Jack & Kayla (Imperfect Love Series)

by Ruby Molloy

  The soft closure of the bedroom door alerts me to Boyd’s presence. He’s leaning against it, watching me, his eyes roaming the length of my legs. “I think you’ll find that’s mine,” he says.

  I ignore him and go back to scrutinizing his wardrobe. I find a pair of shorts I could maybe cinch in with a belt. I’m searching through a drawer when Boyd’s hands slide around my waist and splay across my stomach. “Stay with me,” he says.

  The t-shirt is no barrier to the warmth of his hands. My imagination has them sliding over me, slipping under my t-shirt, gliding, seeking ...

  Amelia.

  “I don’t think so, Boyd.” I move out of his arms and open the door to the living room. Or at least I try to, only it’s locked.

  Furious, I pull at the handle. “Unlock the door, Boyd. I’m leaving.”

  “No you’re not, Boots, not when it’s the middle of the night and your dressed like that.”

  I spin round, still tugging at the door even though I know it’s useless. “You think you’re going to stop me, big bad Boyd?”

  “This what you’re looking for?”

  He holds out the key and I pounce. I’m not quick enough. Boyd’s pretty fast for a big guy. He holds the key aloft and I reach for it, but all I end up doing is pressing my breasts against his torso. His sudden stillness tells me this is entirely the wrong thing to be doing.

  “Fuck, I can feel your tits.” His groan rumbles through his chest. He drops the key to the floor and cups my buttocks, hoisting me into the air. I have time to loop my hands around the back of his neck, but that’s all. He’s heading for his bed, his knees coming up on the mattress as he falls forward. My back hits the bed and he leans over me, his eyes fixed on mine even as his hands begin to hike up my t-shirt. It’s the only thing I’m wearing and he has me almost fully exposed in seconds. “Boyd, I don’t think we―”

  His mouth lands on mine. I’m still adjusting to this when his tongue seeks entrance. God, how could I have forgotten the taste of him? My fingers delve into his hair, tugging when his hand curls around the back of my thigh and lifts it high, making space for his hips.

  He grinds against me and I evade his mouth long enough to gasp his name, but he’s back, tongue stroking mine, his movements slow and erotic. I groan and my hips rise up, needing more.

  His hand moves to the inside of my thigh, skating up and down, teasing me while I writhe beneath him. Wound tight, I cry out when his fingers find me, stroking, once, twice―a perfect rhythm.

  “Boyd ...”

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

  “Promise.”

  He’s as good as his word, until I raise my t-shirt and Boyd’s gaze is riveted on where my fingers are stroking my nipple.

  “Oh, fuck ...” He groans and nudges my fingers away, replacing them with his mouth, still stroking between my legs, building the pace until my spine’s arching off the bed and I’m coming with a keening sound that drifts across the room.

  I come down slowly, aware of Boyd’s laboured breathing, his hand still between my thighs, his mouth nuzzling at my ear. “You want more?”

  My breathy “aha” brings a smile to his face.

  “Then I’m gonna give it to you.”

  His mouth returns to mine and I relax into it, stretching beneath him, groaning when his fingers slip free. He rummages in the drawer of his bedside cabinet and drops a condom onto the mattress, pulling his t-shirt over his head with one hand. He lowers the waistband of his sweats and there he is, long and thick and glistening. I watch as he tears open the package with his teeth and rolls the condom in place.

  His eyes search mine. “Ready?”

  “Ready.”

  Hips above mine now, he lines himself up and pushes into me slowly, pausing when I grip his forearms.

  “You want me to stop?” he asks in a voice that’s deep and low.

  “God, no.”

  Checking I mean it, he pushes again until I’m full and his hips are against mine. My grip on his arms tightens and I’m willing him not to move. I need to adjust, to get my head around the fact that Boyd’s inside me.

  He stretches out his forearms and gazes down at me. “Everything okay?”

  “Give me a sec.” I inhale slowly, filling my lungs, in and out, my muscles relaxing bit by bit. “Okay, I’m good.”

  Boyd flexes his hips, his eyes on me, gaze intense. His head dips down, mouth trailing up my throat, grazing lightly before crashing down on mine.

  The rhythm builds, Boyd’s hips pumping faster until I have to brace a hand against the headboard. Boyd breaks the kiss, his eyes now riveted on my boobs. He rests on one arm and traces a hand up my stomach and ribs, capturing a nipple between his fingers, stroking and squeezing until I feel it between my thighs.

  It doesn’t take long before I’m coming again, crying out with my release, while Boyd buries himself deeps and comes with a groan, his body drawn tight as it rolls through him.

  He falls against me, his breathing fast and ragged.

  “Don’t move,” I say, slipping my hands beneath his sweats, cupping his smooth hard buttocks.

  “Going nowhere,” he murmurs.

  Chapter Eight

  Rhinoceros

  BOYD

  I want to die right here.

  Never felt like this before, this turned on, this needy. Those weeks without her were empty, Amelia simply a dick move on my part to try and fill the gap.

  I recall how it felt when she left, as if I’d burned my bridges after first dowsing them in petrol. And afterwards, hearing from Mace how she’d gone back to Liverpool, trying to act like it meant nothing when inside I was falling to pieces.

  “Okay, you need to move,” she says, slapping my left buttock.

  “You just said―”

  “I know, but now I can’t breathe.”

  I groan and pull free. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, aside from losing her. When I grow uncomfortable laying here with a used condom on my dick, I roll from the bed and head for the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  I glance over my shoulder to find her eyes fixed on my arse. “The bathroom. That okay with you?”

  She drops back to mattress but not before I catch the hint of a smile on her face. “Come right back.”

  Like I’m going anywhere when she’s naked in my bed. I take care of business, my mind mostly on her. When I’m done I move to the bottom of the bed, taking time to admire the view. She’s naked, no sheet or duvet to preserve her modesty, her legs brown against the sheets. I place a knee either side of her thighs while she gazes up at me with those pretty brown eyes, hair spread out on my pillow in tangles. She reaches for my thighs and moves her hands round to my buttocks, her soft palms sliding over the muscles.

  I’m getting hard again and she’s watching, a half-smile on her lips. I brace against the mattress and whisper against her ear. “Why the smile?”

  “I’m happy.”

  “You’re happy?” I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips.

  “Yeah. I like seeing you like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “With your guard down.”

  “That’s why you’re smiling?”

  “Well, yeah. That and because I know what’s coming, if you’ll excuse the pun.” She gives me a smile, her hand reaching for my dick before I know what she’s about. Her palm is warm and soft, it’s grip fucking perfect. Her other hand reaches for my balls, squeezing with just the right amount of pressure.

  “Fuck!”

  “Yes, please!”

  She keeps on stroking and I’m trying to regain some control. “Condom, Boots.”

  “What? Oh, yeah.” She reaches into the drawer and fishes one out on her first try. “Can I roll it on?”

  “Do your worst.”

  She gives it her utmost concentration, rolling it down slowly, her hand giving my balls one more squeeze when she’s satisfied the condom’s in pl
ace. I give her my weight and roll to my back, taking her with me. Her thighs straddle mine as she pushes up with her hands against my chest. Her eyes run over my face and chest, stopping at my dick. “I like this view,” she says, eyes warm and greedy.

  “Mine’s better.”

  She smiles and rubs my dick again, leaning forward until her mouth is almost touching mine. She’s teasing me and I let her get away with it for a few seconds, but when the need builds and she’s still teasing, I spread my fingers through her hair and pull her down. Now it’s my turn to tease. My thumb dips between her thighs, and I know I’ve found my target when she snatches her mouth from mine and her moan settles against my ear.

  She’s getting close. Her breathing grows shallow and she’s writhing against me, tormenting me with her greedy little sounds. I’m not sure how she does it, but she lines up my cock and I’m inside her once again.

  “Fuck!” I try to grasp her hips, but she’s riding me fast and I don’t know how I do it, but I somehow hold back when she comes with the sweetest of sighs. I roll her to her back, pinning her hands above her head, pumping into her until my heart feels like it’s going to explode. Arms shaking, buttocks drawn tight, I come with a groan, pushing deep inside her.

  She gazes up at me, her skin glowing, eyes sleepy.

  I need one more kiss before I fall asleep.

  *****

  Seems like I can’t get enough of her. I wake during the night, my chest up against her back, my hard-on pressed up against her buttocks. The sex is slower this time. I’m aware of the sounds she makes, the way her muscles tighten when she’s on the brink, the way she pulses around me when she comes.

  When I wake again, her side of the bed is empty. Fear has me coming up on my elbows, ready to track her down. That’s when I smell coffee and I sag back to the mattress with relief.

  Once my heart has slowed and I’ve dealt with how it felt, thinking she was gone, I pull on a pair of boxers and make my way to the living room. She’s on the phone, her back to me as she stands at the kitchen counter gazing down at the city.

  “Yeah, a t-shirt, jeans, and my black boots. And don’t forget my undies.”

  There’s a pause and she lifts the hair from her nape, twisting it round her fingers before letting it fall.

  “No way! All I’m saying is, it was good.”

  I hear a high pitched noise down the phone.

  “Okay, it was more than good. It was frigging amazing! But then again, Boyd’s had so much practice it’d be weird if he wasn’t great in bed.”

  Whoever’s at the other end is talking again.

  “No.”

  Another pause.

  “Because he’s Boyd. Because last night he was with Amelia, this morning he’s with me, and I’ve just screwed up my life one more time, when I swore I’d wait for the right guy.”

  She examines the coffee pods in the crappy flowered basket my mum brought me and releases a sudden scathing laugh. “Yeah, right, as if Boyd’s that guy! Listen, I have to go before he wakes.”

  Another pause.

  “Okay. See you in a while.”

  She hangs up, turns, and screams. Her phone arcs through the air, like it’s got wings, before it loses momentum and crashes to the floor. “Oh my God, did you do that deliberately? Sneaking up on me, scaring the crap out of me?!”

  She’s full of bravado, but I can see the fear in her eyes. I don’t say a word. I watch and wait.

  She searches my face, looking for clues. “You weren’t meant to hear that. I was only bluffing. I didn’t want Frankie thinking it was more than it was ...”

  She trails off when I take a carton of juice from the fridge, my eyes on her while I drink.

  “Say something, Boyd.”

  She’s standing with her back to the countertop, her hands gripping the edges, knuckles white, my t-shirt exposing her long legs.

  I slam the carton on the side. “What do you want me to say? You want me to retaliate? You want me to say you were simply a fuck? Coz I can do that.”

  “Boyd ...”

  “I can say you’re one of many, that I’m already thinking about who’s gonna be next.”

  “Please ...”

  “Or I can say it meant something. That I’ve been waiting months for you to finally figure out what’s happening between us.” I move towards her, stopping when we’re almost touching and she’s tilting her head back so she can see my face. “Which one works best for you, Boots?”

  “Don’t.” The word is soft on her lips, a hushed plea.

  “Tell me what the fuck you want.”

  She flinches and stands taller, but she’s silent.

  “Babe, I’m asking you, no hidden agenda, what do you want?”

  Almond eyes unblinking, she finally speaks. “You.”

  Now I’m the one who’s motionless, burying my feelings, burying them deep so she won’t see how that affects me. “Say it again.”

  “You. I want you.”

  I watch her hands rolling against the edge of the counter, the only outward sign that she’s uneasy. I’m so wrapped up in how it feels to hear those words, on fighting to keep my emotions in check, that I miss the moment her uneasiness gives way to something else. She shoves her hands against my chest, struggling to move past me, but I hold my ground and block her way. She pushes me again, furious now, her hands slamming against my chest. “Game over, Boyd! Now move!”

  I’m holding onto her, grinning, knowing it’s a crass thing to be doing given that’s she’s finally opened up to me, but I can’t hold it back.

  She wants me.

  “You think this is funny?!” she screams. “Getting me to admit all of that, you standing there, grinning, like it means nothing! You know what that makes you? A dick! A total dick. And you know what? I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want you after all. You hear that, you great big rhinoceros? I don’t want you!”

  “Rhinoceros?” I ask, all but laughing now.

  “Fuck you, Boyd!”

  I give up battling my laughter. I have a fight on my hands, trying to stop her from running without hurting her. Between my laughter and her fighting we end up on the floor and though I’m careful to roll to my back, my thoughtfulness goes unrewarded. Her fist lands in my stomach, though credit where credit’s due, there’s power behind her punch. Enough for me to suck in a breath and reach for her wrists so she can’t land another. She tugs and fights like a wild cat and I only stop laughing when I catch the glint of moisture in her eyes.

  Rolling, I straddle her hips and pin her wrists to the floor. She twists her head to the side, but not before I see the shine of moisture.

  “Are you crying?”

  Nothing.

  I try again. “Didn’t mean to make you cry, Boots.”

  Still nothing.

  “You know, that’s some punch you have. Remind me not to fight with you again. Actually, no, scrap that. It might be worth it just to have you under me.”

  She squeezes her eyes tight. A tear escapes, falling over the bridge of her nose and collecting in the stream that’s leaking toward her hair.

  “Shit, Kayla, I’ll let you punch me again if you stop crying.”

  She’s making sobbing noises now, her face screwed up in a way that’s nowhere near pretty, but damn it pulls at my heart.

  “Fuck, you’re gonna make me spill my guts, aren’t you?” I’m not even holding out for a response now. I fall to the floor at her side, holding her hand against my chest so she understands she’s not going anywhere. It takes a while to figure out what I’m going to say, by which time I’m thinking ‘fuck it, just tell her’.

  “First time I saw you, I mentioned your arse and you pinned me up against the wall like you were trying to push me through it. That’s when I knew. So, just now, when I asked you what you wanted and you said ‘you’, that was fucking something.” I pick up movement, but I keep on talking. “After I met you I started thinking about what it would take for me to have you, and what kind of guy I�
��d have to be to keep you. I quit sleeping around and I did everything I could to get your attention, but you blocked me at every turn.

  “That day you dropped by to see me in hospital, when they wouldn’t let you see Frankie, that was the best fucking day of my life. And when you told me you’d lost your job I knew I couldn’t let the opportunity pass. I asked you to help out even though my mum had already agreed to move in and take care of me.”

  “Uh, Boyd―”

  “That’s why my parents greeted you like their long-lost daughter-in-law the first time they set eyes on you. When I told them about the change of plan, they knew you meant something to me.”

  “Boyd ...”

  “It was a shitty thing to do, right? I’m not sure how, but I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Boyd! Oh my God, would you let me speak for a second?!” Her voice is loud in my ear and she’s angry the way only Kayla can get angry. That’s when I realise I’ve messed up. I’m losing her. I release her hand and jack-knife into a sitting position. I don’t want her seeing my face.

  She sits up beside me, her hair brushing my shoulder. “You think you’re so clever?” she says, gliding a hand out in front of her, the motion graceful and dramatic. “You think you have one up on me because you lied about needing me to work for you? Well I have news for you, Boyd. That day I showed up at the hospital ... I wasn’t there to see Frankie, I came to see you. It was a stupid idea, but I couldn’t resist, and when you offered me the job I said yes when I should have said no. That’s what you do to me, Boyd. You muddle my head.”

  She’s staring at me, eyes angry, her mouth full even when it’s pulled in tight, and her hair’s wild and sexy from where we’ve been rolling around in bed.

  Fuck.

  Maybe, just maybe, we’re finally headed somewhere.

  “You, uh ...” I clear my throat and look away, still adjusting to what she said. “You came to see me?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I said! Are we going to sit here and repeat everything, because if so I need to find somewhere more comfortable.”

  “Shut up a minute. I’m trying to work this through.”