Marriage by Mistake (21 page)

When the cab pulled up to the front door,
Kelly added a tip to what Dean had already paid the driver, thanked
Maggie, who opened the front door for her, and ran straight
upstairs toward her room.

Or she tried to run straight to her room.
Troy was coming down the stairs as she was going up. He raised a
hand and opened his mouth. Kelly just knew he wanted to ask her if
she'd managed to find Dean.
So
interested.

Really, Kelly thought, with a mental shake of
the head. Dean's cousin didn't have nearly enough of his own to do.
She smiled and sailed right past him.

But avoiding Robby was another matter. She
had to pass his playroom on the way, and though Robby's back was to
her, the kid somehow knew she was walking past him. He swiveled his
chair from the dinosaurs he'd been exploding with his joystick.
"Hey!" he called. "Kelly!"

She had to stop. "Well, hey." She bit her lip
and tried to smile.

"So?" Robby bounced against the back of his
wheeled chair. "D'you see Dean?"

Kelly felt like scuffing a toe. Oh, why had
she boasted to Robby that morning that she was going to track Dean
down? "Uh, yeah," she admitted.

Robby smiled. Kelly knew what he assumed. He
assumed that she'd known what she was doing, he assumed that her
words of determination and insight about helping Dean had been
wise.

"Well, that's good then," Robby said.

There was no way Kelly could meet the kid's
eyes. Maybe Dean had been right, she was realizing    too
late. Maybe she shouldn't have befriended Robby. At least she
shouldn't have led him to believe there was a chance she might
become a permanent part of his life.

"I mean, isn't it?" Robby asked, turning
worried.

"Isn't what what?" Kelly had lost track of
the conversation.

Robby got up from his seat. "Isn't it good
that you found Dean? Didn't you help him, like you said you were
going to?"

Kelly stared at the child. It was all she
could do not to burst into hysterical laughter. Had she helped
Dean? But Robby was looking at her with trust and worry in his
eyes.

"Ahem. Well, you know Dean." Kelly took a
step back. "A difficult case. Things...may not go as smoothly as
we'd like."

She'd meant her words as a gentle let-down,
something to start Robby on the path to harsh reality. But the
worry eased from his face. A smile appeared. "Aw, Kelly. You.
You're so...fantastically
stubborn
."

"Uh..."

Robby waved dismissively. "You'll have Dean
eating out of the palm of your hand in no time."

Kelly felt like her face was going to
shatter.

But Robby had already plopped back into his
chair. He'd already swiveled around. The sounds of exploding
dinosaurs were already filling the air again. The kid trusted her.
He thought she could live up to her own advertising.

Feeling terrible, Kelly backed away and left
Robby. God, she'd made nothing but faux pas from the moment she'd
entered these doors. She'd bullied Dean and misled Robby. No, she
was definitely not living up to her own advertising.

Head down, Kelly opened the door to her
bedroom suite. For the first time she could remember, she actually
wished she were someone else.

Wanting out of her ill-fated, too-abbreviated
clothes, Kelly stripped. She threw on a sweat suit and then paced
the bedroom, brimming with guilt and shame. She'd led Robby on, and
she'd overwhelmed Dean. She gritted her teeth and shook her
head.

Dean. She hadn't thought about what
he
wanted. No, she'd only been thinking about herself, about what
she
wanted so badly. A life together with a man she
loved.

But Dean certainly didn't love her.

Kelly grimaced and clawed her fingers into
her arms. What had she been thinking? Obviously, she hadn't been
thinking. She'd been fantasizing, dreaming that he could love her,
he only needed to learn how. God.

Kelly came to an abrupt stop by the
swag-draped window. Maybe she should leave. Go home.

Kelly squinted out at the dark night. Yes,
maybe that was what she should do. Pack up and go. Get out of
Dean's life and leave him alone.

She bit her lip. But she'd told Dean she was
giving the marriage a two month chance. It had only been
two-and-a-half weeks. Leaving now would be going against her
word.

Kelly frowned. Did her word really matter in
this situation? She didn't want to stay. Dean didn't want her to
stay. What was practical    what was humane   
was to leave.

In the morning she would go.

The decision made, Kelly suddenly felt
exhausted. She dragged off her sweat suit, slipped on her
nightgown, and got into bed. But the minute her head hit the pillow
she couldn't sleep. Perversely, all she could think about was the
last bed she'd lain in, with Dean, and all they'd done together
there.

She wriggled onto her side and scrunched the
pillow under her head. She shouldn't think about that. It was wrong
to dwell on a sexual experience that had not been shared as the
same wonderful, enriching thing by both parties. Dean hadn't been
into it    Kelly suddenly remembered a moment when his
tongue had    No. She stopped herself with a vigorous
shake of the head. Despite that tongue thing, Dean hadn't been into
it the way she had. He'd been...coerced.

She turned onto her other side. Meanwhile the
grandfather clock in the hall tolled out eleven times.

Twelve tolled out and Kelly was still
tossing. When she heard a single chime, she wrestled the sheets to
switch on the bedside lamp. Sleep was obviously a losing
proposition. Maybe she should read a book or watch TV.

Or get a head-start and pack.

Kelly was just swinging her legs over the
edge of the bed when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She
halted, certain she couldn't have heard any such thing. It was one
in the morning. Who'd be knocking on her door?

But she heard it again, a definite knock.
Discreet but determined.

She reached for her wrap on the end of the
bed. Maybe it was the maid. Who knew? A place like this, a little
tap on the door was probably how they announced a fire. Tying the
sash around her waist, Kelly opened the door.

Dean stood outside in the hall.

Kelly's heart took a strangled leap. What in
the    ? How   ? She had to be the last person
in the world Dean would want to see, and yet there he stood outside
her bedroom door, his jaw shadowed with beard and his eyes
haunted.

"I saw your light on," he said.

Her heart pounding now, Kelly explained, "I
only just turned it on."

He sighed. "I know. I've been standing out
here    Listen, could we talk?"

"Talk?"

Dark eyes rose to meet hers. "If you don't
mind."

"Well, um." Kelly's pounding heart began to
beat harder. "Uh, sure. I don't mind."

Dean lowered his lashes. "Never have I
behaved so awkwardly with a woman."

"Oh," Kelly breathed. "
No.
You
weren't    I mean, you were just being honest. And I
appreciated that. Really, I did."

He raised his lashes and his eyes seemed to
blaze at her. Kelly wilted, but knew she'd feel much better if she
could get the whole thing off her chest. "I forced myself on you."
Her voice cracked. "It was greed, really. I just wanted
   Well, anyway, I am so, so sorry."

Dean's eyes fairly burned. Kelly barely
managed to remain upright under that awful glare.

"Sorry," he finally said. It was a harsh
whisper. "You're sorry."

She started to tremble. He sounded even
angrier than she'd imagined he might.

"Kelly." He stepped toward her. "Kelly." His
hands closed on her shoulders. "You really aren't    I
mean, I always thought    " With a frustrated hiss, he
shook his head. "
I'm
the one who is sorry. What you did,
then how I behaved    I couldn't be more ashamed of
myself if I'd whipped you." His lips pressed together as he
released her. "Which, in a manner of speaking I did."

Kelly stared up into his face, confused.
"What? You didn't whip    "

"Kelly."

"You didn't    "

He put a finger against her lips.

Kelly was afraid to say anything then. He
certainly looked...adamant. At the same time she
knew
she
was the one at fault. He wouldn't have been 'awkward' with her if
she hadn't put him in such a position.

Dean lowered his finger from her lips.
"Listen. After we parted this evening I started to think about it,
about everything, from the very beginning. And I    " His
brows drew down. "I came to the conclusion I've misunderstood
you."

"I don't know about that."

Dean gave a harsh laugh. "
I
do. I have
not given you the benefit of the doubt, to put it mildly. And I'm
sure that's part of why I...exploded this afternoon."

"Lost control," Kelly murmured.

"Exactly." Dean's steady gaze shifted. "I
wouldn't have done that if I'd been seeing you clearly."

"Mm," Kelly said.

Dean swore under his breath. "That didn't
come out the way I intended."

"No, no. I think I get what you mean."

"You don't. What I mean is    is
   "

"You wouldn't have slept with me if you'd
been seeing me clearly."

Dean opened his mouth. He shut it again. His
face was the picture of consternation before he laughed. "You think
I'd only have wound up in bed with you if I thought you were
bad?"

Kelly blinked a few times. "Well, um
   " His logic was escaping her. Or perhaps it was her
own logic that was failing. Had he thought she was
bad
?
"Still, one way or another, you didn't want to," she insisted.

Dean's eyebrows flew upward. "One could
almost imagine you weren't even there, Kelly."

"Well, I..." She felt herself blushing.

"Besides    " Watching her closely,
he added, "It's not as if I don't still want to go to bed with you,
right now."

Their eyes met and the breath stopped in
Kelly's lungs.
What? What had he just said?
But she knew.
And as they stood there, with Kelly just inside her bedroom and
Dean just outside, the air between them started to heat.

"Maybe we should," Dean suggested, his voice
dipping low.

It must have been sheer surprise that aroused
Kelly so. Instantly. Her bones hummed. "But, um, wait a minute
   " She took an instinctive step back. "I thought we'd
agreed we
shouldn't
."

"I don't remember making any such statement."
Dean took a step forward.

"But I recall    " Kelly took
another step back as Dean advanced once again, coming through her
doorway. "That is, don't you think we ought to consider this more
carefully? I mean, the last time    "

Dean made a low sound in his throat. "That's
what I'm trying to tell you, Kelly. I made a mistake 'the last
time.'"

"But, Dean    "

"But, Kelly," he mocked playfully, then
stopped, head tilted. "Or does this kind of thing only happen when
it's your idea?"

Kelly felt her mouth open again, and stay
that way. Was that true? Did she have to be in charge? She had to
admit she'd been beating herself up all evening because she thought
she'd taken
too
much charge. "No," she said softly. "It
doesn't have to be my idea."

"Good." His lips curved and he closed the
door behind himself. "Then it'll be my turn this time."

A delicious thrill ran through Kelly, even as
she tried to take a mental step back, out of the sensual spell he
was starting to weave. He couldn't really want this. She remembered
the look on his face at the Parker House. When he moved forward
again, she put a hand to his chest, stopping him.

"Mm," Dean said. "Nice hand." He took hold of
her hand. Deliberately, tenderly...sexily. Kelly watched,
incredulous.

"Very nice hand," Dean murmured, threading
his fingers through hers. By spreading his fingers, he spread
hers.

The action chiseled another notch in the
crumbling structure of Kelly's resistance. She felt herself
spreading open in the heart of her, becoming vulnerable all over
again.

Meanwhile Dean lowered his head. His tongue
flicked out, stroking wet and warm on the sensitive webbing between
her fingers.

"Oh," Kelly breathed.

Dean smiled. "Helpless. That's how I want
you. Completely at my mercy."

Kelly suppressed her next moan as Dean swept
his tongue between another two of her fingers. She was rushing past
the point of reason, but his words did penetrate. He wanted to be
in charge    this time. He wanted her to be the helpless
one    this time. The idea was either tit-for-tat shallow
or...pretty good.

Dean raised Kelly's hand and fit his lips to
the inside of her wrist. Kelly moaned as he began a gentle, warm
suction. The idea was looking better all the time, though a part of
her, deep down, still wondered... Did he really want this?

Dean increased the sucking pressure on her
wrist. At the same time, he reached up to curl his other hand
around the nape of her neck.

"Dean!" Kelly's head fell back. How did he do
that? How did he know the exact spot that would make her
   helpless?

"Kelly." With his voice deep and confident,
her turned her chin toward him. Then his mouth came down on
hers.

Dark heat enveloped Kelly. It was all she
could do to keep standing. "Mm," she groaned. "The bed."

Dean's chuckle was low, even diabolical. "Oh,
we'll get there...eventually."

They did get to the bed, but it must have
taken an hour or so. Dean kissed, he stroked, he caressed. With
every touch, every murmur, Kelly melted more. Gone, fled, went
every misgiving. The man was a master. By the time he did set her
down on the silk counterpane, she felt like a liquid puddle.