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CHAPTER41
Antonio lay awake on the couch, his mind churning too hard for him to sleep. It wasn’t fast, which was a pity. Instead, his brain lazily hit on every shock of the day, savoring his reactions and reliving every single one.
Seeing the strange car pull up to his house, with Katie stepping out and cupping her hand over her eyes to block the glare of the sun. Her dress flowing around her calves, her shoulders braced against the hot wind, her chestnut hair flowing wildly. Her eyes when she saw him, the way they drank him in. He never felt so much like a cold drink when her thirsty gaze landed on him.
When she’d followed him into the barn and listened attentively to his babble speak. She’d stroked his horses with a care that sparked an unwavering trust in his animals. He’d seen the way the mare had preened under the attention, laying her ears back and nickering softly under Katie’s ministrations.
And the way she’d eaten his paltry burritos… If he’d known she was coming, he’d have prepared something finer for her, or at least fresh. Instead, she’d satisfied herself with his leftovers, licking her lips and moaning around the bites of burrito that had his mind going into wholly uncharted territory.
They’d had sex, and it had rocked his world. He couldn’t wait to have more, if she’d go there with him. But he wanted so much more. And her words about staying to see if there could be more between them had him longing for so much that he could barely breathe.
The springs in the couch poked his back and legs, keeping him awake and thinking, daydreaming. He was lost in the things he wanted to do with her when he heard her screams.
“No!” Then he heard a mumble, then more, “No!” had him jackknifing off the couch, tossing the blanket to the side as he ran to his room where Katie thrashed under the covers.
He launched himself onto the bed, immediately stroking her.
“Shh… Katie. You’re safe. I’m here.” She hit him, slapping at his chest, and he gripped her arms, holding her still so she didn’t hurt herself. “Shhh…” He mumbled at her, humming softly under his breath, a long forgotten lullaby his madre used to sing to him. When she finally quieted, he stroked her back in long, slow circles.
Her eyes opened, landing on him, and the confusion cleared.
Thank God. She was back.
* * *
Katie curled into his warmth, needing to feel the reality of him instead of her nightmares of what had happened.
“You have nightmares often?”
She nodded. “They’ve gotten better, but I guess the new bed brought them back.” She looked up at him, and the guilt in his eyes was a sharp barrier between them, one she wanted to tear down.
She realized he was bare under her hands; that’s why he was so warm. The expanse of his naked chest met her eyes when she looked back down, and she didn’t want him to leave her alone again.
She wanted to feel this all over her. Katie laid a soft kiss on his chest, right in front of her. Encouraged by his soft hiss, she moved over to his nipple, kissing it and opening her mouth to taste it. His hand froze on her back before moving to her hip.
“Katie,” he began, but she stopped him.
“Please. I want this.” She pushed him to his back and crawled on top of him, feeling more from the rush of running her hands across his chest than she had in months.
“It’s probably not a good idea, not so soon—”
“I need this,” she interrupted him with a look that dared him to say another word to stop her. “I need something good to purge the bad. Nothing else has worked.” She wouldn’t tell him about the blond man she’d tried to flirt with in the office, failing miserably. She’d wanted a complete opposite from Antonio to show her attention, and as soon as he had, she’d fallen apart.
Her eyes challenged his, and she could feel his hard length under her, so she wiggled a little bit, just to emphasize her point.
Finally, he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and nodded.
She lowered herself to kiss his chest again, his skin ridiculously smooth under her tongue. Slowly, she traveled lower with her kisses, swirling her tongue around his belly button before dragging his pants over his length.
“Katie—”
She looked up at him and saw his hands gripping the sheets, a tortured look in his eyes. “Tie my hands. There’s rope in the corner.” She looked behind her and saw a pile of rough rope he’d probably used to tie the horses, abandoned sometime when he’d come in from outside. “I won’t be able to control myself, and I don’t want to be like them.”
She smiled at him, appreciating the sentiment. “You’re not like them. That’s why I need this.”
“I won’t be gentle.”
“I won’t break.” She didn’t think so, anyway. She hoped she wouldn’t. She had no idea what would happen, but the thought that her therapist would hate it was the impetus to her pulling his pajama pants down enough to wrap her hands around his cock, proud and erect.
