Ream parked the car at the front of the cottage and put it in park. “So what were you smirking at?”
I thought we were off that. “Just your face.”
He looked in the rearview mirror and I laughed.
“No. Your face when you crashed.”
“You thought that was funny, did you?” He threw his wallet and phone on the dashboard then undid his seatbelt and without saying a word climbed out of the car. He went around and opened my door.
I smiled as I unclipped my belt. That died real fast when he reached in and grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder.
“Ream!” I pounded my fists into his back. “Ream. What are you doing? Put me down.”
He ignored my pleas and kept walking. He weaved his way through the bush, up a steep hill, to a small clearing where he finally set me down. Then he proceeded to kiss me and I forgot about everything except his mouth and hands running up and down my sides.
He broke away groaning. “Jesus, I don’t think I thought this weekend through enough.” Before I had the chance to respond, and what I was going to suggest was say screw his stupid rule of no sex, he reached up and grabbed a yellow rope that looked frayed and a hundred years old.
“Don’t you dare.” I tried to escape, but he hooked his arm around my waist and lifted me off my feet. “Ream!”
“Hold on, beautiful.” And without any further warning he went running to the edge of the cliff and we swung out into the air, then he let go.
My stomach dropped as we fell plunging into the depths of the cool lake. Ream still had his arm around me as we surfaced, and this time it was him laughing and my mouth open spitting out water.
He brushed aside the hair in front of my eyes with the tip of his finger. He looked all serious as he stared at me, lips slightly parted.
“Fuck, I love you wet.” Ream didn’t give me a chance to do anything but take half a breath before he kissed me again.
He was a great kisser, hard then soft then sweet until I was putty in his arms.
“Bed,” I managed to mumble beneath his mouth.
“No.”
“Ream, come on.” I would never beg, but I could do sweet. I nipped his lower lip then kissed his neck, my hands beneath the water, running up his chest to his nipples.
He cupped my chin, his thumb caressing my lower lip. “My cock sinks inside you again … it’s just me. No other cock. No other lips. The flirting stops, Kat.”
“God, Ream. It’s just sex.”
His expression got dark and I saw the anger simmering beneath the surface. “I hate just sex. I abhor just sex.” That was so not a guy thing to say. What wasn’t he telling me? I remembered how he tried to leave after I went down on him, how he pushed me aside, the way his body was stiff and cold. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but with these words I knew something was off. “So, no … this isn’t just sex, Kat. With you … it’s something else entirely. That is not how it’s playing out.”
I remember Crisis saying woman were just objects to Ream. Had he never had a relationship? Had he never cared or loved a woman?
“And if I say no?” I wasn’t. I knew that.
“Then I’m going inside and jerking off in the shower.”
Damn, I was getting tingly just thinking about his hand gripping his cock and jerking up and down.
His fingers tightened on my chin and his eyes flashed dark. Yeah, the teasing he was so not going to tolerate on this. “You telling me you’re going to keep up with the flirting, Kat?”
“I like flirting.”
“I don’t.” He leaned closer. “But I’ll let you flirt with me.”
I liked that idea. “I would like to see you jerk off. So what if I say no just so I can get that?”
His arm tightened around me. “Oh baby, you can watch me jerk off any day. All you need to do is ask. Come on. By the time we reach the dock, you need to tell me that you’ll give all of you to me. Only then do we get back the sex.” He began swimming and I followed thinking the entire time that Ream was going to be inside me in less than five minutes. There was sex and then there was Ream sex, and I wanted Ream sex—bad. Because the truth was … I wanted Ream.
As I swam, the familiar tingling started in my legs. I slowed the kicking and fell behind Ream. I hadn’t swam since the new symptom after the shooting, and the movement was obviously too much for my legs.
Jesus. First dancing which I loved to do, now swimming. So far the horseback riding had been fine, actually my legs felt better after riding. The nerves worked in extraordinary complex ways.
By the time I reached the dock, my legs were in full-blown electricity zinging haywire. Not numb, but every movement sent a spark through me. It was like a wire that was short-circuiting in my body.
Ream took hold of my arm and pulled me to the ladder. “What’s up?”
“Nothing.” I just needed a minute to rest and then I’d be good.
“Bullshit. I see it in your eyes. Something’s off.” Realization hit and he frowned. “Too much swimming. Fuck. I should’ve known. It’s like the dancing.”
“Ream, seriously, why the hell should you know? I didn’t know. It was just too far. I swam this morning and it was okay.”
He ran his hand over his head and then down his face. “Jesus, Kat. You have to tell me this shit.” He slammed his fist into the water. “We did too much today. Fuck.”
“Ream—”
“Out.” He helped me onto the ladder and was right behind me, his one arm wrapping around my waist. “We’ll go lie down.”
I stepped onto the dock and tried to whirl around to tell him I was fine when he picked me up into his arms. “Ream!”