Slow Hands (28 page)

"I remember wishing I'd done it before," she admitted. "Wished I knew what to do."

He growled. "I was glad you didn't know what to do. I liked being your first. Your only."

He lowered his mouth and kissed her, his tongue sweeping into her mouth.

For a moment, Keira was sixteen again.

They'd left the drive-in and come here. She'd been a nervous wreck until Alec kissed her. And the fire that had always been between them flared, swept her over the edge of reason.

They had a blanket, one condom, and less than an hour. They were out of their clothes in no time. That first touch of bare skin on bare skin had been shocking. The feel of Alec's erection, frightening. It was so big. So hard.

But he'd kissed her and touched her until she'd gone mad for more. Melted. Then slowly he pressed in, past the precious offering of her hymen.

"You're so tight," Alec murmured.

Keira was lost. Her dress was hiked up, bunched around her waist as Alec's hand moved between her legs. He had shoved her panties down and worked a finger inside her.

"So wet," he murmured.

She groaned, shimmied, as her panties fell around her ankles. Lifting her legs, careful not to dislodge his fingers, she stepped free of her underwear. Her greedy hands tugged at Alec's pants, unzipped them. She reached in, grasped his swollen shaft.

"I was so afraid it would hurt worse than it did that first time," she murmured, her hands stroking his length.

Alec had been the first male she'd ever seen nude. His fully erect penis had frightened and fascinated her at the same time.

With surprising patience, he'd taken her hand in his and let her touch him, feel him, his hand over hers, rubbing, stroking. Encouraging. She watched wide-eyed as he grew longer and harder in her hand.

Then, then hands still entwined, he'd explored her center, touching her clitoris, kneading it, finding what she liked, while whispering in her ear how he couldn't wait to have his cock, there, inside her.

"I was afraid of disappointing you, hurting you." He inserted another finger inside her, slid his thumb up between the wet folds, rubbing. "It's a miracle we managed it."

But manage it they did. Alec had sheathed himself, then moved on top of her, entering slowly, slowly. It burned, a sweet, painful fire that baptized her in bliss even as it robbed her of breath.

She had been so determined not to, yet in those first, aching seconds, she'd wept. And Alec had wanted to stop right then.
"I can't bear to hurt you, babe."

"Don't stop," she cried, knowing that if they didn't push forward, she'd never have the courage to try again.

And then he'd moved against her fast, pushing all the way into her. The pain disappeared, replaced by a feeling so sublime she thought she'd die from pleasure.

Like now.
"Alec, please." His touch drove her crazy.

"Easy," he soothed.

She felt his hands leave her, felt him fumble with a condom. Then he lifted her straight up, grasping her waist as he lowered her slowly, pressing in.

The sensation was to die for. The fullness. The stark shock of invasion. Of hot flesh being parted. Split.

She wrapped her legs around Alec's waist, held on to his shoulders as he controlled the movement, supported her weight. Impaling her. Her sheath clasped him.

His hands shifted, gripping her tightly at her hips. He ground full into her, sliding her down, then up, on his hardness. There was no other feeling in the world like this. Of being in her. Only her.

"God, I won't last long," he choked.

"Good." Keira sank her teeth into his neck, then laved the injury with her tongue. "Come with me, Alec."

Alec slammed into her hard, fast, frenzied. He snarled, pumping, pumping—felt her womb tighten over him.

Keira let out a small scream and climaxed in his arms. Alec felt her drenching release and held her tightly, as his own body burst forth with a violent, satisfying eruption.

"I—" she began, overcome with emotion.

"Shhhh. Just let me hold you," he said, rocking her slightly.

How long they stood there joined, she didn't know. Didn't care.

Then she felt the sharp drag of latex-covered steel as he withdrew. She winced at the slight hindrance as her body clung to his, resisting the inevitable separation.

He whispered comforting sounds as she moved to readjust her clothes. Only now did she realize they were both still dressed.

Alec straightened his own clothes, then turned to zip her gown.

"Let's go home. And I'll prove I can be a gentleman."

She raised up, kissed his chin. "It's more fun when you're
not
a gentleman."

He ran a finger along her cheek. "I'll love you all night long if you'll let me."

Keira looked at him, at the stars over his head. She knew he meant
making love.
But what about the other? He had loved her once, could she make him love her again?

"Let's go for it," she whispered.

When they reached the apartment parking lot, Keira leaned across the seat, wriggled into Alec's arms. She felt replete. Well loved. A little drunk.

Happy.

"Mmm. Where are we?"

A seductive smile spread across Alec's face. "Home," he murmured, leaning in to trail kisses down the side of her neck. "You look good enough to eat." He ran his lips across the swell of her cleavage.

Keira shuddered as his tongue delved between her breasts. Her nipples peaked, throbbed. Begging for more.

"Let's make love here," she said, her hands going to the knot of his necktie. Suddenly she didn't care they were in a parking lot. She didn't want to wait, she didn't want to debate. She wanted him.

Alec stayed her hand. "Making love in a car is severely overrated. Especially when we're less than thirty seconds from a comfortable bed." And especially when he planned for it to be a prolonged session.

Keira's shoulders dropped. "I guess you're right."

He laughed out loud at the disappointment in her voice. "If you didn't get enough of the great outdoors at the fire tower"—he wagged his eyebrows—"we could climb out on the fire escape. Naked."

At her soft intake of air, he tightened his grip, pulling her closer. "I'll go down on
you
this time, while you see if you can keep from screaming out loud when I make you come. Over," he kissed her. "And over." Another kiss. "And over."

Keira met his lips this time. "Promise?"

He nodded. Shifting her only slightly, he climbed out of the car, then leaned back in to scoop her into his arms.

He looked at her dirt-smudged satin shoes. "I think they're ruined, babe."

"Doesn't matter. They were dyed to match this dress, and it's getting burned."

"Burned?"

They were in the lobby. Keira pressed the elevator call button. "It's bad luck to keep old bridesmaids' dresses."

"I don't follow the logic," he said. "Why burn a perfectly good dress?"

Because hanging in her closet they were tangible reminders of what she'd never have.
Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

And this one in particular would remind her of making love to Alec.

'It's a girl-thing." She struggled for levity. "And I'd much rather talk about what we're going to do on the fire escape."

They were in the elevator now. She loosened Alec's tie and was working to unbutton his shirt. "More specifically, let's talk about what I'm going to do to
you
on the fire escape."

Grinning, Alec retaliated, shifting her enough to grasp the zipper. With luck, they'd make it inside his apartment while they were still decent.

Then all bets were off. He might have to have her in the foyer, him standing up, her braced against the wall. Then there was the kitchen ...

He tugged the zipper down on her dress. She shimmied. Her bodice dropped, freeing her breasts.

He growled. She did that on purpose just to provoke him, knowing his hands were busy as he carried her.

"You'll pay for that," he promised.

"God, I hope so." She ripped the last button from his shirt.

He stepped out of the elevator and headed toward his door, kissing Keira as he walked.

A movement in the landing caught his eye.

Scarlet Chambeau rounded the comer. She drew a sharp breath, then gave Keira a harsh look.

Keira quickly folded her arms to cover herself as she tried to tug her top back in place.

"Alec," Scarlet said. "We need to talk."

"We have nothing to discuss," he began.

"We do!" she scoffed. "And we have to talk now!"

Alec shifted Keira closer against his chest, kept his voice even.

He knew Scarlet had been drinking. He recognized the slurred tone of her voice, the way she swayed. The other night when she'd showed up drunk at his apartment, he'd talked with her, drove her home—put her to bed.

Tonight he'd call a cab.

"You need to leave, Scarlet. This isn't the time or place."

"That's not what you said the other night when you took me home. You said I was beautiful, desirable. That a man would be a fool not to want me."

Scarlet's words hit Keira with the force of a physical blow.

She looked from Alec to Scarlet, waiting for a denial. Alec looked disgusted, Scarlet triumphant

"Put me down. Now." Keira struggled to be free.

Instead, Alec tightened his grip, then turned and walked to her door. Still holding her, he unlocked her door, reached in to enter the disarm code on her alarm, then set her down. Slowly.

Keira struggled with her dress.

"Let me talk to Scarlet and I'll be back," he said quiedy. But Keira had heard enough. "Don't bother, Alec. I never want to see you again."

Chapter Fifteen

Alec had been with Scarlet.

Keira slammed her apartment door, locked it. Damn him to hell.

And damn her for being a fool.

Loving Alec had cost her a broken heart once. How could she have been so stupid, to let it happen again? A lump formed in her throat.

He had given no indication he was interested in anything beyond sex. Yet she'd foolishly plunged headlong into a full-fledged affair—thinking his heart would come around.

She'd forgotten the basic tenet: Alec was only in Freedom because of his job. His
involvement
with Keira had been part of his cover. She'd known that going in. And still she'd crossed the line.

She headed straight for the shower. She wanted to wash his touch, his scent, from her body. From her memory.

She looked at her rumpled dress, saw the torn edge, recalled how she and Alec had made love in the fire tower—had practically made love in the parking lot. That she'd planned to make love to him all night long. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Stripping off her dress, she caught sight of her body in the bathroom mirror. Signs of his physical possession abounded. Her mouth was red from kisses, her nipples swollen. And lower, her nether lips were tender, engorged, still unused to the invasion of Alec's member.

She turned away, climbing into the shower. She stayed under the spray until the hot water was gone.

Tugging on a T-shirt, she climbed into bed. A few minutes later she heard the angry rapping at the window.

Alec's muffled voice came through the glass.

"I know you can hear me, Keira. Let me in."

She flew out of bed, threw the drapes apart. "Go away," she yelled. "You're the last person I want to see right now."

"We need to talk."

"No, Alec. You need to stay away from me. For good."

"Scarlet's lying."

"You didn't say those things?"

Yeah, he'd said those words and more. He'd meant that Scarlet needed to leave him alone because Alec was only interested in Keira.

"She took them out of context. She was drunk—"

Keira cut him off. "That seems to be your MO. I'm drunk. Did you sleep with her too, Alec?"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them.

"I haven't slept with anyone but you since I've been here."

Since he'd been here.
The words were a cold reminder Alec had a life away from here. That Keira was nothing more than a temporary diversion. She didn't matter in the big picture. Neither did Scarlet.

Suddenly it hurt to breathe. She looked at him, shook her head. "Just leave me alone, Alec. Please."

He swore. This wasn't how he'd imagined the evening unfolding.

Aside from making love to her all night, he had hoped to talk her into going to Seattle, to stay in his town house until Griggs left.

Hell, he even hoped she'd want to stay beyond then.

He wanted a chance to test those ties that bound her heart to Freedom. To at least stretch them, see if she couldn't imagine a life outside of Freedom, away from Fire Mountain.

It was wrong to get involved with her again.

And he could have no more kept his distance from her than he could have cut off his own arm.

"We have to talk. But later. Go to bed," he said finally.

And with that, Alec moved away.

Keira awoke with a sore heart, red eyes, and a new determination. She'd also started.

The realization that she
wasn't
pregnant should have elated her. Instead, it added to her sense of loss.

Well, she'd gotten over Alec Dempsey once, she'd do it again. And be stronger for it.

His denial echoed in her ears. "Scarlet's lying." Was he telling the truth, that he'd only been intimate with Keira?

What did it matter? She and Alec had no future. It was also time to face the hard, ugly facts about Ian Griggs.

So far, it seemed Ian had no intention of leaving Freedom. But did he honestly think he could continue to harass her without getting caught?

The cat-and-mouse games had to end.

How, she didn't know. But she firmly believed solutions came only after one was clear on the problem. The phone rang.

"Are you okay?" Franny asked when she picked up.

Keira closed her eyes. She knew by Franny's tone exactly what she referred to. "How did you hear?"

"Cissy claims you and Alec broke up last night and that he went home with Scarlet."

Keira knew the latter was untrue—or was it? Alec had been on her fire escape, then left. Had he indeed gone to Scarlet's? "It doesn't matter."

Franny hesitated. "You sure?"

"Yes. No." Keira sighed. "I don't know what to think. I've behaved poorly since Alec hit town. I should have kept my distance."

Franny clucked. "I have the perfect cure for hindsight.
Shopping.
I'll pick you up in thirty minutes."

No sooner had Keira set the phone down than it rang again. It was Alec.

"Don't hang up."

She frowned. Hanging up was childish. No matter how good it might feel in the moment.

"I'm in a hurry, Alec. What do you want?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to apologize.

Except he’d done nothing wrong.
Scarlet was simply out to make trouble for Keira. Unfortunately, Scarlet had no idea what was at stake, that Keira was an integral part of Alec's cover. That his alleged "romance" with Keira wasn't even real.

So, if it wasn't real, why did it bother him so?

He scowled, recalling his new pact to keep a platonic distance.

"I'm spending the day on surveillance. I wanted to see what your plans were."

For a moment, she was tempted to say, "None of your business." Instead, she answered honestly. Alec was only doing a job. "I'm going shopping with Franny."

"Call me when you get back.
Please,"
he amended quickly. "And be careful."

Franny and Keira spent the day in Hot Springs, literally shopping till they dropped. It was late by the time they returned to Franny's.

It took several trips, but finally they had all their booty upstairs. Franny surveyed the shopping bags covering most of her living room floor. "Tell me these aren't all mine."

"Ninety-seven percent are," Keira said. "I bought face cream, a CD, and two romances, though God only knows where they are."

Franny grinned. "Why don't you spend the night and help me sort through this mess? We can order pizza, make margaritas, and watch something with Brad Pitt."

"What about Darryl?" This was normally his day off.

"Working. He traded days to attend Sally's wedding." Franny tossed Keira the telephone. "I want everything but black olives. And you might as well call Alec and let him know where you are. He'll call here if you don't."

Keira frowned. Alec had called twice that afternoon.
Just to check on them.

She got angry the second time, until Franny reminded her of their car wreck and all the little incidents since. "He cares," she insisted.

Knowing he would indeed call if she didn't report in, Keira left a message on his answering machine that she was staying overnight at Franny's.

Then she ordered pizza.

Franny made margaritas while they waited for pizza to be delivered. After they ate, they methodically sorted through the shopping bags.

"Gee, I guess I did buy a lot," Franny said, when they finished.

"I knew you were in trouble when you started saying, 'This is too cute to leave in the store.'"

Franny shrugged. "So pour me a glass of liquid painkiller and load Brad into the DVD player."

When the movie finished, it was late. Franny yawned. "I'm hitting the sack. Spending all that money took a lot out of me."

Keira carried their glasses to the kitchen. Halfway there she stopped.

"Do you smell smoke?"

Franny sniffed the air, then backed up, and sniffed again. "Yeah. Faintly."

"Is something burning?" Keira started looking around the apartment. "Did you light a candle earlier?"

"No."

The electricity suddenly went out, plunging them into darkness. Franny shrieked.

"Walk toward my voice," Keira said. "I'm right here." "The smell is getting worse."

Keira's eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. "We better call the fire department."

Franny grabbed for the wall phone. "It's dead." Her voice was tinged with panic now. "Where's my cell? My purse?"

"Here."

Franny quickly retrieved her cell phone and called Darryl. "They're on their way. Darryl said to get out fast."

The apartment's smoke detectors went off.

"Come on." They were closest to the door leading downstairs to the salon, but as soon as Keira cracked it open, smoke roiled in. She saw a flicker of orange flames just before shoving the door closed.

"The shop is on fire!"

"My salon! No!" Franny grabbed for the doorknob.

Keira stopped her. "You can't go that way. We'll go out the back and check from the front."

They hurried toward the stairwell leading down to the back door. But when they reached the bottom landing, the heavy metal door wouldn't open.

"Shit!" Franny kicked at the door.

"Let me try." Keira shoved her shoulder against the door. It wouldn't budge.

"Open, damn you!" Franny cursed the door as she tried the knob again, then turned away. "Now what?"

"We can climb out the windows."

They raced back upstairs to the living room. The smoke was thicker now. Choking.

"Stay low," Keira instructed, her heart slamming in her throat.

Both women were coughing when they reached the double windows. Keira raised a pane. A small ledge was just below the casing, which led to the main part of the roof. "Follow me."

They climbed out, holding hands.

"I'm scared." Franny wept, then screamed, as below them, at the front of the house, flames burst through a window, the glass exploding. "No!"

She surged forward, but Keira held her arm.

Sirens pierced the night.

"We've got to move," Keira tugged her friend away. "Toward the back of the roof."

When the first fire truck pulled up, Darryl jumped from the cab. The women screamed in unison at him.

"Stay right there!" he yelled.

Within seconds, a truck backed onto the lawn. A hydraulic ladder lifted to the roof. Darryl climbed up, tucking Franny beneath an arm.

"Is either of you hurt?" he barked.

Keira shook her head.

"My house," Franny wailed, collapsing.

"I'm going to carry her down," Darryl said. "Can you make it?"

Feeling helpless, Keira climbed onto the ladder. Another fireman was there, ready to help.

Seconds later, Darryl cleared the ladder, carrying Franny. He set her down, yelled for an EMT. 'Tell me you're okay."

Franny nodded, unable to speak.

"I've got to go help. Stay right here." Darryl dashed away, shouting orders into a handheld radio. "Let's get another truck in here! Now!"

Firemen charged around, their hoses crisscrossing the lawn. Darryl directed some men to the opposite side of the building.