Treading Water: Coming Home Part 29

"I kinda like kissing in the rain." She nuzzled his nose. "I don't think I've ever done that before."

"I like it, too."

They spent another ten minutes outside before Kate began to s.h.i.+ver from the chill. She whimpered when he broke their kiss to walk them to the porch.

"You're not relapsing on my watch," he said sternly as he took the stairs.

"You ruin all my fun."

"Is that so?"

She nuzzled her cold nose against his neck. "Uh-huh."

Inside, he went straight up the stairs to their room and headed for the shower. He moved very quickly to strip them of their wet clothes and guided her into the steaming water.

"Ah, that feels good," Kate said as the heat drove the chill from her bones.

He held her from behind, his hands traveling from her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to her belly and below.

"That feels good, too," she said, already weak in the knees.

"Put your hands on the wall." His voice was gruff and s.e.xy.

Kate did as directed and waited to see what he would do. Her legs quivered as antic.i.p.ation mixed with desire.

He kneaded her shoulders and back, working his way down to give her bottom special treatment.

She pressed back against his arousal, drawing a groan from him.

When his arm encircled her hips and lifted her, a surprised squeak slipped from between her lips that quickly became a moan when he entered her from behind. "Oh G.o.d," she muttered.

"You like it?"

He expected her to talk right now when she could barely form a thought, let alone words? "Yeah." Her mind raced as her body reacted to the new experience of being taken from behind.

Letting her feet slide back to the floor, Reid urged her to bend forward. His fingers dug into her hips as he slammed into her, making her come once and then again when he reached around to stroke her to another shattering climax.

He pushed hard into her one last time, coming himself with a groan that echoed in the shower.

Kate's legs felt like rubber as he withdrew from her. She turned into his embrace, reeling from the shockingly erotic interlude.

"Are you okay, darlin'?"

Pressed against his chest, she nodded as the warm water rained down upon them. He tended to her with almost religious reverence, was.h.i.+ng her hair and body as if she were made of porcelain. When he was done, he toweled her off and carried her to bed.

He slid in next to her and reached for her.

Kate turned into his embrace, resting her face on his chest.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No, of course not."

"You're so quiet."

"I've never done that before."

"We did that."

"No, we didn't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said, laughing. "I'm positive."

"Was it too much?"

"I loved it."

He hugged her tightly. "So did I."

"Is there other stuff we haven't done?"

"Lots of other stuff."

"Can we do all of it?"

Laughing, he said, "We can certainly try."

"I'll look forward to that," she said kissing his chest. "How did everything go on St. Kitts?"

"Fine." After a beat of silence, he said, "That's not true, actually. It wasn't fine. I wasn't going to tell you because I didn't want to upset you, but I got into trouble before by not being honest with you, and I don't want to make that mistake again."

Alarmed, Kate propped her chin on his chest so she could see his face, which was troubled. "What happened?"

"Mari trashed our place. Everything was smashed and destroyed."

Kate gasped. "Oh my G.o.d. Are you sure it was her?"

He nodded.

"Did you call the police?"

"They were already there when I arrived. I guess the neighbors called. There was a neighborhood dinner in town last night, so Mari would've known everyone was out. I wasn't going to give them her name until..."

"Until what?"

"She ripped up one of Ashton's baby pictures. I saw that, and I didn't care about protecting her anymore."

"I don't blame you," Kate said, furious on his behalf. "She has to know what he means to you after all the time you spent with her."

"Which is why she did it. She wanted to hurt me the way I hurt her." He combed his fingers through Kate's hair. "As much as I hate to say it, I have a feeling we're going to find that she was somehow behind the video, too. She knows I would've sent you to Desi's place if you asked me where you should stay. It wouldn't have taken much for her to confirm you were there, especially if she followed me the other night."

"I'm so sorry I caused you all this trouble."

"It's not your fault, darlin'. You did me a big favor by showing up when you did. I had no idea she was capable of such malice. What she did to my house... It was... It was bad."

"Was everything of yours ruined?"

"Pretty much. I was able to salvage some pictures, and luckily my computer is backed up. Not to worry, though. They're just things. They can be replaced."

"That's an awful last memory of a place you loved."

"Yes, it was."

"Thank you for telling me. I don't want you to protect me by keeping upsetting things from me. I want to help you through them."

"You did help," he said, reaching for her.

She snuggled into his embrace and smiled when his lips touched her forehead.

"Did you talk to your folks?"

"Yeah."

"And how did that go?"

"We're batting five hundred," she said, pained when one of her dad's favorite phrases rolled off her tongue. "My mom was pretty cool, but my dad... Not so much."

"I suppose that's to be expected."

"Yeah, I guess."

"It hurt, huh?"

"Kind of. I invited him and his family to Nashville for Christmas, but I'm not sure he'll come. My mom and her family are in, and my sister Maggie is coming." She glanced up at him. "Do you think Ashton would come?"

"I can ask him, but it's hard to say. He may have his own plans for all I know."

"I hope he comes."

"Do you? As I understand it, there's no love lost between the two of you."

"I'd like to put all of that in the past. We're going to be family to each other, whether he likes it or not. I'd like for us to at least be sociable for your sake."

"That'd be nice, darlin'. I got the sense from him the other day that he's looking to mend fences, too. He said there's something else going on in his life that he's anxious to tell me about when he sees me. I wonder if he's met someone."

"How would you feel about that?"

"I'd be thrilled. I want him to know real love. There's nothing quite like it."

"No, there isn't." She punctuated her words with soft kisses to his chest.

"I bought you a present in Ba.s.seterre."

"What kind of present?"

"The really good kind."

"Where is it?"

"In my coat pocket, but you have to let me up so I can get it."

Kate kissed him, lingering despite her excitement over the present. There was nothing he could give her that was better than his kisses, his love and the promise of forever together. "I still have the locket you gave me," she said as she moved off him so he could get up. "I wear it all the time. Wearing it made me feel closer to you."

"That's very sweet." He got back in bed.

"Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"My present."

"You have to find it," he said with a delightfully playful smile.

Kate took great pleasure in frisking him, touching him everywhere until he was hard as a rock.

"How did this backfire on me?" he asked as she stroked him.

"I can't find it anywhere."

"You're not looking in the right places. Close your eyes."

Kate did as he asked but continued to caress his erection until she felt the slide of a ring on the third finger of her left hand. She gasped, and her eyes flew open. She raised her hand so she could see the simple, elegant ring set in white gold or platinum with one large square-cut diamond. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stared at the ring her one true love had put on her finger, making her his forever. Finally.

"Is it okay?" he asked, sounding uncertain.

Kate couldn't stop staring at it. "It's... It's perfect." It was exactly what she told him she wanted-simple and real, but also glorious.

"Oh, good. I was worried for a minute there."

Kate wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you so much. I absolutely love it."

"I absolutely love you."

With her hands on his face, she bestowed a kiss upon him that was filled with all the overwhelming emotions she was experiencing-joy, love, excitement, desire and, most of all, relief. To have what she'd wanted for so long, to know that wherever she went he'd go, too, to know that whatever life had in store for her, he'd be there with her...

Without breaking the kiss, he cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, giving special attention to her nipples.