“Katelyn, I’m not going to have final numbers for you tonight. Are you staying in town?” Sarah said as the night started to slow down.
“Yes I will be in town.”
“Alright, how about you enjoy a day on the town tomorrow and I’ll call you with the final sales. I will need you to come in and sign some documents before you leave town though.”
“That sounds fine. I am actually booked at the Marriott for two more nights. I wanted to enjoy the city a bit before returning home.”
“Even better. Have a good night and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Sarah took off to talk to another group of people.
“Will we need to bring your pictures home tomorrow?” Chris said.
I was excited that he said we; perhaps that meant he was planning on staying the night with me. It would be fun to have a night in a fancy hotel room with him by my side.
“Oh, I’ll go ask her how many.” I was just about to take off to ask her when Chris grabbed my arm.
“No, I got it, you sit down and rest your feet.”
It was like he was reading my mind. I really couldn’t even argue with him, I quickly sat down and put my feet up on a small table. I wasn’t use to wearing heels so my feet felt like they were literally going to fall right off.
Chapter 26
“So will you be staying the night in Kansas City?” I asked Chris as we walked out of the gallery.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I would need a hotel room and a hot shower. Do you happen to know anywhere I could find those two things?”
“I happen to have a very nice hotel room; I guess you could take a shower and sleep on the couch.” I winked at him.
I grabbed a hold of his arm and held onto him as we walked toward the Marriott hotel. It was a beautiful evening with the stars shining throughout the sky. I couldn’t have asked for a better night or a better first gallery show.
We walked into the hotel like a young couple in love. Chris was telling me something funny about a man at the party and I was giggling and laid my head on his shoulder. The moment felt so naturally and comfortable, I filed it away in my memories. My heart felt big and I really was excited to be getting to know Chris in this new environment.
As we entered the elevator, a young teenage couple also entered. The boy reached out and grabbed the hand of the girl and they both laughed. It was sweet and both Chris and I looked at each other. To be that young and innocent again would be something special for sure. I could still remember how quickly I had fallen in love back then and how hard it was all at the same time. When you are that young, you just don’t understand what true love really is.
The young couple got out of the elevator and Chris quickly pulled me up against him and started to kiss me. I loved the taste of his tongue. It was a combination of red wine and chocolate from the hors d’oeuvres at the party. My tongue moved gently with his as his hands slid up and down my back in a slow and deliberate motion.
When the elevator stopped on our floor, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the hallway where he continued to hold me close to him and kiss me. I felt like a teenager standing in the hallway of the hotel making out. It was such a spontaneous and fun moment.
Our lips continued to explore one another and my body urged him to come closer and closer. I fumbled to find my room key while trying to keep my lips locked with his but finally had to look through my purse.
“What room?” Chris asked.
“1205,” I said as Chris grabbed the key card with one hand and me with the other.
He ran down the hallway pulling me behind him and made quick work of the lock for the door. With one fast motion, he had the door open and both of us inside the room. He started to unzip my dress and it fell to the ground. I stood there totally naked as he looked at me.
The desire in his eyes was intense and I couldn’t look away, although I felt embarrassed to be standing in front of him totally exposed.
“Do you even know how beautiful you are?”
Chris moved toward me and held my face as he kissed me gently. His burst of energy seemed to have died off and he was back to being extremely gentle and sweet. I enjoyed this sweet side of him very much. It was such a contrast to his large muscular body and tough exterior.
I reached up and took his suit jacket off and then started working on the buttons on his dress shirt. The material seemed very expensive and not like anything I could remember feeling before. The suit was definitely tailored and possibly the dress shirt as well, they all fit him perfectly.
Slowly I moved my hands down to his belt and pulled it off. I could feel his hips thrust toward me in desire. He wanted me to go farther; he wanted me to unzip his pants. Instead, I let my hand rub up against his cock through the outside of his pants. His hips moved in motion with my hand and he wanted my hand on him. I could feel him urging me to pull his cock out.
I pulled him out and quickly slid down to my knees and took him into my mouth. His moan of pleasure urged me to take him deeper inside of me. My mouth moved in rhythm with his hip motion as I reached up and let my hand help with the stroking of his cock. My lips and hand moved deep down his shaft and then all the way back up to the tip. Slowly and deliberately I used pressure and motion to bring him close to climax. So close that I could feel the tiny bit of pre-excitement on my tongue. It gave me the warning to stop stroking him and let his body calm down.
He didn’t like that at all. Chris grabbed me and pulled me up so I was standing. His lips met mine in a harsh thrust of desire and I knew he wanted to fuck me. I could feel his urge to turn me over the bed and just slide inside. But he didn’t. His kissing slowed down to a more intimate speed and he sat down on the bed, pulling me down with him.
Chris let his hands move and explore the touch of my body while his lips continued to play with mine. One of his hands came up and slid my nipple between his fingers. I let out a moan of agreement with his move; I loved the feeling of his hands on my body. He didn’t muffle my moans this time and seemed to press me to moan more as his fingers rolled and twisted my nipple between the tips.
I lay back on the bed and I tried to pull him on top of me. I wanted to feel him thrusting inside of me. I wanted to feel the explosion of ecstasy, but he would not give it to me. Instead, he relished the ability to build up my excitement. His hands were gentle and moved with a light touch over my skin. I could feel goosebumps form as he was intent on making my pleasure last as long as possible.
We spent over an hour kissing and fondling each other before Chris mounted me and slid inside. Our bodies were sweaty from our make out session and it brought another level excitement to the evening, at least for me it did. I loved feeling his muscles under a layer of sweat. It felt good to know even a man in such great shape could be made to sweat from touching my body. As our bodies moved in motion with each other, I felt a closer connection to Chris than I had even a few days before. I was starting to have feelings for him and that wasn’t a good thing. I really knew nothing about him.
We both collapsed from orgasmic pleasure, I felt the exhaustion of the night overwhelm me. It only took a moment and I had fallen asleep, tucked close up against Chris and feeling happier than I had in months.
Chapter 27
The next morning I was awoken by the hotel phone ringing. It startled me and took me a few seconds to figure out where I was. I let my hand slide across the bed and felt Chris and that helped me figure out where I was.
“Katelyn, you sold all of your photos!” Sarah said as loud as I think she could have possibly said it.
“What? All of them? There is no way!” I said as I sat up in the bed.
“Yep, you did. And there was a bidding war over the picture from the woods. It sold for over twenty thousand dollars.”
“Holy fucking shit!” I stood up and went to the hotel window.
“Yeah, everyone was asking when you will have another show and if you have any other work. Do you have other photos ready?”
&nb
sp; “Hell no! I don’t have anything else ready. I mean I have millions of photos, but it took me months just to find those pictures. I can go through my stuff and see if there is anything else I like.”
“That would be great. I’d love to do another show with you whenever you are ready.”
We hung up and I stood at the window looking over Kansas City. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe I had sold all my photos. I couldn’t believe how much money they had sold for. It was a dream come true. A dream that I had not dared to actually let myself dream of before that very moment. My life had never been a fairy tale and that was alright with me.
“You do know you’re naked standing in front of a window right?” Chris said as he started to stir in the bed.
“Well, Kansas City will just have to deal with my nakedness.”
“I don’t think anyone will mind. So that was good news about your show?”
“Yes, great news. I sold everything. Can you believe that?”
“Yes.”
He said it so quickly and so confidently that I couldn’t help but hug him. It felt so great to have someone to share that moment with. It also felt really good to be around someone who had such an intense ability to calm me.
“I just can’t believe it. One of the pictures went for over twenty thousand dollars. That is so insane to me.”
“Which one?”
“The one of the moon through the woods. It was the one I took the night you had to carry me home.” I laughed just thinking about it. I didn’t add that it was also the night that he carried me up the stairs to my bedroom. I didn’t add that it was the first night I had been with a man since losing Michael. I also didn’t add that the night was a memory that was still firmly embedded in my mind.
“Hmmm I remember that night very well,” Chris said as he kissed me.
He headed over to the phone and stood there naked while he dialed a number. It was impossible not to enjoy watching his body. Especially while he was standing there naked in front of me. I knew he had a lot of muscles, but seeing him in all of his glory it just made me want to try something new.
“Yes, we are in room 1205. We need strawberries and champagne, please.”
“What? It’s eight o’clock in the morning. Are you crazy?” I said as I grabbed a t-shirt from my suitcase and a pair of shorts and put them on.
“It’s never too early to have a celebration. But yes I could possibly be crazy.”
His smile hid something very interesting and I loved how he winked right after saying the word crazy. I certainly didn’t think he was crazy, but I did really want to know more about him. There had to be more to him than a ripped muscular body that always rescued me from situations.
“Well I’m only going to have one glass, I want to get home and get to my own bed this afternoon. I’m exhausted. Someone kept me up most of the night.” I jokingly pushed Chris toward the wall.
“Who would do that? It must have been a crazy man.” Chris winked at me again. He pulled me close to him and I let my head rest on his chest. Feeling his arms wrapped around me made me feel so safe. Like no one and nothing in the entire world could ever harm me. I liked that feeling and I liked Chris’ arms wrapped around me.
When the champagne came, Chris popped the cork and poured us a couple of glasses. It was the first time I had actually tasted champagne and it was delicious. I didn’t stop at one glass and was soon lying in bed drinking my third or fourth glass and eating a giant strawberry, with Chris sitting right next to me. It was by far one of the best celebrations I had ever had. The simplicity of it made it perfect.
Luckily Chris had only one glass of champagne and was able to drive us around Kansas City on a little sightseeing tour while I relaxed. We went downtown and even drove past the Royals baseball stadium. I wasn’t a particularly big fan of baseball, but it was neat to see the big stadium.
Around five in the evening, we went back to the hotel to gather our things and head home for the night. I felt comfortable with driving by then and I really did want to sleep in my own bed. I wanted Chris to sleep with me in that bed too, but I would have to work on that idea when we got back to Bain.
Chapter 28
I followed Chris for the whole drive back to town and I felt like he was purposely driving slowly. Otherwise, he drives like an old lady. I had always been a slower driver, but since we were just getting started I would have driven faster to keep up with him. After following him to the airport the other day though, I knew he typically was not so cautious and probably was just driving slow for me. It made me smile to think that he was thinking about me on his drive back to town.
When we both parked our cars in our garages, we met in between them to say goodnight. It was almost midnight and I was exhausted. I certainly knew I would be asleep in only a few minutes after I got to bed.
“Well goodnight,” Chris said as he hugged me.
“Night.” I turned to walk back to my house but then stopped to look at him. “Do you want to come over?”
He didn’t hesitate at all and was standing right next to me within three seconds. His enthusiasm over the invitation to come visit my house was really exciting to him.
“I think that’s a perfect idea,” Chris said as we walked into my house.
“I don’t know how exciting and fun I’ll be, I’m pretty tired.”
“Well, I would be happy to just lay next to you for the night.”
And that is exactly what we did. Both of us were so tired, we lay down on the bed and fell asleep on top of the covers, fully dressed, our bodies on top of the comforter and fully dressed in our shorts and t-shirts from the night before. It was the first time I was going to bed with Chris without having sex. That wasn’t something I had even thought about after our first meeting. But now I was starting to get closer to him and this was just one more step in that direction.
Somewhere in the middle of the night Chris and I moved under the covers because the draft from the old house was just too much. It was nice to fall asleep next to Chris. The feeling of being next to him made it so much easier for me to actually get some sleep. Just before dawn I woke up to Chris peering out the window at his house. He was hiding from someone and just barely had the blinds open.
“What’s going on?” I said as I got up from the bed, still dressed in my shorts and t-shirt from the day before.
“I think someone is in my house.”
I came close and was about to look through the blinds, but Chris grabbed my hand.
“Let me see. What is going on? Why would someone be in your house?”
Chris just ignored my questions and dialed a number on his phone. I thought it would be 911 to have someone come and investigate. Although, living in Bain meant the nearest Sheriff or police officer could be a half an hour away. There just was not a need to have more than a couple officers on duty in the county at any one time.
“They are here. How fast can you get here?” Chris said to someone on his phone.
“Who is here?” I said as I went to the other window to try and look out.
I continued to keep the curtains closed to prevent the people at Chris’ house from seeing that I was watching them. He was right, there were people in his house. I could see the curtains moving, just like the other day when I thought I saw someone in there.
“While you were gone I thought I saw someone in your house. I came into my house and waited to see if I saw the movement again, but I did not.”
“What day?”
“I think it was the night you left town.”
“Alright.”
Chris went back to talking to the people on his phone. I couldn’t make out everything he was saying, but it sounded like he was trying to get them to come to his house.
“If their team could help out today that would be great. Send them down as soon as possible.”
I stood at the window and continued to look between Chris and his house. I didn’t know what was going on, but I could see the tension and ch
ange in Chris and I felt like there was something pretty dangerous about to go down.
“I need you to trust me. Do you trust me Katelyn?” Chris said intently.
“Yes.”
“I need you to get into the closet and not to come out. Even if you hear something horrible. Even if it’s been thirty minutes and you haven’t heard from me. I need you to stay in the closet until I come back for you. Can you do that?”
I looked at him and tried to take in everything he was saying. I hadn’t hid in a closet since I was in elementary school. What could possibly be going on that it would be necessary for me to hide in my closet? I didn’t see why I couldn’t just stay in my room. Certainly the people robbing his house weren’t going to come over to my house. Or at least that’s what I thought.
“Katelyn, this is serious. Pay attention. Can you get in the closet please?”
Chris guided me to the closet and moved some things out of the way. He had me climb in to the way back and then he put the items in front of me.
“How long do I need to stay here?”
“Until I come for you.”
“Alright.”
I could hear Chris moving something around and then he left my room. It was hot and stuffy in the closet but I tried to stay put for as long as possible. Unfortunately that only lasted about sixty seconds and I was up and looking out the window at Chris’ house again.
I had never been very good at listening as a child and was horrible at hide and seek. I just had to see what was going on with Chris, there was no physical way possible that I could sit at home and watch the coverage of the event from my bedroom. I could hardly see anything from there.
Slowly I made my way down the stairs and toward the front door.
Chapter 29
I watched Chris leave my house and slowly make his way toward the front door of his own house. He really did look like some sort of professional police officer or military man. His eyes were focused and there wasn’t anything that could distract him.
Secrets (A Standalone Novel) (A Suspense Romance) Page 8