Vegas Knights (4 page)

"Do what?"
 

"Get it right."

Kelly looked down at her half-eaten omelette and thought for moment as Rick watched her carefully. "I think so. I hope so, anyway. I don't think your dad was saying that it's pointless to perfect your skills as a sailor or lover or knitter. He was saying that each time you set out on a new adventure, it's going to be different from the last. The exact same things aren't going to happen every time, so you'll need to draw on different skills, maybe ones that are rusty. I think what he was saying was to keep learning, keep stretching yourself. I know each painting for me is nothing like the one before it, even if it's similar, and they all require different little bits of me to finish. Trust me, they're far from perfect, but I wouldn't call any of them failures."
 

It was Rick's turn to be silent. "You're an artist?"

"Yeah, well, trying to be. Went to art school and learned all the skills, just like your dad said, and I've been trying to 'get it right' ever since. I haven't been too successful so far, but I hope one day my work will resonate with more than just my mom." She threw him a rueful smile.

"What do you paint?"

"Well, I actually haven't held a brush in months, but mostly landscapes, flowers, kids and kittens, that sort of thing. They're not deeply artistic because I sell my stuff at community art sales and street fairs, and that's what the market wants. They don't really want
art
, which comes from the depths of someone's soul, they just want a pretty painting to hang in the living room."

"So those paintings are not really a part of you, is that what you're saying?"

"Well, I mean, I create them, so in that respect they're a part of me. And, though I'd never admit this to my artist friends — to them, this is just a way to pay the rent — I really enjoy working up bright, happy scenes. But I don't have to dig too deep for them."

"Have you ever dug deep?"

Kelly's laugh was not one of amusement. "Oh yeah, and let me tell you, I don't think you want to know what that looks like."

Rick's eyes penetrated her, filled her with warmth. She could look into them all day. But this was just a fling, she reminded herself for the hundredth time, and she didn't want to get too attached, so she lowered her lids again.
 

"Try me," he said softly.

Kelly glanced back up. He'd leaned forward again and his expression was deadly serious. She couldn't figure out why he was so interested in her art. Few guys cared, and fewer still
pretended
to care. She considered changing subjects but he
had
given up some family stuff of his own, so it was only fair she do the same.
 

"Well, I did do a series I'm probably overly proud of. It was an exploration of my relationship with my dad. It's much darker than my other work, both literally and figuratively. Strong, rich colors. Abstract. Heartbreaking to everyone who's seen them, even one of the city's top gallerists. Of course, it was even more heartbreaking for me to paint them, but I was determined to access that grimy, nasty core of my soul and lay it out for the world to see."

"And?"

Kelly shrugged and poked at a piece of zucchini with her fork. "I didn't get a show and I was broke, so I took an office job to make ends meet. The end. Same old story."

He leaned back in his chair and took another bite of his food. Silence stretched out between them as they continued with their meal. Kelly was irritated with herself. Why did she have to bring down the mood with her sad tale of woe? Their one night would be marred by dark emotions. He probably would jump at the chance to leave her behind.

"Wine?" Rick's unexpected suggestion made
her
jump.
 

"Uh, sure."

She watched his powerful body stride across the room to a Sub Zero wine cooler, where he carefully selected the bottle he wanted. Grabbing a couple of crystal wine goblets along the way, he brought the wine back to the table and uncorked it. "It's a 2005 Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru," he said as he poured.

Kelly had no idea what he'd said but it sounded like honey dripping down a fresh croissant. Naturally, her thoughts turned to him dribbling honey all over her body and then licking up every last drop. Heat and dampness spread between her legs.
 

He held out a hand to help her stand, then gave her a glass. The contents trembled slightly with the desire that was coursing through her but she didn't think he noticed.

They tinked glasses and each took a deep draught. Kelly, who was normally used to boxed wine or Two Buck Chuck, was floored at the lush intensity of the chardonnay. It almost reminded her of the honey she'd just been imagining. Her entire body flushed, from the wine and the desire she felt for Rick.

 
She was acutely aware that her hand was still in his. The electricity between them almost sparked as he stared deeply into her eyes. "I think you got the last part of your story wrong, Kelly." He brought her hand up, his lips and hot breath barely grazing it, his eyes never wavering from hers. "It's not the end. This is just the beginning."
 

Her heart nearly stopped at his words, and breathing wasn't an option. As Rick's head was moving down toward hers, Kelly couldn't help thinking,
Is this guy for real?
But then his perfect lips were skimming hers and all thought ceased.

She stood paralyzed as Rick slipped his hand up her arm to the back of her head, entangling his fingers in her hair, holding her head in place. Her lungs were screaming for air and at his gentle-yet-firm tug, pulling her head back slightly, she gasped.
 

Rick took advantage of her open mouth, locking on to her lips like a hungry animal. His tongue plunged into her, and she responded with the same ferocity. Back and forth they probed each other, slicking in and out as their bodies pressed together. Kelly had never felt this kind of passion for another man, and she'd certainly never had one respond to her like this. It was raw, animal lust but tempered with something else. Something almost like...
 

Nope. She pushed the thought out of her mind and twined her arms around his neck, spilling half the contents of her glass down his back.

"Gah!" He broke free from their kiss and jumped back. "Shit, that's cold!"

"Omigod, I'm so sorry!" For the third time since they'd arrived, Kelly had humiliated herself. Could she do any more idiotic things to ruin their one special night?

She set her glass down and rushed to the counter to grab a dishtowel. When she turned around, Rick had stripped off his shirt and the sight of his ripped upper body froze her in her tracks. Outside of a few smut rags she'd thumbed through at Brutus' apartment, she'd never laid eyes on such a fit specimen of a man. His broad, bulging shoulders, decorated with colorful tattoos, narrowed to washboard abs. His bottoms had worked their way down his hips a bit, allowing those little muscles above his hip bones to peek out. Her fingers wrung the towel in anticipation of outlining every one of those muscles and she sucked her lower lip between her teeth at the urge to follow along with her tongue.
 

He glanced up as he dried himself off with his t-shirt and burst out laughing at her comical pose. "Well, that's one way to get me to take off my clothes."

His laughter died away and, keeping his gaze locked on hers, crossed to her. Rick's effect on her continuously left her mute and immobile. The only thing she could do was maintain eye contact and hope her heart didn't explode in her chest, as it was threatening to do.

His powerful arms encircled her waist, pulling her into him. Freed from the restricting leathers, his erection pressed boldly against her stomach, pulsing and throbbing, silently telling her just how much he wanted her.

"But I'd much rather have you do it for me," he rumbled.
 

Kelly's knees went weak at his words, wetness pooling where panties had been this morning. "Then I'd better get started," she whispered, sliding her hands up his smooth back, "because if I remember right, there's a lot of...um,
area
to undress."

He smirked, wrapped a strong hand around hers and led her out of the kitchen to the stairs. As they climbed the rustic log staircase, she had a chance to look around a little more. The house was huge but still homey. The decor was a little dated, but she thought it suited the place. The stairwell was plastered with photos of Rick, from the ubiquitous naked baby on a bear skin rug to a shot of him sailing a beautiful little sailboat to one of him with his arm draped around an older man, both dressed in leathers and standing proudly next to matching Peterson-Knight bikes. He was pulling her along too fast for her to get a good look, but she guessed it was his dad.

At the landing, Kelly saw that the 'cabin' wasn't really three stories. Rather, the top floor had vaulted ceilings that reached to the sky. She had to crane her neck to take it all in.

Rick led her to a door, then turned to face her, her hands disappearing into his.

"Kelly, we need to talk."

Uh oh
. Fear and doubt clenched her stomach. Everything seemed to be going so well. Hell, they were on their way to bed, and now they needed to 'talk'? "Um, okay ..."

"Before we go any further, I need you to know that I'm not normally so irresponsible. And even more than that, I need you to know that I respect you and don't want you to think that..." He raked a hand through his hair in exasperation.

Confusion clouded her mind. What was he talking about? She'd never felt more cared for by a man...ever. "What is it?"

"I didn't use a condom," he finally spit out.

Kelly nearly laughed but caught herself in time. Rick was visibly upset, and she didn't want to discount his feelings, but she was so relieved that was all this was about.
 

Naturally, she'd thought about it as they were riding to the cabin but too many other things had forced the topic right out of her mind, which was a surprise because she was such a big proponent of safe sex. Brutus had taken the brunt of her nagging on the subject but she was always encouraging people to use condoms, so she was ashamed she hadn't.

"I guess we should have," she said. “The good news is that I've been on the pill for years, so..."

"But I should have used one," he insisted. "It just happened so fast, and you were so irresistible. That's no excuse, I know, I just don't want you worrying that I'm some disease-carrying scumbag."

Kelly looked up at him again, her heart swelling. "That would be the last thing I'd think of you."

"Still, I have something I need to show you."
 

He opened the door on a beautifully appointed office, and strode over to a massive mahogany desk. As the computer powered on, Kelly took the opportunity to snoop around his workspace. Photos lined the walls: Rick with the ex-Governator, an older man with a long, heavy beard — Rick's dad, she assumed — shaking hands with someone who looked a lot like Prince, a family photo from when Rick was a kid. There was a diploma from Harvard Business School in Rick's name, and a note scrawled in crayon from the baseball team at a local middle school thanking Peterson-Knight for its sponsorship. Just as she reached a shelf full of shiny trophies, Rick motioned her over to the Aeron chair he was sitting in.

She hunched over to see he'd brought up his medical record. "Oh, you don't need to...," she started but Rick interrupted her.
 

"Yes, I do. It's very important you know this about me."

Hesitantly, feeling like a voyeur, she looked at the page. The date on the results was just a few weeks prior and it showed results for a variety of basic health tests, and then every STD test she she'd ever heard of, and some she hadn't. All were negative, but why were there so many? Most doctors only test for a couple, but this seemed excessive.

He must have guessed where her thoughts were leading. "Listen, it's not really what it looks like. I don't fuck around, but I was fucked around on and so I've been getting checked every few months, just to make sure nothing snuck past previous tests. Been over a year since...well, since I started getting tested and they've all been clean."

Though she hadn't thought she was worried, Kelly discovered a knot in her stomach unclenching. The low-grade guilt she'd been feeling for not using a condom before evaporated.
 

"Let me get on there," she said.

A moment later, her medical record was on the screen. She carefully scrolled the page down to hide her weight, then had Rick take a look. Her tests, which were not nearly as plentiful as his and which were about three months older, also proved her state of health.
 

He glanced at it briefly, then looked in her eyes. "I already knew that, darlin'." He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Her heart nearly stopped. When he pulled away, she was sure she was melting into the mesh chair.

Rick searched her face for the answer to his unspoken question. Her flushed skin and shallow breathing answered for her. He pulled her to her feet and moved his hands to her waist, running them up until they were overflowing with hot abundance. A firm but gentle hand brought its load up to his lips, where they found the center of one mound, mouthing it through the thin fabric of her dress.

Kelly clutched at his head, thick hair sprouting from between her fingers, as she arched into his mouth, spasms of pleasure wracking her entire frame. "Oh, Rick," she gasped.

At the sound of his name, he moved his face between her breasts and inhaled deeply as he moved upward, breathing in her scent. The raw animal passion she saw etched on his handsome face might have frightened her if she hadn't been in a frenzy of desire herself.
 

Without a word, he guided her to a door across the landing. Having readied herself for the lush and spacious accommodations that awaited their lovemaking, Kelly was surprised to find the door opened onto another staircase, this one a spiral.
So it is three stories
, she thought, surprised at her ability for coherent thought at this particular moment.