The Long Road
Chapter 8
"Hey," she said, nerves making her voice rough. When he only watched her silently she asked, "Can I come in?"
"Why?" he replied, his eyes never leaving her face.
"Because I need to talk to you." When he made no move to let her in, she threw up her hands and said, "Because I was wrong and I need to make it right. Is that what it'll take to get you to let me in?"
He stepped back and motioned her inside. Closing the door behind her, he asked, "Can I get you anything? Beer? Coffee? No strings sex?"
Whirling on him, her eyes wide with surprise, Catherine said, "Just what is that supposed to mean?"
Calmly, Warrick headed for the kitchen and pulled a beer from the refrigerator and opened it. He held it out for Catherine and when she took it he pulled out another for himself. "What did it sound like?"
Setting the bottle on the counter and sucking in a breath, she snarled, "Like you're trying to piss me off." When he opened his mouth to speak she threw up a hand, "Don't. I came here to say I was sorry for what happened. But if you're going to treat me like some…some, hell I don't even know a word for it." She stuck out her finger, poking his chest, "You have no right to say that to me."
"Don't I?" Warrick's green eyes glittered with anger. He smacked his beer down beside hers and said, "That's how you treated me." Fists planted on his hips, he rocked back on his heels and waited for her to deny it.
Shaking her head, Catherine sputtered out, "Whatever. If you want to believe that I can't stop you." Eyes blazing, she shot out, "Should have known it was too good to be true."
"Know what, Cath? That's bullshit!" Warrick stepped closer, invading her space. "I was willing to try."
"You weren't willing to try before, were you?" At his puzzled expression, she said, "I thought you were interested until you got married."
Warrick flinched at the disdain in her voice. "You have to bring that up? That whole thing was NOT about you!"
"Obviously," she shouted. "That was about you not thinking clearly."
"Is that what you're pissed about? Because I fucked up over three years ago?" Warrick's voice shook with anger. "I won't apologize for that. I won't let you make me feel any worse than I do."
"You didn't just fuck up! You hurt me!"
"Then we're even!" he shot back. Warrick's face was inches from hers, her chest brushing against him as the air heaved in and out of their lungs, the stunned silence broken only by the sound of their breathing. And then he kissed her.
No sweet, lingering touch of lips. This was an all out assault. Anger and years of frustration came pouring out in a bruising battle for dominance. His hands gripped her shoulders, fingers digging in painfully, dragging her up until she stood on her toes. Her hands sought purchase at his trim waist, finally using fistfuls of his shirt to keep her balance. Teeth clashed and tongues warred as guttural moans eliminated the silence of moments before.
Tearing his mouth from hers, eyes dark with passion, Warrick demanded, "Is this what you wanted? Is this it?"
"No…yes…please." Catherine gasped for air as she looked up at him, shock and desire running through her veins. Her lips were swollen and her cheeks flushed, "I want…" Whatever she had been about to say was cut off as he claimed her mouth once again.
This time his kiss was sweeter, if not softer. Hot and moist and filled with want. Catherine's lifted her arms quickly, hooking her hands over his shoulders. Warrick's arms slid around her back to engulf her and drag her hard against him. Her breasts were flattened against his chest, her hard nipples burning him through the layers of cloth. His erection nestled against her taut stomach and she ground wantonly against him, feeding the desire coiled between her thighs.
His lips slid to her cheek and along her jaw before sliding down her neck, leaving a trail of flames in their wake. Catherine tilted her head to give him more room. When his teeth nipped at the sweet skin below her ear the air hissed between her teeth. She released it on a soft moan.
"I want you," she whispered against his temple. Placing a soft kiss on his skin, she continued, "I need to touch you. Please."
Stepping back, he took her hand and led her toward the bedroom. No words were spoken and none were needed. He reached down and grasped the hem of his shirt, lifting it over his head and tossing it behind him. His skin burned, when she lifted her hands to run them across his chest. Her cool fingers drifted over him pausing to touch a nipple, skimming down his hard, flat abdomen to tease at his belly button. Fingers splayed, she ran her hands up and out, across his shoulders marveling at the breadth of him.
He pulled away, his hands coming up to cradle her face, "Are you sure? Because I can't be used by you."
"Can we sit down for a minute?" Catherine waved at the bed behind her. When he released her she walked over and sat down. He sat down beside her, thighs touching and shoulders brushing. She took a deep breath and began to explain, "I wouldn't use you. I never meant for things to go the way they did. It was a very bad scene with Lindsay. The things she said made me feel so…cheap." Tears glistened in her eyes and her hands trembled.
Turning to face her, Warrick placed a hand on her cheek. "You are not cheap. Don't ever think that." His voice was husky and the light in his eyes said what his lips could not.
Slowly, she raised her eyes to his and leaned into his soft touch. "Thank you. But that hasn't always been true, you know?"
"Cath, I know where you've been. And it doesn't change a thing." When his words caused a tear to spill over and trickle slowly down her cheek he wiped it away. "Don't cry. I don't want to see you cry."
She turned her head and placed a kiss on his palm, her tongue darting out to tease the sensitive spot. She smiled at his gasp. "Thank you," she said. "I've worked so hard to put that behind me. But it doesn't change my memories of that time in my life."
"I didn't know you then but I know you now. You should be proud of who you are, not ashamed of who you were." Warrick continued to run his thumb over her cheekbone, a smile tugging at his lips. "I wasn't completely honest with you earlier."
Jerking back, Catherine demanded, "What? You lied to me?"
Reaching out and grasping her hands, he said, "No. I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you everything. I said that my getting married had nothing to do with you. What I didn't say is that I compared her to you in every way. And she came up lacking." Seeing confusion and pain in her eyes, he added hurriedly, "You're not responsible for my divorce. Don't think that. But I wouldn't have just let you walk out the door. I would have fought for you."
Her voice tremulous, Catherine asked, "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that…" Warrick cleared his throat, "…that I love you."
"Wow," she breathed. "I, um, I didn't expect that."
"Why not?"
Shaking her head, she said, "I don't know really. I just…" she trailed off with a shrug.
"I didn't tell you to make you uncomfortable. I just want you to understand how much I have invested in this."
"I'm going to tell you something and if you repeat it I'll deny it with my dying breath." Pinning him with her gaze, she continued, "I'm scared." Warrick chuckled and she bumped his shoulder with hers. "You've helped me make it through a lot of long, lonely nights. If we screw this up I won't even have that left."
A slow grin crept across his mouth. "Then we'll just have to work on not screwing it up," he said as he pressed her back on the mattress.
Warrick covered her body with his. He was thin but he was solid and hard – everywhere. She welcomed his weight and his kiss as he settled his mouth over hers in a leisurely exploration. As one impossibly long leg nestled between her thighs, he felt more than heard her soft sigh. The hand that had been stroking slowly from her shoulder to her hip began to work at the buttons of her shirt. When he had the garment unbuttoned, he pulled back and brushed it open, unconsciously licking his lips at the first sight of her porcelain skin.
"You're so beautiful," he breathed. Leaning forward he placed a soft kiss on the swell of each breast. "Let's get you out of these clothes."
Levering himself up, he grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. Impatiently he pushed the blouse from her shoulders and watched as it dropped to the floor. He moved to the button on her pants and soon pushed those over her hips, holding her arm to steady her as she stepped out of them. He caught a glimpse of the girl she used to be as she raised her head and met his hot gaze, tossing her hair back proudly. Her breasts spilled from a red lace bra whose deep plunge created cleavage a man could get lost in. A matching scrap of lace covered her most private place.
"I wanted to go slow," Warrick groaned out as his eyes lit tiny fires all over her body. He could feel his heartbeat between his legs and thought for a moment he could come from looking at her.
"We can go slow next time," she purred.
He pushed his pants down, allowing his hard cock to spring free. In response, Catherine reached behind her and unhooked her bra. She shrugged out of it and dropped it on top of the clothes that were strewn around them. He reached out and tugged her mouth to his, thrusting his tongue in and out in a sexy rhythm. The soft suede of his erection brushed her belly and he cupped her breasts, pinching and flicking at her nipples until she was whimpering against his lips.
When she brought her hands up to wrap around his hardness he jerked his mouth from hers. "Oh shit! I don't have a condom."
With a tiny smiled and a nod toward the kitchen, Catherine responded, "In my purse." He placed a soft kiss on her lips, turned and left the room. "Do you know how great your ass is?" she asked as he walked away, earning an embarrassed chuckle from Warrick.
When he returned a moment later, her purse in his hand, his cock bobbing in front of him, she had stripped off her panties and was lying on her side, propped on one elbow. She patted the mattress beside her and he crawled into bed. She fumbled in her bag before giving a shout of triumph and holding aloft the condom she found.
The next sound was that of her purse hitting the floor. And then she was opening her arms and thighs and pulling him down on her. He was everywhere. His lips and hands were kissing, sucking and touching until she was writhing in desperate need. She talked to him; pleading with him for her release. Telling him all the things she wanted to do to him. Words he had never heard her use. Words he knew he wanted to hear again. He paused to roll the condom down over his penis and she ran her own hands over her body, keeping her desire at a fever pitch.
When she would have pulled him into her, he held back, kneeling between her splayed legs, spreading her lips and dragging a finger up her slit before bending to catch a nipple in his mouth and pushing his fingers into her. She arched hard, pushing her breasts up and bearing down with her ass, grinding against his hand. Her hands were fisted in the sheets and she was rolling her hips, setting the pace for him as his thumb found her clit. She rode his hand, bucking against him until the first wave of her orgasm hit. As he felt her muscles clench around his fingers he pulled them out and plunged his aching cock into her heat. Her walls clutched at him, dragging him deeper.
She cried out, her eyes flying open. "Did I hurt you?" he asked, alarm evident in his voice.
"No. Don't stop…" she mumbled as her legs wrapped around his waist, her feet locking over his hips.
He wrapped his arms under her shoulders and pounded into her; his hips levering back and forth, grunting with the force of his strokes. There was no finesse, no technique. It was raw and primal and the hottest sex of his life.
"Close. So close," he panted in her ear.
Hearing his words, Catherine wedged a slim hand between their bodies and found her clit. She was clinging to the headboard with one hand while the other danced quickly over her engorged nub. And then she was over the edge, dragging him along with her.
The shrill sound of a cell phone awakened the two people who were entwined on the bed. Catherine lifted her head, looking around for the source of the noise. Finding the contents of her purse spilled out beside the bed, she leaned over and picked up the phone.
"Willows," she mumbled in a sleep roughened voice.
"Mom, where are you?"
At the sound of Lindsay's voice, she jerked upright. "Linds, oh, I…uh…I fell asleep. I'm on my way right now."
"Don't bother. Sara brought me home." Lindsay paused before asking, "Are you coming home?"
"Of course I'm coming home," Catherine assured. "I'll be there in half an hour."
"Okay. Are you bringing dinner?"
"No. How about we go get something when I get there?"
"Sure," Lindsay said. "Oh, and mom, why don't you ask Warrick if he wants to come with us?"
Before Catherine could form a reply Lindsay hung up.
