His head lifted and his mouth fastened on hers again as his hands went to the button of her jeans. It released with a soft pop and the zipper hissed down. Hooking his fingers into the waistband, he pulled, and Kathleen released her legs’ grip around his waist so he could shuck them off entirely. Sitting up, Kathleen sought his kisses again while her own hands reached for his belt buckle.

  “Wait. One second,” he said, and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a condom packet.

  “Is that the famous one condom?”

  “None other.”

  Kathleen laughed. “Let’s ruin it.”

  An electrical storm raged through Russell’s nerves. He had never felt this sort of abandoned recklessness before, but Kathleen’s responses were only making him wilder, urging him to play the part of the demanding, relentless lover.

  He never thought he had it in him.

  Kathleen took the condom packet from him as he kicked off his shoes and pulled off his jeans and boxer briefs.

  “Are you ready?” he asked, kissing her neck in the way he had learned made her shiver deliciously.

  “Are you kidding?” Her voice was a thread.

  “I’d never kid about that.” His hand swept down over her belly, skimming over her clit and then dipping into her. Soft, wet heat surrounded his finger, and his lips tugged into a smile.

  “I thought you wanted me on top,” she said, looking up at him with heavy-lidded eyes and then down where his finger was still pulsing gently into her, curling upwards with each pull.

  “So I do.” Pulling his finger out, he climbed onto the bed and pulled her to straddle his lap, his dick sandwiched between them. She squirmed, but he held her in place, hands on her hips. “One more kiss.”

  “Just one?”

  “For now.”

  She leaned into him, lips teasing softly at his mouth. The light touches made the storm rage in him again. Spearing his fingers into her hair he held her head and kissed her deeply, their tongues sliding against each other. Kathleen groaned and pulled away, reaching for the condom packet that had dropped onto the coverlet. With quick fingers, she ripped it open and rolled it on, her lips curling wickedly.

  “Not so hasty, there, Irish.” Russell grasped her wrists and held them at her sides. Her pupils flared and her hips shifted to press against him. He tightened his grip, her quick hiss of breath making him realize he was actually restraining her. Appalled, he released her, settling his palms on her hips instead and closing his eyes, trying to contain his racing thoughts.

  “It’s okay. We can play that way.” Her breath was a warm tickle in his ear and her fingers slid over his, pulling his hands behind her waist, then releasing him and crossing her wrists at her lower back. He wrapped one hand loosely around both of her wrists, encouraging her to rise higher on her knees and using his other hand to position his now-insistent erection to enter her as she slid back down.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, opening his eyes, and she nodded as her hips began to move in slow, steady strokes, teasing and intensifying his desire. His grip on her hands arched her back. He pulled harder, making her soft breasts push towards him. He captured one nipple as she moved, sucking and teasing with his tongue. She moaned and her hips rolled more quickly. His grip tightened on her wrists, pulling her down harder onto his cock. She swiveled, grinding down on to him.

  “God. Kathleen.” He was so close already. Reaching between them, he rubbed her clit and sucked on her nipple, dragging his teeth across the tight peak and then soothing with a soft tongue when she cried out.

  Her hips were jerking swiftly now, in time to the movements of his fingers. Her thighs trembled and her breath came in swift pants until she squeezed around him and let out a shuddering, breathy wail, her head thrown back, the tips of her hair brushing the hand that still held her wrists.

  “Stay with me,” he said, cupping the back of her head with his free hand and thrusting upward. She rocked her hips in time with his, her eyes closed, a crease of concentration between her brows. His breath caught as release rushed through him and he pushed into her with a groan, his forehead coming to rest on the pillow, his entire being shattered and remade in the same shuddering breath.

  Kathleen blinked, feeling dazed and loopy. Russell’s head lifted, his eyes scanning her face. She pulled her hands from his loosened grasp to cup his cheeks and kiss him softly.

  “That was…”

  “Okay?”

  “Amazing.”

  “Really?” His expression was anxious.

  “Not a word of a lie.” Kathleen lifted herself off him and lay back on the bed while he went into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. When he returned, she inched over, patting the space beside her. “Come here.”

  He passed a hand over his face as he lay down beside her, his movements careful. “I’ve…never done anything like that. I don’t know what to think.”

  “Did you enjoy it?”

  He looked down. “Yes.” He said it as if the admission brought him shame.

  Placing a finger under his chin, she tipped his head back up. She could get lost in the sincerity of those dark brown eyes. “Good. Because I did too.”

  “That wasn’t…I mean, I don’t usually…” His hand waved in the air and Kathleen captured it with her own, bringing his palm to her lips.

  “You do know that I wanted you to do what you did, right?” she murmured against his skin.

  “I guess so, but…it still doesn’t feel quite right.”

  “Is part of what worries you that you enjoyed it even though it felt wrong, somehow?”

  He cupped her cheek in his hand. “Maybe.”

  “Well, if you feel dirty, maybe we should christen that bathtub…” She sat up, his gaze following her.

  “You’re seriously okay?” he asked.

  “More than okay. Come on.” Interlacing her fingers into his, she tugged him upright and into the bathroom, plugging the tub and turning on the tap. As the water rose, she turned back to him, placing her hands gently on his chest and looking at him with a direct, sincere gaze.

  “There was nothing wrong with what we did.”

  “Then why do I feel like I did something I shouldn’t have?”

  “Do you think somewhere deep down I wasn’t on board?”

  He seemed to mull this over. “No. I believe you when you say you enjoyed it.”

  “And you did too. So what’s the problem?”

  “Your logic is impeccable. I just…”

  “Need some time?”

  He took a deep breath in and held it for a few seconds, letting it out slowly. “Maybe.”

  “Well, get in the tub. We’ll see if we can relax some of this mindset out of you.”

  He climbed in, resting his back against the porcelain. Kathleen got in after him, settling herself between his legs and leaning against his broad chest. As the water rose, she took one of his hands in hers, spreading his fingers and resting her palm against his. His clever musician’s fingers were much longer than hers and she smiled to herself, remembering them wrapped around her wrists. His other hand dipped into the water, drawing it up her side and tracing her breast, warm water trickling across her skin. She tipped her head back to look up at him.

  “Would it help you to know that what we did wouldn’t have turned me on if you hadn’t been the careful, good guy you are?” she asked.

  He leaned to one side and looked at her face. “What do you mean?”

  She shrugged, still playing with his hand. “If you were a naturally domineering man, someone who ran roughshod over people, what we did wouldn’t have been thrilling. It might even have been scary. But because I knew I could trust you…it was hot instead.”

  Something shifted in Russell’s brain. Everything she said was making sense, but this was the first thing that got past his reflexive rejection of what they had just done.

  No. What he had done.

  Her head tilted back to rest on his shoulder. “What’s going on in there?” She reached back to tap his temple with a wet finger.

  “I’m trying to take responsibility for something I didn’t ever think I’d do.”

  “I was present and participating too.”

  “Yes, but…”

  “Who put your hands back on my wrists after you pulled them away?”

  He paused as she stretched one leg out and turned off the tap with her toes. After the rushing sound of the water, the slow residual drips sounded loud echoing off the tile.

  “You did.”

  “You weren’t forcing anything. You weren’t taking anything.”

  Guilt growled up inside him. “It felt like I was.”

  “You were only taking what I was giving willingly. We were giving each other pleasure.”

  “If you say so.”

  Her fingernails trailed down his thighs. “You didn’t feel me come?”

  The image of her, shaking and squeezing him, flushed from the top of her forehead down to her breasts as she came apart filled his mind and his dick stirred.

  “Hm. I thought so,” she said, shifting her bottom to acknowledge his physical response.

  “How did you get so…” He groped for words to finish the thought.

  “…So okay with an incredibly mild not-even-close-to-kink for a nice Catholic girl?”

  An involuntary bark of laughter shot out of him and she half turned to give him a mischievous glance. “Yeah. If you want to put it that way, I guess,” he said.

  She settled back against his chest, a warm, welcome armful in the hot water. “Therapy. Lots and lots of therapy.”

  “I see.” Running his hands up her belly, he cupped her breasts, savoring their soft weight in the water. “I want to be good to you.”

  She sighed gently, relaxing further into him. “You are being good to me. I’m enjoying myself…so much.” The pause made him wonder if she had been about to say something else.

  “I’m glad.” He slid one hand lower, down her belly and over the strip of pubic hair to caress her clit. “I love making you feel good.”

  “And you do it so well.” Her voice was a low purr.

  “Your pleasure is my pleasure.”

  Her breath hitched as he tugged at the hood of her clit. “Your pleasure is currently my lumbar support.”

  He pinched her nipple with his other hand. “Saucy wench.”

  “I think you like me that way.” She gasped as his finger picked up speed.

  “You know I do.” Tilting his head to the side, he ran his tongue around the edge of her ear, tightening his hand on her breast as she moaned and writhed against him, her undulations increasing the delicious ache in his dick. He bit gently on her earlobe as she inhaled on a hoarse gasp, tense and shuddering, hands slapping into the water. Pressing two fingers to her still throbbing clit, he smiled to himself as she slowly eased back against him.

  “I feel like I should be doing something about that lumbar support,” she said, her voice drowsy.

  “Later,” he said. “I like you like this, all relaxed and sated.”

  “Sated. My satyr has sated me.” She chuckled and grew more and more relaxed, her body resting against his, breathing deeply.

  She was asleep.

  Chapter 14

  Kathleen woke up with a shiver before she realized she had even been asleep.

  “Rise and shine.” Russell’s voice rumbled through her back where it rested against his chest.

  “Oh my God.” Kathleen pressed her palms against the heat rising in her cheeks, chilly water running down her arms. “How did I fall asleep? How long have I been asleep?”

  “Not that long.”

  “Long enough for the water to get cool,” she said, repressing another shiver.

  “It’s refreshing.”

  “It’s freezing. I feel like an ass.”

  “Don’t. I took it as a compliment that I was able to get you that relaxed.” He moved her hair aside, the ends streaming with water, and kissed the side of her neck, giving her an entirely different kind of shiver. “Besides, it gave me some time to think.”

  “Think about what?” Second thoughts about this extra time together? Letting her down easy and hightailing it back to D.C. before things went any further?

  “What we had talked about. Play. Role-playing. I’d never really thought about sex as anything other than straightforward.”

  “What do you mean? We didn’t do anything…crooked.” She wanted to turn and confront him but wasn’t brave enough.

  “That’s not what I mean. Here, get out of this tub before you turn into a popsicle. We both know I’m the one who generates all the heat.” He held her hand as she got to her feet, rising with her and supporting her as she stepped out of the big tub. She grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around her, handing him another one as he got out and pulled the plug. Instead of drying himself, he merely wrapped the terrycloth around his hips and drew her towel around her shoulders, rubbing gently, bringing warmth back into her arms.

  “You’re too sweet to me,” she said, luxuriating in the attention and heat.

  “I’m enjoying myself.” Crouching down, he ran the towel across her belly, then down each leg. Finally, he wrapped it around her and massaged her butt. “Dry now?”

  No longer chilly, her body had already started responding to his caresses. “In a manner of speaking.” She suppressed a laugh when she saw understanding flare in his eyes.

  “Minx. You have confused, excited, confounded, and intellectually stimulated me all in a single afternoon. You’re going to have to save any more for now, because I am starving.”

  Until he said it, Kathleen hadn’t realized her belly was hollow and aching. “I guess we ate a late breakfast and that was it.”

  “Therefore, an early dinner and…early to bed.”

  “That sounds like an excellent plan.”

  “Glad you like it.”

  “Are we eating here?”

  “Unless you want to go somewhere else. The woman at the desk told me that the dining room isn’t usually as formal as it was for the wedding, so feel free to get comfortable.”

  Kathleen wrapped the towel under her armpits, tucked the end in, and padded into the bedroom. After a quick rummage in her suitcase, she pulled out a silky pair of pants and a loose top, tossing them on the bed, together with a bra and a pair of underpants. Unwinding the towel, she blotted the damp ends of her hair and pulled on her clothes. A quick look in the mirror as she slid her feet into ballet flats showed her outfit to be nothing special. Nonetheless, her lips curved as Russell, dressed in an open collared shirt and fine wool trousers, fitted himself behind her, sliding his hands across her belly.

  “Beautiful,” he said. “Let’s go eat.”

  Russell interlaced his fingers into Kathleen’s as they reached the staircase, satisfaction welling up in him as they sauntered down together. Kathleen gave him a cheeky glance as if she could read his thoughts.

  He wasn’t sure he could read his own thoughts. He was almost afraid to consciously travel the road his subconscious was paving. He didn’t just like Kathleen. Didn’t just appreciate her intelligence, her humor, and her beauty.

  He was comfortable with her.

  Russell could be comfortable with women—his sisters, his friends’ wives and girlfriends, his colleagues. But it tended to take him so long to get comfortable with the women he dated that they left before that ever happened.

  Hell, he had married and divorced Therese without ever really feeling comfortable with her. There was always a sort of chilly formality that had underlaid everything they did. He suspected that she thought his being a professor held greater status than it did and was disappointed to find it hadn’t enhanced her in the eyes of her colleagues at her law firm.

  “Where’d your brain go?” she asked as they entered the dining room.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your face went all…” The fingers of her free hand fluttered toward her face and then upward. “Away.”

  “No,” he said, tracing her cheek with a finger. “I’m here.”

  “Kathleen?” A voice called from the other end of the dining room. Kathleen stiffened, her eyes going wide an instant before her face froze into a mask of cheery goodwill and she turned, searching for the source.

  “Professor Lafferty?” Her voice rose to a squeak.

  A silver-haired white man and woman were sitting at a table at the far end of the dining room. Kathleen’s fingers slipped out of Russell’s and she glanced back at him, her smile stiff and her eyes panicky. Russell followed as she moved across the room, his pulse speeding, unsure of what was pushing her off kilter.

  Reaching the table, Kathleen extended a hand to the man. He had risen to his feet, helping his petite and equally elderly companion—wife, Russell assumed—to rise as well. “Kathleen, my dear. I thought it was you. How lovely to see you.” The older man’s eyes twinkled as he took her hand and, instead of shaking it, pulled her into an embrace. Kathleen blushed as he released her and she bent and kissed the older woman’s cheek.

  “Mrs. Lafferty,” she murmured, straightening. “How are you?”

  “We’re lovely, dear.” Mrs. Lafferty’s eyes flicked to Russell. He stiffened, any lingering remnants of comfort and ease flooding out of his body.

 

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