Man Of Few Words Read Online Free Page A

beach. First time for both of us.” Her laugh erupted as a huff. “That came out wrong. You know what I mean. That was obviously not our first time at sex.”
    “Just on the beach, with sand, and the tide coming in over our feet.” Duff had drawn out the telling of the story to her on their next date, while all the time being amazed that she hadn’t remembered any of it. “I thought the cops were going to find with how loud you were.” Of how she’d run into the water and then run out, jumping into his arms and locking her legs around his waist. She pressed her lips against his and demanded sex. “You had no shame that night.”
    “That’s what happens when a girl has too much rum.” Part of her wished she had real memories of that night. Because she’d still lived at home when they’d dated, their sexual escapades usually happened in a car or in a borrowed bedroom during a party. Quickies. Good ones, but still nothing long and elaborate.
    “What about tonight? This isn’t due to rum.”
    “No.” She weighed the pros and cons of telling him her reasons for going home with him while she stared at the beach houses as they drove down the two lane road. Even under the orange light of the streetlamps, the bright purples and corals of the condos and rentals stood out. On the list of reasons to have sex with him was that she’d be guaranteed a night she’d remember. They could take as long as they wanted. She was tempted to put that in her rules—long-slow fucking, changing positions at least three times.
    Then, she had the long list of cons. Although she told herself she wouldn’t have any guilt about leaving him, she wasn’t a jerk and would have a difficult time taking on that role even for a short time. Revenge sex had consequences, mainly regret, and she didn’t do well with that.
    She wouldn’t tell him the biggest reason to fuck him silly tonight before leaving—closure. She doubted this would give her any, but perhaps she’d gain some strength and a will to make a real search for a man who wanted to stay in one place.
    Duff eyed her from the driver’s seat, wondering why she wouldn’t elaborate, and what that could mean. Kirsten stared out the window, disinterested in him. Alarms went off, but he ignored them. The only danger to him were the crazy flight patterns his thoughts were taking. He shouldn’t care why she wanted to go home with him. He should be happy that she’d said yes after such a chilly hello. She’d granted him a chance to win her affection again.
    From the first moment that he recognized her standing at the edge of the bar, he marked this occasion as special. No lieutenant colonel of a father intent on controlling his daughter’s future stood in his way, not after all this time. The night had to be wonderful for her. Every touch should send her into rapture so that she’d return for more. Then he’d worm his way into her heart and finish what he started when he was younger, getting her to be a permanent part of his life.
    When he let her into the one bedroom apartment that overlooked the Gulf of Mexico, he wished he had collected cool furniture over the years instead of giving most of it away before moving here. The table with two chairs and generic couch labeled him as a loner and possibly a loser. He waited for her to comment on his state of living.
    Instead, she slunk over to him and draped her arms around his neck. The heels she wore brought her almost to eye level. Zings of pleasure traveled down his spine as her fingers traced up and down his nape. Her eyes challenged him and, for a moment, her directness reminded him of a drill instructor. Except he’d never smelled a DI that reminded him of sunshine and sand, and he bent his head to inhale more of her. In that instant, he wanted nothing more than to forget any of the long years had passed. He needed to be twenty-four again, laughing at his good fortune of finding a girl with class when she had her clothes on but who