Plucking at the diamond-hard nipples he massaged bubbles into them then blew on them to dissipate the bubbles into the air. Down, down, over her slightly rounded, sexy tummy, pausing to pay careful attention to her bellybutton. His finger traced the tiny swirls of flesh in the indentation.
When he reached her naked cunt he had to bite down on his tongue to make himself take his time. He didn’t want to rush this.
Kasey’s eyes were closed, her face flushed with heated anticipation. Sky stared at her face as he slipped two fingers into her slit, pushing aside the folds of her sex and capturing her clit between two knuckles. As he rubbed and kneaded he watched her breathing hitch, her mouth part slightly, her eyelids flutter. He thought he could look at her face forever and never get tired of it.
As he rubbed her clit harder, reaching down farther with each stroke to rim the opening of her cunt, soft little sounds of pleasure burst from her lips, making his cock even harder if that was possible. He couldn’t remember ever being this gone on a woman before. Ever. Even his one deep relationship that ended so badly lacked the intensity of this. Which was why he deliberately held back from telling her more about himself. He wanted to put off the moment she’d turn away from him as long as he could.
Squirting more gel into his hands, he knelt on the tile floor and went to work on her feet, paying careful attention to each toe. Then the arch of each foot, her ankles, working his way up her calves to her thighs, his strong fingers gently kneading her muscles, massaging the lather into her skin.
When he reached her cunt he brushed it gently with his fingers, drawing a long shudder from her before turning her around and placing her hands flat against the wall. Then he began on her shoulders again, reveling in the feel of her skin. He traced her spine, carefully dotting each bump with a bubble of soap before running his hands over the swell of her buttocks, cupping them where they joined her thighs, then down to her calves and ankles.
He squeezed gel into his hands again and blew out a breath, knowing he was moving into new territory with Kasey and hoping she didn’t kick him out of the shower. Letting his fingers dance lightly down the cleft of her ass, he nudged the cheeks apart and worked lather into the soft skin. When he pressed the tight rosette with the tip of his finger she jumped, and started to turn around.
Skyler put his lips to the shell of her ear. “It’s all right, sugar. Just hold still. I’m going to make you feel very, very good.”
She made whimpering little sounds but allowed him to adjust her hands on the wall again. And when his fingers began probing the entrance to her dark tunnel again she didn’t try to draw away.
He spent seconds rubbing the lather into the tight muscle of her anus, teasing at the mass of tiny nerves lodged there before pushing the tip of one finger inside. When Kasey whimpered again he put his mouth on the sensitive spot on her shoulder where it joined her neck and bit down gently.
The whimper turned into a moan, but as it whispered out into the steamy air he pushed harder with his finger until it was lodged completely inside her. Her tight, dark muscles clenched around him, sending shivers through his body. He didn’t know how much longer he could hang onto his control.
He moved his finger gently, in and out. He wanted to add a second finger but she was so tight he had a feeling that was one orifice of her body that had never been breached. A virgin ass. He almost came just thinking about it.
Reaching around her with his free hand he found her clit and massaged it in time with his strokes in and out of her ass. She moaned louder and began rocking her hips, impaled on twin racks of pleasure.
When he reached his limit he shifted position, opened the shower door and reached for the condom he’d left on the vanity counter. His fingers trembled with need as he tore the foil and struggled to sheath himself. Turning Kasey to face him, he placed both hands beneath the cheeks of her ass and lifted her.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded, holding her so the head of his cock prodded the entrance to her cunt.
Linked together in the shower, he drove into her until he bumped up to the mouth of her womb. The clasp of her pussy walls around him was so tight it made him shake. He braced Kasey against the wall, settled his grip on her, drew in a deep breath and drew his cock in and out of that hot, wet fist.
He set up a rhythm, forcing himself to keep his eyes open so he could watch her face for signs that she was close to her climax. He rocked his hips back and forth, dragging his thick cock over the tiny bundles of nerves, leaning against her so his pubic bone rubbed over her clit with each movement.
The moment he felt her hands tighten on him, saw her breathing hitch and felt her tightening around him even more, he increased the tempo of his strokes. He saw it catch her, like a tidal wave rolling through her. Her nails dug into him as her orgasm shook her and spasm after spasm racked through her body.
He held on as long as he could but as she clamped down tighter around him he let go, spurting into the condom, wishing there was nothing between them so he could feel that silky skin kissing his cock. His fingers dug into her ass as he emptied himself, his big body shaking with the intensity of his release.
He leaned his forehead against hers, the water sluicing over them, and licked at her lips. Would he ever get enough of this woman? At last he turned off the water, reached for towels to dry them both off and carried her to the bed.
Chapter Four
Moonlight spilled over the damp sheets as Kasey finally got enough muscle control back to lift her head. With nothing but the faint silver light spilling through the windows Skyler looked liked a warrior of old. With his wide chest, thick, strong thighs and muscled arms she was sure she could look at him and touch him forever.
He’d come into her life so suddenly, filling an aching void she hadn’t been aware of. The Fates and Saints were being kind to her for once. If only she could get him to talk more. Granted with their sex being off the charts fantastic she could understand his perpetual hard-on. But sooner or later she wanted to snuggle in his arms and talk about their lives and the things they did each day. Hear about the things that made him laugh at work or those that caused him to lose his temper.
Shit, she still didn’t know what the man did for a living. Was it possible he was hiding some dark secret from her? Dismissing the thought almost before it formed, Kasey looked over at his long lean form and sighed in appreciation.
Gently she reached out a tentative hand to trace the line of his taut stomach and marveled at how well his body was made. When his breathing remained even and slow Kasey grew bolder. Softly she ran her hands over his chest and through the light patch of hair growing there. Moving her exploration over to his shoulders and arms she stopped when her right hand glossed over a patch of uneven skin.
The first night she’d noticed the angry scar but had forgotten about it in the explosion of lust that consumed them. Now she leaned closer trying to get a better look, but while the moonlight was good for romance it did little to improve her spying. What could have caused an injury like that? From the puffiness under her touch it must be a recent wound. Then why hadn’t he said anything to her?
Why would he, she scolded herself? They had sex. They were fuck buddies. He’d never mentioned wanting anything more. But he’d looked so happy to see her this evening. The way his sexy brown eyes had lit up made all the crappy customers from the day disappear from her mind.
Tired of being in her own head Kasey slid out from the bed. Or tried to. Before her foot even touched the floor a strong masculine arm slipped around her waist. Sky pulled her tight against his chest.
“Where are you going, beautiful?” His sleep husky voice sent shivers along her sensitive flesh.
“I thought you were sleeping.” Kasey avoided the question, much the same way he ducked every personal question she threw at him.
“I woke up when you tried to get out of bed.” With her back pressed against his chest she couldn’t see if his wonderful coffee-colored eyes were fill
ed with sincerity or blatant lie. She felt him nuzzle her neck and cursed her traitorous body for going wet. “So why were you leaving our nice warm bed without me?”
“Answer my question first. Where did you get that knot on your shoulder?” Would he answer her? Tell her something about himself?
At her words his body went taut and he eased his arms from around her. “It’s just a little ding.”
Not willing to be brushed off so easily, Kasey sat up and turned to face him. She grabbed the sagging sheet and tucked it beneath her arms. Somehow being naked with him now made her feel more vulnerable. “If it’s so little and minor then what’s the big deal in telling me about it?”
She had him. Or at least she thought she did, until his next words. A final refusal to answer anything close to personal.
He huffed out an impatient breath and scooted up until his back rested against the wooden headboard. “Look it’s not a big deal. I got hurt a couple of weeks ago. No permanent damage. Nothing to talk about or get worked up over.”
Every word felt like a slap in the face even when she knew she had no right to feel hurt. The man had made no promises to her. So what if he didn’t want to talk about his ding. Maybe he’d gotten it in some stupid guy way and was too embarrassed to give her the details. That she could understand. Then again most other guys would have made up some kind of manly cover story. Skyler refused to throw her even a crumb.
“I’m not worked up,” she told him in her most calm and controlled voice, “but I can promise you I will be if you don’t knock off the patronizing tone.”
“Shit, Kasey, I’m not trying to talk down to you. I just really don’t want to talk about some stupid ding that doesn’t mean anything to me.” He huffed out a breath. She watched him run a frustrated hand through his already rumpled hair.
“Oh I get it.”
She did…finally. Reality sucked, but it was time to start living in it again. He might look like one of her heroes, and act like one in the bedroom, but this wasn’t one of her books where the happy ending came as a guarantee. Real life came with no promises except heartbreak. Too bad this knowledge came after two nights of the best sex of her life. It amazed her how quickly and effortlessly Sky had blended into her life. She felt as if she’d known him forever. Too bad he didn’t return the feeling.
This time she made it out of bed without being stopped. Grabbing her robe from a chair she quickly shoved her arms in and belted it tight.
“Come on, Kasey, don’t do this.” His voice reached out through the dark almost causing her to stumble back to him. The warm erotic tone weakened her knees and had her leaning against the wall for support. She’d be double damned before giving in to him again. Not without hearing some real answers first. Without him willing to share some of himself with her.
“What I do isn’t important. What we have together is amazing. Why ruin it with shop talk?”
Those were the words that helped shore up her mental defenses. How could such a seemingly intelligent man sound so stupid? Why didn’t he just leave a fifty on her nightstand in the morning? At least that would be more honest that the crap he kept slinging at her.
“Skyler, it’s getting late and I think you should go.”
“Fuck, no.” He jumped out of the bed and closed the small space between them. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what brought this on. When I fell asleep you were happy with me and the world. I wake up a few minutes later and you’re jumping down my throat, dumping questions all over me and demanding answers.”
“Is it so terrible to want to know more about you? About your life?” She had to blink several times to battle the tears threatening to overflow her eyes. The damn jerk wouldn’t see her cry, but he would hear a few honest truths. “I woke up before you. I thought you looked so handsome I couldn’t resist touching you. That’s when I felt the scar on your shoulder and remembered it from last night. Silly me, I was concerned. So I asked. Then you growled at me, told me to mind my own business and now I’m asking you to leave.”
“Shit,” he cursed, pulling on his messy hair. “Kasey, I just—” He stopped there as she waited, prayed for him to say something, to show an ounce of trust in her and their new relationship.
Instead he walked over and pulled on his clothes. With each piece of skin he covered Kasey felt daggers sinking into her heart.
“I still think this is a bad idea,” Sky informed her once he’d finished dressing. “I don’t want to lose what we have.”
Wary of being pulled into his arms, Kasey backed away. “I don’t either, but I can’t be with a man without knowing him. You shut me out every time I try to get closer. Forgive me if I’m feeling a little bruised by you slamming the door to your life in my face.”
“Fuck Kasey, it’s not like that. I don’t want to lose you. All I fucking wanted was the time for you to get to know me without all the usual bullshit. Why is that so much to ask?”
“It’s not too much, but you’re offering too little. Now it’s really getting very late and I have to get up for work tomorrow. Work that you know about. You know what I do, where I do it and when I do it. I know you have two brothers and live in a house. Hmm.” She tapped a finger to her chin in a mock thinking pose. “Well, golly gee, Skyler it seems you know so much more about me. I wonder if that’s fair?”
“I planned to tell you everything.” He paced away from her, his long strides quickly eating up the small distance from wall to wall.
“When?” she demanded. Crossing her arms underneath her breasts so he wouldn’t see her hands shaking.
“When I had more time. When we’d had more time together.”
Kasey shook her head sadly, tears brimming her eyes and knowing he couldn’t give her what she needed. A piece of him, a piece of who he was and where he wanted to go. For the smallest crumb she would have opened her arms and her heart and welcomed him back into it.
Maybe it was better they ended things now. If it hurt this bad after a few days then she might not live through it in a few months.
“Please,” she whispered trying to keep her voice even, “just leave and go home, Skyler. I can’t deal with you tonight.”
“I don’t want to leave things like this between us,” he protested and stopped his incessant pacing.
“Skyler, if you ever felt anything at all for me you’ll walk out of this room and house and leave me in peace.”
He didn’t respond and the silence grew thick and uncomfortable between them. When Kasey was ready to scream to break the tension, Skyler huffed out a breath and slammed out of the room.
As the front door closed behind him she slid down the wall, tears already pouring down her cheeks. Life really should be like a romance novel, she thought as wave after wave of pain slammed into her. At least with a book you knew the good guy always won and got the girl. Reality could learn a few things from romance.
Then she let the pain swallow her as her heart broke into a million pieces.
Chapter Five
For three days Kasey dragged herself to work, deliberately forcing herself not to look at the house across the street, plodding through her daily routine before dragging herself home again. She hadn’t written a word since the night Skyler slammed out of her house, angry at what she considered the dumbest thing in the world. So she wanted to know more about him? What was the big deal, anyway?
She was too disheartened to try to figure out the answer and definitely not in the mood to create romantic and erotic scenes for her make-believe characters. She should have stuck with creating fantasies on paper instead of trying to live one herself. All it got her was a broken heart.
Damn, damn, damn.
When would she ever learn not to fall into that trap? But she’d been so sure she and Skyler had connected. More than just between the sheets. But he seemed determined to hold his real self back from her, give her nothing but hours of sweaty sex that didn’t require anything of him except physical activity.
Pulling her hair
into a ponytail and donning a short, thin robe, she poured herself a glass of wine and took it out onto her small patio. Maybe the night breezes could soothe the ache in her body and her heart.
* * * * *
For the third day in a row Skyler cursed himself for being eighteen kinds of a fool. He’d sensed from the minute she opened her door to him that Kasey was more than just a pretty face and a hot body. In between the hours of the most exquisite sex he could ever remember, she’d shared herself with him. Her dull job. Her disconnect from her family. Her dream of becoming a writer and the success she was having, a success she had no one to share with.
And he, ass that he was, like every other man he knew, painted all women with the same brush. Once burned, forever shy.
He lay in his bed at night staring at the dark window across from him and wondering what she was doing if she wasn’t writing. Did she miss him? Hate him? Would she ever talk to him again? All he had to do was conjure up the image of her naked body to make his cock hard, and he lay in the dark like some simpleton stroking himself to a climax.
Jackass!
He had two more days before he had to report back to work. Tomorrow was Saturday. Kasey didn’t have to work. He had one shot to fix this thing and he’d better not make any damn mistakes.
* * * * *
Kasey had barely struggled out of bed Saturday morning when the doorbell rang. For a long minute she was tempted to just ignore it. The last thing she wanted was to see another human being. But whoever was on her porch was pushing the bell so insistently she figured the only way to shut them up was to answer the door. When she yanked it open she froze, gawking at the man standing before her.
“Skyler?” she squeaked.
“In the flesh.” He grinned and her knees trembled.
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