JD was missing for a moment, but he quickly appeared out of his own room having shed the bags inside. He flipped down a table top, and motioned for her to slide onto the couch that sat directly behind it. Taking the pie bag from her he pulled out pieces and asked if she wanted hers with cheese. Kelsey refused, then made faces at him while he nuked a slice of cheddar right over his.
“It’s a southern thing. Just tell me you’ll try a bite.”
She shook her head, “I don’t know.”
She sat and watched while he pulled out a coke for her, and scooped ice cream, serving the desert on dinnerware that was nicer than what she had at home.
He slid in next to her and proceeded to try to get her to eat a bite of the cheese covered pie. His slice was gone in moments, and hers followed soon after. He asked about the kids. So she told him stories, promised him that Andie’s behavior had been fine, and soothed him that it was all right for her to have his daughter this long. He promised her this touring thing was going to slow way down here really soon, and Kelsey told him she was looking forward to that.
Later, they decided the pie hadn’t been big enough and they nuked the last two pieces. Again he put cheese on his and insisted that she try a bite. Only this time he came after her with the fork full of pie and cheese.
“No!”
He waved it around like you might to a small child who didn’t want to eat his strained peas. “Come on, Kelsey, it’s good. Try a bite.”
She shook her head, her mouth clamped together.
“You’ll like it. I promise.”
She shook her head again, stifling laughter, until he manually tried to get her to open her mouth. First with his finger on her chin, which almost worked. But when his fingertips traced her lips, they parted in surprise at the ripple that spread through her. He fitted the fork into her open mouth and she bit down in surprise.
He had only fed her a bite of pie, but his eyes held hers in a way that seemed to have nothing to do with pastry. Only as she sucked in a breath did she realize that the pie was in her mouth and it actually was good.
She said so. “Ohhhh my God.”
“Here, have another.” He held up the fork again, giving her another bite. And another, until he’d fed her the remainder of the pie.
“That was so good.” The words just tumbled out of her mouth.
But another voice interrupted. “Can you two go to bed? It’s two thirty.” Alex stood in his open doorway, scratching his head and blinking sleepy eyes.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. We’ll be quiet.” Kelsey felt so bad. She’d woken him up in the middle of the night on a moving motel.
“Sorry, Alex.” JD scooped up the plates and put them into the sink. He carefully folded the table back up and secured it in place, before grabbing his jacket in one hand and her fingers in the other. He led her down the short hall, just across from Alex’s doorway and into his open one.
Kelsey’s eyes almost bugged out of her head. The room was so small, and there was nowhere to sleep. She almost said so, when JD unfolded a bed at her waist height, much like the table top had. He added a few pillows while she still stood in the open doorway. “You sleep on that?”
“Every night. It’s fairly comfortable.”
She eyed the thin strings supporting it at each end. “It won’t hold both of us, I’m surprised it holds you.”
“I can clear out underneath, and you sleep on it.”
“No! It would drop me on you and kill you in the middle of the night.” That thing looked scary. The mattress looked plenty fluffy and it was somewhere just wider than a twin, but those little strings were too weak. She said so.
“They’re wire, Kelse. They’ll hold, I promise.” He scooted over and she backed out the door to make room. Turning, he sat himself on the high bed and bounced, promising again, “It’ll hold.”
“You maybe.”
He grabbed her and pulled her between his spread legs, closing the door behind her. Wrapping his arms around her waist he leaned back, lifting her off her feet. He gave a few test bounces while she tried not to squeal. “See, it holds both of us.”
“Okay! Set me down.” She whispered it, not wanting to wake Alex again.
He let her slide down him until her feet hit the ground, but he didn’t let go. The friction sparked something and his grin faded to a hot look in the dim light through the window. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think with him looking at her like that.
Just as fast as he had grabbed her, he released her.
A sharp stab of disappointment hit her square in the chest, until she felt his hands. His fingers traced her jaw, and she held perfectly still, breathing slowly, not wanting it to ever end. Her eyes drifted closed as he followed the lines of her face to her lips, and there was nothing she could do to stop her head from turning and pressing to his fingertips.
She didn’t see him coming but she felt him, his breath was sweet from the pie, and she could smell whatever aftershave he’d used. It took forever for his mouth to find hers, but when it did she felt enchanted—suddenly awake from a long sleep.
There was nothing tentative about this kiss. His mouth molded to hers, changing pressure, nibbling along her lower lip. His hands held her steady, and he explored her.
Her own hands crept up his arms, loving the feel of him, solid beneath his clothes, strength sliding off him in waves. Her arms slipped down, locking around his waist. The simple act of lacing her fingers and holding him there brought him just a fraction closer. JD didn’t need any other signals.
He changed the kiss. His tongue traced her lower lip and slipped into her mouth when she sighed, bringing with it a flood of heat. For a moment she just enjoyed being tasted. He was pure sex in the middle of a lonely life. So she leaned into him, with her body, with her mouth, with her tongue, giving back what he was giving her.
She didn’t know how long they clung like that, just tasting, but his fingers found her hair, and tilted her head back, gaining access to her throat, and kissing her there over and around the locket that he’d given her, while his hands traveled down her back and slipped under the edge of her sweater. He wrapped one arm around her while his mouth slipped down into the wide open neck the sweater revealed. His other hand slid up under the front, finding her bra, and creating a deep need to lean into his touch.
A sigh reached her throat, and he stopped. It took only a second, and no second thought, to look at him. His eyes found hers, giving no indication why he’d ended what was wonderful. While he watched her face, she felt his fingers tickle at her waist, grabbing the hem of the sweater, and it was a moment before she realized he was silently asking permission to take it off. Languidly, she raised her arms, saying yes, and the soft fuzz slipped up her torso and past her lips which gasped as she felt his mouth on her breast.
His teeth grazed what the sweater had revealed even before it was over her head. His hands roamed her body, and her bra simply went missing, leaving her bare for his fingers to explore. His tongue touched the tip of her nipple, sending her nearly over the edge, and she realized that she wasn’t close enough. One leg slipped up over his, and when he realized what she was doing, he grasped her hips and held her steady. His fingers gripped through denim, while she shifted and climbed him, until she straddled his waist and he held her flush against serious evidence of his desire.
He kissed her mouth again, while she pulled the long sleeved shirt up his chest, waiting until he pulled his arms down, maintaining the kiss until the last moment when she tugged the shirt over his head, him breathing like he was tortured to not be in full contact. She dropped it, not caring where it was so long as it was gone.
His mouth found hers and their hands worked at the same purpose, maintaining as much naked skin contact as possible. His chest was hot and solid pressed to her breasts, and she rubbed up against him feeling wanton and wanted. One of his hands splayed warm over her bare back, the other grabbing her hip and locking her to him while his body moved in a way that lef
t no uncertainty about what he wanted to do.
She moved against him, a sensuous ‘yes.’ He toed off his shoes, that movement alone creating friction in the right places and making her crazier. She reached back to peel the heels from her feet, making her chest jut forward. And he took full advantage. All she could do was feel, and he was lifting her, rubbing against her, and setting her down on the soft mattress. His mouth left hers, making a slick path behind her ear, down her throat and over the tip of one breast. Her fingers found his chest and touched ridges of muscle that made her stomach clench and flat nipples that made his. The textures of him ranged from smooth to rough, but every inch of him burned with fever.
He left her, and again she felt a momentary panic. But her jeans were moving, down her hips, and off the end of the bed, until she was lying there in only her necklace and a white lace thong. He traced the edges reverently then kissed her navel, making his way back up until he was lying beside her and pulling her knee up and over his hip. He watched her face while his hand slid down her belly and under the edge of the lace. Her eyes glazed when he found her, his fingers testing, slipping and rubbing.
Her hips moved in response to his touches, wanting more, and feeling too much. She bucked against his hand as one rough finger slid inside her and the groan was from his throat, not hers. Her own hands searched the front of him frantically, flying until they reached the edge of his jeans and popped the buttons open, shoving down the band of his underwear until he fell free, thick and heavy, into her hand. He pushed against her fingers, and she focused just long enough to see his own vision go hazy. She wrapped her hand tight around him and enjoyed the feel of him in her control.
His breathing labored like her own, and his whole body moved in response to her touches. His eyes slipped closed and she leaned in to kiss him, fusing their mouths together in a common want. But abruptly he pushed away, pushed her hands off of him, and stood. She would have felt scared, but she was still hot and still wanting, and suffering from the lack of him. With careful movements he shed the last of his clothes, and stood naked before her, then reached out and removed the lace that was her last hiding place.
For a moment, he simply looked at her, his eyes roaming what lay before him, want shining bright in his gaze. She felt the bed shift as he came back beside her, and his body heat reached her before his fevered skin did. His mouth had no trouble finding hers again, and for a minute he kissed her like that was all he was allowed to do. But his kisses made her heady, and she rolled against him, challenging him to do the same. He answered.
For a few seconds he fumbled, the rip of foil and the feeling of his movements let her know he’d put on a condom. She saw him move over her, finding a place for himself between legs that easily parted for him.
His fingers trailed reverently along her skin as though she was satin, not human, and they found her ready. Her hands inched up the bands of pure muscle along his arms, and her body drew toward his, magnet to iron. Finally, she felt his thick head at her entrance, and she pushed against him, desperately wanting.
Slowly and by degrees he tortured her, rocking into her inch by inch, when she so hopelessly needed all of him. When, at last, he was fully inside her, his mouth found hers again, sealing them together in every way possible. He moved just a fraction deeper and set off a reaction she was helpless to stop. Her orgasm took her, undulating her hips against him while inside her muscles clenched around him, released and clenched, in an endless series.
When at last she came around she was nearly limp in his arms, his body still locked inside hers. His eyes were bright in the near black, and he watched her as he moved again. Her mouth was open and she could taste the scent of him, smell how they were joined, and breathe in his thundering heartbeat. They touched, skin to skin, and his body moved in her the way it had promised when they were still partially clothed.
He set a slow rhythm that changed lyrically as he drove himself deeper into her heart. She fought to meet him measure for measure. He made love to her for ages, taking her where there was no world beyond the touch of his body, then building the pleasure even beyond his own steel control. She watched as he snapped and became animal lust, taking her in a way that she fought to give back to him. Only, as he pushed over his own precipice, he took her with him. She felt his release as his body struggled to create something lasting beyond this moment, and hers stroked him, making both their climaxes stronger.
They lay tangled together in sheets and sweat, laboring for oxygen, and desperate for each other. Later, Kelsey felt her breathing regain a pace akin to normal, although how she’d ever be normal again was beyond the haze she was in. JD pushed himself away, against her fingers that clawed at him wanting to keep him there as long as possible. But maybe it was good that one of them was thinking about the condom.
He stood in the tiny space at the end of the room, facing away from her, and Kelsey languished in the night air, feeling it cool her wet skin. There was still barely enough light to see, and Kelsey breathed in one big lungful, knowing that he had pushed away only to return more fiercely several times before.
But he didn’t come back. His breathing labored again and he walked the tiny confine as though pacing a larger room. He was clearly at a loss, and Kelsey rolled to her side, getting worried but not scared. Not until her hand slipped under the pillow and found the large pile of condoms he kept stashed there. Looking up, she saw his hands go into his hair, and cold fingers went into her heart. She waited, knowing she hadn’t been the first one here, and wouldn’t be the last.
His words only confirmed her thoughts. “I shouldn’t have . . . It wasn’t supposed to go like this.”
He may have been at a loss, but she wasn’t. Tears welled, unbidden and unstoppable, in her eyes, and she rolled away attempting to hide them. But he was JD, her best friend, and she’d never really been able to hide anything like this from him. Where would she hide now anyway, when she didn’t even have a shred of clothing on?
His voice came to her again, “I should have been clear first. Kelse?”
She didn’t answer him. Couldn’t.
The cold in her heart had seeped out to everywhere.
“Kelse, I’m sorry, don’t cry. Baby, please.”
She’d been on the verge of growling out that he shouldn’t call her ‘Kelse’ when he’d switched to ‘baby’, which was worse.
“Did I hurt you?”
He’d climbed up behind her on the bed, and his hands were in her hair. She pushed them away even as she shook her head ‘no’. You didn’t hurt me, I did.
His hands left, but she could feel him, restless, on the mattress even though she couldn’t see him. She curled herself along the edge, trying not to touch, and fighting for control of those tears.
The only thing that he even attempted to reach her with was his voice. “Do you miss Andrew?”
She blinked, wondering what in the hell he was asking, when she realized that she hadn’t said enough about her brother and he’d mistaken the man for her husband. Now was not the time to correct him, and she answered with true words, if not the truth. “Yes, I do.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have done it.”
She tightened every muscle, hoping that he would get the idea. She didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to hear his apologies.
It worked, because he lowered himself along the mattress behind her, careful not to touch or even invade her space any more than necessary. She didn’t know how long she lay there before his breathing evened out. She didn’t think her own ever would.
Quietly, she stood up, and slipped back into her clothing.
Chapter 31
JD woke tangled in sheets that smelled like sex, like her. Visions and feelings assailed him as his eyes blinked slowly open. Kelsey kissing him back with all she was worth. Kelsey opening for him. The feel of her naked against him was a sense memory he knew he’d never shake. The smell of her on the sheets around him proved it wasn’t just another of his
very vivid dreams.
He had made love to Kelsey.
Then he remembered the rest.
He had made Kelsey cry. He’d fucked it up, literally, and needed to fix it now before the problems solidified in the daylight.
She wasn’t in the bed with him, and he figured she had simply slipped away, to the bathroom, or maybe even out to the common area. Wanting to rectify things, he pulled on jeans, and with a second thought a t-shirt. She might not want to be reminded of his bare body and although it hurt to think so, he would be considerate of that.
He could lose her as a lover. Hell, he already had, and he would have to live with that. No options. But he couldn’t lose her as a friend.
He pulled the sheets up close enough to being straight, and folded the bed into its niche in the wall. He startled when silver things dropped out at the hinge. Even as he was bending to pick them up, he realized they were the condoms he had grabbed, and there were something like fifteen of them there. He’d just grabbed a huge handful, praying that he might get to use one. He had. And only one.
JD stuffed them into his bag, and pulled back the folding door. She wasn’t in the common room. Only TJ was. And his brother was buried so deep in his coffee that he didn’t even acknowledge that JD had come up.
There was water running in the bathroom, so he leaned against the wall and waited for her. Wondering what he would say, and not even knowing how she would look. If she would face him like any other morning, or if she would be bleary eyed and hide herself back in the bathroom.
At last, the lock turned and JD straightened, but it was Alex that emerged from the tiny cell.
JD assaulted him. “Was Kelsey in there?”
Alex shot him a look saying he’d flipped his lid, but JD didn’t care. “No.”
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