Caught Up In You 4: The Point of No Return (Edgeplay) (2 page)

 His lips press against my ear, tongue flicking out to toy with the lobe. “Come on me now. Hug my cock with your wet little pussy, bring me with you.”

 All the different lines of sensation—his words, the feel of him thrusting inside me, kneading my breasts and my own busy fingers—all points of contact angle upward forming a pyramid, the pinnacle of which sends me flying.

  Distantly, I feel him groan, his satisfaction apparent in the hot fluid bathing my still clenching channel. Satisfaction radiates from my every pore. I’d done it and he’d loved it.

 He rolls me off him gently, then pulls me to him. Laying my head on his chest, I fall asleep with the steady thrum of his heartbeat in my ear, the feel of his hand caressing my naked back.

 My last thought before I knock out completely is a question.

 Would it really be so bad to start every day like this?

****

 The next time I wake up, daylight peeps around heavy blue curtains. The fire died out a while ago and the bed next to me is empty.

 I’m so used to mornings in my cottage, where the kitchen with the glory of the coffeepot is only a few steps away. But here at Connor’s there are stairs obstructing my progress to the elixir of life. Or at least intelligent life. Stairs could mean big injuries. No one should be forced to deal with something so dangerous without an ounce of java in hand.

 Perhaps a shower is in order. Something else to help me pry both eyes open and at the same time wash away the telltale evidence of my late night activities. Hopping out of bed I head to the bathroom when the alarm on my phone goes off.

 Shoot, my pill. They were back at my cottage, where I normally was this time of day.

 My OB/Gyn instructed I take my pill at the same time every day. I don’t want to just walk of shame it across the lawn without a word to Connor, but the longer I dawdle here looking for him, the more likely I will forget about the pill. My being on birth control is a major issue for him.

 Forgoing the shower for a quick sponge bath, I yank my clothes from yesterday out of the hamper, redressed and dashed out into the hall where I ran smack dab into Rochelle.

 “Just the girl I was coming to see. I have something for you”

 Puzzled, I look down at the flat, rectangular box in her hands, about the size of a shirt box. An eyebrow goes up in surprise that she’d got me something. We’d only met yesterday. “For me?”

 She grinns at me. “I didn’t say it’s from me. Connor left it for you.”

 “That makes much more sense.” I laugh and take the wrapped box from her. “I have to run home, but I’ll be back in a few.”

 “Want some company? It’s too quiet here with Connor gone.”

 I trip, just catching the railing to prevent myself from falling down those blasted stairs. “Connor left?” Hurt wells that he hadn’t said goodbye.

 “Your face is like an open book and not a mystery either. Doll, you can’t show your entire hand of cards like that, the world will chew you up and spit you out. I’m surprised Connor hasn’t eaten you alive.” Rochelle shakes her head as a wicked grin steals over her features. “Then again—”

 I blush at her lewd implication, more because she’s right and I’m embarrassed and she laughs again. We descend the stairs and she shuts the front door behind us.

 The grounds are deserted and I can’t help scanning the landscaping checking to see if the flowerbeds have been winterized yet. I’m halfway through and tabulating a mental list of what needs to be done when I remember it is no longer my job.

 “How serious is it between you two, anyway?” Rochelle asks.

 “He asked me to marry him.” As soon as the words are out I want to call them back. If I wasn’t holding the box I’d clap a hand over my mouth. I don’t want to tell anyone until I make up my mind about how to answer Connor.

 Rochelle makes a high pitch squealing sound and literally clicks her heels together. “That’s incredible! Oh Baily, I’m so happy for the two of you!” She spins in a circle on the open lawn.

 “Wow. Um, not to rain on your parade, Rochelle, but I haven’t said yes yet.”

 I expect her movie poster beautiful face to fall but the grin stays firmly in place. “That’s almost incidental. Just the fact that he’d ask, that he’s so smitten with you that he’d break his bachelor vow is an enormous deal.”

 “He took a vow to stay single?” The air is cool and the grass laced with frost. I shiver but it has nothing to do with the cold. “When was that?”

 “Not sure really. Before we met, definitely. But it doesn’t matter now because he’s seen the light and he wants to be with you. If there’s hope for Connor Edge, there’s hope for all of us.”

 Her enthusiasm is infectious and I find myself grinning. “Oh there’s definitely hope.”

 We walk in silence down the knoll toward my cottage, both lost in our own thoughts.

 “How charming,” Rochelle breathes, genuinely taken by my little stone abode. Coming from someone with her financial resources the words could sound condescending, but the way she reaches out to touch the house in completely sincere.

 “It’s my favorite spot in the entire world. Would you like to come in?”

 Setting the box down on the table, I make a beeline for my purse. “Want some coffee?”

 “Is the Pope Catholic?” She’s asks, moving closer to the fireplace. “God, Baily, I love the feel of this place. There’s so much history here.”

 I fill a glass with water and swallow the pill before moving to the coffee pot. “Are you a history buff?”

 “Yes and no. I’m no historian, but I like the look and feel of old things, imaging different ways of life. My role I just finished was a period piece. Think Lawrence of Arabia meets Romancing the Stone.”

 My phone beeps again, probably another reminder notice. I scoop the grounds into a filter and fill the pot. “Sounds exciting. Where were you filming?”

 “The UAE.” At my blank look she grins. “The United Arab Emirates. Dubai is one of my favorite cities. You should get Connor to bring you.”

  Considering Connor wouldn’t even let me leave the Rosemont without an armed escort, I highly doubt a trip to Dubai is feasible. “I’ll mention it to him.”

 “Seriously. It would be fab. I’m going back for a spell, just to enjoy after postproduction wraps. You could meet Lola. Have him bring you when he comes next week. We could double date and the tabloids would eat it up, him, out with three women, like his own harem.”

 This time I hide my hurt that Connor’s planning another trip Rochelle knows about and I don’t. We need to spend less time shagging and more time talking. “Your girlfriend’s name is Lola?”

 “
She was a showgirl, with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
…,” Rochelle sings. “Seriously, she used to be a showgirl. In Vegas though, not the Copacabana. Don’t even mention Barry Manilow in front of her. I learned that the hard way.”

 She’s too much. “I’ll try to restrain myself.”

 The coffee finishes and I pour us each a mug and set it down on the kitchen table before deciding to go on a little fishing expedition. “So what is Connor doing in Dubai?”

 Rochelle shrugged. “Business guy stuff. He has a building in the city that he uses for home base with all of his eastern hemisphere projects. You’ll have to ask him for anything more specific than that. Not what I’ll be doing, which is shopping. They have this killer mall….”

 I listen while Rochelle waxes poetically about the Dubai mall, apparently the mecca for shopaholics worldwide. Though I try to pay attention my mind keeps wandering back to Connor. The phone beeps again and I reach for it, think it’s the alarm.

 Two new text messages have come in, both from Connor.

 The first
Sorry to run off, I have a meeting with the DOD I can’t miss. Call me when you open your present.

 
The second,
Last night was amazing. XOXO.

 
“You should see your face.” Rochelle sighed. “I may have the showgirl but you’re the one who fell in love.”

 I may have only just met her, but I desperately need someone to talk to. And she already knows about Connor’s affliction. “Can I trust that anything I say to you will stay between us?”

 Rochelle sobers. “Is it about his issues?”

 I nod. “That’s a good name for it. You know what he’s dealing with. I want to be with him, help him, but he’s so possessive of me already. I don’t want to just sit here all the time, waiting for him to get back from all these exciting places. I have my own dreams and he won’t even discuss them with me. Is that any way to start a committed relationship?”

 I expected her to mull it over a moment but her answer is immediate. “Fuck no. What is he not letting you do?”

 “I want to go back to nursing school. I could register now and start up again in January. But ever since the car bombing, Connor has me under guard here.”

 Rochelle nods slowly. “He’s afraid for you, afraid you’ll be hurt because of him. But that’s no reason to stop living your life. He can’t ask something from you he’s unwilling to cede himself. My advice, for what it’s worth. Register for your classes and let him deal with the fallout. You tried to talk to him about it, right? So it won’t come as a total shock and he’s a butthead for not listening in the first place. Draw a line in the sand and make him cross to you. Let him know right now how it’s going to be between the two of you, that you won’t let him brush you off or bully you. If he wants you—which I know he does—he’ll bend. Just because you’re thinking about taking on his boatload of issues doesn’t mean you’re willing to do sacrifice your own ambitions for him.”

 I breathe out a sigh of total relief. “So you don’t think I’m being ungrateful or stupid?”

 Rochelle grins. “I think you are being exactly what he deserves. It’s human nature to value greatest the things we work the hardest to obtain. There is more than one way to make a man pay. And Connor Edge can definitely afford you.”

Chapter Two

 
A
fter Rochelle departs, I eyeball Connor’s gift. The last time he’d given me a present we barely knew one another yet he’d picked out the most exquisite dress. I pick it up to confirm my suspicion; it’s much too heavy for clothing, unless he got me a chainmail vest. I stick my tongue out at it. Knowing Connor’s protective streak, that idea might not be totally off base.

 Turning my back on it, I head to the bathroom, intending to have a relaxing soak in the tub. It’s too early for wine, though I am sorely tempted. There’s a bottle of Rosa Regale I splurged on for my last birthday and never got around to drinking. But for the decisions ahead of me, I figure having a clear head is probably my best bet.

  The phone rings just as I’m about to climb into the tub. Always vigilant of possible problems with Pops, I scurry to answer. “Hello?”

 “Did you open it?”

 I roll my eyes heavenward. “Connor, you are so impatient!”

 A pause. “I take that as a no.”

 I hear murmuring in the background, phones ringing, people talking. “You can take a hike. I’m having a bath before another second passes.”

 He makes a satisfied sound. “Wish I was there to share it with you.”