„Okay.“ Rachel winked broadly. „You go talk about work.“ She made a less-than-graceful exit, obviously entertained by very little.
„Oh, to be thirteen again,“ Kristen said.
Abe looked down at her. „Would you? Be thirteen again?“
She made a terrible face and he chuckled. „No way in hell.“ She sobered quickly. „What did you find?“
He shook his head. „Not here. Rachel has ears like a bat.“ He led her through the kitchen and into the laundry room and closed the door, shutting out the sound of the television, leaving only the sound of the dryer banging like it held a pair of running shoes.
„Now tell me,“ she said, but he shook his head, wanting to keep the real world at bay just a little longer.
„This first.“ He dipped his head and nuzzled her neck, taking in her soft scent, letting it soothe. She sighed and relaxed into him as if she’d been waiting all night for him to do just that. He pulled her arms around his neck and felt like sighing himself when her small hands settled on his skin, lightly playing with his hair. Her face lifted and he closed in, finding her lips exactly as he’d remembered. Better than he’d remembered.
„How are you?“ he asked against her mouth and her lips curved.
„You saved me from algebra. What do you think?“
He kissed her again, then pulled back to look into her eyes. She’d been shocked today, hit hard with the administrative leave. But she didn’t seem devastated. Not on the surface anyway, but she hadn’t had a moment to herself since he’d dropped her and Rachel off four hours before. Maybe it had been a good thing. Rachel was enough to take anyone’s mind off anything. „What was for dinner?“
„Pot roast.“ She licked her lips and he felt his body surge to life. He shuffled back a half step to put distance between them, not wanting to frighten her. Sooner or later she’d grow used to him, to the way his body responded to her. Hopefully much sooner than later. „With those little red potatoes,“ she added. „Your mom made you a plate.“ Her eyes danced at him. „Your father told stories at dinner.“
Abe groaned. „I’ll bet he did.“ He’d left her here under the capable protection of his father, who hadn’t asked a question but who, Abe knew, had a damn good idea of what was going on. Kyle Reagan might be a retired cop, but his connections were as strong as the day he’d left the force. „Which stories? Or am I afraid to ask?“
„Oh, all kinds of stories.“ Her fingers stroked the back of his neck and his body clenched. Her eyes narrowing slightly, she repeated the motion, watching him. He splayed his hands wide across the middle of her back, forcing himself not to touch her the way he wanted to. She was testing, exploring her power over him.
„That feels good,“ he murmured and could see her confidence grow before his eyes. She did it again, then brought her hands around to his chest and pushed his overcoat from his shoulders. He let his arms drop to his sides and shrugged his coat onto the floor. She moved as if she’d pick it up, but his arms went around her again, holding her firm. „Leave it.“
Her eyes grew warm, aware, and he drew in a steadying breath as her fingers pulled at his tie. Pulling it free, she dropped it over his shoulder, letting it fall.
„Your father told me that you and Sean fought all the time.“ Her voice was husky as her fingers struggled with the button at his throat and Abe made himself breathe. Made his hands rest calmly on her back.
„All the time,“ he said. „Drove my mom nuts.“ She finally worked the first button free and he let his arms drop to his sides, curling his hands into fists. This was about power, her taking power, and he’d be damned before he stole one iota of her show.
„Umm.“ She scrunched her brows, concentrating on the next button. „My favorite was the one when Sean was teasing you in the backseat of your mother’s old car and you had the bright idea to throw the shoulder belt at him.“
The next button slipped free, and he had trouble remembering his own name, much less the incident she described. „I had to have four stitches in my lip when the seat belt retracted and hit me in the face.“
„Poor baby.“ Whether the murmured pity was for him as a seven-year-old with stitches in his lip or him as a fully grown man enduring torture at her hands, he wasn’t sure. She pulled another button free and her fingertips gently stroked the hair at his open collar. She looked up at him in surprise. „It’s soft.“
Sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead. „What?“
Her fingers continued to stroke that one little spot while she stared up at him. „I wondered if it was coarse or soft. The hair on your chest.“
Not taking his eyes from hers, he yanked at the buttons, opening his shirt to his waist. He took her hands and put them on his chest, gently pulling at her fingers until her hands were flat against him. He could see her pulse beating at the hollow of her throat as he moved her hands side to side, nearly groaning at the pleasure. It had been such a long time since he’d felt a woman’s hands on him. Six long years. It was a homecoming of a different sort. He closed his eyes and just let himself feel. He dropped his hands from hers, and she continued to make wide, sweeping caresses. When he opened his eyes he found her staring up at him, her green eyes luminous with discovery.
„You like this,“ she whispered. He couldn’t hear her voice over the sound of the dryer, but her lips moved and he somehow understood.
„Too damn much.“ He was harder than an iron rod and knew he’d scare her to death if he pressed her against the dryer like he was dying to. Then her thumbs found his nipples hidden under the thick mat of hair on his chest and he groaned.
Her tongue crept out to moisten her lips and he could feel her arousal, a silken, throbbing web, suspended between them. „Kiss me, Kristen. Please.“
She lifted on her toes and put her lips on his, just a whisper of a kiss. He leaned forward from the waist, his hands grabbing the dryer behind her. She was trapped between his arms and the shaking appliance, but his hips somehow remained an unyielding six inches from her body. „I want you,“ he ground out. „I don’t want to scare you, but I want you so much – “
She lifted abruptly on her toes, throwing her arms around his neck and her lips into his. The kiss was wild and she opened her mouth, letting his tongue stroke hers, stroking back. He moved his head, getting the most he could from just the kiss. Her hands moved back to his chest, under his shirt and around to his bare back and he gripped the edge of the dryer as if it were his only lifeline and he was a drowning man.
He was drowning. And he never wanted to come up for air.
Then the door from the outside opened, letting in a burst of frigid air and an astonished Aidan. Aidan’s eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open and for a moment the three of them stared at each other. Then Aidan stepped back out the door. „Sorry. I’ll go around front.“ He glanced over his shoulder, then back, grinning. „Heads up. Sean and Ruth’s van just pulled up and it looks like they’ve got all five kids.“
The door closed and the spell was broken. Kristen looked up at him, her hands still on his bare back. Her fingertips now stroked softly and he shuddered, damning Aidan and thanking him at the same time. Another minute and he wasn’t sure he could have given Kristen the space he knew she needed.
„You’ve got company,“ she said. „We should go.“
Her fingers still stroked his back. „Another minute. It just feels so good.“ He pressed a kiss to her temple, her forehead, the corner of her mouth. „You feel so good.“
„You’re so patient with me.“
He swallowed hard. „You’re worth the wait.“
She smiled at that, a sad little smile that tore at his heart. „We’ll see,“ she said cryptically. She pulled her hands free of his shirt and slumped back against the dryer. „Well, that was an interesting way to work off the pie.“