Damon, Lee (24 page)

"What did he say? Ahhh, if you keep doing that, I'm not going to be able to concentrate on this discussion."

"Yes, you can. It's all part of the program. Why don't you let go of my hair for a minute... what is this thing you've got about hanging onto fistfuls of hair, love?... and unbutton my shirt."

"I like the feel of your hair, that's what. Are you sure about this?"

"Mmm-hmm. Ken says that I've started out right, getting you used to my touch, but that things will probably go faster if we distract your attention from what
my
hands are doing by talking about something else and, at the same time, keeping
your
hands busy with their own concerns."

"So I won't have time to worry about what you might do?"

"Something like that. Except that you shouldn't worry about it anyway. You
know
I'm not going to do anything you won't like or that will frighten you. It's a matter of... mmm... programming. Getting you so used to my touch, in a totally nonthreatening and natural way, that you'll actually mis; it when I'm not with you."

"I miss it now. I mean, I did tonight."

"Not as much as you're going to."

"What else did he say? What about being able to hold me?"

"Not yet. In fact, he said that I shouldn't even try. He thinks we should... what are you doing?"

"I love the fur on your chest. It's so soft. Ez's is rough and so was—I've always liked your pelt. Remember?"

"Oh, indeed I do. All right. Help yourself. It goes right along with Ken's suggestion, in fact."

"What suggestion?"

"He thinks we should come at this from two directions. Both of them are going to call for a lot of trust on your part, absolute blind faith that I'm going to keep control no matter what either of us does. Do you understand, love? You've got to believe it without question or the slightest shadow of doubt."

"And then what?"

"Look at me. Can you do it? Have that kind of faith in me?"

"Of course. I'm here, aren't I? I'm lying on this bed with you, and you've got your hand on my breast and I'm touching you, and I'm not panicking."

"And that covers both directions. Ken said that we should work on getting you used to my hands, just as I explained a few minutes ago, and at the same time you should try to let yourself go and... well, take the lead. Touch me, put your arms around me, kiss me, whatever you want to do... or feel like doing... or want me to do. You'll set the pace, but I'll encourage you to go a little bit further each time. And always we'll stop when you say so, the second you start feeling uneasy or afraid."

"Do you think it will work?"

"Yes. It may take a while, but I'm sure it's the answer. Can you do it?"

"Oh, yes. I'm sure I can. And I'm certain it will work. It's got to."

"Don't push it, though. Just let it happen naturally."

"I am. What's that?"

"A scar. Nothing much. Just a scratch. Ahh, if you're going to explore my ribs, use a firmer touch, love. That tickles."

"O'Mara? This isn't going to be easy for you, is it? I mean—"

"I know exactly what you mean. No, it isn't going to be easy in some ways. I want you more than you can begin to imagine, and it's going to be hell to keep all that tamped down. On the other hand, I love to touch you and to feel your hands on me, and I'm cherishing the thought that all my extraordinary self-control is going to be well rewarded in the near future. You
are
going to make all this up to me, aren't you, my love?"

"Mmmm. I'm sure to think of something. There must be a book or two of helpful suggestions downstairs."

"Witch. Never mind your damn books. I'll teach you anything you want to know, and probably quite a few things you'd never think of by yourself."

"Promises, promises. Aaaiie. Ohh. Yes. Yes."

"Strange. Why do your breasts taste like lemons?"

"My soap. Sometimes it's heather. Do it some more. Please."

"Greedy... I remember... once I started this, before, you didn't want to... let me stop."

"I still don't. Why are you?"

"So you can kiss me. This is supposed to be a group participation effort."

"Two isn't a group. Mmm.
You
taste like lime."

"Aftershave. Three is a group. Open your mouth, love, and stop talking."

"Uummm."

"Now what?"

"Who's the third?"

"Hero. He's curled up against my legs. Stop laughing, wench."

"I love you. My personal toad-prince."

"You're getting giddy. I knew I shouldn't start kissing your breasts."

"Yes, you should. In fact, you should do it more often."

"I will. Now what are you doing? Oh, love, if you're going to start undressing me, we're going to have a problem."

"Just your shirt. I want... mmmm... that. Your fur is like silk... tiny feathers of silk... against my breasts."

"Is your fur like silk?"

"I don't have—Oh!"

"Never mind. One of these nights, I'll find out for myself. Mmmm. Was that a tease, or are you really going to kiss me?"

"Does that answer your question? Are you all right?"

"No. You're driving me slowly out of my mind doing that."

"Don't you like it?"

"Mmm. Love it. But you're still giving me a temperature, between rubbing your breasts across my chest and adventuring all over the place with your busy tongue—"

"It's just your neck... and your ear...."

"And my mouth and my shoulder. What are you doing now?"

"The blanket's in the way."

"Leave it there. Kitt!"

"But I want—"

"I know what you want, love, but let's not put too much strain on my willpower. Just leave the blanket where it is, you under it and me on top of it. A nice safe arrangement."

"O'Mara? I think I could—"

"No, you can't. And you're not going to try. Not yet. Thank you for the thought, though, love."

"Oh, damn. None of this is fair to you at all. And what if it makes you sick?"

"Kitt! For godsake, where do you get these ideas? I'm all right. At least, I will be as long as you stay under that blanket."

"But—"

"I am not going to get sick from a little abstinence."

"A lot."

"Okay, a lot of abstinence. I'm still not going to get sick. Where do you get such weird ideas?"

"I probably read it somewhere."

"Stop reading about sex. If you want to know something, ask me. If I can't demonstrate it, at least I can explain it."

"Okay. Why can't I—"

"No. Not tonight. I already told you—Oh, you witch, are you ever going to pay for all this. Come on, now. Kiss me goodnight. I've got to get home, or I'll never make it back here by eight."

"Why go home? You can stay here."

"You're out of your tiny mind. If you think for one minute that I could sleep with you and not—"

"I'm not totally stupid, toad-prince. You can sleep in Ez's room. What time is it? You won't get any sleep at all by the time you go home and then come back. It's ridiculous."

"Mmmm. Maybe. It's almost three. Lord, have we really been here that long? You do have a way of making time fly, my Kitt."

"We're both mad. At this rate, I'll probably get rid of my kink because I'll be too tired to panic."

"That's not my main worry, you dingbat. If this is the method we've got to use, by the time I can make love with you, we'll have to spend that week in bed catching up on our sleep. And that's not at all what I have in mind."

"With your deviously inventive imagination, I have every confidence that you'll come up with a solution. Are you sure you don't want to sleep here?"

"Positive. It's impossible. Ummm. Very nice. Now, right now, let me up."

"I'm not the least bit afraid yet. Not a twinge."

"You've got all the makings of a wanton, love. Not that I mind, as long as you confine your experiments to me, but... stop it, you tease... that's enough for now."

"My, but you move fast, O'Mara. A regular hoppy toad. Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?"

"I just did, and that's all you're getting for at least the next five hours. Does Ez have any pajamas? And is there a lock on that door?"

"Why do you need—"

"I want to make sure you stay in your own bed."

"O'Mara! It's not funny. As if I'd—Well, maybe I would at that. All right, all right, I'll stay here. There are some pajama bottoms in the second drawer of his bureau. Don't ask me where the tops are. I think he throws them away."

"Goodnight, love. Ahhh, you'd better put that back on before you get cold. 'Night, Hero."

"Good morning, toad-prince. Don't worry, I'll wake you up by eight."

"Why do I sense a threat in that? If you dump cold water on me, I'll blister your butt."

"Would I do anything so obvious?"

"Much as I love you, there are moments when I don't trust your weird sense of humor an inch. In your own delightful way, you're every bit as crazy as Ez."

"Hold the thought. 'Night, O'Mara."

Chapter 14

Tousle-haired and sleepy-eyed, Kitt leaned in the doorway of Ez's room with Hero cradled in her arms and lovingly watched O'Mara sleep. Only half-awake, her instincts and inclination urged her to join him on the big bed. The strong, tanned expanse of bare back practically cried out to be stroked, and she wondered if the rest of him were naked too, under the sheet tangled around his hips and legs. Maybe he hadn't bothered trying to find pajama pants, especially if he didn't usually wear them. Somehow, she rather thought he slept in the raw, and she leaned hard against the door jamb as her knees weakened at the vision of the two of them spending endless nights naked in each other's arms.

God. The man is turning my mind to mush.
She straightened up, mentally kicking herself, and decided firmly that what they both needed was a strong dose of fresh air and exercise. Slowly and silently, she moved to the foot of the bed and carefully set Hero down.

"Wake him."

She leaped back to the doorway as Hero's banshee howl echoed around the room.

"What the hell!?" By the time the second word was out, O'Mara was off the bed and crouched in the middle of the floor, blinking around for the source of the unearthly ululations. It took only seconds for him to add Hero to a laughing Kitt and come up with—

"Wake up call!" trilled Kitt, and then dissolved in giggles as she spun around and dove for the bathroom with O'Mara one jump behind her. She flipped the lock on the door just as his palm hit it, and she leaned back against it, laughing.

"Damn your eyes, woman. That's a hell of a way to wake a man out of a sound sleep. It's a wonder I didn't crack my spine."

"I knew you wouldn't," she called through the door. It sounded as if he were leaning on the other side of it, she thought. "I wake Ez up like that all the time, and you're in every bit as good shape as he is."

"I think I'd have preferred the cold water," he said in a disgusted voice.

"But I didn't want a blistered butt," she protested.

"You may get one anyhow," he growled. There was a pause, and she could hear him laughing softly. "Kitt? I'll forgive you. Open up. We'll take a shower, and you can scrub my back in atonement."

She turned her head so her mouth was next to the edge of the door. "Mmmm," she purred. "It truly is a fascinating offer, but I'm not going to take a shower right now. I'll wait until we get back from running."

"Coward. How will I get my back scrubbed?"

"I've got a nice extra-long-handled bath brush. Don't go away. I'll only be a few minutes."

"Wait! Kitt? I've only got the suit I wore last night. Did Ez leave any clothes here? Jeans or something?"

"Yeah. All kinds of stuff. I think there's a couple of warm-up suits in there, too. Help yourself."

Within half an hour, they were in the Mercedes on their way to Beach Avenue. Kitt glanced over at O'Mara, thinking how easily they had meshed their morning routine. While Kitt brushed her hair and her teeth and had a quick wash, O'Mara had called home to reassure Gus and Andy that he was all right and would be along later. He took over the bathroom, and she started the coffee before scrambling into a smoky blue warm-up suit, which somehow, for all its looseness, seemed to accentuate the slim length of her legs and the firm shape of her breasts.

As she left her room, she could hear him moving around in Ez's room and called, "Coffee's ready. Will toast and strawberry preserves hold you for now?"

"Fine. Be right there." His voice was muffled, and she wondered what he had found to wear.

She had the answer two minutes later when he strolled into the kitchen in a warm-up suit that exactly matched hers.

"Thank heavens for drawstrings. Ez is a couple inches bigger around than I am."

"Mmmmm," she murmured, her eyes fixed on the dark cloud of fur visible where he'd zipped the jacket only halfway up.

"Behave yourself, love," he chided, laughing. "If I must," she sighed.

"Where is your mind, love?" At the soft question, Kitt blinked and realized that they were stopped beside the beach.

"It was... ah... um... on other things." She tried hard for an insouciant look, but ended up blushing and laughing.

Shaking his head, he gave her a very
male
smile, murmuring, "I
knew
I shouldn't have kissed your breasts."

"O'Mara!"

"Come on, you oversexed wench. Let's run."

It was a beautiful, brisk morning, and they loped easily along Beach Avenue, past Lords Point and out to the end of Great Hill Road before turning and heading back to the car. Kitt recognized several of the morning regulars and smiled a greeting. It was a few minutes before she realized just how much attention they were attracting, and raised a questioning eyebrow at O'Mara.

"I don't usually run along here. And definitely not with a tall, delectable toad-kisser." His grin was pure challenge. "Most particularly not in his-and-her outfits. Add one darling dog, and everyone in town is going to know what's going on by noon."

"I hope Ez's shoes pinch your big toes." She gave him a formidable scowl and stuck out her tongue.