Pain twinged for a moment, as bad as her
first time, and she froze beneath him. But he was gentle and slow,
and filled her until she pushed back, offering her throat as they
strained together, finding a rhythm, riding it while hands stroked,
mouths met and released, lips caressed sensitive skin. She was
vaguely aware of the sound of water lapping against the hull and
had a quick mental image of waves generating from their
lovemaking.
She loved how he filled her, how he moved,
how his chest hair rasped her breasts. She loved how he stroked her
thigh, her hip, her cheek, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She
loved how he kissed her, his lips parted, his tongue tasting her
skin, and she surged up into him, holding him deep inside her.
“Stay, just for a minute,” she managed as
pleasure rippled through her, precursors to another orgasm.
His arms quivered as he did what she asked,
holding his weight over her. She lifted her hips into his, then,
and he lost all control, powering into her, each stroke taking her
higher and higher until she came with a cry, clutching his
shoulders, pleasure shooting through her blood. His own shout
echoed in the small space as he followed her, holding himself
still, his body pressed to hers, stretched above her, so beautiful
he made her heart ache.
Then he blew out a breath, withdrew from her
and dropped to his side on the mattress, pulling her close. He
didn’t say anything, only curved his hand over her bare hip and
pressed a kiss to her forehead. She hesitated, then glided her hand
over his chest. She hadn’t exactly had an opportunity to explore
him, to admire him, so she’d take it now. Still, she waited for him
to say something.
Finally he turned to face her. “I wanted—I
didn’t think ahead. I thought our first time would be—better.”
She tensed. “What was wrong?”
“Not—nothing! Not us. The place. I wanted it
to be special.” He lifted his hand from her hip and gestured around
the cramped quarters. “Should be wine and flowers. We haven’t even
gone on a real date yet.” He shifted closer and threaded his
fingers through her hair. “What about Saturday? I’ll hire a
babysitter and everything. We can go over to Wilson, have a nice
dinner. Maybe find a quieter place to be alone, so we don’t feel
like a couple of teenagers.”
She shifted closer and pulled his head down
to hers. “I don’t mind being right where we are.” She wrapped her
arms around him and pulled him over her again.
Baseball practice, baseball games, movie
nights, concert planning all ate up time, but they managed to slip
away for a date every now and again, and to the boat more often
than that. Leo had found time to clean up the berth and change the
sheets, so it smelled better and was cozy, and if his dad noticed
that the boat was nicer, if his mom saw him haul the laundry in and
out of the house, they didn’t say anything. If anyone noticed them
sneaking to and from the boat after dark, they didn’t say
anything.
Still, Leo had to get his own place. His
mother had protested when he wanted to hire a babysitter to stay
with Max while he went out with Trinity, but he explained to her
that was what he’d do if he and Max lived on their own.
He just needed to decide if he could stay in
this town. His editor’s calls were less frequent, which should make
him happy but only made him wonder what he was missing out on. But
if he went back to that job, he wouldn’t have time for Max, and
while the old Leo might have just felt guilty about that, now he
felt a pang of regret for what he
might
miss. He’d miss his
kid if he left. They still didn’t talk a lot, but they spent time
together, quiet guy-time.
Or maybe not-so-quiet, if you asked his mom,
especially on video game tournament days.
And then there was Trinity. He was happy for
the first time since Liv died, but he thought he caught a shadow
now and then when he looked into Trinity’s eyes. Every time they
made love, though, something shifted in her, away from him. He
should ask her about it, but didn’t want to spoil the little bit of
time they had together.
On impulse he looked up housing listings in
the area. Just a couple here in town, one on the lake and out of
his price range, another in his parents’ neighborhood and another
on the same road as the school. Just for fun, he drove by it before
picking up Max. The for sale sign sat in front of a cute
cottage-looking place, probably half the size that his home in
Excelsior had been, with a nicely manicured yard, a fireplace, a
big picture window, and he could see the school from here. Max
would only attend this school a couple of more years, but Trinity
could walk to work on nice days, and if they had kids….
The thought pulled him up short. He hadn’t
realized until today he was seriously considering staying here, and
now he was buying a house and sticking Trinity in it with him? And
there, in the shadows of his mind, other kids.
He could report from here as well as
anywhere—getting to an airport would be a bitch, but it was
possible. He could coach and write and make love to Trinity, make
babies with her, and she could walk to school from their little
house, maybe come home for lunch and he’d be there, writing, but
glad for the interruption—
His libido was working overtime. That was all
it was. He wasn’t built for this life. It was nice now because it
was new and Lily kept him busy with the festival. But once that was
over and baseball was over and winter set in, he’d lose his
freaking mind. He tapped the gas and pulled away from the house.
What was he thinking?
***
“I’m going to Saint Paul next week for a
teacher conference.” Trinity pulled her sweater over her head and
turned to look at Leo, still naked on the bed—no, the berth, he’d
corrected her. Her heart ached with longing, wanting to curl up
against him, rest her head on his chest and fall asleep in his
arms, something she’d never done with a man.
He rolled onto his side and propped his head
on his bent arm. “When?”
“I leave Thursday and come back Sunday
morning, since there’s a guest speaker Saturday night.”
“You’re going to miss movie night and the
first concert.” While they’d wanted Maddox to kick off the series,
they’d decided they needed a practice run, first, and got a band
from Minneapolis to be their guinea pigs so they could work out any
kinks.
“I know, and I feel bad—I know Lily was
counting on my help, but, well, I look forward to this conference
every year.”
“I meant I was going to miss you. I thought
maybe you’d dance with me.”
“Dance?” She sat beside him and bent to slip
on her sandals. “It’s just as well. I’m a terrible dancer.”
“I can make you look good.” He stretched up,
curving his hand around the back of her head, and kissed her. “I
guess I can wait until the next week to show you.”
Her heart twinged just a bit, imaging being
held in his arms, full against him, in front of everyone. She was
fairly sure people knew about their relationship by now—they were
always together—but no one had said anything. Leo and Trinity had
been careful not to be too affectionate with each other. Dancing
with him would be next to a declaration. The idea at once scared
and thrilled her. “Patience is a good thing.” She pulled away and
stood. “See you tomorrow.”
***
She wasn’t lying. She always looked forward
to the conference, to getting away, to be around teachers and
counselors and administrators who loved to talk teaching. Her least
favorite part was driving in the city, something she wasn’t
accustomed to doing, and it seemed the traffic got worse every
year. But Teresa Conover was with her and navigated their way to
the hotel. They checked in without incident, and rode the elevator
up to a room with a tremendous view and two double beds. Not for
the first time she wished she was here with Leo, a proper bed, a
night—no, three—together. Of course then she wouldn’t get down to
the meetings.
The two women unpacked and went down to
register for the conference and get dinner. She encountered a few
old friends that she’d met in past years and got included in an
invitation for dinner. She took Teresa along. They had a late night
and a couple of drinks and came back to the hotel a little
giggly.
Leo rose from a couch in the lounge. Trinity
stopped short and blinked. Surely she’d conjured him. But no, he
approached with an uncertain grin, as if he hadn’t expected to see
her with friends, see her dressed up, see her a little tipsy.
“Is this Leo?” one of the ladies asked as
Trinity swayed on her heels toward him.
Trinity blushed, remembering she’d been a bit
loose-lipped at the restaurant. Instead of answering, she gripped
the lapel of his sportscoat.
“You look nice,” she said.
“So do you.” His hand coursed down the flirty
skirt of her dress.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you. I thought maybe if you
weren’t too busy…” He cast a glance at her friends.
She knew just what he meant, and her libido
snapped awake. “Have you been waiting long?”
“A couple of hours. A small price for
surprising you.”
That brought a collective “aww” from the
ladies as Leo folded his hand around hers.
“If you ladies will excuse us.” He turned his
charming smile to them, but Trinity couldn’t take her gaze off him
long enough to see their reaction. He led her toward the elevator,
and all she could think was that the ladies knew exactly what she
and Leo were going to do.
“I have a roommate,” she managed when the
elevator doors opened.
“I don’t.” He led her inside and tucked her
close, then waved at the watching women as the doors slid
closed.
His room wasn’t as high as hers, didn’t have
as good of a view, but he had a big bed and a bottle of wine
chilling, though he pushed it out of the way and reached for her.
After weeks of crouching on the boat, standing and kissing, body to
body, felt odd. She took advantage, curling her fingers in his
hair, sliding against him, breasts to chest, hip to hip.
“I was going to—take you out—to dinner,” he
managed between kisses as she tugged his shirt out of his
waistband.
“I ate.” Then she pulled back to look at him.
“Did you?”
“I’ll get room service later. Right now, my
appetite is for other things.”
He lifted her and tossed her onto the center
of the bed, then crawled up the length of it to follow her, looking
every bit the Big Bad Wolf. She shuddered in anticipation. He
shoved up her skirt, knelt between her thighs, and lifted her hips
to his mouth.
She came with a cry. While her body still
quivered, he raised his head to grin at her, then shed his clothes
before working on hers.
“I want you on top,” he murmured against the
swell of her breast.
They’d never been able to do that with the
limited headroom on the boat. She’d never been on top in her
limited experience, and suddenly her desire went cold. “I don’t
know if I can do a good job.”
“Sweetheart, looking at you, touching you,
being inside you, that’s what I want. You’ll be great.”
The desire flickered again. “There’s a lot of
light in here.”
He rolled onto his back and pulled her over
him. “The better to see you with.”
She laughed at the Red Riding Hood reference
when she’d just been thinking of him as the Big Bad Wolf. Then,
before she knew it, he was inside her, rolling his hips against her
encouragingly. The sensation was amazing, stroking nerve endings
she didn’t knew she had, and she moved against him, over him, as
his hands covered her breasts, tangled in her hair, stroked where
they were joined. His hips rose again and again, his breathing
became harsh and ragged, his fingers dug into her hips. One
sensation blurred into another as she met his rhythm, as she felt
him pulse inside her, as she followed, only to collapse on his
chest. His heart pounded against her cheek—or maybe that was hers,
she couldn’t tell. All she knew was that she felt powerful reducing
this sexy, handsome man to a bundle of quivers.
He eased her onto her side and kissed her as
he dealt with practicalities. He stroked her hair, her cheek, her
arm, then lifted his head and smiled. “I’m thinking…ice cream.”
After they ate and made love again at a more
leisurely pace, Leo turned out the lights and drew her into his
arms, her back against her chest. A few moments passed before his
breathing evened out, signaling that he was asleep, but Trinity
couldn’t relax. She’d never slept in a man’s arms, never spent the
night in a man’s bed. Despite his very thorough attentions, she was
wound too tight. Sad, since she’d longed for this very thing since
she and Leo started having sex. And it was incredible that he’d
gone out of his way to come to be with her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his lips against
the back of her neck.
“I’m not used to sleeping naked.” Which was
true.
He released her and rolled off the other side
of the bed. She heard him unzip his bag, then a moment later felt
the dip in the bed when he returned.
“Here. My T-shirt.”
She closed her fingers over the soft, thick
cotton, and again her heart squeezed. He was too good to her. She
pulled the garment over her head, found her panties shoved to the
foot of the bed, and felt better, having just that little
shield.
But as she lay down in his arms again,
smelling him all around her, she knew she had to tell him the
truth, and soon.
***
Another first—her walk of shame. Wearing the
same clothes she’d worn last night, though she’d showered in Leo’s
room, Trinity crept into her hotel room, only to see Teresa already
dressed and ready for news, no doubt. Trinity was sure her face
would ignite in embarrassment.