Lumen Cove

by Dianne Frost

  “What exactly do you think I’m going to say to you?”

  Kelsey’s eyes flicked to his and flicked away, too scared to let his penetrating gaze get a foothold. She shifted from foot to foot in discomfort, keeping her eyes on the ocean but felt him take a small step closer, his hand on her forearm uncurling to rest lightly on her bicep.

  “Kelsey, look at me,” he said, his voice gentle and low just like he’d spoken to her last night right before he had pushed inside her and she shivered. “Kels,” he said, dipping his head to try and catch her gaze. “Please.”

  She looked up at him reluctantly and saw a softness in his eyes she hadn’t seen from him before. The corners of his mouth twitched and he let his palm skim up and down her arm a few times before speaking.

  “Look, I know…” He paused, heaving a sigh as he looked at the ground, “I know what I should be saying to you,” he said and she started to pull away, unconsciously or not but his grip on her arm tightened a fraction and she stilled. “It’s probably what you think I’m going to say.”

  He reached out with his free hand and hooked a finger under her chin, tilting her face up so that she was forced to meet his eyes, “I’m sorry I… I… don’t even know how to…” He trailed, pressing his lips together, looking up as if he were fighting to find words. Kelsey’s head tipped to the side in wonder at seeing him speechless for the first time. He sighed again looking at her steadily. “I don’t know what’s going on between us.” He released her to raise both hands in the air in a helpless gesture before they fell to his sides with a thwap. He chuckled. “I know the right thing to do would be to tell you that we need to reestablish boundaries and maybe even have you transfer courses,” he said, wincing at the thought.

  Kelsey felt herself starting to retreat again but his eyes met hers and it was as if her feet had sunk six inches into the sand.

  “But I don’t want to do that.” He pursed his lips and gave his head a slight shake, hands moving to his hips as he chewed on his lower lip and studied her. “I don’t know if I can do that, Kelsey.”

  “Wh-wh-wha?” Was her brilliant reply. Alex reached up to rub a hand across the back of his neck.

  “Look, this morning…” He stepped closer, delicately taking both her hands in his, her head tipping up to look into his eyes, soft and serious. Her stomach fluttered. “This morning when I woke up and you weren’t there I…” His brows furrowed and he swallowed, grasping for words. “I wasn’t… I wasn’t worried you were out telling someone. I was worried about you. If you were okay.” One hand moved to cup her cheek. “I…” He paused, feeling a trill of bashfulness color his cheeks as he looked down at his bare toes in the sand. “I wish you would have stayed this morning.”

  Kelsey’s neck jerked as if his confession had been a physical blow. She brought a hand to his waist without thinking, letting it rest there. “You aren’t mad? A-about… about…that? What we did?”

  Alex fought a smile and forced himself to look at her steadily as he shook his head. “No.”

  “And… and you’re not…like you don’t…have regrets?” She asked, chewing her bottom lip so brutally he brought a hand up to free it with his thumb.

  He was quiet for a moment. “I probably should…” He murmured, watching his thumb swipe across her bottom lip. Her hand reached up to close around his wrist, holding it there. “But I don’t…”

  His tongue snuck out to wet his bottom lip. Kelsey felt herself leaning in, her fingers releasing his wrist as both his hands delved back into her hair, closing the gap between them. He kissed her softly, his mouth slanting over hers as her arms wrapped around his ribs, pulling herself flush against him. She sighed into his mouth, her muscles loosening for the first time all day, the anxiety slipping away as she kissed him over and over again.

  A flood light suddenly came on, bathing them both in light. “Who’s there?”

  A woman’s voice, tremulous and scared above them and Kelsey felt Alex rip away from her, his hands gripping her arms to pull her further onto the patio, pressing her back against the sliding glass door, his body in front of hers. The light from the deck danced and shimmered while the woman’s body blocked points of light across the gaps in the wood as she moved. Alex cupped the side of Kelsey’s face in his hand to get her attention and when she looked into his eyes he held a finger to his lips. Kelsey nodded then leaned in, pressing her lips to Alex’s ear. “Is that Miss Munter?”

  “I’m warning you…” The woman said, her voice raising. Alex and Kelsey looked up as the boards creaked over their heads. “I… I have a weapon! A fire arm! A b-big one!”

  Kelsey made a soft noise like trying to swallow a laugh and Alex got the terrible urge to cackle himself. Alex untangled his arms from around her and began pulling her down towards his end of Building One, sticking close to the deck structure as they weaved around the privacy screens between patios.

  “I have a guard dog! He’ll rip your legs off!”

  Kelsey couldn’t hold it in anymore, she let out a high peel of giggles and they broke out into a run, tripping over edging between the patios and racing around the corner of the building. Alex let her in front of him as they reached the stairs both pulling themselves up by the bannister as much as their legs were catapulting them up the steps. She fought giggles as he fumbled with the door knob and they practically fell into his laundry room as their laughter came out in dry gasps.

  “Oh my God,” Kelsey panted when she was finally able to catch her breath. “Miss Munter…” She couldn’t even finish her thought, taken over by laughter again, staggering her way into the kitchen to hang on to the counter. Alex leaned against the cased opening, breathing slowly and trying to keep himself from falling into his own hysterics.

  He swallowed hard as he staggered his way over to lean on the counter across from her. “She really does have a gun,” he said a chuckle escaping him. “She shot… she shot a seagull that was harassing her Yorkie.”

  “Her guard dog is a Yorkie?” Kelsey heaved and she really did think she was going to fall, her legs seeming to buckle underneath her as silent laugher clenched all of her muscles.

  “His name is Kibbles.” Alex snorted and laid his head on his arms as Kelsey slapped at him, trying to get him to stop. She couldn’t take it anymore.

  Once she was finally breathing normally again, Kelsey managed to pull herself upright, wiping at her eyes and looking down at Alex whose head still rested on his arms. His back rose and fell with steady breath underneath the navy sweater he was wearing. She reached to touch his shoulder and he looked up at her, pulling himself up to his full height again and heaving a sigh.

  “I like your sweater,” Kelsey said before she could stop herself and he looked down at himself, bewildered by the compliment.

  “Uh, thanks,” he said wiping a hand down his front and shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

  A heavy silence fell between them, their eyes meeting across the counter. Kelsey felt a strong pull in her stomach, a shiver running through her at the intensity in his eyes. She felt bashful under his gaze, remembering once again that he’d seen her naked and she’d seen him naked. Her eyes flicked down to his belt buckle and back again. One corner of his mouth tipped up in a smirk before he ducked his head to hide a full smile.

  “We should probably talk,” he said knowingly and Kelsey felt a blush begin to warm her cheeks. This time he didn’t bother to hide his smile. “Come on,” he said reaching his hand out to her.

  She took it tentatively, enjoying the feel of his roughened hand around hers as he tugged her over to the sofa. They scooted sideways between the coffee table and couch, lowering themselves to the cushions, knees touching lightly as they faced each other. Kelsey looked at him expectantly and he held her gaze for a moment.

  “How do you want to handle this, Kelsey?” He asked, looking at her steadily. Her mouth popped open as if shocked by the question. She looked down at her hands, her fingers tangling together.

  “What
do you mean?” she asked, her voice soft. Alex watched her face, seeing the anxiety in her eyes.

  “I mean exactly that. What kind of outcome are you expecting from our current…” He paused, searching for a delicate word. “…predicament?”

  She let out a small chuckle that was all breath and no sound, a smile tugging at her lips. She was still looking at her hands twisting in her lap as her brow furrowed in thought. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, worrying it with her teeth as her hands reached tentatively for his which were pressed together in his lap. He allowed her to take them in hers, watched her run a thumb over his knuckles, worrying the thin, white scar that marred the ring and middle finger of his right hand.

  “What do you want?” She asked and he squeezed her hands, shaking his head as she looked up at him with hesitation.

  “You have to decide for yourself,” he said, his stomach doing summersaults. Lord help me with those big brown eyes.

  He knew he wasn’t being fair. She had so many responsibilities dropped on her since her grandmother’s death and now he was asking her to be the sole decision maker on something that could drastically affect both their lives. He wanted to tell her exactly what he wanted but he was afraid to influence her decision. He wanted her to walk into this with eyes wide open, to take the risk of her own volition, not because he desired her. That’s a cop out Danvers and you know it, his mind taunted, but he just squeezed her hands again, prompting her to speak.

  “I want…” Kelsey tentatively glanced up at him, finding his face calm and open. She looked down at their joined hands again. “I want to… be with you… again,” she fumbled, her face reddening. Alex fought a smile, biting the inside of his cheek.

  “Why?” He asked softly. Kelsey squirmed giving him a pleading look, her signature Just tell me what you want to hear, Mr. Danvers expression. He raised his eyebrows at her and she sighed.

  “Because I want… I just want to,” she said squeezing his hands brutally and he squeezed back. “I like being with you. I don’t want us to stop seeing each other. I don’t want to switch classes. I don’t want to stop.” She shifted in her seat again and Alex let his eyes close, taking a slow breath and letting his tongue out to wet his dry lips.

  “You understand what that would mean,” he asked. She nodded her head solemnly. “We could both end up in a lot of trouble, Kelsey. Me more so than you,” he added with a grimace. She winced. “But there would likely be consequences for you as well…the scholarship…”

  “Do you not want to risk it?” She asked, her voice small and quiet and his eyes flicked to hers, wounded and questioning. He untangled his hands from hers to cup her face.

  “This is not the best decision for either of us. We know…” He paused pressing his lips together before reluctantly continuing. “We know it won’t last.” He watched Kelsey swallow, her eyes closing as she gave a quick nod. He looked at her face, her eyes cast down to his chest and reached to run his hands over her hair. She looked up at him and pressed her lips together more firmly as if steeling herself for a blow. “But I think we’re both determined to make it anyway.”

  Relief flooded Kelsey’s veins and she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing on to his shoulders and pressing her mouth to his. He was startled by her fierceness but wrapped his arms around her waist all the same. Her hands tangled in his hair, kissing him eagerly as he tried to pull her closer his tongue slipping past her lips. She made a sound deep in her throat, her hands moving to his chest, feeling his heart thud steadily against her palms.

  Alex let his hands smooth over her shoulders gripping her biceps to pull away, licking his lips as he rested his forehead against hers. “You’re sure?”

  She nodded, their skulls grinding together with the movement, her fingers drawing imperceptible patterns on his chest.

  “Kelsey,” he said, his voice a warning and she looked up into his eyes. “I need you to say it okay?”

  “Yes, Alex,” she said and watched his pupils dilate, felt his sharp intake of breath. “I’m sure.”

  He pressed his mouth to hers again and she felt a thrill of exhilaration, her hands pawing at his chest as her stomach pulled tight in what she was beginning to understand was want. Alex’s hands fumbled at her sweater, pushing the sides open and as he dipped his head to kiss along her jaw he caught sight of the front of her shirt.

  “Is that… soup?” He asked with a snort and Kelsey shoved his shoulder, annoyed as she reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it with her sweater caught in it to the side.

  Alex blinked at her, his eyes falling to her chest on instinct, small breasts rising and falling rapidly over the top of her pushup bra. Kelsey swallowed hard, feeling daring and a little embarrassed at the same time. She liked the way he was looking at her, almost hungry as if staring at her body was enough to sate him. His hands reached to cup her breasts over her bra, a sensation that she had felt before on a few dates when boys got bold but she never reacted to it like she was now, goose bumps breaking out over her skin, her inner muscles contracting with want as his mouth covered hers again.

  Alex felt her hands rest on his shoulders, a soft sigh passing her lips as he returned to kiss along her jaw. She exposed the long column of her neck to him willingly, making soft sounds as he nipped and sucked at her skin, careful not to leave a mark. She hissed as his hand squeezed again, wiggling restlessly while he kissed along her collarbone, her nails rasping against his sweater.

  He pulled back panting, reaching behind him to tug his sweater over his head. Kelsey reached out with shaking hands, attacking the buttons on the front of his shirt and he fought a chuckle as he reached behind her, releasing her bra easily. She stopped her unbuttoning to shake it off before finishing the job.

  Alex shucked his shoulders back, aiding her in pushing the shirt off, humming as she pressed her hand to his bare chest, feeling his skin. He kissed her again and she let her body fall back as he crawled over her pressing dry kisses down the column of her throat. He settled between her legs, her hips rolling into his and he panted at the friction, letting his mouth drag down her breastbone, licking his lips before sucking one peak into his mouth.

  Kelsey’s eyes flew open, her back arching into him as a sharp jolt of pleasure seemed to jump from her chest down to her center. She felt herself clench in pleasurable agony as his teeth grazed her nipple before biting lightly and she gasped, her nails scraping across his shoulder blades.

  He switched sides, not knowing how much more he could take with her pressing up so hard against him, the sounds she was emitting making his pants uncomfortably tight. It’d been a very long time since he’d had a woman be this receptive to his touch, every flick of his tongue eliciting a reaction that told him he was definitely doing something right.

  His hand reached for the button on her jeans and she aided him in pushing them down hastily, toeing off her shoes as he sat back on his knees to pull them from her legs. She giggled as he tugged off her socks as well and tossed them over his shoulder before he fell back over her again, kissing her hard. He pressed his hips to hers, panting at the idea of only a few more articles of clothing between them.

  “Come on,” he said, pulling back suddenly and she whined, trying to pull him back down. He chuckled at her, standing from the couch on weak legs, pulling her to her feet.

  She squealed as he hoisted her into his arms, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist. Her mouth claimed his again as he maneuvered them around furniture and over to his bed, where he laid her gently on the mattress. She watched him panting, pulling herself up to the pillows, not taking her eyes off him as he unbuckled his belt, flicked open his pants and let them fall to the floor. There was a prominent bulge at the front of his gray boxer briefs and Kelsey felt her breathing shallow as he crawled onto the bed, hovering over her in a lithe crouch. Her hands smoothed around his ribs, holding him at his back as he kissed her, her head falling limply back against the pillows. She wanted his hips a
gainst hers again, needed that sweet friction but he was letting a hand slide down her body, starting at her collarbone, palm flat against her breastbone before swiping to the side and giving her breast a gentle squeeze that caused her back to arch. His fingers skimmed down her stomach feeling it tremble before he let them slide over her panties, palm moving to cup her and feeling the heat of her center through the fabric.

  Kelsey moaned softly as he pressed his palm against her and rubbed, the sensation overwhelming, her hips following the motion of his hand. He kissed along her neck, not being able to resist slipping his fingers underneath the thin cotton finding her so deliciously wet the tips of his fingers becoming coated in it. She gasped as he touched her most sensitive flesh, her thigh twitching and he growled at the deep moan she released when the rough pads of his fingertips found her clit.

  “Oh God,” she muttered as he rubbed soft slow circles her hand going up to her hair to tug at it wickedly and his mouth found hers again.

  He traced her lips with his tongue as his fingers found her entrance, stroking it lightly and pressing inside as she opened her mouth to his tongue. She pressed her chest to his and he could feel her nipples scraping his skin, the sensation pulling tight in his groin as two fingers slipped easily inside her.

  “A-A-Alex,” she panted as he began a steady rhythm and his hips pushed against her thigh, needing just a little pressure, not being able to stand it.

  Kelsey gulped in air as his fingers worked in and out of her sore flesh. It had stung for just a moment, the stretch of it shifting almost immediately from discomfort to pleasure and she couldn’t focus on anything else, her feet slipping against the comforter for traction. His thumb slid over her clit and her muscles clenched around his fingers in the most pleasurable way. He groaned against her skin, his hips giving a hard shove against her.

  Kelsey licked her dry lips, reaching down to the waistband of his boxer-briefs and slipping inside. Alex’s forehead collided with her collarbone as she gripped him tentatively, his stomach trembling. He emitted a soft whine when she gave him a squeeze, trying to focus on anything but her hand on him or he was going to lose it in his boxers like some kind of teenager. Her grip loosened immediately and her body tensed.