by RC Boldt
I guide us, swaying and not caring that the song currently playing isn’t that slow—Lady Antebellum’s ‘Heartbreak’—because our bodies instantly move to their own rhythm.
The bottom of my jaw grazes her temple, and I feel a slight tremor wrack her body. The faint hint of coconut hits my senses from whatever hair product she uses. Lowering my chin, I notice her pulse beating rapidly at the base of her neck, and I’m hit with the urge to taste her skin. To see how sweet or salty it might be tonight in contrast to before.
Dammit, this is a job. She’s my employer. My responsibility is to keep her safe, not to be a goddamn perv. It’s bad enough I’ve been practically mooning over her since that night.
Fuck.
Simone eases away to peer up at me, her brows pulling together. “What’s wrong?”
Shit. I cussed out loud.
Grimacing, I scramble to try to come up with something remotely passable. “Sorry. I was just, uh, thinkin’ about the next venue’s specs.” There. That actually sounds legit.
“Oh.” Her eyes drop to my lips, and damn if they don’t linger there before she snaps her gaze to focus on something over my shoulder. “I should probably call it a night.”
She eases from my hold, and I will my fingers to relax their grip and allow her to move away. All the while, every single part of me is inwardly yelling, No! Don’t let her go!
As soon as she steps back, I’m bombarded by an alarming sense of loss. Something I’ve never felt before. Not even with Lucia.
Simone’s back is to me as she reaches to disconnect her phone from the sound system.
“Wait.”
The urgency in my tone has her freezing, and when she tosses a worried glance over her shoulder, questions evident in her eyes, I don’t answer. I simply advance, only stopping when I’m less than a foot away from where she stands. Turning to face me, she rakes her eyes over me, and her tongue darts out to wet her lips.
I swallow hard, knowing there’s a huge chance this could blow up in my face. That I might just be a vulnerable, pathetic fuck and seeing what I want to see.
With a wince, I rake a hand through my hair, dragging my hand down to grip the tense muscles in the back of my neck. If things were different, I wouldn’t be the man hesitating. I wouldn’t be less than self-assured. But Lucia shot that all to shit.
“I, uh…” Fuck. I pinch my eyes closed before forcing myself to look her in the eyes. “I know I’m way outta line, but I can also promise I know what no means.”
I pause in hopes that my words will settle in, to ensure that she understands there’s no way in hell I’d force the issue. “Thing is…I noticed you haven’t had a proper birthday kiss.”
Simone’s chest rises and falls with shallow breaths, lips parting in what I hope is anticipation.
What I pray won’t be a rejection.
22
Simone
“You deserve to live a little on your birthday, Sim.”
Matty’s words linger, echoing within my brain as I stand here with the man he was referring to. For whatever reason, my best friend gave me a not so subtle nudge, an opportunity, to be with this man.
Maybe he sees something I don’t—something I won’t allow myself to see. Because fear always seems to sink its filthy claws in and take hold of me.
“I noticed you haven’t had a proper birthday kiss.”
Kane’s voice holds an edge of desperation, and the intensity, the raw need in his eyes, catches me off guard nearly as much as his words.
Hesitance, learned protectiveness, makes me ask, “Why?” I swallow hard before pressing on. “Because if you’re saying that out of pity, if you’re feeling sorry for me simply because it’s my birthday, then it’s a hard no.” In fact, it’s a hard hell no.
A severe crease forms between his brows as his features turn stormy, lips flattening into a firm, thin line. “You think I wanna kiss you out of pity?” he grits out. Those blue eyes rake over me slowly, leaving a visceral heat in their wake.
I stammer, “W-well, I—”
He cuts me off, closing the distance, his broody stare locked on me. “You’ve been pullin’ me in, makin’ me want more. More of you. To know you.” Those eyes trace over my face, gaze searching, a hint of vulnerability and perhaps even fear beneath it.
“You’re beautiful and talented—sure—but you’ve also got the biggest damn heart. What’s beneath the surface—that’s where the magic is.”
His voice turns deeper, more guttural, as if it’s being ripped from deep within. “That, Simone, is why I wanna kiss you.” Raising a hand, he gently tangles his fingers in the hair at my nape, the question gleaming in his eyes, etched on his features.
When I make no move to stop him, he brings his forehead to mine and his minty breath dances across my lips. “It’s not pity. Not at all.” Raw desperation lines his tone as his gravelly voice sends a shiver racing down my spine. He grazes the tip of my nose with his own, bringing our lips so damn close. “I’m just dyin’ to kiss you.”
This is dangerous—getting involved in any way with a man I’m not certain is over his heartache from another woman. Then again, it’s tough to say if I’m completely over all the heartache I’ve been dealt in my past.
I don’t respond for so long, so ensnared in my thoughts, that he starts to withdraw. His fingers loosen their grip, preparing to release my hair, and when he starts to back away, I somehow inherently know that he won’t ask again. He’ll never broach this topic after tonight.
If this is my opportunity to have another taste of what it’s like to be kissed by a man who wants me for me—not the fame or the fortune—then I need to take it. To experience the heady sensation that goes hand in hand with Kane’s mouth on mine.
I reach out and fist each side of his button-down shirt before I tip my head back, causing our lips to graze. Gutless, I know, but I’m scared. This feels all-encompassing. Like I’m breaching new territory.
The instant I feel his body tremor in response, it urges me on. When I press myself flush against him, the hand at my nape tightens, and our mouths collide in an explosive kiss that’s devastating in the best possible way. It overtakes my senses, ridding me of any semblance of sanity or logic. I can only breathe, taste, and feel his lips on mine.
Our tongues tangle when he drives the kiss deeper, and I feel my nipples grow impossibly hard against the firm wall of his chest. The ache between my thighs has me arching into him. I glide my hands up along his hard body, skimming over the broad muscles of his back. His large hand drifts down to my ass, molding my flesh with his fingers, gripping me and urging me closer to rock against him.
I can’t restrain a moan when I feel his hardness prodding beneath his pants. When my hands drift down from his back toward his waistband, the vibrating catches me off guard. Dazed, I break our kiss, and his lips instantly shift to the side of my neck. His teeth rake my skin in tiny nips before he places small kisses in their wake. I arch into his touch, my voice breathless when I tell him, “You’re vibrating.”
He freezes, and the pause in his decadent touch elicits a whimper of protest from me. But when he straightens and reaches for his back pocket, it’s like someone has just dumped a bucket of ice water on me.
Withdrawing his cell phone, he expels a profanity beneath his breath and types out a quick response. Once he pockets it, his eyes meet mine. “Jed and Vance were concerned after they saw Matthias leave. Wanted to make sure we were okay.”
My face heats, and I’m certain it’s the brightest shade of crimson. Nothing like nearly getting caught making out with your personal head of security…
Awkward. So awkward.
I take a step back and attempt a casual tone. “You know, if you—”
His arm snakes around my waist, tugging me back to him. “Don’t. I told you. I was dyin’ to kiss you.” His eyes bore into mine with so much intensity it makes it difficult to breathe. “I’d still be, except”—he tips his head to encompass our surrounding
s—“duty calls.”
I swallow hard. “So, if we were back in the room, you’d…” I trail off, biting my lower lip in hesitation.
He brings his thumb up to my lip, smoothing it away from my teeth’s hold. “Hell, yes.”
Relief floods me, along with an urgency to get back to the hotel. “Okay.”
He studies me, gaze searching until his mouth curves up into a devastating grin. “Okay.”
Once I detach my phone from the sound system, Kane escorts me, large palm hovering at the base of my spine, to the exit where he’d instructed Jed and Vance to wait for us.
The entire walk has me in a daze, but it’s not entirely from that kiss, nor from his words.
When Kane had smiled at me, I’d witnessed a transformation. He’d gone from the shuttered, by-the-book man who’s let me see glimpses of his anguish to a man who’s dangerously handsome and oozes sex appeal. One with a fiery light in his eyes that hints at a man beneath it all who’s full of life. Full of passion.
It dawns on me, at this moment, that I’m not the only one hiding behind layers, showing one version of myself to people, all in the name of self-preservation.
I may have just found someone who does exactly the same thing.
23
Kane
If I thought getting my mind off her, off what happened that night, was a near impossible feat, it’s nothing compared to now.
It’s goddamn agony trying like hell to play it cool in front of the guys as we head back to the suite. To not touch her. To not look at her because I know, sure as shit, I won’t be able to hide how much I want her.
At the back of the elevator, I stand with Simone by my side. Jed and Vance are in front, near the panel of illuminated buttons. My fingers clench and unclench, antsy as hell. I swear heat radiates from her body, and I nearly jerk, startled when her pinky finger grazes mine. At the softness of her skin, an extreme contrast to my callused fingers, I work hard to keep my breathing even and steady.
Inside me, though, is a shit-ton of turmoil.
I dart a look at her from the corner of my eye, but she gazes straight ahead, casual as can be while Jed yammers on about how he hopes her birthday is “the best one yet.”
If I have any say, I’ll be doing my damnedest to make sure it is.
It seems like centuries before we enter the suite and close the door behind us. After securing the locks, we draw to a stop less than a foot away, silently acknowledging the men right outside and the chance of them overhearing anything that goes on in this alcove.
Except I’ve always been a bit of a risk taker… Well, the old me was. That same version that’s been rising to the surface and pushing his way to the forefront ever since I’ve been around Simone. Having her bring out this side of me makes life seem a hell of a lot less bleak.
I move swiftly, catching her off guard and crowding her against the wall. My palms land beside either side of her head, caging her in.
Leaning close, I whisper, “Don’t make any noise.” I dust my lips over hers, and her sharp intake of breath spurs me on. “You don’t want ’em to know what I’m doin’ to you.” Another slow drag of my mouth over hers. “Where I’m touchin’ you.”
Her lips part, and her whisper is ragged. “Where’re you going to…touch me?”
I toy with her earlobe, grazing it with my teeth. “I’ll start here.”
Breath whooshes out of her. “Then where?”
I grin against the smooth skin of her neck. “Then down here.”
When her body arches, straining for more contact, my hand slides down from the wall to skim over her shoulder before slowly drifting lower to cup one breast. “Maybe here.”
Her chest rises and falls with shallow breaths. I tuck my fingers beneath the elastic band at the top of her strapless dress and tug the fabric down inch by inch, allowing her the opportunity to stop me.
When she doesn’t, I nip at her collarbone, eliciting a gasp from her while I lower the fabric to bare her upper body clad in only a strapless bra. Her nipples are hard points, prodding through the lace.
“Maybe you’ll let me suck on these?” I drag a finger over one hardened peak.
Her breathless moan of, “Mm,” is all the response I get.
I reach for the clasp, and once I free her breasts, letting the bra fall soundlessly to the floor, my hands immediately move to cup them. Lowering my head, I capture one nipple in my mouth, flicking it with my tongue before I suckle it. I toy with the other, grazing the tip with the pad of my thumb.
“Kane,” she hisses.
“Shhh,” I say against her hot, silky skin. “Gotta be quiet.” I shift to the other breast. “Can’t have them knowin’ what we’re up to.”
Her hands fumble at my waist, tugging at my buckle. “I need to touch you.”
“Later.” I shift out of her reach, sliding a hand down her body to her sleek thigh, then hiking up the hem of her dress to her waist. Goddamn, she’s so wet her panties are clinging to her pussy lips.
Our eyes meet, hers filled with hunger as they watch me, the dim lighting in the suite casting a soft glow over her features. When I trace my finger over her, she sucks in a sharp breath.
“You like that?” My words are low, husky. I make another pass, this time nudging my finger a fraction inward.
Something flashes in her gaze—uncertainty, maybe—but it disappears so quickly I wonder if I imagined it. Then she grips my wrist, guiding me beneath the elastic, urging me on.
Her words are a hoarsely whispered plea. “Touch me, please.”
My cock goes impossibly hard beneath my pants. I don’t hesitate before sinking one long finger inside her wet heat. Her pussy clamps around me, as if it’s desperate to draw me in deeper. Dammit, I’ve got to see her.
Withdrawing my finger, I quickly peel down the thin straps of her thong and let it fall to her ankles before she kicks them off. Transfixed by the sight of her waxed pussy, lips shiny in the dim light, I slide my finger back inside. I nudge her legs wider before working a second finger inside but barely get knuckle deep when she stiffens.
Immediately, I freeze, my eyes meeting hers. An apologetic smile plays at her lips, her tone hushed. “Sorry. It’s just…been a while.” I start to withdraw my fingers when she stops me. “No, you’re just a little bigger than I’m used to.” A blush rises on her cheeks. “Your fingers, I mean.”
“My fingers are big, huh?” I can’t hold back my grin. “Darlin’, that ain’t all that’s big.”
She covers her face, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. “Oh, stop it.”
Sliding my fingers from her, I move my hands to bracket her pussy instead. “Then I’ll be gentler.” I lower myself, bringing my face between her thighs. “I reckon this might help.”
The first drag of my tongue along her entrance has her body going ramrod straight, hands moving to my hair, fingers gripping the strands tight. Murmuring against her wet pussy, “Let me know if this isn’t gentle enough,” I place an openmouthed kiss on her before gliding my tongue inside for a taste.
Gently suckling at each of her outer lips, I drive my tongue inside again, using my thumb and forefinger to tug and toy with her clit while I devour her with my mouth. Those lean hips writhe, her body silently urging me on and begging me for more. When her thighs tense, her breaths coming out in fast, harsh pants, I know she’s close.
She whimpers at the loss of my tongue when I retreat to drag it down the slick crease of her pussy and pants my name on a ragged breath. “Kane?”
My eyes lock with hers, and my harsh whisper matches the lust visible on her face. “Tell me, Princess.”
The hands gripping my hair urge me closer. “I ache.” Her whispered words hold a hint of desperation, her breathing choppy.
“You need me to make you come, don’t you?”
“Mmm.”
“Say it, Princess.”
“Please…make me come.”
I clench my jaw, trying to maintain control. “Play
with those nipples while I fuck this pretty pussy with my tongue.”
Simone nods, but when she makes no move to do so, I lightly swat her pussy. She jerks with a gasp, eyes widening in surprise.
“Did you hear me?” A quick nod follows. “When your hands are on those gorgeous nipples, then you’ll get my mouth.”
She releases her grip on my hair and moves her hands to her breasts. A tiny whimper escapes as her fingers toy with her hardened nipples, and I drape one of her legs over my shoulder before fitting my mouth to her wet pussy once again. Burying my tongue as deep as I can, I devour her while my thumb works her clit.
“Kane…”
Fuck, the way she whimpers my name, the desperation laced in it, the pleading, knowing she’s begging for more of my mouth on her, nearly has me coming in my goddamn pants.
I add more pressure on her clit while I grip her shaky thigh, her other leg still draped over my shoulder, and thrust my tongue deep. Then her hips jerk, her breath catches, and she lets out a keening cry before she rocks her pussy against my face, chasing my tongue and mouth, urging me to tongue fuck her through her orgasm.
Her head is tipped back against the wall—lips parted, breasts heaving, and nipples hardened into pebbles while she toys with them. I watch as she rides out her release with her eyes closed, looking too damn beautiful for words. Once the shudders subside, I ease back, placing a gentle kiss on her before sliding her leg off my shoulder. Straightening, I steady her with my hands at her hips.
Just as a knock sounds at the door.
Simone’s eyes fly open, pure panic etched on her features.
“Simone? Is everything all right?”
Fucking Jed. Dammit. I’ve gotta hand it to the guy. He does his job well, trying to stay alert and on top of things, doing his best to keep my—uh, keep Simone safe. But right now, I’d like nothing more than to tell him to fuck off.
