Rebound by Michael Cain Page A

seventy
different varieties of flowers and more than twenty species of
trees.”
    “And two architects
copulating,” Susan whispered to Kevin as she followed him back into
the jungle. To her surprise, he didn’t laugh. She was sure that
would’ve been right up his alley. But he just walked, holding her
hand, guiding her silently through the dense jungle. Susan was too
preoccupied with trying not to trip or fall to say anything more,
but after they found the trail and she could see the beach through
the lush palm trees, she grabbed Kevin’s arm and made him stop.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing.” He didn’t
really look at her, more over her head than anything else. She
nudged him in the stomach with her fist, and he still wouldn’t meet
her gaze. “Really, I’m fine.”
    “Why don’t I believe
you?”
    When Kevin finally
looked down at her, his expression was exasperated. His irritation
seemed to melt, revealing more affection than she’d ever seen in
anyone’s eyes.
    The thought
that slipped in and out of her mind was a dangerous one. It was the
kind of thought that ended lives, or at least messed up good sex
lives. And no matter how Kevin might be feeling, or how she
might, might feel, she had only just discovered
this part of Kevin. And it was new and exciting, and
heart-stoppingly beautiful--and she was feeling selfish and wasn’t
about to muck it up with all that mushy love stuff.
    For the third time
that day, Susan had to shake that word out of her head. Why was it
popping into her head like that? What Kevin and she had had was
great sex. Amazing, life altering, reality-bending sex. And that
was what she needed! That’s what she wanted. Anything else was just
too much to deal with right then.
    Right?
    But how she felt with
him inside her, how she felt as she held fast to him...what was all
that?
    “Shut up,” she
muttered under her breath.
    Susan shook off her
own thoughts, and the look Kevin was giving her, and started back
up the beach the way she’d come, pulling Kevin behind her. She had
to smile at the sudden reversal in roles. Just yesterday he’d
dragged her down the beach, kicking and screaming, toward the sky
and glorious freedom. And she had been powerless to stop him.
    He really was
all hers, wasn’t he? If only temporarily. But what did temporarily really mean?
    That she’d go on to
someone else...
    Naturally.
    That he’d go on to
someone else.
    Susan didn’t have a
comeback for that one. She just kept marching down the beach, her
mind trying to wrap itself around the possibility of Kevin being
with someone else. It made her chest hurt, and made her head go all
fuzzy, not to mention the cold chill that ran down her spine.
    Kevin , find someone
else?
    Naturally.
    When they got
back to the hotel, Susan steered them through the throngs of
vacationers, past the bikini bunnies frolicking by the
pool-- put some
clothes on! --through the
lobby, and straight to their room. The instant the door closed
behind Kevin, she kissed him, pinning him hard against the door,
her hands already pulling at his t-shirt, tugging it over his head,
and diving back into him, kissing him so hard, so ardently, that
she lost her breath.
    Kevin didn’t say
anything. For a few moments she didn’t think he was all there. It
seemed he was lost in thought, and even though his body was
responding, and she could feel how hard he was getting, he just
wasn’t connecting with her.
    So she bit his lip,
hard.
    Snapping out of his
stupor, Kevin groaned and pushed her away by the shoulders, staring
at her with a mix of anger and heat.
     
    * * * *
     
    Kevin could
taste blood. What
the fuck? She’d bit him. And
now she was looking at him with those big green eyes, filled to the
brim with longing. Which was a hell of a lot better than having
them filled with tears. And though he’d seen them filled with
laughter and joy, seeing them charged with lust, for however short
a time they had, was best by far.
    He could watch