“Yeah, it’s Caitlyn. Don’t worry, sweetie. I won’t tell him,” she said. “But you should.”

No way ever in fucking hell would he tell Kelly that he’d started having fantasies about him when they’d stopped touching each other. No way. And he would definitely not tell him that he’d been fantasizing about him while being fucked. Or that the thought of Kelly fucking him had turned him on so much that he’d come without any stimulation to his cock at all.

“Well, that was fun,” she said after a moment of his silence. “Do you want to continue?”

“I want you to untie me now,” he said. Because he was going to fuck her brains out to show her that he was not infatuated with his friend. He was one hundred percent hot-blooded heterosexual male and when he was finished with her, she wouldn’t ever be able to forget it.

Caitlyn wasn’t sure if she should untie Owen or not. He was obviously feeling very vulnerable. And it seemed he hadn’t yet come to terms with what was in his heart. Caitlyn didn’t have a problem with him not feeling a deep emotional connection with her. They’d just met; it wasn’t as if she’d expected him to fall madly in love with her. She’d only wanted to have a little fun. To feel sexy. He’d given her both already. But damn he looked hot all tied and helpless. And God, she’d made him come hard, even if he had been thinking of someone else at the time.

Now that the sexual excitement had drained from his body, he looked like he needed someone to hold him and tell him everything was going to be all right. That instinct to care for him won out in the end. She removed the strap-on, tossed it in the sink, and then climbed up onto the bed beside him. She stroked his hair gently as she tried to gauge his emotions and he did his damnedest not to meet her eyes.

“Thanks for fulfilling my fantasy,” she said. Her fingers moved to the ropes that bound him and she carefully untied the first knot. “I know it’s weird, but I’ve always wanted to screw a man. I just wanted to see what it was like.”

“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.

“You know,” Owen said, “most people have a difficult time releasing the knots properly and we usually have to cut the rope.”

She paused and looked up at him. There she went being weird again. “I… uh… watched him closely when he was tying them.”

“And you memorized the entire sequence?”

As she’d been blessed with an amazing memory, she did remember the entire sequence, but she played down her unusually sharp memory. “It's not too hard really. You just follow the rope from one end to the other. It’s getting more difficult now that the free end is so long.”

“It would be faster to cut them.”

“But then I wouldn't get to admire your body for a long, long time.”

He grinned. “You can admire my body for as long as you like.”

“What if I want to gaze at you for days?”

“I'll send you a picture.”

She laughed and swatted his ass playfully. His arm was loose enough now that he could get a hold on her. He wrapped a strong hand around her wrist and tugged her down to the mattress.

“God, I want to kiss you so bad I can hardly stand it,” he said. “Hurry up and untie me.”

“You want to kiss me?”

“Yes, and so much more.”

“I thought you wanted to be untied so you can leave.”