Full Circle (12 page)

He was covering old territory.

“Yes, but I don’t mind. In a way, hearing how
everything melds together helps me see how the pieces fit to make
you the man you were then and the man you are now.”

They sat in silence for a while until Karma
spoke again.

“Okay, so, you like role-playing.” She
shimmied closer as if prompting him to continue. “Would that be
kind of like me pretending to be your kidnap victim while you play
my kidnapper?” She smiled shyly, almost coquettishly.

He didn’t miss the way the air sizzled as her
gaze met his expectantly then flicked away.

Could she actually be considering playing the
part he’d fantasized for her when making his seemingly innocent
statement in the limousine two days ago? As soon as he’d said he
was kidnapping her, he’d wanted to blindfold her, bind her hands,
and pretend he really was stealing her away. The whole scene had
unfolded in his mind in a matter of seconds, and it had been
incredibly arousing. Then again, the scenes he envisioned for his
fantasies followed a tamer, forbidden love theme versus the
seedier, rougher themes Nina had preferred.

He pushed his hands over her thighs and under
the hem of her robe. “That’s one possibility.”

She lifted on her knees and crawled toward
him. “Okay so what else did you discover you liked in your
dysfunctional, experimental phase?” She situated herself on his
lap.

This conversation had taken a pleasantly
surprising turn. One he didn’t want to come to an end. The fact she
spoke so casually about subject matter he’d been dreading for days
encouraged him.

“Foot jobs.” He pushed his hands farther up
her bare thighs to her hips.

“Foot jobs? What are those?” Then her eyes
lit with awareness. “Oh, like blow jobs, only with feet.”

“Yes.”

She giggled and hid her face against her
palm. “I should have known that.”

“No, that’s okay. It’s
just . . . you haven’t done that to me since
Chicago, and now that we’re back together, I would really,
really
like you to do that to me again.”

“Now?”

“It doesn’t have to be now. But sometime.
When you’re comfortable. That would really excite me.”

“Okay.” She rocked forward and draped her
arms over his shoulders. “What else? What other things did you
discover turn you on?”

He leaned back on the pillows, pulling her
down with him. “You’re taking this a lot better than I thought you
would.”

“That’s because I’m awesome.” She placed a
gentle kiss on his mouth.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Is that a polite way of saying it’s my turn
to tell you something you don’t know about me?”

“If you want.” He used his fingers to slowly
inch her robe up to expose her bottom.

She propped herself on one elbow, easing her
other hand inside the lapel of his robe until the tips of her
fingers brushed over his nipple. “I’ve watched dirty movies.”

“What? Like porn?” Her confessions were so
normal compared to his, but her timid reaction was so fucking
adorable.

Her cheeks filled with color. “Uh-huh.”

“And . . . ?”

“I enjoyed them.”

“Really now?” He shifted beneath her so he
lay flatter, his head on the pillow. “I wouldn’t have taken you for
the type to watch porn, let alone enjoy it.”

“It was exciting.”

He caressed the firm globes of her bottom.
“How so?”

She tucked her face against his neck. “It
turned me on.” Her lips brushed his skin.
“And . . .”

“And . . . ?”

She squirmed closer, sighing as the apex of
her body rubbed against his erection. “And I wondered what it would
be like . . . you know . . . to watch
a movie like that with you.”

Talk about interesting conversational
turns.

“Something tells me we wouldn’t watch much
before we began making our own movie.”

“Have you ever done that?” She shoved his
robe aside, exposing the left side of his chest and the tattoo of
her name over his heart. She traced her fingers over the inked,
glyphic pattern.

“Done what?”

“Filmed yourself having sex.”

Grabbing the backs of her thighs, he
maneuvered her body forward and back, his cock sliding between her
lower lips. “Like I said, there’s not much I haven’t done. I’m just
relieved none of my more exploitive endeavors haven’t ended up on
the Internet.”

“Maybe you just haven’t searched far enough.”
She rotated her hips against his cock.

“Maybe so.” He reached toward the bedside
table. “And maybe you’d better help me get on a condom before this
goes much further.”

She stretched to the side and tugged on the
drawer while he untied her robe. The sash fell away as the silky
material opened. A moment later, she handed him a condom and sat
up, untying the knot on the belt of his robe as he ripped open the
packet.

“Do you want to do that with me?”

“What? Film us having sex?”

She nodded as he rolled on the condom.

“Do you want me to?”

After a brief hesitation, she bit her lip and
nodded again. “Don’t you agree it would play in nicely with your
role-play fantasies?”

He couldn’t believe how well this
conversation had gone, especially if she was talking about his
fantasies as if she were willing—maybe even eager—to participate.
There were still things on his list he wanted to tell her, but
compared to all he’d already revealed, they were nothing. Well, not
nothing, but not nearly as daunting as they had been an hour
ago.

“It
would
play in nicely, given the
right fantasy. Are you up for that?”

She shed her robe and helped him out of his.
“I wouldn’t suggest it if I weren’t.”

Palming her breast with one hand, he brushed
back her hair with the other. It had grown out since summer and
hung loose around her face, still damp from their shower. “You
never stop surprising me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just . . . you. Tonight.” He
gestured toward the now-dark room. They’d been cast into shadows
nearly ten minutes ago. The moonlight and the nightlight in the
bathroom were the only things keeping them from being in total
darkness. “You’ve taken all this so well. I was so afraid you’d be
upset.”

“I guess I’m not your typical girl.”

What an understatement.

“I guess not.” He pulled her down until her
face was only a couple inches from his. “So, were there any
positions in this dirty movie you watched that you’d like to try?
Anything we haven’t done, yet?”

She grinned, playing her fingers through the
hair on his chest. “There was one that looked interesting. The
woman was on her side, and the man was behind her. We’ve nev—”

Before she could continue, he rolled her off
him to her side then spooned her, rocking his hips against her
bottom. “Like this?”

Jesus! Her ass was sweet. An unbidden groan
rumbled from his chest.

She gasped, raising herself on one elbow,
glancing over her shoulder at him. “Yes. Like this.” She pressed
her hips back. “What’s this position called? Does it have a
name?”

Taking hold of his cock, he guided himself to
her entrance. “Sexy spooning, and it’s perfect for hitting a
woman’s G-spot.” He drove into her to prove his point.

She threw her head forward and let out an
eager, wanton groan.

Gripping her hip, he thrust into her again,
reveling in her rising, sultry groans as she collapsed and threw
her head back against his shoulder. The difficult conversation he’d
needlessly dreaded faded away. He’d been so sure she would reject
him, but she had heard the worst about his past and still wanted
him. Still loved him. Still found pleasure in his arms. And her
unbending acceptance intensified his own, making him take her
harder than usual.

Within minutes, he was eagerly speeding
toward release, unable to stop the libidinous gratitude from
gripping his balls and stroking his shaft as he surged into his
woman—
his woman
—claiming her.

He released her hip and shot his hand between
her legs to stroke her swollen clit as the head of his cock
continued assaulting her G-spot, massaging it, stimulating her
closer to her own climax.

Crying out, she fisted the comforter, body
arching as she planted the back of her head on his shoulder.
“There! Right there! Don’t stop.”

Not. Stopping. Ever.

Giving her everything he had, he fucked her
to within an inch of insanity before blowing apart a split second
before she did.

Her body gave out, rolling forward as he
surged against her like ocean surf, ending up on her back, pressing
her facedown into the mattress. He continued thrusting through his
orgasm as she humped the bed and squirmed beneath him.

As lust spent itself and gave way to
adoration, he wove his fingers around hers and curled their joined
hands into fists in a way that felt like a promise. In that moment,
he vowed to protect her, love and honor her, and cherish her
forever.

If only wedding vows could be so simple,
because he would gladly marry her a thousand times if it were as
easy as this. As easy as holding her in intoxicating bliss.

Right now, he was the luckiest man on Earth.
He had everything he could possibly want.

For now.

Too bad he couldn’t live in this moment
forever.

Chapter 5

Never let your fear decide your future.

-Author Unknown

Karma lay on her side, watching Mark sleep. His arm
lay slung over his stomach, his head turned toward her as if he’d
fallen asleep watching her. His tousled, dark-brown hair hung over
his forehead, and she resisted the urge to brush it back.

The moonlight glowing through the window made
him look like an angel, so serene. He seemed completely at peace,
so unlike how he’d been earlier, when he had looked more like a man
standing trial for murder, consumed by guilt and shame over his
past. But now he was the picture of tranquility.

What did he dream about? Did he dream? In
color? They never talked about their dreams. Did he ever dream
about Carol? Or the things he’d brought up tonight?

Suddenly restless, Karma sat up, brushed
aside the gauzy curtains, and pulled herself out of bed. She had
too much on her mind to sleep. Mark had hit her with a lot tonight,
reminding her yet again how little she really knew about him. Her
gut told her she’d found the man she was meant to spend the rest of
her life with, but her brain kept sending out warning signals, some
of which were like slaps to the face while others were more like
gentle taps on the shoulder.

She pulled on a pair of underwear and one of
his T-shirts, which hung halfway down her thighs, then tiptoed into
the living room, slid open the door to the deck, and slipped
outside.

The night was cool, but not cold. Refreshing.
Maybe even a little invigorating. But then, she was in Saint
Freaking Lucia. How could she not feel a little invigorated in a
place like this, with its palm trees and tropical breezes?

Pattering barefoot down the stone steps, she
descended to the pool, where she eased to the stone deck and
dangled her feet and calves in the cool water.

There was still so much she didn’t know about
Mark. This trip had made her realize that. What if, after they got
to know each other better, she didn’t fit into his world as well as
she thought she would?

He obviously had a lot of money. Karma didn’t
come from wealth. Her parents had scraped by for a long time before
her dad worked his way up the corporate food chain. But even after
he earned a comfortable salary, they hadn’t rolled in the dough.
Karma still owed on student loans, and despite a cozy amount tucked
into savings, still lived mostly paycheck to paycheck. She didn’t
want Mark to simply say, “I’ll take care of everything, hon.” There
was something to be said for making her own way, earning her own
money, and paying her own bills. She didn’t want to lose her
identity by allowing Mark to simply take care of everything.

And then there was Carol. She didn’t want to
think about that woman when she and Mark were supposed to be on a
romantic vacation, but it couldn’t be helped. Until Mark made peace
with his past, Karma would continue to feel like Carol was a fifth
wheel in their relationship.

But now, more than just Carol reared up from
his past. What about all that other stuff he’d told her? About
Nina, the threesomes, the sex parties? The drugs? Hiring a
prostitute? His sex fantasies?

During their conversation, her need for
honesty had overruled logic, making everything he’d confessed seem
like no big deal. The fact her happy hormones had been flowing like
a swollen river, as well, had only reinforced that sentiment. But
two hours later, and logic was back in charge. The hot sex was over
and reality set in, and the reality was, Mark had been around the
block a time or two . . . or ten.

How did she
really
feel about
that?

Social norms dictated that she should be
furious he had paid for sex. That he was a disgusting, foul man.
That what he’d done was wrong. And it was. Very wrong. But the
situation wasn’t so cut and dry. Mark was repentant. Clearly
disgusted at himself for the things he’d done. And he thought
enough of her to tell her the truth, and not just tell her, but
confess in such a way that made it obvious he needed her approval.
That he needed her to understand he was no longer that man but an
improved version committed to moving forward on a straighter
path.

How could she hold his past against him?
Everyone had a past. But the past didn’t have to define the future.
Sure, it could affect and mold a person, but that didn’t mean the
molding process was inherently negative. People did learn from
their mistakes, and Mark had already proven he was the type of man
who learned from his.