The Friendship List(94)

He stood and smiled at her. “I’m beginning to think you’re hinting at us making love.”

“I am.”

He kissed her, holding her tight and running his hands up and down her back before squeezing her butt. Nerve endings came to life, heating her body. The ever-present numbness faded and it was as if she could fully breathe for the first time in ages.

He stepped back and took her hand, then led her into the master. Once there, he undressed quickly. While he pulled back the covers and got a box of condoms out of the nightstand, she took in the honed lines of his body and his massive erection. Her insides quivered at the thought of him filling her.

They stretched out on the bed. He unfastened her bra and removed her panties. Any trepidation faded as he explored her first with his hands and then with his mouth. When he knelt between her thighs and kissed her intimately, her mind shut down as every nerve ending focused on the sweetness of his tongue against the very heart of her.

It took only a few strokes for her to get lost in a climax that left her calling out his name. Aftershocks lingered so long that when he pushed into her, she came again, an unexpected release that had her begging for him to go fast and deep, which pushed him over the edge in less than a minute.

She hung on to him, her legs wrapped around his hips, her body naked and satisfied, her senses happily muddled. She opened her eyes and found him watching her.

She smiled. “I’m not usually that quick,” she said.

“I could say the same about myself.” His tone was rueful. “I’d apologize except it’s technically your fault.”

She laughed. “Because I asked you to go hard and fast?”

“And you were coming. I find it difficult to resist the sensation of a woman climaxing around me.”

“It is a first world problem.”

He was still watching her, as if waiting for something. Then she got it.

“I’m not going to cry,” she told him. “Or say I wish it hadn’t happened or anything like that. I’m glad we did this. I want to do it again, as soon as you’re ready.”

All of which was true. Later, there would be tears and confusion and maybe a little self-recrimination, but not now. Not when everything was so right.

“I brought my overnight stuff,” she added. “I was hoping I could stay with you. Here. In your bed.”

The last of the wariness faded. “You are always welcome in my bed.”

“Even if I forgot to pack a nightgown?”

One eyebrow rose as he smiled. “Even then.”

He bent down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and knew that the first step had been taken.

  Ellen stared at the casserole dish on her counter. She and Unity had spent the morning cooking together. Unity had made lasagna, while Ellen had made her chicken parm recipe—the one that everybody loved, especially Keith. The oddness of them both cooking for a man was not lost on her, but while Unity was heading over to Seattle to see if she could seduce Thaddeus, Ellen was trying to get one to talk to her.

She still hadn’t heard from Keith. This was the longest they’d ever gone without speaking. Even when he traveled with the team, he texted her. She knew he was mad, but come on. This was getting ridiculous.

She didn’t like not communicating with him—it didn’t feel right. They were always around each other.

After her shift at the fruit stand, she confirmed that Coop would be hanging out with his friends that evening. She changed into a thong and low-cut bra, then put on a cute summer dress and drove to Keith’s house.

He answered on the first knock, but instead of looking happy to see her, he just glared at her.

“You can’t still be mad,” she said, pushing the casserole dish into his hands.

“That’s up for debate.”

She stepped past him into the house, glancing around to see if Lissa was nearby. When she saw the living room was empty, she turned back to Keith.

“I didn’t know until Medford. I’m sure Lissa has confirmed that. I didn’t want to keep it from you, but I had to. I arranged to room with Lissa so it wouldn’t happen again on the trip. You know I’m telling the truth. You have to understand why I didn’t say anything. It would have been awful for everyone.”

He continued to give her that icy stare of his. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I would have kept it from you even if we hadn’t been sleeping together. It was less than forty-eight hours. Come on, Keith.”

He drew in a breath. “I’m not happy with you.”

She waited silently.

“You probably couldn’t have told me,” he conceded. “I would have been forced to kill Luka and that would have created a lot of problems.”

“You wouldn’t have killed him.”

“Okay, I wouldn’t have, but I would have thought about it.”

He led the way into the kitchen and set the casserole dish on the counter. They faced each other.

“I really am sorry,” she said sincerely. “It was so horrifying. I totally panicked. And with us on the bus...”

“I get it.”

“Then why have you been so mad at me? You haven’t called or anything.”

“I have had a lot to think about.”

“Like?”

He pulled two beers out of the refrigerator, took the tops off both of them and handed her one. They walked into the family room and took their familiar seats on the large sectional sofa. Familiar but not exactly what she’d been hoping for, she thought ruefully. A few kisses and a suggestion they retire to the bedroom had been more in line of what she’d been thinking of, but maybe they should talk first.