by BETH KERY
She held her breath. It was an incredibly sweet thing to say. She waited, a prickle of anxiety or anticipation or something going through her when he just continued to pin her with his stare.
“Did you ever consider working for someone other than Ian?”
“What?” she asked, taken off guard by the direction of his question.
“I know you told Jason Klinf ‘no way’ last night—even though from what I heard, he was offering you a pretty interesting opportunity. Others have to have offered you even more lucrative opportunities. I’m just wondering if you ever really considered leaving Noble in the past?”
“Not really, no. I’ve thought about offers, of course, but never seriously.”
“What makes you stay? Why are you so loyal to Ian? Is it because your grandmother worked there and helped him build his company, and it feels like a family endeavor to you?”
Lin looked down from his piercing stare. “Maybe that has something to do with it,” she admitted. She hesitated. Kam cradled her jaw and silently bid her to look at him. She saw his questioning glance. “A friend—Richard St. Claire, actually; you know him—recently pointed out to me that I tend to—” She paused, blushing in embarrassment and staring at his collar.
“What?” Kam prompted.
She shrugged. “I tend to cling onto familiar things, like my work, because I’m afraid of change. Of abandonment.”
“Abandonment?” Kam asked.
Her blush deepened. “I know, it sounds ridiculous.”
“No it doesn’t.”
She looked up in surprise. “It doesn’t?”
He shook his head. “No. Not really. You must have been hit pretty hard when your mother and father left the States, leaving you behind. You were close to your grandmother, right?”
“Very,” she said.
“When she passed, and you were all alone in the world. But Noble Enterprises was there. Familiar. Knowable. Comfortable, even, given your history with your grandmother. What’s more, you’re amazingly good at what you do. That gives a feeling of affirmation all on its own. I can understand how all that would make you want to stay.”
“Yeah,” she admitted. “I guess you’re right.”
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “There’s no reason to look sad about it,” he said quietly. “It’s completely normal. We all want what’s familiar. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to jump out of my own skin in this city. I keep longing for home, and the silence of the woods, and my old routine myself.”
“You do?” she asked, holding his stare. He nodded. “But you came. You’re staying put, despite the fact that you’d rather be home. How come?” she asked.
“Because I realized that unless I stepped out of my comfort zone, I was never going to grow. I’m ready. I’m ready for a change.” His thumb brushed her cheek softly.
Her heart began to pound in her ears in the silence that followed. Angus startled up suddenly, looking around the room. Lin glanced from the golden retriever to Kam with amusement.
“I’d love to know what that dog dreams,” Kam muttered dryly. Angus turned at the sound of his voice, her eyelids falling drowsily when he reached and scratched her behind the ears. “One thing I do know, she’s going to want a bathroom break now that’s she awake. You up for a walk?”
“I’d love one,” Lin replied, thinking that the brisk fall air might clear some of the confusion and chaotic thoughts she’d been having lately about work and Ian. What bothered her most was that she never would have been having these feelings if it weren’t for Kam.
He’d been the catalyst for everything.
• • •
Lin scrambled some eggs, which they ate with toast before they headed out with Angus. They walked south on the lakefront, Kam suggesting they take the path around the museum campus. It was a brilliant, warm fall day with the temperature in the low 60’s. They walked hand in hand, talking about anything and everything—comparing notes on favorite spots in London and Paris, architecture, the kind of music they liked. She learned that his full name was Kamryn Patrick Reardon.
“I told you my mother never gave up an inch of her Irishness,” Kam said sheepishly when Lin exclaimed over how much she loved the name. “The fact that Trevor Gaines seemed irritated by my Irish-sounding name only seemed to make me like it more.”
She recalled what he’d said about how withdrawn and laconic he typically was, and was warmed by the fact that he seemed completely unguarded on that walk. The sunlight sparkling off the great lake seemed to perfectly reflect Lin’s effervescent mood. Angus certainly seemed happy in the sunshine, bounding over to every dog and person she encountered on the lakefront path. If the person or pet seemed interested—which they seemed to be more often than not—Kam let the friendly golden retriever socialize for a moment before he pulled on her leash and Angus good-naturedly walked on with them.
Kam pointed to the western cityscape once they’d made a tour of the picturesque museum campus situated on the lakefront.
“Let’s go this way. There’s a park over here where we can unleash Angus,” he said.
“How do you know so much about the city already?” she asked, puzzled.
“Running,” he stated simply. “I’ve been out nearly every day since I’ve come to Chicago. Gave me a chance to check out the territory. Do you run?”
“Yes,” she said smiling, thinking of his extremely muscular, well-toned body. “But I doubt I could keep up with you.”
“I know how strong you are,” he said, and she thought he referred to having watched her dance. “You could keep up.”
They passed Lucien’s hotel and kept walking south. By the time they reached Coliseum Park, dark clouds were gathering in the west, although the sun still prevailed in the sky. Kam unhooked Angus’s leash in the enclosure, and the golden retriever immediately rushed over to bark and sniff at three other dogs. Lin laughed, watching her.
“If pets are supposed to share their owner’s personalities, you must have a social butterfly hidden somewhere inside you,” she told Kam amusedly.
He grinned, his expression doubtful. “I’d say Angus and I are complete opposites.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Lin murmured, her smile widening as she watched Angus bark and bounce around ebulliently with a chocolate Labrador. “You both certainly have the ability to make others happy.”
He opened his hand along her neck, his thumb feathering her jaw. She looked up at him and blinked. Until she saw the look on his face, she hadn’t fully realized what she’d said. He leaned down and kissed her. Lin knew it was his way of thanking her for telling him he made her happy. She smiled up at him when he lifted his head a few seconds later, knowing her heart was in her eyes. For once, she didn’t hide it. He did make her happy.
“I might have to take my word back on one thing. I’m just as good a shopper as you are,” he said, his hand still cradling her jaw, his gaze trailing down over the jeans, running shoes, and fresh, light green sweater he’d bought her. The sweater clung to her breasts, and his gaze lingered there—not for the first time since she’d donned the garment.
“I agree. You even got the sizes perfect. How did you do it?”
“I pointed out a woman working at the store who looked about your size. Except for there,” his brows lifting slightly as he glanced at her breasts. “She was smaller than you, but I didn’t say anything. I’m glad I didn’t. I like the result.”
Lin snorted with laughter. They walked back through the city, pausing to stroll around a bustling Millennium Park before they returned to Kam’s new apartment. By the time they returned to Kam’s building, it had become cooler and overcast. They’d be getting rain later.
When they’d left the building earlier that morning, Lin had experienced a moment of anxiety. What if they ran into Francesca or Mrs. Hanson? How would she explain what she was doing w
ith Kam when she’d called and told Ian she couldn’t make an important business brunch?
On the return trip to the building, she never even thought of it. Her head was too filled with Kam to consider anything else.
Perhaps the realization that she’d so easily forgotten her other life was what was responsible for her temporary relapse into her work mindset when they returned. The promise of a storm cloaked the apartment when they entered. The living room was cast in shadow.
“I’m just going to go wash up,” Kam said, pointing toward the bathroom.
“Okay,” she said, suddenly feeling shy for some stupid reason. The dim apartment seemed in stark contrast to their former warm, easygoing mood on the walk. There was a hushed quality to the luxurious interior. Expectant. It seemed very intimate. Her awareness of Kam suddenly ratcheted up several degrees, making her feel self-conscious and . . .
. . . excited.
She spotted the computer she’d been using earlier still on the floor. She walked over and picked it up distractedly, sitting on the couch. It wasn’t that she really planned to check her e-mails, they just popped onto the screen when she touched the mouse pad to turn off the computer. Spotting a new, potentially crucial, subject line, she pulled on her glasses. She was paging down on the e-mail, studying the screen intently when Kam spoke.
“Now you’ve gone and done it.”
She looked up in surprise. Her mouth fell open when she noticed his expression—both grim and amused at once.
“What?”
“I told you what I was going to do if I caught you working,” he said matter-of-factly. He stepped forward and grabbed the computer off her lap, setting it on the couch. She was reminded of his piratical side when he lifted his dark eyebrows in a challenging expression. “Are you going to come willingly for your punishment, or should I carry you?”
She smiled, half disbelieving, half anxious because she kind of did believe him. “Give me a break.”
His brows lifted another fraction of an inch, as if to say, I’m still waiting for an answer. His cockiness pricked her pride, but it also excited her. She lifted her chin, daring him with her stare. “I was just checking my e-mail. I’m not going anywhere.” She reached for the computer.
“Fine,” he said unconcernedly. “So your answer is that you’re not coming willingly.”
“Kam!” she squawked when he swooped down and lifted her from the couch so rapidly she was taken by surprise. She grabbed his shoulder to steady herself. She was suddenly flying through the living room. Kam gave her a dark glance when she met his stare, but she saw amusement pulling at his mouth. She couldn’t help it. She snorted with laughter.
“I told you that you were going to get it if you worked instead of focusing on relaxation and pleasure, buy you just had to go and test me,” he said with mock sadness as he carried her down the dim hallway.
“So now I’m going to be punished for the horrible crime of checking e-mail?” she asked, containing her grin. Despite his playfulness, she saw his determination. His single-minded intent to steal her away to the bedroom for what she expected would be more experiments in dominance and submission and smoking-hot sex sent a forbidden thrill through her.
“Somebody’s got to cure you of your addiction.” He shut the bedroom door with his foot and entered the suite, setting her down next to the four-poster bed, his hands lingering on her hips. “You agree with that, don’t you?”
She arched her eyebrows. “It’s hardly an addiction. But maybe I shouldn’t be quite so concerned about work.” He continued to watch her expectantly. “Especially on the weekend.” He waited. She bit her lip. “Especially on a weekend when I’m supposed to be focusing on fun.”
“And?”
“Pleasure,” she whispered. Suddenly, all the playfulness faded from his expression. He released his hold on her and sat down at the edge of the bed near the headboard.
“Take off your clothes.”
His quiet command kept repeating in her head like an echo. Her mouth suddenly felt very dry. She untied her laces and kicked off her shoes, feeling shy meeting Kam’s gaze. Her new sport socks joined her shoes on the carpet and then her jeans. Her fingers felt stiff as she began to unbutton the clinging green knit. The underwear Kam had bought her was in stark contrast to the casual clothing. He’d purchased three pairs of matching bras and panties, each of them silk and lace from a top designer. The set she wore today was a pretty periwinkle blue. When she’d teased him about his purchase of fine lingerie for a day of leisure earlier, he’d merely shrugged, unembarrassed.
“You might wear jeans, but underneath, you’re always silk,” he’d said.
She gathered the nerve to look up at him as she opened the lightweight sweater and shrugged it off her shoulders and arms. Kam sat unmoving, watching her with an alert focus. From where did these bouts of shyness come, when she’d already shared so many intimacies with him? She dropped the sweater on the floor with her other clothes, realizing that her moments of self-consciousness somehow sharpened her arousal. Her hands hesitated at her waist.
“Take off the bra,” Kam said. “I’ll remove the panties.”
Excitement shot through her at his words. The silence seemed to press on her eardrums as she unfastened the bra and peeled the cups off her breasts. As she tossed the garment onto the floor, she saw his gaze fix on her bare breasts, his nostrils flaring slightly. She stood before him, nude save for her underwear.
Kam blinked, as if coming to back to himself.
“Come here,” he said. He reached for a leather cuff on the bedside table. “Lift one foot to my lap,” he directed. “Use the table to brace yourself if you need to.”
She lifted her foot without hesitation. Her dance training had made her very sure of her balance. Kam opened his hand below her lower calf, sliding his palm along her ankle and heel, squeezing her foot lightly at the arch. He pressed the sole against his crotch. Lin tensed, arousal tingling through her. She could feel the shape of his testicles through his jeans. His cock was trapped in his briefs along his left thigh. She could feel the thick shaft along the left side of her foot.
When he wrapped the thick leather around her ankle and tightened the platinum buckle, she felt herself dampen. She couldn’t say precisely why she found the whole procedure intensely erotic, but she knew Kam agreed with her. She felt his cock thicken next to her foot.
“The other one,” Kam prompted. His hand caressed her heel deliciously before she removed her foot from his lap. He held out one hand expectantly and she lifted her other leg. He caught it at the ankle and brought it against him. This time, he tucked the captive foot more snugly against his balls, pushing the heel against his root and closing his strong thighs around it. Lin gritted her teeth, her breathing escalating as she watched him slip the black leather around her calf and lower it to her ankle. The feeling of tension only amplified as he tightened the cuff and his blatant arousal resonated into her foot.
After she’d lowered her leg and he’d put a cuff on each of her wrists, he stood from the bed.
“One second,” he said. “I’m going to get something from the bathroom.” He returned a moment later carrying the clip she’d gotten from her clutch earlier in order to restrain her hair for her shower. He handed it to her. “Can you put your hair up so that it’s out of your face?” he asked. Lin nodded, gathering her long hair. He watched her intently as she stretched, her hands over her head, twisting the mass. Her nipples tightened beneath his stare. He liked her in that pose. It was the same one he’d asked her to take earlier when they made love. The memory amplified the intimacy that seemed to be falling over them like a spell.
In the distance, she heard thunder rumble. He turned. She paused in the action of fixing her hair to her head when she saw him remove the bullet vibrator from the drawer. Kam noticed her expression.
“Since checking e-mail is a relativel
y small infraction, I thought we’d mix a little pleasure with your punishment,” he said with a smile. He set down the vibrator on the bedside table and began to unfasten the fly of his jeans. Lin just stood there, her body growing taut with anticipation, her nipples prickling and stiffening as he unbuttoned his shirt. He whipped it off with one brisk twist of lean, defined muscle. He kicked off his tennis shoes and socks rapidly, then jerked his jeans down over hips and legs. His boxer briefs looked starkly white next to the dark skin and hair on his muscular thighs. His erection pressed tightly against the front panel, a flagrantly beautiful package.
He picked up the vibrator. “Come here,” he told her. He sat near the bottom corner of the bed at a slightly slanted angle, his knees pointed toward the six-foot mahogany poster. “Crawl up on the bed and kneel next to me here,” he told her, patting the thigh toward the center of the bed. His hand opened along her lower back and then her hip, guiding her when she joined him on her hands and knees on the bed, crawling next to this body. “There,” he muttered thickly when her head hovered over his lap and she looked down at his cock pressed against stretchy cotton. He took one of her wrists and lifted it, repositioning it between his thighs on the mattress. “Stay still. I’ll tell you to move when I want you to.”
He twisted slightly, caressing her spine, his touch causing the tingling of her pussy to amplify. What was he going to do? His deliberate manner and orchestration of their positioning was increasing her tension and arousal unbearably. He slipped his hand beneath her panties and caressed her bottom. She bit off a whimper. Outside, thunder rumbled again.
“Shhh,” he soothed, pushing her panties down her thighs. “There, that’s beautiful,” she heard him mutter as he palmed one bare buttock and caressed the other. Heat flooded her pussy. He’d told her to leave on her panties for this simple yet powerful moment of eroticism. He was a devil with his little tricks. She jumped when he lifted his hand and popped first one cheek, then the other, his spanks light as though he was experimenting with the mechanics of the position.
