The Silken Edge (Silken Edge Series) Read online

  From the confines of her pillow, she mumbled, “Honestly, I don’t think we could have fixed things anyway, if it makes you feel better.”

  “Not really.” He put his head down in his hands. Feeling tears at the back of his eyes, he fought them off.

  “So, was she worth it?”

  He turned his head slowly and saw the sincerity in her eyes.

  “Do you really want to talk about this?” He waited a long moment for her answer.

  She looked to the ceiling as if the answer were there. “Yes. Tell me. I need to hear it.”

  “Well, ah…” The lump in his throat thickened.

  “Tell me, Steven. Please.”

  “I think, yes. We had a nice time together.” He looked away from the scrutiny of her gaze.

  “How was the sex?” She cut right to the chase.

  “What! Really?” His head spun back around to see her expression.

  Her face appeared solemn. “Yes, really. I need this to move on. So spill it.” She sat up and rested against the headboard.

  He figured she drank too much and probably wouldn’t remember the conversation anyway. “I can’t believe I'm going to tell you this but, it was amazing. My dick is twitching just thinking about it.”

  He heard her intake of breath as she looked away. Damn. How could he be so tactless?

  “Shit, that was stupid and insensitive. I shouldn’t have said that. What the hell was I thinking?” He smacked his hands down on his thighs.

  Her hand wrapped around his shoulder in a consoling way. “Don’t worry. I asked, and I’m glad you’re happy with her. Steven, I will find my happy one day.”

  “I hope you do.” He swept his knuckles gently across her cheek. “I still care about you and always will, but like I’ve said, it’s not enough. I’m sorry. Can we still be friends?”

  “I care about you, too. You’re in my heart, and it won’t be easy to get you out, if I ever do. I understand about it not being enough, because I guess I was there too. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I can see it now.”

  He looked into her eyes and saw nothing but love. “So, friends then?”

  “Yes, I’d like that very much.” She leaned and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He held her tight, afraid he’d never be able to hold her again.

  She sniffled. “I’m gonna miss this. You give great hugs.”

  “Friends can still hug,” he said.

  “Good. Now get some sleep. Sun's up soon and you have to work tomorrow,” she said.

  “You too.” Steven didn’t let go yet.

  “No. I’m taking the day off to apartment hunt.” To his dismay, Kristy pulled back a little.

  “About that, forget what I said earlier. Take your time and find a nice place. I’m good with you staying here as long as it takes, if you still want to.”

  “Sure, thank you. That would be helpful.”

  He released his hold on her and tucked her into bed once more. “Good night, Kristy.” He turned off her light and closed the door. Once it latched closed, he leaned up against it and his tears began to flow.

  She is a wonderful woman, why couldn’t it work between us? God, I hope she finds someone to love her the way she deserves.

  Chapter Three

  Morning came too soon as Kristy woke with a splitting headache from too much wine and not enough water. Dehydrated. She felt it in her cotton-dry mouth, and saw it in the creases the bedding left imprinted on her skin.

  Thankful that Sherry helped her move her things from Steven’s room to the guest room, she went to shower in her own private bathroom.

  After her shower, she walked from her room to the kitchen in only her bra and panties and froze in surprise. Steven stood by the counter pouring two glasses of orange juice.

  “Uh, good morning.” He pushed a cup in her direction, gave her body a once over, and then averted his gaze.

  “Sorry, I didn’t know you were here. I would have dressed." She stepped forward and took a quick sip from her glass. "I’ll be right back.” She didn’t feel embarrassed by being half naked in front of him, only uncomfortable. Her body wasn’t his to look at anymore, but she did sense his gaze on her ass as she walked away, so she walked slowly letting him get one last look at what he’d never have again.

  Closing her bedroom door, she felt a little awkward over being drunk around him last night. She slowed her pace, giving him time to leave. She’d rarely acted that way before. She always drank responsibly and never had more than a slight buzz.

  Remembering their conversation the night before, her stomach knotted. She thought about her life without him, and then her nerves settled when she recalled they would still be friends. What they had might be over, but the times they did have were special.

  When she opened her bedroom door, the scent of bacon and eggs tickled her nose. “Steven?”

  “Yes?”

  “You’re still here?” She edged toward the kitchen tucking her hair in a clip.

  “I’m going in late today. I wanted to make sure you were all right. I made you breakfast.” He gave a lopsided smile.

  She stood there, mouth parted, not knowing what to say, and just stared at him. Who was this man and what did he do with her ex?

  “Kristy?” He walked over to her and waved a hand in front of her face.

  She blinked. “Isn’t the point of breaking up to move on and put some distance between each other?”

  “Well, yes, but we are still friends. So that makes our situation a little unusual. Come eat before it gets cold.” Steven headed toward the table.

  She couldn’t move so he came back around behind her and nudged her in the direction of the table. “I still don’t get it,” she mumbled.

  “Okay, I talked to Sherry this morning and asked her how she thought you were doing.” He continued to lead her to the dining area. “I explained we were going to remain friends. She’s against that decision by the way, but we both love you and want to make sure you’re handling this.”

  “You had absolutely no right to bring her into this mess.” She slammed her hand on the table and walked away. Before leaving the room, she turned around unable to let it go, and charged right back over to where she left him. “What is this all about? What is it you want from me?” She jabbed her pointer finger into his chest.

  “Sherry said she didn’t think you were dealing with our break up. That you were avoiding your feelings, and you had no breakdown or emotional upset. Nothing. I don’t think that’s healthy. Hell, I even cried.” His cheeks flushed slightly with his admission.

  “You did?” Her eyes popped open wide.

  “Yes. I did.” He nodded slowly.

  Her chest felt heavy at his words, almost painfully. “Sorry, I guess I’m wired different. I don’t feel the need to cry. I’m disappointed, but not sad.

  “I think at some point it will hit you. I want someone to be there for you when it does. Promise me if no one is around you’ll call me.”

  “Whatever,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air.

  She turned to leave again and Steven strode up in front of her and grabbed her by the arms. “Promise me.” With the firm set of his mouth he gave her a good squeeze.

  Her heart boomed in her chest. His firm hands on her and the aggressive tone he took just about undid her. She gasped in acknowledgement as wetness pooled between her legs. “I-I promise. Now let me go. I have appointments to keep today.”

  He hesitated a moment and then released her.

  What the hell? Confused feelings swirled around inside of her.

  ***

  Kristy looked at three apartments and none were to her liking. They were either too large, too much money, or not in a good neighborhood. She gave up for the day and went to work out some of her pent up frustration.

  Entering the gym dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, she spotted the attractive young man behind the counter that Sherry always teased her about. Jake co-owned the gym, and was also a personal trai
ner, who she once declined assistance from because he was too damn sexy and way too young. She didn’t want to have fantasies over a near-child. This day however, she felt a little spunky and stopped to talk to him.

  Approaching him, she took extra notice of his good looks. He almost seemed like an average guy until he looked at you, and he made you melt. Something about his defined facial features, his neatly cropped brown hair, sparkling brown eyes, and his body made women weak in the knees. He stood about eight inches taller than her, and had a nice muscular build, but not like the body builders that worked in the weight room all the time. His skin was slightly tanned from the nice weather they’d been having. There were distinct lines of muscles along his arms and legs, and what’s under the clothing had to be just as defined. Kristy’s stomach fluttered at the thought.

  Jake looked her way when she came in, smiled at her, and then he turned his attention back to the health and fitness magazine in his lap.

  “Hello.”

  His head snapped up at her greeting. She wasn’t surprised. She'd never actually spoken to him since joining the 24 hour gym years before.

  “Good afternoon. How may I help you?” He tossed his magazine aside and gave her his undivided attention.

  “I’m interested in a personal trainer. I know I’ve declined the offer before, but I think it’s still in my contract.” She smiled warmly.

  “Yes ma’am, from what I remember you have the premium membership. That entitles you to everything we have to offer. Trainer included.”

  She didn’t like being called ma’am; it made her feel older than her thirty nine years. “Please, call me Kristy.”

  “All right…Kristy. Did you have anyone in mind you’d like to work with?” He almost looked hopeful in a boyish way, reminding her of his age.

  “I don’t really know the other trainers that well. Are you available?” Her heart thundered in her chest as he typed a few keystrokes into the computer.

  His lips pulled into a smile. “I have a few early mornings and one late evening slot open this week. If you’re flexible, then I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

  “I’m sure we can make it work.” A swell of happiness raced through her.

  “Great, I have some time right now. Let’s go do your initial assessment to see where you stand and discuss your goals.”

  After weighing in, checking her BMI, and measuring her strength and flexibility, they discussed what she wanted to achieve. His hands were all over her in a professional manner and she didn’t once have carnal thoughts. She was proud of herself.

  “I understand as we age we lose muscle mass and bone density. I’m getting old and want to maintain a healthy body and my strength.” Her age was something that bothered her the past few years.

  Jake glanced lazily over her. “Kristy, you have a great body, and you are not old. Some of your muscles are stronger on one side than the other. We will try to get you evened out and build up your core strength. How does that sound for starters?”

  She loved hearing him speak of her body. “Thank you, that sounds great.”

  “Okay, so why don’t you go over to the treadmill with Sherry, and walk for fifteen minutes to warm up. Then we’ll hit the machines.”

  She did a double take and sure enough Sherry was there. How did he know her? Must be from the gym, but she never saw the two talking.

  Once on the treadmill, Sherry gave her a sly smile but didn’t say a word.

  “It’s not what you think. I thought I could use a personal trainer.”

  “Uh, huh. And you just happened to choose hot sexy Jake.” Sherry continued to grin away and plugged up with her ear buds before Kristy could get another word in.

  When her time was up, the machine beeped, and Jake came over. “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.”

  She stepped off the machine, looking to the ground to be sure not to trip. When she glanced up, a look passed between Jake and Sherry. As if they had a secret. She and Sherry never kept anything from one another before. At least not that she knew of, but now she had to wonder.

  Jake led her to the hip adductor machine to work on her hip and thigh area, he showed her how to adjust the bench and the weights. Starting her off light, he explained, “We’ll add more weight and repetitions as you progress.”

  Jake motioned for her to sit on bench. Once she was seated, he told her to put her knees around the pads. She did as instructed and he leaned over her to grab a lever. When he pulled on it, the pads spread her legs wide. “There, that should be good. It’s not too much, is it?”

  Her cheeks felt hot at having her legs spread apart. She felt exposed. “No, it’s fine. Thank you.” She fought to focus on her workout and not on being distracted by the ceiling to floor mirror before her. Part of the machine obstructed the view of her body, but she could clearly see Jake watching her. Heart rate pounding, she knew it was part due to her exertion, and part Jake. He drove her crazy.

  After spending thirty minutes on machine tutorials, he took her into the aerobics room and showed her how to stretch and cool down. As she bent over, her legs must not have been in the right position, and she couldn’t understand what he meant even after he showed her a particular movement.

  “May I?” He held out a hand behind her leg, indicating he wanted to touch her.

  Her skin tingled near where his hand hovered. “Of course.”

  His warm hand pressed against the back of her thigh to push it forward and his other hand braced her knee. “You need to bend a little here. You should never lock your legs.” For such a strong man his touch was soft. He was a very patient, gentle man.

  Her breath hitched at the feel of his skin on hers just below the hem of her shorts. She hoped he hadn’t noticed, but when she looked into his eyes, they looked seductive and inviting. Inhaling a shaky breath, she closed her eyes. “I’ll try to remember that.” Boy was she going to like working out more than ever. If this wasn’t incentive, she didn’t know what was.

  With her workout complete, Jake showed her the file cabinet where he would keep her folder. He explained she needed to update her log each trip to track her progress. Then they walked over to the counter to schedule a few more dates so they could work one on one in the next couple of weeks.

  “Hey, Kristy!” Sherry called out. “I have to get going, but call me later.” She made a phone motion to her ear.

  Kristy smiled and nodded.

  “Bye, Jake. I’ll see you later.” Sherry walked out of the door.

  Kristy felt her forehead crease and Jake gave her an odd look. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yeah, do you know Sherry?”

  He hesitated a moment. “Sure, just like I know you, from here at the gym. Why?”

  “Oh, she said she would see you later.” Kristy looked toward the door. Something didn't fit.

  “A figure of speech? Later, probably as in later tomorrow when she comes back for her work out.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, I guess I’ll be going now. See you later.” She smiled as she walked away feeling a niggling of doubt about Sherry and Jake’s acquaintance.

  Chapter Four

  Jake Foresman thought it was a good thing his shift ended when Kristy left. He waited until she stepped out of sight to walk away from the counter. Otherwise, his bulging erection might’ve given him away. Ever since the day she showed up at the gym inquiring about a membership, he'd dreamt of working with her on the equipment. He gave explicit instructions to all who worked there that she was his. To his disappointment she declined working with a trainer for the two years since she joined, and he’d all but given up on her.

  Sherry told him of Kristy’s recent breakup, and he had to assume it’s what caused her to want to work out more seriously. In his business he’d seen it time and time again; the woman gets dumped and usually starts to work out aggressively for a couple of reasons; one, to work out the anger, stress and frustration, and two, to try to look better so they cou
ld rub it in their ex’s face. He couldn’t be sure which reason Kristy was there for, but selfishly he didn’t care.

  Kristy’s request that evening came from nowhere. So he wasn’t prepared to spend time with her so closely. Watching her move on the equipment, seeing her blush at some of the positions, and hearing her grunt toward the end of her repetitions, were almost unbearable.

  Kristy obviously didn’t know that Jake knew Sherry and her husband from outside the gym. They were all into the local BDSM scene. From what he’d heard, Kristy was very vanilla in all aspects of life, but a man could dream. In fact, he would tonight after he took care of his raging hard on while thinking of her. But first he had to meet up with a few people at the local bar.

  Jake entered the club and spotted Sherry and Dan immediately. He walked over and sat with them. They said their hello’s, and she started in on him immediately. “Come on Jake, you’re a Dom without a sub. It’s time. You need someone. I hate seeing you so miserable. You’re going through the motions lately, and I can tell your heart isn’t into it.”

  “I know. It’s just a dry spell. I’ll snap out of it soon.” He offered her a weak smile.

  “I’ll keep an eye out for you. There’s got to be someone out there for you.”

  God, he hoped so. At twenty five, he was starting to feel the pressure. He wasn’t a kid anymore, and wanted something more out of life.

  ***

  Kristy called and texted her friend to no avail, Sherry didn’t respond. Her first thought was something horrible must have happened, but then she remembered Sherry and Dan could be doing their thing, and as a sub, Sherry wouldn’t be able to use her phone while she pleased her Master. Kristy shuddered at the thought.

  At Steven’s place, the house was empty. Then she remembered Steven went out with Mona. With things nice and quiet, it was good for reading. She went to her bed, snuggled in, and opened to where she last left off in her paperback romance novel. After reading the same sentence three times, she groaned and tossed the book on the nightstand.