Waiting for Wednesday (7 page)

When she reached up, threading her fingers in his hair and pulling him closer, he knew he’d found heaven. For several minutes they kissed as he played with her soft hair and drank in her sweet breath. She unleashed his hunger for more when she tugged his shirttail from his pants and her hands began exploring his bare chest beneath the cotton.

He moved away for a second, taking her hands from under his shirt and dragging her to a seated position. “I want to see you.” He grasped the hem of her T-shirt and tugged it off. His gaze drifted down her body, savoring every bare inch of skin revealed to him. Her bra was dark pink, delicate and surprisingly feminine. He’d pictured her as a no-nonsense kind of woman when it came to underwear, so he was pleased to discover this sexy side. “That bra is hot.” His fingers traced the tops of her breasts exposed by the lacy material.

“My turn.” She pulled his shirt over his head and he was amazed when she leaned forward, teasing his small, tight nipples with her tongue. She nipped his pec with her teeth, the small bite painful and erotic as hell. She soothed the sore spot with a soft kiss.

Jesus. Lane was going to be a firecracker in bed.

51

Mari Carr

Tris hadn’t planned beyond a little bit of making out, some touching and kissing, but Lane triggered something inside him that was going to be hard to corral. He gripped the top of her bra, drawing it below her breasts. The lace held her tits up and out and his mouth watered for a taste. Bending down, he took one turgid nipple into his mouth, sucking on the warm flesh.

“God,” she whispered as he increased the suction. Her fingers tightened in his hair and he gave her a bit of her own medicine, teasing her nipple with his teeth. “Harder,” she pleaded and he complied. She cried out and he had to fight not to take her right then and there.

“Pants off.” His hands wrestled with the button and zipper on her jeans.

She hesitated and he stopped, waiting until her gaze rose to his. “I just want to touch you, Lane. Nothing more, I promise.”

A shy smile crossed her lips and she helped him remove her jeans, lifting her hips and kicking off the denim and her panties in one quick movement. He pushed her back onto the bed, his lips covering every bare inch of skin with kisses, licks, nips.

She gripped his waist, tugging him over her, ankles wrapping together at the base of his back. She used her legs to draw his hips to the vee between her thighs. He thrust his covered cock against her pussy, the wet heat of her body penetrating the thick material of his jeans. He thrust over and over, using the rough denim to stimulate her clit as he kissed her and his hands cupped her breasts, squeezing the firm, soft mounds.

He literally couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t touch enough of her.

She lifted her hips, rubbing her cunt against him, her fingernails scratching a path across his back that was painful and sexy as hell. His mind whirled as he tried to make this wild woman fit the image of the staid, calm friend he thought he’d known until this moment.

He fought to pull himself together. He was humping Lane like a dog in heat in his sister’s bedroom. This hadn’t been his intention when he’d come into the room. He moved away and grinned at the dazed look in his kitten’s eyes.

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Waiting for Wednesday

He pushed himself to lie beside her and watched a frown cross her face. “I’m not going to leave you.” He caressed her stomach, letting his fingers travel lower to tangle with the dark hair covering her pussy. “Open your legs.” Her thighs parted and he wasted no time pushing two fingers deep inside her. She groaned, her eyes drifting closed.

“Watch me,” he demanded. Her eyelids fluttered as he dragged his fingers out. “I want to see your eyes when you come.”

She smiled for only a second before her lips parted on a gasp. He added a third finger and increased his pace. Her hips thrust in time with his motions and she gave an adorable squeal when he applied pressure to her clit with his thumb.

“Tris,” she hissed as he moved his fingers within her, faster and harder. Something about her hungry response urged him on, encouraging him to take her as he’d always dreamed—rough, unrestrained. She obeyed his command, her gaze never faltering from his, and he saw her eyes cloud over as she reached the peak just moments before she came apart. Her inner muscles clenched his fingers tightly and she trembled as the orgasm raged through her.

“Shit,” she whispered breathlessly as she slowly began to recover.

“Was that a good shit or a bad shit?”

“That was a ‘you blew my mind’ shit.” She turned on her side to face him and he savored the closeness and the complete lack of strangeness. Being half-naked with her felt more natural than anything he’d ever done in his life. He could see from the relaxed expression on her face she agreed with the sentiment.

They were a tight fit on the twin bed and she scooted over to give him more room on the tiny mattress. She glanced down and he knew she was looking at his cock, straining against the material of his jeans.

She dragged her hand across the front placket and he sucked in a breath. “Damn I love your hand on me.”

53

Mari Carr

“I loved your hand
in
me.” She applied more pressure and he covered her fingers, moving his in time with hers as she continued to speak. “I have to admit it’s been a while since I’ve had an orgasm I didn’t give myself. I can’t quite believe I just let you do that. Only excuse I have is extreme horniness.” He laughed. “It’s good to know you didn’t go on some wild sex spree out there in California.”

She grinned. “Hardly. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had sex. James and I sort of stopped…” She paused and he leaned forward to kiss her gently.

“I’m glad I could be of assistance.”

She started to unbutton his jeans and he halted her. “Dammit Lane, I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I don’t think we can take this any further right now.”

“Why?”

“Well, for a couple of reasons. Number one, a member of my family could come walking through that door any minute now.”

Her gaze traveled to the bedroom door—the one he hadn’t bothered to lock.

“Secondly, I promised you we’d take things slow. Take the time to get to know each other again. I mean to keep that promise.”

She nodded. “You’re absolutely right. God, I’m not sure when I turned into such a slut.”

He laughed. “You’re about as far from being a slut as I am from being a priest.

We’re attracted to each other. I think we always have been. Things are different now.”

“I’m not married anymore.”

“Thank God. Kitten, I’m gonna make love to you until your hair curls, but when I do it, it’s going to be somewhere private, on a big bed, and we’re going to have lots and lots of time to do it right.”

She closed her eyes and sighed sadly. He wondered what she was thinking.

“I don’t want a relationship, Tris.”

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Waiting for Wednesday

He leaned forward to kiss her softly. “I know that, Lane. I’m not saying I accept it, just that I understand how you feel and why you feel that way.”

“So it’ll just be sex, right?”

He shook his head. “Do you want me to lie to you? Look at you and say, ‘Sure, Lane, we’re just going to fuck’?”

“That would be a lie?”

He chuckled. “That would be a whopper.”

“But I told you earlier—”

He interrupted her. “I know what you told me. But I didn’t have a chance to respond. I can understand your reasoning, but it’s not quite sound.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It seems to me you’ve spent your entire life surviving on your own. Your problem isn’t living alone. You’ve mastered that. Your problem is letting people in.” He tapped her forehead lightly. “In here.” His finger moved to touch her heart.

“And in here.”

Was he right? Had she run for the wrong reason? Was she fighting the wrong demon? For her entire life, she’d felt trapped—with James, caught up in the sticky fingers of the foster-care system—always held, restrained, at someone else’s mercy. In her struggle for freedom, had she closed herself off from others?

“Don’t look so worried. It’s not hard, Lane. I’ll show you the way.”

“The way?”

“The way to be your own person and still share your life with someone.”

“That’s not possible,” she whispered.

He laughed. “Sure it is, kitten.” Tris glanced at his watch and grimaced. “My shift starts in fifteen minutes. I’m going to need a cold shower before then if I’m going to make it through the night.”

55

Mari Carr

She grinned sheepishly. “I feel guilty leaving you like this while you made sure I’m all warm and fuzzy inside.”

“Warm and fuzzy, eh? I like that.”

“Yeah, well, I think I’d like to return the favor sometime.” Tris wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. “It’s a date.” 56

Waiting for Wednesday

Chapter Four

Lane sat on a bench near the waterfront, stifling a tired yawn and reflecting on the past week. Tristan’s pop had returned home from the hospital and the past few days had been hectic and stressful for the family and for her. Though Mr. Collins’ stroke had been relatively mild, she’d seen the worried looks on his children’s faces as he struggled to speak clearly. Always a vibrant and lively man, he now moved slowly, cautiously, and it hurt them to see it. Just yesterday he’d forgotten her name. Lane had assured the others memory loss was common and nothing to worry about, but she’d seen the pain lingering behind their forced smiles.

Tristan was still spending long hours in the pub, working the lunch and dinner shifts most days. Lane knew it bothered him to see his father so frail and she wished there was some way to make him realize the progress Mr. Collins was making. It wasn’t going to be a quick road to recovery but, like his children, he seemed to have an indomitable spirit and Lane truly believed he’d be back to his feisty old self soon.

Keira was spending the morning with him. Lane knew the woman wanted to have some time alone with the man. She’d watched Tristan’s sisters with their father, a spark of envy growing as she sensed the special bond each of the women shared with their beloved pop.

She and Tristan hadn’t had the opportunity to say more than a few words in passing. Her work with his pop and his seeming avoidance of the apartment had put a definite halt to any progress they could be making in the bedroom. She recalled the orgasm he’d given her with his hand and sighed. She was definitely going to have sex with the man. There was no doubt about that. Their brief afternoon tryst had proved their compatibility stretched well beyond the walls of friendship.

57

Mari Carr

She rubbed her eyes sleepily. God, her thoughts were a jumbled mess as her tired mind jumped from one worry to the next. She’d spent the last week trying to determine if Tristan had the right of it. Perhaps she
had
been fighting the wrong demons, shutting herself off from others, from love, all in the name of self-reliance. She wanted to be independent, but she wanted Tris. What if he was correct? What if she could have both?

She’d tried with James and her ex had only proven to her once again she’d been a fool to believe she could have it all.

She was running on empty and she knew it. Trying to sleep in the same room with Riley was wearing her out. Every night she fought to remain awake until she heard Tris retire to his bedroom. As the one who closed down the bar each night, he usually didn’t head to bed until after one, or even later on the weekends. Once the coast was clear, she’d sneak out to the couch to try to grab a few hours of sleep where no one in the family could hear her.

She cried in her sleep. It was an odd thing, she knew, and she was too embarrassed to let anyone see it. She grimaced. Why couldn’t she be normal and sleepwalk or snore?

Her nighttime tears had driven James crazy and he was glad when she’d suggested separate bedrooms, claiming he was tired of being woken up every night, having to listen to her stupid crying.

“Lane?”

She felt the hair on the back of her neck rise at the sound of the familiar voice.

Glancing up, she saw her ex-husband. It was as if thinking his name had summoned him and she took a deep breath in hopes of remaining calm. She was too tired to deal with this.

“Oh my God,” he said, stepping closer. “I was just heading out for some lunch and I saw you sitting here. When did you come back to Baltimore?” His voice was charming and kind and for a moment, she was reminded of the man she’d fallen in love with all those years ago.

“I’ve only been in town a few weeks.”

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Waiting for Wednesday

“I wish you would’ve called me. I’ve been so worried about you. You just disappeared.”

She’d pursued her divorce strictly through lawyers, managing to never have to see James during the process. Since he’d beaten her and put her in the hospital, the lawyers never questioned her desire to handle the whole ordeal by proxy.

“I needed to get away.” She wished her voice didn’t sound so tight, so strained.

“I’m sure you can understand that.”

“Lane, I’ve been destroyed this last year. Eaten up with guilt. I…I wanted to say I’m sorry. To apologize for hurting you. God, I never meant to hurt you like that. It’s just, I was so scared when you said you were leaving—”

She held her hand up, desperate to halt anything else he might say. While James had been a distant, cruel bastard for most of their marriage, there had also been a few good times. His childhood, in many ways, had been as shitty as hers. His parents—both alcoholics—took turns using him for a punching bag, and for years she’d allowed her pity for the abuse he’d suffered to excuse so many of the mean things he’d said to her.

They’d been fools to believe they could actually achieve a normal relationship when neither of them had a clue what that entailed. Having spent the past week with the Collins clan, Lane’s eyes had been opened to what it meant to be part of a large and loving family.