Stone Barrington 06-11

be getting close to each other again, something happens to blow it up.”
    “And that’s what happened tonight?”
    “I told her that if she didn’t want to know who the boy’s father is, then she didn’t want to know me.”
    “Then how, may I ask, did your tie get mussed up?”
    Stone laughed. “Arrington had just pulled it loose when I made my little speech, and she stalked out.”
    “Out of where?”
    “Out of her room.”
    “And how did you get to her room?”
    “On foot.”
    Callie laughed again.
    “I thought we were touring the house. I didn’t know where her room was.”
    “So you were led down the garden path?”
    “In a manner of speaking.”
    Callie stroked his cheek with the backs of her fingers. “Poor Stone,” she said. “Between Arrington and me, you’ve had a rough time tonight, haven’t you?”
    “Beset from all sides,” Stone said, kissing her fingertips.
    “Can I make it up to you?” she asked, sliding across the sofa toward him.
    “You can try,” Stone said.
    She put her hand on his leg under the robe and slid it up his thigh. “How’s this?” she asked.
    “It’s a start,” he replied.
    She untied his robe and took it away, then untied her own robe, letting it drop to the floor. She pressed him back on the sofa, knelt beside him and kissed his penis.
    Stone made a little noise.
    She took him into her mouth and played gently with him, rubbing a nipple, getting the response she wanted at both ends. She held his testicles in one hand, doing inventive things with her tongue, then she stopped for a moment. “This is just for you,” she said. “You don’t have to wait for me.”
    “I want you now,” Stone said, panting a little.
    “Maybe later,” she said, taking him into her mouth again. She pushed his legs apart and pulled his knees up, then began exploring the cleft of his buttocks with her fingers.
    “I’m going to explode soon,” Stone said.
    “Not yet,” she replied, then began again. She moved her head slowly up and down, beginning with the tip, then pressing until nearly the whole length of him had disappeared.
    Stone couldn’t find words, only noises.
    Then Stone exploded, and she stayed with him for another minute, prolonging the orgasm, keeping him going until he could only cry out and collapse back onto the sofa.
    Finally, cradling his testicles in a hand, she laid her head on his belly and kissed it softly. “How are you?” she asked.
    “I can’t make a fist,” he replied.
    “You hardly need to,” she laughed.
    They remained that way for a moment, then she climbed onto the sofa with him and lay on top of him, nestling her head into his shoulder.
    “There’s something else I should tell you,” he said, “just so you won’t think I’m keeping anything from you.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “When I heard about Arrington and Vance—I was on the island of St. Marks, at the time—Allison Manning and I had …”
    She raised her head. “Each other?”
    “Yes. I was angry with Arrington, and Allison …”
    “Was there?”
    “Yes.”
    She laid her head back down. “Well, Allison is somewhere down the road, and I’m here, so just stay away from her.”
    “That may be difficult,” he said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Somebody broke into her house this evening and trashed a room. Thad has brought her back here. He’s asked me to look after her while he’s on the Coast.”
    She raised her head again. “Where’s that gun?”
    He pulled her head back down. “Not to worry.”
    “How do I know that?”
    “Let me show you,” he said. He rolled her onto her back and knelt beside the sofa, the way she had. With his tongue, he explored her soft fur. “How’s that for reassurance?” he asked.
    She pulled his head back into her lap. “It’s a start,” she said.

16
    S TONE WAS STILL SLEEPING SOUNDLY WHEN HE WAS awakened by the sound of his cabin door opening. He lifted his head and saw Callie approaching with a breakfast tray. She was fully dressed.
    He sat up on his elbows. “What time is it?”
    “A little after nine,” she said, setting the tray down on the bed. “I’ve been up since six, seeing that everybody got breakfast before Thad and Arrington left for the Coast.”
    “They’re gone?”
    “Half an hour ago. After our conversation of last night I didn’t think you’d want to get up early to say goodbye.”
    Stone laughed. “After our, ah, ‘conversation’ of last night, I don’t know that I could have