Love Me Knots (2 page)

David stared at the closed door to his fiancée’s apartment with a grim set to his mouth. He’d knocked five times already. He knew she was in there; she’d yelled at him twice to go away. She was determined to either make a scene or make him leave. Neither one made sense.

He gripped the diamond ring almost hard enough to bend it. She couldn’t possibly believe him capable of infidelity. Least of all with
Taylor
. The girl was an infant.

A soon-to-be-unemployed infant. He’d have done it immediately after her confession if he hadn’t been in such a rush to get to Krista to straighten things out. Not that his efforts had paid off.

He knocked again “We need to talk.”

“
You
need to go to hell!”

David sighed. He’d known when he met Krista that her sense of the dramatic might cause a few ripples, but really, this wasn’t necessary. “If you’d let me explain—”

The door yanked open, stopping with a jolt because she still had the chain engaged, a fact he’d discovered earlier when he attempted to use his key. “Will you be explaining how long you’ve been screwing your grade-school-age secretary or will you be explaining why you were late for our lunch date? Again?’’

David could only stare. Looking at Krista always gave him at least a solid minute of complete speechlessness, but Krista angry was shockingly beautiful. The sable hair she usually pulled back was loose and almost curling around her face and shoulders. Her dark eyes were lit with righteous indignation and the pretty pink mouth that distracted him night and day was pursed to say something he was pretty sure he didn’t want to hear.

“Just like I thought. You can’t even decide which thing to lie about.”

Precisely what
he
thought. “I am
not
lying to you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yet.”

David put his hand on the door. “Let me in, Krista.”

“Why would I do that when you’re just fine out there?”

He glared at her, wanting to throttle her and kiss her at the same time. “Because you want me in there as much as I want to be in there. Even if just to yell at me.”

Her gaze flickered and her mouth softened. She looked so hurt it threatened to punch a hole in his gut. Which bothered him more than he could say since he hadn’t done anything to wound her this way.

“Let me in there and we’ll talk about this, Krista. I swear to you, I didn’t do anything wrong. We can work it out. We just need to talk.”

Interminable moments passed. Finally, she huffed out a breath and shut the door in his face. He only allowed it because he heard the scratching of the chain moving in its rail. A second later, the door opened completely.

David didn’t hesitate. He stepped in, wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her. She made a muffled sound against his lips, but he licked the seam of her mouth and as if he’d spoken a magic word, she opened for him. He swooped in, stroking her tongue with his, demanding she bend to his will in this, if nothing else. The taste of her soothed him, as did the way her body melted against him. Her hands clung to his shoulders and his arm kept her hips tight to his own.

Yes, this was the way things were supposed to be. Not locked doors and anger. Not endless drama for stupid miscommunications. Just him and her, connecting in the one way that hadn’t gone wrong the last few months.

Her hands shifted to his chest. He loosened his hold enough to slide over the rounded curves of her hips. She made a wild noise in her throat, not unlike the one she would make when he did the same thing in bed. He loved having her above him, guiding her hips in a slow ride that would please both of them until they were wrung out completely. Except…

She wasn’t pleased this time.

She pushed, hard, yanking herself from both the kiss and the hold. Her eyes blazed. “I should slap you for that.”

“Why?”

“Because you have no right to touch me after you’ve been with Taylor the Wonder Tramp.” She actually lifted her hand to wipe away his touch.

Anger bloomed deep in David’s gut. “Do you really think I’d sleep with my secretary?” What kind of pathetic cliché was that?

“I think I saw you and, believe me, if the picture was worth a thousand words, the screaming was worth ten thousand.”

“You
saw
me?” That was rich. “Did you by chance happen to see the taxi driver who was threatening to sue me for abuse because he got us stuck in traffic on Broadway and 11
^th
? Because that’s where I was, trying to call you to let you know I was almost there to meet you.”

Confusion rippled across her expressive face. “But I— She…”

“Check your phone, Kris. I was calling you for a solid ten minutes before I was supposed to meet you. The cabbie couldn’t get us out of the jam so I walked to the office.”

“I turned it off so you couldn’t cancel on me.” She said it distantly, more to herself than to him.

David frowned when she pulled herself from him completely. She turned, taking a few steps into the apartment. He could tell when she brought her fingers to her lips in her thought. His frown could have cut grooves in his face when he saw the packed suitcases in the middle of the living room.

“What are those?”

She turned, opened her mouth to say something, then seemed to go back to her thinking.

“Krista, what are your suitcases doing out here?”

“I’m going away for a little while. I need to think.”

“Think about what?” They were getting married in two months. What was there to think about?

“About you, about us. Whether or not I can do this.”

“Whether or—what do you mean,
if
you can do this?” Had she taken some kind of hallucinogen or something? “What’s so wrong about us?”

“Oh please, David, don’t pretend you don’t know.”

Who was pretending?

She must have realized he wasn’t being argumentative because she sighed again, clutched her arms around herself and stepped closer. But only a few inches. Not close enough for him to reach her. “Doesn’t it bother you that I thought you were cheating on me?”

More than she’d ever know. “It was a misunderstanding.”

“It was a
symptom
.”

Great, now they were sick? He resisted the urge to bring his hand to the bridge of his nose.

“Our relationship is a disaster and you don’t even see it.”

“I admit, things have been a little intense lately—”

“How much time have we spent together in the last month? When was the last time we talked? Really talked? About anything other than the wedding or how you’re canceling on the time we do have planned.”

“I’m a CPA. This is tax season. That’s why we decided to get married in May. So I can take the time off for the honeymoon.”

“No, I knew you’d be busy. I’ve been with you through tax season before. This is different. You’re avoiding me.”

Not this again. “The business has more than doubled since last year, in no small part thanks to you. By definition, I’ll be busier. I’m not avoiding you.”

“You keep saying that, but then you keep canceling at the last minute. What am I supposed to think?”

“That this is the arrangement we agreed on.” Mutual goals, genuine friendship, exquisite physical compatibility. She’d wanted a husband who would return her to the financial circles she’d been born to, he’d wanted a wife who could steer him through the social jungle he normally hadn’t a prayer of breaching or understanding. For the last year and a half, everything had gone smoothly. He’d played the brilliant numbers man on the rise, she’d done wonders to revolutionize his business with contact after contact. Not bad for a couple who’d met in the middle of an audit.

“I didn’t agree to be forgotten.”

She didn’t bring up cheating again. He took that as a good sign, especially when she hadn’t even checked her phone to corroborate his facts. At least she trusted him that much.

“And I haven’t forgotten you.”

The light in her eyes dimmed considerably, reminding him of the first time he’d met her. She’d been sitting in his office, shoulders slumped, her bottom lip nearly bruised from clamping her teeth on it. She always said that had been the lowest day of her life. Until he’d opened his office door. He’d never been able to bring himself to tell her the truth about that moment. That after that second, there was no possible way to think of anything
except
her.

“No,” she whispered, turning away. “You can’t forget what you’ve never really seen. It’s time I realized you’re never going to see. That it’s up to me to do something for myself again.”

David frowned. He saw her every chance he could. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know.” She sighed, not the amused sigh he liked. Not the irritated sigh he’d been getting lately. This was something new. Tired. No, that wasn’t it. Resigned. Maybe somewhere in between? Either way, it was a shade of gray he didn’t recognize.

“You know I’m lousy at this part. Is this argument finished or not?” He waited, watching her shoulders for some sign that she was relenting. The usual signal, a slow release of the air in her lungs and the tension seeping out of her, didn’t come. Her back to him, he saw her arm move, brushing her hair off her cheeks with a quick flick, one in each direction. She huffed, her shoulders staying stiff and her spine growing somehow straighter. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she’d just armored herself with poise.

“Yes, it’s finished.”

Good. Her marriage jitters were this close to making him nervous. But this relationship of theirs was a good idea. He knew it. He’d looked at it from every possible angle and never found an error. Unlike some of his clients, those growing numbers who needed him to sort out their taxes and annuities to include ex-spouses and child support and any number of extended family contingencies, he and Krista had decided to pool their resources based on rational, clear-cut thinking. Logically, they shouldn’t be having these petty arguments she insisted on.

They’d had specific financial and social needs the other could meet. Their personalities flowed together, apart from her occasional melodrama. She wasn’t usually so overemotional. Just lately, she’d been six kinds of irrational, but he could see past those difficulties because she had benefits no other woman offered.

Primarily, she wasn’t put off by his bluntness and she was smart enough to challenge him when he least expected it. Important when one was planning the rest of one’s life. He’d never be bored with Krista. Never be lonely. Normally, she was an excellent counterpart and he congratulated himself often on convincing her to marry him.

The sex had been a bonus he still couldn’t quite reason out. He’d expected it to be enjoyable—sex always was. Their personal chemistry, though, was explosive and the satisfaction had yet to decrease. It boded well for their future. A cherry on the top, when he was feeling whimsical, which really only happened with Krista.

Yes. This plan was perfect. She was just nervous. In need of reassurance. He looked her up and down, almost sighing at the perfection of her figure. She had an hourglass shape that tempted him to write mathematical odes. The brilliant red of her jacket molded to her waist and hips, cupping the simple black pencil skirt that dropped down to just above her knees. And those legs. Her skin had a soft golden cast, her calves strong without being over-defined. Her whole body was that way. Smooth, sleek, soft but firm. He could touch her for hours, not that he’d ever wasted such time, but he could. It wouldn’t bother him in the slightest.

Maybe that was what she needed. She didn’t ask much of him, David had to admit. She’d been wanting to talk more the last few weeks, something he hadn’t exactly been putting off, but he admittedly felt relieved whenever something more important came up. Politics, sure, they could discuss that. Business, definitely. She had an astute mind and grasped the better points of building client trust. She’d completely revolutionized how he handled not only employees and clients, but people in general. But he had the sinking feeling she wanted to talk about feelings.

Her feelings.

Or worse,
his
feelings.

If there was one thing he knew about himself, it was that talking and feelings should never be something he attempted to handle at the same time. Words always came out wrong. Or they came out right, but said the wrong thing. Occasionally, people were simply so set on their own translation of his words that he couldn’t get them untangled. That was the beauty of Krista. She accepted what he said at face value and never got flustered about it. If she needed clarification, she asked for it, and all stayed right in the world. Usually…

David frowned at her back. Something was definitely wrong with the world right now. The question was, did he have the first clue how to fix it?

David stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his head to the side of her face. He closed his eyes and breathed her in. She wasn’t wearing the perfume he’d given her, the magnolia scent he’d found while at a convention last summer. She always wore it. He pulled her closer, noticing that her cheek was cold where it touched his face. Almost icy cold.

“What’s wrong, Krista? Tell me what’s going on.” Even if she wanted to talk about feelings. He could take anything but this confusion. Krista was the one person in the world who’d never confused him.

A shudder ran through her whole body. For a frightening second, he thought she might burst into tears, but all she did was push out a breath and spin in his hold. Before he knew it, she was pressing a hard kiss to his lips. Desperate. Moist.

Her hands scrabbled at his coat, opening it and shoving it off his shoulders. She yanked on the tie, almost choking him before she got it right, and whipped it through his folded collar with a loud, hot wisp.

“Kris—”

She grabbed his face and kissed him again, nipping at his lips and making that mewling whimper of need that did the strangest things to his chest. Made it tighten and ache to give her anything she needed. Worked like a charm this time, too, because he gave up trying to figure out what was going on. She wanted him. Needed him, just like he’d thought. He’d find out what was wrong after.

David reached for her top, the little satin tie on one hip giving way instantly. The crossover style of the top meant he had to do the same thing on the inner flap before he could see the black satin camisole beneath. She’d been wearing these instead of a bra lately. Pretty, shiny things that outlined hard nipples and slid over her skin like water. He liked them. But right now the camisole was in the way.

He bumped into the wall, smacking the back of his head on the lintel before he realized he’d been moving. She had her hands on his bare chest—when did she get the buttons undone?—and was pushing him toward her bedroom.

This was new. She was never the aggressor in their sexual relationship. She liked slow seduction. Gentle approaches that generally led to complete, wild possession. Clearly, she wanted more this time, but it posed a problem when she wouldn’t stop pushing as he pulled on the sleeves. If she wanted things fast and rough, how was he to get her own shirt out of the way if she wouldn’t put her arms down to get it off?

Easiest path between two points, he decided, reaching out to pick her up. She helped a lot, all but leaping into his hold so they could stagger toward the king-sized mattress. He fell backward onto her cushiony duvet, letting her sprawl over him. Not that she stayed that way long. She sprang back, bouncing off him and the bed to shimmy out of her skirt.

“Hurry, David.”

Her skirt dropped to the ground, followed quickly by the camisole she peeled over her head as if it were on fire. The simple black panties clinging to her hips came off and in a heartbeat were whipped away to places unknown. He was still working at the button on his cuffs, staring wide-eyed at the woman who’d somehow become an Amazon when he wasn’t looking. She stood proudly, her high, full breasts capturing his attention completely, the dusky rose tips looking darker and fuller in the streaming radiance from the skylight above. Her skin, skin he’d memorized with his eyes, fingers and mouth, was flushed with a soft pink color. Not with embarrassment, but excitement.

No, need.

He could still see it, something shadowy in her deep green eyes. Secrets. For a second, about as long as his mind was capable of maintaining thought, he wondered if he was making a mistake. But then Krista reached for the belt to his slacks and the thought obliterated. Cool hands undid the belt and the fly and before the second button of his cuff popped right off, she had her fingers around his erection.

He forgot about the shirt entirely when she dipped her head and took him into her mouth.

She slid up, down, down, down, then up again, her tongue laving around the shaft, caressing and sucking his sensibility clean away. She moaned, deep and rumbly, as if somehow this were doing more for her than for him. And it couldn’t possibly. Her fingers wrapped around him near the base, stroking up and down, meeting the down thrust of her mouth somewhere in the middle before moving back upward. She let go, the very edge of her teeth grazing the head, and started pulling off his pants and underwear again.

Belatedly, David realized he was still wearing his shoes.

No, those went quickly when she realized the pants weren’t coming off with them in the way. Except for the shirt—which he realized was supposed to be his job to remove—he was completely naked. And Krista was climbing over him, intent on her face.

This had to be what prey felt like.

Although, it had to be said—or at least thought, because even he wasn’t stupid enough to actually speak at a time like this—prey probably wasn’t this excited about its situation.

She stopped, casually glancing down at his erection as it bobbed just beneath her jawline. Almost as if she were saying,
Hello, didn’t see you there
. David clenched his fists, waiting for her to go back to the heavenly torture of before. He could almost feel her licking him, his penis throbbing for it. Looking downward, he couldn’t have imagined a better view. His penis, then further down her breasts, soft and inviting, swaying with her slight movements while her legs straddled his own. The only thing better would be when she licked him again.

Her gaze roved up his body to meet his, her lips parting slowly while she lowered her face at a pace determined to make him damage himself trying to instantly grow another inch to meet her. Damn if he wasn’t just about pulling it off, either. Finally, thank God, finally, her soft pink tongue slipped out.

The lick was faint, brief, putting a kittenish curve to her lips.

David gritted his teeth.

She did it again, softer, longer, her tongue caressing the blush-colored head with a single swipe.

“Krista,” he heard himself growl.

Her eyes glittered in response. “What?”

“Put it in your mouth.”

Her lips pursed, still wet from sucking him earlier. If she didn’t hurry up, he wasn’t going to be responsible for his actions. She dipped again, mouth closed, and pressed a soft, chaste kiss on the tip. Desperate, he reached out and cupped her head. She pushed back against him, cheeks rosy, mouth smiling wide, and did nothing but graze him with her tongue.

“Krista!”

She sucked him in, deep and hard, leaving him to strangle on her name. Her cheeks hollowed around him, her motions steady and strong. Too soon, they stopped. She let go with a pop, knocking his IQ down at least thirty points.

“For the love of God, Kris.”

She laughed, a rich husky sound that snapped the control he’d been clinging to. With a yelp, she careened over onto the upper portion of the bed where he tossed her. She didn’t get much more out than that though, because he was on her, pressing her into the covers, his mouth devouring hers. She gave in with a muffled sigh, her arms circling around his neck.

He loved how she gave herself over to him. All of herself, nothing held back. This kiss was deep, their tongues tangling together while his body levered over hers, letting her breasts graze his chest, their hips meet, their breath and heartbeats align. Until she bit him.

David reared back, glaring down at her in shock. She smiled. She actually smiled. It didn’t look right, somehow. Her lips were tempting, teasing, the smile a dollop of sex all by itself, but the impish grin didn’t match her eyes. Some emotion was there, something that made her look sad and had his chest clenching again.

“What’s the matter, David? Don’t you want to play?” Her tricky little fingers danced down between them, tickling down his belly and sending his erection twitching. If he shifted his hips, he could slide right inside her and show her exactly how he wanted to play, but somehow, he didn’t think that would be quite enough. No, Krista needed attention. Reassurance that he could give her everything she needed in this arrangement of theirs. She needed to feel wanted.

And he definitely wanted her.

Narrowing his eyes, he grasped her wrists and brought them up on either side of her head. The spilled lengths of her hair spread out over the pillows, painting a picture he just knew he’d keep in his mind for the rest of his life. Perfect, kiss-swollen lips, the delicate structure of her face, the slightly tilted green eyes and the arching curves of her eyebrows. Krista, looking up at him and smiling. Nothing got better than that.

Except…

“Keep your hands right there. Don’t move an inch.”

“Why?”

“Right. There.” He let go, pointing for clarity, before he slid his body down the length of hers. He started with a kiss, just below her navel, that had her gasping. Another one, chosen randomly, on her right hipbone. He picked another spot, this one low, just above the brown curls that covered her sex. She shook, but as commanded, she didn’t move.

Satisfied she could be trusted, he graduated to openmouthed kisses. Lingering ones that made her quiver and sigh. Over the gentle curve of her belly, nibbling at the crease where her thigh folded into her abdomen. He licked it, dipping into the fold, foreshadowing what he planned to do next. Her hips lifted, thighs opening more for him, but he stayed away from where she wanted his kisses. If she could tease, so could he.

He lifted his fingers to the mound of her sex, gently grazing down over her flesh. He felt the moisture dewing there, but didn’t linger. She needed petting. Instead, he caressed the lean strength of her inner thighs. Traced the straining tendons with his teeth. She mumbled something, but he didn’t hear the words well enough. She needed incentive to speak louder.

He touched her swollen labia, parting the soft flesh and blowing a cool stream of air on the heated folds. Her whole body jerked in his hands. Better. But not good enough.

Dipping his head, he started again with gentle-kiss caresses. He added tiny licks, closing his eyes at the familiar flavor of her on his tongue. Familiar, but different in some way he couldn’t quite place. He sampled again, noting only that she seemed sweeter. He swirled his tongue upward, finding the hard little clitoris he considered a close personal friend. She gasped audibly at that, but he had plans before playing with that little buddy.

David sighed, pleased, before delving back inside her with his tongue. He might not be good at talking, but he knew how to give her what she liked. Deep thrusts of his tongue, replaced eventually with one finger, then two, while he sucked at her clit, flicking it with just the tip of his tongue before stilling the tension by pressing it with a flat stroke. Then starting all over again, increasing the speed and pressure of his fingers into her sensitive tissues.

He could hear her sighing, almost sobbing, felt her hand in his hair, alternately pulling him to her core or desperately trying to lure him upward. But he wasn’t going anywhere until she fell apart against his mouth. And that wasn’t happening until…

“Oh, God, David, please!”

Smiling, David let her go, increasing the speed of his fingers and the stroke of his tongue. Krista arched upward, her breath a soft keening cry. He sucked, listening as the cry became a scream. An aggressive pleasure filled him at the sound. Lapping at her, reveling in the shivering quakes and the squeezing muscles tugging at his fingers, he basked in it, already craving more.

He brought her down slow, wanting her soft and melting around him when he finally slid inside. Soothing her with a kiss to her thigh, he ran his hands up her flanks, massaging the curve of her hips. His hands smoothed across her skin, purposely calming, but with his mouth he tasted, nipped, caressed, knowing it would keep her yearning for the next touch. He took his time on her breasts, gentling his touch when she seemed to jump at the pressure. He laved each nipple, using only his fingertips to touch them, soft as whispers. Only here, with her, did being meticulous truly matter. Not a millimeter of her would be missed. He wanted her to feel him with every inch of her body, to know there wasn’t a part of her, inside or out, that he didn’t know. By the time he made it up to her lips, the shadows in her eyes were dark, along with the sheen of tears.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, stunned.

A tear slid out of the corner of her left eye, followed quickly by another on the other side. She shook her head, biting her lips together.

“What’s wrong?” She had to talk now. He moved to pull away, but she grabbed his shoulders.

“No, don’t stop, please.”

“Tell me why you’re crying.”

Her smile cracked something in him. His chest could have broken concrete with the pressure. “Haven’t you ever been part of something so beautiful you never wanted it to end?”

Before her? He shook his head. “No.”

Her smile died. There wasn’t another word for it. It fell and her eyes shuttered closed. He’d answered wrong, he knew it. But when he opened his mouth to apologize, she reached up to him.

“Make love to me, David,” she whispered, pulling his face down to hers. Her kiss was different, tinged with tears. He didn’t like it, knowing the shaking in her lips wasn’t from pleasure. “Make love to me, even if you don’t mean it.”

He frowned, even as her hands slipped between them to encircle his erection. She stroked, guiding him to the heated softness of her. He slid home, groaning with her at the sensation. “Krista—”