A Taste Of Sin (11 page)

He couldn't stop the words from tumbling from his mouth, how beautiful, how sexy she was, how good it felt to be inside of her.

Kelly clutched him now, arching against his long, slow thrusts, her throaty moans matching his rhythm. He felt her orgasm coiling up inside her, reveled in the sharp, soft cry she gave before she hugged him close to her heart. He let himself go, and when he came he heard his heartbeat thundering in his head.

"Oh my god, someone's here!" Kelly was pushing at his shoulders, trying to squirm out from underneath him.

He shook his head and realized it wasn't his heartbeat he heard, but someone pounding at his front door.

"Nick! Hey, Nick, you awake?"

Shit. It was Mike. Kelly scrambled out from under him and rushed into the attached bathroom.

"Nick, what the fuck are you doing? You were supposed to be over at the Williams' an hour ago!"

Nick glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. Nine-thirty.

He was over an hour and a half late.

And the funny thing was, he didn't even care.

"Just a sec, Mike." Nick grabbed his jeans from the floor and spared a glance at the bathroom door. Kelly didn't make a sound.

As Nick trotted downstairs, he half wished she would turn on the shower and take the decision out of his hands. Then he could tell Mike, tell Tony, hell, the entire world that Kelly was his.

"Sorry, man," Nick said sheepishly. "I must've turned off my alarm by mistake."

"What the hell is up with you lately? This is the third time you've been late this week." Mike cast a suspicious glance upstairs.

Nick did his best to paste a bland, nonchalant look on his face.

"Nothing. I've been tired, and I overslept."

Mike's expression said he didn't believe him. "There's something going on with you, Nick, something you're not telling me."

Nick hated keeping things from his brother. He had no problem keeping secrets from the rest of the world, but he and his brothers shared everything. It was on the tip of his tongue to spill his guts, tell him all about Kelly and his newly discovered love for her.

But he didn't want to out them without talking to her first. It wouldn't be fair, since she agreed with him about keeping their relationship quiet. No, they would go public in a more subtle way. He’d take her out to a movie, or better yet, ask her to come to his folks’ house for Sunday dinner this week.

That, more than anything, would be a strong declaration that he was serious. But he had to keep it quiet just a little longer.

"Trust me, Mike, there's nothing going on."

Mike didn't entirely believe him. "Look, Nick, I don't give a shit what you do in your free time. But we have too much to do before ski season starts for you to be fucking around."

Nick hated to disappoint his brother who had so capably taken over the business when their father retired. But at the same time he was glad Mike hadn't pressed for more answers.

Nick apologized and sent Mike on his way with assurances that he’d be at the building site in no more than half an hour. He whistled a little as he started the coffee brewing. Maybe they were different, but he knew in his soul that Kelly was right for him. And making their relationship public was the first step in convincing her.

Kelly held her breath as she listened through the barely cracked bedroom door. Just tell him, she silently willed.
Just tell Mike that you're seeing me so that I know that what I'm feeling isn't all one sided.

The crack in her heart widened when she heard him assure Mike there was nothing going on. Nothing. That's exactly what she meant to Nick. Nothing more than the fulfillment of a silly high school fantasy.

Nothing but a little on-the-sly nookie to keep them both occupied until she left town. At which point he would no doubt immediately find another playmate. Someone from the next town, or a little ski bunny once the snow started.

Slowly she pulled on her clothes, silently berating herself as she dressed. God, for a supposedly brilliant woman, she was colossally stupid. Stupid to think the torch she'd always carried for Nick wouldn’t flame out of control. Stupid to think he would change his mind and his attitude toward relationships just because they had great sex together.

She had to end this now. Not only for the sake of her heart, but the sake of her life. She'd allowed this thing with Nick to distract her.

Instead of pursuing real job opportunities, she was muddling along, biding her time at the county ER between shifts at Sullivan's. Based on his recovery rate, her father would be back at work full time in a couple of weeks, and Kelly needed to get her career back on track after this unplanned hiatus.

She had school loans to pay off and a reputation to build. Having to turn down the position in New York was a blow, but she was confident that she could find something comparable, but only if she got off her butt and focused.

It had been fun to indulge in a little hanky-panky with Nick. Her brain had dominated her whole life, and it was nice to be reminded that there were other interesting parts of her body.

But she hadn't counted on falling in love. Now the only thing to do was to get out of this situation, and get out of town, as quickly as possible before her heart hurt even more than it did now.

She finished dressing and checked herself in the mirror over the dresser. She grimaced at her messy hair and smeared mascara. Yet another reason why sleepovers were a bad idea.

Kelly repaired the damage as best she could with the hand lotion, concealer, and lipstick in her purse. She brushed out her hair and was pulling it back into a ponytail when Nick walked in wearing only jeans and a sheepish smile. He looked so gorgeous with his dark hair tousled from sleep and his beard shading his jaw, she nearly forgot she had something important to tell him.

Oh, right. Tell him she couldn't see him anymore. Her mouth pulled into a frown.

"Sorry about that," he said. "I'm late for work, and I think we knocked the phone off the hook."

Kelly glanced at the bedside table, and sure enough, the handset had been knocked askew at some point during the night.

Nick handed her a cup of coffee, and she took a sip. She was stalling, she knew. What was so wrong with continuing this for a little longer, until she left town?

Her eyes met his over the rim of her cup and her heart did a triple salchow. That's what's wrong, she reminded herself sternly. She loved him, idiot that she was, and every moment she spent with him would only make that feeling grow, and she didn't have time to deal with heartbreak on top of everything else in her life.

But the words wouldn't come. How was it that she was so outspoken at work and yet she couldn't for the life of her think of the right thing to say?

This has been fun, Nick, but I can't see you anymore.

Easy, right?

She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Nick said, "Look, Kelly, I've been thinking about what we're doing here. This morning was a really close call. This sneaking around thing has been fun but..."

Kelly closed her eyes. He was saying it for her.
I'm relieved
, she told herself sternly even as a basketball-sized knot formed in her stomach. "I know exactly what you mean," she interrupted. "I've been thinking too. This has been great, but I really don't think we should do this anymore."

Nick jerked his head back, looking startled. "What?"

"I agree with you. Today was too close, and it just emphasized how silly this whole situation is. It's been really great, don't get me wrong," she said. "But I need to figure out what I'm going to do next, and you"you need to stop being late for work. We both need to get back to our real lives, without this, this...distraction."

There, that wasn't so hard, was it? Kelly kept her gaze down as she pretended to search for something in her purse. If she didn't blink for long enough, her eyeballs would dry out and he wouldn't see the tears that threatened to choke her.

He didn't say anything, and the overpowering silence became too much for her to bear. "Don't worry, Nick, there's no hard feelings on my part. I knew this couldn't go anywhere. It was all just fun, right?"

"Right," he said tightly. "I'm going to get dressed, and I'll drop you at your car."

He didn't say anything on the ride to her car, didn't comment when she asked him to drop her off in an alley around the corner so it wouldn't be so obvious. He seemed upset. But why would he be?

"Are you angry about something?" Kelly asked as she got out of his truck.

"Nope," he said. "I'm just surprised you want to stop now. I was thinking we had at least a couple of weeks left."

She toyed with the clasp on her purse, confused. She'd been so convinced he'd been about to call things off himself. But even if he hadn't, surely his irritation at losing a sex partner was outweighed by his relief at how easily she'd let him off the hook. "Come on, Nick, it’s not like you'll be hard up for long."

"No, I guess I won't."

Kelly felt like someone had sliced her chest with a scalpel. "So I guess I'll see you around?" She winced at the pitiful way her voice arced up at the end, like she was pleading with him. She was taking control, dammit, taking charge of the situation before she got too hurt. It didn’t matter if she saw him again.

"I suppose."

Kelly slammed the door of the truck and walked the block to where her car was parked.

She prayed no one saw her, hunched over her steering wheel sobbing.

Nick's foul humor simmered all through Thursday, heated to a boil by Saturday, and was damn near combustible by Sunday.

"What's the matter, Nick, you on the rag?" Tony grumbled when Nick snapped at him for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"Tony, that's disgusting! Don't talk like that at my table." Maria Donovan ladled another serving of braciole on her eldest son's plate, her glare morphing into a beaming smile as Mike tucked into his meal.

Nick pushed his food around into piles, his appetite having virtually disappeared in the last four days. His last conversation with Kelly played over and over in his mind, and each time he got the same sick, hopeless feeling in his gut.

Stupid, dumb Nick. He'd done it again. Pinned his hopes on a woman who would never be interested in a guy like him for the long haul. Acting like it was nothing. No big deal. "It's been fun but..."

Fun. He'd felt like his soul was clawing out of his body every time he came, and she was just having fun.

"What is with you, Nick?" Mike asked around a mouthful of roast.

"I hate to say it, but Tony's right. You're being a real bitch tonight."

"Michael!"

"Sorry, Ma."

As usual, Nick's father just ate and observed, more than happy to let his wife and children bear the brunt of conversation.

"I think he's having girl trouble," Tony said.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Maria said automatically, but her gaze lit on Nick with an unholy light. "Girl trouble? Are you seeing someone, Nick? Is she nice? You should invite her over..."

"There's no girl, Mom," Nick said tightly.

They all stared at him expectantly, then dropped disappointed gazes to their plates. As pushy as they were, they all knew that when Nick didn't want to talk, bamboo shoots under his nails wouldn't pry it out of him.

"Speaking of nice girls," Maria said, "I ran into Kelly Sullivan again the other day. She's in town you know, looking after her father."

All three of the boys rolled their eyes, not bothering to remind their mother that they were the ones who told her she was back in town in the first place.

"I was thinking, Mike, you should ask her out," she said as she twirled spaghetti expertly against her spoon.

"Why Mike? Why not me or Tony?" Nick snapped.

"Nick, don't give her any ideas," Tony muttered.

If Maria was taken aback by his uncharacteristically harsh tone, she didn't show it. "Well if I could, I'd fix her up with Jake. He was always more intellectual than any of you," Maria said, "and Kelly's so smart."

"And I'm too stupid for her, is that it?" Nick said, throwing his napkin down across his plate.

"No, no," Maria backpedaled, "that's not what I meant. But you know how it went with Ann."

Nick stood so fast his chair toppled over backward, the clatter so loud even his father looked up in surprise. "Yeah, I know how it went with Ann. I wasn't good enough for her, and I'm not good enough for

Kelly. Or any woman for that matter."

Without another word, he headed out the front door.

"What did I say?" His mother's words trailed after him.

Chapter Seven

Sullivan's was starting to clear out now that the Sunday game was over, but there was still a pretty decent crowd.

Kelly snuck a look at the clock above the jukebox. Seven twenty-two.

Thank God they closed early tonight. She had to get up at the crack of dawn to be in Palo Alto by eleven, where she had an interview at Stanford. She needed to prepare and, God willing, get some sleep tonight. She hadn't slept more than three hours a night since Thursday.

Funny how all those late nights with Nick had left her tired yet strangely energized. But in the three days since she'd broken things off all she felt was exhaustion.

It was just as well that her father was recovering remarkably fast. If the position at Stanford worked out, she would be able to start within the month.

She set the pitchers down on the bar for her father to refill, fanning herself lightly. Despite the late fall chill in the air, the atmosphere inside Sullivan's was close and stuffy. "You look exhausted, Kelly," her father observed.

"I've been having trouble sleeping lately. I guess I'm a little nervous about tomorrow."

"You'll impress the hell out of them, like always," Ryan said as he plunked the first of her pitchers on the bar. "And the great thing is, you'll be only four hours away. Maybe I'll actually get to see you more than once every couple of years." Her father's tone was light, but Kelly sensed that he meant what he said.