The Secrets She Kept (25 page)

Last night had been wonderful. She’d enjoyed every second of it—talking and laughing with him, but especially being free to touch him again after so long. She’d listened to him breathe for what seemed like hours, because she hadn’t wanted to miss a single second of being with him. But he’d been asleep and couldn’t respond. She doubted that would happen tonight. “Last night went well,” she admitted.

“So what are you worried about?”

She looked around the vaulted entry hall with that winding,
Gone With the Wind
staircase, the giant flower arrangement and all the expensive paintings and furnishings. “I’ve never been invited to Coldiron House for dinner before.” His mother would roll over in her grave if she knew—except she wasn’t in a grave yet, so that cliché didn’t quite work. “It feels...odd.” As if she was trying to climb too high and would only fall and land on her ass again...

“That’s because you haven’t had a glass of wine. Come on. You need to wait for Simba, anyway.”

She could grab her dog on the way out. He had to be on the grounds somewhere. She knew better than to agree to wine with Keith. Who had she been kidding? She was still madly in love with him. All her efforts to fight what she felt, to be satisfied with the friendship he offered, amounted to nothing. So what if she had a date with the “best profile” on her dating site? If she stayed, she’d share Keith’s bed. At this point, she wanted him so badly she no longer cared what it would cost. Which meant she was backsliding, exactly as she’d feared she would...

“Nance?” He could sense her uncertainty, could tell she was hovering on the brink of flight.

She raised her eyes to his.

“Don’t go. I really want you to stay,” he murmured. And the fact that he seemed so sincere was all it took to get her to accept the hand he extended.

“What’s one night?” she said.

Although he seemed a little uncertain as to what that might mean, he didn’t question it. Maybe he would have, but at that moment Simba came bounding toward her from the kitchen and she let go of Keith to kneel down and embrace her dog.

23

DELICIOUS AS PIPPA’S
dinner probably was, Keith didn’t enjoy it as much as he’d anticipated. He could hardly taste his food—he was too eager for the meal to be over. Something had changed with Nancy soon after she arrived. He could sense the difference in her. She was no longer resisting the attraction they felt. She didn’t glance away when he studied her, didn’t bring up her date on Friday. And there was no reticence or hesitation in her manner. She looked boldly back at him as if she was imagining the same kind of after-dinner entertainment he was, as if she was finally going to take what she wanted and make no apologies. The promise of what he saw in her eyes had him so aroused he couldn’t even think of anything to say.

Fortunately, conversation didn’t seem necessary. She didn’t say more than a few words herself. Didn’t eat much, either. As the minutes ticked by, the tension grew, until Keith wondered if Pippa could hear his heart pounding whenever she brought them a new course.

“Now that you’ve finished dinner, would you like a cup of coffee with your dessert?”

Keith tore his gaze away from Nancy in order to respond to Pippa, who was standing dutifully at the entrance to the dining room. “No, thank you.” He had no intention of dawdling over coffee...

“I’ll pass on coffee, too,” Nancy said, more proof that she felt the same.

Their desserts arrived a few minutes later. They were beautiful creations—a molten lava cake with a fancy lattice-like chocolate swirl on top. They both complimented Pippa, but ate only one or two bites.

“Leave our desserts here. We’ll finish them later,” he told Pippa. Then he suggested she clean up in the morning and gave her the rest of the night off. He wanted Nancy to feel comfortable and he was willing to bet she’d feel much more comfortable if they were alone in the house.

“Yes, sir. I already handled most of it, anyway.” Pippa smiled as her eyes flicked toward Nancy. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Keith wasn’t sure he or Nancy even answered. They stayed at the table, staring across at each other until they heard Pippa leave. Then he stood up. “Did you have enough to eat?”

“I did,” she replied. “It was a wonderful meal.”

He walked around to tug out her chair and took her hand as she got to her feet. “You’re not going to back out on me, are you?” he murmured, searching her eyes for any sign of the reluctance that had been there before.

She didn’t ask what he was talking about. She didn’t need to. “No. But I didn’t bring the lingerie. If you want that to be part of tonight, we’ll have to go pick it up.”

Obviously, she had no idea how eager he was. He had no patience for driving over to her place. He couldn’t wait a moment longer. “We’ll save the lingerie for next time.”

“Next time?” she asked as if she wasn’t committing to anything beyond this one encounter, and he recalled her comment when she arrived.
What’s one night?

“I’m hoping there
will
be a next time.”

“It’s not entirely up to you.”

“Which is why I’m going to do everything I can to convince you.”

She didn’t continue to argue, but he didn’t really give her a chance. He kissed her before they could move away from the table.

When her lips parted beneath his without resistance or restraint, his heart pounded even harder.
This
was the woman he knew, the woman who’d saved him from himself at the most critical moment of his life. The familiarity of her kiss, the fact that he’d missed her so badly, swept over him, creating more longing than he’d ever felt. He could hardly breathe as he slipped his hand up her blouse. The smooth texture of her skin had always been unique to her. No other woman had ever felt quite so soft.

“You’re shaking,” she whispered as she tilted her head back to gaze up at him.

“Because you taste even better than I remember,” he said and swept her into his arms.

“Put me down! I’m too heavy,” she cried but he didn’t. Thanks to all the cross-fit training he’d done, he had no problem carrying a 160-pound woman, even up the stairs.

“Don’t say a word about your weight,” he warned. “Don’t act as if you’re afraid you’re too heavy or that you don’t want me to see your body in the light, like you used to. No more of that bullshit, because you look exactly the way I want you to look—like
you
.”

“I’d rather you didn’t hurt your back—at least not before I get what
I
want,” she joked.

He laughed as they reached his room and he set her on the bed. “Nothing’s going to stop us now. After five years, this is going to feel so good,” he promised. Then he stripped off his shirt.

* * *

Nancy could’ve drowned in Keith’s sexy grin, in the sound of his voice and especially the sound of his laughter. Even his pseudo-harsh admonishments about her insecurity when it came to her body did nothing to diminish the moment. He made her feel beautiful, desired, and she was simply going to enjoy it. Forget five years ago, forget the future. She was throwing all those cares aside to have one magical night with the man she loved, even if she wasn’t wise to love him in the first place.

He took his time removing her sweater and bra. Then he paused to admire what he’d uncovered. “
Look
at you!” he breathed.

He was no longer laughing or teasing. His expression had grown intense, as if he really was stunned by the beauty of what he’d uncovered.

Nancy felt her nipples tighten.

“Have I told you that you have the nicest tits I’ve ever seen?” he asked.

“No.”

“It’s true.” He lightly caressed her right breast before he climbed onto the bed, held her hands over her head and straddled her hips. Studying her one last time, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her so tenderly, so sweetly, that she could only groan from the exquisite pleasure. His tongue met and moved against hers, but also explored the sides and roof of her mouth as if he didn’t want to leave
anything
untouched.

“You taste so good, Nance,” he whispered and let go of her wrists to slowly slide her tight-fitting skirt up to her waist.

Shifting to straddle her knees instead, he smiled at the sight of her lacy black thong. She’d bought those panties, as well as the sheer bra she’d been wearing, when she’d purchased that lingerie from Victoria’s Secret—and was now glad she’d gotten a few more practical things, too. Thank God she was wearing them.

“You always liked sexy underwear,” he said. “I love that contradiction. You’re so sweet and good no one would expect you to be wearing something naughty like this.”

The desire she felt had already settled between her legs and throbbed there. Now that he was no longer restraining her hands, she grabbed fistfuls of his comforter so she wouldn’t jump as he ran his finger over the small triangle of fabric that covered her.

“I think we’ve found a sensitive spot,” he joked and slid her panties aside as he lowered his head.

Nancy moaned and arched her back when his tongue touched her as gently as his fingers had. She could feel his warm breath on the wetness he created, could feel the scratch of his beard growth on her thighs... “Oh...God,” she gasped as he slid her legs up over his bare shoulders and anchored her hips in place with his hands.

“See? This isn’t too bad, is it?” he murmured against her.

She couldn’t help writhing beneath him. The pleasure was intense—and building quickly. But he didn’t let her climax. She was just on the verge when he stopped and lifted himself above her. “Enjoying yourself yet?” he asked as he got rid of her skirt, which was bunched at her waist.

“I was
so
close,” she complained with a scowl, but he wasn’t the least repentant.

“It’ll be stronger if I make you wait,” he said as he nuzzled her neck.

“Wait for what?”

“For me. I want to be inside you when you get there.”

She watched as he removed his pants and kicked them aside. He’d definitely put on some muscle; he wasn’t nearly as skinny as he’d been five years ago. Back then she could almost count his ribs. Now he looked...healthy, strong, fit—and very obviously aroused.

“I’ll get my revenge,” she promised.

His smile told her he wasn’t worried about that threat. He understood her frustration and was going to make it pay off. And he did. Once he put on a condom and pressed inside her, she forgot all about revenge.

“It’s been so long.” She hadn’t realized she’d said that out loud until he paused.

“Too long,” he agreed as he began to thrust.

As much as she wanted to draw out their lovemaking, he’d gotten her too excited. She couldn’t take it slow. Insisting he let her get on top, she propped herself up with her hands on his chest and struck the perfect rhythm. He fondled her breasts, clearly enjoying their close proximity to his face, until the pleasure began to get the better of him, too. Then he grabbed for the bedding and muttered a hoarse warning. “Nancy...”

She didn’t stop. She didn’t need to. The satisfaction he’d made her postpone ripped through her at that very moment. She felt her body clutch him—and saw the satisfaction on his face just before she heard him groan.

The past fifteen minutes had gone beyond anything Nancy had ever experienced. The fatalism with which she’d approached this particular encounter had allowed her to cut loose with him for probably the first time, at least to
that
degree. And she’d been well rewarded. But she wasn’t about to admit that he’d given her anything special. It was bad enough that she felt so much more for him than he did for her.

Unfortunately, her silence didn’t fool him.

“That was good, right?” he said as she slumped over to catch her breath. “I told you it’d be better if I made you wait.”

“What are you talking about?” she murmured. “I didn’t like that one bit.” She had her cheek to his chest and licked his nipple.

He moved a sweaty tendril of hair off her forehead as he laughed at her response. “You sure looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

She raised her head to give him an exhausted grin. “Looks can be deceiving.” Assuming that he’d want her off him now, she started to slide to one side, but he pulled her back where she was and, using one leg, managed to get the covers over them.

“You hated it so much, you’re going to be bugging me to do it again in a few hours,” he predicted.

“That might be true,” she said. “But you’re the one who keeps saying you won’t be here very long.” She had to make up for lost time—as well as the fact that he would soon be gone and she might never get over him...

Some loves lasted a lifetime.

She was afraid this might be one of those.

* * *

As it turned out, Keith woke Nancy. She was no longer on top of him, the way they’d fallen asleep. They must’ve shifted afterward, because she was on her side, with his bigger body curled around hers. At first, since it wasn’t dark, she thought she’d slept the whole night away. But then she realized that the light was on because they hadn’t bothered to turn it off. It wasn’t even close to morning when she felt him kissing the nape of her neck.

As one hand cupped her breast and the other moved lower, she made no effort to return to full awareness. She liked letting him make love to her when she was half asleep, liked the haze of sensation that was beginning to envelop her. But he wasn’t willing to accept passive involvement. She got the impression that he was intent on enticing her to respond to him as she had before, with that same peculiar blend of focus and abandon.

“Tell me you want me,” he whispered as he slid a finger inside her.

“No,” she whispered, refusing to comply even as she covered his hand with hers and pressed that finger deeper.

“Don’t be stubborn,” he said, his voice husky in her ear. “Admit it. No one can make you feel the way I do.”

She had limited experience, but so far that was true. It frightened her to think how bleak her life was going to be without him. It felt as if the last five years had been spent waiting for this very night. But he was joking, trying to provoke her. So there was no need to inflate his ego—not that she would have, anyway. “You’re okay, I guess. Beggars can’t be choosers,” she teased and gasped as he nipped at her neck.

“Ouch!” she complained, but he’d given her the kind of love bite that hurt in an exciting way—so exciting that she hoped he’d do it again.

He rolled her onto her back and braced himself over her. “Tell me you want to fuck me again.”

That was too close to the truth. “And if I won’t?”

“You’ll have to be punished.”

He’d never played with her like this before. “How?”

He slid his hands underneath her to squeeze her buttocks. “You could be spanked...”

She touched his face, let her thumb move over his bottom lip. “Do I have any other choices?”

“I could tie you to the bed.”

“With...”

“The sheet.”

“That wouldn’t be easy.”

“Because...”

“Unless you’re going to tear it, which I wouldn’t do with the price of
your
linens, a sheet’s a bit unwieldy, don’t you think? And I won’t just lie here and let you do it.”

“I doubt I’d have any problem, even if you decide to make it difficult.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Feel free to give it your best shot.”

A wrestling match quickly ensued, which messed up the expensive linens on his bed. She was easily overpowered, was no match for his strength or his size, but she resisted as long as she could. And even after he had her mostly subdued, she wouldn’t lie still long enough for him to tie her to the bed. She was laughing so hard by the time he managed to get one of her hands anchored to the bedpost that she was nearly crying.

“You are being so stubborn!” He was scowling
and
laughing.

“Fine! If it means that much to you, I’ll lie still,” she said.

But once she gave up the fight he stopped trying to restrain her. He held her face between his hands. Then he kissed her, slowly and so seriously that it surprised her—because that kiss felt...meaningful.

As she gazed up at him, he pecked her lips. “I’m glad you changed your mind about being with me.”