Read Online Master for Tonight by Elaine Barris - Free Book Online Page A

showing his surrender. “Love, we need to talk. If
you let me, I can explain everything to you. The truth, I swear to
you.”
    As he spoke, she closed her eyes and shook
her head, her hair moving left and right. Head down, she said
through blubbering tears, “I have nothing to say to you, you,
you...” Her voice rose to near hysterics as she yelled, “Oh my God!
I don’t even know your name!”
    She turned away from the window as she began
screaming insults at herself. “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why would a
man like that be interested in you? Of course, he’s already
attached. Look at him! He saw a desperate woman who needed to get
laid. They were right, and you know it. Just like your aunt told
you. ‘You’ll never have anyone who truly wants you. They’ll just
want you for what they can take from you, and you are stupid and
gullible enough to believe their lies.’ And I am! Oh God, I am!
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”
    In that moment, Julian realized three
things: One, he was mad at Kate because of how she treated herself.
Two, he hadn’t treated her much better by tricking and seducing
her, using her own fantasy against her. Three, he needed to make
his intentions as clear to her as they were to him.
    Decision firm in his mind, Julian walked
over to the vined trellis, which ascended from the ground, to the
slanted roof. He scrabbled up while trying not to damage the
flowers. He crawled onto the roof on his hands and knees before
straightening to walk to her window.
    He held his balance easily, despite the
slope of the roof.
    “Kate, enough. Stop doing
this to yourself. You and I are not done. Not in the slightest. Let
me explain everything to you and finish what we started tonight.
You didn’t hear me say that I lied to you. Your mind pulled that
out of somewhere, and that is lying to you, not me. You are overreacting and
ripping yourself apart for no reason. I don’t like it. Stop. Stop
it now.”
    She sat up in the bed cross-legged, facing
him, saying nothing in response as she wiped away the tears drying
on her cheeks. With her mind spinning in all directions of thought,
Kate moved off the bed and walked into the attached bathroom,
ignoring the presence outside her window.
    Kate stared at her puffy-eyed reflection in
the mirror and thought about everything that had happened earlier
in the night. Her body began a slow burn. His touch and tongue had
sent her over an edge from which she had never before fallen. So
deep and intense, her inner walls began to pulse with desire to be
filled.
    She pushed away from those thoughts to the
man outside, as she considered how he had treated her, how he had
pleased her completely, not satisfying himself, thinking of her
only. She also realized, too late, he wasn’t wearing a ring, and
there was no telltale paleness on his finger from where the sun
would tan around a band. Her mind had dredged the awful memory from
her painful past, and she had hurled it out at him without
thinking. A small feeling of remorse crept over her.
    Kate moved on and pondered how and why he
came to her. The pieces moved around like a puzzle in her jumbled
mind. She remembered that he called his approach ‘unconventional.’
Yes, that would be one word to describe it. ‘Psycho’ would be
another, but she knew he wasn’t crazy. She was around enough
off-balanced people at the shelter to read the signs. She was so
confused. What did he want? With a sickening dread, another thought
came to her.
    “Maybe so, whoever you are. Maybe I am
overreacting.” She walked back into the bedroom and sat on the
bed.
    “Look at me, Kate.”
    “I don’t get it.” She ignored his
command.
    “What don’t you get?” he asked as he tilted
his head to the sky and placed his hands on his hips.
    “Tonight. Everything.”
    “And what bothers you the most?” He waited,
knowing the question was able to open another firestorm.
    She answered by pointing at herself, and
then at him.
    “Why do you do this to