by Bonnie Dee
“It must be nice to have a large family.” Kelly sounded wistful. Her eyes looked sad.
It made Ren want to gather her up in his arms and hold her. Instead, he changed the subject. “Okay, I bet I can tell you your sun sign now. It’s Capricorn, right?”
“No, Aquarius.”
“Well, when’s your birthday?”
“January twentieth.”
“Hah. On the cusp. That explains it. You have the workaholic, serious vibe of a Capricorn. But I can see Aquarius too. You’re cerebral like that…and kinda reserved.”
Kelly sipped her drink. “Well, that’s very astute of you. I guess you already know me then. There’s hardly any point in talking.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be insulting.”
“I don’t really believe in astrology,” she said stiffly.
“There are a lot of factors involved. It’s not like an exact science but there are general patterns you can read, or so my mom says.” He wolfed down the last bit of sub, hoping he hadn’t offended her too badly. It was a good thing he hadn’t added the part about her coming across as anal and repressed.
“Maybe.” She folded her napkin and laid it beside her plate.
“I may not have guessed your sign, but I called you right, didn’t I? Quiet, hard-working, neat and you don’t allow much play time for yourself.” He smiled to take any sting from the words.
“I entertain myself just fine,” she snapped.
God, she was a prickly one. “Yeah, but how often do you do something impulsive? Take an unexpected day off work or go on a shopping spree?” He lifted his empty glass. “Or do shots with an almost stranger?”
“I don’t need to drink to have a good time.” Kelly sounded more indignant by the second.
Ren raised an eyebrow. “No. But we could do it anyway, just for fun.” He wondered what demon was running his mouth for him.
Her jaw tightened and her pink lips pursed. Her fine, pale eyebrows drew together. “Fine!”
“Fine?” Ren was taken aback by her abrupt agreement. “Well, all right then.”
In minutes they had cleared the dishes. Two juice glasses with a shot of tequila in each stood on the table between them.
He leaned his elbows on the table and hunched over them. “Okay, this is like truth or dare but the dare is downing a shot. So it’s up to you how much you drink.”
“I won’t be drinking anything then. I don’t have a problem with telling the truth,” she said primly.
Ren spun the glass before him. “You can even ask the first question.”
“All right.” She paused a moment. “Do you have any other piercings besides those?” She indicated his face.
He absently touched his eyebrow ring. “No, just two. That’s too easy. You’re supposed to ask something probing like ‘when was the first time you had sex?’ That, by the way, is my first question.”
Kelly was so fucking adorable when she blushed and tossed back her shot that he wanted to kiss her more than ever, to taste tequila and fruity lip-gloss.
Her eyes watered as the alcohol burned its way down her throat and she coughed.
Ren grinned widely. “I thought it was easy for you to tell the truth.”
She scowled and when she could speak again said, “Okay, is this probing enough? Do you ever resent your mom having different relationships and not sticking with your dad?”
He considered her question seriously. “Not really. As chaotic as it sounds, I feel like I grew up in a pretty good environment. Nobody screamed at or hit each other. Things shifted and changed a lot but I learned to roll with it. What about your parents?”
“My mom was an alcoholic and that about tells it all,” she said brusquely.
“And your dad?”
“Never met him.” She tapped the empty glass in front of her, cheeks flushed from her shot. “Back to the sex question. When did you first…you know?”
“Sixteen. I was on a double date with my brother, Steve and his girlfriend. They got the car. Me and my girl had to take a blanket into the woods. We got so fucking bit up by mosquitoes it was awful.” He paused, remembering. “Well, the sex wasn’t so awful.”
He glanced at Kelly and her flush had deepened. The demon took control of his tongue again and he asked, “Have you ever slept with a stranger?”
“No. Have you?”
Ren would have answered but felt like taking a shot. He gulped it, thumped the glass on the table then asked the question that had been in his mind since the start of the evening. “Would you kiss somebody you just met…like me for example?”
Kelly reached for the bottle and poured unsteadily into the glass.
When she was finished drinking, he said cockily, “You could’ve saved yourself the shot and given me the kiss.”
She rolled her eyes and changed the subject. “Do you have any tattoos?”
“Yes.” He lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt to show the tribal design around his biceps then stood up, unsnapped his jeans and slid them down far enough to reveal the heart on his hip. It proclaimed his eternal love for Linda. “We were seventeen and stupid, what can I say.”
“Whatever happened to Linda?”
“She went to college. I didn’t. Last I heard she was already in grad school while I was still stocking shelves at Save King.” He fastened his jeans and sat back down. “Never would’ve worked out with us anyway. We were too different.”
“Do you ever wish it had?” She ran her finger up the side of the glass catching a stray droplet of orange juice.
Ren thought for a moment. Linda was like a tooth that had been yanked a long time ago, but sometimes a random nerve ending gave a dull pang. “No.” He winked at Kelly. “’Cause then I wouldn’t be sitting here doing shots with you.”
She snorted and leaned back in her chair. Her eyes were alcohol-glazed and a smile played over her luscious lips. He hoped she didn’t decide to take another drink. He didn’t want her to puke.
Ren asked his next question. “Is there anyone in your past like that? Somebody you loved and lost?”
She paused before answering, “No. I was always too focused on working and taking care of my mom and sister. I never had time for a relationship.”
Ren felt a pang at the regretful tone of her voice. It sounded like she’d never had the chance to be young. How could someone so beautiful be so lonely and sad?
“One last question,” he suggested, “then maybe we could kick back and watch a movie or something. Your turn. Go ahead. Ask me anything.”
“Are you currently involved with someone?” Her eyes challenged him to tell the truth.
“No. Not right now.” He tried to imbue the words with nuances of but I’d like to be. “Come on.” He stood and reached to help Kelly up from her chair. Her hand in his was hot and the simple contact sent licks of fire to his groin. His dick was half-hard in his pants and he shifted a little, hoping she didn’t notice the bulge. He was seriously attracted to this girl.
Ren saw a lot of women. Playing lead guitar in a band drew them like flies to honey. He wasn’t above having a fling when the situation presented itself. But, he’d never met anyone like Kelly at the clubs and bars where he played. He hadn’t felt this intrigued by someone in a long time.
She swayed a little.
He held onto her arm and slipped his other hand around her waist, leading her to the couch. He sat her down and flipped on the TV, which was tuned to the History Channel. He changed it to TVLand and the Munsters marathon.
“You’re kidding, right?” she said.
“This is a classic.” He kicked the volume up a notch and the laugh track bubbled joyously through the room.
“It’s junk.” She wrinkled her nose.
“Hey, it’s our culture. Pop culture, the common thread that binds our nation together,” Ren teased. “Don’t tell me you’ve never watched the Munsters or Gilligan or I Love Lucy?”
She leaned against the back of the couch, closing her eyes. “
Don’t. I’m too tired to even begin that argument. No, I never watched those shows.”
“Well, you’ve really missed out.” Ren slid next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “You’ve got to see this. It’s the one where Herman and Grandpa get locked in a bank vault.”
He glanced at Kelly. Her eyes were half closed. Ren was pissed at himself for letting her get this drunk. If he hit on her now it would be like taking advantage and, damn it, he really wanted to take advantage. Those lips! He had to kiss them soon or explode. He felt the heat of her shoulders beneath his arm, her hair brushing his skin and her hip pressed against his.
“Hey, wake up,” he whispered. He jiggled her a little with his arm.
Her eyes opened. She turned her head toward his, looking up at him with wide, hazel eyes. She lifted her face, her lips slightly parted, ready for kissing.
He cupped her jaw in one hand and leaned in to taste the sweet lip-gloss, the tequila and a faint tang of orange juice.
Her mouth was as soft and inviting as he’d imagined it would be.
Chapter Two
Kelly wasn’t drunk. Not really. Yes, she was buzzed, but she knew what she was doing and what she wanted. What she wanted was Ren. She had been aroused by him all evening and, if she was honest with herself, from the moment he’d stooped over her on the stairs asking if she was all right.
He wasn’t the type of guy she usually dated. She had occasionally gone out with other musicians from the orchestra. Once in a while a friend would coerce her into a blind date with an accountant, a doctor or a professor—all respectable, solid citizens. Ren was a rock musician, unconventional and impulsive, not her type at all.
When he was in the room, it was impossible to look away. He had an undeniable magnetism and erotic charge, and it had been so long since she’d been kissed.
Her lips melted beneath his, soft and pliable as bubblegum. They were ready to be molded into whatever shape he desired. She closed her eyes and surrendered hers, grateful not to think at all for once.
His mouth was warm, wet and in control. His tongue delved between her lips enticing hers to respond. His arm around her shoulders and the other hand at her waist held her steady as he took possession of her mouth with his.
A shiver ran through her at his demanding kiss. She whimpered quietly and curled a hand around his neck. His long hair tickled the back of her hand. Her other hand curled into his shoulder, warm and strong under his T-shirt. She clutched the fabric in her fist and lost herself in the whirling dizziness caused by his kiss and too much tequila.
He moved his arm from around her shoulder and cupped her neck in his palm, tracing his thumb along her jaw. His hand at her waist slowly slid up her side over her rib cage and underneath her camisole.
His hot fingers against her tingling flesh sent a sharp stab of lust to her crotch. She knew she should push his hand back down, but instead let it move all the way up to her breast, his palm burning into her skin, as his kisses grew deeper.
Oh god, he was touching her naked breast! She had no bra on under the camisole and his searching hand had latched onto her small mound. He kneaded it gently, teased her nipple to hardness between his thumb and forefinger, then cupped her breast. His hand felt hot and heavy. She wondered if he could feel her heart pounding in his palm.
Kelly gasped wildly at the touch, arching her back as she silently pleaded for more. She craved the touch of his mouth on her nipple so much that she whimpered into his kiss.
Ren drew her even closer. She could feel his erection, hard and heavy, against her.
She threw her leg over his thigh, pressing her crotch against it, wanting that pressure there, right where the heat seemed to pool and intensify. She clung to him, her kiss growing aggressive and hungry. This was all happening too fast and her logic told her to stop it, but the truth was she desperately wanted him. She couldn’t fool herself that he had seduced her because she was drunk. The alcohol had only reduced her inhibitions enough to say ‘yes’ to what she had wanted all along.
Ren’s fingers at the back of her head were tangled in her hair. When he tried to free then, he tugged on her scalp. “Sorry.” He pulled away from her mouth, laughing as he disentangled his fingers, ruining her ponytail in the process.
The brief break from breathless kissing gave Kelly a chance to compose herself and regain some perspective, but, looking into Ren’s sparkling eyes, she still didn’t want to stop.
“Is this okay?” he asked, raising a questioning eyebrow. “You had a lot to drink. I don’t want to—”
She shut him up by peeling off her shirt and camisole in one swift move. The cool air touching her skin raised gooseflesh and she shivered.
Ren’s eyes went wide and looked bluer than ever. He blinked a couple of times, staring at her breasts. “Well, alrighty then.” He gave a half laugh, as his hands spanned her waist and he drew her fully onto his lap then a little groan when her weight settled firmly on his erection.
She straddled him and bent her head to kiss him, wrapping both arms around his neck. She liked being on top, the sense of control it gave her. She ground her crotch against the bulge in his pants and was rewarded with a low moan and a tightening of his grip on her bare back.
His palms dragged up and down, rubbing against the skin along her spine, then slid down until he cupped them underneath her ass, pulling her more snugly against him.
When Kelly finally drew back from his hot mouth and looked down at him, they were both breathing heavily. She reached out to brush a lock of dark hair from his forehead, entranced by the sexiness of his sharp features and piercing eyes. Fingering the tiny silver ring in his eyebrow, she murmured, “I’m really not like this. I don’t usually—”
“I know,” he said. “Neither do I.”
She must have looked skeptical because he added, “Seriously. I mean, yeah, sure, I’m in a band and there are women around, groupies even and sometimes things get a little…heated, but not like this. This is different.”
He sounded so sincere Kelly really wanted to believe him. She knew he was probably playing her, but at the moment she didn’t care. She reached down to the hem of his T-shirt and tugged.
He lifted his arms and let her strip it off him.
Kelly’s heart raced even faster at the sight of his naked torso.
He had the kind of lean, streamlined muscles she had imagined…not too bulky, simply sculpted. His skin was nightclub-pale rather than beach-tan and his dark aureoles and nipples stood out in sharp relief on his chest. A light scattering of dark hair lay between them. The trail took up again below his navel heading down into his jeans.
The thought of where it led made her stomach flip. She ran her hands up the trail of hair on his stomach and it twitched beneath her touch. She looked into his eyes and they were dark and aroused, gleaming in the flickering light of the TV.
The dark blue tattooed band around his biceps flexed as he reached for her, fondling her breast once more. He leaned down and latched his mouth on it.
The tugging sensation at her nipple and the sight of his dark head bent attentively over it sent waves of lust through her. She moaned quietly and put a hand to the back of his head, holding him there.
He alternated sucking hard and gently lapping first one nipple then moving to the other.
Kelly’s sex pulsed with each strong pull until she thought she might come just from the pleasure of his mouth on her breasts.
He reached down, unsnapped her jeans and slipped his hand in the front, sliding into her underwear and feeling for her clit. He found the little nub and brushed his finger over it, rotating lightly, gently.
She jerked and gave a choked cry, spreading her legs farther apart to grant him better access. But it was awkward with jeans in the way.
“These have to go,” he murmured against peak of her breast. Lifting her off his lap and laying her back on the couch he helped her out of her pants. Kneeling beside the couch, he pressed his lips once again against her
skin, kissing his way down from her breast, over her heaving belly to the pale triangle of curls at the apex of her thighs. He blew lightly over her light brown curls then parted her folds like the petals of a lotus and dipped his tongue inside.
Kelly whimpered as he lapped over her clit and pressed her head back into the couch cushions, arching her hips. It had been so long since she’d had a man minister to her like that and right now she felt like she needed the release more than air. She moaned loudly and shamelessly, pressing up against his mouth.
He licked his way from her clit down to the entrance to her channel. He snaked his tongue inside as far as he could reach then pulled it out again. In and out, he repeated his tongue fucking until Kelly was arching beneath him. Then he attacked her clit again, lapping over it with tender strokes that left her breathless and wanting more.
Looking down at Ren’s spiky, black hair and the partial profile of his face, Kelly felt a surge of intense arousal. She hadn’t felt so alive or so passionate in…forever. It was like she was waking from a long hibernation and swelling with life and lust. She wanted him to lick her forever with his wicked, clever tongue.
After driving her wild with his tongue for several minutes, Ren pulled away. “Why don’t we go to your bed? More room for maneuvering.” His blue eyes were practically black, his dilated pupils telegraphing his acute desire for her.
The heat, in his eyes had Kelly practically swallowing her tongue, but she managed a nod. “Okay.”
He stood up then bent and scooped her up, carrying her with ease, as if she weighed no more than a wisp of dandelion fluff.
Kelly threw her arms around his neck. Her legs dangled over one of his arms and she felt like a child. She snuggled her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder and kissed his hot, silky skin. He wore no cologne and simply smelled like male.
“Right or left?” he asked at the end of the short hallway.
“Left.” She felt suddenly shy as he reached down and turned the knob, opening the door to her bedroom. She hadn’t invited a man there in well over a year. His entrance into her inner sanctum felt weighty with significance.
