Kiss Me Kate
Page 10
“Kate, what do you think is going on here?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“What was last night about? That whole seduction scene you set up?”
Kate leaned back and tried to gather her wits about her. Her face flushed slightly at Rick’s mention of her amateurish attempts at seduction. When he continued to watch her, she took a deep breath and decided to offer him complete honesty. Rick had become her friend and she owed it to him to tell him the truth about her feelings. Problem was, as she tried to think of the words to describe her mindset, she had to admit it seemed almost as if she was using him. For sex.
“Rick…I was a virgin when Zack and I got married. And regardless of his infidelities, I was completely faithful to the creep. I was hoping, I mean, I kinda thought maybe…” Her voice failed her.
“You want to gain a little experience in the bedroom.” Rick’s voice was monotone and offered Kate no hint to his feelings regarding her confession.
“Well, no, I mean…okay, yes. It’s just that you’ve become an important person in my life and I trust you. I think we established last night that we both seem to be attracted to each other, at least sexually. Jill believed you would be a good teacher in terms of—” Kate paused, realizing she was digging herself deeper with every word. Especially when Rick practically growled at her use of the word “teacher”.
“Oh hell, I’m screwing this up royally,” she muttered.
“So you were hoping for some lessons in getting laid? You want a fuck buddy. Isn’t that what you’re saying, Kate?”
“Good Lord, no! I mean…damn it, Rick, do you have to make it sound so crude? Fine, you want the truth? Yeah, I want the getting-laid part, but you’re making it all sound so callous and calculating. I like you, Rick. I like you a lot.”
Rick’s scowl grew even darker and Kate felt her own temper begin to flare. “Fine, Rick, what did you think last night was about if not, you know, sex?”
A laugh that had very little to do with humor and quite a bit to do with disappointment passed Rick’s lips. “I thought we were embarking on a relationship. I was hoping to make love to a woman I’ve grown to care very deeply about.”
“A relationship?” Kate all but screamed the phrase back at him. “What in the hell gave you that idea? My God, Rick, I just got out of the world’s worst marriage. I have absolutely no desire to get back into anything even hinting of a permanent relationship.”
Rick flinched at her heated response. Kate fought back a groan, wishing she could call back her thoughtless words. “Oh shit. Rick, please try to understand. The most I can offer you—the most I can offer anyone right now—is a casual relationship with no strings attached.”
“Friends who fuck.” Rick’s voice was deep. Kate could hear the hurt and anger in his words. She wished he’d stop throwing around such horrible phrases.
“Dammit, Rick. Jill has casual flings all the time. Lots of women do. Is it so wrong for me to want the same? I want to be with you. I want it so bad I can taste it, but I can’t give you more than my body and my friendship. I’m very sorry, but I’ve only just now gotten to the point where I can look at myself in the mirror without cringing. I like the woman I’ve become this year and I don’t want to lose sight of her again.”
“And how on earth would that happen if you were to start dating me? I like the woman you’ve become too. You must realize that.”
“I don’t know how it would happen, I just know it would. I’m free, honestly and truly free, for the first time in my life and I don’t want to give that up.”
Rick sighed heavily. Kate watched his anger dissolve into something that bothered her even more—sadness. They sat in awkward silence and Kate fought against every fiber in her being that was screaming for her to run away as fast and far as possible. She hated confrontations.
“Well,” Rick finally said, his voice quieter. “It would seem we are at a bit of an impasse.”
Kate nodded and swallowed hard in an attempt to dislodge the lump in her throat. If Rick asked her to leave, she would, but the idea of not talking to him any more left her aching and cold. Damn him. Why couldn’t he at least try to see things from her perspective?
“So I guess this calls for a compromise,” he added.
Kate was shocked by his words. She’d expected him to kick her out, yell and scream at her. She certainly didn’t expect this calm, collected conversation.
“A compromise?” she asked, clearing her throat.
“You want a casual, no-strings-attached fling, is that correct?”
Kate simply nodded, wondering where on earth Rick was going with this.
“I want more, Kate. My ultimate goal with you is a long-term, committed relationship.”
Kate had to physically restrain herself from trembling at his words. Long-term? Oh no. Hell no. “Doesn’t sound like there’s much hope of compromise, does there?”
Rick grinned, but Kate noticed the smile never reached his eyes. He stood up, reaching down to pull her to her feet. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
His answer was enigmatic at best. “Meaning?”
“You’ve promised to stay and help me until Wes gets back on his feet and I intend to hold you to that.”
Kate nodded, uneasy with the immense relief she felt at knowing she could stay with Rick. Damn her rebellious heart. She’d be a fool to hang around him any longer than necessary because the fact of the matter was, he was the epitome of danger and her heart was in definite peril. How would she ever be able to resist him and maintain the flimsy grasp she had on her newfound freedom?
“Okay,” she agreed slowly, unsure what he would ask in return.
“While you’re here, we can indulge in this casual sex you’ve got such a yearning for, but I want you to promise I’m the only one you’ll engage in any fling with while we’re together.”
Kate started to protest that the whole concept of “casual” was the idea that there wouldn’t be a commitment, but then she thought, who am I fooling? There was absolutely no one else in Madison—maybe the planet—who pushed her sex buttons like Rick.
Besides, with Rick standing so close, looking down at her with those dreamy chocolate-brown eyes, she was too horny to argue over nit-picky details. “I guess I can live with that,” she answered, silently congratulating herself for her calm tone.
“I should warn you, Kate. I don’t intend to hold back. If it’s lessons in lust you want, you’ve come to the right place.”
Kate’s pussy quivered at his sensual threat and she felt a sudden dampness between her thighs.
“And you?” she asked. “What will you expect from me?”
Rick smiled, his gaze warm and dear. Kate sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly in an attempt to block out the beauty of it.
“You will allow me to plead my case. Once a day, every day that you’re here. I have every intention of changing your mind about us, Kate.”
Kate tightened her hands into fists, anxious to shield their trembling from Rick. “Plead your case how?”
“With words, angel. Only words. I won’t use your body against you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“So once a day, you’ll tell me why we should be together and…?”
“And that’s it.”
“And in return, you will…I mean, we can…” Again Kate stumbled over the words.
“Have sex, fuck, screw. What do you want to call it, Kate? It’s your game.”
“Sex will be fine.”
“Sex it is then,” Rick answered easily. He pulled Kate toward him. “Should we seal the deal?”
Kate didn’t have an opportunity to respond as Rick bent down to kiss her. His lips rubbed so lightly against hers, she could barely feel them. Unfortunately, as seemed to be the case with Rick McAllister, nothing was ever as it appeared to be. The second she relaxed in his gentle grip, he upped the ante and devoured her mouth.
As his teeth and tongue con
quered everything in their path, Kate felt a bit more of her hard-won independence slipping oh-so sweetly from her grasp.
Desperate for air and distance, Kate pushed back, somewhat surprised when Rick relinquished his grip without a fight.
“Deal?” he asked, his voice husky.
“Yes,” she whispered in reply—and wondered if perhaps she’d just made a deal with the devil.
Chapter 13
“Come on. Grab your coat. I want to go check on my Harley.”
“The motorcycle?” Kate was surprised by Rick’s quick change of subject. She reached for her denim jacket as he grasped her hand and started tugging her toward the front door. “Believe me, Rick, you don’t have to worry about that. The thing hasn’t moved since you left.”
“What?” Rick asked in fake astonishment. “You mean you didn’t go cruising while I was away?”
Kate laughed, relieved by how easily their conversation had reverted back into the no-pressure commentary she’d come to enjoy. Rick was so easy to be with and talk to that Kate often forgot about her cursed shyness. “Good God, no. I’d be scared to death on one of those things.”
Rick halted halfway across the yard. “You mean you’ve never ridden on a motorcycle?”
Kate shook her head.
Rick looked up at the dark clouds in the sky and sighed heavily. “Well, it doesn’t look like we’ll have a chance to correct that oversight today, but soon, Kate. Soon, you and I are going to go soaring.”
“Soaring?”
“That machine makes you feel like you’re flying. There’s nothing like it. Come on. I’ll show you.”
As they entered Rick’s large, heated garage, Kate immediately noticed the covered motorcycles in the far corner.
“Two of them?”
“One belongs to Wes. Every now and then we pull them out and, according to Jill, play at being weekend warriors.”
“I’m not even going to ask what that means. I think I can figure it out for myself.”
Closing the door behind them, Kate took her first long look at the place. She’d never had much reason to come into the disconnected garage as she preferred to park her hunk of junk in front of the house so she didn’t have such a long trek across the yard.
“Wow,” she mumbled and Rick laughed.
“I guess you can see what I’ve spent my time on these past few years when I should have been renovating the inside of the house.”
“This place is huge,” she exclaimed. “I’ve never seen so many tools. What’s under that cover?”
“That is money in the bank, sweetheart,” Rick replied, pulling the cover off a Corvette. “I like to tinker with it when I’m home. It’s a ’74 Stingray with T-tops and only forty-seven thousand miles. I’ve rebuilt the engine, done some major bodywork and refitted the interior with all original parts. All that’s left now is the paint job. I’m thinking about midnight blue with a white racing stripe across the top.”
“Oh no,” Kate exclaimed. “You’re a motorhead.”
Rick laughed. “I like fine machines. But what I really wanted to show you was this.” With that, he pulled the cover off a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. It looked like something out of Easy Rider. Kate giggled at Rick’s obvious delight over being reunited with the vehicle.
Walking over, Rick straddled the bike and put his hands on the handlebars. “Now I’ve come home.”
Kate laughed at his almost orgasmic groan. “This can’t be normal behavior.”
“Perfectly normal,” Rick assured her. “Come here, I’ll show you.”
As Kate approached, Rick surprised her by suddenly lifting her up and over the cycle, facing him.
“Put your legs around my waist.” He used the same commanding voice he’d used many times last night, a voice that never failed to leave her hot and bothered.
As she placed her arms around his shoulders, Rick’s hands crept underneath her jacket, pulling up her sweater.
“Hey!” she squealed when he found the bare flesh at her waist. “Your hands are cold.”
“That’s why I put them there,” he joked. “You can warm them up for me.”
Rick used his cold hands to pull her even closer and soon they were sitting pelvis to pelvis. She could feel his hard erection through the thick material of her jeans and immediately began to rub against it softly.
“Is this the casual-sex part?” she whispered as she reached up to pull Rick’s lips down to hers.
“Mmm, yes ma’am. It sure is.”
Kate was thrilled when Rick followed her lead and took her mouth in a hard, long kiss. Kate decided she could kiss Rick forever and never get over the incredible feeling. His lips were moist and soft, with a dangerous habit of making her forget everything except the touch of them. They should be registered as a lethal weapon. Then his hands crept up her back to unclasp her bra and she figured his hands should be added to that deadly list as well. She tried not to consider how efficiently he’d unhooked her bra. Not that she was thinking about much when she felt him slowly shoving her clothing upward until her breasts were uncovered for delicious assault by his mouth.
Taking one hard nipple in his mouth, Rick sucked hard. Kate clung tighter to his hair, pulling him closer. Rick gently nudged her back until her shoulders rested on the handlebars of the bike. She could only imagine what she must look like with her legs clinging to Rick’s waist, while she lay in front of him across the Harley like some sort of biker-babe feast.
His lips and hands tormented her breasts and she couldn’t stop rubbing herself against his hard cock. In another minute, she’d say “pride be damned” and start begging him to take her. Rick, obviously sensing her distress, pulled back a bit. Kate groaned and closed her eyes, her head thrown back.
Until she felt Rick’s hands at the waistband of her jeans.
Her eyes flew open as she saw Rick looking at her, his dark eyes filled with unrequited desire and lust.
“Rick,” she whispered.
“Trust me.” Once again, Kate was lost to those two words.
Rick unbuttoned her jeans and slid the zipper down, but made no move to pull them down.
Giving her the sexy grin she was coming to adore, he leaned closer, his warm breath brushing her cheek. “Just one little touch.”
His fingers toyed briefly with her pubic hair before slowly sliding inward until the tip of one finger rested firmly on her clit.
“Oh!” she cried as he applied a bit more pressure. “Oh Rick.”
Satisfied, he pushed her harder against the bike and continued his loving assault on her breasts as his finger pressed and stroked her to the pinnacle.
Her breathing was harsh and her hips began moving of their own volition. She was flying, soaring, just as he’d promised and then she heard her own strangled scream as Rick simply said the word, “Now.”
The world dissolved into colors and music and Kate floated through the heavenly clouds until she felt Rick working her jeans over her hips. She opened her eyes to find Rick’s gaze burning her body alive with its intensity.
“I want you, Kate.”
“Then take me.” Pushing up onto her elbows, she helped Rick divest her of the tight denim, no small task on a motorcycle, before leaning forward to open the front of his jeans. Fisting her hand around his hard cock, she pulled him free. She licked her lips and started to lean forward for a taste, but Rick halted her movements.
“Not this time, angel. You take me in that gorgeous mouth of yours and I’m a goner. Lean back again, the way you were earlier. This time, when I come, it’s going to be inside that sweet pussy of yours.”
Rick reached back and pulled a condom out of his back pocket. He quickly sheathed himself as Kate watched through lowered eyelids. Her mind was in overdrive and she was panting—honest-to-God panting—with desire.
“Hurry,” she hissed.
Rick chuckled and reached for her. Pulling her upright, he lifted her hips until he was poised at the drenched opening to her body.
“Rick,” she gasped.
“I know, Kate. Damn it, you’re tight, baby. So good. You feel so fucking good.”
His own breathing was harsh and labored and she took solace in the fact that this joining was affecting him as much as her.
When he was fully seated within her, he stopped and both of them struggled to catch a deep breath. His gaze never left hers and she was well aware of the fact he would call a halt to everything if he thought she was in pain or distressed. After a few moments, Kate felt the muscles of her pussy begin to clench and her body began to make its own demands.
“Fuck me, Rick.” The feeling that she would suddenly expire if he wasn’t moving inside her overpowered her.
Her words served as the impetus and Rick gently pushed her backward on the bike. As he rose up to stand over the motorcycle, he leaned forward, coming inside her more fully.
“Yes,” she hissed. “Like that, just like that.”
Rick began to thrust into her and she reveled in his unrestrained passion. He took her harder and faster, shoving her higher and higher until she disintegrated once more. Her orgasm seemed to trigger his own powerful climax and Rick collapsed against her chest, kissing her heaving breasts and showering her with the loveliest words she’d ever heard. Words like “amazing” and “beautiful” and “incredible”.
I made him feel that way.
Plain old Kate Harper just rocked Rick McAllister’s world.
Hot damn.
Chapter 14
Three days later, Rick watched the sun rise over the mountain and once again marveled over how good it felt to be home.