I repeated Red's information to the men. “If Blair
was there to record what was said because they didn't want our
session on camera, it’s hard to believe they'd want secret photos.
I mean, they could have asked for some still shots.” David voiced
out loud.
“I wonder if he took video also,” Bas
hypothesized.
Taking our speculation a bit farther, I added, “I
wonder who else in the room knew what Blair was doing. Was he
taking pictures for himself? If so, why upload them instantly when
he chanced getting caught? Red, did Lt. Faber see the computer
screen? Did you notice any body language between Officer Blair and
any others in the room?”
“
I think he was trying to hide the pictures from
the lieutenant.”
“Red doesn't think the lieutenant was aware of
Blair's actions,” I relayed. “David, did you get one of Detective
Stephens' business cards? Maybe you can give the good detective a
call about what was going on. He'll either be able to give us
answers, or he'll look into it.”
“I say we decline offering any assistance to the task
force unless we get a good explanation for the secretive
picture-taking.” Bas suggested. “I'm especially concerned if he
took any video; it opens us up to exposure we wanted to avoid. We
need to know where those pictures are.”
We were all in agreement, so David pulled out his
cell phone and called Detective Stephens. The conversation was
short and David's voice turned harsh when it appeared the detective
was unaware of the pictures. David ended the dialog abruptly with
the expectation of a return call providing more information.
“Damn it! I can't believe I dropped my guard and let
someone take pictures.” David growled, angry with himself.
“Don't beat yourself up. Red didn't notice either. It
was a fluke he saw what was on the computer screen.” I squeezed the
hand he had fisted on the tabletop. “Be thankful Red caught him.
Let's be patient and wait for news from Stephens.”
“Yeah, you're right. Not much I can do but wait.” He
loosened his fist and flipped his hand over to interlock our
fingers. “But I worry.” He lifted our hands toward his mouth and he
kissed my knuckles, and laid his cheek against my fingers.
I leaned forward and rested my forehead against his.
“This will work out. I hope we get an opportunity to work with the
police, but if it falls through, then maybe we can do something
else. Red would love to work with kids.”
“I'll be right back,” he said, leaving a little kiss
on the tip of my nose, and scooting his chair away from the
table.
I smiled. What's up with this man and his nose
kisses?
“There will never be an
us
with David in the
picture, will there?” Bas asked softly from his chair.
“David is not the reason I don't think there will be
an
us
, Bastian.
We
are the reason I don't think there
will be an
us
. I don't believe I can fall in love with you,
Bas. I like you, and feel affection for you, but I don't think it
will ever be more than friendship. The pressure of dating you,
knowing you want more, is stressful.” I reached a hand out to touch
him, and ended up wrapping my fingers around his bicep. “Give
yourself a chance to see what else is out there for you, Bastian.
Let's be friends, hang out together, and focus on enjoying this new
camaraderie we’ve built. As for David, well, I do think there might
be something with him.”
Bas leaned forward and wrapped me in a tight hug.
“I'm going to get out of here to let you have the rest of your date
in peace. Put the man out of his misery and take him to bed, will
you?” I felt a feather light kiss against my cheek.
“I'm outta here, David. Let me know what Detective
Stephens says. Enjoy the rest of your evening, and I'll see you
tomorrow.”
“See you later, Bas,” David replied, a definite
surprised tone in his voice.
David sat down and said carefully, “Does that mean
he's not planning to hijack us tonight?”
I ate a cold French fry and considered my answer
choices. “Bas told me I should put you out of your misery and take
you to bed.”
Insert lengthy pause. “I see.” I could hear him draw
in a deep breath. “And, how do you feel about that?”
“Nervous,” I admitted. “Scared.” My turn to sigh,
“Excited.”
David brushed my hair back from my cheek. Oops, I
hadn't even realized I was hiding. His hand stroked around to cup
my jaw and lift my face toward his. He whispered, “Me too,” against
my lips before his mouth claimed mine in a tender kiss. Our lips
broke apart, and I was tempted to pull them back to mine, but he
added with a husky groan, “Please. Come to bed with me.”
My hand came up to stroke his face. “I thought you'd
never ask,” I whispered back.
Red disappeared as soon as I let him into the house.
With the addition of a glass panel dog egress to the sliding doors,
he had the freedom to go in or out when he wanted. A lot of his
time was invested in keeping the yard cat free, although he didn't
seem to mind the raccoons who visited the shallow end of the
pond.
We were still in the entryway when David pulled me
into his arms, sliding fingers through my hair, canting his jaw to
the side to seal his lips over mine. His mouth was hard and hungry,
demanding a response. My body flared to life at the uncommon show
of aggression. David was usually so calm, and relaxed; this tiny
loss of composure turned my muscles to butter. It was heady to
think he wanted me so much.
He drew his lips away from mine, inhaling a sharp,
fast breath before exhaling it slowly in a warm draft against my
cheek. His tongue made a soft, leisurely stroke across my lower
lip. Savoring me. “I hate to change the mood here,” he said, his
voice gravelly with unspent passion, “but we should discuss birth
control and condoms.”
I chuckled. “Not a mood breaker at all, David. One of
the advantages of not being eighteen is we can be more practical
about sexual things.” I gave him a soft kiss, and hugged him,
enjoying the feel of his chest against mine. Thanks to the few
inches of additional height from my heels, I was able to press his
erection to the juncture of my thighs. Reveling in the undeniable
proof of his desire, I ground my hips deeper into the hard ridge of
his cock. “I'm on the pill; have been since my mid-twenties to
regulate my periods. I haven't had a partner in years, and I know
I'm disease free.”
“I had no doubts about you. I wanted to assure you
I'm clean too. I have never had sex without a condom and the
military tested us regularly for STDs. Since it’s possible to get
HIV from oral sex, I wanted to assure you, you won't get anything
from me.”
I laughed at him. “Ah, so sure I'll go down on you,
are you?”
“Woman, I have absolutely no doubt you'll want to
touch and taste everything. You are a very tactile, and sensual
person. You're always running your mouth and tongue over me when we
snuggle. I'm a smart guy. I can make the leap in logic you’d run
your tongue over every piece of skin you can get to. I'm looking
forward to it,” he added, burying his face in my neck and licking a
spot below my ear.
“Since we don't need condoms to prevent a sexually
transmitted disease between us, let's address birth control,” I
said. “I've been on the pill for years, and although the chance of
pregnancy is very low, maybe two percent, it’s still there. But I
don't want to use a condom with you David, I want to feel you
inside me.”
David groaned into my throat, and then pulled me into
a ravenous kiss. His breathing was ragged when he said, “I
so
did not expect to hear you say that when I brought up
this subject.” This next kiss was consuming, David’s passion
meeting mine with open mouths and thrusting tongues. He gasped when
we came up for air, “Statistically speaking, the pill is more
reliable than condoms. I would love to be inside you, skin to
skin.”
****************
I don't know why I felt so anxious. Maybe because
David had become incredibly special over the last few months, I
didn't want to mess up a good thing. I worried he would find me
lacking in experience and confidence; then my brain re-engaged.
This
man would not be so superficial. If he was, I wouldn't
be in a bedroom with him now.
The passion from the hallway hadn’t died, but we
managed to bank it long enough to get upstairs to my room. As he
held me in the loose circle of his arms, forehead resting against
mine, I laughed nervously. “I'll have to admit, I'm not sure what
to do David. I would like to be elegant and sophisticated, but all
I want to do is get you naked so I can feel your skin against
mine.”
A chuckle shook his body. “I am feeling a lack of
finesse also. All I can think about is how much I want you. I want
my hands and mouth on every inch of your skin, and then I want you
to learn every inch of mine.” After another thorough kiss, he
rasped, “I want to be buried in you so deep we can't tell where my
body ends and yours begins.”
Oh my, I think my heart skipped a beat. I traced
delicate fingertips over the shape of his jaw, trailing them softly
over the line of his neck, to rest against the pulse beating
rapidly in his throat. My smile kicked up one side of my mouth as I
reveled in his response to my touch.
“I've never undressed a man,” I admitted, in a husky
whisper, “but I would very much like to undress you. I want to run
my hands over your skin, as I peel away each layer of cloth that
covers you.”
“I would like that,” he agreed earnestly. “Let me
pull the covers back on the bed, then I'm all yours.” I listened to
him move about the bed for a moment before he approached me. He
slid his fingers softly down my arm until he wrapped them around my
wrist, lifting my hand to the top button of his shirt. “I took care
of the cuffs already. The rest is up to you,” he teased.
I deftly popped the top two buttons at his collar,
then I brought my free hand up to wrap around the nape of his neck.
Leaning in to inhale the scent of his skin, I loved the clean crisp
lime undertones of the soap he used. I licked the base of his
throat and was rewarded with a little shiver. His involuntary
reaction did wonders for my confidence.
As I released each button on his shirt, I pressed a
line of open-mouthed, sucking kisses down his exposed chest toward
his stomach. There was a light dusting of hair over his pecs, so I
rubbed my face against his breastbone to enjoy the coarse texture
against my cheek. When I reached his belt buckle, I tugged the
tails out of his pants and undid the last two buttons quickly so I
could slip the shirt over his wide shoulders and down his
beautifully corded arms. Before the shirt hit the floor, I caught
it and held it out for him. “I could try to be cool and toss this
at the chair behind me, but I'll probably miss,” I told him, wryly.
Wordlessly, he took the shirt from my extended finger.
I placed both hands on his chest. His skin was hot to
the touch, but soft over hard, defined muscle. I splayed my fingers
to cover as much of him as possible, then playfully brushed his
nipples with my fingertips. His sharply in drawn breath, and the
way his pecs pulled tight under my palms, indicated they were
sensitive. With that happy discovery, I bent forward to flick my
tongue over each nipple, taking pleasure in the increasing
heartbeat under my hands. I tested his responsiveness by gently
nibbling a hard peak and was rewarded with a deep moan, and his
fingers threading into my hair, holding my face close. Using my
mouth, I alternately sucked and licked until he fisted his hands
and push me away, just far enough to swoop down and kiss me with
sharp-edged passion.
His kiss was demanding, and I felt another slight
loss of his control in the wild press of his tongue through my lips
and the groan which seemed to reverberate from the back of his
throat. He ended the kiss in a gasp, leaning back from me with
obvious effort. “I like the way you undress a man, Teresa.
Remember, what goes around comes around. This slow teasing of yours
will come back to haunt you.”
It was my turn to shiver at the erotic promise in his
tone. My palms slid lower to the metal of his belt buckle slowly
working the fastening before I pulled the belt open. My knuckles
rubbed gently against the fine hairs covering his abs as I threaded
a couple of fingers into the top of his jeans to unsnap the button.
Encouraged by how still he held his body in anticipation of my
touch, I pushed my hand farther down into his jeans to cover the
erection pressed insistently against the zipper.
Oh my. Two questions answered, and the second one was
briefs! My fingers curled to shape around the firm column of flesh
through the thin cotton. David pressed his hips harder into my
hand, and his fingers flexed in my hair. The closed zipper held my
hand tightly against the hot swelling of him and he seemed to grow
a little more as I squeezed gently before withdrawing my hand so I
could lower the zipper. He groaned again, a deep rumble in his
chest as the placket separated and he swelled out through the
opening of his jeans.
I stepped into the heat of his body, pressing myself
along his chest and groin as I glided my hands over his hips to his
rear, diving my fingers under the waistband of his briefs. My nails
dug into his ass and held him against me for a moment before
dragging the underwear and jeans down his thighs. I curved my hands
to the sides and drew the pants down long hard thighs to his
feet.