Karina turned reluctantly to head back into the party, and saw that Kyle Austen Reed was standing in the doorway looking at her with a sad, almost sympathetic look on his face. It was the closest she had ever seen him to looking utterly sincere, with hardly a trace of his trademark dramatic flair on display.
Pulling herself together quickly, Karina said, “Hey, Kyle. How long have you been standing there?”
Kyle smiled sweetly and extended his hand to her, “Not long. Come on, darling, we need to go in. They're just about to announce us as Prom King and Queen.”
Karina took his hand, laughing, and walked back into the gym with him. She asked, “How do you know it's going to be us?”
He looked at her like she was crazy, and didn't even bother to address the question.
When, moments later, they were indeed announced as the Prom King and Queen, he smiled at her brilliantly, as if to show her how silly it had been to question whether the honor could have gone to anyone else.
Karina followed Kyle up onto the small platform at one end of the gym, the most glamorous function that it was previously used for being to host the candidates for student government as they gave their short and nervous speeches. Karina didn't imagine that those teenage potential student council reps could have felt any more nervous and exposed than she did at that moment.
Kyle put his hands up to quiet the cheering crowd, and they happily obeyed, looking at Kyle expectantly, waiting in breathless anticipation for the opportunity to hang on his every word.
He reached over and took the magazine out of her hands. She looked at him, startled, suddenly terrified to hear what might next come out of his mouth.
Kyle adopted a grave air, and hung his head for a moment, making a show of collecting his thoughts. The tension in the crowd grew until Kyle had everyone in the large gym eating out of his hands, and he hadn't even spoken a word yet.
Damn, she told herself, say what you want about Kyle Austen Reed, but dude is GOOD at his job!
Finally, he raised his head to look at the crowd. Karina inwardly groaned when she saw that he had tears in his eyes. Not a good sign, she said grimly to herself.
“I have an announcement to make,” he began, “And it's something that I think may be shocking and possibly even traumatic for many people in this room.
The crowd's attention remained rapt, focused on him. They were spellbound.
Kyle held the magazine aloft.
“I think most of you have already seen this,” he continued, “and, since you've seen it, I think most of you have probably been waiting in almost intolerable suspense, as I have, to learn what the outcome of our lovely Karina's decision will be. As the cover so aptly inquires...who will she choose? Who, indeed?”
Kyle paused for effect, looked down, and then up again two beats later.
--- ~ ---
“Now, this tragic love triangle has been the source of tremendous emotion, drama, and heartbreak for all involved. But, I have to tell you,” Kyle concluded, “That out in the hall I just witnessed a scene which touched my heart and soul, and helped me to come to a very important, though difficult, decision. I witnessed Ryan and Karina having an argument, over this very article. I didn't hear all of it, but what I did hear was Ryan ending by telling Karina, 'You have to choose.'
“And, ladies and gentlemen, when she turned around and I saw her face, I saw one thing clearly. She already had, although I'm sure she hasn't been able to acknowledge it to herself.”
Kyle Austen Reed snaked his arm around Karina's shoulder and pulled her close, “Karina, my darling, my love...I want nothing more than for you to be happy. I know this is a shattering choice for you. I know you feel torn between two great loves. I know you feel as if your heart is being torn right in two.
But, you and I, my darling, we must face the truth. You are in love with Ryan, I see that now. And I know you might never be able muster up the strength to let me go. So I'm making the decision for you, Karina. I am taking myself out of the equation.”
He backed away from the microphone dramatically.
Flinging his arms out wide to his side, he called, “I am setting you free, Karina Black! Go! Follow your heart! Be with Ryan! You have my blessing!”
With that, he turned and strode quickly out of the auditorium. The crowd stood in stunned silence until Sam took a few steps forward, her face transported. Clearly caught up in the emotion of the performance, she began a slow clap. Others gradually joined in until the entire gym was resonating with thunderous applause.
“Kyle Austen Reed, everybody!” Sam cried enthusiastically, “Kyle. Austen. Reed!”
Karina, unable to quite process the bizarre scene that had just played out in front of her, suddenly had a realization. In a weird way, Kyle actually had made it clear to her what exactly she needed to do next.
Of course, the ludicrous thought process he had gone through and the ridiculous conclusion that he had come to about the situation meant that he obviously wasn't helping her the way that he THOUGHT that he was helping her. But, in a roundabout way, his gallant gesture actually had served to clarify her thinking.
She turned and ran out the side door of the auditorium. The only thing left to do was tell Ryan.
Chapter 27
Still wearing her flowing black prom dress, Karina ran through the empty night time streets of Hope Falls. For about half a block, she tried to speed down the street in her mile high stilettos, but could not do it. Stopping, she slipped out of them and picked them up, taking off again down the street barefoot.
She realized that she must make an insane picture: barefoot, tears streaming down her face and bringing her mascara with them, racing like a wild animal down an empty street...all, of course, while wearing a couture gown, complete with Prom Queen sash and tiara. It wasn't something you would see every day.
Karina ran up to the front door of Sue Ann's Cafe and pulled. Of course, it was locked, the cafe was closed. But Karina was not going to be done in so easily this time. When Karina had related the rather humiliating story of having Sue Ann find her sitting on the ground outside the cafe door, in tears because the cafe was closed and she couldn't come in to knock on Ryan's door, he had laughed and casually mentioned the location of the hidden key that unlocked the back door.
She scrambled around to the back alley, freed the key from its secure hiding place, and let herself quickly into the kitchen, locking the door behind her and setting the key down on the stainless steel counter.
She ran through the kitchen and up the stairs, and began frantically pounding on the door, calling, “Ryan! Ryan, Open the door! I know what I want to choose! Ryan, I know!”
The door flew open and before her stood a bemused looking Ryan, hair a bit mussed, barefoot himself, and wearing nothing but a pair of faded jeans riding very low on his trim yet strong hips.
She was momentarily distracted by the sight of his chest, which her eyes followed down, down, down...all the way to the place where his happy trail disappeared into his jeans.
She didn't realize that she had actually fallen silent until Ryan cleared his throat, bringing her thoughts back to earth. She snapped her gaze up, to meet his knowing, sexy half smile.
She grinned back, “You were right Ryan, I had to choose. I had to figure out what I wanted out of life, and now I know!”
“Let me guess,” Ryan teased, “It has something to do with a tiara?”
She was confused for a moment, and then slightly embarrassed as she realized that she still had on all the Prom Queen regalia.
She strode into the apartment past Ryan, taking the crown from her head and setting it on his bookcase with her shoes, and whipping off the sash and tossing it on his kitchen table.
She turned to him, grabbed his hands in hers, and in an intense and sincere voice said, “I choose you. I choose you, Ryan. Whatever form that takes. If we're here in Hope Falls, so be it. If we're writing music and going out on tour together, that's fantastic, too. The realization I
had is...it really doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what our life together looks like. The only thing that matters is that we're together, and that it's OUR life.
“From now on, it's not about me choosing. Not ever again. It's about US choosing. We're in this together.”
Karina drew back, placing one hand on each side of his face, looking up tenderly into his eyes, and repeated again, “I. Choose. You.”
Ryan looked into her eyes for a moment with an intensity that was almost too much for Karina, it stole her very breath away. Then, with a suddenness that startled and thrilled her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and scooped her off the ground, pressing his lips passionately to hers. She felt his kiss all the way to her fingertips and toes. He moved his mouth against hers hungrily, moaning, his tongue sliding against hers and stoking her excitement.
He tore away breathlessly and looked her directly in the face. His expression was one of wonder, disbelief, affection, and hunger all at once.
“I love you,” he breathed, “I love you, Karina Blackstone.”
A cry escaped her involuntarily, and she smiled up at him, her own level of awe and wonder matching his, “I love you, too, Ryan! I love you so much!”
Ryan then gently and slowly brushed a stray curl behind her ear. She loved it when he did that. It made her feel cherished, and so well taken care of. She hoped with all her heart that she was able to make Ryan feel as well-loved as he made her feel.
Ryan reached down and picked her up, carrying her under the shoulders and knees, like a groom would carry a bride across the threshold. He kicked the door closed with his foot and proceeded to carry Karina, as if she were the world's most precious cargo, into the bedroom.
He laid Karina down on the bed, handling her gingerly, as if she might break. He again brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled at her.
She leaned up to begin kissing him again, and he moved his head backward, dodging her lips. He shook his head mutely. His fingertips continued their exploration of her soft skin, trailing over her arms and shoulders, at times making small circles or curlicues, but never stopping their steady motion, and never breaking contact from their feather-light touch.
Karina shuddered and relished the sensation, but after a few moments, reached out again and attempted to embrace Ryan. He smiled and pushed her shoulders back onto the bed, leaning down and whispering in her ear, “Just relax and let me touch you.”
After he breathed these words in her ear, he gave her earlobe the tiniest little nip with his teeth. A shudder of excitement worked its way through Karina's body, and she honestly didn't know if it was caused by the sensation of his teeth grasping her earlobe ever so slightly and squeezing – or the gently commanding words he had whispered in her ear.
She suspected that, like so many of Ryan's erotic talents, it was the combination of ingredients that he mixed together and timed so perfectly that gave her entire body the thrill of pleasure that currently ran up and down the length of her.
She relaxed her body against the soft mattress, her head resting against a mound of Ryan's overstuffed pillows. It wasn't in her nature to so willingly relinquish control – in bed or anywhere else – but she was learning to, with Ryan.
This was one of the things she loved so deeply about him. Again, in bed or anywhere else, they shared a crackling, sparring balance of power. One of them would be in control, then the other...and then the balance would shift. It was never entirely equal one way or another, but it was never on one side or the other for too long. Their subtle game of emotional and sexual “King of the Mountain” was one of the most intellectually and erotically stimulating things that Karina had ever experienced, and it was one of the things that she could see making their relationship fun and fresh years – even decades – into the future. They would constantly be surprising each other.
Not only that, she thought with a wicked smile, but experience has definitely taught me that – at least when it comes to sex – there are pretty amazing surprises in store anytime I let Ryan take the wheel.
As Ryan slowly caressed and massaged her skin, inching ever farther downward as the minutes wore on, he subtly nudged her gown downward. When it was around her waist, he lifted her hips from the bed and slid it off in one smooth movement.
He returned to the task at hand – caressing her, slowly, methodically, and lovingly. He ran his hands in patterns down her belly and upper thighs, always making sure to steer clear of the one area that Karina most wanted him to turn his attention to.
He smiled at her, “Patience, love.”
He grasped the sides of her panties and slid them slowly down her legs, taking his time, letting her feel the fabric as it passed over every inch of skin. He slid them over her pointed toes and tossed them aside, turning back to her.
She watched his gaze take her in, slowly, from head to toe. She had been naked with him before – more than once as a matter of fact – but never had she felt so naked as she did now, lying on the bed while he stood, clothed, next to her and examined every inch of her naked flesh.
He leaned down and began to caress her again, paying closer attention to the areas that he had glossed over before. He slid his hands up and down the length of her sides, her outer thighs, and then moved again to her inner thighs. His fingertips lightly played over the skin there, edging ever closer to the wet, throbbing center of her arousal, which was now aching for his touch.
Her skin was completely covered in goose bumps now, her breathing was shallow and rapid, and her chest was flushed with arousal. Her hips bucked impatiently, a totally involuntary response, as she met his eyes and mutely begged him for what she needed – the feel of his fingers on her most tender flesh.
He smiled at her and never broke eye contact as his hand again traveled upward, and her legs parted, even wider than they had been before.
Still looking directly into her eyes and smiling, he began to run his fingers up and down her hot, wet mound, teasing her by never giving too much attention to her pleasure button, the one place where his caresses might actually put an end to her sweet torture. No. His fingers would brush there, quickly, just long enough to make it throb with intense pleasure, just long enough to make her cry out and arch her back, and then they would skitter further down again.
Finally, even these pleasurable up-and-down caresses of her slick flesh became too much to bear, and she grasped his forearm, pleading with him even more desperately with her eyes, begging silently for him to give her release.
At this, he smiled at her again. He was still maintaining his intense eye contact with her, and she was determined not to be the first to break it. No. Even as he brought her to the highest plane of ecstasy, she was going to exercise every ounce of her steely will not to roll her eyes back in her head, or even to toss her head back. No. She would look him in the eyes as he gave her body the ultimate pleasure.
As Karina still held his forearm in her desperate grip, Ryan moved his hand slightly forward and slipped two fingers inside of her. She gasped and her body immediately tightened around them.
Ryan began to slowly work his fingers inside of her, moving them slowly and steadily in a beckoning motion, and it seemed to her that he was hitting every single sensitive spot the existed inside her body. Every single motion of his strong and sure fingers sent new and powerful electric waves through her body, and her breath began to speed up out of control. Her back arched and her grip tightened on his arm. Her eyes widened, still looking into his, and she gasped deeply.
Ryan, sensing that he had pushed her as close to the edge as he could without actually sending her over, raised his thumb and began to caress her swollen center of pleasure at the same time as his fingers continued to work their magic inside of her.
Immediately, she exploded. Fireworks of pleasure burst deep in her torso, radiating outward, making her lightheaded but never entirely stealing her consciousness this time. This time, she wouldn't let it. This time, she was bound and determined to look into Ryan's eyes
throughout her entire orgasm, no matter how powerful it was.
When he saw what she was doing – convulsing in orgasmic pleasure but never letting her eyes tear themselves away from his – a satisfied smile spread across his face.
Even before she had finished coming, he used his free hand to free himself from his jeans and slide on the condom that he plucked from his nightstand.
With her orgasm still pulsing through her body, she watched Ryan remove his hand from her, climb up in between her legs, and plunge himself inside of her.
She whimpered as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, his slow strokes drawing out her pleasure, leaving her breathless and weak. She caressed his face and stroked his hair as he moved gently inside of her, breathlessly declaring, “I love you, Ryan. I love you,” over and over in his ear.
As she gained her strength back, she began to move her hips in a rhythm that matched his, and he tightened his arms around her, resting his forehead against hers and whispered, “You’re mine Karina, I love you.”
After that, his pace quickened rapidly, and Karina matched her movements to his. She ran her hands up and down his back, which was now slick with sweat, and loved the feeling of his strong muscles bunching and unbunching as he thrust in and out of her.
Suddenly, she felt all the muscles in his back contract at once, and he hunched forward over her, pulling her closer in his arms. She brought her hips up to meet his entirely, and tightened her arms and legs around him as he reached his climax holding her tightly against him.
When his muscles relaxed and he drew back from his tight embrace, he pushed her hair back from her forehead lovingly, and showered her face with gentle little kisses. She continued to stroke his hair, and she loved the soft, fuzzy contentment that wrapped them like a blanket as they lay sweaty and breathless, caressing each other tenderly and whispering their love to one another.
The last thing Karina was aware of was the blissful sensation of relaxing completely against Ryan's strong chest, closing her eyes, and - for the first time in her life - drifting away on gentle clouds of sleep, enveloped in the arms of the man she loved.
Sweet Harmonies Page 29
