For Kaitlyn's Sake

by Dani Criss

  “You can have me, Katie, honey. Right here. Right now. Like this.”

  Her breath caught. This was something he’d never done before, Kaitlyn thought dimly. He’d always set the pace, had always taken charge. She eyed him questioningly.

  He nodded. “You do it this time. You lead.”

  He moved slightly, silently guiding her hips into position. Then he slid inside her. Kaitlyn gasped as he filled her, felt the world tilt and spin. She heard Jake’s sharply in-drawn breath and knew that he’d felt it, too.

  Slowly she moved her hips and felt Jake grip her waist. Intoxicated with this power she had over him, she set the rhythm, designing every movement to heighten the intense pleasure for both of them. She loved each of his throaty groans, loved watching his eyes darken as his need increased.

  Somewhere in the deep recesses of what mind he had left, Jake knew Katie was enthralled with her newfound power and the knowledge made him even harder still. There was something very captivating about letting her take charge of their lovemaking. About letting her learn that she could set him on fire as thoroughly as he could her. He might have created a monster, but it was one he would relish submitting to again and again.

  She moved above him to the rhythm she created, taking and giving pleasure—exquisite pleasure. The sensations built and grew. Jake could hardly breathe, could hardly think. He closed his eyes and savored what she was doing to him, the way she moved, the way she moaned deep in the back of her throat.

  Then he had to see her. He opened his eyes to take in the sight of her above him. She was beautiful, her skin creamy and glossy with the fine sheen of perspiration. He took her lovely breasts in his hands, caressing and stroking them, feeling the nipples under his rough fingertips. She moaned again—a sound he would never get enough of.

  Little by little she quickened the pace, until his thoughts scattered into a million disjointed fragments. He could only feel. Feel the exquisite pleasure rip through him time after time. They both breathed in short gasps.

  Hand high on her back, he urged her to lean closer to him. Her breasts brushed his chest with every motion. Her hair fell across her lovely shoulders, a cascade of red and gold. The dawn light shimmered through the strands and over her silky skin. Her heart beat a racing staccato against his chest.

  Passion consumed Kaitlyn. She was mindless with need. Ravaged with it, by it. She took him inside, deeper and deeper, pushing him faster and faster until she felt the explosion of her own climax. She cried out his name and he wrapped his arms around her, driving into her one final time.

  Kaitlyn lay limp on top of him, careful to avoid hurting his wounded shoulder. She had to work to slow her rapid breathing. Her heart continued to beat frantically, and under her cheek she could feel Jake’s pulse drumming wildly.

  This time was even better than she’d imagined, the sensations stronger and more consuming. She wanted to experience the thrill of loving him again and again.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t have...” she began, seeing the lines of fatigue and pain on his face. “I mean, perhaps it was too soon. Your shoulder...”

  “Is fine,” he said, tugging her closer until his breath fanned her face. “You did most of the work, after all. And what a wonderful job you did.”

  Irrationally, she felt herself blush at his praise. “But, Jake, we could have hurt—”

  He ran his hand over her shoulder and down her back, sending delicious shivers cascading along her spine. “Honey, if there’d been any danger of that, I would have told you. What is it you’re really worried about?”

  She raised her head to peer into his eyes. There was so much concern there, so much tenderness. Where was that domineering brute she used to fight with so often?

  “I don’t know,” she told him. “It’s just that this—making love with you again—was so wonderful....”

  “It was incredible. Better than ever before.”

  “It was,” she agreed, then breathed deeply, searching for the right words. “Almost too good to be real.”

  “It’s real, all right,” Jake said, wrapping his one arm around her and holding her close to his side. “I felt you. You were hot and tight and you felt so damn good.” He kissed her forehead. “You aren’t trying to say you regret—”

  “No, never.” She raised up on one elbow and gazed down at him. “Never,” she insisted, laying her hand along his roughened jaw.

  Jake was relieved. “Then you’re not upset?”

  She smiled at him, the grin full of sexual satisfaction. “I’m very content, in fact.”

  “Very?” he asked, an answering grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Let’s try for completely.”

  With that he eased her back onto the bed, then leaned over her. Her eyes widened as she realized his intent. Starting with her slender shoulders, he skimmed his fingertips over her skin in a pattern of tiny circles, over and over until he heard her breath snag yet again. Then he moved to her collarbone and slowly toward the hollow between her breasts. Her eyes closed as he traced the outer edge and with deliberate slowness worked his way to her nipples. She bit her bottom lip as he brushed his fingers over the sensitive peaks.

  Kaitlyn struggled to breathe as the sweet torture continued, first his fingers, then his tongue. Ripples of renewed longing raced through her with each tender stroke. She wound one hand through his thick hair and held on.

  “You still like that?” he asked against her breast.

  “Oh, yes,” she whispered.

  He remembered, she thought with what little mind she had left. Five years and he hadn’t forgotten that detail. Hadn’t forgotten any detail of making love to her, she realized as his hand slid across her abdomen and settled between her thighs.

  “Jake,” she cried out as he found the warm wetness there. Her legs parted and he began to stroke her in that most intimate caress. She struggled to keep from crying out again as he gradually quickened his pace.

  In a slower rhythm, he flicked his tongue over her nipple, sending another set of seductive sensations coursing through her. Her back arched and she knew he realized she was completely lost in the sensations he was creating. As she reached the highest peak, he kissed her, drinking in her sharp cry of pleasure. When she lay limp beside him, he nuzzled her neck.

  “I love doing that to you,” he said, his breath warm on her skin.

  “Imagine how I feel.” There weren’t words powerful enough, emotional enough, to describe all that she felt when he touched her that magnificent way. She could still feel the pleasure he gave her, coursing through her body.

  “I know exactly how you feel,” he said. “It’s what you do to me.”

  Looking into his eyes, she knew they shared the same experience, the same emotions, when they made love. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him tenderly, then passionately as need built again. The taste of him made her crave so much more. She didn’t want to wait.

  “I want you again,” she told him.

  She caught his hip and tried to ease him between her legs. Taking his time to draw out the waiting, he slowly situated himself over her. He kissed her, letting her taste his passion and need for her. Then he pressed himself against her wetness.

  Jake watched her face as he entered her again. Her eyes darkened, nearly glazed over as all her being focused on him and how he felt inside her. Her hand tightened on his hip. Then, as she caught her breath, she moved beneath him, silently urging him to begin that primitive rhythm. He followed her lead, deciding it was very erotic giving Katie this bit of power.

  Never had he felt so alive as when he made love to her. Never had his senses been so acute. When she gently nipped his chest, every nerve ending in his body sang. He could feel every satiny inch of her beneath him. Her longs legs wrapped around him, holding him her willing prisoner.

  When he felt her tighten around him, he pushed her to the summit, then gently nudged her over the top. As she sighed her satisfaction, he moved within her, quickly bringing her to the
top again. This time when she went over, he fell with her, floating languidly back to earth wrapped in her loving embrace.

  Kaitlyn buried her face in his chest. Each time they made love would be different. It would never be mundane, even if she made love with him a million times. And right this moment, she felt as if a million times would not be near enough to satisfy her need for him.

  No one could satisfy her as he did. No one could be as thoughtful, as caring and tender. She lay beneath him, absorbing the feel of his weight on her. His hair lightly tickled her skin. His warm breath fanned the side of her face and the column of her neck.

  “Jake,” she said softly.

  He breathed deeply. “Hmm?” he managed to inquire, his voice barely strong enough to be heard.

  Kaitlyn realized he was falling asleep. She’d taxed his strength, she thought guiltily, but then recalled that he’d been an active participant in their lovemaking.

  “Jake, lie down here,” she whispered. “You need to rest.”

  Reluctantly and slowly, he did as she commanded, settling beside her and reaching for the sheet, all without opening his eyes. She caught the corner of the sheet and pulled it over him.

  “Do you need a pain pill?” she asked. He was clearly drifting off to slumber land, but she didn’t want him to awaken in a few minutes with his shoulder in agony.

  He shook his head slightly, then reached for her. “Sleep with me,” he said.

  Kaitlyn settled beside him, carefully shifting his arm across her ribs to a comfortable position. She closed her eyes, but soon discerned she was feeling way too much to sleep.

  She and Jake had made love again. Wild, passionate, fantastic love. He’d been so wonderfully tender—as always. So hungry for her. He’d set her on fire with his need, had ignited her own with his passion. That would never change, she realized. Whenever they came together, it would be this way.

  And now that she’d found this magic with him again, she would only want him more and more, would need to experience these heights, this rapture, again and again. No one else could take her to the places he could. No one else could satisfy her so completely, leave her weak, yet ready for more. With one touch, one smoldering look, he could make her want him. It was that easy. That quick. That intense.

  But now it would become difficult to think with her head and not only with her heart. She hoped she would be up to the task.

  Realizing how completely she’d let her heart call the shots, she felt traces of worry begin to creep in. What would the future hold for the two of them? How would they deal with each other now that they’d become lovers again? Would the past repeat itself?

  Jake was strong willed and had a definite inclination to take over. He wanted a woman he could take care of. That wouldn’t change. Now that he thought she was his, the tendency to dominate and overprotect might be stronger than ever. The challenge would be to maintain her own strength and independence. Could she do it?

  She would have to be on her guard. Jake had warned her there would be no going back to being just friends, and in truth, she didn’t want to go back.

  But the past was very fresh in her mind.

  Jake awoke, his shoulder throbbing. Memories of his moments of ecstasy with Kaitlyn, moments when he’d felt only her touch and the power of their passion, were clouded with the pain.

  But Katie was lying beside him, curled on her side, her back against his chest. They’d made love again and it had been even better than before, she doing everything in her power to drive him wild and he returning her wondrous gift. She’d given herself to him completely, holding nothing back.

  She was his now, body and soul. His to treasure and take care of. Nothing could diminish the pleasure that knowledge gave him. He loved her, he realized with certainty. The thought didn’t surprise him. He knew now that all those long years apart, he’d never really stopped loving her, never stopped longing for her. And he never would.

  He peeled back the sheet and eased his legs over the side of the bed, carefully, so as not to disturb Katie. She needed the sleep and he felt a surge of satisfaction to think his lovemaking had provided her this rest.

  Not bothering with underwear, he went to the kitchen in search of the medication they’d given him at the hospital. He found the plastic bag on the counter and, after a brief struggle, got the pill out of the foil wrapper.

  Food, he thought, swallowing the white tablet. What he really wanted was a thick steak with all the trimmings, but staring into the near-empty fridge, he decided he would have to make do with peanut butter. He’d intended a trip to the grocery store last night, but had fallen asleep.

  Getting the lid off the jar was a snap compared with spreading the sticky stuff on a slice of bread, especially for a left-hander with a wounded left shoulder. The bread bunched and tore under the knife. He looked at the finished product, which amounted to several wads of peanut butter and bread, but he was just famished enough to eat them, then wash them down with a glass of milk.

  Still starving, he decided to order a large pizza with everything and hoped he could last the thirty minutes until it arrived. Meanwhile, he figured he ought to put on some clothes. He shuffled back to the bedroom and tiptoed around the dog as he gathered his briefs and slacks. He went around to the other side of the bed to sit and pull on the briefs, unintentionally groaning at the added pain the movement caused.

  Katie rolled over and stared at him. “Jake? What are you doing?”

  “I’m on a mission for nourishment,” he said, then explained about the pizza and his need to be decently clothed when the delivery person arrived.

  Yawning, she scrambled across the bed to help him into his briefs. She draped his slacks over the bed, though, saying she would answer the door. Jake grabbed the pants and insisted she help him get into them.

  “You will not answer the door,” he maintained despite her protest. “I told Max and Dallas they didn’t need to hang around after about ten o’clock this morning. It’s now nearly one.”

  “What are you going to do?” she grumbled, easing his arm into the sling and fastening it around his neck. “Answer the door with money in one hand and a gun in the other?” He would scare the pizza delivery kid to death, she thought.

  “Whatever it takes.” He caught her and tugged her onto his lap, then nuzzled her neck, inhaling the scent of her until he heard her quiet sigh. “You told me that if things got ugly, you would follow my instructions without question,” he reminded her.

  This was about as ugly as the situation could get, Kaitlyn thought, with Jake being stabbed frighteningly close to his heart.

  “My wounded warrior,” she whispered, gently kissing his ear. “You’re injured, but still your first thought is protecting me.”

  “It always will be, Katie.”

  His mouth found hers, the kiss tender and full of promise. Warm and lazy, his tongue traced her lower lip until she granted him entrance. He teased and tested, tasting ever so slowly. The fire built slow, but strong, the heat coursing through her body and settling at the center of her being.

  Carefully she wrapped one arm around his neck as he reached under her T-shirt to hold her breast in his hand. The warmth of his palm flowed over her skin. A wave of sensations rocketed through her as he stroked her taut nipple.

  She arched closer to him, moaning for more. He drank in the sound, his mouth hungry and demanding. When his other hand slid down her back and came to rest on her hip, she felt herself melting against him.

  “Katie,” he said, his breathing already sounding ragged. “I want you all over again. I swear, I’ll never get enough of you.”

  She wound her fingers through the hair on his chest, knowing she would never get her fill of him, either. He could make her weak with need so easily.

  Suddenly she was a little afraid of this power he would always have over her. She swallowed past the lump in her throat

  “Your pizza,” she said, carefully working out of his embrace, snatching up her jean short
s, then pulling them on.

  He didn’t say anything as she helped him into his khaki slacks, but she could feel his gaze on her, searching and determined. In the kitchen she made him sit while she cleaned up the small mess he’d made with the peanut butter and milk, all the while avoiding his gaze as she wiped down the countertop and set his empty glass and dirty knife in the sink.

  Her hand trembled with her nervousness. She hoped he didn’t notice. She wouldn’t hurt him for the world. How could she tell him that she was worried about the future, their future, together? How could she make him understand her fears? She didn’t regret their lovemaking, but where did they go from here?

  She didn’t like uncertainty. That was it. With the two of them there were so many unknowns. No one could anticipate all the problems. This time, if it were to fall apart between them, leaving him would be much more painful than before....

  “You may as well get it out in the open,” Jake said, his deep voice holding a hint of resignation.

  She whirled around, towel in her hand. “What do you mean?” she asked, her mind racing for a way to postpone the conversation.

  “Whatever is bothering you. I’m not letting you continue to stew about it the way I used to. Let’s get it out in the open and discuss it.”

  She could feel the first bead of perspiration pop out on her forehead. Her thoughts were still a jumble. She needed time to sort them out. How could she tell him how she felt, when she couldn’t admit it to herself?

  “Katie...”

  He held out his arm and she slowly went to him, looking down into those dark eyes of his, reading his tenderness—and his determination.

  “It’s just...” she began, pausing for a deep breath. “Just that I...was wondering where we go from here.”

  “Where would you like to go?” he asked softly. When she didn’t reply, he sighed. “Katie, you’re remembering the past, aren’t you?”

  She nodded.

  “This time is different. We’re different,” he insisted. “We’ve been able to work out all the problems we’ve come across.”

  “Because of the danger. What happens when our lives aren’t in jeopardy and we have to deal with things like where we’ll live, and whose furniture will go and whose will stay, and how late I work at the office in the evenings?”