Page 8 of Untouchable

She wasn’t regretting it. It was sex.

And sex would only ever be this one thing.

“We both know it was better than that.”

“Maybe. But your dog looks like he could use some water,” she said, “and I better get going since my client was a no-show.”

He started to say something but stopped when she reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out her business card, which he’d tucked there.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his brow wrinkling.

“Taking my card back.”

“I can see that. But why?”

“Because my phone number is on it, and I don’t go for seconds.”

Something changed in his expression, a kindling of new interest. “What makes you think I want seconds?”

“I have no reason to think you do. But just in case.” She smiled and reached up to give him a quick kiss on the side of the mouth. “You’re pretty good. Not that you need any affirmation.”

She pulled down her skirt and smoothed her hair so that she was respectable enough to be seen by the general public. She flashed him one more grin since he was watching her quietly and walked away.

She had to fight not to limp from the soreness, but she kept her gait steady until she was out of the trees.

She was back in her car before her breathing evened out and her heart stopped racing. Her mind kept drifting back to the man as she pulled out of the parking lot, wondering who he was, what he was thinking now, what had made him what he was.

Wondering what it would be like to fuck him again and why she even wanted to.

It was only sex. Nothing but a random man.

And it didn’t matter.

Something else mattered though. Something she rarely acknowledged had awakened inside her from the encounter she’d just had.

She drove without conscious volition to another park. One a long drive away, outside of DC.

This one was all wooded—made up of nothing but hiking trails.

She sat in her car and stared at the sloping hills and thick trees, feeling a cold swell of panic rising up in her chest.

She hadn’t been to this park in seventeen years, and she didn’t even know why she’d driven here now.

It had something to do with that man—and nothing to do with him at all.

3

Maybe the manhad just been teasing, coming on to her with a smug attitude that normally worked with women. Maybe it had worked with her too. But he’d implied that she was weak, guided by soft feelings, incapable of being as cool and detached as he was.

And it wasn’t true. It simply wasn’t true. She’d lived through hell seventeen years ago, and she could face anything after that.

Including this park. This woods. A certain hiking trail.

Even this wasn’t enough to break her.

So Kelly made herself get out of the car and stood holding on to the driver’s side door until her legs stopped shaking.

She was aching between her legs from the rough sex, and her back and ass were burning from the scratches. It was easier to focus on those sensations than on the fear that was growing, rising as she stared at the entrance to the trails.