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I know I’m falling hard, and fast, and I don’t even think to slow this down. Every bit of this is so perfect—fantastical, almost—that I’m ready to jump feetfirst into the deep end with him, knowing he’s not going to let me drown.
Later, when we’re cleaned up, have checked on the dogs, and are back in bed, Kellen pulls me into his side as he lies on his back. He strokes along my spine while I listen to his heartbeat, my head against his chest. Strange how fast my life has changed, and to such a great extent. A relationship wasn’t even on my radar. I never considered the contentedness that comes with lying in bed with a man, feeling secure.
And yet, somewhere in the universe, someone thought I was worthy of this.
“You said you have plans tomorrow.” Kellen’s voice breaks the peaceful silence, but it’s not what causes me to jolt slightly—it’s the statement itself.
I squeeze my eyes shut, resolving to keep him far away from my misdeeds. “Um… yeah. Girls’ night out.”
Not an absolute lie, but definitely misleading.
“Cool. Maybe I’ll see if Cage wants to grab a beer.” I let out a slow exhale of relief at his easy acceptance. Until he asks, “Want to come over to my place after? Or I can come here?”
“Oh,” I say, mind whirring as I stroke his chest, buying time to figure out an answer. “Yeah… I mean, if it’s not too late. But you know how it is when you go out with friends. If we roll in during the wee hours, I’m not going to disturb you.”
Kellen’s voice is soft and warm. “You could never disturb me, but I get what you’re saying. We’ll play it by ear.” I relax again, only for my heart to thud harder when he asks, “So, who are these girls who are going to have you out until the wee hours? We’ve talked about all my buds at Jameson, but I don’t know a thing about your friends.”
Fuck. It’s because I don’t have friends here. I have co-conspirators, other women on the same crusade as me to bring down Levi Hellman and his puppy mill. They’re not women I’d casually hang out with, not because I don’t like them, but because we’re all busy with careers and family and other obligations. We come together to plot, protest, picket the legislature, and other do-gooder activities.
“Let’s see…” I stroke from his chest down his abdomen. “Tomorrow night I’m going out with Marsha, Lia, and Jennifer. Just some girls I’ve met since moving here. We try to get together when our schedules allow.” My fingers play with the happy trail that starts below his belly button. “Marsha is a nurse at the hospital, Lia is a stay-at-home mom, and Jennifer does website SEO.” All of this is true, and I hope it satisfies his curiosity.
But in case it doesn’t, I let my fingers drift lower. They snake under the sheet, glide across his cock, and wrap around it. He’s warm and soft in my hand. His breath catches as I squeeze, and he lets out a hard huff that feathers over the top of my head as I stroke.
He starts to swell and lengthen, his hips pushing upward into my hand. “That’s distracting,” he mutters. His hand slides from my lower back to my ass, and he squeezes hard.
It was meant to be distracting. I can’t have Kellen asking questions about my evening plans for tomorrow because I don’t want to lie to him. Everything I’ve said so far is true, but if he asks me point-blank exactly what I’m doing, I’ll have to tell him the truth.
That me and my cohorts are making another attempt to rescue dogs from Levi’s property.
Kellen pushes me to my back, rolls my way, and crushes his mouth to mine. I sigh with both relief and excitement as his tongue invades my mouth and his hand goes between my legs.
I don’t like keeping anything from him, because I like him so much and I don’t want dishonesty to ruin what we have. I tell myself I’m not lying but rather omitting. I reason this is for the greater good because I won’t be deterred, and if he knows about our scheme, he’ll try to stop me. I also don’t want him getting in trouble in case I’m caught.
So it’s best if I continue to distract him and hope he doesn’t demand more information.
CHAPTER 12
Kellen
My jaw clenches as I sit in my parked car and watch Abby’s apartment. It’s almost midnight, and so far, her car hasn’t moved. I know she’s in there—I can see her moving around behind the gauzy curtains.
I chose a spot about twenty yards away, fortuitously finding a service road to an electrical transformer. I’m sitting back from the edge of the road so other cars won’t illuminate mine as they pass, and there’re no streetlights to expose my position. It’s completely dark, perfect for me to stalk my little troublemaker.
