Chapter Four

Caitlyn wasn’t sure if she should untie Owen or not. He was obviously feeling very vulnerable. And it seemed he hadn’t yet come to terms with what was in his heart. Caitlyn didn’t have a problem with him not feeling a deep emotional connection with her. They’d just met; it wasn’t as if she’d expected him to fall madly in love with her. She’d only wanted to have a little fun. To feel sexy. He’d given her both already. But damn he looked hot all tied and helpless. And God, she’d made him come hard, even if he had been thinking of someone else at the time.

Now that the sexual excitement had drained from his body, he looked like he needed someone to hold him and tell him everything was going to be all right. That instinct to care for him won out in the end. She removed the strap-on, tossed it in the sink, and then climbed up onto the bed beside him. She stroked his hair gently as she tried to gauge his emotions and he did his damnedest not to meet her eyes.

“Thanks for fulfilling my fantasy,” she said. Her fingers moved to the ropes that bound him and she carefully untied the first knot. “I know it’s weird, but I’ve always wanted to screw a man. I just wanted to see what it was like.”

“I told you I was up to try anything. Do you have any other kinky fantasies you’ve never been able to play out?”

She chuckled. “Doesn’t everyone?”

“You’ll have to tell me about them.”

Caitlyn released the ropes binding Owen one at a time. She wanted to get some answers from him and figured the best way to get them was to ask while he couldn't get away. She just had this feeling about him, as if he actually wanted to talk to her—to get to know her better—but something was preventing him from trusting her. She could blame inexperience on her desire to get to know him better, but what was his excuse? He did this kind of thing all the time. Sex didn’t mean anything to him, did it?

“So,” she asked as the second knot came free, “how long have you known Kelly?”

“He doesn't like to be called Kelly,” Owen said.

“You call him that.”

“And he complains about it constantly.”

“Okay,” she said, “how long have you known Kellen?”

“We aren't supposed to be getting personal. Remember?”

“If you won’t talk to me, I guess I'll just come to my own conclusions about the two of you then,” she said, working at a third knot, but taking her sweet time about loosening it.

Owen stiffened. “What kind of conclusions?”

“That you're in love with him and the only reason you go after women is to cover up your feelings for a man.”

“That's one possible explanation,” Owen said, surprising her yet again by not saying what she expected.

“Is it the correct one?” She didn't want it to be. She had no problem sleeping with Owen unless he was in love with someone already. If that was the case, then she felt in her heart that she was the other woman. Or maybe the only woman in this particular case.

“No,” Owen said with such conviction that she believed him. “I'm not in love with him.”

“In lust with him?”

“I'm not sure.”

“Have you been in lust with a man before?”

“Never. And I'm not sure I'm in lust with Kelly either. I'm not sure about anything at the moment.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Except that I'd really like to be untied now.”

“I'm working on it.” She released the knot she'd been fiddling with unnecessarily and moved on to another one. “Does he have feelings for you?”

“He doesn't have feelings for anyone anymore.”

“And why's that?” She met his eyes, and he didn't look away. Were they starting to connect on a more personal level? She wouldn't mind. This sex for the sake of sex thing was new to her, and she wasn't sure if she could forget this guy that easily. Wasn’t sure she wanted to forget him. So far, he was pretty terrific.

“He was in love with a woman. Planned to marry her.”

“Was?”

“She died.”

Empathy made Caitlyn’s heart pang. She’d lost her sister a few years before, she still felt as if a gaping hole was eating its way through her heart whenever she thought about Morgan. The sad thing was, she thought about Morgan less and less as time went by. She couldn’t seem to stop her from slipping farther away. “He's still grieving?”

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'll always grieve for her.”

“Probably. But it will lessen with time.” And then he’d probably feel guilty for moving on. Caitlyn did.

“It's already been five years.”

“That's not so long, really.”

“It is when you're twenty-seven.”

Caitlyn paused. “Is that how old you are?”

“Maybe. Does it bother you?”

She chuckled and moved to the next knot in Kellen's intricate and beautiful design. “You're quite a bit older than my ex-husband’s new fling,” she said. “But then she can't legally drink in this country.”

“Age doesn't matter.”

“You don't think so? I think society would disagree.”

“Fuck 'em. No one understands what's between two people except the two involved. Outsiders, they don't get it.”

“I guess I am an outsider in my ex-husband’s relationship. But I don’t agree with it and yes, partly because of their age difference. I’m sure he took advantage of her innocence.”

“I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about us.”

“Oh, did I take advantage of your innocence?” Caitlyn paused and flexed her fingers. They were starting to ache from working the knots free. “And I didn't think there was an us.”

“If there was.”

“If.” Caitlyn traced the outline of the tribal tattoo on Owen’s shoulder. “If is a very big word, Owen.”

“Are you almost finished?” he asked. “My muscles are starting to cramp.”

“I'll hurry.” She began to work faster, releasing knots in the reverse order that Kellen had tied them.

“You know,” Owen said, “most people have a difficult time releasing the knots properly and we usually have to cut the rope.”

She paused and looked up at him. There she went being weird again. “I… uh… watched him closely when he was tying them.”

“And you memorized the entire sequence?”

As she’d been blessed with an amazing memory, she did remember the entire sequence, but she played down her unusually sharp memory. “It's not too hard really. You just follow the rope from one end to the other. It’s getting more difficult now that the free end is so long.”

“It would be faster to cut them.”

“But then I wouldn't get to admire your body for a long, long time.”

He grinned. “You can admire my body for as long as you like.”

“What if I want to gaze at you for days?”

“I'll send you a picture.”

She laughed and swatted his ass playfully. His arm was loose enough now that he could get a hold on her. He wrapped a strong hand around her wrist and tugged her down to the mattress.

“God, I want to kiss you so bad I can hardly stand it,” he said. “Hurry up and untie me.”

“You want to kiss me?”

“Yes, and so much more.”

“I thought you wanted to be untied so you can leave.”

“What? No way in hell. We haven't even begun yet.”

His certainty made her smile. She couldn’t help it. “We haven't?”

“No, that sweet pussy of yours must need some relief. Untie me and I’ll fuck you senseless,” he said. When she did nothing but stare up at him as if she’d just won the sex lottery, he glared at her. “Untie me, Caitlyn.”

“I will, but I need to kiss you first,” she said, lost in his gorgeous blue eyes. They reminded her of the waters of the Caribbean. Warm. Inviting. Deep. “I think my lips have waited long enough.”

She scooted her body so her face was beneath his. He tried to stretch his neck to claim her mouth, but she remained just out of reach. She loved the look of anticipation in his eyes. He really seemed to want her. Badly. And she wanted to make him crazy with need.

Why hadn't she thought to do it until now? He was already half untied. She could have been teasing and tormenting him—as Kellen had suggested—for the past ten minutes.

“I want to kiss you too,” she said. “Our first kiss.”

He chuckled. “I guess that’s true. You’ve fucked me and haven’t even kissed me yet. My God, I’m a total slut.”

She chuckled. “I kissed you,” she said. “Just not on the lips.”

She lifted her head and gently brushed her lips against his. That small contact had her heart racing and her sex swelling with unfulfilled desire. She was so glad he wasn't through with her. He might have already enjoyed an explosive orgasm, but she hadn’t, and she was very interested in finding out what being “fucked senseless” entailed.

Owen strained to try to deepen his kiss, but she dropped her head back onto the mattress and continued her new favorite hobby, staring at him.

“There are other things I want to do to you, Owen.”

“There are plenty of things I want to do to you too. Finish untying me.”

“Not yet,” she whispered.

He groaned and dropped his chin to his chest. His soft hair tickled the tip of her nose. She lifted a hand to brush it back and then kissed his forehead.

“It's unfortunate that the pommel blocks most of your chest and belly. I'd really like to touch every inch of your skin.”

“You can as soon as you untie me,” he said.

Her attention focused on his beautiful cock. “But I do see one part of you is fully exposed. I could start there. I really want to get a closer look at that piercing.”

His head jerked up. “Kelly put you up to this, didn't he?”

“He might have planted a seed of thought,” she said. “You can thank him later.”

Caitlyn shifted to the opposite side of the pommel. It pressed against the middle of his chest and his upper abdomen, but lying on her back beneath him, she could see his lower belly, the delightful V of his hipbones, and his suddenly attentive cock. He liked her idea. She could tell by how quickly he was getting hard again. She ran her fingertips down his lower belly and he shuddered, his partially freed arm lowering so he could fist his hand in a tangle of bed sheet. She took her time exploring his flesh—stroking, nibbling and licking his belly and hips, forcing herself not to go for the decorated and engorged prize at the center. She wanted him hard and fully excited before she pleasured him, but she couldn’t take her eyes of his cock. There was something about those two little metallic balls decorating the rim that fascinated her. What would that feel like inside her?

“Touch me,” Owen whispered. “I can't stand it, Caitlyn. Touch me.”

“Touch you where?”

“Where do you think?”

She cradled his balls in one hand, ever so gently massaging. He sucked a breath through his teeth.

“Here?” She didn't wait for his answer. She lifted her head and licked the wrinkled skin of his sac, swirling her tongue in chaotic patterns that caused his breathing to skitter and shake.

“I want to fuck you so bad right now,” he said in a growl of a voice.

She crossed her legs and squeezed them together, pretending his words didn't make her throb with excitement.

“More than you wanted to kiss me?” she asked.

“Mmm,” he murmured. “Please.”

She wanted to touch him, direct his thick hard cock into her mouth and suck him down her throat, but those little metallic balls gave her pause. Would they get stuck in her throat? There was one trip to the emergency room she’d never live down.

“Are you finished driving me insane?” he asked.

“Not yet. I like playing with you.”

“I want to play too.”

Caitlyn stared up at his cock; its tip was mere inches from her lips. She licked her lips and gnawed on the bottom one, trying to decide if she dared to show him one bedroom skill she was really good at. Her eyes focused on the tattoo that decorated one hip and curved around the top of his thigh.

“What’s with the snake?” she asked. She’d never seen a more realistic tattoo.

“Are you afraid of it? Is that why you’re taking your sweet time untying me?”

Caitlyn traced the bit of art with her fingertips.

“Oh, you mean my tattoo,” he said. “I thought you were talking about the spitting cobra in the center.”

She laughed. “This one?” She lifted her head slightly and flicked her tongue out to tease the sensitive flesh of his cock head. She worked her way around the tip until her tongue encountered something hard and metallic. She hesitated before squelching her inhibition and suckling his head.