Marking Time (19 page)

With a surge of power, he stood without breaking their kiss. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, her tongue tangling with his as he carried her to one of the bedrooms. When he set her down next to the big bed, her legs wanted to buckle beneath her. She reached up to unbutton his shirt, and he tugged the sweater over her head. His eyes flashed with blatant desire when he uncovered the lacy pink bra hanging open over her breasts. Easing the straps off her shoulders, he let it fall to the floor next to her sweater.

Standing half naked before a man for the first time in her life, Kate should have been self-conscious. But because it was him, and because her need for him was so great, she had no time for embarrassment. She pushed off his shirt and buried her face in the light dusting of brown chest hair. He trembled as her lips brushed his pebbled nipple while her hands skimmed over his muscular chest and stomach. When she reached the waistband of his jeans, he stopped her.

Tipping her face up, he studied her intently. “Are you sure, Kate?”

She nodded.

“I don’t have any protection.”

“I’m on the pill.”

Surprise registered on his face.

“I did it a month before I left home. Just in case.”

“I haven’t done this in a long time, so I’m safe.”

She pulled at the button of his jeans and swore he stopped breathing when she unzipped him.

With his hands on her face, he kissed her gently. “I love you, Kate. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Her heart hammered at his words of love. “I love you, too, but if you don’t make love to me right now, I think I’ll die, Reid.”

He wrapped his arms around her and bent his head to kiss her. “What have you done before?”

“Nothing.” Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment. “Much…”

Reid took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling as if to summon divine assistance. His hands moved over her back, more in a gesture of comfort than seduction. He unbuttoned her jeans and helped her out of them, leaving her only in the tiny pink panties that matched her bra.

“God, Kate,” he whispered against her neck. “You’re so beautiful.”

She pushed at his jeans, but he stopped her. “Not yet, honey.” He lifted her onto the bed and stretched out next to her.

Under the heat of his gaze, her body hummed with tension and desire. Her nipples tightened in anticipation, and the tingle between her legs became almost painful. Sensing his hesitation, she took his hand and brought it to her breast.

He groaned and shifted so he rested on top of her. Dipping his head, he grazed her nipple first with his lips and then his teeth.

Without his weight on top of her, Kate would have levitated off the bed. The sensations spiraling through her were so overwhelming they were almost unbearable. When he sucked hard on her nipple, a spasm began between her legs and rocketed through her, sending shock waves from her toes to her fingers. She cried out in surprise and fright. “What…”

Breathing hard, Reid rested his forehead on her chest.

“What happened?” she asked in a small voice.

“You had an orgasm, darlin’.”

Her cheeks burned again. “Oh. Is that normal?”

He smiled. “It’s not usually that easy for women, so I’d say you’re one lucky girl, Kate Harrington.”

Reaching for him, she brought him up to her. “I want to do everything, Reid. Show me.”

He chuckled softly. “You’re going to kill me.”

“At least you’ll die happy,” she said with a saucy smile as she pulled his mouth down to hers.

Their tongues came together in an explosive burst of passion that made them both breathless. He filled his hands with her breasts and toyed with her nipples. She tore her lips free of his and sucked in a deep breath.

He kissed her jaw, her neck, her throat, and dragged his tongue over her collarbone.

She lifted her hips, begging him for more.

Gently, he kissed the sloping curve of her breast.

Kate covered his hands on her breasts and pushed them together, asking him to focus on her nipples.

He flicked his tongue from one to the other.

She moaned and the burn between her legs again became urgent.

Moving down, he trailed his lips over her ribs and lingered at her belly, dipping his tongue into her belly button.

Kate was blinded by desire. Nothing in her life could have prepared her for this. She craved him—the feel of his soft skin, the citrus scent of his cologne, his hair tickling her belly, his tongue leaving a damp path to the tiny swatch of lace that covered her.

He nudged her legs farther apart and dusted a finger lightly along her thigh and into the gap of her panties.

Sliding his finger through her dampness, he seemed to know exactly where she needed his touch. The orgasm again took her by surprise, but this time she was too busy trying to breathe to be frightened by it. As she came down from the high, she became aware of her panties traveling over her legs. Kicking off his jeans, Reid lay on his side facing her.

Kate caressed his chest and let her eyes drift to his erection, which bobbed with anticipation. It was bigger than she’d expected it to be, and her breath hitched as she wondered how it would ever fit. A trickle of fear worked its way down her spine.

Tuning into her anxiety, Reid took her hand and wrapped it around his steely length. When she gave it a gentle squeeze, he groaned.

She let go abruptly. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“No, no,” he sighed, putting his hand over hers to show her how to stroke him.

Fascinated by the silky soft skin that covered the hardness, she watched a bead of moisture form at the tip. She dragged her thumb through the pearly fluid and felt him go rigid.

He captured her hand to stop her. “We’ll be all done before we get to the good stuff if you keep that up,” he whispered, bringing his mouth down on hers for a deep kiss. His hand traveled over her back to her bottom and between her legs to probe her dampness. “Kate…”

Unable to think of anything but the motion of his fingers, she could only feel.

“I need to prepare you, honey.” His hand hovered at her entrance. “It might hurt just a little.”

She could think only of the urgent need. “It’s okay.”

Moving slowly and with great care, he worked a finger into her. At the same time, he closed his lips over her nipple. The combination was overwhelming. So focused was she on the tugging of his mouth on her nipple that she barely noticed when he added a second finger. Her hips met the thrusts of his fingers in an almost involuntary motion.

She trembled violently. “
Reid
…”

“Does it hurt, honey?”

“No.” She rolled her head into his chest and reached for him.

He removed his fingers and shifted so he was poised between her legs. “Look at me, baby.”

She opened her eyes to find him gazing down at her.

“I love you,” he said, brushing his lips over hers.

Clutching his shoulders, she said, “I love you, too.”

He eased her legs farther apart. “Relax, honey.”

“I’m trying.”

He kissed her, a deep, passionate kiss that distracted her—momentarily—from the pressure between her legs. An instant of blinding, burning pain quickly gave way to pleasure. Oh, God, he felt so good.

Her hands coasted over his back to grip his backside.

Groaning, he flexed his hips and buried himself in her. “Okay?” he asked, holding still to give her time to adjust.

“Hmmm, oh, yeah.”

Encouraged, he kissed her and reached beneath them to anchor her hips, keeping his movements small and easy.

“
Oh
,” she gasped.

“What, honey? Tell me what you need.”

“
More
,” she pleaded, pushing hard against him.

He flexed once, twice.

That was all it took to send her spiraling into yet another orgasm.

Reid saw her through the storm and then was gripped by one of his own.

With Reid resting on top of her without crushing her, Kate knew she would never forget this. It hadn’t been at all like she’d expected. Her friends had talked about feeling let down afterward, but Kate didn’t. If anything, she was exhilarated. “Did you mean it?”

“What?” He spoke as if it took every ounce of energy he had.

“That you love me?”

He nodded against her neck.

“But you wish you didn’t?”

He withdrew from her and rolled onto his side so he could see her. “I could never be sorry for loving you. I just wish things were different.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Was it good for you?”

He leaned over to kiss her, pulling her tight against him with one arm. “It’s only been like that for me with one other woman. It’s been so long, I’d forgotten it could be that good.”

Pleased by his answer, Kate rested her cheek on her folded arm and studied his face, wanting to memorize every detail. “What was she like? Your wife?”

He thought about it for a moment before he replied. “She was sweet and very devoted to Ashton and me. He looks like her.”

“How did you meet her?”

“We went to high school together and kept in touch during college, even though we dated other people. When I came home from Berkeley, all I wanted was to be with her. We got married a few months later and had Ashton right away. He was only two, and we were talking about having another child when Cindy was killed.”

“What happened to her?”

“She’d been doing volunteer work at a hospital in the city and was on her way home when a truck crossed the center lane and hit her head on. The paramedics said she died instantly. I can only hope so.”

“I’m sorry,” Kate said, caressing his face in an attempt to wipe away the grief she had stirred.

“It was a long time ago.”

“But you’re still sad about it.”

“I’ve come to realize you never really get over something like that. Somehow, you find a way to live with it. You know all about that, don’t you?”

Nodding, Kate shifted so she was on top of him and kissed his neck and face.

He put his arms around her. “It feels good to be in love again, Kate. No matter what happens, I’ll never have any regrets about that.”

As she moved on top of him, she felt him spring to life beneath her. “Can we do it again yet?”

“No, honey. You’ll be sore.”

He groaned when she straddled him and sank down on him.

“I’ll take my chances.”

They flew back to Nashville late on Tuesday afternoon. Reid glanced over at Kate from the pilot’s seat. “What’re you smiling about?”

“It’s a beautiful day.”

“It sure is.” He pushed aside the microphone on his headset so he could kiss her. “We need to talk about what’s going to happen when we get home, though.”

“I know.”

“You can’t tell anyone about this. About us.”

“I wish we didn’t have to hide it.”

“I do, too. But people wouldn’t understand, and it would cause me a lot of trouble.”

“I’ve only told one person.”

He looked at her with alarm. “Who?”

“My sister. Jill.”

“Jesus, Kate. She won’t tell your dad, will she?”

“I made her promise not to, and I trust her. We went through a lot together in the last couple of years. She won’t tell.”

“I hope not. I’m worried about how we get around Martha and the fact that Ashton’s your neighbor. This could get complicated.” Sensing her discouragement, he took her hand. “We’ll figure it out, darlin’. Don’t worry.”

They touched down a few minutes later. After they had dinner together at his house, she drove to her apartment. He picked her up at ten and brought her back to his house so her car wouldn’t be in the driveway. They spent the night in his room and were out the next morning before Martha got up.

“I feel like we got away with something,” she said on the way back into town.

“I hate sneaking around. I don’t want you to think for one minute that I’m ashamed of you, Kate. I adore you. I just don’t want to put either of us through what would happen if people found out about us.”

“It’s okay. We need some time to get used to it ourselves before the whole world finds out anyway.”

“That’s my girl,” he said, kissing her when he dropped her off at her apartment before heading to work.

“See you tonight?”

“I can’t wait.”

Reid was in his office poring over plans for an office building in Knoxville when his secretary let him know Ashton was there to see him. Reid asked her to send him in.

“Hey. What brings you to my part of town?”

“I wanted to see my old man.” Ashton bent to give his father a quick hug. “Is that okay?”

Reid smiled, delighted that his son had never outgrown the easy affection between them. “It’s more than okay. What’ve you been up to?”

“Just working a lot, same old thing. How about you? You look beat. Are you sick?”

Since he could hardly admit to what he’d been doing the last two nights when he should’ve been sleeping, Reid shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Ashton paced in front of his father’s desk. Clearly, something else was on his mind. “I was wondering if you’ve talked to Kate.”

Reid’s gaze whipped up to meet his son’s. “Why?”

“Well, I was over there Sunday night, and she was a mess. She said she’d had a falling out with some guy she met at Mabel’s. But when I asked Butch if he knows the guy, he couldn’t remember her dating anyone while she worked there. Then I couldn’t reach her the last couple of days. She wasn’t answering her cell phone, and I’m just worried that something’s up with her. Do you think we should call her dad?”

“No,” Reid said emphatically—too emphatically, in fact. “No,” he said again in a more normal tone. “I’m sure she’d just had a bad day when you saw her.”

Ashton looked so dismayed that Reid realized his son might have feelings for Kate, too.
Christ
.

“Do you know anything about this guy she’s seeing?” Ashton asked, running a hand through his blond hair in frustration.

His heart raced as Reid looked his son in the eye. “I don’t know anything about it.”

C
lare worked late at the bookstore on Christmas Eve. When Bea finally turned over the Open sign and locked the door, the two women flopped into easy chairs in front of the fire.