No Turning Back (26 page)

"Blane!" I called out, "I'm here." I stepped from behind Kade, but he grabbed my arm tightly.

"You know Blane?" he asked suspiciously. I decided to fudge the truth a little. Okay, more than a little.

"He's my boyfriend," I answered, which was stretching the truth to a ridiculous degree, but I hoped it would deter Kade from keeping hold of me. The effect of those words was instantaneous. Kade looked nearly stricken and seemed to freeze in place. Not understanding, but still wanting to get away, I looked down at his hand on my arm and said, "Let me go."

He jerked as if I'd slapped him and immediately released me. I walked toward Blane, careful to not get in the line of fire between them. When I got close enough, Blane reached out and pulled me to him, wrapping an arm around my waist. I gratefully leaned against his chest.

"What are you doing out here with him?" Blane asked quietly, his voice like ice.

"I thought it was you," I tried to explain. "He...surprised me." Glancing down at me, he frowned.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I got shot," I said, "sort of. Just a graze, I guess." I could tell Blane was suddenly and dangerously furious.

"You shot her?" He bit out at Kade, and I began to seriously worry that Blane might shoot him. Kade's eyes narrowed and the tension in the alley notched upward.

"No, no!" I said quickly. "Someone else was following us. Kade didn't shoot me. He helped me." Blane didn't say anything to that. He and Kade caught up in a staring match. I tugged on his arm. It was like trying to move granite.

"Please, let's just go," I said, glancing uneasily at Kade who also hadn't lowered his gun.

Finally, Blane walked us backward until we could round the corner of the building. Kade did not follow. Blane lowered his gun and took my arm. A couple minutes later, we were in his car. I leaned back against the heated seat and closed my eyes, sighing with relief.

"Tell me what happened," Blane demanded and I obeyed, sticking just to the highlights of Kade taking the drive and someone shooting at us. I didn't really want to go into details and tell him about what Kade and I had talked about, or how he'd bandaged me.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"No, it's not that bad," I said. Now that the initial shock had passed, the pain was manageable.

A few minutes later, we were pulling up to his house. Mona had left a light burning downstairs for Blane.

"Why are we here?" I asked. "You should have taken me back to my apartment."

"I'll feel better with you here," he answered as he got out of the car. I wasn't sure what that meant, but got out when he opened the door.

"Can you make it to your room by yourself?" Blane asked, and I nodded. "I'll be up in a while. I have a phone call to make."

I went silently up the stairs to what was apparently "my" room. I wasn't sure what to think of that. On one hand, it established a level of comfort and suggested something more than temporary. On the other hand, he hadn't invited me to his room. Which, of course, I didn't want him to do. Right.

The tub in the bathroom looked particularly inviting and I ran the water while I stripped. For some reason I couldn't just toss Kade's shirt on the floor with my pants, and instead found myself folding it carefully.

The bandage Kade had made for me stuck to the dried blood and I gritted my teeth in pain as I took it off. I sank gratefully into the hot water and sighed in relief as it enveloped me.

I washed, taking special care with my side and the healing cuts on my thighs, and didn't bother with my hair. Leaning my head back on the tub, I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew I opened my eyes to see Blane leaning against the sink, watching me. I sat up with a gasp.

Blane's eyes dropped to my exposed chest and I quickly sank back down in the water, my cheeks flaming.

"I want to see your injury," he said roughly, "and how your cuts are healing." Grabbing a towel, he stepped forward and held it open for me.

I felt my face heat as I pulled the plug and stood. Wrapping the towel around me, Blane lifted me out onto the bathroom floor, but he didn't remove his hands from my waist. His eyes drifted downward.

"I wonder how far down the blush goes," he said quietly, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. I blushed even more at this and he gave a soft laugh. Scooping me up in his arms, he carried me in to the bed and laid me on it, sitting down beside me.

"Let's take a look," he said. His hands moved to part the edges of the towel, and in a blind panic, I grabbed them. My hands felt small and inadequate trying to hold onto his though he did humor me and pause.

"Shy tonight, Kat?" he teased lightly. "I don't recall you being shy last night." I groaned at the memory, my hands flying up to cover my face, unable to look him in the eye.

"A gentleman doesn't remind a lady of her embarrassing behavior," I said reproachfully through my fingers.

"Ah yes," he said softly, and I felt his touch trace my skin under the towel, "but I'm not a gentleman, am I." Cold air hit my body as I felt him pull the towel away. Embarrassed as I was, I decided to act like an adult and put my arms down by my sides. My elbow brushed the raw skin and I flinched.

Blane frowned and pushed my arm up above my head, turning me slightly so he could see the wound. I tried not to notice how his touch made me shiver. Grabbing a small box by the bed, he squeezed some ointment on the angry red skin and rubbed lightly. My breath hissed between my teeth. The closest thing I could compare it to was a really bad skinned knee. The skin had been torn away but it wasn't very deep. Blane placed a bandage over the area and gently laid my arm back down at my side.

His hand drifted lightly across my rib cage and my breath caught. He was looking at his hand on me and the expression on his face was difficult to decipher. If it were anyone else, I would say he looked guilty. But it was Blane and that didn't make sense.

"What is it?" I asked, not realizing my voice was barely above a whisper. "What's wrong?" His eyes lifted to mine, but he didn't answer right away.

"Four inches," he finally said. "The difference between life and death for you tonight was four inches." My blood ran colder at his bald assessment and I could think of nothing to say.

His hand drifted down to rest on my hip. "May I see how the cuts are doing?" he asked. My mouth went dry and I shook my head on the pillow.

"They're fine," I managed in a strangled voice. He didn't answer me, his lips twisting slightly in a crooked smile. Reaching up, he grasped the band holding my ponytail and slowly slid it down until my hair was released. His fingers combed through the strands, gently resting them over my shoulder.

I was acutely aware of all my senses. The faint smell of his cologne as he bent toward me. The cotton of his shirt that felt rough against my skin as it brushed my stomach. The quiet in the room save for the pounding of blood in my ears and the quickness of my breath. The air seemed thick in my lungs as I watched him watch me. I felt very vulnerable naked in front of him while he was still fully clothed. It felt submissive, but not in a bad way.

His hand slid slowly down my leg until he reached my knee. Hooking his fingers under the joint, he slowly bent my leg upward, pushing my knee out. My eyes widened in surprise, but I didn't have the strength of will to deny him.

Blane moved further onto the bed between my legs, then he did the same thing to the other knee, until my inner thighs were exposed to his gaze. His eyes never left mine and it seemed I was held captive by them. It wasn't until his gaze dropped that I felt another incriminating blush stain my cheeks. I had never been so exposed to a man before and embarrassment made me wish for a something to cover myself.

Blane traced the healing cuts lightly and I tried to remember to breathe, which was a completely futile exercise when he gently pressed his lips to the inside of my knee. His mouth traveled slowly up my thigh, softly brushing the damaged flesh as he passed. My legs trembled and his hands caressed the outside of my thighs, much as you would gentle a terrified animal.

"I want to kiss you, Kat," he murmured against my thigh, the roughness of his jaw abrading my sensitive skin. Okay, that was odd. He'd never asked my permission before. He must have taken my silence as acquiescence, but he didn't move to kiss me. Instead, his head lowered between my legs and I squeaked in surprise, instinctively scooting backward away from him.

Blane's hands closed over my thighs, holding me in place. His warm breath caressed my thigh and then his mouth was on me and I couldn't breathe. The intimacy of it shocked me and then pleasure spiked in my senses and my eyes slammed shut. I whimpered and clutched the blanket. Blane gently nudged my legs further apart and I couldn't resist him.

The same sensations Blane had stirred in me last night built again, only this time he didn't stop but took me right over the edge. Stars exploded behind my eyes and Blane's name fell from my lips as I came apart.

When I could open my eyes, it was to find he'd kissed his way up my body and was nuzzling my neck. My breath came in pants as I tangled my hands in his hair, holding him close to me.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, and he pressed his lips against mine for a kiss I felt clear down to my toes. After a moment, he pulled back and I mewled in disappointment, thinking he was leaving me. But instead of going, he scooped me into his arms and walked out the door.

"What are you doing?" I asked, stretching upward so I could taste the tantalizing exposed skin of his neck.

"Taking you to bed," he said, carrying me down the darkened hallway. I smiled.

"We were just in bed," I said while sucking gently at the skin under his jaw.

"Not my bed," he answered, pushing open another door and shutting it behind him. He laid me down in the center of a massive four poster bed, but I was up on my knees and reaching to catch his sleeve as he stood. Pulling him toward me, I started on the buttons of his shirt and tugged it out of his jeans. His hands tangled in my hair as it hung in waves down my back and then he was kissing me. Shoving the shirt down and off his arms I moved to his belt, but he pushed me backward onto the bed, climbing on top of me and recapturing my lips.

I tugged at his belt, moaning in relief when I was finally able to get it and the button underneath it undone. Then my hands were brushed aside as Blane moved his mouth from my lips to my breasts. I lost my train of thought and could only focus on the delicious torture he was inflicting on me. His hand moved between my legs and he slid two fingers inside me. I cried out and his hand stilled.

"Am I hurting you?" he asked, and I frantically shook my head.

"More!" I gasped, and he complied, making me moan and writhe underneath him. "Please," I managed to breathe in his ear. I didn't have enough coherence to string together two actual words, so hoped he'd get the message with just one.

He pulled away from me and quickly shed his pants. I heard the crinkle of paper and then he was gathering me in his arms again as he lay between my thighs.

"Tell me if anything hurts you," he said and I nodded, beyond speech now, I wanted him so badly. I felt him at my entrance and a flicker of unease went through me, it had been a long time, after all. But then he was pushing inside and all I could think was how incredible it felt, him filling me. He went agonizingly slow and I could see his jaw was clenched as he held tightly to his control.

"God, Kat," he breathed, "you feel incredible. So tight." Okay, well that certainly was a confidence builder. I wrapped my legs around his hips and arched upward, delighted when he groaned.

"Make love to me," I whispered against his lips, then his mouth was on mine, our tongues tangling together as he thrust inside me again and again. Blane was much larger than Donny had been and he stretched and filled me. I felt the delicious pressure building again and clung to Blane, my fingernails digging into his shoulders. My release crashed over me and I cried out. A bare moment later, Blane shuddered in my arms, his lips finding mine again.

Afterward, I couldn't move. I felt boneless and sated. Blane lay on top of me, but after a moment he moved to the side, turning away from me. I was touched that he'd not only thought to protect me, but was also trying to be discreet about it. When he turned back he gathered me to him, pressing kisses to my eyes, my cheeks, and finally my lips. Our skin was slightly damp with sweat, but he didn't seem to care and I certainly didn't.

Brushing my hair back from where it was clinging to my damp forehead, he leaned over me. Our eyes met and held. He placed a gentle kiss on my lips and my heart turned over in my chest. Gazing once more into my eyes, a small smile curved his lips as a finger grazed lightly down the side of my face. I smiled shyly back.

Turning on his side, he tucked me against him back-to-front and draped his arm over my waist. I lay there for a while and just savored the feel of him against me and holding me. It was the sensation of feeling cherished and protected that had me reeling. No one else had ever made me feel the way Blane did. I smiled sleepily and nestled closer to him.

I was jerked awake by the sound of a phone ringing. For a moment, I was completely disoriented in an unfamiliar place. Then I remembered where I was and sat up, glancing around for the ringing phone.

Blane was no longer in bed with me, but it was still dark outside. I had no idea what time it was, and where was that damn phone? Scrambling out of bed, I promptly stubbed my toe and cursed. Limping, I followed the sound until I came to my purse. Blane must have brought it in for me. I dug inside until I found the still ringing phone and jerked it open.

"Hello?"

"Kathleen, is that you? It's CJ." Oh my God, I had completely forgotten about her calling me about the GPS tracker she'd put on the hard drive. "Kathleen?"