroom?” he asked.

“U-u-upstairs.”

He helped her to her feet.

“Why did you stop me?” she asked. Was her inexperience showing again? He’d seemed to be enjoying it, but maybe she’d been reading him wrong.

“I was almost to the point of no return.”

“That’s what I was going for,” she said.

“But I want this one to last. Did you change your mind about wanting me in your bed?”

“Are you staying the night?” Dawn asked. She would love to wake up beside Kellen and watch him sleep. She wanted to see his bronze skin bathed in morning sunlight. Not that he didn’t look spectacular by candlelight, but he’d been drowning in darkness far too long and it was time for light to illuminate him once more.

“That depends,” he said, stroking her bare arms with feather-light touches.

“On what?”

“If I’m capable of moving when I’m finished making love to you.”

Heat flooded her body. She’d never had a man make her feel so desirable.

“And considering all the things I want to do to you and with you,” he said, his face mostly concealed by shadows as he leaned closer, “I don’t think I’ll be able to leave afterwards unless you call in a stretcher.”

He took her hand and led her to the piano to collect the other condom she retrieved from her purse and handed her the last burning candle. Using the limited light to find her way, Dawn shuffled to the staircase that led to her bedroom. Kellen climbed the stairs behind her. Occasionally his fingers would brush her back, her shoulder, or her buttocks. She knew his eyes were on her so as much as she wanted to race up the stairs and leap into bed, she took her time, luring him to follow her, increasing her anticipation and hopefully his. At the top of the steps, she turned the corner and walked along the railing that was no longer decorated with a whimsical garland of seashells dangling from blue and tan rope.

On the threshold of the bedroom, she paused and looked behind her to make sure Kellen was still following. He walked as silently as a cat and hadn’t touched her since they’d reached the top of the stairs. He’d stopped several paces behind her and was staring. Had he changed his mind? She would try to be understanding if he had, but damn, she wanted him to lie beside her in that big comfortable bed.