Adam hadn't been pleased to hear that Killian had skipped out on Rachel without waking her or at least leaving a note. He'd been completely convinced that the woman would have their head on a platter as soon as she got a hold of them. Not that Adam would have worried had she been just another girl, but he made it clear he liked Rachel and intended to see a whole lot more of her.
Killian had been honest enough with Adam to admit he liked the idea. Liked it a lot. So much in fact, it had driven him to flee. Adam hadn't been impressed by Killian's difficult admission, partly because he didn't believe Killian. He'd made that clear when he chewed Killian through to the bone before he rushed off to go right Killian's wrong.
Or he would have if it hadn't been for the emergency call from the Davis ranch about a fire. They had to assist the chief in calming down a very irate Chase Davis, not an easy task by far and certainly not one that had been handled quickly. It had been dark by the time they'd rolled on out of the ranch.
Adam had a few unfriendly parting words for Killian before he'd sped off in his cruiser. Something along the lines of he was going to Rachel's and Killian could go to hell. The words rang in Killian's head. Adam and him had been best friends since they were growing in their mothers' wombs
Killian didn't have any brothers and neither did Adam. What they had always had was each other. They'd been neighbors at birth and were roommates now. Not a day had passed that Killian hadn't spent with Adam, and the idea that suddenly now a woman might stand between them curdled Killian's blood.
This is just stupid.
He was being stupid, letting fear rule his mind. So he liked Rachel. He liked her a lot. She had that feel of being one of the guys. Maybe a shorter, weaker guy that they all picked on, but a friend nevertheless. A friend with a sweetly curved body and a natural sensuality that drove him wild. In an instant the image of Rachel in front of her mirror with her own hand down her panties flashed through his mind.
That is a show worth seeing twice.
Hell, a hundred times. Maybe with a little variation like spread eagle on a mattress feeding that hot little pussy of hers a dildo. Killian knew she had one hidden in her bedroom. He'd find it and then watch as she showed him how she used it. For all her spunk and sass, she'd do it to. She got hot when he got a little rough.
A stupid grin tugged on his lips.
"Ah, hell." He flipped his phone open and hit speed dial number three. That's exactly how many rings it took for Adam to answer.
"What?"
"I screwed up." Killian retorted just as bluntly. "I should fix it."
"Do you even know how?"
"Don't I at least deserve a chance?"
"When?"
"Now."
There was a long pause and Killian knew Adam debated the possibility that he might screw things up even worse. "You have a half hour. I'll bring dinner."
* * * *
"Okay, I need that drink now," Hailey stated by way of introduction when Rachel answered her phone.
It was nearly seven and the sun had dipped low in the sky. Despite the time of day, Rachel still hadn't managed to put on clothes. Well, she had put something on. Waking up naked sort of forced her to at least shrug into her favorite night shirt.
Waking up naked had also forced her to confront the reality of the previous night. A reality made clear not only by the bright light of day, but also by her two lovers. They'd made their statement silently, with no words either spoken or in writing before they slipped out on her.
Jackasses.
What do you really expect?
"Rachel?"
"I don't feel up to it, Hailey." She'd gone beyond depression now, sunk too low for even a drink to lift her back up.
"You sound like you need it, at least a friend. You want me to come over?"
"No. I think I'm just going to go to bed."
"At seven?"
"I don't feel too good."
"Okay, what is going on, Rachel?"
"I don't want to talk about it." She didn't. She'd made an ass of herself last night. Total humiliation, that is what it all added up to. Not because of the sex. Well, because the sex had meant something to her. How stupid was that?
It had been dumb to think that two men like Killian and Adam would actually take any serious interest in her. Dumb, but so easy to do. In their own exasperating, antagonizing way both men had excited her. They'd made her feel alive and interesting, but she wasn't the latter by any stretch of the imagination.
She was a boring homebody. The total opposite of the type of women Killian and Adam went for. That wasn't just self-pity. She'd seen their type with her own eyes at the party last night. Young, trim, with bodies that had no doubt been helped out with the skill of an artful surgeon. So she hoped, because it just wouldn't be fair for those women to look like that naturally.
"You're scaring me here a little, Rachel. I really don't think you should be alone."
"Don't be silly. I'm not going to do anything stupid. I'm just not up to going out."
"You're sure?"
"Positive. How about we go out for dinner tomorrow?" Rachel offered, knowing that Hailey wouldn't let up until she gave her something.
"Okay."
"How about we meet at the diner tomorrow at six?"
"No!"
Hailey's response came too quick, with a little too much desperation in it.
"What is"
"Why don't we go into Dothan and get some Chinese?" Hailey cut her off. "I haven't had Chinese in ages."
"Okay." Rachel would have pressed Hailey over her quick response, but she could do that tomorrow at dinner, and right now she just wanted to mope. "I'll be at your house at six."
"See you then."
Rachel flipped the cordless phone into the cushioned seat beside her and pulled her legs up even closer to her chest. It was a beautiful night out. Hot, but perfect. She'd wandered out onto the porch to watch the sunset and brood over all the indignities she'd had to bear in the past twenty-four hours.
If she ever saw those two again she'ddie of shame.
"Knock, knock."
Chapter 9
Rachel's head snapped up at the booming sound of Killian's voice. It had come not from outside, but in. With a leaping twirl she bounded out of the chair and went storming into the kitchen to intersect him.
He filled the kitchen door, large, heavily muscled and looking so damn dangerous in his cop uniform, especially with that heavy, black gun belt emphasizing the masculine cut of his hips. The polyester blend clung to every rippled ridge, highlighting every muscular bulge. The navy blue and silver colors made his tan look more golden, his chocolate hair richer and his eyes spark.
The man was lethal in that uniform and he knew it. Even as her eyes lit on the sight of his charming grin, her depression snapped straight into anger.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Coming by to see my favorite lady."
He swooped in to give her a hug and probably something more. Rachel didn't give him the chance to try. She smashed his booted foot under her bare one and would have kneed him in the groin, but he flinched early and she hit solid thigh instead. The blows might not have hurt, but they got the message across as clearly as her snarled words.
"Don't even try that. I should call the chief and have you arrested."
"For what?"
"Breaking and entering."
"The front door was unlocked."
"That doesn't mean you just walk into a person's house without knocking?"
"I did knock. Didn't you hear me? I said, knock, knock."
"That's not knocking, especially when you do it after you already entered!"
"Technicalities." Killian waved away her concern. "Now what is with the attitude? I'd think after last night you'd be a little more gracious and thankful."
"Gracious? Thankful? For what? For you breaking into my house last night and molesting me? Or for you running out on me this morning without so much as a 'ho
w do you do'?"
"Don't worry about how you did, sweetheart. You did just fine as a beginner. With a little work and a lot of training, I'm sure you'll improve."
"What?"
"Of course, this attitude is not a positive start."
Rachel reeled, gasping at words that shot past her too fast for her lips to form. The man was insane. Certifiable. Ah, hell so was she for putting up with him. Yeah, she was just as responsible for this fiasco as him. If she had done any of the normal things last night, like get her gun out and shoot him, then he wouldn't be back to plague her today.
She hadn't done anything so extreme, because more than a little part of her had been excited that he had pursued her last night. That part trilled to life at having him here, in her kitchen, pushing her again. Damn if she would let him know it. She could only imagine the horror of things to come if he realized how firmly he'd sucked her into his warped little world.
"Maybe you're just grumpy because you're hungry."
"Don't worry about that. I have reserves."
It came out without thought. Her normal response to anybody who suggested she needed to eat when she didn't feel like, the response typically got smiles and some laughs. A self deprecating joke, it failed to meet the mark this time, probably because she failed to deliver it with her normal light hearted ease.
Killian read the insecurities and doubts that she had always tried to keep hidden beneath the surface. Instead of ignoring the comment as she hoped, he met it head-on. Cocking his head, he swept her body with a heated gaze.
"Yes, you do, and they are very sweet reserves, indeed. I would hate to see any of them waste away, which is exactly why Adam is bringing dinner."
"Adam? Adam is coming over here, too? Jesus, you guys really don't quit."
"Not when we want something as badly as we want you." He edged closer, deepening his voice until it felt like a sensual lick across her body. Rachel knew what that tone led to, knew she couldn't stop her body's response to it, but she could stop him.
"You stay away from me." Rachel matched his steady forward motion with a backward one.
"Thoughts of you have been a burn in my balls all night."
"That's disgusting."
"Disgusting, dirty, and so much damn fun, I've got plans for tonight."
"I got a plan for you, sitting in a jail cell while I press charges."
"Mmm, bondage. I see we're thinking along the same lines."
"I am being serious!"
"So am I. I've only got an hour lunch, which gives us very little time. I look at it as a competition. How many orgasms can I give you in a half hour?"
"None! You are not giving me anything. What the hell do you think this is? A one woman whore house, open at your convenience? Well, it isn't. I'm not here to fulfill every sick little craving that pops into your mind at a moment's notice. If that's what you want, then I suggest you take yourself off to your perverted little club where there are women without the self-respect or dignity to know better than to wait on some oversized jackass to come and fuck them!
"And another thing"
Rachel had lost herself in her tirade and hadn't notice Killian closing in on her. He took her by surprise when he stole the words right from her lips with his kiss. Spearing his hands through her hair, he held her still as he took immediate advantage of her open mouth to slide his tongue right in.
Rachel's immediate response was to retaliate by clamping her teeth down around the velvety voyager. She should have bit him, but couldn't bring herself to harm him. Instead she closed her lips over his tongue and sucked, dragging the sensitive top over the scrape of her teeth.
A ragged, torn moan breathed into her mouth as he took control of the kiss. Hard, dominant, he took what he wanted, what she was only too glad to give him. She'd have given it all to him, didn't even need the hand pressing into her lower back to direct her to move in close. Her body sought his of its own volition, seeking the warmth and strength of his.
Her breasts flattened against the heated rocks of his pecs. A slight move, unconscious at first, had her nipples puckering, pining for more, just another teasing rub and she could stop. The little motions sent sparklers of pleasure down to her pussy, igniting it with a fire that had it weeping for the impressive erection burrowing into her stomach.
Air came in limited supply and she soon started to feel lightheaded, sagging into Killian with the need for his strength to hold her up. His head lifted, but his hands remained warm and firm along her cheeks. Rachel gazed up at him, trying to blink away the effect of his kisses. Slowly the world ordered itself back into reality and the remembered pain of waking up alone that morning cooled her overheated libido.
"You know what I like most about you?" Killian whispered another too soft, too quick kiss over her lips, assuring that she wouldn't have the coherency to actually answer his question. "I like the fact that you never shut up. It provides a man with ample reason to kiss you quiet."
Rachel's eyes narrowed and she stepped back, a safe distance away from him. "Don't think I'm going to forget how mad I am at you with a few kisses."
Killian's head tilted and he studied her for a moment. "Are you wearing anything under that nightshirt?"
"That's it! Get out!" Her finger pointed the way.
"But I haven't even got in yet."
"Ah! You are such a pervert." The arousal still sparking through her blood set her hands to life and she started to smack him. Pelting slaps against his arms and chest she began to corral him back toward the kitchen door. "Everything that comes out of your mouth is sick and disgusting. I don't know how your mother raised you, but can only imagine the disappointment and shame she'd feel if she heard the way you talk to a lady."
"Not so much a lady all the time though."
"What?"
"Ow! Hey. That hurt."
"What about this one?"
"Damnit! You're going to leave a bruise."
"Good!" She gave him a sharper, more stinging smack to the arm. "I hope you carry it with you for the rest of your life! I have never been so disrespected in my entire life. The way you talk to me, treat me"
"Hey, now, I ain't done nothing but make you moan and groan with pleasure. There isn't any way you can complain about the way I treat you."
"Really? You think I was moaning and groaning with pleasure when I woke up to find you'd skipped out on me while I slept? You think I enjoy being used like some cheap floozy you picked up for a night? You think I like looking in the mirror in the morning and thinking I was a sucker to let myself be used so roundly by two arrogant jackasses? You think that didn't hurt me?"
The smug arrogance seemed to fade right from his face. "I never meant to hurt you."
"Well, you did."
"I'm sorry, Rachel."
"Sorry isn't good enough to convince me to let you crawl back in my bed."
"Then what is? Tell me what to do and I'll do it."
"Tell me why you left this morning. Explain to me why you wouldn't do that again."
"I"
"What? You what?"
"I like you, okay?"
"That's it?" Rachel stared at him in amazement. It made no sense, but she couldn't doubt the sincerity of his words. For the first time since meeting Killian he looked miserable, a testament to just how much his simple admission had cost him.
"You don't understand, Rachel." Killian shifted and then shrugged past her, no longer looking in her direction. "I've neverliked a girl before."
"You're kidding me."
"No. I guess it plays into all the bad thoughts you have about me, but women tend to be"
"Toys?"
"Momentary entertainments," Killian growled.
"What is the difference?"
"The difference is that I want to spend more time with you." That hadn't been what she had asked, but she didn't argue the point. "I like you and I'd like to see just where this all leads."
Rachel couldn't believe her ears. Not that anybody could blame
her. Killian had bad-boy written all over him. He fairly choked on his own words, but she couldn't let him get away with being vague.
"You're talking about a relationship."
Killian took a deep breath and met her gaze head on. "Yeah. I guess that's what I'm saying."
"You've never had one before, right?"
"Nope."
"You realize that means you wake me up before you leave or at least leave me a note. You call me during the day and we make plans. We spend time together that's not either arguing or fucking."
"I know what a relationship is, Rachel."
"Well, forgive me for not being bowled over. You're like a kid who just found out he has to get a shot and certainly not a man who wants to start a relationship."
"I'm sorry, but this is very difficult for me. I don't like"
"What? What don't you like?"
"Being vulnerable, okay? I don't like somebody else having power over how I feel. It kind of pisses me off, to tell the truth."
"I see, so you want a relationship with me, but that pisses you off?"
"No! Damnit!" Killian shoved a rough hand through his hair. "I'm just screwing this all up and that's exactly why I left this morning."
Rachel couldn't help it. She smiled. She had to. Finally Killian's unflappable exterior had been cracked. Knowing that beneath the hard shell lay a man who had insecurities and vulnerabilities made him even more attractive to her.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Killian grouched.
"Just a little."
"You know I'm going to get my revenge later in that big bed of yours, don't you?"
"And who says you're going to be in that bed later?"
"Oh, honey." Killian's protective macho shield solidified back into a solid coat of armor. "Let's get one thing straight about this relationship. I don't ask and you don't deny."
"Is that a fact?"
"Yes, it is. Another thing you might as well know up front, I'm going to be taking what is mine every night."
"You are?"
"The only thing that is going to stop me is death itself. Otherwise you can guarantee that"
"Anybody home?" Adam's cheery holler drowned out whatever Killian had intended to say.
Menage Amour 82: Tasty Treats Volume 1 Page 7
