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A repeated knockingat the door woke Katie up.Her hands groped the tangled sheets and pulled them over her shoulders.She blinked, taking a second to get a fix on her surroundings, as her brain confirmed she was in her childhood bedroom.A glance at the clock on the bed stand showed it was nine in the morning.She stretched and yawned.
“Breakfast is ready, sleepyhead.”
“I’ll be out in just a minute,” Katie yelled back to Mary.
Swinging her legs over the bed, she noticed the clothes tossed on the floor.She stood up and quickly gathered her dress, chiding herself and thinking it wasn’t like her to be so untidy.Katie sat back down on the bed, fingers caressing the smudged and crumpled dress she wore to Laurie’s wedding.Then it all came back to her—last night with Chase.He’d dropped her off at home, and she used the key hidden under the flowerpot to let herself in the house, taking care not to wake her mother.She didn’t bother taking a shower.She was so tired, she took her clothes off and fell asleep in bed instantly.
Katie held her dress up, putting her face in the fabric.She could smell a faint trace of her perfume mixed in with his masculine scent.A tingle ran through her as memories of last night emerged.Chase, his firm hands cradling her head as their lips locked in a hungry kiss, his touch and caresses sending quivers through her body.She remembered the way he took her, insistent and sure, as if he had a right.But Katie sensed there was something else seething underneath his desire and need, and she wondered if it was anger or resentment, mixed with pain and grief… and tenderness.
“Hey, you coming?”Mary yelled, pounding on the closed bedroom door.
“You and Momma eat,” Katie replied.“I’m going to take a shower.”
Grabbing a clean towel, she got up and walked into the bathroom.She stared at the girl in the bathroom mirror.She almost didn’t recognize herself—the smudged makeup around her eyes, smeared lipstick, messy and tangled hair.Katie put her finger tenderly on her mouth, tracing her puffy lips, and mouthed a silent thanks that Mary didn’t barge in her room this morning.
Katie turned on the water, waited for it to warm up, and stepped into the shower.She shampooed her hair and squirted on extra conditioner.As she soaped and cleaned up, she wondered what Chase was thinking about last night and how much he had to drink at the wedding.What happened wasn’t planned.Sex with Chase had always been wonderful.But last night had been different.Maybe her memories had faded in the last ten years.Perhaps her memories of last night were blurred, or she couldn’t think clearly in the darkness under a faint moonlight.
She felt the heat on her cheeks as she washed, her body remembering where Chase had touched her last night, exploring places that hadn’t been touched for a long time by a man.She remembered the way he ran his hands through her hair, the pressure of his lips, the raw longing in his eyes, the urgency of his desire.Her body quivered as if in response.She sighed, washing away the traces of his masculine scent, thinking it couldn’t happen again.Last night was a mistake, right?The wedding and Kenny and Darlene—maybe it was all too much for Chase, knowing his brother would never be there to see Timmy grow up.Kenny and Darlene had missed his first birthday, his first steps, the first words out of his mouth, and the first day of school.And they would miss his first love, his graduation, his marriage, and everything in Timmy’s life.
But she knew it was more than that.She saw the deep yearning in Chase’s eyes, and for a moment, he’d opened his soul to her again, letting her catch a glimpse.Katie felt protected, loved, and invincible when he held her tight in his arms.She felt safe with him, the one person who would never push her away.When they became as one, it was the most exhilarating, euphoric feeling.
