Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [55]
Kelsey felt the tripped breakers, flipped them and was about to head back through the darkened basement when she heard a loud creak at the bottom of the stairs. Someone was down here in the darkness with her. A tiny jolt of fear shot through her, but she quickly told herself it had to be Mitch or Fred.
Standing in the corner of the room, partially concealed behind the washer, Kelsey pressed back deeper into the shadows. Lightning briefly lit the basement with a muted yellow flash, and Kelsey saw Mitch clearly but only for a moment. Then he faded into darkness again, and she strained to follow his movements.
She couldn’t tear her eyes off his shadowy figure as he slowly moved toward her. Another streak of lightning flashed through the basement windows and she caught a glimpse of his hard, bare chest and unsmiling face. He obviously hadn’t seen her yet, and she made no sound, wanting to appreciate the sight of him for one more moment.
Mitch sensed Kelsey, though he didn’t see her. A faint trace of the perfume she’d worn earlier to the ball lingered in the basement, and he knew she was near. He stopped, listening, struggling to hear the sound of her breathing. His own breaths started coming quicker, harder, and his heart began to pound.
Kelsey sensed the moment he discovered her presence. She saw him pause, cocking his head to one side, trying to hear her.
“Kelsey?” he whispered.
She took a deep breath and whispered back, “I’m here, Mitch.”
Mitch said nothing but moved toward the dark corner where he’d heard her voice. His eyes grew accustomed to the gloom, and he saw her, silent, motionless, waiting for him. He stopped a few feet from her, but Kelsey took three small, tentative steps toward him until their bodies nearly met. Her warm exhalations brushed the cool skin of his chest, exciting him beyond measure. They didn’t touch, yet only the tiniest breath of air separated them. Neither moved. Neither spoke.
Mitch searched through the shadows and the darkness for a glimpse of Kelsey’s green eyes. Every ounce of his being longed to move those scant inches and take her in his arms. He waited for the familiar tightening, the voice that would shout, “No, you can’t do this,” but he heard nothing except the strong beat of his own heart.
Another flash of lightning lit the room, and Mitch saw the naked longing he’d hoped for in Kelsey’s face. Her right hand was poised a hairsbreadth from his chest, and only when the room plunged into darkness once again did she move the tips of her fingers in a long caress across his bare skin. Mitch hissed out a clenched breath, nearly undone by her soft touch. When she curled her fingers and lightly brushed her fingernails across his abdomen, he groaned aloud.
Thunder rumbled, rolling across the basement like the steady pounding of a drum. Kelsey’s heart beat to its rhythm. In that last bit of light, she saw just what she wanted to in Mitch’s face. There would be no turning back, no rejection. Mitch was hers. At last.
Kelsey continued exploring Mitch’s hard body, stroking both hands on his chest, then dragging her nails across his ribs. A torrent of emotion seemed to snap in him because suddenly he slid his hands in her hair and turned her face up to his.
“Now, Kelsey,” he said, before capturing her mouth with his own.
Mitch’s kiss was hard and demanding yet promised delights beyond her fantasies. He twined his fingers in her hair as he devoured her mouth. Kelsey met every sweet, wet thrust of his tongue, telling him wordlessly she was as consumed with passion as he.
Her moans of pleasure turned to whimpers as his hands slid down her body. He teased the skin beneath the satiny pajama top, stroking her soft belly, closing his large hands around