River's Escape (River's End Series, #2) (19 page)

“I won’t say anything. I promise. I just can’t stand not knowing.” Who was it? She racked her brain, checking off the list of every possible woman in the valley. She couldn’t place anyone ever spending any time with Ian. Then again, how would she know?

“Odette.”

Odette Mason?
She was the community church Sunday School teacher. She was old, like almost forty, with a daughter and son in middle school, and another in elementary. She sat up and pushed off his chest. He did the same. Odette wasn’t even that attractive. She had long, mousy, blonde hair, and was kind of pudgy and frumpy. Okay, Kailynn wasn’t being fair, she was kind of pretty in a plain, worn-out sort of way. She’s just not the woman Kailynn ever expected to become Ian’s booty call, or anyone else’s, for that matter.

“No one could accuse you of being shallow,” she snapped, nearly gnashing her teeth. He leaned over so his head was resting on her shoulder and kissed her neck and her shoulder. Her back went ramrod straight and she started to bend towards his warm touch. How did he do that?

“We’re not having a discussion about what she and I did, or why. Just like I’d never discuss what you and I do with anyone. You insisted. So now, you know. I don’t really need to hear your opinion.”

“She’s old.”

“She’s only thirty-six.” His tone was even as he seemed so reasonable. She was being unreasonable, but she couldn’t help herself.

“She’s a mother.”

“Yeah, makes her appreciative of some time away from the kids.”

“Time away to screw? But…”

“What do you want here, Kailynn? Why are you upset? We weren’t even friends a week ago. I’ll talk to Odette, but it’s over. Explain to me why you’re so mad? In fact, why are you always mad at me? It might be nice if you’d let me know.”

She shut her eyes. She didn’t know the answer. She was always getting mad at him. She dropped her head down onto her chest and shook it sadly. “I don’t know. I’m so confused right now. I don’t know how to do this.”

He pulled her back to his chest, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. She would never have pegged Ian Rydell as being loving and affectionate. He was tender and gentle, touching her with the kind of hesitation and care she longed for her entire life. It wasn’t sex that made her want to be near him, but being with someone who truly cared. Feeling important to someone else. She relaxed into his embrace and let him hold her. His hands were on her stomach and she grabbed his thumbs, pulling them up higher to her nipples that pebbled and ached for him.

“You sure?” he whispered into her hair. She nodded. She was sure of this moment. And nothing else.

When his thumbs swept over her nipples, her back turned to Jell-O, as it molded into his chest. Her head fell back onto his shoulder and his mouth came down on hers. She grew moist and ready in minutes. She finally lifted off him and turned so she could tug off his flannel shirt and t-shirt over his head. He kicked his boots off as she attacked his belt buckle. She stopped when she got to the tab of his jeans and he set his hand over hers when he noticed her hesitancy. Unlike Drew, he didn’t force her, but pulled her back and positioned her under him. He kissed and touched and licked and made her moan until she was like butter. He got up, but only to strip off his own jeans. She kept her eyes shut, not quite ready for his nudity, which was stark and obvious.

Leaning over her, he gently stroked the sides of her face. “Look at me.”

She opened her eyes and he shifted and came inside her. It didn’t hurt this time. It felt tight and kind of strange, like she was stretching at odd angles. But this time, he was bare and her eyes widened at the new sensation. It was definitely different. Way different from the condom; it made it feel a little less sore and sensitive. That epiphany came as a shock to her senses.

He eased off her a little when he noticed her squirm and stiffen. “You okay?”

She bit her lip and nodded.

He shut his eyes for a moment and a shudder traveled down his body. “It’s really good like this,” he finally replied.

She relaxed her thighs and spread them even wider, offering him more access. He moved out and in, still going slow and deep. He watched her face. Was he looking for signs of pain? Regret? She didn’t know, but he studied her carefully.

After two long, slow push and pulls, she felt a kind of tickling deep inside her somewhere. Then a sense of heating and aching began and bright colors started spiraling. She let out a breath and blinked in surprise.

“Better?” he asked. How was he so tuned in to what her body felt? And how she felt? She couldn’t imagine anyone being so thorough, or kind, or caring.

“So much better,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck. This time, she got it. It was so much more than even having his fingers inside her. This was magic. A thick, burning, pulsating heat slid into her, all slick and wet, and the tightening that engulfed her body almost took her breath away. He grinned as he moved harder. Deeper. Faster. He seemed to read her body language and knew exactly what felt the best. And this was it.

“Better just knowing I’m not hurting you,” he gasped. At last, he could quit worrying quite so much about her, and started moving harder and faster before pounding inside her until the colors flashed behind her eyes and eventually blinded her.

She wasn’t aware she was yelling his name until his hand gently covered her mouth and a half smile appeared to her startled eyes. “Kids get home soon,” he mumbled for an explanation. Then he continued filling her up to the point that her entire body shifted. He started to pull back, but she grabbed onto him and he went from slow and sweet to aggressive, hard, and mind-shattering.

When they were done, she lay there, breathing hard as the sweat started to cool down her body. He leaned down next to her and kissed her. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was after four. She had to get going. She didn’t want to. She preferred to curl up into a ball next to him, and let him continue rubbing his hands over her back and hips and bare butt, as he was now. It chased away the weird feelings and warmed her skin. “I have to get ready to go.”

“You want to shower first?”

“Yes.”

Releasing her, he rolled over and got up. She stared at his hair before dropping her gaze lower. His back was long and his hips were slim. He didn’t have a big or bulky frame. He was so thin, his thighs looked like sinewy, thick ropes. His butt cheeks had perfect indentations on each side. He didn’t even try to cover up, which surprised her. She wouldn’t have guessed that about Ian, since she always thought he was shy. Apparently, that was her, not him. He turned and caught her gawking, although she averted her gaze quickly, and only glimpsed a flash of his front. She didn’t look again, but scooted to the edge of his bed and stood up. Liquid ran down her legs in tiny streams. Embarrassed, she squeezed her thighs together quickly. She was sure she must have been quite a sight: saggy boobs and awkwardly squeezed thighs. Thank God his bathroom was attached to his room. She grabbed his flannel shirt and covered herself. Not Ian. He just walked naked into his bathroom and started the shower. He didn’t intend to get in there with her, did he? He didn’t come back out. She peeked in and saw him using his hand to test the water.

“It’s nice and hot.”

She nodded, blushing hotly under his gaze before turning to slide off his shirt. He got in, and when she stepped closer, he pulled her inside the shower.
Odette Mason
. Ian usually saw Odette Mason naked. Odette was kind of pear-shaped with terrible thighs and no boobs. Kailynn mustered a little self-confidence at thinking he had to find her a little more attractive than Odette, didn’t he?

But somehow, she had a feeling Ian didn’t judge anyone like that; especially Odette, if the gentle tone he used when talking about her was any indication.

The hot water felt good and she leaned her head back, taking the soap he handed her to wash her hair. As she was finishing, his hands burrowed into the thick mass, and he said, “I love your hair.”

She stilled and let his fingers massage her scalp and unsnarl the thickest chunks of it. “I never thought you even noticed me.”

“I noticed these every single time you ever moved,” he said as his hands lifted the heavy weights of her boobs.

She smacked his hands off her and made a face. “You did not. And they’re awful. They look like old lady boobs, all saggy. They always make me look fatter than I really am.”

Biting down on her tongue, she didn’t mean to admit how embarrassed she was about her body. His fingers flicked the nipples.

“You and I have a slightly different take on them.”

She arched her back and lifted his hands to her shoulders, where the almost permanent indentations from her bra straps were. “Yeah, real sexy.”

He glanced at what his fingers traced. “What’re these?”

“Where my bra straps dig in from supporting these monstrosities.”

His eyebrows quirked up, and he looked shocked. “They cause you pain?”

“Yes. They annoy the shit out of me. They make my back and shoulders ache, and every time I do anything, they get in my way. I hate them. And they attract men, who look at me just to see these. And I really hate that.”

He kissed each one. “Guilty as charged. I looked too. I didn’t know they made you feel so weird.”

“I hate my body.”

She turned her head, surprised she confessed it to him. She never told anyone her dark thoughts about her body. His hands reached for the soap and he started rubbing it to make a lather. Beginning on her stomach, he rubbed up and down before gently descending between her legs. She closed her eyes at his soft ministration. It was different than before. So gentle that it built up some kind of weird anticipation in her.

“Sorry to hear that. I love every inch of how you look.”

He raised her chin up and leaned down to kiss her and she glanced up at him. “You never even acted like you knew my name.”

“I did, actually. You just never picked up on it, for some reason.”

She shifted towards him to be swept up in his arms. Suddenly, his erection pressed between them, long, thick and burning. She kept her hands on his shoulders, but finally cracked an eye open and glanced down the length of his body. It rose up stiff and bold. He leaned back as if to give it more space. She swallowed the lump of nerves that seemed to lodge in her throat. He didn’t move, but just watched her as if curious about what she did next. He probably sensed how unfamiliar she was with aroused men and didn’t mind her gawking at him like he was the newest act at the circus.

She ran her index finger down his chest and stomach and his breath caught. She looked into his eyes, which sparked and flickered at her. He kept his hands around her waist and didn’t even pull her closer. He just let her do what she wanted. She touched the tip of his hard shaft gently, and it kind of twitched. It felt soft and silky. She ran her finger down the length of him. He sucked in a sharp gasp, but didn’t move. She wrapped her hand around the center of him and felt how warm and thick and smooth it was, all at once. Remembering how it fit inside her almost made her stomach bottom out. He leaned a hand against the tiled shower wall and barely shifted his weight towards her. She let go immediately. Getting freaked out.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, hiding her face.

“I’m not,” he replied, leaning closer so she had to make eye contact with him. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“I want to, I’m just not very… comfortable yet, I guess.”

“Then wait until you’re comfortable. Besides, you’ve had enough for one day. You think you were sore the other day, it’ll keep hurting a lot at first. So there’s no hurry.”

“I never willingly touched a man there before.”

“Well, I’d rather you did it willingly than have you bite me.” He laughed when she blushed and hid her face from his view. He pulled her forward into his arms, “I’m just glad you’re standing naked in my shower with me. It’s more than I ever hoped to have with you.”

She never even knew he hoped for anything between them. “Can you get out first? I’d like to wash in private.”

He released her and opened the shower door before getting out. She could see his light-skinned body through the steamy glass. He was way better looking than she. How had she never realized that before? His body was all long lines and stretched tight muscles. He looked like he was squeezing his butt cheeks, even when he relaxed, they were so tight and well-defined.

She attacked her body with vigor, hoping to wash away all the traces of where she spent the afternoon when she was supposed to be working.

After drying her hair, she pulled it into a ponytail. She had no makeup, but never expected something like this would happen, and came unprepared. Ian set her clothes inside the bathroom while she finished showering. Had he always been so crazy considerate? How did she manage to ignore it so completely before?

His eyes lit up when she walked out, now dressed and decent. He rose from the bed, and took her hand as he started for the bedroom door. He opened it and made sure the coast was clear before leading her downstairs. He stopped in the laundry room and she glanced around. “I didn’t get all the laundry done,” she said glumly.

He grinned a wicked, but lighthearted smile that he never showed her before. “Never mind. I’ll handle it. No one will know.”