Page 11 of Saving Texas

“That’s all I can give you.”

“I accepted that seventeen years ago because that was where we both were at the time, but we have a second chance now. A second chance to see what could have been if we hadn’t had to be separated all those years.”

I shook my head. “I can’t do a relationship right now. I’m sorry.”

He gave me another one of those long, unnerving stares, but didn’t respond.

“Do they teach you that at the Police Academy?” I asked.

“What?”

“That technique where you stare at someone so long they break down and tell you all their secrets.”

“Is it working?”

I gave him a saucy smile. “It’ll take a lot more than a sexy stare to get me to give up my secrets, buster. Now are you in, or not?”

I held my breath as he considered my offer.

“Okay, I’m in.”

Allen

It probably wasn’t good for me to start my relationship with Clara by lying. I already knew that there was no way we could blow off steam as she’d so bluntly put it, and then go our separate ways. Been there, done that, still had the battered heart from the experience. But I knew instinctively that this was my only shot with Clara and if I wanted to try to get more time with her, I’d need to play by her rules for now.

There was something brittle about the way she suggested a one-and-done, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. She’d made the same suggestion all those years ago, but there had been heat and affection there, an underlying regret that we only had one night. This felt more...transactional.

“OK, I’m in.”

Clara’s eyes widened slightly but otherwise her expression didn’t change.

“Let’s go.”

“Eager little thing, aren’t you?” I teased as she jumped up from her seat, abandoning the last few bites of her food.

She didn’t respond, just headed for the door with me hot on her heels. We rode back to her place in total silence, each lost in our thoughts. I glanced over at her a couple of times, noticing that she had that same focused look on her face she got when she was giving someone CPR – like this was a life or death situation.

We got out of the car, and she walked briskly to the front door. As soon as we crossed the threshold, she grabbed my hand and started tugging me in the direction of the staircase leading to the second level.

We climbed the stairs and headed for the main bedroom at the end of the hall. I looked around, noticing that the room only held a night table, dresser, and a neatly made bed. There was nothing personal in the space, no pictures, nothing on the surfaces other than an iPad connected to a charger and a metal water bottle with a Doctors in Disasters logo on it. It was like she didn’t plan on staying.

By the time I turned back, Clara had her shirt off and was unhooking her bra.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked, gesturing impatiently. “Get naked.”

She didn’t need to ask me twice. I unbuttoned my shirt and tossed it on the floor, my undershirt following. I came to a stop as I looked up and saw that Clara was completely naked now. My eyes raked up her body, categorizing the differences from so long ago. Dainty ankles, muscled calves, strong thighs, rounded hips, a narrowed waist, and those breasts. I licked my lips as I noted that they were fuller than they used to be.

“Yeah yeah, I’ve gone up a cup size since you last saw me,” she said with a good natured chuckle. “Can you focus, please?”

I closed the distance between us in two steps, my lips crashing against hers while she worked to undo my pants, shoving them down to my hips. My tongue explored her mouth as she reached into my boxers and wrapped her hand around my cock, extricating it from my underwear and giving it a few hard strokes.

I walked her backwards until we reached the bed. When her knees hit the mattress behind her, Clara broke the kiss, scooting backwards and settling on the center of the bed.

“Hold up. Do you have a condom?” she asked.

***

“Was that the last condom?”