by Piper Rayne
Chapter Twenty-One
Kamea
Knox stares down at me as if I’m something he’s craved for ages. His look alone spurs wetness between my legs. He’s made it so easy for me to get lost in him. The stunt I pulled might have been juvenile, but it got us here, and from the lust in his eyes, he wants to be here.
“Knox,” I say in a quivering voice.
It has been a long time for me, and it unnerved me, hearing that after Leilani, he slept around. But we all have our past and the only thing that matters is now.
He reaches back and tears off his shirt, leaving his chest bare for my inspecting eyes. No other man I’ve been with has looked like Knox. Never so built and muscular.
I sit up and slide to the end of the bed, and he steps forward. My hands fumble with his jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them.
When I look up at him, he pushes his hand through my hair, his tongue sweeping along his bottom lip. “I want you so bad.”
The way he says it has me pressing my thighs together. Hooking my fingers into the waistband of his jeans, I slide them over his ass, and they fall to the floor, leaving me eye level with his dick bulging in his boxer briefs.
“Seems unfair, right?”
I don’t register what he’s saying until he kicks off his pants and falls to his knees. He slowly raises my shirt up and over my head, leaving me in my ivory bralette that leaves nothing to the imagination. A groan erupts out of him. His hands mold to my breasts, his thumbs running over my peaked nipples. His fingers fall between my legs, sliding one along my center, the yoga pants barely a barrier.
“God, I want you.” He stands up halfway and crashes his lips to mine. “I want to be inside of you,” he says between kisses, rubbing me harder over the thin fabric. “I have to see you, taste you, devour you.”
My back falls to the mattress and his hands slide to the waistband of my yoga pants. As though he can’t take it anymore, he sits up on his knees and yanks them and my panties down in one shot, tossing them to the floor.
“Open for me.” His hands glide up my quaking thighs, opening me for his examination. He growls, and my body responds with an ache of longing between my thighs.
“Please,” I say, not above begging at this point.
But he grabs my ankles and tugs me to the edge of the bed. When I realize what he has planned, I shake my head. I’ve never been terribly comfortable with a guy going down on me. It’s always felt like more of an obligation than a privilege on their part.
“No. I need you. I want to feel you,” I say.
“You’re crazy if you think I’m not going to taste you first. I’ve been thinking about this since the moment you stepped back into my life.”
My head falls down on the mattress when his fingers run down my slit and he pushes them inside me.
“That’s what I thought,” he says in a jovial tone.
When he latches his mouth to my clit, a wave of wonderment runs through my body. Holy shit, that feels good. He says nothing, and I don’t have the nerve to look at him while he’s doing it.
He swings my legs over his shoulders and his big arms wrap around my waist, pulling me flush to him. His tongue slowly adds more pressure. I grind, needing friction on my clit, needing him to take me where no man ever has in this position.
He groans and his fingers tighten on my hips. It’s almost game over, and he must sense it because he concentrates on my clit, flicking it with his tongue and sucking on it. One hand disappears off my hip and he delves inside me, in and out until my body is flailing like a fish. But instead of begging for air, I’m begging for an orgasm.
Then I can’t clench hard enough to delay it. As my climax hits, my head pushes into the mattress and I give in, allowing my orgasm to take over my body. It’s the best feeling I’ve had in ages. All the stress, all the worries dissipate from my body.
Knox doesn’t leave between my legs though. Instead he licks me until I stop vibrating from the wake. Then he lifts himself off, strips off his boxer briefs, goes to the nightstand, and returns with a condom in hand.
I take the condom from his hands, ripping it open. “You’ve been working so hard, allow me.” I roll the condom down his large length.
His hand cradles my cheek, his thumb running along my skin. “When you come… you’re gorgeous.”
My breath catches in my throat. Knox’s lips meet mine as he crawls on the bed, and I scoot up until he’s on top of me, his knee nudging my thighs open. The tip of his dick is right there at my opening. This is it. I’m going to have sex with him, and after this, there’ll be no turning back.
As though he can hear my inner thoughts, he looks up and brushes a hair from my forehead. “You okay?”
I nod and grab the back of his head. His lips fall to mine and I thrust my tongue into his mouth. He enters me slowly, never stopping our kiss. I inhale sharply when he’s fully inside me. Nothing has felt so wondrous. I’ve never felt so full. He tears his lips off me and locks his gaze with mine as he draws out of me and pushes back in. My fingers clutch his shoulder blades from the force, and when he does it again, I clench and tighten my thighs around his waist.
He quickens the pace. I tilt my head up to allow him access to kiss me as he drives in and out of me with abandon. Our hands are everywhere, trying to quench the need that’s been between us for weeks. Being in the moment with him, feeling what he’s feeling, the noises he makes, the words he murmurs, it all sucks us into a tornado of sexual desire we’re greedy to ride out.
My orgasm is coming on fast—maybe because I just came from his mouth. As though reading my thoughts, he rolls us and brings me on top of him, his hands molding to my hips. His eyes stare up at me gets me to the brink. I rock in the direction his hands on my hips take me, and in seconds, I’m barreling toward my climax, crying out.
He keeps up the pace while I clench around him, then his abs contract under my touch. He clenches so hard, he sits up and takes me in his arms, groaning then stilling inside me.
His hands run up my bare back and shivers chase his touch. “You’re amazing. So beautiful. I want to see you come all the damn time.”
I’m a sweaty mess as he kisses my neck and tells me how hard he came. We unhook from one another, and he goes to the bathroom to discard the condom before returning.
He slides into bed and opens the sheet for me to follow him. “Take a nap with me?”
Although I have a million things I have to do, I can’t deny him.
“And then after, we’ll move your stuff back here,” he mumbles, his eyes already drifting closed.
“I’m not moving back,” I whisper.
“What?” His eyes fly open, and I laugh and shake my head. “Why not?”
“Because it’s better this way.”
He looks at me long and hard, clearly not happy, then pats my shoulder. “We’ll talk after we sleep. Just a few hours.”
His hand nestles along my body, sliding me closer. My naked body presses to his and the feelings I’ve come to know so well disappear—for once, I’m free of worry and anxiety.
I slide out of bed, grab my computer from Rian and Dylan’s, and return to Knox’s apartment without Knox waking. I’d love to stay in bed with him all day, but I’m excited about this new line of girl boss T-shirts I’m working on.
I sit on the recliner with my laptop on my crossed legs and get to work. Well, I try. Because all I can think about is being with Knox in the other room. To be nestled into his chest. To feel his hand slide down my body mindlessly as though he doesn’t really know he’s doing it.
His phone rings in his room. He probably never put it on silent, as he usually does, since having sex with me threw him off his usual routine. I stand and place my computer on the chair before tiptoeing into his room. I bend over his jeans to grab his phone as it rings over and over. Seriously, when will it go to voicemail?
But before I can get it, a big arm wraps around my waist and tugs me into bed. He pins my back to the mattres
s and his eyes roam my body. A frown instantly crosses his face. “Why are you dressed?”
I laugh. “Because I slept last night, so I have to work now.”
“You can take one day off,” he says, his lips falling to my neck. “I wish I was off tonight, but probably a good thing I’m not, otherwise you might not be able to walk tomorrow.”
“Is that so?” I wrap my arms around his neck, loving his lips cascading on every inch of my body.
“I’m never going to get enough of you.” He takes my hand and slides it down his chest to his hard-on. “See? I already want you again.”
“No one said you couldn’t have me.”
He peeks up as he undresses me. “See, you had to go get dressed and now it’s just delaying us.”
“I’m just making you work for it.”
He throws my leggings on the floor. “I like this going commando thing.”
I never did bother to put my panties back on. Maybe I kind of knew we’d end up here again. “I’ll remember that.”
He stretches, and I kiss his strong shoulders as he grabs a condom from the nightstand. I’ve never wished I was on the pill or had an IUD more in my life.
As he rests his weight on his heels in front of me while he rolls on the condom, I want to pinch myself that I’m here in bed with him.
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the moving thing.” He quirks one eyebrow.
“I’m not moving back in.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t like your stubborn side.”
“I guess you have to find something you don’t like about me.” I laugh because it will be one of many.
“Technically, your stubborn side kind of turns me on.” He situates himself between my legs, and without any notice or sign, he thrusts into my wetness. “Damn, you’re going to kill me.”
I laugh, but then he circles his hips and it’s on.
I’m not sure I’ll ever get enough of him either. But a girl can try.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Knox
I’m in the bathroom, getting ready for work, when I check my phone for the first time since I got off shift. I’ve been too busy with Kamea to even think of coming up for air.
Huh, Mickey from the old neighborhood hasn’t called me in almost a year.
I click the voicemail, walking into my bedroom with just my towel on. Kamea is on the bed with her laptop, working on her new line she says I inspired. I don’t know exactly what it is though, since she’s keeping it a secret until the first T-shirt comes in.
She’s wearing one of my T-shirts right now and it looks damn good on her. The fact that she hasn’t pulled away from me since we had sex is making my heart soar, and I have to remind myself it’s only been one day. Don’t count those paid bills so fast, my mom always says. After she and Dad were able to catch up on bills, one they didn’t plan on would arrive in the mailbox the next day.
“Knox, it’s Mickey. I saw your girl yesterday. You know, the Polynesian one.” As I listen, I look back at Kamea. She must sense my eyes on her because she looks up and smiles. “Anyway, she seemed hard up for money. Said she was trying to catch a train to North Carolina. Something just felt off, so I figured I’d let you know.”
I click off the voicemail and fall to my back on the mattress. I turn to look at Kamea as her fingers weave through my wet hair. How different this is than when I was with Leilani. I know I can’t compare, but Leilani would’ve had somewhere to go right after, practically jumping out of bed as soon as we finished the deed. This afterglow thing is nice.
“That was my buddy Mickey. He spotted Leilani last night.”
The smile drops from her face for the first time since early this morning. “Oh.”
“We could go check it out. You should make her appear in court to get your money, or pay you back,” I say.
She shuts her computer and that open door I felt with her a moment ago. I have no idea what she’s thinking.
“Do you want to find her?” she asks.
I roll over and take her hand. “I want you to get your money back.”
“So I can leave?”
I rear my head back. “Not at all.”
She shakes her head. “I’m sorry. Just give me a sec.” She closes her eyes and massages her temples.
She can’t think I still want Leilani, not after this afternoon! But then again, Leilani is like a stubborn splinter in our relationship.
“Hey, you say no and I’m happy to put it on the back burner,” I say. “I mean, eventually a warrant will go out and it’ll be my job when I’m on shift to look for her, but not in my free time. I’m doing this solely for you.”
She nods. “I want my money, but…”
Fucking shit. Maybe Leilani is more than a splinter.
I slide up the bed and my towel slides off, but I don’t care. I kiss Kamea and take her in my arms. “I’m with you. You know that, right?”
She nods, and I inwardly groan as she says, “It’s been, like, two minutes.”
“It’s been weeks, and regardless, I’m over her. Trust me.”
“I know I’m being stupid. You don’t have to reassure me.”
She says that, but I’m thinking I’m going to have to prove it to her in the long run.
“Let’s go check it out,” she says without making eye contact.
“Tomorrow evening before I head into work?”
“Great.” Her tone doesn’t match her expression, but I have no choice but to believe that she’s okay with this.
If we do find Leilani, I’m going to make sure I don’t fuck it up like I did the first time.
“I wish I could bring you to work with me.” I kiss her, wishing she could read my mind and know she has nothing to worry about when it comes to Leilani.
“Me too. Or that you were off.”
We lie there, and I feel as though the clock is like a bomb about to go off.
“When you get off, I might be at Sweet Infusion with Rian.”
I turn so we’re facing one another on the bed. “You sure you won’t move back in here? I won’t make you prepare the coffee.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.
She nods. “I’m positive. Plus, I like the coffee-making thing. Makes my mind wander and I always get the best ideas for T-shirts when that happens.”
I smile and nod. One day I’ll get her back in here. “Okay then. I won’t pressure you. Yet.”
“Yet?” She laughs.
I pull her toward me. “I think we have time for a quickie.”
She lifts her phone and shakes her head. “Not if we do it right.”
“I’ve never been late.”
She pushes me off her. “And you’re not going to be late when you have a promotion on the line either.”
I kiss her one more time and get up, knowing how right she is. “Okay, I’m going, but I’m warning you, I might be back on my dinner break.”
“I’m sure Patrice would love that.” She rolls her eyes and chuckles.
There’s no going to see Kamea during dinner because people have lost their damn minds. There must be a full moon.
We’re at the station, writing up the paperwork for the thief we apprehended from a house he swears is his parents’. His mom said she’s pressing charges, but I can’t help but think I’m doing this paperwork for nothing because she’ll probably drop the charges.
“So you and Kamea. I saw the kiss.” Patrice eyes me over her computer.
“It’s nothing.”
“That kiss wasn’t nothing.”
I shake my head to stop her. If I tell her about Kamea and me, she’ll continue to torment me for information.
“Fine. Act like that,” Patrice says. “I share so much with you and you’re going to act like that with me. Well, whatever. Take that detective position now then.”
I blow out a breath at her pouty behavior. Then I think maybe her advice on this whole Leilani and Kamea thing would be good. “Okay, I slept with her.”
&nb
sp; Her eyes light up and she claps, bouncing in her chair. “I knew it.”
“We’re together.”
“Together?” She claps again like that annoying monkey with the red vest and hat, holding cymbals. “That’s great. I really like her. She’s so nice, and I can tell she really likes and respects you.”
I nod, hoping what she says is the truth. I look around to make sure no one is eavesdropping. “Then I got a call from a buddy of mine in the city. He saw Leilani last night. I mentioned it to Kamea, and she got kind of…”
“Jealous.”
I scrunch my eyes. She wasn’t fully jealous, just worried.
“And you’re surprised?” Patrice asks.
I lean back in my chair. “Well yeah, because we slept together.”
A long, annoyed breath falls out of her mouth. “I honestly don’t understand how men are so stupid. I mean, what don’t you get?”
“What?”
She leans closer. “You picked Leilani over her all those years ago.”
“And I explained myself to her. That I was a dick. And I apologized.”
“Doesn’t take back that you did it. And then Leilani breaks your heart and you go through a list of women to stick your dick in. Then you save Kamea and move her into your place, only to hold her at arm’s length until she twists your arm. Of course the girl is a little worried about bringing Leilani back into your life.”
“But I told Kamea it’s not like that. That I’m with her and happily so.”
She rolls her eyes. “Your words don’t mean much. It’s your actions.”
“Well, we haven’t even seen Leilani for me to prove it with my actions.”
“And when you do, you better be standoffish to her. Don’t get that look you usually do. The one when you arrested her.”
She’s kidding me. “What look is that?”
“The one that shows you still care for the woman.”
“I don’t care for her.” I’m practically grinding my teeth together.
