Free Liaison by Natasha Knight Page B

to the side.
    She couldn’t tell if he was teasing, but he was definitely making her nervous. " No , that’s not what I meant, " she stumbled over her words .
    He dropped it. " You're here alone, yes?"
    " I…yes , " she ans wered .
    " Pardon my directness , Gabrielle , " the way he said her name, it was like he was rolling it on his tongue, playing with the sound of it . " But when I saw you earlier, the re was something about you that moved me . "
    "I'm sorry… ? " she asked.
    " Y ou s eemed so …sad."
    Tears rimmed her eyes. She was going to cry. Right here, right now. And why? Because someone actually had the guts to tell her the truth: that she looked sad.
    " It touched me , " he said, taking her hand. " I don’t want to mak e you uncomfortable, I want to help… "
    " You can’t help, " she blurted out, trying to free her hand .
    But he held it tight, his gaze never leaving hers.
    A family of three noisy children and their parents climbed down the stairs leading to the pool breaking the tension between them. They both turned momentarily to look.
    " Let me go , " she whispered when they faced each other again. T he first of her tears mark ed its trail down her cheek. " Please, let me go. I need to be alone. "
    He reached and traced the tear's progress with his free hand . " I’m sorry, " he said, releasing her hand. " I meant no harm. "
    She stood , and , not taking the time to gather her things , walked quickly back to her room.
    Once inside , she ran the shower, stripped off her suit and stepped inside. Water would swallow her pain, it always did. The bathroom steamed as she stood under the stream, hot and rough, just what she needed as she let her self go and wept .
    She wasn’t sure how long she remained there but when the sobs subsided and eventually died out, she turned the water off and climbed out of the shower. Wrapping herself in a thick white towel, she dried off and walked to the bed , laying quietly down. She was exhausted.
    ***
    Hunger woke her before she heard the knock . She sat up, confused fo r a moment as to where she was before registering that someone was at her door. She stood, wrapping t he towel around herself, combing her fingers through her hair.
    The knock came again . S he made her way to the door and opened it. I t must have been early evening; the shadows of the sun were fading. Julian stood on her step dressed in a gray button down shirt and black dress slacks. The shirt was open at the top and tanned, muscled skin peeked out from beneath. He held her towel and book in his hands and when he moved to step inside, she instinctively opened the door farther and let him in.
    " You left your things earlier, " he said, setting them down on the table by the door.
    " Thanks for bringing them, " she said, suddenly conscious of how she must look, her eyes puffy from crying, her hair a matted mess around her head. She reached her hand up and once again tried to work through the tangles.
    He closed the door behind him before stepping closer.
    She didn ’t back away. And when his arms enveloped her and his hands pressed against her back , pulling her closer, she didn’t struggle. He closed his mouth over hers even as their eyes remain ed open.
    It wasn’t a gentle, exploratory kiss. It was a claiming of her mouth and it sen t a jolt straight to her sex . She moaned as he deepened the kiss, pulling her closer, one hand at the back of her head as he devoured her. Her hands went to his shoulders before wrapping around his neck and head, needing him nearer. She didn’t notice when the towel pooled around her feet and she stood naked , wrapped only in his arms .
    H e moved to kiss her jaw, her neck, her shoulders. He trailed little bites that hurt just enough as he led her backwards to the bed. Only when she felt her bottom on the sheets did she think to stop what was going on.
    " Julian , " she whispered, her voice thick.
    He knelt between her legs and had one small, round breast in his mouth. He