Florida Fling with the Single Dad, page 12
“You asked him about a secret military mission? Did you really think he’d tell you the truth if he was? It’s called a secret mission for a reason,” Jo pointed out, laughing at her friend as they slowed down to drive through one of the many small keys between Key West and Miami.
“Have you asked Dylan? I think he’s received a couple emails,” Katie said.
“I have. He says he doesn’t know any more than I do.” Summer shrugged. “So back to you and Dylan, do you think you’ll see each other when you return to New York?”
“We haven’t discussed it.” She didn’t think that maintaining a relationship with that many miles between them would appeal to Dylan. What would they do, take turns flying out to see each other every month or two? She couldn’t begin to imagine her beach-loving lover in the middle of New York surrounded by skyscrapers. Besides, there was Violet. She’d be more confused than she was now. They couldn’t do that to the child.
“I can understand that. It’s hard to maintain a long-distance relationship,” Jo said.
“Especially, when you don’t even know where the person you are supposed to be in a relationship with might be,” Summer put in.
“How come nobody told me about you and Alex?” Katie asked. It seemed odd that everyone knew the two of them were involved but never mentioned it to her.
“Well, first, we weren’t sure what your past relationship with Alex had been. Second, nobody but me, and now you, know that there is definitely something going on between the two of them,” Jo said.
“The only thing between me and Alex is friendship. We worked together when he lived in New York. For full disclosure, I’ll admit we did attend a Heli-Care corporate function together once, but that was all. I like Alex, but he kind of reminds me of my brothers,” Katie said.
“Maybe you should introduce me to one of your brothers,” Summer deadpanned.
“Hold on a minute. You have a man,” Jo said.
“I don’t see one. Do you?” Summer turned around to face Katie in the back seat.
“I have four brothers, but only two of them are single,” Katie said.
They spent the rest of the trip with Katie telling them stories of growing up in a house full of men, and Jo teasing Summer about which brother would be the better catch. Jo insisted that Summer would be better off with a lawyer than a policeman. It was plain to see that Jo was trying to cheer up her friend.
By the time they hit the stores, they were all feeling the need to let off some steam, which apparently meant buying as much merchandise as could be squeezed into Jo’s compact car.
They made the trip home surrounded by shoeboxes and bags of clothes and accessories. When Katie questioned their shopping habits, she was quickly informed that they only bought items on sale and they only went on a buying spree once every three months. It still seemed like more clothes than the two women could wear in a year, but what did she know? She hadn’t had a mother to teach her how to shop. Her father had been a believer of having two pairs of shoes, and an outfit for each day of the week. She’d spent all her money on paints and canvases instead of fancy dresses and makeup.
The thought of her growing up without a mother reminded her of Violet. Either she or Dylan would have to speak with her. Her friend’s explanations that Violet was just a little girl that read romance everywhere made sense. Katie and Dylan had spent a lot of time together the last few weeks. It could be that the child was just confused by what she saw between the two adults. Katie didn’t want to think of Violet being hurt by something she misread that Katie had done.
It was late when she made her way to her front door carrying the few packages that she had bought. The lights at Dylan’s place were out. She’d have to wait until the next day to speak with him about his daughter. She only hoped that he’d be able to explain his and Katie’s relationship to Violet better than she’d been able to explain it to Jo and Summer. But then, maybe the problem was she didn’t really have words for what was between the two of them herself.
* * *
Katie didn’t know what she’d expected on Gallery Night, but this hadn’t been it. Strings of tiny fairy lights ran the length of the art gallery shops staying open late for the night while other artists had set up stalls on the sidewalk, giving it a magical atmosphere with a French flair.
When Jo had talked her into buying the rose-colored maxi dress with its thin spaghetti straps for her night with Dylan, she’d thought her new friend was mistaken. She’d been to Duval Street just a few days ago where the average attire had been shorts and comfortable T’s. Now as they joined the women dressed in cocktail dresses and men in dressed slacks and ties, she was glad she had listened. The attire would have fit into any New York five-star restaurant. The atmosphere was much more welcoming than any party she’d ever attended.
Just the walk from the parking lot had made her thankful that she had not listened to Jo when she tried to insist that Katie buy a pair of four-inch heels to go with the dress. Katie had gone with the two inch. It had been the smart choice.
She had slept in and missed seeing Dylan until he arrived at her door that night. She knew she had to broach the subject of Violet and her misunderstanding about their future, but she didn’t want the magic of the night to be interrupted. Violet was staying with her grandparents for the night. There would be no reason for Dylan to sleep at his house alone. As they walked the sidewalks admiring each artist’s wares, a sexual anticipation was building between them...
Dylan’s hand skimmed across her waist and she shuddered.
“You okay?” he asked. His eyes looked down at her with a protectiveness that touched her heart. “If the crowds are too much, we can go.”
“It was just the breeze,” Katie said. How did she tell the man that the mere touch of his hand was setting her body on fire?
She’d never felt anything like the need she felt for Dylan, both in and out of the bedroom. Would this ever fade? She was afraid that it wouldn’t. And what would that mean for her? Would she be walking around New York like a zombie? Dead to all of life except for her job? Her only hope was that distance would make her see things more clearly.
A group of teenage tourists rushed past them and they were pushed into a small alley. Dylan’s hands came around her waist and she leaned back into him as he wrapped his arms around her. Her head fell back against his shoulder and she breathed in the scent of him. Would she ever smell the breeze off the ocean and not think of him?
“We can leave whenever you’re ready,” Dylan murmured. The gold flecks in his green eyes reflected the light from the low-hanging string of lights over their heads. Wearing dress slacks and shirt, he could have adorned the advertisement billboards of Time Square.
And he only had eyes for her. She felt like one of Violet’s princesses out for the night with her prince. Thank goodness the little girl wasn’t there, because at that moment Katie knew anyone who saw them would think the two of them were in love. It was a good thing they had agreed to no complications in their relationship. Otherwise, she too might have thought Dylan had love in his eyes at that moment.
But they’d taken love off the table. Dylan had broken one rule by getting involved with her in the first place. She was sure he wouldn’t break another one. They’d been upfront with their expectations in their relationship. When she returned to New York their relationship would be over no matter how much daydreaming she’d been doing.
“Katie?” he asked as he laid his forehead to hers. “Are you okay? We’ve seen most of the artists. We’ve can leave if you’re ready.”
No. She wasn’t okay. She’d probably never be okay once she left this island and Dylan. She should pull back from him, start getting used to the distance that would soon separate the two of them, but she wasn’t that strong. She wanted the time they had left together. She wanted this one night alone. She wanted it to never end.
“I’m fine,” she said. Her lips brushed his. His teeth grazed her bottom lip as he gave it a little nip and pulled her tighter against him. His hard length pressed against her. Desire shot through her.
“We’re almost to the end of the block, but I’m ready if you are.” Her body was aching to take him in right there.
“We can see the rest of the artists another time,” he said as he took her hand, all but hauling her out onto the street.
Did he even understand what he said? Didn’t he realize that there wouldn’t be another chance for her to see the other artists? She’d be back in New York before the next Gallery Night.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
KATIE DIDN’T KNOW why she felt so nervous. She and Dylan had made love several times. It wasn’t their first night together. But it could probably be the last time Dylan got to spend the night with her. She’d come to love those few mornings that she’d woken up to find Dylan asleep next to her. They even had a routine where she got up early to do her yoga and meditation, something that helped her tune into her mental health needs, and he’d later join her with her first cup of coffee for the day. They’d sit back on the porch and watch the trees come alive as the birds started their own day traveling from tree to tree.
She had begun to think of it as their time. That early morning time when it was just the two of them before they had to deal with disruptive phone calls and the other daily chores of living. She could see how dangerous that had been now. She’d been thinking of them as a couple. She’d let herself get caught up in emotions that she had no right having.
But the idea of distancing themselves as they transitioned into being separated held no appeal right then. What did it matter? The damage was done. Her memories of their time alone would be all she was taking when she left Key West.
She stepped out of the bathroom wearing a silky gown of white. It covered the top of her thighs and had thin straps and a dipped neck. It covered all of the important parts, but it clung to them too.
“I feel stupid,” she said as she stood against the bathroom door while Dylan lay on his side of the bed staring at her. “It’s Jo’s fault. She’s the one that talked me into buying it.”
“I’ll have to see about getting the woman a raise,” Dylan said. “I loved the gown you were wearing tonight, but this? You look amazing.”
“It’s not something that I would normally wear. The gown I wore tonight, I mean. I’m not somebody that dresses up all the time.” She walked over to the bed and sat down next to him.
“No, you’re one of New York City’s heroes who is more at home in a blue flight suit saving lives than dressing up for a dinner party,” he said as he pulled her down to lay beside her.
How could someone who had only known her for a few weeks understand who she was better than some of the friends she had known a lifetime?
He’d taken off his dress shirt and removed his belt. Turning into his arms, she felt what could only be described as grief for what they could have had together if it weren’t for the two of them being from different worlds.
His fingers tipped her chin up to meet his eyes. “I feel like you’re already leaving me.”
“I feel like I’m watching an hourglass as the sand streams down faster and faster.” She didn’t want to ruin the night, but she had to share how she felt with him.
“We have the whole night. Give us this night. We have enough sand to last a lifetime right outside your door. Let’s not worry about the ones that are falling tonight.” Dylan brushed her hair back from her face.
What did he mean by enough sand for a lifetime? Was he saying that they could have more time together?
“Let’s make some memories together tonight,” he murmured.
He peeled down one strap of her gown and the other, exposing her breast to the cool breeze that flowed into the room from an open window. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she couldn’t speak.
His hand cupped her left breast and stayed there for a moment. Her heart rate doubled then skipped a beat under his palm when his other hand began to move up her thighs.
She drew in a deep breath. Her body pressed up against his, waiting for the touch of his fingers on her most intimate parts. The touch that would drive her to madness.
His smile was one of satisfaction. He knew that she wanted him. But Katie had never been a passive woman. Not with her brothers, not with her job, and certainly not in the bedroom.
“Lose the pants,” she ordered, then watched as he stripped for her.
Her fingers were around him before he could take his place beside her. He pulsed against her hand. She wasn’t the only one who suffered from the madness that drove them into a feverish lovemaking.
She’d thought they would make slow and sweet love tonight, but the need to have him inside her had taken away all her control. They had the rest of the night. She wanted him now.
His mouth was on her breast then, her nipples both hard and throbbing. His hand tortured her as it slid in then out of her wet folds.
She was so close to coming, but she needed more. She wanted to make their memory a spectacular one. One that would make sure he never forgot her.
When he started to cover her, she surprised him. Pushing him onto his back instead of pulling him down to her.
“My turn,” she said as she straddled him.
“I’m all yours,” he said, relaxing under her with a smile that took her breath away. Lying there, stretched out before her with those sexy curls falling around his face, her heart swelled with an emotion she wouldn’t name. There was no future in it. No future at all for them. They had this moment. It was all she was assured and she wasn’t going to waste it.
She bent over him, her hair a curtain that brushed against his chest before she placed a soft kiss against his lips. Three little words swirled through her mind, but she wouldn’t let herself utter them.
His arms came around her, pulling her down against him as the kiss became more demanding, as seconds became minutes, as the kiss went from searching to passionate only ending when they were both too breathless to continue.
Pushing up with arms and legs that trembled with desire she stared down at him. This man brought out a passionate side of her that she hadn’t known existed.
She lowered herself onto him, inch by inch, his arms gripping her waist, and his gaze hot and fierce as he filled her. Removing his hands from her waist, she locked her fingers with his. She would let him see the woman that she was, strong and not afraid to take charge.
Rocking against him, she lost herself in the rhythm as he matched her every movement. His strong body arching up to meet her soft one, as they became one if only for this short time.
She’d lost her grip on his hands, but she wasn’t sure how. All she knew was the feel of Dylan’s fingers as he stroked between her legs.
Pleasure swelled inside her, intensifying until her breath caught in a climax that caught them both in its grip as they came together in a sensual satisfaction that she had never experienced before.
She collapsed on top of Dylan, her body boneless, her muscles failing to keep her upright. As Dylan held her, she wept.
* * *
When the phone rang the next morning, Katie did not answer it on the first ring or the second ring. Buried beneath a combination of covers and limbs, she didn’t want to move. She wasn’t on duty today.
She stretched her legs as best she could with one heavily muscled thigh thrown across her. She couldn’t even work if she was needed. She and Dylan had spent most of the night in each other’s arms. Their lovemaking had gone from fierce to soft and then back to demanding. When Dylan said he wanted to make memories of the night, he wasn’t joking. The world outside her window started to lighten with the soft gray tones of dawn when they’d finally fallen asleep.
Her phone rang again.
Moaning, she lifted Dylan’s arm and scooted out from under his thigh before grabbing her gown from the floor and picking up her phone. The number was from New York. Couldn’t she have one night of sex without being bothered by one of her brothers?
She shut the bedroom door behind her before she answered.
“Good morning, Matt. I’m surprised to hear from you this time of morning. You just getting off shift?” she asked. Her night shift–loving brother was known to be grumpy in the early morning hours.
“Katie, it’s...it’s Junior,” Matt said, his tone steady as only a man used to relaying bad news could be. She knew that tone. She lived in a world where conveying bad news was part of the job.
“Matt, what’s wrong? What’s happened to Junior?” Her voice quivered but she refused to break down. Not until she knew how bad things were.
“Another warrant went out for the guy that shot you. We’ve been putting the pressure on him and we got a tip he was involved in a drug deal that went down last night. We pulled the tape of the area and caught him making the exchange. Junior and I wanted to be there when they arrested him.” The longer her brother talked the more his voice broke. There wasn’t much that would make her street-tough brother break down.
“Is he alive?” Katie asked, unable to listen to any more information. She just needed to know that her brother was alive.
“He’s in surgery. He took a shot to the gut. In and out the doctor said, but it did a lot of damage going through. He said they lost him once in the emergency room. Blood loss. They were doing some rapid transfusion thing on him. Said it saved his life.”
He would be okay. Her brother was in surgery now and they’d do whatever repairs that were needed. They had to. She couldn’t lose her brother. Not like this.
“You need to come, Katie. You need to come home. Dad’s not looking so good. We need you here.”
“I’ll catch the next flight. Tell Daddy, I’ll be home as soon as I can. I’ll call you when I get to the airport.” Katie hit the button to hang up. Then looked around the room. She didn’t know what to do first.
