“No.”
Her breath stalled in her chest.
He widened her stance and dropped to his knees, peeling down her pants. “I want you like this.” His hot breath teased across her thighs before he gripped her ass, hauling her forward. He breathed her in, then rumbled out a groan. Kendall couldn’t stop the whimper. Both of them in supplicant stances. She’d never felt more vulnerable or so turned on in her life. His forearms braced her hips as he transferred his grip to her wrists, then to her forearms until they were locked together just as his tongue slid inside her.
Invasive, overwhelming, intimate—all the things she’d never once allowed. Not like this. She was at his mercy, and the quick bite of fear drowned under a deluge of pleasure.
He wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked, drawing hard and relentlessly. Her nails dug into his forearms as words, sounds, the room, everything disappeared into the chasm of pure bliss. When oxygen became paramount, she dragged in a breath, and the swipe of his tongue brought her back into herself.
He gentled his grasp but didn’t let her go as he lapped at her. The flat of his tongue opened her wider, and he found her clit again. She struggled against the vortex of pleasure. She couldn’t survive it again. Not and stay upright. “More.”
She shook her head. There was no way she could give him any more.
He looked up at her, his mouth and chin wet with her. He licked at her folds lazily. “I love how your thighs quiver. That’s how I know.”
He tugged off the rest of her hoodie and stripped her to the skin. He stood and lifted her until she clutched around him with both arms and legs. His dress pants abraded her delicate tissues, but instead of drawing back, she undulated her hips against him. It would probably kill her, but she was revved for more.
The short hairs of his buzz cut tickled under her fingertips as she palmed the top of his head, then slanted her mouth over his. He jerked back, but she latched on to him. She could taste herself on his lips, on his tongue. The smoky remnants of the liquor made for a heady mix of flavors. The kiss was anything but sweet. The crush of his mouth on hers, the dominant angle of his head, and the hypnotic stroke of his tongue made her want more. The chain of the rosary he wore dug into the side of her wrist. The nip of pain and the full-body press as he crawled onto the bed with her wrapped around him kicked her into motion.
She scuttled back, her fingers at his zipper.
He tried to push her hands away, but she wasn’t going to be held back again. She wanted to touch him this time. She peeled his pants over the muscular curve of his ass. She smoothed her fingers over the lighter skin. His cock sprang free and bobbed between them. She smiled up at him. His face was all serious and intense, his jaw locked around a growl. She smiled wider and cupped her palm under his shaft.
Had she ever made a man growl before?
With the lightest of touches, she skittered her fingertips over the suede softness of his head. He jerked in her hand. “Are you going to just play with it?”
She laughed. “Maybe.”
The cross of his rosary swung in front of her. The dichotomy of religion and hot, near-stranger sex made her heart kick. The chain slithered over her forearm, tickling her as she grasped him. His groan burrowed into her. The power of the sound matched the volume as her grip intensified. She cupped his balls with her other hand as she clasped the base of his cock. The underside of his shaft pressed into her belly.
“Tell me you have something.”
He buried his forehead into the pillow beside her head and thrust into her hand. “God, I hope there’s something in here.” She pumped his shaft, and he stilled above her. “Not helping.”
She hiked her knee over his hip. “Incentive to find a condom. Until then…” She grazed the underside of his cockhead and up to the split at the top. Precum coated the pad of her thumb. She watched him as she slid her thumb between her lips.
“Fuck.”
He was salty and warm. “Well, hurry up.”
He reached over her and fumbled in the drawer beside the bed. He leaned back, his dress pants bunched around his knees. She followed him up and swiped her tongue under the head. He groaned, “Kendall.”
She looked up at his warning tone, letting his shaft slide along the cup she’d made with her tongue. She flattened it, enjoying the texture of his veins and widening shaft until he hit the back of her mouth. She tried to relax, but it had been a long time since she’d done this. She fisted his shaft and sucked around the tip of him. He slid his fingers into her hair.
“Christ.”
She closed her eyes and eased him in deeper. His grip on her hair tightened, and the bites of pain urged her to take more of him. She let him go with a soft, sucking pop. His face was even stonier. She dug her nails into the tops of his thighs. “Giving up so soon?”
He stumbled off the bed and into the bathroom. He came back with a strip of condoms and flipped her onto her back. “You are going to be the death of me.” The amused grunt was the first time she’d heard anything remotely friendly from his mouth.
She rose onto her elbows and flicked her hair over her shoulder. She watched him take his cock in hand. Part of her wanted to stop and watch him stroke himself. To watch him erupt in his hand, but it was too dark. And she wanted him inside her far too much.
“Don’t fucking look at me like that.” He rolled the condom over his shaft.
Her smile grew wider. “Like what?”
He didn’t answer; instead he crawled over her, the rosary cross teasing the skin between her breasts as he settled himself between her thighs. She pushed the pillows out of her way. Want and curiosity replaced the fire and neediness.
He slid the tip of his cock through her folds and stared down at her. Her hazy restlessness seemed to have transferred to him. He drew her leg up and draped her calf over his shoulder. Curiosity dissolved with each inch into her. The angle opened her wide and let him thrust into her until every single tissue and muscle was stretched to accept him.
She reached over her head for the headboard and tried to lever herself up to meet him, but he pinned her into the bed. His eyes glittered in the moon-spun dark as his hands rested beside her head. He slowly rocked inside her with a groan. She cried out. Overwhelmed and unable to do anything but take what he gave her, she gripped his shoulders.
She wanted to flip him, to be in control, but with each glide of his cock inside her she opened more, accepted more. He filled her so completely that darkness pulled in and around her, drenching her in his amber-soaked scent. With each breath she drew in, he pushed deeper. Each breath out was torture because all she wanted was the closeness, the fullness. All she wanted was Shane.
She choked out a sob of frustration. He filled her, ramped up the need, but the pace was killing her. He leaned back, pulling out of her until just the tip of his cock teased her entrance. Before she could move, he hooked his arm under her other knee, turning her onto her side. She clutched the pillow-top mattress edge as he folded her knees together and pushed them up.
She turned her mouth into the bunched sheets and screamed. The angle made him feel even bigger. He slammed into her again and again. Her body shattered around his, accepted the invasion of this man who had the power to change her whole world inside this room and out of it.
Spots danced behind closed lids, and sweat dripped from every inch of her skin. She spasmed and cried as her body shook with aftershocks she couldn’t control. He smoothed his hand from hip to thigh as his strokes slowed, and her limbs collapsed under her. She pressed her cheek into the mattress and sucked in gasping breaths. He pulled away and stood. She brought her knees up the rest of the way to her chest.
Surely she was going to fly apart.
In the conference room, she understood the sex there. That was anger and frustration needing an outlet. This—no, this didn’t make sense. She rolled until she was sitting upright. Her entire body felt like an open wound. Her thighs shook as she stood to gather her clothes.
/> The room was silent save for the high tide roaring outside. The thought of the stretchy fabric on her skin right now was too much to take. She set her bundle of clothes on the desk and leaned on the sturdy chair. The glass was still there. Maybe alcohol would settle her jangling nerves. The smooth burn chased the lump down her throat as she unhooked his dress shirt from the back of the chair and slipped it on, buttoning it enough to stay closed.
She turned, and her heart slammed. He stood in the bathroom doorway wearing only his boxer briefs.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
His coarse voice and words were like a slow stroke down her back. Again nothing seemed to make sense when it came to this confusing man. Closed off one moment, stretching her open and demanding everything the next, and now this. She tucked her hands into the overlong sleeves of his shirt.
Thank you didn’t seem to fit. Instead, she followed instinct and went to him. It was the only thing she could trust right now. Silvery moonlight highlighted his cheekbone and kiss-swollen mouth, leaving the rest of his face in shadow. His shoulders and torso were a fascinating terrain of dips and valleys that made the pads of her fingers buzz. She brushed her knuckles over his belly. The muscles of his abs bunched and tightened under her touch. Some of her nerves settled. Maybe he was just as affected as she was.
She cupped the cross of his rosary in her palm. The back of her hand tingled at the soft brush of his chest hair. “Are you religious?”
“My mother was. She always had it with her.”
She traced the Madonna medal in the center. He pushed away a lock of her hair that had fallen forward, but then stepped back. The smooth beads slid from her hand.
“I think you should stay here with Kain while I get some things settled.”
Suddenly cold, she curled her fingers around the gap in his dress shirt. “What?”
“There’s nothing here for me in Monterey. I need to take care of a few things.”
She frowned. “I thought we were going to do this together.”
“I have to talk to Jonas and sell whatever I can. Most of my money was wrapped up in Justice Construction, so that’s gone now. I have to figure out a way to get us back to New York.”
“I…” She took a step back. She what? She was dependent on this man, and he was going to go off and do God knew what alone. Had the orgasms short-circuited her brain? Kendall painstakingly made sure not to rely on anyone, and she was completely at his mercy. She’d allowed herself to be. God dammit, how fucking stupid was she?
One of a half dozen mistakes she’d made since getting off the plane.
Damn her mother for blazing through their emergency money with this blasted trip. For what? To come in person and see for herself that her entire world was going to change thanks to an amendment in Lawrence Justice’s will? At least in Bradley she was on her own turf. She could rely on the one person who always got things done.
Herself.
She turned away and grabbed the yoga pants off the desk and stepped into them. She could feel him behind her but couldn’t look at him. With shaking fingers she unbuttoned his shirt and let it drop. She dragged on her tank top and went to the door.
“Kendall.”
She stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “You’re right. We have a lot of things to take care of. I’ll need you to take me back with you in the morning so I can get my rental car.”
“I’ll return it.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going to be reliant on Kain to drive me around.” She couldn’t afford more than another day’s rental on the little coupe. Not if she had to find her way back across the country.
“Kain has a fleet of cars in his garage.”
Incredulous, she let her hand slide limply to her side. “I’m sure Kain would appreciate you dumping me on him.”
“I’m fairly sure that Kain would love it.”
She turned at his low, dangerous voice. “You think that I’d even…” Pride and astonishment clogging her ability to form a sentence. “After—”
“After what, babe? This was just fucking. I don’t have any hold on you.”
Stunned, she got her voice back. “Congratulations on the upgrade. You’re a fucking asshole. That fits better.” She opened the door, then slammed it behind her.
Chapter Five
“It’s pretty impressive to get laid and have the woman slam the door in your face within the same hour.”
“Fuck off, Kain.”
“If you don’t want me to comment, then don’t have sex in my house. Especially loud sex I can hear over my headphones.”
Shane’s grip tightened on his dress shirt. He hadn’t been able to put it on after she’d worn it. Just a few minutes against her skin, and it smelled like her. Apples and sex. Two things that shouldn’t go together, but as usual the dichotomy was what made him sit up and pay attention.
He knew the difference between losing himself in sex and losing himself in a woman. Twice in the same day was more than scratching an itch. Twice with the same woman who left him wrecked and lashing out at her, that was the capper.
He balled up his shirt.
“Shane, this doesn’t have to be a cluster fuck. Just let me help you guys get to New York. It’s the least I can do.”
Shane looked up at his friend. Kain was one of the few people he actually had to look up at. Even with all the gargantuan guys he’d worked with on construction sites over the years, no one was quite as holy-fuck-huge as Kain. “I think you’ve done enough.”
Kain’s eyes flattened.
Shane held up a hand. “No, not like that. I appreciate you taking over our employees and making sure the jobs get done. I just can’t let you bail me out of this too.”
Kain dipped his hands into his pockets. “It’s just money.”
“It’s just your money.”
“And I decide how I want to use it.”
Shane held out his hand. “I know it, but this I need to do alone.” It was more than time for him to stand on his own. Avery Furniture had started with a backup. He didn’t want Larry’s name and influence involved, but he hadn’t taken the plunge without the safety net of Justice Construction. He needed to know he could do this by himself.
The training wheels had to go into the garage sometime.
Kain grasped his forearm, and Shane did the same before breaking the contact.
“You know I’ll do anything you need,” Kain said.
“Good, because I need you to babysit Kendall.”
Kain’s brow rose. “I’m pretty sure she’s a grown-up. The gymnastics upstairs certainly settled that discussion.”
Shane scratched along the few days’ growth of beard at his neck. “I’d rather not talk about that.”
“I got it. You’re interested in her. I didn’t really need a sound track as proof.”
The moment Kendall had come into that room, there had been nothing on his mind but her. Kain might be a charming son of a bitch, but he was loyal beyond definition. As young as his best friend was, there was an old-world shadow that rode behind him. Honor was important, and he’d never poach.
“I don’t know what‘s going on with Kendall. I have to focus on the future, not getting her naked. And that’s why I need a few days away from her.”
He didn’t trust himself not to get wrapped up in her. The minute he got near her, there was a hunger that precluded all sense. Attraction he understood, but not this gnawing hunger to strip back all her defenses and take everything he could from her.
The numbness he’d felt since Larry had his heart attack two weeks before and through the hospital visits and finally his death—all that faded the moment he got his hands on her. The fact that it came back, double time, made her more addiction than cure.
He needed to know he could walk away.
For himself and for her.
“I’ll wine and dine her. Keep her occupied.”
Shane’s spine straightened. “As long as it’s occupied, not romanced.”
Kain grinned. “I can’t help it if I’m more charming than you.” His smile faded. “That wasn’t always the case.”
It felt like that part of him was behind Plexiglas. He could see it but didn’t know how to reach it. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be that person again. He was pretty sure his laughter had gone into the ground with his father.
“Just take care of her.”
It took all his willpower to walk to the door. Kendall was right; he was a fucking asshole. And she didn’t need him in her life right now. Even if losing himself in her arms was the sweetest thing he’d known in too many years to count.
He pulled out of Kain’s drive and pushed Kendall to the back of his mind. He had a lot of work to do and not much time to do it in. The quiet, winding road gave him plenty of room to think. By the time he made it to his father’s house, he had a half plan formed.
Now he just had to make sure the money worked.
* * * *
Kendall pushed the door from the garage open into Kain’s small mudroom. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“You’re the one who dared the personal shopper from Chanel to go with you to Target. Who does that?”
She dropped two huge shopping bags on the counter. “I was playing your wingman. You got her phone number, didn’t you?”
Kain grinned down at her. “I did. You still should have let me pay for the clothes.”
Kendall laughed. “Maxing out my Target card was worth it for the look on Monica’s face. Especially when I saw her try on two pairs of those dress pants in her size when she thought I wasn’t looking.”
But now she had clothes for the trip home and a few extras that she probably shouldn’t have bought. She had a problem with bras. The only good thing about being a B-cup was the ability to buy cheap bras. Her girls were small, but they were always dressed pretty.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She held up a finger to Kain and answered. “Hey, Mom.”
“Any idea when you’re coming home, sweetie?”
Her mother had called and asked the same question twice a day, but it was now day three, and Shane hadn’t contacted her once. Kain was playing the perfect host, yet she hated to just sit here and do nothing. “Still working out the specifics.”
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