CHAPTER 45

Tristan slowly opened her eyes to find herself staring at Kevin's long lashes. They lay face to face, not six inches apart, sharing a pillow. Its mate had been under her hips a few hours earlier during their second coupling. It had supported the side of her face during the first. One end of the satin sash was still tied to the headboard, its tail now draped across the edge of the mattress. Tristan closed her eyes, recalling the dynamics and emotional intensity that had permeated the early morning hours. She had not expected events to unfold the way that they had. Kevin's initial demands and actions had made her feel defenseless and apprehensive. That had been his intent - to appreciate the cure, you first have to feel the pain. The first time he entered her had seemed strictly release driven - copulation, pure and simple. the pain When he took her again later, she realized that this was not so. Although she had remained bound, his lovemaking had been slow and sensual this time and filled with gentle murmurs and caresses. the cure When the afterglow of orgasm had subsided, he had untied her and kissed away the single tear that trailed down her cheek. Then, as they lay side by side, Kevin had pulled her close and drawn her fingers to his cheek as his eyes closed.

Another line had been crossed. Their dramatic intimacies had allowed Kevin to feel the trust he desperately needed from her while reassuring Tristan of his unrelenting passion and protection.

***************

They were getting ready to leave for the airport when Kevin joined Tristan in the bathroom. They would be on their way to the airport in less than an hour.

"Tristan, what is this?"

Tristan had the towel over her face, patting it dry, when she heard Kevin behind her. She lowered the towel and looked at Kevin through his reflection in the mirror. He was frowning.

"What?"

Kevin raised his arms and she could see that each of his hands held a small piece of leopard print spandex. Tristan giggled and spun around.

"I just bought it! Do you like it?" she asked expectantly.

"What is it? Underwear?" He rubbed the spandex between his thumb and forefinger. "It seems kinda thick…."

Tristan burst out laughing. Her laughter was catching and Kevin began to chuckle along with her.

"You are so silly!" Tristan grabbed the top and held it up against her body. "It's my new bathing suit!"

Kevin's chuckle abruptly quieted. He held the tiny bottoms out in front of his face and thought of Tristan's red lace panties. They were bigger than the garment he now held.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No…"

"But this is a thong!" He said it as if he were telling her something she didn't know. "You don't wear these!" Kevin looked annoyed. "When did you get the sudden urge to floss your ass?"

Tristan began to laugh again. "Floss my ass? Kevin, you are too much sometimes!" she said, shaking her head. "I'll just be with the girls. I want to get some sun!"

Kevin held the patches in front of her face. "Sun isn't all you're gonna get if you wear this. Why don't you just save yourself some trouble and go to a nude beach?" he said sarcastically.

"Do they really have those there?" Tristan asked seriously.

Kevin thought she sounded a little too interested. "Nevermind. Besides, it's not 'just the girls'. Jerald and Mason will be there, too." Kevin rethought his observation. "Well, Jerald, anyway…"

Tristan turned back to the sink and picked up her toothbrush. "Jerald's your brother, for Pete's sake…"

"That doesn't mean that it's okay for him to see your ass!" Kevin frowned.

Tristan sighed in exasperation. "Just stick it back in my suitcase, please. I won't wear it unless it's just us girls, okay?"

Kevin didn't answer Tristan. He turned and left the bathroom still wearing his frown. Her suitcase lay open on the bed awaiting a few more items that she would need for her trip. Glancing over his shoulder, Kevin began rummaging through Tristan's things. When he had finished, he checked the bathroom door once more and then took his bounty - five sets of bras and panties Way too provocative and the leopard print bikini - to the closet and stuffed them behind his collection of baseball caps.

Tristan was dropping bottles into her suitcase when Kevin came out of the closet. He stopped and watched her for a moment from the doorway. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing a long sleeved cropped tee and panties. His eyes traveled down her legs to her toes and he smiled when he spotted the pink polish. She would soon be slipping into the short denim skirt that now lay across the foot of their bed. She hummed as she stuck her toiletries into the nooks and crannies of her bag. Tristan was no singer but he recognized the chorus of the Dire Straits tune. A crystal clear memory swept over him and he was transported back in time to the evening that Tristan first walked through his door carrying bags of groceries. She had never been in his house before that day and now he found it impossible to imagine it without her. A first kiss had never been sweeter….

"Kevin? Did you hear me? I said I was ready…"

Kevin snapped back to reality, the flashback frozen for the time being. She had put on the skirt and when she raised her arms to smooth her hair he saw skin just as he had that November evening. He also saw her wince.

"What's the mater, baby?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Just a little kink…" He saw her glance towards the sash that was still tied to the headboard.

"Where?" he asked, crossing the room to stand behind her.

Tristan felt his hand pressing on her back and sighed. "My shoulder…."

As Kevin's large hands went to work, Tristan closed her eyes and let him take care of her. He liked to take care of her. He hadn't meant for her to be hurt. Whether his demands last night had been spontaneous or pre-meditated, he wasn't sure. How many times had he imagined her the way he'd had her last night? It had been a 'road' fantasy, born out of loneliness and frustration. Kevin didn't know when the fantasy had become a need. When he had insisted that she pleasure herself in front of him he had witnessed her timidity but had detected no repulsion. He felt as if he would explode as he had watched her move on the bed, slowly rocking. As she came closer to her lift off and began to moan, it was everything he could do not to stroke himself as he watched her. If she had said 'no', he wouldn't have pushed her on but she hadn't refused him. She had trusted him that much.

A horn sounded outside and Kevin leaned in to kiss the nape of her neck.

"They're here." He said softly. "We have to go."

Tristan groaned and turned to face him.

"Great timing…" she complained.

He could see her hardened nipples pressing against her shirt. Kevin instinctively reached out and ran his fingers over them through the fabric.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Tris….." His voice was low and warm as his hands moved under her shirt and up her back, pushing her close for a final kiss before they had to leave.

"I know what you meant, Kevin…"

His eyes closed for a moment as her fingertips came up to his face. When he opened his eyes, he discovered that she wore a gentle smile. There was no hesitation as their mouths met, already opened and ready for a few brief moments of mutual exploration. As Kevin's hands moved down her thighs and back up under her skirt, Tristan moaned in his mouth. His hands moved beneath the elastic of her panties and then farther down under the silk, cupping her bottom and squeezing gently before pushing her up against him. Kevin deepened the kiss when he felt Tristan begin to grind herself against his increasingly hard erection. The kiss became more urgent.

"AJ's waiting!" Jerald called through the door. "Put it back in your pants, Kev and let's go!"

"Fuck…" Kevin growled as he broke the kiss. He stepped back and stuck his hand down his pants, trying to make an impossible adjustment.

"Are you guys alive in there?" Jerald called again.

"We're coming!" Tristan answered. She glanced down at Kevin's pants. "Poor baby…" she pouted and patted Kevin's groin.

"Jesus…."

They grabbed their things and hurried down the stairs and out of the door to AJ's truck. It was obvious that Kevin was carrying his laptop in a rather awkward position. The zippered case was not slung over his shoulder as it usually was but held between his hands in front of his body. AJ rolled his eyes.

"Here, Kev - want me to take that for 'ya?" he teased, reaching out to grab the computer case.

Kevin countered the question with a hard glare and AJ laughed at him. They both noticed Tristan glancing around as if she had lost something.

"My carryon…" she sighed. "I must have left it in the room. Let me go…."

"I'll get it." Jerald offered.

He hurried through the door and up the stairs to their room. The bag was sitting at the foot of their unmade bed. Jerald grabbed it and was turning to leave when he suddenly stopped. He lingered for a moment, gazing at an object of profound fascination - the satin sash fastened to the headboard.

*********

The trip should have been more festive - after all everyone was on their way to white beaches and pina coladas - but the group was subdued with the exception of Amanda who was getting great joy out of telling AJ all about what she planned to do in Mexico. Jerald kept glancing sideways at Kevin and Tristan, not trying very hard to get the image of the sash out of his head and Holly watched Jerald watching them. Mason was asleep before the plane took off, wondering if Jack was going to fly down next week like he'd hinted. Nick had reached into Holly's bag and pulled out a bottle of shampoo that he uncapped and stuck under his nose. vanilla… Kevin was acting very cool except for the tight hold he had on Tristan's wrist. Inside he was seething, trying to remember who the fuck came up with this idea anyway.

It seemed like they had hardly been in the air before the pilot was announcing their decent. The plane landed smoothly and glided to a stop outside of a remote hangar where cars were already lined up, waiting to carry the band and their security to their temporary studio and living quarters. Amid murmurs of 'I love you's', hugs and 'be carefuls', Kevin sat, making no real effort to deplane. He seemed lost in thought. After a few minutes, he was the only one of the Nassau group left on board. He seemed reluctant to leave.

"Did you decide to come with us to Cancun?" Tristan teased gently.

Kevin smiled wistfully, still staring straight ahead.

"You don't know how I wish I was…"

Just then Carlos' head popped into the cabin. He had been sent on a mission to retrieve Kevin, an assignment he wasn't thrilled to undertake.

"Boss?"

"Yeah, I'm comin'…" Kevin sighed.

He finally raised himself up and stood in the aisle, reaching overhead for his bag and laptop. The he paused to look at the woman gazing up at him, smiling. He was one lucky son of a bitch.

"Don't I get a little sugar?" Tristan pouted.

Kevin didn't answer. He just leaned over the seat. She met him half way and what started out as a sweet good-bye kiss soon became a pants tightening tongue battle.

"For crap's sake…."

AJ's head was sticking out past Carlos' arm. He had been sent to retrieve the retriever. Kevin and Tristan separated while AJ took the opportunity to roll his eyes dramatically at the audience whose eyes were glued upon the passionate couple. Kevin turned to the staring faces, surprisingly unembarrassed.

"Hey, it's her fault…" he said defensively, pointing to Tristan and laughing. The eyes never blinked. "Party poopers…" he grumbled as he made his way up the aisle to the exit.

When he got to the door, AJ grimaced.

"Damn, Kev - I think you gave me a hard on.." He moaned for effect.

"Shut up, J.."

He turned once more and blew a kiss in Tristan's direction and then disappeared.

Email Grace

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