Page 32 of Mountain Trial

Luc wanted―no, he needed, to be honest with Kat. About the difficulties, about the things he wouldn’t be able to do. Not now, and not ever.

He needed to give her a chance to walk away, if that’s what she wanted to do.

But he also desperately wanted her to choose to stay. Not because he wanted to have sex with her―which he did, more than he remembered wanting sex before, and he remembered being a horny teenager―but because he wanted to get to know her better. He wanted to wake up in the morning and see her read hair tangled around his pillow. To learn if she was an early riser or the kind of person who hit the snooze button six times before getting up.

Luc wanted to know everything there was to know about Kat. But first, he needed to share certain things―and let her make her own decision.

So he told her exactly what he needed to do to prepare for sex. He didn’t go into gruesome detail, but spared her none of the strangeness of his situation. She needed to know that, even if he already had an erection, it would take him a while to prepare ahead of time to maximize the chances of success, and that even then it might not work. He didn’t embarrass her by telling her he could still take care of her needs in a different way, if that happened, though that was, of course, true as well.

He explained that he could come but not ejaculate―which was why he wouldn’t be able to father any children. He told her he was clean, that he hadn’t been with anyone in a long time and got monthly check-ups at the hospital. She nodded, and he realized that was a reality for her as well, in her line of work.

Through it all, Kat listened quietly, her expression was intent and serious, but he’d already known she would listen to him. What he desperately needed to know was what she was thinking. If she stayed, he needed to be sure it wasn’t out of kindness or―he shuddered―politeness.

When he was finally done, Luc paused, looking right into her eyes.

“If you want to go, I’ll call―”

“Stop trying to push me away, Luc,” she said, reclining back against the couch. “So, go.”

“Go?”

She nodded, pointing him towards the bedroom door.

“Go get ready.”

“Right now?” he asked.

She nodded, standing up. “I might just make myself more comfortable while I wait.” She rolled up her sweater and undershirt, exposing her hipbone, then her taut belly. An instant later, her bra became visible.

Luc sucked in a breath. He’d been expecting her to wear a cotton garment for some reason―probably because she said she’d come straight from work. Instead, her bra was black, sheer and lacy. He could just about make up her pink nipples behind the lace. As he watched, her nipples puckered.

He reached out, unable to help himself, but she shimmied out of his way. “Get ready first,” she said. “Then we’ll play.”

Not wanting to disagree with her, he rolled himself quickly towards the bathroom.

Chapter 14

Kat

Walking into his bedroom, Kat peeled her tight jeans off and sat on the edge of the bed in her matching bra and panties. She wanted there to be as little as possible between them when Luc came back.

She looked down at herself, glad she was wearing sexy undergarments for once. She spent way too much time in a sports bra and boy shorts.

She breathed in and out, trying to calm her nerves. Luc had shared a lot of information in the last few minutes, and she hadn’t said much in return. She should have told him sex wasn’t just about penetration―that she wasn’t worried he wouldn’t be able to perform.

But she was conflicted―about other things―and she’d be lying if she didn’t admit to it. Being with him felt different. She felt different when they were together―in a good way. And the thought of doing anything that could change that, filled her with dread.

Fear cooled her desire, and she suddenly wished she hadn’t been so quick to take off her clothes. She touched the crisp, white duvet cover.

Maybe I should wait for him in bed.

Before she could make up her mind, the bathroom door opened.

She sucked in a breath. Luc had taken off his top, and was naked from the waist up. His chest and shoulders were a work of art―the muscles tight, firm and defined. He’d also lost his jeans, replacing them with a pair of soft, worn black tracksuit bottoms.

She could see the line around his hips where the paralysis began, as his muscles were significantly less defined there. But it was the hard-on tenting his trousers that had her undivided attention.

“So, how do we do this?” she asked.