Sex,Lies, and Bondage Tape

She could feel him so well, the angles and planes of his body, his strength and muscle, the hard bulge at his groin. Her hands were up and locked against his chest, just like that first night backstage. She couldn't have moved if she wanted to. That alone made her melt. I need this; I need this man who holds me so tightly. She shook her head, her hands fisting between them. She was programmed to deny this. "I can't."

"You can."

He made it sound so easy. Was it easy?

"All this buying each other's

time and tracking each other down could be much better spent with some quality one-on-one time, don't you think?" His expression was watchful, and then he shifted, stroking her shoulders. "But...if you insist on playing these kiss chase games across London, I warn you, I'll give as good as I get."

"Kiss chase?" Why did that make her feel silly?

"That's what Clayton said about us." Humor warmed his expression.

"I guess he has a point." She could feel her cheeks heating, but the idea tickled her. "But, if I run away–"

His eyes darkened. "I'd chase after you." He cursed under his breath, his body taut against hers.

"What if I tied you up again and ran away?"

"You don't want that, you can't."

The response in his eyes made her heart leap. His expression was so serious, the atmosphere between them shifting again.

No, she didn't want that. Could she admit it? She turned her face away.

"Say you'll give it a go," he urged. "Kelly, please. I've let you do things to me that no one else ever has or will, I wouldn't let anyone else."

"You enjoyed it," she murmured, glancing back.

"I did, but because you did it to me....I want you badly. You've got under my skin, you're in my blood. I think of you all night long when you're not there." He moved against her, gently reminding her of his erection.

Her heart beat hard, as if responding to him no matter what her head told her about independence and being strong. Give it a try, it might just work. Yearning was rising up inside her. It was sexual need, yes, but something else too, something much more unusual. "I don't do relationships," she murmured.

"Why are you so dammed prickly? Did someone break your heart?"

"No, I..." She'd answered on reflex, but stopped. Her heart thundered in her chest, memories flooding her mind, memories that she'd locked away until now, until Tommy had forced her to see them again. Her dad, packing cases, leaving them. Her mother, heartbroken. And me, too. Staring up at him, she realized that he was right. She had been heartbroken. She'd been heartbroken right alongside her mother.

That doesn't mean it won't happen again, fool.

"Are you sure? You don't look sure."

She swallowed it down, barely able to respond. "Okay, maybe you're right."

His eyes searched hers. "Don't expect everyone to be like that person, whoever he was."

Yes, she was meeting the devil halfway, expecting failure before giving life a chance, in the name of self-protection.

He stroked her hair, tentatively drawing her attention back to him. "Will you tell me about it?"

"Maybe. Not now though."

"I understand."

He did, she could see it in him. The big strong watchful man—so gentle and caring under it all. He'd been the one who had protected Clayton, and now he was here, offering to be with her too. She unfisted her hands, splayed her fingers against his chest. "I'm glad you came after me, but I'm scared."

"I know that. We could take it slowly, see how it goes."

"I'm scared I'll fall for you, that I'll need you."