Kisses After Dark

by Marie Force

  “The kids,” Maddie said. “We need to get them from my mom.”

  “I’ll take care of everything, sweetheart. Don’t worry about a thing.”

  “Don’t want them to see me upset.”

  “They won’t.” He grasped her hand and held on tight, giving as much as taking comfort. He would get her through this, and then he’d fall apart.

  With her mother’s assistance, Katie was able to take a shower without getting her injured foot wet. The entire thing required an inelegant balancing act that had her constantly on the verge of falling. Somehow she managed to wash her hair and condition it, which was critical to controlling her propensity for frizz near the ocean.

  While Katie sat on a chair with her foot propped on a footstool, Sarah blow-dried her hair. “I feel very pampered,” Katie said.

  “I haven’t done your hair in ages. It’s fun.”

  “Remember when Cindy was eleven and decided she was going to cosmetology school? She ‘practiced’ on us?”

  “I recall several unfortunate haircuts before I had to take away her scissors.”

  “Oh my God! I thought Julia was going to kill her.”

  “The pageboy,” Sarah said, cringing. “Not a good look on Julia.”

  “That’s not a good look on ninety-nine percent of all women.”

  “As Cindy soon discovered.” Sarah brushed Katie’s hair until it was soft and shiny. “I’m glad to know that not all your memories of growing up are awful.”

  “They’re not. Of course they’re not.” She grinned at her mother in the mirror. “We had deployments.”

  Laughing, Sarah rested her hands on Katie’s shoulders and met her gaze in the mirror. “That we did.”

  “So how’s it going over at Charlie’s?”

  “Good, but…” She shook her head when she seemed to think better of whatever she had planned to say.

  “But what?”

  “Your father is being bullheaded about the divorce.”

  “Naturally.”

  “Charlie says it doesn’t matter, that we can live in sin for the rest of our lives if we have to.”

  “What does your lawyer say?”

  “Dan Torrington handled everything for me, and he’s on it. But he can’t make your father sign the papers, and he’s holding out because I get half of his pension. He’s so bitter about that.”

  “What right does he have to be bitter about anything when you did the real work of raising seven children, often on your own and frequently with his rages to contend with?”

  “Part of me wants to tell Dan to forget about the pension because I don’t really need it now that I’m going to be with Charlie, but the other part of me thinks…” She met Katie’s gaze. “I earned that money. I earned it.”

  “You’re damned right you did, and I know everything is great with Charlie, but what if, down the road, you change your mind? You should have your own resources to fall back on.”

  “I don’t think anything will go wrong with Charlie or that I’ll change my mind about him, but you’re absolutely right about having my own money.”

  “The whole thing makes me furious. Why doesn’t the general just set you free once and for all?”

  “I didn’t tell you this to upset you, honey.”

  “I know you didn’t, but still… Where does he get off stonewalling you when he’s put you through hell for more than thirty years already?”

  “He doesn’t think he put me through hell. In his mind, he was keeping a tight rein on the little woman.”

  “I’m so glad you’re free of him, Mom. Even if he doesn’t ever give you the divorce, you never have to spend another second in his presence.”

  “And for that I’ll be eternally grateful.”

  “I’m so happy for you and Charlie. From what everyone says, he’s a really nice guy.”

  “He’s amazing, and one of these evenings, I’d like to have you over for dinner so you can get to know him better. Bring Shane with you, if you’d like to.”

  Katie felt her face heat at the thought of inviting Shane to dinner at her mother’s new home to spend time with her mother’s new fiancé. Four days on Gansett and her life bore no resemblance whatsoever to what it had looked like a week ago. “That would be fun. We’ll do that sometime soon.”

  “You look beautiful, honey. Go have a nice time with a wonderful young man and let your hair down a little.”

  “My hair is down.”

  “Don’t be obtuse with me, Katherine. You know exactly what I mean.” Sarah leaned in closer. “Go a little crazy. It’s high time, wouldn’t you say?”

  “What’s with you and Gram today? Who are you and what have you done with my mother who’d never allow me to talk to a boy, let alone go wild with one?”

  “Your mother wants to see you happy. I want to sit back and watch you fall madly in love with an incredible guy and have him love you back the way you deserve to be loved.”

  “Mom! It’s our second date. You’re going to jinx me.”

  “I never said you had to fall madly in love with Shane, but if you do… Well, I’d be thrilled to be that lovely man’s mother-in-law.”

  “Mother!”

  Sarah laughed heartily, and even though Katie was a little horrified by the assumptions her mother was leaping to where Shane was concerned, the sound of her mother’s unfettered laughter was music to Katie’s ears.

  A knock on the door interrupted the revelry.

  “Oh, let me get that.” Sarah moved to the door before Katie could stop her. “Hello there, Shane. Don’t you look so handsome!” He did look really nice in a light-blue dress shirt rolled up over his tanned forearms and khaki shorts. The shirt did crazy things for his blue eyes. The word “dreamy” came to mind, which made Katie feel like a simpering teenager.

  “Thank you, Sarah. You’re looking quite lovely yourself this evening.”

  “You don’t have to suck up to my mom,” Katie said. “She’s already in love with you.”

  Shane laughed at Katie’s saucy comment. “What does Charlie think of that?”

  Sarah patted his chest. “He approves wholeheartedly.”

  “Mother…”

  “My beautiful daughter is ready to go. What do you have planned for the evening?”

  Before Katie could intervene and tell him he didn’t need to tell her, Shane said, “Dinner to start with, and then we’ll see.”

  Katie felt a shiver of anticipation go through her at the thought of what “and then we’ll see” might entail.

  “Well, don’t let me keep you,” Sarah said. “I was just saying to Katie that Charlie and I would like to have you two over for dinner. Maybe tomorrow night?”

  “We’d love that. Wouldn’t we, Katie?”

  When had her mother become so brazen? “Sure,” Katie said. “That’d be nice.”

  “Great!” Sarah clapped her hands gleefully. She came over to kiss Katie and then kissed Shane on the way out. “You kids have a great evening, and we’ll see you tomorrow. Is six thirty good for you?”

  “Fine by me,” Shane said.

  “Wonderful! I’ll see you then.”

  Chapter 16

  With Shane still standing in the doorway, Katie shook her head at her mother’s audacity. “Okay, that was mortifying.”

  “What was?”

  “She’s already pinned you down for a third date, and we haven’t even left on the second one yet.”

  “You don’t see me complaining, do you?”

  The way he looked at her, as if he were taking in every detail and liking what he saw, made her skin tingle and burn with awareness.

  “I love your mom and Charlie, too. They’ve become good friends since I’ve lived here. It’s never a hardship to spend time with them.” He closed the door and stepped closer to where she stood, riveted by the intense way he looked at her. “And it’s never a hardship to spend time with you either.”

  Say something. Be normal. Be witty. She cleared her throat and
said the first thing that came to mind. “Except for that time I almost drowned you.”

  He threw his head back and howled with laughter. It was the first time she’d seen him laugh like that, and she couldn’t believe the way it transformed his normally serious demeanor. “You’re funny, Katie Lawry.” He tugged on a lock of her hair as he said that, which sent tingles through her scalp. Was her scalp directly linked to her nipples? They stood up to take notice of his nearness, and she hoped he didn’t notice.

  “Yes, I love to joke about near drownings and other such topics.”

  “All’s well that ends well on the drowning thing, and besides, it gives us a good story of how we met.”

  “We actually met the night before,” she reminded him.

  “We can leave that part out. Me saving your life is so much more dramatic than saying we met at a dinner when my sister married your brother. That’s boring.” His fingers moved over her face in a light caress that made her want to beg him to touch her everywhere. “Did you think about me today?”

  “For a minute. Or two.”

  He smiled. “I gave you five whole minutes.”

  Her mouth fell open with surprise. She quickly closed it again when he stepped even closer, his hands landing on her hips and his gaze sweeping over her face.

  “I’m lying.” His lips hovered over hers, close enough to make her entire system go haywire with anticipation.

  “Oh.” She licked lips that had gone dry. “You are?”

  Nodding, he said, “I thought about you all day.”

  “You did?”

  “Uh-huh. Want to know what I thought about?”

  “Um… yeah.”

  “This.” He touched his lips to hers so lightly she barely had time to enjoy it before he pulled back. “I thought about that a lot.”

  “Could you please refresh my memory on that one? It’s all fuzzy.” The moment the words left her lips, Katie was appalled at how forward she’d been. But if his bright smile was any indication, he was more than happy to oblige her request.

  His lips met hers again. His hands cupped her face, tilting her to improve the angle.

  Katie was utterly captivated by the gentle way he held her face and moved his lips over hers in an undemanding caress that made her entire body go hot with feelings she’d never experienced before.

  “Katie,” he whispered as he pulled back ever so slightly, making her want to beg him to keep kissing her. “You’re so sweet. I love kissing you.”

  “Me, too. I mean… I love kissing you, too.”

  His smile made his eyes glow as he bent his head and came back for more. This time his lips were parted, which had her straining to get closer to him. She had no idea how to tell him what she wanted or where to put her hands.

  “Shane…”

  “Hmm?” He kissed a path from her mouth to her ear. She gasped when he bit down on her earlobe, which seemed to be directly connected to the place between her legs that she’d always thought of more in a clinical sense as a nurse. As it came alive with a startling throb of sheer pleasure, she could think of it only as a woman awakening to desire for the first time in her life.

  “I… I want…”

  “What do you want, Katie? Tell me.”

  “I want… more.” She couldn’t think of any other word to convey the restless energy pulsing through her body, which had been electrified by his touch.

  “How much more?” He continued to kiss her neck and throat. “I know this is all new to you, and I don’t want to do anything to scare you off.”

  “I… I haven’t avoided… this… because I was scared. It was for other reasons.”

  “I know, but that doesn’t answer my question. You have to tell me what you want, Katie, so I’ll know.”

  Like a wildfire sparked by lightning, a flashpoint of heat traveled through her, making her feel lightheaded and needy. “I want to do everything.”

  He raised his head to look down at her, as if to gauge her meaning.

  She swallowed. “Eventually.”

  “You’re killing me right now. I hope you know that.”

  “I’m so sorry. I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m like a bull in a china shop when it comes to this.”

  “I didn’t mean you were killing me in a bad way.” He dropped his hands from her face and moved them to her hips, drawing her in closer to him, until their lower bodies were pressed together and she could feel what their chaste kisses had done to him.

  “Oh.” She wiggled against him, needing to get closer.

  His head fell back and his eyes closed. “Katie…”

  “Help me. Show me what to do.”

  He captured her lips again, and this kiss was nothing at all like the earlier ones. This one was all need and desire and heat, blistering heat. His tongue slid over her lips before dipping inside her mouth in little dabs that made her want to beg him to stop teasing her.

  She wasn’t sure what he expected her to do, so she let instinct take over, rubbing her tongue against his, which made him groan into her mouth.

  His hands moved from her waist, up over her ribs, coming to a halt just under her breasts.

  She wanted his hands on her there more than she wanted her next breath, so she squirmed against him, trying to tell him what she wanted. But his hands stayed stubbornly still. Breaking the kiss, she said, “Please, Shane… Touch me.” Hearing the neediness in her tone as she all but begged him should’ve been humiliating. However, knowing she could ask him for whatever she wanted and he’d give it to her was incredibly liberating.

  He went slowly, probably because he still feared frightening her.

  As she clung to his shoulders, he moved his hands up and over her breasts, running his thumbs over the tight points of her nipples. Katie wanted to sob from the pleasure that coursed through her, pleasure unlike anything she’d ever known.

  “Is that good?” he asked, his voice rough and gravelly.

  “So good.”

  “Is your foot hurting?”

  “Not when I stand on my toes.”

  He tugged on the button that held the front of her dress in place. “Yes?”

  “Yes. Please.” Tomorrow, she would regret the way she’d all but begged him, but right now, in this moment, she couldn’t take the time to worry about her future regrets. She was too busy processing each new sensation and committing them to memory.

  Her dress fell open, and Shane slid the straps off her shoulders until she stood before him, bare from the waist up with only a black satin bra covering her. He touched her everywhere—her arms, her shoulders, the valley between her breasts. And then he dipped his head to kiss all the same places, making her legs go weak beneath her.

  He seemed to realize that so he guided her backward until she was sitting on the bed, her dress pooled at her hips. “Still okay?”

  She bit her bottom lip and nodded.

  “Lie back and try to relax.”

  The thought of relaxing in this situation was so preposterous she nearly laughed.

  “The other day,” he said, starting all over again with more kisses to her neck, along her collarbone and down to the upper slopes of her breasts, “after what happened at the beach, all I could think about was your amazingly gorgeous breasts.”

  She buried her fingers in his hair, needing to hold on to something. “You said you didn’t look.”

  “I lied. I looked, and I loved the view.” He nuzzled her nipple through her bra, making her nearly levitate off the bed. “I’d really love to see them again to make sure my memories are accurate.”

  Katie wouldn’t have expected to laugh just then, but how could she not? “It was only a couple of days ago.”

  “Feels like a lifetime.” He pulled lightly on the front clasp, obviously waiting for a sign from her that it was okay to proceed.

  Part of her was appalled at her behavior, and she had a fleeting thought that she ought to regain control of this situation before it was lost for good. But the other part
of her, the part that was feeling alive for the first time in her life, told her to nod, to give him permission to be the first man to touch her intimately.

  The bra sprang loose, and he pushed the cups aside. “Mmm, just as I recall. Beautiful.” He met her gaze. “Why me, Katie? Why now?”

  “I really like you, and I’m incredibly attracted to you.”

  “There must’ve been others who appealed to you.”

  “A few,” she said with a shrug. “Everyone who matters to me adores you. And…”

  “Tell me,” he said as he left a trail of kisses along her jawline. “I want to know.”

  “You know what it’s like to hurt.”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “That makes me feel less alone with my hurts.”

  “You’re not alone.” He put his arms around her and brought his lips down on hers in a deep, devouring kiss.

  Katie clung to him, wanting to get as close as she could to him. In the span of a few minutes, a lifetime’s worth of inhibitions had melted away. Now, all that remained was overwhelming desire.

  He broke the kiss and gazed into her eyes. “Tell me if anything is too much, okay?”

  Robbed of speech and the ability to breathe, she nodded.

  He touched her first, cupping and caressing, before he bent over her to add subtle touches of his lips everywhere but where she wanted him most.

  She arched her back, hoping he’d get the message, but he kept up with his plan to drive her completely crazy. Until he latched on to her left nipple, rolling it between his teeth and then sucking it into the heat of his mouth. As if she’d been electrocuted, because this was how she’d imagined it to feel, she went perfectly still under him.

  He used his tongue, his teeth and the gentle suction of his mouth to set her on fire with needs she hadn’t known she had before this, before him. Then he moved to the other side and did it all over again, changing her forever one kiss at a time. She spread her legs, looking for some relief from the throbbing heartbeat of desire between them.

  Seeming to understand what she needed, he pressed the hard column of his erection against her there, making her see stars, especially when he sucked on her nipple at the same time. Her entire world was reduced to the two places where he touched her.