Touch Me (One Night with Sole Regret #4)(20)

        

"I told you I was up to try anything. Do you have any other kinky fantasies you've never been able to play out?"

She chuckled. "Doesn't everyone?"

"You'll have to tell me about them."

Caitlyn released the ropes binding Owen one at a time. She wanted to get some answers from him and figured the best way to get them was to ask while he couldn't get away. She just had this feeling about him, as if he actually wanted to talk to her-to get to know her better-but something was preventing him from trusting her. She could blame inexperience on her desire to get to know him better, but what was his excuse? He did this kind of thing all the time. Sex didn't mean anything to him, did it?

"So," she asked as the second knot came free, "how long have you known Kelly?"

"He doesn't like to be called Kelly," Owen said.

"You call him that."

"And he complains about it constantly."

"Okay," she said, "how long have you known Kellen?"

"We aren't supposed to be getting personal. Remember?"

"If you won't talk to me, I guess I'll just come to my own conclusions about the two of you then," she said, working at a third knot, but taking her sweet time about loosening it.

Owen stiffened. "What kind of conclusions?"

"That you're in love with him and the only reason you go after women is to cover up your feelings for a man."

"That's one possible explanation," Owen said, surprising her yet again by not saying what she expected.

"Is it the correct one?" She didn't want it to be. She had no problem sleeping with Owen unless he was in love with someone already. If that was the case, then she felt in her heart that she was the other woman. Or maybe the only woman in this particular case.

"No," Owen said with such conviction that she believed him. "I'm not in love with him."

"In lust with him?"

"I'm not sure."

"Have you been in lust with a man before?"

"Never. And I'm not sure I'm in lust with Kelly either. I'm not sure about anything at the moment." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Except that I'd really like to be untied now."

"I'm working on it." She released the knot she'd been fiddling with unnecessarily and moved on to another one. "Does he have feelings for you?"

"He doesn't have feelings for anyone anymore."

"And why's that?" She met his eyes, and he didn't look away. Were they starting to connect on a more personal level? She wouldn't mind. This sex for the sake of sex thing was new to her, and she wasn't sure if she could forget this guy that easily. Wasn't sure she wanted to forget him. So far, he was pretty terrific. 

"He was in love with a woman. Planned to marry her."

"Was?"

"She died."

Empathy made Caitlyn's heart pang. She'd lost her sister a few years before, she still felt as if a gaping hole was eating its way through her heart whenever she thought about Morgan. The sad thing was, she thought about Morgan less and less as time went by. She couldn't seem to stop her from slipping farther away. "He's still grieving?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'll always grieve for her."

"Probably. But it will lessen with time." And then he'd probably feel guilty for moving on. Caitlyn did.

"It's already been five years."

"That's not so long, really."

"It is when you're twenty-seven."

Caitlyn paused. "Is that how old you are?"

"Maybe. Does it bother you?"

She chuckled and moved to the next knot in Kellen's intricate and beautiful design. "You're quite a bit older than my ex-husband's new fling," she said. "But then she can't legally drink in this country."

"Age doesn't matter."

"You don't think so? I think society would disagree."

"Fuck 'em. No one understands what's between two people except the two involved. Outsiders, they don't get it."

"I guess I am an outsider in my ex-husband's relationship. But I don't agree with it and yes, partly because of their age difference. I'm sure he took advantage of her innocence."

"I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about us."

"Oh, did I take advantage of your innocence?" Caitlyn paused and flexed her fingers. They were starting to ache from working the knots free. "And I didn't think there was an us."

"If there was."

"If." Caitlyn traced the outline of the tribal tattoo on Owen's shoulder. "If is a very big word, Owen."

"Are you almost finished?" he asked. "My muscles are starting to cramp."

"I'll hurry." She began to work faster, releasing knots in the reverse order that Kellen had tied them.