by Mary Burton
"Our timing is as impeccable as always," Mitch said.
She thought about the first time they'd made love.
It had been in the back of the scuba shop, in the storeroom. "To say nothing of our choice of locations."
Mitch picked up Buddy, unfastened his leash and then unwound it. The dog licked his chin and Mitch ruffled him between the ears. "We better get back to Grant's Forge," he said, looking at the dog. "I've a nice spot in my garage you'll like."
Extreme focus kept her voice even. "We're coming back to your place?"
His gaze settled on hers. "Why not? I've got more space than I need and the motels won't take a pet." Buddy barked at her. "See? My man Buddy, here, is okay with the idea."
They both looked at her, waiting for an answer. She was playing with fire and she knew it. "Just for a few days."
"Until you get your business sorted."
"Exactly."
He grinned. "Exactly."
Mitch's two-car garage was military neat. Shelves filled with dozens of different tools and neatly labeled paint cans hung above a neat work bench. Extension cords, ropes and larger tools hung from a pegboard.
Kelsey settled Buddy in his garage bed with a rawhide bone. Mitch had found her a cardboard box and a couple of old blankets with which she'd lined the makeshift bed. She set out his new bowls and filled one with Puppy Chow and the other water. "Do you think he'll sleep?"
Mitch switched on a small clock radio on the work bench and tuned it to an easy listening station. "I think so. He's had a long day."
She hovered close to the dog's box, knowing once Buddy was asleep it would be just she and Mitch. "Do you think he needs another walk?"
"You've taken the dog out three times since we arrived." He laid his hand on her shoulder. Sexual energy ricocheted through her body. "Let's head upstairs."
"Okay."
Chapter 14
Kelsey stood in the upstairs hallway facing Mitch. Though it was only eight o'clock, he'd locked up the downstairs and shut off the lights.
He took her hand in his and gently rubbed his thumb against her palm. Her heart thundered in her chest. The doors to his room and hers were open. Without words, she sensed again he was giving her a choice.
"You're not being fair," she said. Her voice was a hoarse whisper.
A slight smile tugged the edge of his mouth. "What do you mean?"
"You know when you touch me, I can't think."
He lifted an eyebrow, as he continued to make slow deliberate circles on her palm. "Really? I thought I'd lost my touch with you."
Heat rose in her body. "I wish you had."
"Why?"
"You throw me off balance and I don't like it."
He grinned. "Not even just a little?"
"I don't want to get hurt again." There, she'd said it.
He tugged her toward him and cupped her face. "I'd have done things differently the last time if I'd had a brain. This time won't be a replay of the last."
"How about we don't make any promises?"
He frowned.
But before he could speak and she lost her nerve, she rose up on tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Immediately, he pulled her to him. The kiss deepened.
She wasn't sure how long they stood there. Time ceased to matter. The problems of the last week vanished. It was just the two of them.
Mitch ended the kiss, but he kept his hand on her arm as if he didn't want to break the connection. He guided her into his bedroom. Kelsey willingly followed.
A very large four-poster bed, crisply made with a tan coverlet, dominated the room. She was vaguely aware of a dresser, windows, a door leading to a master bath, but now it was the bed that held her attention. She sat down on it staring up at him. After kicking off her sandals, she scooted to the center. The pink sundress slid up her thighs.
His eyes darkened as he drank in the sight of her tan, taut legs. The mattress shifted as he came down on the bed and straddled her body.
He ran his hand up and down her smooth leg. "Silk," he whispered, his voice rougher than sandpaper.
She smoothed her hands down over his chest and tugged the ends of his shirt out from under his belted waistband. He pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the floor beside her sandals.
Dark hair covered his tan, muscled chest. His belly was flat, the muscles so defined they looked as if they had been carved from marble.
She slid her hand toward his belt and unfastened it. He sucked in his breath as if he'd been burned. At least, she wasn't the only one ready to explode with desire.
Mitch lifted his hips so that she could push his pants down. She cupped his hard buttocks in her hands.
"Keep that up, and this will be over before it starts," he said.
"Quick and dirty works for me," she said.
"Sold."
"Do you have a condom?"
"Nightstand." He put on the condom in record time, though his hands trembled slightly as if he were a teenager. He pushed up Kelsey's dress and helped her wriggle out of her panties.
Sweat trickled between her breasts. She'd never wanted a man so much in all her life.
He pressed his erection against her moistness and then in one thrust pushed inside of her. Her body was so tight. It had been a very long time since Kelsey had been with a man. Sensing this, Mitch waited and let her body grow accustomed to him.
Soon he was moving inside her. His thrusts grew in intensity, mirroring her building desire. He lost himself to the erotic sensations. Within minutes, they both climaxed.
Mitch collapsed against her, dropping his head by her neck. His breathing was rapid, as if he'd just ran a race.
Kelsey drew lazy circles on his bare back.
She'd never felt more relaxed, more at peace.
Finally, he rolled off her and onto his back. He pulled up his pants and fastened them. She yanked down her skirt.
"How about a shower?" he said.
Now that the passion had gone, Kelsey felt shy. "You go ahead."
He took her hand and pulled her off the bed. "Don't tell me you are nervous?"
She shrugged, unable to deny it.
"Darlin', after what we just shared, what's a little water among friends?"
She kept her gaze hooded, unreadable. "Friends? Is that what we are?" She treaded into dangerous waters.
Mitch was determined to keep it light as he guided her toward the bathroom. He didn't want to spook her with a lot of the sloppy emotional words she didn't seem to like. But he wasn't going to deny that they'd crossed a threshold.
"Figure of speech," he said easily. "I'd say we passed friends about ten minutes ago." He reached in the large glass shower stall and turned on the water. The water heated, and steam started to fill the room.
Mitch reached for the buttons that ran down the center of Kelsey's dress. He unfastened three. The creamy edge of her breasts peeked out. "I'm liking this dress more and more."
She lifted a seductive eyebrow. "What do you like about it?"
He reached inside the folds of the soft fabric and cupped her breasts. "This."
She arched back, pressing her breasts against his hands. He grew hard again. The steam wrapped around them. He unfastened the last of the buttons on her dress and slid the straps off her shoulders. It fell to the floor.
She reached for his erection. They'd just made love and already he was ready to explode again.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her out of her dress and then set her a few inches away from him. "Let's make this one last," he said.
She laughed and guided him into the shower. Hot water pelted their bodies. He pressed his erection against her naked flesh. Despite his hope to savor this moment, raw, animal need pulsed through his veins. He wanted to be inside her again. Now.
He plastered her body against the shower wall, grateful now he'd paid extra for the larger stall. She hitched a leg around his waist and he pushed inside of her again. Her breathing was ragged and her fingers
bit into his back. She dropped her head back against the shower wall and moaned. Water beaded on her breasts and taut nipples.
Mitch couldn't take it anymore. Again, he started to drive faster and faster into her. She gripped his shoulders.
He exploded inside of her.
It didn't hit him until after the fact that he'd forgotten to put on a new condom. With Alexa or any other woman, he'd never made a mistake like this.
But the idea that Kelsey could be carrying his baby now didn't bother him in the least. In fact, it pleased him.
Later, Kelsey sat on the counter stool in the kitchen. Dressed in his oversized robe, her hair was still wet and her body thrummed with a delicious satisfaction. Mitch stood behind the counter, wearing only his jeans as he cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl. An omelet pan heated on the gas stove.
She pinched a bite of freshly grated mozzarella cheese. "And you cook, too. You are definitely a man after my heart."
He started to whisk the two eggs together. "That's the plan."
He spoke casually, but she sensed an underlying tension. Neither had spoken of tomorrows or the problems she'd yet to face.
"We forgot the condom during round two." The chances of a pregnancy now were slim to none and to her amazement, she felt a twinge of disappointment. The moment of sentimentality surprised her. She was practical to the bone when it came to this kind of thing.
"If you're worried about STDs, I'm clean."
And there was that, too. "So am I," she said.
"Then we've nothing to worry about except pregnancy."
She gulped. "We should okay on that front, too."
His expression was unreadable. "Okay."
God, this was all too serious. "Where'd you learn to cook?" she said.
He shrugged, accepting the change of conversation in stride. "If a man wants to eat well, he learns to cook."
"In all honesty, I've only mastered a few dishes," Kelsey said.
He poured the eggs into the hot pan and they started to sizzle. "Stick around town for a while and I'll teach you a couple of new dishes."
After they ate, they made love again before they fell asleep in each others' arms. Kelsey had never felt so content, so at peace.
"Bitch!" A figure stood in the woods outside of Mitch's house and watched Kelsey pass in front of a window. The fire should have killed her.
The arsonist stared down at trembling hands and drew in a deep breath. Too many things were going wrong. Donna's body had been found. And then Brenda Harris's. Chris. The fire.
"This has got to end now." The arsonist heard laughter and whirled around to find Donna Warren standing just yards away.
Donna had not returned for his usual taunting in several years. And now here she stood, her hard eyes' looking so much like Kelsey's, dancing with laughter. "I told you I'd haunt you to your grave."
The arsonist pressed trembling fists to an already pounding temple. The medicine was supposed to keep Donna away. "Get out of here!"
"I'm a bad penny. I always turn up when you least expect it."
"I won't let your brat ruin my life like you did. I won't!"
"She'll finish you off. My daughter will avenge me."
The arsonist glanced up at Kelsey's window. This would end tomorrow.
"What have I done?" Kelsey uttered the next morning when she woke up and stared at Mitch's empty side of the bed. His pillow still held the crease from his head. The sheets on his side were still warm.
Grateful he wasn't there, she rolled onto her back and dug her hands through her hair. The heavy scent of steam from his bathroom still hung in the air.
"Kelsey, remember the one thing you weren't going to do when you came back to Grant's Forge?"
Damn.
Her body still tingled from his touch and his scent still clung to her skin. And she realized to her utter displeasure, she wanted to make love to him again. Double, double damn.
Maybe she'd have been more levelheaded last night if she'd not made that stupid vow of celibacy years ago. If she'd gotten around to sleeping with more men, any man, she wouldn't have been one big hormone waiting to explode. Her feelings for Mitch weren't special. They were strictly biochemical. She'd had an itch and he'd scratched it.
It wasn't Mitch she was responding to so much. She was primed for any man. Right?
Who was she kidding? She still had a thing for Mitch. "You are a glutton for punishment."
She remembered all those years ago when they'd made love and she'd poured her heart out to him. And he'd stared down at her as if she'd suddenly grown a third eye. Love was the last thing he'd expected or wanted then.
And it was the last thing she wanted now. Love was not on her agenda. Love was a bad, bad thing that only caused pain.
Love.
She sighed. God help her, she was still in love with Mitch Garrett. "Kelsey, you are so, so sad," she said to herself, feeling the need to leave.
She glanced around the sun-filled room, noticed that the light made the area look all the more spartan. There was a desk by the window, a chair and a bureau. The furniture was simple, but very well made. Mahogany.
She rolled out of bed. Her feet touched bare wood. No rugs to warm the floor. Naked, she searched for her clothes. She found her panties under the bed and her dress thrown over a chair.
She finished dressing seconds before Mitch appeared in the doorway. Barefooted, he wore faded jeans and a white T-shirt tucked in at his lean waist. He'd shaved and combed back his damp hair off his face. He held two steaming mugs of coffee in his hands.
The sight of him made her insides turn to jelly.
He grinned as he saw her fumble with the buttons between her breasts. "I thought you'd sleep late."
She managed a smile. "I've never been one to sleep late." She finished fastening the buttons and glanced down. She'd accidentally skipped the third button. Swallowing a few choice words, she unfastened the top five buttons and started to refasten them.
He set down the mugs on the desk across from the bed. "I can help you with that."
"No!" Kelsey didn't mean to shout the word but if Mitch touched her, she'd be right back in that bed before she knew it.
"Are you sure?" he teased. "I don't have to go to work. We could stay in bed all day."
She glanced toward the rumpled sheets on the bed and then back to his blue eyes, which had darkened with desire.
So tempting.
Kelsey shook her head. "I really should go and check on Buddy. I know he's got to need a walk by now."
"Already taken care of."
Why did he have to be so efficient?
He moved a step toward her.
She retreated two. "Look, I really have to be getting back to town. I've got so much to do today."
He hesitated. "Like what?"
She dug her hands through her hair. "I've got to buy new clothes. I need a recharger for my cell phone. I never got one yesterday."
"All that can wait."
"No, it can't. I really need to get myself organized." She needed to get away from him!
His eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?"
Everything! "Nothing. I just need to get going."
"I thought after last night you might stick around for a while?"
She shrugged, trying to make the gesture look casual instead of stiff and jerky the way she felt. "I never stick around for very long."
"Kelsey, what we had last night was special." His voice had grown calm, steady as if he were talking to a jumper perched on the side of a building.
"It was great. Really great. No doubt about it. But let's not make it something it wasn't."
All traces of humor vanished from his face. His features hardened into granite. The loneliness that had stalked her for so many years squeezed her heart with a vengeance.
"Is this some kind of payback for eight years ago? Do you want me to feel the pain you felt then?" His voice was a low growl.
"No," she said genuinely surprised. "This had n
othing to do with eight years ago."
"Oh, come on, Kelsey. It has everything to do with it."
"I just need to leave. There's no hidden agenda, no sick need to strike back."
"Then what is it?"
"I just need to get on with my life. I've got pictures to take, places to see." She wanted to sound a bit flip, but she sounded pathetic.
"You're full of it."
"Excuse me?"
"You're scared."
She narrowed her eyes. "I am not."
He moved a step closer to her. "You are running scared because for the first time in a long time you felt something."
"Don't confuse love with sexual satisfaction."
The edge of his lip curled up at the edge. "I've had enough sexual satisfaction in my life to know that last night was different. We have something special and I want you to stick around so we can find out what it is."
For a moment, her resolve softened. She wanted nothing more than to go to him and have him wrap his arms around her body. But she didn't. "I've seen too many men who'd declared their devotion to Donna and then, when the glow of sex faded, they took off."
"You are not Donna."
Unshed tears burned her throat. If she didn't get out of here soon, she'd lose it.
"Look, I don't need to be analyzed. I just need a ride to my car."
"Don't let your mother chase you away from the first bit of happiness you've had."
"My happiness is not dependent on you, Mitch Garrett. I'll have you know I've been plenty happy over the last eight years."
"You've been running so fast and so hard, you've never given yourself the chance to know whether you are happy or sad."
His words struck dangerously close to the truth. "Look, are you going to give Buddy and me a ride to town or do I have to call a cab?"
Frustration tightened every muscle in his body and he looked at her as if he wanted to shake sense into her. "All right. Ten minutes, downstairs." He strode out of the room.
She wrapped her arms around her chest and tipped her head back, trying to hold back the tears that now glistened in her eyes. One tear escaped and she savagely swiped it away.
"I am better off leaving. I am better off."
