“You did nothing wrong! They’re the ones who were wrong! I can’t believe that your own broth—” She abruptly stopped, her eyes widening as if she realized something.
“What?” I asked as she shook her head and hugged herself.
“Nothing,” she quickly responded. Avoiding my gaze, she began to tense up. Most people wouldn’t have even noticed it, but I did. I had learned so much about her over the past few months that I knew that she was holding something in.
Pulling her to me, I wrapped her in my arms. Even though she probably thought I was only trying to comfort her, in reality, I also needed to hold her, to feel her against me. Seeing Ethan had resurfaced so many bad feelings that I wanted her to wash away, like she always was able to do. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You can trust me, Warrior.”
She buried her face in my chest. “I know, it’s just hard for me to talk about.” Her voice was muffled against my shirt. “I… I don’t want you to be disgusted by me.”
Framing her face in my hands, I forced her to look up at me, “I could never be disgusted by you. Ever.”
Her lips trembled as tears began to rain down her cheeks. “I… I have another brother. His name is Kaleb. He… he was the one who abused me when I was little.”
Holy shit. I had no clue what to say, what to do to make it better, but I wanted to do anything to take the pain from her. “Oh, baby, no wonder you fight so much. I’m so sorry.”
“I didn’t fight hard enough—I should have made him stop, but I was too weak. I’m still weak,” she sobbed, burying her face in my chest again.
I tilted her chin up to look at me again. “Hey, you’re not weak. You know how strong you are to survive something like that?”
“I survived, but I’m… damaged—completely damaged. Everything he did to me slowly broke me, leaving nothing but fragments for me to try and put back together.”
Looking deep into her eyes, I caressed her cheeks with my thumbs. “I’ll help you pick up the pieces if you let me, Warrior. I want to be the one to make you whole again.”
More tears flowed freely down her rosy cheeks as she clasped my face in her hands, bringing my mouth to hers. Her lips claimed mine with desperation as she pressed our bodies together, showing me how much my words meant to her. So much was said in that kiss, more than we could have expressed in words at that point—it spoke of hope, faith, and trust, helping both of us in the right direction to becoming whole again.
My arms had wrapped around her waist, lifting her to where her toes barely touched the ground. My hands began to roam lower, and I knew if we didn’t stop that I was going to end up taking her right there on the mat like our first time. The problem was that there were still people in the gym, unlike before when we were the only two there.
Breaking away, I set my forehead against hers. “If we don’t stop, I’m going to take you right here, right now.”
Reconnecting our lips, she whimpered with desire. “I need you.”
Fuck me. There was no way I could say no to that. Picking her up, her legs wrapped around my waist as our mouths collided. I walked to the door before fumbling with the handle and locking it, then headed to the closet.
Once inside, I kicked the door closed. I maneuvered around most of the boxes and equipment before positioning us against one of the bags that lined the walls. No one should find us, unless one of the other employees happened to come in for some reason, but I really didn’t give a fuck at the moment—I had to have her.
As I moved her shorts and panties to the side, she grabbed my cock and pulled it out, eager for me to enter her. Guiding me to her, her hands placed my tip at her opening, which was already wet.
Slowly, I pushed myself inside her, gradually filling her until her pussy surrounded my length. We groaned in unison as I began to pound her against the bag, grasping her hips for deeper penetration.
My mouth found Kaiya’s neck as she continuously moaned, her cries of pleasure becoming louder and louder with each of my thrusts. Savoring her skin, I began to push her shirt up, needing to feel her flesh against mine. Kaiya maneuvered to help me take off her top before removing her sports bra, letting it fall to floor.
My shirt was added to the pile as Kaiya eagerly pulled it off. Her hands roamed over my shoulders and arms as my mouth claimed her breast, my tongue ring flicking over her hardened nipple. She arched against me as I moved to her other tit, sucking it deep into my mouth.
Wrapping her legs tighter around me, she forced my dick deeper inside her sex. Growling my approval, I thrust harder as her nails dug into my biceps and her head tipped back against the bag.
“Ryker?” a voice called out from outside the door. Shit.
I stilled, my cock still inside Kaiya. Her eyes widened as she looked from me to the door and back again. Putting my finger to my lips, I gently set her down and slid myself out of her. I motioned for her to hide behind the bag as I put my dick back in my shorts and went toward the door.
Glancing over my shoulder, I made sure Kaiya was hidden from view then turned back around and exited.
One of the other trainers was in the middle of the studio, searching for me. “You need something?” I asked as I shut the door.
He turned around. “Where were you?” he asked suspiciously, looking over my shoulder.
“Doing inventory in the supply closet. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to tell you that Mark can’t make it to class tomorrow night, so he asked me to fill in for him. Is that cool?”
Really, you came in here and interrupted my sex session for that? “Yeah, that’s fine. Be here at seven.”
“All right, see you tomorrow,” he replied as he walked to the door.
Once he left, I waited a minute or so before going back into the supply room. “The coast is clear,” I called out.
Kaiya peeked her head out from behind the bag before coming out of her hiding spot. Her face reddened in embarrassment. “That was a close one,” she said, straightening her sports bra and brushing her hair behind her ears with her fingers.
Chuckling, I made my way to her. “Yeah, it was. You want to pick up where we left off?”
“Ryker, we almost got caught,” she chided, even though a smile lined her lips.
“So?” I teased, but she gave me a disapproving look. “Fine, but we’re finishing this tonight.”
Grinning seductively at me, she agreed, “Deal.”
We spent another hour or so working on more techniques before I had a personal training session with another one of my clients. Kaiya planned to come over to my place after my shift ended, and I was looking forward to finishing what we had started.
When Kaiya arrived at my place, I had already set another plan into motion. I had been working on breaking another one of her rules, the one about staying over. I routinely broke the other two rules, almost nightly, so I was determined to break them all. Two down, two to go.
Whenever she came over, I always asked her to spend the night, but she resisted me. I hadn’t stayed the night with a girl after that whore and I broke up, and I’d never wanted to until Kaiya. Everything was different with her, from the way she was able to make me smile so easily to the way she set a fire inside me with just one look. I loved every minute I spent with her.
We were hanging out on the couch watching T.V. when Kaiya mentioned, “I feel like dancing.”
I played with her hair, twirling it around my fingers. “Yeah?” I replied in surprise. We hadn’t been out to a club since the night that she’d been attacked.
“Can we go tonight?” She asked hopefully as she looked up at me.
I didn’t really see the point in going to a club when the main reason that I had gone to them before was to pick up girls. I didn’t need to do that anymore now that we were together. But I knew that Kaiya loved to dance, so I gave in. “Sure, baby. Where?”
“How about that new one that just opened up? I think it’s called,” she paused, looking up to the side and
pursing her lips as she thought. “Tunnel.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of it. We can go if you want.”
“Yay!” She hopped up off the couch excitedly. “I’ll call Nori. Maybe you should text Drew to meet us—they seemed to have fun together the last time.” She giggled as she tromped toward my bedroom.
I loved seeing her laugh—her smiles and laughs had become regular occurrences, replacing the scowls and sorrow that I had thought were permanently etched on her face. Some of the sadness still lingered at times when she thought I wasn’t looking, but I was able to chase it away for a while. My goal was to totally eradicate it one day. That would be my biggest challenge yet.
I got off the couch to get my phone from the counter. I sent a text to Drew, who was down with the idea since he had fun with Nori the last time. He hadn’t been able to close the deal with her, so I knew he’d be planning to tonight. If she was anything like Kaiya, he’d need all the luck he could get.
Kaiya came back into the room before grabbing her purse. A smile lit up her face. “Nori’s in. I need to go home and get ready, then we’ll meet you there, okay?”
“Yeah. Text me when you’re on your way.”
She stood on her toes to kiss me. “Okay, baby. See you later.”
Once she left, I decided to head over to Drew’s to wait until they were ready. We drank some beers to pass the time and when Kaiya finally text me, it was quarter till midnight. I didn’t know what took women so long to get ready, but the end result was usually worth it.
This time was no exception. When Kaiya walked up to us outside the club, my pulse raced as the blood rushed to my cock.
She was wearing a tight, black one-shoulder dress that stopped right above her mid-thigh. She bit her lip as our eyes locked, her cheeks flooding with color as I admired her. I doubted I would ever get tired of looking at her; everything else paled in comparison to her stunning beauty.
Peering up at me with those captivating eyes, she smiled shyly. “Hey.”
I leaned down to kiss her. “Can I just take you home now? I don’t think I can wait with you looking like that.”
Her grin spread as she laughed. “Then, all my hard work to look this way would be wasted.”
“Oh, it won’t go to waste. I’ll make sure of it.”
She rolled her eyes playfully then slid her hand into mine. As we walked to the entrance, Drew draped his arm around Nori, who was already giggling flirtatiously. Yeah, he should be getting some tonight.
We had to wait a few minutes in line before we were let into the club—the place was packed wall to wall, and the heavy bass of the music vibrated the air as we squeezed through the throng of people to get to the bar.
Decorated in various shades of gray with splashes of reds, the club was long and narrow, like its namesake. Rows of lights ran overhead, and they pulsed to the music as the colors fluctuated, taking on every hue of the rainbow. Couches lined the walls of the VIP area, but there was only standing room everywhere else, so we chose a spot close to the dance floor after taking a shot and ordering our drinks.
Kaiya sipped her cocktail as her eyes scanned through the crowd before settling on mine. A shy, yet seductive smile came over her lips as she glanced away.
Nori started pulling Drew towards the dance floor, but he resisted. “I’m not drunk enough for that yet.” He chuckled.
Nori pouted. “Please. I promise I’ll make it up to you later.”
Drew conceded, letting Nori pull him out to the floor. They soon were lost in the sea of bodies as I directed my attention back to Kaiya. “You wanna dance, baby?”
Eagerly nodding, she threaded her free hand with mine and pulled me into the dancing crowd. Swaying to the beat, Kaiya pressed her ass into my cock, and my hands automatically went to her lithe hips as she moved against me.
Leaning into me, her body undulated rhythmically against mine, making me want to take her home early even more. My dick began to stiffen from her sensual movements as my mouth found her neck. Tilting it, she allowed me better access to taste her as my tongue traced along the slender flesh.
Pushing my erection against her, I caused her to bite back a moan as she turned her head to connect her lips with mine. Our tongues tangled along with our bodies, the sensual movements making our skin heat from a combination of body heat and arousal. I was on the verge of hiking up that dress and slipping inside her right in the middle of everyone—that’s how crazy she made me, making me want her unlike anything before.
“Kaiya?” someone shouted over the music, interrupting us.
Kaiya broke away from me, her fair skin flushed and those full lips slightly swollen. My head followed hers as it turned in the direction of the voice, and anger began to simmer under my skin once I saw the source—Bryce.
Kaiya stiffened nervously as she uncomfortably said, “Hey, Bryce.”
He stepped towards us, causing me to instinctively move in front of Kaiya. His eyes hardened as they met mine, and I knew he was pissed about her being with me. Too fucking bad. She’s mine.
He looked around me, focusing back on Kaiya. His eyes softened some as he spoke to her, “You haven’t returned my calls—I wanted to talk about what you said. I—”
“She obviously doesn’t want to talk to you about it, or she would have answered your calls. Why don’t you take a hint and leave her alone?”
Bryce moved toward me, coming right up in my face. Brave, but stupid. “I don’t remember asking your opinion.”
Clenching my fists, I snarled, “Back the fuck off before you get hurt.”
“Guys, stop,” Kaiya pleaded as she squeezed between us, pushing Bryce away from me. She put her back against me as she faced Bryce, keeping her hands on his chest. I growled low as I put my arms around her waist and pulled her away from him.
Kaiya gave me a look over her shoulder, but didn’t say anything until she redirected her attention to Bryce. “Look, Bryce, I’m… Ryker and I… we’re together now. Like I said in the text, I can’t see you like that anymore, but I still want to be friends.”
Glaring between me and her, he patronizingly remarked, “Really? After everything we’ve been through, you’re just going to drop me for some… some… meathead that you just met?”
Meathead? Did he really just call me a meathead? What are we, in middle school? “This meathead will beat your ass if—”
“Stop!” Kaiya yelled, gaining both of our attentions, as well as some of the people’s around us. “Look, Bryce, I’m sorry, but I can’t help the way I feel. Ryker and I just connected, and—”
“Save it, Ky. I’m glad to finally see where I stand,” Bryce spat before pivoting and disappearing into the crowd.
Shoulders slumping, Kaiya gazed sadly in the direction he went and sighed. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
“I know, Warrior. Try not to worry about it,” I said as I rubbed my hands up and down her arms, hoping to comfort her. I knew from some of our talks about him that Bryce had provided stability for her when she needed it, and that she cared for him. I could tell that Bryce felt the same for Kaiya, too, maybe even loved her. How could he not? I was falling hard for her myself, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, even if I wanted to. I should’ve wanted to, should’ve been more concerned with protecting myself from being hurt again, but Kaiya had found a way to slip past my defenses, making me let my guard down.
Turning around, she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I returned her embrace, enjoying the warmth it stirred in my stomach. I’d only felt this way once before, but it was already becoming stronger than it was back then. Holy shit, I think I love her.
Being the coward that I was, I pushed the thoughts away. Neither of us was ready for that, and I couldn’t bring myself to say the words yet. I wasn’t prepared for the repercussions of speaking them, especially if Kaiya didn’t feel the same way, even though I was pretty sure she did. When she thought I wasn’t looking, I caught the way she stared at me sometimes, that look o
f love—the one that was so evident on both of our faces in that picture we took at the aquarium.
Even still, I couldn’t voice my feelings, too afraid of her rejection. I didn’t want to push her away, unsure of how I would deal with not being with her anymore. The idea twisted my stomach uncomfortably, and I quickly pushed it away and focused on something else.
“Ready to go, baby?”
“Yeah.” She scanned the dance floor. “Where’s Nori and Drew?”
Looking around the club, I searched for them, finding them making out on the dance floor. Pointing them out to Kaiya, I joked, “I don’t think they’re ready to leave yet.”
“I need to tell her we’re leaving—she gets pissed when I leave without telling her,” she replied before walking toward them.
When she came back, I linked our hands and led her through the crowd to get to the exit. The fresh breeze that hit us once we stepped outside was a welcome change from the hot air inside the club.
Once we got to my apartment, I was on Kaiya as soon as we walked through the door. Our mouths collided as I lifted her, my hands gripping her exposed thighs as she hooked her legs around me. I slipped her dress up further as I headed for the couch, unable to wait any longer. I had been waiting all day to have her, and now that we were finally alone, I was taking full advantage.
Kaiya straddled me once I sat down. Her hands immediately found my jeans and she hastily unbuttoned them, as eager as I was for me to sink inside her.
As she pulled my cock out, I moved her panties to the side, and then she was lowering herself down on me. Filling her inch by inch, I groaned as she cried out in pleasure until she took all of me.
Slowly, she moved her hips into me as I removed her dress. Pulling her flush against me, my mouth found her tits as she continued to ride me. I teased her nipple with my tongue before nipping and sucking it lightly, causing her to moan over and over again.
Kaiya’s pace increased as my hands caressed her silken skin and my mouth consumed her. I traced my teeth and tongue along her collarbone to her neck, then brought her lips to meet mine, needing to taste her sweetness. Our tongues threaded together as her hands knotted in my hair and pulled tightly as she rocked harder on my dick, bringing us both closer to ecstasy.
The Scars of Us Page 18
