With Vengeance (20 page)

Klement’s door opened, and his footsteps came
down the hall. Was it her imagination or had he paused for a moment
nearby? The urge to follow him made her muscles twinge, but Kat
stayed in her seat. The last thing she wanted was to be seen
trailing after him like a lost puppy.

Her phone rang. Gratitude filled her for the
distraction, until she looked at the caller ID and her heart
stopped.

It was IT Guy.

Why was Klement calling her as his alias?
They didn’t have any website work scheduled until next week before
she left for Thrashfest.

She took a deep breath and willed herself to
sound normal as she answered. “Hey, IT Guy.”

“Hi, Kat.” It was Klement all right, though
his voice echoed over the speakerphone and he was adding a slight
Southern accent to his usual tone. “I’m calling to let you know
that I’ll be unavailable for the next couple of days.”

Also, there was a sound of rushing air in the
background. The noise triggered her memory, and she figured out
where he was calling from. The grow room.

“Oh? Where are you going?” What excuse was he
going to come up with?

“I’m going to take a break and figure some
things out,” he said quietly. “Something in my professional life is
getting…personal.”

Was he talking about her? He had to be.
Nothing could be more of a professional and personal conflict than
her getting naked with him last night. But did he mean it in a good
way or bad way?

“Me too,” she couldn’t help saying.

“Hmmm.” Uncomfortable silence ensued before
he spoke again. “So, how’s everything going with the band?”

As much as he must be trying to hide it, he
sounded nervous. As she understood. It was so weird talking about
Klement
to
Klement.

“Great. Almost all of my guitar tracks are
done, and they invited me to play Thrashfest with them.”

“Excellent!” He sounded genuinely enthused.
“And how are the guys treating you? None of them are getting
inappropriate, are they?”

Kat had to cover her mouth to conceal a
startled squeak. Was he worried about how
he
behaved last
night? She laughed. “No, but I’m afraid
I
got a little
inappropriate with the bassist.”

He feigned a scandalized gasp. “You naughty
girl.” Then he sighed. “I thought you were going to wait for
me.”

“You never expressed any interest that way,”
she retorted, momentarily forgetting who she was really talking to.
“I don’t know where you live, what you look like. Hell, I don’t
even know your name.”
Well, now I do.

“I was just teasing you,” he said quickly.
“Wait. You mean I would have had a chance?”

What kind of a game was he playing? Kat
answered honestly. “Yes, if we’d ever had the opportunity to meet.
But I guess that’s a moot point for now. I’m going to see how
things go with Klement.”

“What’s he like?”

Klement’s curiosity emanated from the phone.
He wanted to know what she thought of him?

“He’s funny and kind, and extremely
intelligent.” Kat couldn’t hold back a smile. “He’s a lot like
you.”

IT Guy Klement laughed. “Sounds like you have
good taste. I hope everything works out with that.”

“Me, too. And I hope everything works out
with your situation too.” She meant every word. After all, it was
her situation as well.

“I’ll let you know when we talk again.”
Klement paused awhile before he sighed. “Well, it’s getting late. I
better let you go.”

“Goodnight, IT Guy.”
Klement
, she
mouthed in addition.

After hanging up, Kat paced the length of her
room, mind spinning with the implications of their conversation.
Was it possible he was considering telling her the truth? God, she
hoped so. That would spare her the awkwardness of confronting him.
Except…what would she say when he told her who he was? Should she
tell him she already knew? Or should she pretend to be surprised?
The thought of further deceit churned her stomach.

She replayed their conversation in her mind.
It seemed like he’d wanted to check up on her and gauge her
feelings about what happened between them. But why couldn’t he have
just talked about it with her in person? Was he more insecure even
than she was?

Taking a Xanax and changing into her pajamas,
she struggled to calm her racing thoughts. Klement had been right
about one thing. It was late and she would be worthless in the
studio if she didn’t get some rest.

After brushing her teeth, she headed back to
her room. Klement met her in the hall, her robe tucked under his
arm. She froze at the sight of his tall, handsome form, studying
his face for answers to a million questions.

“I thought I’d return this,” he whispered,
giving an enigmatic half smile that made her want to leap into his
arms and wrap her legs around him. Despite the strange situation
with his deception, she still wanted him more than anyone else
she’d ever wanted.

“Thanks.” She took the silky garment,
enjoying the brief touch of his hands. She was about to say
something else—she didn’t know what—but he’d already turned and
walked back to his room. It took every effort not to follow.

Kat carried her robe back to her room. She
was about to toss it in the dirty clothes pile, but then she caught
a whiff of a tantalizing, masculine scent. Lifting the black satin
to her face, she realized it smelled like Klement.

Even though it was the sort of childish thing
a teenager would do, Kat took the garment to bed with her, cuddling
it tightly as she slept and dreamed of him.

Chapter Seventeen

The hours at the studio dragged for Klement.
Normally he loved this point of the process, when everything was
coming together, but now it only seemed to rob him of time with
Kat. Though only a glass partition separated them, she was
impossible to touch.

Even worse was Cliff’s disillusionment with
his drinking buddy. Because of that, he and Rod had stayed in last
night, and it looked like they’d do the same tonight, giving him no
excuse to do anything naughty with Kat. He should be grateful for
that. Messing around with her could only cause trouble.

And, he still needed to figure out how he was
going to tell her that he was IT Guy. The deception couldn’t
remain, not after he’d slept with her. He really shouldn’t touch
her again until she knew the truth.

Despite that reasoning, he found himself hard
as a rock the moment they were alone together in his Suburban.
Alas, they had to run to the parts store and then finish up fixing
her car. That was the first priority, he told himself.

Once working, Klement busied himself putting
the injector back in the throttle body while Kat changed the tire.
But, while reconnecting the hoses and wires to the throttle body
and air cleaner, her presence became sheer torture. To hell with
the consequences, he had to have her again.

An idea unfurled in his mind. Tempting and
dangerous.

His fingers curled at his sides as he
resisted the urge to brush a stray lock of hair from her face.
“Well, shall we fire up your car and see if it works?”

She nodded and dug her keys out of her
pocket, and Klement chuckled as she jerked the driver’s seat
forward so she could reach the pedals. After giving him a look full
of anxious hope, she turned the key. The station wagon’s engine
cranked over with a roar.

Her eyes widened, and her lips curved up in a
broad grin. “Oh my God, it works!” She scrambled out of the car and
jumped up and down before running over to him and giving him a big
hug. “And she sounds even better than she did before.”

Reluctantly, Klement disengaged from her
embrace before she felt his raging hard-on from the sight of her
bouncing breasts. “We should get cleaned up.”

She followed him to the industrial sink he’d
installed at the corner of his shop. After they’d scrubbed their
hands with a caustic but effective degreasing soap, Klement turned.
Kat’s t-shirt had gotten wet, revealing the dark lacy shape of her
bra beneath the fabric, and madness overtook him. He pulled Kat
into his arms and covered her mouth in a hungry kiss.

It didn’t stop there. After devouring her
mouth for what felt like a blissful eternity, he sank to his knees
and lifted her shirt. He kissed along the outside of her bra before
pulling it down and taking a delectable nipple into his mouth, and
her throaty moan was like an aphrodisiac, bringing his desire to a
heated frenzy. He rolled her nipple between his fingers, circling
his tongue around the other.

“I still haven’t processed anything regarding
the other night,” he murmured against her silken flesh. “I just
can’t seem to stay away from you.”

“Me neither.”

Then Kat reached down and fumbled with the
zipper on his jeans, bringing back a semblance of mental clarity.
He broke away from her and strode to the shop door.

“Oh, God. You can’t stop now,” she
whimpered.

“Stop?” He laughed mirthlessly. “There’s no
way in hell I’m able to stop. I’m just locking the doors so we
don’t get interrupted.”

The lock clicked with tantalizing finality
and promise.

Kat seized him by the hips and unfastened his
jeans, freeing his engorged cock. Sinking to her knees, she took
him in her hot, wet mouth.

Klement tangled his hands in her hair and
threw back his head in sheer ecstasy as her lips and tongue worked
magic on his throbbing shaft.

“God, Kat,” he gasped. “If you keep this up,
I’m going to come.”

“Mmmm.” Her voice vibrated along his
hardness.

He withdrew himself from her mouth and pulled
her to her feet, unzipping her jeans before he bent her over the
hood of the car. Sliding the denim down past her hips, he reached
around to flick his finger along her swollen clit. She was hot and
slippery with wetness. Kat gasped and moaned, but he didn’t stop
teasing her sweet core until she was whimpering.

“Please, please…”

He did like to hear her beg.

Reaching into his back pocket, he got a
condom from his wallet. His lips curved in an ironic smile. He
didn’t normally carry them. Some part of him must have anticipated
this from the start.

Despite the latex barrier, sliding inside Kat
felt like heaven. Reaching beneath her shirt, he caressed the
smooth skin of her back before grabbing her shoulders and pulling
her against him, driving himself deeper. Her moan of pleasure
rippled through his body, intensifying his own joy. He quickened
his movements, reveling in every angle and sensation of his cock
moving in and out of her tight center.

The rhythm broke when Kat reached up and
brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Not wanting her to be
distracted, Klement gently gathered her dark tresses into his hand.
But maybe he pulled too tight.

“Oh, yes,” she gasped. “Harder.”

Primal eroticism jolted through him as he
tightened his grip on her hair and pulled.

“Yes!”

With one fist in her hair, he yanked on her
locks and deepened his thrusts.

“Harder,” she moaned.

With a low growl, he complied, mercilessly
slamming his cock into her, his grip on her hair holding her
captive, jerking her against his body to meet his assault. His
other hand slid up from her clit and up under her shirt to grasp
her breast.

“Oh, God, yes!” she cried out as he pinched
her nipple.

The feel of her hips bucking against him, and
her tight, wet heat clamping down on his cock made him lightheaded
with pleasure.

“Please don’t stop,” she whimpered as he
tugged her hair almost brutally. “Yes, like that. Oh please,
please—”

Her words broke off in a wordless cry as her
pussy clenched around him in rapid spasms. The musky scent of her
arousal permeated the shop as she slammed her hips against his,
riding him just as hard as he was riding her. The sound of their
flesh colliding heightened his arousal to a new level.

Klement threw his head back as his orgasm
tore through him, jolting from his cock, tightening his balls and
spiraling all the way down to his toes. The climax ricocheted
through him in a never-ending loop, intoxicating and relentless.
And when he thought he couldn’t take any more, the pleasure
subsided into bone-melting bliss.

At last he released her hair and rested his
hands on the hood of the car as she continued to gasp and quiver
around him. It was almost enough to make him ready again, if not
for his muscles feeling like jelly.

“Oh my God,” he panted against her neck.

“I know,” she whispered. “That was
amazing.”

Reality seeped into his blissful satiation,
darkening the glow. “I hope no one heard us.”

“Oh shit, I was kinda loud.”

Reluctantly, he withdrew from her and helped
her to stand. “Yeah, you were.”

As they pulled up their pants, Kat suddenly
frowned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She looked down at her toes. “Well, as long
as this is going on, do you plan on getting um…involved with anyone
else?”

“No.” He chuckled.
Jealous already?
It
might have irritated him, but instead he found it adorable. He felt
the same way about her.

Studying the floor with intense
concentration, she continued. “There’s one more thing. I need a
ride to a pharmacy to refill my Xanax and birth control, but I also
want to…um…well, it occurred to me that we didn’t use any
protection for oral, so…”

“So you’d like us to go get tested?”

She nodded, face flaming.

Klement frowned at her discomfort. Why did
society make people so embarrassed to address practicalities?
“Don’t be nervous about common sense. You don’t know my history,
and I don’t know yours. You can be straight with me about anything,
Katana.”

She gave him a level look. “And you can be
straight with me as well.”