by Selena Kitt
“Hold fucking still!” he grunted, working the button her jeans. “I know you like it rough, but jeez… ”
“I’m not playing!” Lindsey struggled, and realized she always struggled, didn’t she? She always said no, didn’t she? Why would he think she meant it this time? “I don’t want to do this!”
The knock on the door made them both startle, and Ralph didn’t think fast enough. His hand came down over her mouth just after she screamed out, “Come in!”
Nate’s big frame filled the doorway, his eyes taking in the scene. “Need some help, Linds?”
Ralph stood quickly, buckling his pants, grinning. “We were just having a little fun. Sorry man, I didn’t know she was with you.”
Nate opened his mouth to say something, but Lindsey cut him off. “He was just leaving.” She pointed to the door, noticing the tremble in her hand. “Right, Ralph?”
“Right, right.” He edged toward the door, his eyes on the big guy standing there.
“Let him go, Nate,” Lindsey insisted.
“Are you sure?” Nate frowned, looking between them. She nodded, and he stepped aside. She’d never seen anyone move quite so quickly as Ralph skittered by him and she heard him clattering down the stairs.
“Are you okay?” Nate shut the door and came to sit beside her. “Can I do anything?”
She looked up from where she had her head resting in her hands and gave him a weak smile. “I could use a hug.”
He held out his arms, and she went to them for nothing but comfort, and he gave it to her. Tears stung her eyes but she willed them not to fall. “I want Zach.”
“I know.” He sighed. “I’m sorry.”
Argyle barked from his cage, woken by the commotion, and Lindsey stood to go get him. “Let’s go for some ice cream.”
“You still up for that?” Nate asked, watching her take the puppy out and nuzzle him. He was getting big already.
“Yeah.” She kissed Argyle on the nose and bent to pick up his leash from the coffee table and hook him up. “I could use a little sweetness right about now.”
* * * *
“I’m coming home.”
The words she’d been waiting to hear. She couldn’t even speak at first, struggling with the closure in her throat, the happy tears. “When?”
“Two weeks.”
“Oh thank god.” She sat down on the sofa and Argyle jumped into her lap, barking at the phone like he wanted to talk, too. “I’ve missed you so much.”
She couldn’t believe it was over. Summer session had ended, and fall was starting again in just a few weeks. It felt like he’d been gone forever, and she felt just like a puppy, her whole body waggling in excitement at the thought of his homecoming.
“I’ll meet you at the airport,” she insisted, grabbing a pad and pen. “What flight?”
He told her and she wrote it carefully in big, fat letters, drawing a heart around the magical number.
“I can’t talk long,” he told her. “We’re stateside now, though, so I can call you.”
Phone calls! Two weeks of phone calls, and then he’d be home.
“Speaking of phone calls… ” She swallowed hard, thinking, why are you doing this? But she had to know. Part of her had to know.
“Let me guess, your mother called?”
She frowned. “Well yeah, like every week, but that isn’t what I was going to say.”
“Are you ready yet?”
She blinked at the receiver. “I… I don’t know.” She’d been very good at avoiding them. The erase button on the machine got a lot of use. She never really even listened to the messages anymore, to what her mother was actually saying.
“So who else called that was so important?” he asked, changing the subject. She could hear him smiling, pictured it, and it filled her with a bright feeling of joy. “Was it the IRS?”
“No,” she snorted. Then it was quiet again, and she hesitated. Did she really want to know? Did she? “I was wondering… who’s Alicia?”
The silence stretched, and then he laughed. The sound made her feel both elated and ashamed for asking all at once. “Let me guess—you think she’s some ex-girlfriend of mine?”
“Well… ” Lindsey frowned, indignant. “It’s not an illogical conclusion.”
“She’s my sister.”
Her relief was worth the embarrassment. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“Yep.” He chuckled. “Just the one. Were you jealous?”
“Shut up,” she said, sticking her tongue out at the phone. “You’d be jealous, too.”
“I am, baby.” He sighed. “But you’re mine now, and that’s all that matters.”
“I know.” She smiled happily, leaning back on the sofa and letting Argyle curl up beside her. That one night with Ralph had proved it to her, if nothing else had. She didn’t want anyone else but Zach, not anymore. But she wouldn’t tell him about what had happened, she decided. She’d already sworn Nate to secrecy—he hadn’t been happy about it, but they’d become close enough as friends to reluctantly agree that it was her choice—and she didn’t want to hurt Zach anymore. He didn’t need to know about her brief trip back, her flirting with disaster one last time.
What mattered was that she was sure now. She wouldn’t ever be the girl she’d been before.
“So, now that we have that drama cleared up, are you going to call your mother?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t you ever give up?”
“I wouldn’t have you if I did.”
She smiled, knowing already that it was going to be the longest and shortest five minutes of her life, her phone call with him, and it was. When she hung up, she sat with the cordless in her hand for a long time, just staring at it and thinking while Argyle slept next to her on the couch.
Finally, she began to dial the number of the place she used to call home.
Epilogue
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he whispered in her ear. She’d held onto him so long standing there with his duffle at their feet that already her arms ached but she still didn’t want to let him go. Passengers jostled around them, calling to one another, many in a hurry to catch another flight, but they were both oblivious.
“Oh my god.”
She looked around in panic as Zach got down on one knee in the middle of the airport, taking a small black velvet covered box out of his pocket.
He grinned. “You said that last time.”
“What are you doing?” she hissed, trying to pull him up as passengers continued to file around them.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” He opened the box, his eyes on hers, looking for a reaction. “It’s called a proposal.”
“Zach… ” Her eyes filled with tears and she wiped at them as they fell.
“Will you marry me?” The hand that held the box shook. “For real this time?”
“It was always real,” she whispered, fingering the lid to the box, not quite ready to touch the actual ring. “I was afraid to believe it, but it always was.”
He smiled, holding the box up higher, an offering. “Will you?”
She squealed and said, “Yes!” The ring was beautiful, huge and a perfect fit as he slid it on. He stood to take her in his arms, their kiss sealing the deal, and she gasped when they parted, whispering in his ear, “I have a surprise for you, too.”
“Oh?”
She was wearing a jacket, although it wasn’t that cool outside, even for September, and she unzipped it slowly, opening it to reveal her secret. Puzzled, he stared for a moment, and then his eyes widened, coming up to meet hers.
“I thought… ?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, just as bewildered, but never more happy.
And then he was on his knees again, his arms wrapped around her waist, kissing the rounded bump of her stomach over and over where their child was growing.
“You win,” he grinned, standing and pulling her into his arms, and swinging her around. She squealed, lau
ghing. “You had the bigger surprise.”
“Stop!” she gasped, still giggling. “You’re making me dizzy!”
“It’s okay.” But he did, putting her down and kissing her, his mouth full of longing and tenderness and promise. His words were whispered, just for her, “I’ll always catch you, remember?”
How could I forget? She smiled and pressed her ear to his heart, relishing the strong, steady beat there, the solid feel of him against her. She didn’t speak her response out loud, not there in the middle of the airport, but she knew he felt it.
And more importantly, she knew he meant what he said. He was willing to wait, willing to be patient while she learned to walk instead of crawl. Maybe, she thought with a smile as he kissed her again, feeling herself floating with him somewhere else away from everyone and everything… maybe, even, to fly.
And it didn’t matter if she fell.
He really would be there to catch her.
ABOUT SELENA KITT
Selena Kitt is a bestselling and award-winning author of erotic and romance fiction. She is one of the highest selling erotic writers in the business with over a million books sold!
Her writing embodies everything from the spicy to the scandalous, but watch out-this kitty also has sharp claws and her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.
When she's not pawing away at her keyboard, Selena runs an innovative publishing company (excessica.com) and in her spare time, she devotes herself to her family—a husband and four children—and her growing organic garden. She does bellydancing and photography, and she loves four poster beds, tattoos, voyeurism, blindfolds, velvet, baby oil, the smell of leather, and playing kitty cat.
Her books EcoErotica (2009), The Real Mother Goose (2010) and Heidi and the Kaiser (2011) were all Epic Award Finalists. Her only gay male romance, Second Chance, won the Epic Award in Erotica in 2011. Her story, Connections, was one of the runners-up for the 2006 Rauxa Prize, given annually to an erotic short story of “exceptional literary quality,” out of over 1,000 nominees, where awards are judged by a select jury and all entries are read “blind” (without author's name available.)
She can be reached on her website at www.selenakitt.com
FORBIDDEN FRUIT
By Selena Kitt
Leah and Erica have been best friends and have gone to the same Catholic school since just about forever. Leah spends so much time with the Nolans—just Erica and her handsome father now, since Erica’s mother died—that she’s practically part of the family. When the girls find something naughty under Mr. Nolan’s bed, their strict, repressive upbringing makes it all the more exciting as they begin their sexual experimentation. Leah’s exploration presses deeper, and eventually she finds herself in love for the first time, torn between her best friend and her best friend’s father.
NOTE TO READERS: This story appeared in another, now rather infamous book of mine (UNDER MR. NOLAN'S BED). This tale was previously released as Plaid Skirt Confessions and is a slightly less naughty, but no less sexy re-telling of those events--updated and redressed for your reading pleasure with an ending that may leave you a little more satisfied.
Warnings: This title contains erotic situations, lesbian sex, sex toys, and also makes mention of pornography, salmon, amusement parks, chocolate covered strawberries, brownies (as well as girl scouts), plaid skirts, naughty uses for confessionals and some sacrilegious humor.
EXCERPT from FORBIDDEN FRUIT:
Erica fell fast asleep that night, but I rolled around on the floor in the sleeping bag, desperately wanting to know if Lucy’s wacky plan had really worked. I hadn’t heard them come up—at least, I thought I hadn’t. But I couldn’t hear them downstairs anymore either. There was no more music, no more throaty laugh.
Had she gone home? Were they sleeping in his bed? The thought made my hands curl into fists, my nails digging into my palms. Finally I couldn’t stand it. I got up and crept toward the bathroom. There was no light in his room. That was a good sign—I hoped.
I turned the bathroom doorknob, easing the door open and reaching for the other door—the one that led to his room. I had to know. I didn’t care if she was there, I just had to know. Okay, that was a lie, I cared, way too much, and I could feel how much in the way my heart pounded in my chest as I turned the knob.
“I’m not in there,” Mr. Nolan whispered, stepping out of the darkness and putting his arm around my waist, pulling me away from the door. I would have screamed in surprise, but his hand went over my mouth. “But that’s not what you want to know, is it?”
I gasped, whirling around in his arms. He must have been sitting on the edge of the tub in the darkness, I reasoned, my heart hammering in my chest.
“What are you doing?” I hissed as he shut the door quietly and turned on the nightlight over the sink.
“Waiting for you.”
I leaned back against the counter, staring up at him. I could see the truth of it on his face, raw and even painful.
“Did she go home?” I whispered, conscious of Erica sleeping in the other room.
He swallowed and shook his head. His eyes were pleading with me, trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t understand. “No. She’s sleeping in my bed.”
“Why?” I felt tears stinging my eyes and I willed them not to fall. “What did I do?”
He sighed, closing his eyes and running a hand through his hair. “Oh Leah. Nothing. Everything. I don’t know.”
“Do you really like her?” I whispered, blinking fast and taking a step toward him. He didn’t move back, and we were almost belly to belly. “Is she…is she what you want?”
He opened his eyes and looked down at me, arms hanging at his sides, head down. He looked defeated. “No.”
“Then why?” I hissed, shoving at his chest with the flat of my palm. “You asked her out again! You cooked her dinner! You slept with her! Why?”
“I don’t know!” He shook his head. “Why did you do what you did? Putting the magazines and videos on my bed? Was it supposed to scare her off?”
I sighed, crossing my arms. “That was Erica’s idea, not mine.”
“Erica?” He frowned.
I shrugged, acting like I didn’t care if he believed me. “This isn’t fair.”
“No,” he admitted, moving forward a little, lifting my chin. “It’s really not.”
“I just want to know why.” I met his eyes. I felt my chin quivering in his hand and tried to stop it, but I couldn’t. “Please just tell me why.”
“You want to know why?” His eyes flashed in the dimness, moving over my face. “Fine, I’ll tell you why. For the same reason I was sitting here at one in the morning, waiting for you.”
I stared up at him, eyes wide.
He shook his head, looking pained. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Leah. Everywhere I go, everything I do, there you are. I can’t get you out of my head.”
My throat and chest tightened at his words and I nodded. I knew exactly how he felt.
“I thought…” He swallowed, his hand moving down my neck, over my shoulder, his gaze following the curve there. “I thought that if I moved on, I could stop this crazy thinking. This feeling I have for you…”
“What feeling?” I pressed against him. “Tell me.”
“Leah…” He whispered my name, using his thumb to rub over my lips. “I took her to bed tonight, yes, I did. I fucked her senseless, until I couldn’t see straight—” His words shot arrows into my heart and I felt the sting of them in my chest. “And every time I closed my eyes, I saw your face.” He pressed me back toward the counter with the weight of his body. “It wasn’t her I was touching or kissing or fucking—it was you, Leah. Every minute I was with her, I was wishing it was you.”
“Oh god.” I reached up and put my arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to mine.
It was like sinking into something dark and warm and soft, the safest place I’d ever been.
SELENA KITT’S OTHER WORKS
NOVELS
A Baumgartner Reunion
Babysitting the Baumgartners
Baumgartner Generations: Henry
Baumgartner Generations: Janie
Bluebeard’s Wife
Heidi and the Kaiser
Letters to the Baumgartners
Naughty Bits (Revised)
The Baumgartners Plus One
The Real Mother Goose
The Song of Orpheus
The Surrender of Persephone
The Sybian Club
Under Mr. Nolan’s Bed (Revised)
Unfolding
SELENA KITT BOX SETS
The Baumgartner Box Set 1
The Baumgartner Box Set 2
Nolan Trilogy Box Set
Myths Behaving Badly Box Set
Menage Box Set
UNDER MR. NOLAN’S BED TRILOGY
Temptation
Confession
Grace
SHORT NOVELS
Blind Date
Escaping Fate
Taken (FREEBIE)
ANTHOLOGIES
Back to the Garden (Revised)
Baumgartner Shorts
Confessions
EcoErotica
Modern Wicked Fairy Tales: The Complete Collection
Quickies
Shivers
Taboo: The Collection
Tickled Pink
STORIES
A Baumgartner Christmas
A Different Angle
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Alice
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Beauty
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Bluebeard
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Briar Rose