One More Time - Ali Parker Page 0,53

tone ‘em down, ever.”

Kelly saluted me, her cheeks still flushed. “Gotcha.”

“Good,” I said, positioning my seat so I could sling an arm loosely around the back of her stool. “You working already?”

Shaking her head, her teeth sank into her bottom lip and guilt flashed in her eyes. “Nope.”

“What’re you doing then?” My eyes narrowed slightly as I tried to peek at the screen, but as soon as I’d started pulling my stool up, she’d faced it down so it was halfway closed. “If you’re watching porn, you shouldn’t be embarrassed. I’m up to try just about anything.” I was ninety-nine point nine percent sure that wasn’t what she was doing, but just in case. “You know, just not anything with—”

Kelly slapped her hand over my mouth and rolled her eyes, not able to completely suppress her grin. But then her eyes grew serious again, and the same look of guilt flashed in them. “I’m not watching porn. I was looking someone up, actually.”

“Okay, who?” I asked, but the beginning of my sentence was muffed by her hand. I licked the inside of her palm, making her drop it with a shake of her head. “Who are you looking up?”

Kelly fidgeted with the thin silver ring again, looking anywhere but at me as she sighed and finally opened the laptop screen fully again. “I think the problem is that you need closure.”

“What?” Confusion furrowed my brow, and my mind raced. Surely, she couldn’t mean—

“With Elizabeth,” she clarified. My stomach dropped as my suspicions were confirmed. “Now that I know about her and about your past with her, I can easily track her down if you wanted to meet with her. In fact, I already have her phone number.”

Ice started spreading from my extremities, and dread rolled into me. “Why would I call her?”

The last thing I wanted to do was to speak to that woman. I wasn’t still in love with her, contrary to what Jared might have believed. It was the scars she left, more than the memory of the woman herself, that still put me on edge. “I’m really not sure that’s a good idea.”

Kelly regarded me for a long moment, then reached out to squeeze my hand. “Think about it. You have all these lingering, negative feelings about relationships. All because of what she did, right? It might be a good idea to contact her, or it might not, but isn’t it worse not knowing?”

“Not knowing what?” I didn’t want to call Elizabeth. I didn’t want to think about her or know that I had her number in my phone. She was ancient history. The only thing I wanted to remember about her were the lessons she’d taught me.

“Not knowing why she did what she did. I think the only way you’re ever going to be free of her is if you confront her one final time.” Kelly held my eyes with hers as she spoke. Her voice was impassioned, determined. She really believed this was what was necessary.

I still thought it was a shitty idea, but if Kelly believed it was the only way for me to be free of Liz once and for all, then so be it. “Fine, I’ll think about it.”

Her answering smile was so sweet and serene that I bent my head forward and took her mouth in a deep kiss, hooking my arms around her. I hoisted her into my lap, and she wrapped her legs around me. Our kiss didn’t break until we were both panting.

“Thanks for agreeing,” Kelly murmured against my lips.

I grinned and tugged her hair back gently so she was looking into my eyes, our lips still almost touching. “If it’s what you want…”

“And what is it you want?” she asked, her voice husky and breathy as she ground against me. My dick was already excited by her kisses, but pleasure shot through me when I felt the hot wetness of her through her slick panties.

Between the thin pajama pants I’d pulled on before coming to look for her and her tiny lace underwear, we may as well both have been naked for the barrier our clothes provided. But it was still too much.

I stood up, cradling her against me as I pressed a kiss to her mouth. “Oh, I’ll show you what I want, and I think you’re going to want it too.”

For the next couple of hours, there was just me and Kelly. She was as insatiable as I was, and I had no idea how