Seal All Exits (Tangled Web #3) Page 9

  “Yeah. C’mon, Heather. They pay good money to keep the water warm. It’s going to waste if we don’t jump in.”

  “I don’t want to without a swimsuit.”

  He chuckled. “Not stopping me.”

  She shook her head again. He was really going to do it. “Anyone could come in here at anytime.”

  “Part of the fun of skinny dipping. But, hey, just get your feet wet if you don’t want to take the plunge.” Heather thought she could do that much and pulled off her shoes. Kiefer was down to his underwear by the time she looked up again. “I could leave these on if it makes you feel better.” He had a point. Instead of saying anything, she pulled her top over her head and began unfastening her jeans. “That’s the spirit.” Before she could even steal a peek, he threw his shorts to the ground and jumped in the pool.

  Damn…he had a nice ass. So cute.

  Heather had no problems with feeling the adrenaline rush that went with the danger of potentially being caught doing something, but she didn’t like the idea of someone finding her naked. They were two different things entirely, and if Kiefer knew the problems she’d had with body image her whole life, he’d understand that.

  But she hadn’t told him, so how would he know or even suspect what was rolling through her head?

  She decided to leave the underwear on, in case one of the many men in the house decided to go for a midnight swim (she’d die if Johnny ever caught her without clothes on), and then dipped a toe in.

  Ah…Kiefer was right. The water was incredibly warm. She didn’t know how her underwear would fare if she jumped in, so she found the metal railing beside the pool and climbed into the water one step at a time to make sure everything stayed put.

  Kiefer wasn’t exactly swimming laps, but he had swum the length of the pool and was heading back toward her. The pool room, frankly, still had the same creepy feel the hallways had, like Heather had entered a horror movie, but the only thing to keep her from freaking out and running back to her room was Kiefer. Heather wouldn’t have chosen to come here on her own this late at night, especially with the weird vibes in the house, but maybe if they’d turned the lights on, not only in the hall but here in this cavernous place, it would have felt normal. She had yet to figure out where the light switches were, but she supposed the pool had enough light. After all, she could see Kiefer. He just wasn’t well lit.

  As he got closer to her, she tried not to think about the fact that he was completely nude. Sure, yeah, she’d fucked him the night before, but they hadn’t stripped down to nothing. Now that he was touching the bottom of the pool and walking toward her on the shallow end, she could see that he had a little definition in his chest too. He wasn’t a body builder, but he looked firm and she wanted to touch him…

  Except now he seemed reluctant. What had that been about back in her room? He’d responded to her kiss but then asked to snuggle with her. It was strange.

  “Great idea, huh?”

  She couldn’t help but smile. Kiefer was wearing a boyish smile on his face, and he was at home in the water. He’d been swimming like a fish. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Aw, c’mon, Heather. It’s an awesome idea. The water’s warm and it’s not a hot night.” She shrugged and smiled, making an effort to relax. “And I get to see you looking hot.”

  She scoffed. “Hot. Yeah, right.”

  He got closer. “Really. Lacy black panties and bra? Nice.” He touched his nose to hers and she took in a breath, wondering why she couldn’t pull the air to the bottom of her lungs. But he didn’t kiss her. Instead, he pushed off the bottom of the pool and floated backward. “I like it.” Then he flipped over and swam to the deep end again.

  Heather walked farther in so that the water covered her shoulders, and then she eased her way toward the edge of the pool. She rested her arms up on the concrete so her legs floated out in front of her, swaying with the motion of the blue water, helping her sense a weightless feeling.

  She allowed herself to relax. It was fun being there with Kiefer, just the two of them, enjoying the water, the semi-darkness and near quiet, all except the lapping and splashing of water, but even the noise the water made seemed quiet in that vast, echoing space.

  Kiefer swam back towards her, all smiles. He’d talked about the beach once or twice in their online correspondence, but she’d had no idea what a swimmer he was. It explained his upper body physique. He got close to her again and then leaned against the wall of the pool too, right beside her. “Nice, huh?”

  She nodded, resting her head back against the concrete and closing her eyes. “Yeah.”

  “You want to swim a little?”

  “No. It’s more fun watching you do it.”

  He chuckled. “I haven’t been in the water in a while. It felt good swimming the length of the pool a little.”

  Her eyes were still closed when she said, “You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

  “I was.” His voice was closer now. It sounded lower and yet clearer, and it took her a second to realize that was because he had turned his head so his lips were near her ear. “But maybe you’re ready to get out of the pool now?”

  She opened her eyes then and turned her head. His face was so close to hers—close enough to kiss—and he looked ready too but something was holding him back. Or maybe it was her?

  Perhaps he was ready to take her up on her offer…and the pool was definitely not the place for that. She nodded, finally understanding his message, and let him lead the way. When they reached the ladder, though, he said, “Ladies first.”

  Heather grinned, thinking to herself she was the only female there, and she didn’t know how much of a lady she was. She placed her foot on the first step, climbing the ladder one rung at a time, amazed at how light her leg felt once it was out of the water and back on land.

  She followed up with her second leg and then turned around. Holy shit. She couldn’t believe the way Kiefer was looking at her. He’d been checking her out as she’d climbed out of the pool and she hadn’t even thought about it. Yeah…he was ready.

  So was she.

  But when his feet hit the concrete floor, he grabbed Heather’s hand. No kissing, no getting up close, just pulling her along to who knew where. They walked toward a door on the other side of the pool, a wooden one that looked bare except for the window in it, and when they got closer, Heather realized it was a sauna. Kiefer flipped a couple of switches and then pulled the door open for her. As she walked in, she said, “I had no idea they had a sauna.”

  “They’ve got a pool, so why not?”

  Heather looked around. It was bigger than she’d expected a sauna at a person’s home to be. There were two levels, all made of wood—cedar, she thought—and the wall that had the door in it also had the little stove with rocks. It wasn’t warm inside yet, but that was okay. She knew it would be, and by the time it warmed up, she would be ready. The air was cooler now that the night had fallen, and Heather was used to warmer temperatures. Kiefer asked, “Dry sauna okay?”

  Heather knew he was asking her if she wanted him to pour water over the rocks. She didn’t feel like getting sweaty, so she said, “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  He still didn’t come in yet, instead closing the door and leaving Heather inside. She looked around the sauna. It too was dark-ish, but the atmosphere inside the small space wasn’t as creepy as much of Johnny’s huge abode had been. She loved the splashes of light on the pale wood, but she particularly liked the trailing lights on the risers of the benches. Had the lights been colored rather than plain, it would have felt like Christmas.

  Kiefer came back in the room holding two white, fluffy towels. “One for you,” he said, handing it to her. She would have wanted one if they’d been getting ready to go back in the rest of the house, but she hadn’t given it any thought while they were still in the pool area. She smiled and unfolded the towel until it was only folded in half and then spread it on the wooden slats of the lower bench in front of her. She sat down on
the towel and then looked toward Kiefer.

  Holy fuck. He was still completely nude, and she hadn’t thought about it or even noticed it again until his junk was almost in her face.

  She was pretty sure her cheeks were turning pink, but she hoped it wouldn’t be evident in the low light. She flicked her eyes up to meet his, praying he hadn’t caught her looking just seconds earlier.

  He was smiling as he walked over and sat beside her on a towel he tossed on the bench. Heather was starting to warm up after her skin had been so cool from the time in the water. She wasn’t too hot, though—it was pleasant and enjoyable, and if she was feeling hot, it was because Kiefer was settling in next to her.

  But he’d already indicated he wanted to take it slow…if he wanted to go at all. It was beginning to seem like he wanted to keep their relationship rated PG, if that—maybe even G.

  Well, not G. His naked ass and cock made sure of that.

  But they weren’t anywhere near the upper limits of R or beyond…and, now that Heather had decided she wanted to play while she was at Katie’s, she was disappointed that he wasn’t taking her up on her offer.

  For now, though, she wanted to simply enjoy the moment. Kiefer had been acting playful since they’d entered the pool and the grin on his face told her he was still having fun, so she wanted to bask in the joy. She rested her head back against the upper bench and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the dry heat that was beginning to build in the room.

  She decided she’d try a steamy sauna some other time while she was still visiting Katie, but she didn’t want to be dripping with sweat while she and Kiefer were touching arms. Warm was good enough.

  “Nice, huh?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “I can make it nicer.”

  Heather wasn’t about to open her eyes and give away her wishful thinking. “Yeah, I bet you could.”

  She felt his index finger on the side of her arm. It lingered for a moment and then he trailed it down toward her elbow. She debated with herself whether she wanted to look over at him or keep her eyes sealed shut. When he began to drag his finger back up her arm, she couldn’t resist any longer and turned to him. “You are a tease, Kiefer Steele.”

  He grinned even though he looked dead serious. “I can see how it might seem like that to you, but I can assure you I’m not. I’d rather think of it as…hmm…foreplay.”

  She couldn’t help that her eyebrows jumped halfway up her forehead, but this man continued to take her by surprise. The sound in her voice was full of disbelief but her body was already starting to tingle at the possibility. “Really?”

  The gravelly quality his voice sometimes took on when he was singing was present and in full force when he replied, “Yeah.” By the time he’d finished expelling the breath to say that word, his lips were millimeters from hers and his eyes, normally a light green, were smoky with the desire that Heather knew had to be rushing like a torrent through his veins. She knew because she felt it too.

  She couldn’t hold herself back any longer. She wasn’t going to attack him like she had when he’d entered her room earlier that evening, but she had to do something.

  It wasn’t hard. He was so close, she could already feel him, already taste him before she tilted her head and brushed her lips against his.

  This time, though, he didn’t push her away. His lips and tongue responded. It was a slow, gentle, sweet kiss at first, but as they continued, it grew deep, reflecting the unexpressed desire she knew they both felt deep inside.

  And she might not have wanted to be caught naked in the pool, but she definitely wanted to have sex in the sauna. It was so tempting to not just grab his cock, but she restrained herself. Instead, she grazed her fingernails along his back, wrapped his hair in her fists, dragged her fingers down the length of his chest…and when her hand brushed against his hardness, she relished the way he tensed up at her touch. That was when she decided to move in for the kill and wrap a hand around his erection, but his lips had been moving down her neck and he had unfastened her bra. Now that his lips and tongue were lavishing attention on her breast, she had to pause so she could feel grounded again.

  She forced herself to focus finally and began trailing the backs of her fingers up his thigh, but when she turned them over and began to run a finger along the length of his cock, he said, “Uh-uh. Not yet.” His voice was low, husky…sexy, and it caused a violent shiver to tear up her spine. She was starting to feel not just warm but hot, and even the shiver didn’t stop the fever that was growing inside her.

  He looked up and his drying saliva caused her hard nipple to ache even more. She knew she must look like a desperate, crazed animal at this point, but it couldn’t be helped. He leaned close to her and her eyes fluttered, ready for her mouth to be devoured by his again, but he instead rubbed his thumb on her bottom lip. “So sweet.” He nudged his thumb inside her mouth between her teeth and she scraped them against his skin without biting down hard, causing him to grin. Then she flicked her tongue on his thumb and she saw the fire in his eyes flare again. He took out his thumb and she bit her lip, noticing her breathing was heavy and almost out of control.

  She felt his fingers move down her body again, but this time they closed around the sides of her panties. “Off they go,” he said, but she had to sit up and also grab them to pull them off. They were wet and clingy against her skin, unwilling to part with her.

  She should have felt cooler with all the clothes off, but between the heat coming from the sauna and her own internal flames, she was close to catching on fire. At this point, only Kiefer could cool her off, but she hoped he’d help her explode first.

  His tongue lapped at a nipple again, and she sucked in a deep breath while it pebbled up in response. She jammed her fingers in his hair, holding his skull tightly in between her palms as she felt an uneasiness between her legs, a desperation, a desire that she knew Kiefer could fulfill but an unhealthy need that she wasn’t sure he’d understand. Fortunately, she didn’t have to explain, because he seemed to know what she required.

  Her muscles grew more taut as he moved his lips to the center of her torso and began making a trail down. When he got lower, though, he slid his hands down her thighs, easing them apart, and then he kissed up one thigh from her knee up, stopping just as he reached the top. Heather let out a heavy sigh, and he looked up at her. “I know this sounds weird, but put your feet on the bench.”

  “Like this?” She was almost in a squatting position, except her ass was still seated.

  “Yeah, and this.” He wound his arms around her back and slid her farther down the bench until her heels almost fell off the edge. She felt a little awkward and off balance at first, but his tongue hit its target fast—a little dart on her clit—and she was no longer going to question his request. She grabbed onto his shoulders to give herself a sense of equilibrium and then, in essence, held on for the ride.

  Jesus. She was going from sixty to one hundred in seconds. Holy shit. His tongue felt soft against that little nub of flesh but it was driving her mad. She didn’t know that she’d ever been taken from hot and bothered to teetering on the edge quite so quickly before. Her breath was coming in gasps as her body tried to adjust and prepare for the impending release.

  She could feel liquid dripping down her crack, being absorbed by the towel, and if she hadn’t been so desperate and needy, she might have laughed as the thought that Kiefer was salivating all over her ran through her head. And then—again, had she not been so on edge—she would have gasped in horror as she realized it wasn’t Kiefer’s saliva that she felt.

  It was her own juices that she felt.

  Yeah, she knew she got wet. She’d felt it and also knew how it added to the feel of sex. The wetter she was, the more a guy could glide in and out. But this? This was ridiculous, the amount of moisture her body was creating…and there was no stopping it.

  “Oh, God!” She couldn’t help the spontaneous flow of words from her mouth, and she felt a snort
of breath from him. She looked down at him—he really wasn’t far away at all because of the weird angle she was sitting at—and saw a big grin on his face. His eyes met hers and then they changed—dark, desirous, and if he was trying to communicate with her, he was saying one thing and one thing only: this is what I want to do, and every little thing you do in response makes it amazing for me. She wanted to say something to him then but she was breathless, and she was barely able to suck more air into her lungs before he hit her with another stroke that forced her to close her eyes and make her knuckles white as one gripped the bench and the other fisted his hair, hanging on for the ride.

  She knew she continued making little noises, but she couldn’t help it, and she wasn’t going to fight it. Add to that the things she would normally be processing in her head at a time like this were gone, and she knew she had Kiefer to thank for that. He’d brought her to the brink so quickly, she could barely register anything aside from the sensation he was creating between her legs, that feeling that all she was, all she knew was collected right there, and that after the culmination of what was to be, she could die. Right now, it was that climax that she was living for, breathing for…

  That feeling of imminence exploded just then, into a million pieces of ecstasy in her head.

  Yeah, that feeling. It was the one, the only goddamned thing in her life that no one could take from her.

  The moment she could let go of

  everything.

  Chapter Ten

  WOW. KIEFER HADN’T expected his little walk with Heather to culminate in cunnilingus, but fate had offered him the perfect opportunity, and he wasn’t the kind of guy to back down from a gift like that.

  Even better was that she’d responded like her body had been made for him. He’d barely fucking touched her and she’d given herself completely over and then simply collapsed under the pressure of his tongue.