TrickorTreat (3 page)

“When?”

“I’ll call you.” He took the keys from her sweaty hand, and
unlocked the door. He even buckled her seat belt for her, and dropped a soft
kiss on her cheek. “This weekend, be ready.”

He shut the door and walked away while her confused brain
processed what he’d said. She was half-tempted to call after him, but they’d
put on enough of a display for one evening.

“What have you done to Jud, Katie?”

Andrew was darn lucky he was across town. As it was, she
could only snarl down the phone. “What have
I
done?” her voice rose
quite satisfactorily. “I went to Sally’s shower, and got opportuned!” Good word
that.

“Ah!” The way he laughed, he was lucky he wasn’t within
kicking distance. “Like Jud do you?”

“I really don’t know.” Might as well tell the truth. “He
comes on a bit too fast.”

“Is this the same woman who complained about wishy-washy
men?”

“There’s a wide range between wimpy and indecisive and Jud
Carlton!”

“So, he turns you on-just a tad?”

Little did Andrew know! She’d been so fired-up after that
kiss, she’d pulled out her trusty vibrator even before stopping to make coffee.
“I’m not sure what to make of him.” Safe and non-committal seemed best.

“He’s smitten, Katie. He just burned my ear off for over an
hour. I don’t think it’s so much lighting his fire as the setting of a
conflagration.”

“Yeah, right!” Jud had been in control every inch of the
way.

“I’m not kidding, Katie-coz. I’ve know Jud three years, and
never seen him like this. I thought you’d hit it off, but never imagined he’d
get ensnared so fast.”

Flattering but… “Hey, wait a minute! You thought we’d hit it
off? You set us up?”

“Guilty as charged.” He ignored her angry splutter. “Hold
on, Katie. I thought you might suit. He’s a good guy, and I thought you needed
a good man.”

“You’re sounding like Mom!”

“Heaven forbid! But who asked me to find them a nice,
bedworthy man?” Okay, but she hadn’t expected him to take her seriously. “Give
him, and yourself, a chance. I think Jud’s just what you need.” The man
certainly knew how to kiss, maybe… “He’ll call you, okay?”

“Can’t he call and ask himself? Why this John Alden act?”
Jud hadn’t exactly been hesitant so far!

“You want him to call?”

“I’d like to run my own life without you or my mother
orchestrating everything.” Arranging a meeting in the kinky shop!” True, Mom
wouldn’t have set that up but..

“He suggested it!”

Sheesh! “So, he’s into that sort of thing?”

“Yes, so am I.”

“Andrew!” That sort of squeaked out. It fascinated her, yes.
But looking and doing were too very different things. And much as she dearly
loved Andrew, she did not want to think about what he and Sophie did in bed.
“I’ll call him!” she said and hung up.

And didn’t call. Heck! What was she going to say? ‘You
fascinate and scare me all at the same time, and now Andrew's told me you’re
into kinky sex. I don’t know which direction to run.’

Jud was going to have to wait. Web site clients paid good
money. Jud looked likely to cost her at least some peace of mind.

Client satisfied, Katie stripped off her clothes and fell
into bed, remnants of make-up still on and teeth uncleaned. She’d treat them to
double brushing in the morning-and just about passed out. Until she woke
climaxing in the middle of the night, still high from a wild dream that
featured Jud, red velvet handcuffs and enough wild sex to fill a couple of
X-rated videos with original storylines. She lay panting, sweating, and
gasping, and convinced she’d better never get that far with Jud, as the reality
could never match up. It never had.

After a restless half-hour, she got up, finally cleaned her
teeth and showered. She was wide-awake, and this was as good a time as any to
start the next job. By five am, she had created a series of sexy graphics that
she could never, ever use on a web site for a Methodist church preschool.

What now? She knew damn well she couldn’t sleep. She
couldn’t work, it seemed. And while it was hardly fair to blame Jud, there was
no one else available.

She found his card still in her jacket pocket, and punched
his number on her cell phone.

It wasn’t until she heard his “Hello?” after the fifth or
sixth ring she realized it wasn’t yet seven, heck, it was barely six-thirty.

“Jud?”

Silence for several seconds. “Katie?”

“Did I wake you?”

“As it happens, no.”

He’d been awake, too. Given the feel of his hard body, he
probably worked out for two hours before breakfast. “You said to give you a
call sometime.” Dumb line but…

The phone amplified the richness of his deep laugh. “I did,
didn’t I?”

“Sorry if I’m disturbing you.” Eeek, that sounded wimpy.

“Not in the least, Katie, but tell me, for future reference,
are you in the habit of calling men before breakfast?”

She wasn’t much in the habit of
ever
calling men, but
now was not the time to go into that. “Only good kissers with sexy, dark eyes!”
What made that come out?

“I knew you were a woman of sense and good judgment the
minute I saw you caressing that suede flogger.”

He would have to bring that up! “I was just looking. Anyway,
it was too expensive.”

“Nothing’s too expensive for you, Katie. It fascinated you,
didn’t it? I was watching you.”

“Jud…”

“I watched your lips part and your eyes get bigger.” Sheesh!
“Were you imagining how it would feel? How those soft tresses would caress your
back? How they’d stroke your skin as they trailed over your ass, and down the
back of your legs. How they’d feel brushing behind your knees? You’re very
sensitive there, aren’t you?”

Her throat all but seized up. Her heart raced and the hand
on the phone was damp with sweat. As were other parts of her body, she didn’t
want to think about. Why was he talking like this? Even more to the point, why
was it turning her on?

“Jud, please…”

“I will, Katie, I promise.”

“Listen!” She had to say something, but her mind was awash
with sensual images and her cunt was throbbing faster than her magic wand at
high speed. This was nonsense, ridiculous, and… “Look here, Jud, I…”

“We need to talk. Lunch is out. Can you meet me this
evening, just for an hour?”

After the past five minutes she should run the other way.
“There’s a deli, at Five Points, Knish and Tell.”

“I know it. What time?”

She was working late tonight. “How about nine-thirty?”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Okay.” Was it really?

“And Katie…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be scared. I understand.” Damn good thing he did,
because she was completely confused. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

He was. Sitting in a table by the bay window, watching. For
her. Waiting like a lion for his prey, or a lord for his lady. He was turned
away, watching up the street, so she paused, half-tempted to run, knowing there
was no way she could. No two ways about it, Jud Carlton fascinated her. It
wasn’t just the sexy voice or the way his eyes sparkled, and wrinkled at the
corners when he smiled. There was something about him that drew her, despite
his outrageous conversation. But if he really thought she was going to let him
whip her, he had another thing coming! He turned as she pushed the door open,
and stood up, his face breaking out in a broad smile. Had he been worried she’d
stand him up? It might have been the smart thing to do, but smart held little
appeal.

“Katie!” He stepped towards her, taking both hands in his. A
gentle grasp, but very confident, as he pulled her close and kissed her on the
cheek.

“You found it okay?” Duh! Of course he had! He was here,
wasn’t he?”

“Yes, now let me take your coat.” He had it off before she
had time to suggest she was quite capable of taking off her own coat. As he
draped it over a spare chair, on top of his jacket, he asked. “Coffee? Soda?
What can I get you? A sandwich?”

Food! She needed to think about food, not the way his hair
curled behind his ears. Or did she? The ache in her gut was something far more
basic than hunger. “I don’t know.” What was wrong with her?

“Have a seat.” She sat down in the chair he held. “I’ll get
you something. Are you vegetarian, or anything like that?”

“No!”

He dropped a kiss on her forehead. ”Don’t get so wound up.
I’m not bringing out whips or chains in here.”

That was supposed to calm her!

Her deep, relaxing breath came out like a sigh from her gut.
She leaned back and stretched out her legs, and doing so, nudged a black
plastic shopping bag that looked suspiciously like one from the Rose and
Leather. She was tempted to look, but it really was none of her business. Did
she really want to know? Yes!

Another deep breath. Why was she here? Because Jud asked
her. No, because she’d called him before dawn and had the most outrageous
conversation. She needed a couple of weeks to sort this out. He fascinated, and
scared the willies out of her. He was into whips and chains, and heaven knew
what else, and she wasn’t interested. Intrigued, maybe.

Particularly by what was in the bag, less than an inch from
her left foot. She could peek, but that would be on a par to his looking in her
purse, and she drew the line there.

Better not to know. But she’d have to be made of stone not
to wonder. The suede whip? She didn’t think so. Handcuffs? Chains? Most likely
a couple of the kinky magazines she’d not had the guts to look at with Andrew
there.

“Here you are.” He was back fast. Just as well she didn’t
have her nose deep into his shopping. “The soup looked good, and on a damp
night like this, I thought it might appeal more than a sandwich.”

“Thanks.”

Appetizing aromas of garlic, herbs and onions rose up from
the bowl of vegetable soup. He set his own bowl on his side of the table, and
sat down opposite. “Bon appetite!”

It was delicious, and after the second spoonful, her
appetite came back with a rush. “It’s great, thanks.”

“You’re more than welcome, Katie. I enjoy erotic torture,
but I’ve never starved a woman yet.”

It was only luck that she happened to be between spoonfuls.
“Can we talk about books, or movies, or the weather, while we eat?”

“By all means. May I take that to indicate you’re willing to
talk about sex after we both finish eating?”

“That was not what I said.”

“No, but if you really were offended, you’d be halfway down
the street by now. You’re not. You’re just uneasy.”

“I’m not sure it’s ‘just’ anything.”

“I’m not either.” He paused to take another taste of soup,
his lips puckering against the side of the spoon. His eyes met hers, as he
slowly sipped without a sound. He rested his spoon on the side of the plate.
“Tell me, Katie, Have you read the latest John Grisham?”

She had, and he’d read the latest P.D James. A good start.
But after she discovered he’d read all Laurel K Hamiliton’s Anita books, and
was in the process of collecting Chelsea Quin Yarbro’s backlist, Katie felt
she’d met a soulmate. “I’m so thrilled you like reading the ‘weird’ stuff,” she
said. “Most people I know think I’m odd.”

“Maybe we both are. We’re not alone, are we?”

It felt as if they were, tucked in a warm corner, with the
night outside. It was as if the other customers and the shop around them
receded. Jud had her complete focus. She made herself look away and taste her
soup. It seemed to have lost most of its flavor. “What else do you read?”

“Erotica.”

She should have expected that! But to be truthful. “So do
I.”

“I thought so. Katie, I’d love to have a look at your
collection.”

“Sure you don’t want to see my etchings?”

“Katie, it’s not a pick up line. Looking at your books would
tell me a lot about you.”

Too much. She wasn’t ready to have him see her collection of
Laura Antoniou, or her limited edition, leather-bound, Story of O. Not yet. If
ever. “If you did, then I’d be entitled to look over your shelves.”

“Be my guest, any time. We could trade favorite reads. Have
you discovered Ellora’s Cave?” Had she just! He’d never get a peek at her hard
drive. “They have some quite impressive BDSM works.”

“I know.”

That smile put a dimple in his right cheek. “I’m damn glad,
Katie.” He reached across the table, and rested his hand on her forearm. If his
touch was meant to be reassuring, it wasn’t working. Just feeling the warmth of
his fingertips through her sweater sent her body temp up several degrees. “Have
you ever told anyone about your interest in kink?”

“I’m not sure I am interested.”

He smiled, and lifted an eyebrow. His attitude tweaked her
already heightened nerves. “I am, aren’t you?”

She wasn't sure about anything any more! The man had her so
twirled up inside, she was lucky she knew which end of the spoon to put in her
mouth. Just to make sure, she scooped up a spoonful of soup. Definitely
lukewarm. About the only thing for a yardstick that was. She was hot under her
skin, and the look in Jud’s eyes suggested minestrone was the last thing on his
mind. “Fifteen minutes of conversation with you, and I’m not sure of anything
any more!”

“That was what I was hoping for.”

“You get your thrills confusing people?”

“I don’t want to confuse. My aim is to help you sort things
out.”

“How?” Come to that, what did she need to sort out? Whether
to walk out now, or in three minutes?

He hesitated, just a tad. “I think, you want things I can
offer.”

“You sound pretty certain!”

“I am.” Was he some sort of weirdo or lunatic? He was
Andrew’s friend! “I could be mistaken,” Jud went on, “but I don’t think so.”

“Mistaken about what?”

“That you’re intrigued by kink, but your only experience is
vicarious.”

“Aren’t you making a wild assumption?” And wasn’t she crazy
to sit here and discuss it?

“Yes,” he agreed amicably, “but I’m not often wrong about
these things.”

“This could be the time.”

“Is it?” In the silence that followed he asked, “Want a
fresh coffee? Yours has gone cold.”