Page 58 of Keel

“I don’t want to screw this up. Before I met you, I really had no intentions of ever getting into a relationship again, but I can’t walk away from you. I know you were pressured into staying with Forest, and I don’t want you to feel pressure. So I guess what I mean is how do we build something that will last?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I think I need therapy.”

“That’s a good place to start.”

“I also know that you turn me on, and I don’t want to not have sex. I think we would both feel feral if we cut each other off like that.”

Keel threw back his head, laughter spilling out. His laughter felt good, getting her in on the action. After a moment, he sobered and ran his hand down her back to her ass. She pressed against him, feeling his cock growing harder.

“I’m feeling a little feral now.”

She reached between them and squeezed his dick. “I can feel that.”

A low growl rose from his chest, and then his lips were on her, his tongue demanding entrance. She opened for him, allowing him to take what he wanted.

He ripped his mouth from hers and tore off his shirt. She did the same, shimmying out of her pants quickly. They were naked in the kitchen. She glanced around, thankful they’d closed the curtains.

“We need a condom, but don’t move.”

She raised her eyebrows and nodded. She would stay right here as he dashed off to get a condom. There was more than just the physical part of sex with Keel. The feelings rolling through her were unlike anything she’d ever felt. It was like an invisible force drawing her to him, and she was glad he felt it, too. Maybe they would be able to work through everything and come out on the other side with happiness still intact.

Keel couldn’t believe sex could be so explosive. The combination of Frankie pressed up against him, and the feelings running through him took him to a different level of desire. He never wanted to lose her. It wasn’t just that she was special. She did wonderful things for him that would be hard to describe in any words other than love.

After he came, he held her, hoping they could get past whatever problems they were having. His past didn’t have to dictate his future. He didn’t have to swear off all women because he’d had a bad experience, and she didn’t have to walk away because of the bad things she’d gone through.

She leaned back, her eyes glassy as she studied him. “Inside, like right here,” she put his hand on her chest between her breasts, “there are things I feel.”

He nodded, understanding what she meant. “I never thought I would love again, but I think I can.”

A line developed between her eyebrows. “Are we rushing it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“How can we love each other so soon?”

He couldn’t answer that. “I don’t know. I know I don’t want to lose you. The feelings I have are big, like they won’t stay inside me. I need to tell you how I feel.”

Frankie leaned her forehead against his. “I can’t deny how I feel about you. It’s not infatuation or lust, it’s much more.”

He held onto her, not wanting her to slip away. “I love you. I hope that doesn’t scare you.”

“It does, but everything scares me. The fact that I’ve fallen in love with you scares me.”

He moved enough to brush his lips over hers. The kiss was slow, perfect in its simplicity and sweetness. “We should really talk about what we want for our future. I want to make sure your future is taken into account when we plan things.”

She blew out a breath. “I don’t know what I want for my future.”

“What about working?”

She jerked back, her eyes wide. “I didn’t tell you. We had sex, then the storm. I didn’t think it was time.”

“Tell me what?”

She shook her head, the disbelief still so strong. “The lawyer’s representative showed up and told me how much money there was in the account. I thought it would be a few thousand, maybe a hundred thousand at the most.”

“Yeah, sounds reasonable. So how much was it?” He worried that it wouldn’t be enough for her. He didn’t mind helping her get through the rough parts.

“It’s millions. Like so much money, I could never spend it.”