“So, let me get this straight.” Dade took another drink of his beer. “You’re reading a story Kasey is writing. I always wondered what she was scribbling in those notebooks. And in the morning, you’re going to play in Leena’s flowerbeds?” He winked at Owen. “The ladies have accepted you with open arms, my friend.”
Owen picked up his beer and sat back. “Open arms? I wish.” He stared at the bottle in his hand. “Leena is going to drive me crazy, Dade. She’ll wrap herself around me one moment, then she freezes and looks like a scared rabbit wanting to bolt the other way.”
Dade sighed, “She didn’t have a good marriage. Hell, she was still a kid when she married Tyler.”
“Tyler Black? She married Tyler Black? Shit, he’s older than us. What the hell was he doing chasing around someone her age?”
“You didn’t see how Leena looked when she finished school, my friend.”
“I see how she looks now.” He took a long drink. “So, what happened?”
Dade sat looking at his beer for a few moments. “I don’t know all the details. I do know you should be talking to her about it.” He glanced up at him, “but, word is Tyler treated her much like your old man treated you.” He watched Owen’s hands tighten around the bottle.
“He bashed her around?”
Dade shrugged. “Don’t know any details. They left town shortly after they got married...then, oh, about six years back, Leena came home and took over her parents’ house. They’re traveling all over now. I saw her a few days after she got back.” He took a quick sip. “Her face looked like someone used it as a punching bag.” He snarled, “Chris had to sit on me for weeks so I wouldn’t go find the bastard.”
Owen stood up and paced over to the fridge to grab more beers. “Has anyone seen him?” He threw the cap back toward the sink.
“Nope. When Cora told me she was working at the factory, I asked her to keep an eye out.” Dade accepted the bottle and opened it. “Of course, then Cora and the girls hooked up with Leena. And the rest, as they say, is history…but Leena’s never told any of us. I’m not even sure she knows what we do.” He was silent for a few moments, lost in thought.
“Most of what we do know is little bits the girls have shared with us.” He winked at Owen. “You’ve been accepted though, bro. Any time a man has gotten within a foot of Leena in the past, those three swarm like bees protecting their hive.”
Owen paced in silence for a few minutes. “Fuck!” He stopped and looked down at his smirking friend. “You could have warned me that trying to get close to her was going to be as hard as climbing up a cliff.”
Dade chuckled deeply. “I figured you’d find out soon enough. Besides, you’ve gotten closer to her than any man recently.”
Owen sighed, “Yeah, close enough to burn.” He grinned, “it’s frustrating as hell.”
Dade stood up and tapped his bottle against the one Owen held. “Welcome to our hell, my friend. The rest of us have been feeling the burn from those women for more years than we care to admit.”
Owen laughed. “Well, at least I haven’t had to chase her skirt for seven years, like the rest of you poor saps.”
Dade dropped back down and scowled at him. “Has it been that long?” He shrugged. “Chris felt like a dirty old man the first time he caught sight of Kasey. I think she was twenty at the time, and looked like a cherub with those big green eyes. She wore her hair longer, and it kind of fell around her face. He got so drunk one time we had to drag his ass home to prevent him from declaring his love from the rooftop.” He shook his head, grinning wide. “Funny as hell to see Mr. Perfect Lawyer lose it.”
“And you with Cora?”
Dade frowned. “My family knew hers. You should remember the dark little pixie-faced girl running around at Ma’s ceremonies.” He waited for the look to appear on Owen’s face that told him he remembered. “Yep, that was her. Imagine my shock when she came back from college and floated into the room at the temple.” He took a suck on the bottle, then swallowed. “Couldn’t play my drum worth a damn that night, had the priestess thinking I was sick or something.”
Owen sat and shook his head. “What’s the story with Doc? That man obviously pines after Rachel.”
Dade nodded, “Yeah, those two ever hook up and they’ll have three hundred kids. He’s a pediatrician, loves his work, loves kids. Too brainy for me, though. He’s younger, but he finished school way ahead of us.” He waved his hand around. “Anyway, Rach came into the picture while he was away at school, and she’s just as kid crazy as he is... spends every free second at the community center running programs.” He grinned. “If Doc ever gets up the nerve, he’s going to have to hang on tight. I don’t think that one knows how to slow down.”
Owen sat in silence for a few moments. “When the hell did we get old and pathetic, my friend?”
“Don’t know, bro, but someday soon I have to get my hands on that voodoo witch. I haven’t been able to really appreciate another female since she sauntered back into my world.”
Owen set the bottle on the table. “I should go. Have to get my notes together so I know what I’m asking Leena tomorrow.” He stood up and looked at the man staring blindly into the bottle in his hand. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah. Have patience, bro. That’s the best I can offer.”
Owen grinned as he headed to the door. “I’ve just become the most patient man in the world, bro.”
Leena stared out the window, watching the rain fall as Owen’s Jeep headed up the lane. “Figures.” She hadn’t wanted to be stuck inside with him, she felt safer outside.
She motioned him into the kitchen. “I was just making tea.”
Owen grinned and carried a large bag into the kitchen. “Guess the weather decided your yard work could wait?”
“It would seem so.” Setting the kettle on the stove, she turned and watched him pull book after book out of the bag and set them on the table. “You have been reading.” She picked up a book and flipped through it. “Candle light spells?” She set it back down and looked at him. “Thinking of trying your hand at spells now, Owen?”
“No, I would just like to know what’s going on around me when all of you start levitating objects and lighting flames.”
Smiling, she turned to get the cups. “Well, I’m pretty sure you won’t find much in those books that really will explain what’s happening.” She leaned back against the counter and looked at him. “I don’t do those kinds of spells, but for questions along those lines, then you could ask Rachel, Kasey, or Chris. That’s their sort of spells.”
“And you and the Doc? What exactly is the sort of thing you two do?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and thought how to word it best. “Steven and I do elemental spells... of sorts. As long as it uses one of the elements...”
“Air, fire, water, and earth?”
“Yes, those. We can manipulate, or nudge and work with them to make things happen.”
“You do know that’s a bit amazing, don’t you?” He grinned at her.
“I do and always feel a little rush after just from knowing I can do it.”
Owen shook his head. “I still don’t understand what it is I do...” He shrugged, “anyway, I’d like to get some more information about Beltane, its history, its meaning to you, that sort of thing to start.”
She poured the tea. “All business today, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely. The characters are starting to form in my head, so I really need to give them purpose and intent. I’m working on another story right now, but starting a few ideas for the next is always a good thing.”
He watched her set the cup down carefully. Then he reached out and took her hand. “And if I give into this need I have to hold you, I’ll never get my mind to focus properly again.” He kissed her palm tenderly, then released her hand and flipped open his notebook.
As she held her palm with her other hand, she smirked at him. “Well, we can’t have characters with no purpose.” She sat down and sipped the hot tea.
He read over his notes for a few moments, then sighed. “Beltane has had many different purposes and meanings through the years. Steven filled me in on what used to take place on May Eve. I found that more than interesting, so I researched it and found out the Puritans made the maypole illegal in Sixteen Forty-Four...”
Leena nodded. “The Puritans were like everyone else, Owen. What they didn’t understand, they feared... and, whatever they feared became illegal. Things haven’t changed that much through the years, not really.”
With his head down he wrote for a few minutes. “Tell me about Beltane, Leena. What does it mean to you?”
Sitting back, Leena smiled calmly. “I guess I don’t celebrate the sabbat as most do. I celebrate nature and the stage it’s at during that time. Mostly it is nice to just to be a part of a group,” she shrugged as she continued, “to me, the spring is a rebirth. I love to watch the new plants break through and blossoms return. To see those bland colors of winter brighten to a hundred shades of green. Do you think any leaf is ever exactly the same color as another? They aren’t. It’s much the same as two people never having the exact same shade of skin.” Pausing, she sipped her tea. “I wait through the blinding winter snow, the howling of the wind, the creaking of the cold branches to watch each spring again when life renews itself, when the sun teases the little plants to stretch and grow.”
“That’s beautiful, Lee.” He grinned at her. “The way you see things. For spring, I’ve never gotten past the mud and rain, not enough to notice the beauty in it.” He quickly jotted down a few things.
Feeling foolishly pleased at his words, she cleared her throat. “I forgot to ask if Kasey ever got up the nerve to send you her work.”
He nodded while finishing a thought with his pen. “Yeah. She’s got talent. With a bit of tweaking and polishing, I think she’ll have something the editors would be happy to read.” He lifted his head. “Will you stand in front of me to catch her before she actually climbs me when I tell her?”
She laughed, “I’ll protect you.” Getting up, she took a large pot from the fridge. “I have homemade soup for lunch.” He grinned. “I’ll put it on now to simmer until lunch time.” She set it on the stove. “It’s one of Cora’s creations, so I can vouch that you’ll love it.”
“Cora cooks?”
“Like an angel. Why she works in an office when she should be in a kitchen sharing her talent, I’ll never know.” She shrugged, “I guess it always goes back to what we should be doing or want to do, instead of what we do.”
“What do you want to do, Leena?”
“What do you mean, Mr. Grey? I’m a great supervisor.”
Owen clasped his hands on the table and studied her. “I’m sure you are, but that isn’t what you really want to do, is it?”
Leena leaned back against the counter and looked at the floor. She began to shake her head. “No. Chasing people around a factory and soothing grouchy bosses are not at the top of my To Do list.” She looked up at him. “I want... well, I do make clothes, rather fanciful outfits. I love taking a body and finding out what colors and shapes would look best on it.”
Owen set his pen down and pushed back from the table. “Those sensual pieces of cloth the four of you wore on May Eve were made by you, weren’t they?” She nodded. “Fanciful is an understatement, Lee. The four of you walking toward the circle looked like goddesses from Greek mythology. You glowed and practically floated across the ground.” He grinned like he was remembering it. “You should go into business.”
“And do what? The things I make aren’t something any woman would just walk down the street wearing.”
“So make specialty clothes. Costumes, themed weddings... fantasy.” He winked at her.
Pursing her lips together Leena studied him. “It’s an idea.” She smiled, “thanks.”
He stood up and came to stand in front of her, grasping her hands he lifted it to his lips. “You’re really a romantic dreamer trapped in the wrong world, aren’t you?”
She pulled her hand from his. “Dreams have ways of turning into nightmares very quickly, Owen.” She moved away from the counter and collected the cups off the table.
“Tell me about it, Leena,” he said quietly.
Leena busied herself by rinsing the cups to keep from having to look at him. “About what?”
Placing a gentle hand on her arm, Owen turned her. “Tell me about the dreams that turn into nightmares. About why you freeze every time I get too close.” He reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Trust me with it, pretty Aileena.”
Her heart stopped, she stood froze and looked at him. Did it show that much? Did the emotional scars stand out? “I can’t, Owen. I’m sure you wouldn’t understand.”
His hand rested lightly on her arm. “I’d like the chance to try.” He studied her face for a few seconds. “Trust me.” He could see the fear flashing in her eyes and wanted to close his arms around her and hide her from the world.
“Owen...” Her voice was trembling, “I really like you... I do, and I know you want to have sex...”
“Sex?” He placed his arms on the counter on either side of her. “I want to have sex with you? Is that why you think I’m here? To see if I can get you in bed?” His voice didn’t raise above a whisper.
She didn’t answer him. She just looked shocked at his words.
“Leena...” He had to get a grip on the way he was shaking. “If all I wanted was sex, I’d have had it by now.” She clasped her hands nervously together and looked down at them. Gently, he lifted her chin and forced her eyes to meet his. “Yes, I want you. Any breathing man would, but if it were only for sex, you wouldn’t keep my mind running in circles when I should be working. If I just wanted your body, thinking of you wouldn’t make me want to slay dragons.” He smiled. “I want to be your friend, first and foremost. I would cherish you as a lover…but I want inside your heart more than your body.” A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and rolled slowly down her cheek. Not wanting to scare her any more, he slowly leaned down and kissed the tear away; his lips lingered over its path. “Let me in a little, Leena, before I lose my mind,” he whispered against her mouth.
Her heart trembled from his words, and her body from his touch. Not trusting her words, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest lightly. She almost sighed when his big arms tightened around her and held her against him.
Owen just stood there, content to hold her. With his arms sheltering her from the world, she almost thought it possible to trust again. The man holding her wasn’t like Tyler, she told herself. He said he’d cherish her, and a small part of her believed he meant it. She spoke against his chest. “I’ve never told anyone everything, Owen. I don’t know if I can.”
He gentled his hold on her. “Tell me what you feel comfortable with, Lee. I won’t abuse your trust. I won’t judge.” She remained in his arms and rubbed her face slowly across his chest. He continued to hold her with ease, but every muscle she could feel was tense.
“Let’s go in the living room and sit.” She pulled back from him, ducked under his arm, and walked out of the room.
Leena was already on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest and backed into the corner when he walked in.
He went to sit beside her, and she shook her head. “No, if you touch me when I try to tell you, I’ll fall apart.” She watched him sit in the chair a few feet away. He sprawled more than sat, but she could tell by the twitching muscle in his jaw he wasn’t nearly as relaxed as his position indicated. She played with the fabric covering her knees. “Do you remember Tyler Black?”
“Yeah, he was an asshole when I knew him, though.”
She put her head down, not sure if she could look in his eyes and tell him. “Well, he was a smooth asshole that knew all the right lines to charm his way into this young girl’s heart. We were married just after I finished school.” She glanced up and saw he wasn’t shocked by her news. “He moved me away to the city, feeding my dreams of him becoming more successful in the city. He was to be a brilliant architect.” Pausing, she looked at her hands. “Things were good for a few months, as he found someone to take him under his wing and the long hours of work began. I was the young, naïve, dutiful wife and looked after our apartment and him.” Looking over at Owen, he showed no emotion. “The more worn-out with work he became, his need for success drove him to work longer and harder but he was tired and... the more...” With an aching throat, she swallowed and began picking at the fabric on her knees again. “The rougher he became with me. I was young and didn’t understand. He was always sorry afterward and very sweet and attentive for a few days.” She hugged her knees tightly. “I was his pretty little showpiece for work, so he never marked me where anyone would see.” She chanced a quick glance to see him sitting forward on the chair now with his hands tightly held together. His knuckles were white with restraint.
“He...” Her voice trembled. “When I got a job, you know, to help until he made it big, thinking maybe he wouldn’t have to work so hard, he was mad that I wouldn’t always be at the apartment waiting for him.” Taking a deep breath, she willed herself to continue. “He put me in the hospital that time. He told the doctor some horrid lie about me being mugged and not remembering.” She could see Owen’s hands trembling where he held them tightly. She couldn’t bring herself to look at his eyes. “When I was released, he pampered me, apologizing every day, buying me silly little things. I was scared to leave the apartment, afraid to make him angry again…” The tears rolled down her cheeks, but she continued before she fell completely apart. “He came home one night and was pretty drunk. He’d reached some milestone at the office, and wanted to go out and celebrate. I got dressed, and when I didn’t wear what he wanted, he...” The tears wouldn’t stop. “He just kept hitting me and hitting me. I was on the floor and could see his hand, but I couldn’t stop him.” The tears started to fall so hard she had to blink to focus. “I...”
“Oh, baby.” Owen moved to her faster than he thought he could, scooping her up in his arms to cradle her against his chest. “It’s okay.” He rocked her gently and stroked his hand down her back. She was trembling in his arms so hard he didn’t think his heart was going to make it. With each sob, he shook harder with rage for a man who would treat her the way Tyler had. “Shhh,” he whispered to her, fully aware she was so lost in her pain she wouldn’t hear.
“S-sorry,” she sniffled into his chest.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Leena. Nothing.” He soothed her with his words. “It wasn’t your fault, baby. People like that don’t need a reason. They’re lost in their own sick minds.” He rocked her gently, not wanting to ever let her go.
“I ran home and...and hid.” She gasped to catch her breath.
“You did what you had to do to get away. No one can blame you.” He forced out a ragged breath. Owen tensed when a thought entered his head, and he didn’t know if he wanted to know the answer, but it was a question he had to ask, more for himself than anything. “Baby, did he ever...” How did a man ask the woman shaking in his arms a question like this? “Did he hurt you sexually?” Holding his breath, he waited. She trembled harder and just nodded against his chest, unable to look at him. “Fucking bastard should be strung up by his balls,” he uttered quietly under his breath
Leena clung to him, how he held her so gently she didn’t know. He was soothing her when she could feel the rage shaking inside him. She wanted him to hold her. No one had ever been there to hold her. To tell her it was going to be all right. She hiccupped and tightened her hold, pushing her face into the warmth of him.
Owen sat there rocking her, uncertain what words he should use, or if he should use any. “Baby, have you ever wondered why I lit out of here the day school let out?” He didn’t need her to reply. He just wanted to fill the tense silence with soft-spoken words and continued. “My mom told me to go and go quickly.” He stroked a hand down her hair. She had shared her worst with him, so if he told her some of his story, maybe they’d be on even ground. “My old man made me his own personal punching bag for most of my childhood, and I practically lived at Dade’s. His mom would rub stinky voodoo magic ointments all over my bruises.”
Gasping, she lifted her tear-stained face to his. “You were just a child...”
Owen touched her cheek. “No, I was a victim, just as you were, and I ran and hid, too.” He rubbed his thumb over her cheek to remove any tears. “I didn’t come back until I knew he was dead. Unfortunately, my mom died shortly after.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I think she only lived long enough to make sure I was safe from him. But you and I, we were both victims, baby... victims who did what they had to do to survive.” He stroked his hand down her hair and glanced towards the kitchen before he looked back into her eyes and smiled. “As much as I don’t want to let go of you, I really have to. Cora’s soup is calling me.”
“The soup!” Leena jumped up from his lap so quickly she almost teetered over on her flight to the kitchen.
Throughout the afternoon, Owen picked her brain about ideas for his story and characters; what sounded feasible and what didn’t. He had to shake himself more than once to keep his mind on research and off her lips, or from reaching out to touch her.
She had let him in, and he didn’t want to crowd her. She seemed more relaxed with him now, and he didn’t want to change that either.
It was hard to not rush when she was sitting on the floor with a few books beside her, chewing her bottom lip over something she was reading. He wanted to chew that lip, wanted to suck on it. Sighing, he tossed the notebook onto the couch beside him and sat up.
“What?” Leena looked at his notebook then at him puzzled. “Out of ideas already?”
Owen dropped to his knees on the floor and moved toward her. “Oh, I have lots of ideas.” She held the book in front of her chest, eyes wide. “None of which have anything to do with anything but you.” She shook her head at him. “You sit there looking all focused and sexy as hell, and my brain is having a meltdown.” He pulled the book from her hands and tossed it to the side. She bit her lip again, looking nervous. “I need a taste.” His eyes stayed on her mouth. “A small taste to feed a starving man, pretty Lee.” He dragged her onto his lap.
She struggled, but was grinning. “Your story.”
He lowered his mouth to hers. “To hell with the story.”
She leaned back “but your publisher...”
Adjusting his hold, he pulled her closer. “To hell with my publisher.”
“But...”
“Kiss me, Lee.” She stopped her struggle and looked at him. “Take one step toward me, so to speak, instead of away and kiss me.”
The softness of his voice melted her bones. She looked at his mouth. He really had very kissable lips.
“One kiss.” He was determined to let her come to him this time.
Placing her hands on his cheeks, Leena slowly raised her mouth to his and gently brushed her lips over his. His hand clenched in her hair, but he didn’t try to pull her closer. Wanting more, she brushed his mouth again, and when he opened his lips, she hesitantly dipped her tongue into his mouth and flicked it against his.
Owen moved his hand to gently rest on her waist, but he didn’t pull her closer. Running her one hand to his hair, she pulled his mouth closer to hers and turned her head to kiss him completely. He groaned in his throat as his lips joined with hers, and he kissed her back with all the heat she’d come to expect from him.
Without breaking the kiss, he leaned slowly back pulling her head gently so that she followed him down to the floor. Still kissing him with urgency, she lay sprawled on him.
When she started to pull away, he growled huskily in his throat. “I won’t touch you baby, won’t do anything you don’t want, but please don’t stop.”
His throaty pleading caused her pulse to leap. “I want to kiss you, but it scares me.” She could feel him trembling from the exertion of controlling himself. She sat up on him and looked down into his passion-darkened eyes.
“Tell me what to do, Leena,” he whispered. “What do you need me to do?”
Leena looked down at him and could see how much he wanted her. She could feel the hardness of him under her. Her own insides were trembling with a need she didn’t understand. She reached slowly and pulled his hands from her waist and raised his hands over his head. Slowly leaning over him again she whispered against his mouth. “Just don’t touch me yet, don’t make me feel trapped.”
He flicked his tongue against her lips. “Whatever you need.” Lifting his head, he kissed her hard. “Kiss me, Leena. Touch me.” His arms were shaking above his head, but he seemed determined to do what she asked.
When her mouth touched his neck, he hissed out a breath. Her lips tasted his skin, and her tongue flicked over it. Her hands traveled down his arms from the wrists she’d held. As her hands moved over his chest she could feel him shaking, but he didn’t make a move to touch her.
She could feel the heat through their jeans, where she lightly sat against him. Owen turned his head, and his mouth sought hers again. His tongue explored the dark wetness inside. She moaned into his mouth, and his hands tapped against the floor to keep from touching her.
Leena could feel his muscles bunching as he fought to not touch her. She ran her hands over his chest and back up to hold his head as she kissed him. Her legs began to tremble from holding her weight, or from the weakness his kisses were causing, she wasn’t sure. When he lifted his hips to push against her, the breath rushed out of her from the intimate contact.
Feeling encouraged by his responses, she slid over and stretched out beside him, stroking her hand down his chest and over his stomach. His muscles tensed under her exploration, his breath hissed out of his lips. She leaned over and brushed her lips against his neck. When she ran her tongue along his ear, he leaned into her mouth, completely enjoying the contact.
“Hold me, Owen,” she whispered next to his ear.
In a slow movement, he was on his side in front of her, his hand gradually moving up to her hip to rest on the small of her back—giving her time to object before he settled it there. He leaned on one elbow and slid his arm under her neck, pulling her face closer for a kiss, he distracted her with his lips moving gently over her neck as he fit her more tightly against him. Her arm grasped his head tightly to her skin.
She gasped as his lips brushed over her neck. Slipping her hand down his back, she explored the muscles there; she could feel him trembling. His hand on her back tightened and pulled her firmly against his length; she relaxed and let herself feel the heat from his body.
His mouth devoured her neck. She couldn’t stop the moan from escaping from her lips as she let her head fall back and accepted his passion.
“Leena.” He gasped against her neck, then lifted his head and sought her mouth again. He was shaking as he held her. “Baby,” he whispered against her lips. “You’ve got me shaking like a schoolboy.” He kissed her again and slid his leg between hers.
He moved his hand around to her waist, ran his hand up her rib cage, then he stopped holding his hand still. She loved that he gave her time to adjust. When she nuzzled into his neck and gently nipped against the skin, he growled and threw his head back.
Running his hand back down her hip, he kneaded her ass in his big hand and rocked her firmly against his thigh. She bit into his neck when he moved her gently against his leg, creating friction between hers. She hissed out a breathed and rolled her head back. Finding her mouth quickly, he kissed her frantically while rocking her into him. Moving her hand, she ran it over his hip of his jeans and for just a moment she wished he didn’t have them on.
The phone ringing brought her back to reality in a flash.
She tensed immediately. “Ignore it,” he growled into her throat. Her breathing was as ragged as his. Her whole body throbbed from his touch. It rang a third time, then she heard the voice on the machine. “Lee, it’s Cora. Pick up... Okay, just wondered how the gardening in the rain with that big, sexy man went and if my soup was okay. Call me later.” She dropped her hand from Owen’s side and leaned onto her back, fighting to bring her breathing back under control. “Sorry.”
Owen continued nuzzling her neck. “Her timing sucks.” He let out a slow breath, “but I’ll forgive her because she called me a big sexy man and her soup filled my stomach.”
He brought her chin up so he could look in her eyes. His heart stopped when he saw how foggy with lust they were. He leaned down to kiss her lips gently and let his mouth linger there. He didn’t want to let her get up. He didn’t want to stop. But she just lay silently there beside him and looked into his eyes. “Are you okay?”
Leena smiled up into his clouded eyes. “Mmm, yes,” she replied with a rough whisper. “Just enjoying how you’ve made me feel.” She licked swollen lips. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had this sensation.”
He groaned and dropped his forehead down on hers. “Don’t say things like that to me when you’re practically under me looking all soft and wanting.” He grinned, “I could make you feel more, if given the chance.” Tenderly, he nibbled on her bottom lip. She didn’t tense, so he let his mouth wander to her neck and nipped it gently with his teeth, then let his tongue take the sting away. She sighed and ran her hand up and down his arm. He kissed his way down her neck to her collarbone, slowly lingering over her skin. “You’re taking advantage of how good I feel, Mr. Grey.”
Owen smiled against her skin. “I’m certainly trying, Ms. Duncan.” He ran his tongue along the edge of her shirt collar, from one side to the other, slowly licking his way along. The hand that had rested against her rib cage began to run down over her stomach to lightly grasp her hip. “I could make you feel so good, Aileena,” he whispered against her neck.
Leena ran her hand up his arm to cradle his head into her. “You already have. I don’t think I’m ready for more.”
Lifting his head, Owen looked down at her quietly for a moment then let out a slow breath. “I should go.” He smiled at her, “if I don’t, I will want to convince you to change your mind.” He kissed her gently, then stood up and pulled her to her feet. Quickly, he gathered up the books and his notes then turned to see her standing there watching him.
“Are you upset, Owen?”
Owen stopped what he was doing and set down the case. Walking over to her, he pulled her into his arms. “No, I’m not upset.” He smiled. “I am, however, a man, and right now this man would like to devour you.” He looked down as if to show her the spot, “and that would go against everything I said to you earlier.” She smiled almost shyly at him. He hugged her to him. “I really have to go clear my head.” He groaned and squeezed her. “It’s so filled with you right now.” He let out a long breath, “Yeah, I have to go now.”
She reached up and kissed his mouth. “So, you’re still going to steal kisses?”
“As many as I can.” To prove it, he grabbed her and kissed her so hard she melted against him. “I’ll see you at the meeting.”