CARRIED AWAY

by Donna Kauffman

  Now if he could just find her amongst all the shadows and … what were all those pillows doing in the middle of the floor? "Christy?"

  He heard a muffled response coming from somewhere up in the loft. He headed that way. "Christy?"

  "Don't come up," she called out, just as his hand hit the railing.

  He stopped. "Okay."

  "Why don't you take a shower?" she suggested. "I'm uh—just go shower, okay?"

  She sounded almost … panicked. Trevor bit back a smile. What had she cooked up here? "Okay. Can you toss me down some fresh clothes?"

  "Can you just go get in the shower? Please?" She sounded exasperated.

  "Yes, ma'am. Anything you say, ma'am."

  He thought he heard her mutter something that sounded like "smartass" but he couldn't be sure. Well, whatever was going on, he would let her handle it her own way. But he planned on taking the quickest shower known to man.

  He'd barely lathered up when there was a pounding on the door. "You almost done?"

  Anxious, he decided. She sounded both anxious and exasperated. Panic was still there, too. He could only hope this was a good sign. Christy never panicked about anything unless it moved her out of her comfort zone. Their relationship had definitely put a crimp in that area. But that still didn't explain what—

  "Trevor?"

  "I'm coming," he said, rinsing off quickly and shutting off the water. He dried off, then wrapped the towel around his waist for lack of anything else to put on.

  She was already opening the door before he could turn the handle. "Close your eyes," she instructed before flipping off the light switch.

  He did as she asked. "What's going on here?"

  "You're being kidnapped."

  "What?"

  "Just hush and bend down a little so I can tie this around your eyes."

  "You want me to help you abduct me?"

  "Trevor."

  He smiled in the dark and bent his knees so she could reach his head. "Do I get to put some clothes on?"

  "I don't recall being given that same opportunity."

  Trevor stilled then. So this was payback? Well, he was game. In fact, his senses were on full alert … the result of which was arousing rather than alarming. "Can I ask where you're taking me?"

  She fumbled with the fabric but finally got it tied at the back of his head. "Not far. I guess you could call this more of a hostage situation."

  He straightened, fully aware that he was mostly naked, standing in the dark, blindfolded … and growing harder by the second. "Hostage, huh?" he said, hearing the hoarseness in his voice.

  Her hands were on him then, turning him around. She pulled his arms in front of him and quickly tied them together at the wrist. It shouldn't have been that exciting. In fact, he was certain he wouldn't have enjoyed this kind of thing at all. Tell that to your body.

  She grabbed his bound wrists and tugged him from the steamy bathroom. When the cooler air brushed his skin, it only sensitized him further. He could smell the candles, feel the thick carpet beneath his toes.

  "Stop here," she said, then he felt her step in front of him before he was gently tugged forward again.

  "Careful," she instructed. "There are pillows on the floor."

  They went a few steps, then she stopped him again. "Okay, kneel."

  "I beg your pardon?"

  She tugged on his wrists. "Just do it, okay?" He shook his head, but did as she asked, his knees landing on a huge, soft pillow. He wondered if she could see how aroused he was. He wondered what she'd do next. She didn't seem as turned on by the situation as he was. She was nervous. "What next?"

  "Just stay there. I'll be right back."

  The first little prickles of alarm crept along his neck. Had he made her so upset earlier that she'd cooked up some scheme to— No, no, she wouldn't do that. "Christy?"

  Suddenly her mouth was right next to his ear, and he felt the warmth of her body behind him. "Do you trust me, Trevor?"

  "Absolutely." And he realized he did and immediately relaxed. Well, part of him relaxed.

  He felt her sigh against the skin of his neck. "Good, that's good." Then there was a rustle of fabric and he felt her move away from him.

  She was only gone for a minute. He heard the clink of glassware, then the rustle of fabric again. The pillows shifted around his knees and he knew she was right in front of him.

  "Okay," she said, more to herself than to him. "Ready."

  "Christy—"

  "Shh. I'm trying to do something here. Let me finish."

  He bowed and smiled. "Are we going to do it all blindfolded and bound up? Because I have to tell you, I didn't think I would like this kind of thing … but you might have hit on something here."

  "What?"

  She didn't sound seductive, she sounded … distracted.

  "Nothing. Just … do with me what you will."

  "If you'll just give me a minute." She sounded like she was under some sort of strain. Then there was a popping sound, followed by a squeal and the splash of something cold on his knees. He sucked in his breath, but the whole thing only served to heighten his arousal. Whatever she was trying to do, obviously it meant a great deal to her, so he'd play along. But he'd also decided that at some point this was going to end with him buried deep inside her. They could figure out the rest later.

  "Okay," she said, almost breathlessly. "You can take off the blindfold now."

  "Um, I can't. My hands."

  "Oh! Right, right. I forgot. I only did that so you wouldn't try to … you know, distract me." She still sounded nervous, only now he heard the smile, too.

  There was another clinking of glasses then he felt her fingertips brushing against the skin of his wrists. He couldn't help it. He moaned. Just a little, but it made her pause. "Christy—" His voice was definitely rough this time.

  "Pull off the blindfold," she said, her voice shaky. He did, but rather than a sea of pillows and endless rows of lit candles, the only thing he saw was her. She kneeled just in front of him, wrapped in something sheer and incredibly sexy. She wasn't one for frilly lingerie, so this was a definite surprise. "You look amazing," he said.

  "I, uh, thanks." She ran a hand over her hair, which still looked as tousled and sexy as it did when she woke up this morning. Her eyes went wide. "My hair! Dammit, I forgot all about— I knew I wasn't cut out for—"

  "You're beautiful, Christy." He'd never meant anything more in his life. "And it has nothing to do with the bit of nothing you're wearing or the wild curls around your face, though I love them both."

  She smiled then, still self-conscious but equally determined to brazen it out. He realized what she was doing. She was trying to show him she loved him.

  "You didn't have to go to all this trouble, you know," he said quietly.

  She made a face. "Try telling my mother that."

  Trevor laughed. "This was Ruby's idea?"

  "Just the pillows, candles and this." She fingered the sheer robe she had on. "It only took her thirty minutes to round all this stuff up." She looked at him and he saw she was trembling. "She thinks momentous occasions deserve equally momentous settings."

  Trevor realized he was trembling a little now, also. "What is the momentous occasion?" Just tell me, Christy, he begged silently, suddenly dying to hear her say the words.

  Instead she picked up a wineglass and handed it to him, then picked the other one up for herself. "I—I want to propose. A—a toast."

  "Okay." He didn't bother telling her it was only ten in the morning.

  "To Trevor," she began. The champagne in the glass vibrated as her hand shook He longed to cover it with his own, but he could see by the steely look in her eyes that it was important to her to get through this on her own. He didn't think he could love her more, but in that moment he realized he'd probably love her more every day.

  "You—you came into my life by—by accident." She took a quick sip, then laughed. "Bubbles. Tickle." She quickly cleared her throat and s
tarted again. "Okay, okay," she coached herself. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "From the moment you literally swept me off my feet, my life has never been the same. You've been kind, patient, loving and more understanding than I deserved."

  He opened his mouth, but she shushed him.

  "Let me get through this. It's important."

  He nodded, because he knew it was.

  "I know I haven't always been kind, or patient, or understanding in return, although you deserved it more than anyone. I—I guess I was scared. Scared of all the things I was feeling, of all the things you made me want. I've always been determined to never need anyone … like that. It's just been recently that I've started to figure out that maybe total independence is not always such a good thing. That maybe, with the right person, I can be both independent … and dependent." She sniffled, then took another fortifying sip of champagne. "What I'm trying to say is, I need you. I'm dependent on you to be there for me when I've had a rough shift. I want you there to share things with, to watch the days go by with, to … to hold me when it thunders outside." She took another breath … and another sip. "And—and I want to be there for you like that. I do think you're worth fighting for and if you'll forgive me for being too stupid to believe in what was staring me right in the face, I promise to do whatever it takes to keep us happy and together." She ran out of words and breath at the same time. She sipped her champagne again and seemed to waver on her knees as she stared at him expectantly.

  Trevor was wavering a bit, too, but it had nothing to do with champagne as he hadn't tasted so much as a drop. He set his glass down and took hers as well, then reached for her hands. He rubbed at her cold fingers as he looked into the eyes that he'd come to love so deeply, it should have shocked him. But didn't. "There's just one thing I need."

  "Which is?"

  "Three words. From you. In fact, I've never needed to hear anything as badly as I need to hear them."

  Her eyes widened as she realized what he was asking for. "I can't believe I didn't say them!" She shut her eyes. "I knew I'd screw this up."

  Trevor laughed and pulled her fully into his arms. "You didn't screw anything up. And I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

  He rolled her to her back, delighting in the way the gossamer robe she wore fell open. His towel had disappeared somewhere, as well.

  "What deal?" she asked, then gasped as he settled himself between her legs.

  "You have to promise to say them every single day for the rest of your life."

  She relaxed beneath him then, finally, her saucy smile returning. "Oh, what a hard bargain you drive."

  "You don't know the half of it," he groaned, pushing against her.

  She gasped as he nudged just inside her.

  "If it makes it easier, I can go first," he said.

  She shook her head. "No. Me first." She framed his face with her hands. "I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. It overwhelms me how much I need you. But what makes it all okay is knowing that you love me. I love you, Trevor McQuillen. I love you."

  He pushed inside her then, hard and fast, thrilled to find her wet and ready for him. "I love you, Christy," he said as she met him, thrust for thrust.

  It didn't take long for them to reach the peak and go roaring right over it.

  They were both still panting when Christy swore.

  Trevor rolled them to their sides. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

  "Oh, I'm fine. It's just … Mom will be so disappointed, but I was so nervous I forgot to tell you about the roses."

  "Roses?"

  "Petals, actually. While she was doing the candles I was plucking rose petals and putting them on our bed. She said it's really romantic to make love in flower petals and I completely forgot."

  Trevor grinned and reached down to take a nipple in his mouth, delighting in her gasp of pleasure.

  "Gee, I can't imagine what distracted you."

  "I knew I should never have untied your hands."

  "But then, I couldn't do this." He slid his hand down between her legs, making her gasp again and buck her hips.

  "True," she said a bit breathlessly. "Absolutely true."

  "And there's no reason we can't go play in the petals now."

  "You're absolutely right." She playfully nipped at his shoulder. "Did I mention I love you?"

  He stilled then, still not used to the power of those words coming from her lips. "It's amazing."

  "What is?"

  "How incredible it makes me feel to hear you say that."

  She smiled even as her eyes went a bit glassy. "Well, I'll remember that when I want to win our next argument."

  "You do that. Now, about those rose petals…" He stood and offered her a hand, but when he went to pull her up, he kept pulling until she was over his shoulder.

  "Trevor!" she squealed.

  "I seem to recall enjoying this view of your legs once before." He climbed the stairs. "If you don't stop squirming we can always see how you like being tied up."

  She stopped squirming … but only for a second.

  "Oh!" he laughed, only a little shocked. "So that's how you want to play." He tossed her on the bed and pinned her down beneath him. Both of them were laughing and out of breath. "Never a dull moment with you, you know that?"

  "I was thinking the same thing about you."

  Just then there was a banging on the front door, then cursing as someone was letting himself in. "Can't see a blasted thing in here. What, did the power go out or something? What's with all the candles?"

  Christy and Trevor both froze. "Oh, no. I forgot about Jimmy," she said a moment later.

  "Power works fine," Trevor called out.

  There was a pause, then, "Oh."

  Christy tried not to snicker, but Trevor made a face at her and she lost it. She had to bury her face in the pillows as she roared with laughter.

  "Want me to put them out before you burn the place down?"

  "Would you please?" Trevor called out, ever so politely.

  "No problem. I'll get to work down here then, if that's okay."

  "Okay," Trevor called out, then gulped as Christy found her way under the covers and started doing wicked things with rose petals.

  "Just, uh, don't plan on any showers anytime soon," Jimmy shouted. "I have to turn the water off."

  "No problem," Trevor gasped.

  Christy peeked out from beneath the covers. "Never a dull moment. Isn't that what you said?"

  "Yeah … I believe so. Oh, God, that feels good."

  But before she could go any further, an unmistakable woof filled the air.

  "George," they both said at the same time. Seconds later they both oophed as he joined them enthusiastically on the bed.

  "I'm so sorry, sweetie," her mom called out, sounding out of breath. "I put the convertible top down thinking he'd like the air and he just jumped right out at the light. I had to chase him all the way back here in the car."

  "Who are you?" Jimmy barked.

  "Oh, my!" Ruby gasped.

  Christy rolled her eyes. "Jimmy and my mom. Now that should be interesting. Did I mention she was moving here?"

  "Definitely no dull moments."

  "I can't imagine why I ever thought it was better to live alone," she murmured dryly.

  Trevor pulled her closer. "Me, either."

  "I love you," she said, then squealed when George gave them both a big kiss.

  "I think he's given us his slobber of approval."

  Christy laughed. "He's just making sure he gets his share of the bed."

  Trevor pulled her on top of him. "There, now he has more room." He pushed against her. "And I have more you."

  "Trevor, my mother is downstairs."

  "Keeping Jimmy entertained."

  "Well … I suppose no one would mind if we—" She gasped, then moaned very softly. "I do love you, Trevor McQuillen."

  It was right about then that George started sneezing.

  "Oh,
for God's sake," Christy sputtered. "You think he's allergic to roses?"

  "Honey, where do you want me to store all these candles?"

  "Hey, Trev, ya got another extension cord?"

  The phone rang.

  "Honey, it's Viv!"

  Trevor yanked the covers over both their heads, blocking out as much of the world as he could. "Christy, will you marry me?"

  "You're proposing now?"

  "I figure if you say yes in the middle of all this, I know you really want me."

  She smiled. "I want you."

  He kissed her, long and deeply. "We should ask Viv if we can borrow the cabin for our honeymoon."

  "We might never come back."

  George started sneezing again.

  "That idea did occur to me."

  Christy laughed and Trevor kissed her again, wondering how she felt about adding kids to the melee that was their life. Well, he probably shouldn't mention it now. But he could be patient.

  "I love you," she whispered against his mouth.

  Oh, yes. Very patient, indeed.

  * * * *