by Hart, Emma
I moved back. Glancing over my shoulder to make sure I never tripped on anything, I was apparently unable to judge the distance between me and the wall and slammed back into it.
“Oh, shit,” I muttered, flattening my hands against it. I could only imagine what I looked like with my white tank hanging around my neck.
An idiot.
An idiot was the answer.
“Yes,” I replied, sinking against the wall. “Can’t you see I’m busy trapping myself against the wall like an idiot?”
Brant reached forward. His fingers curled around my shirt, and he looped it over my head, then threw it behind him to the sofa.
There was a predatory glint in his eye, one that made me shudder with anticipation. My whole body shivered with it. I was on fire where his fingertips had brushed across my collarbones.
“We’re not done,” he murmured, stepping ever closer to me, closing the distance between us completely. “They’re asleep and, right now…” he trailed off, saying nothing.
“Right now, what?” I asked.
Hesitation hitched his breath, making his chest heave, but his turquoise eyes never left mine. “Right now, you’re mine.”
“For—for what?” I stuttered. My heart thundered against my chest, because I knew exactly what for.
Brant pressed against me, cupping my face, his large hands ignoring the blistering heat of my cheeks entirely as he took control of my face. “I want you, Kali. I want you so badly that I’m on the brink right now. And I know you feel the same way—I can feel it.”
“And what do you want me to do about that?”
“Give in,” he breathed, holding himself against me. “Give in to what you know you want. You want me.”
“Maybe so, but—”
Lips.
Mine.
“I can’t,” I whispered.
“You can,” he whispered right back. “Once, Kali. Just once. Be mine. Right now. Tonight. Stop fighting it.”
He was right. I wanted him. I wanted this.
I wrapped my fingers around his neck and pulled him into me. It didn’t mean I’d be his, but for tonight, maybe he could be mine.
Pushed against the wall, he held me solid, flat, stable. I melded against the surface. He leaned into me, hands riding down, and pressed his mouth to mine.
“Trust me,” was all he whispered.
Trust him was all I could do.
His hands slid down my body. He explored my body from my head to the waistbands of my shorts. He tugged them down and let them pool at my feet. Pulling his lips away, his expectant gaze met mine, and I chewed the inside of my lip as I stepped out of them and flicked them to the side with my toe.
He trailed his gaze up and down my body a few times. I squirmed back against the wall under his scrutiny—until I looked right back at him and the bulge in his pants.
He cupped my face and kissed me, pressing his hips right against me. The kiss was deep and hungry, and as desire throbbed through my veins, I reached between us and undid the button of his jeans.
He was right.
I wanted him.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
I shoved his jeans down over his ass. He laughed against my lips as the jeans fell down to his feet. He stepped out of them and kicked them away the same way I’d done with my shorts.
With both of us in our underwear, this was the point of no return.
Fuck it.
I cupped his hard cock. My fingers brushed over his balls, and he jerked his hips into my hand. He basically pushed my hand away from him and trailed his fingertips up the inside of my thigh.
I shivered.
His fingers got closer and closer to my aching clit. I clenched, squeezing my thighs together, but with one swift movement, he slipped his fingers between my legs and brushed the pad of his thumb over my lacy thong.
Another shiver ran through me.
I took a deep breath as he toyed with the material.
“Open your legs,” he murmured, slipping my panties to the side.
I obeyed. Shuffled my feet a couple inches apart, although what I really wanted to do was clamp my legs shut.
He peered down, brushing the backs of his fingers across the mound of skin above my clit. Then, slowly, carefully, he ran one finger across my pussy.
I gasped, flinching at the contact.
“You’re so wet.” He dipped his head, kissing my neck, his finger just pushing inside me. “And you were going to leave.” Another finger joined the first inside me. Slowly, he moved his hand, his fingers pumping in and out of my wetness.
I arched my back, eyes closed.
He gripped my chin, pulling my head back down. “Open your eyes. I want you to look at me when you come.”
I couldn’t speak. But, I did as he said. Opened my eyes and met his gaze as he worked his fingers inside me.
He pulled them out, moving now to my clit. I ached so bad, and never mind that staring into his eyes while he circled his fingertips over my clit was the most awkward thing I think I’d ever done, I wanted to come.
I needed to come.
I was turned on beyond belief.
Never had I wanted something—someone—as much as I wanted this. Brantley.
I clenched and clenched as he rubbed my clit. My legs shook, and he wrapped an arm around my waist as if he knew they were ready to give out. I pressed further and further against the wall, as if I could sink into it.
Tiny moans escaped me, mingling with his harsh, heavy breaths. It was the only sound, and it took everything I had to stay as quiet as I was.
“Come,” he whispered, lips close to mine. “Come, and I’ll fuck you.”
I held on for all of thirty seconds before I gave in.
The orgasm flooded through me with a sweetness I didn’t know possible. Every part of my body was touched by it, from the hairs on the back of my neck to my aching thigh muscles. It felt so fucking good—I was both exhausted and exhilarated by it.
He held me for a moment, then he kissed me and released me. “Give me a minute. Take off the rest of your clothes while I’m gone.”
I did a double-take. “Where are you going?”
He motioned to his cock. “To get a condom.”
“Oh. I, um.” What was I doing? I’d never had sex without a condom. “You don’t…I mean…”
Spit it out, Kali.
Awkwardly, I held up my arm and pointed to the tiny scar where my contraceptive implant was. “I’m good,” I finally said. “And…I mean, I trust you.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You don’t want me to wear a condom?”
“If you want to. I’m not stopping you. I’m just saying. I’m good.”
“You’re so awkward.” He came back to me, cupping my face. He kissed me deeply, then hooked two fingers in the sides of my thong and pushed it down my legs.
By the time I’d stepped out of them, I’d unhooked my bra and taken it off, too.
He kicked it to the side and kissed me. Deeper…harder…more desperately than before. With one hand on the back of my neck, he fidgeted. Dropped both hands. Grabbed my legs—
Heaved me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. His now-free cock brushed against my wet pussy, and I circled my arms around his neck as he grabbed my ass, using the wall as leverage.
He reached down and positioned himself to enter me. In one slow, easy thrust, he did just that.
I half-moaned, half-gasped.
God, he felt so good inside me.
Both hands now on my ass and gripping it so tight it bordered on painful, he moved, in and out, and soon enough, I adjusted to him, and it was easy.
He kissed me.
Moved faster.
Really fucked me. Like he meant it, like he needed it, like he was desperate to. Whatever it was he was feeling, he channeled it into his movements and fucked me harder and harder, his grip on my ass holding me in place.
My back arched, and I moaned, my nails dragging across h
is shoulders. Whether I was trying to hold onto him or push him away, I didn’t know. I was hot all over, my heart thundering, and all I wanted was to feel the release I knew was building up.
Desperation.
That’s what his kiss tasted like.
That’s what he fucked me like.
And I loved it.
I couldn’t get enough. I wanted more. More of the ass grip, of the lip bite, of the deep satisfaction I felt when he buried himself fully inside me and pressed against my clit at the same time.
More of his deep, guttural grunts of pleasure when I squeezed.
More of the hard-hitting orgasm that had me burying my face in his shoulder, my nails digging deep into his skin. Of the pleasure that wracked my body, head to toe, sending my heartbeat skyrocketing as I came hard all over him.
He thrusted faster, then, deep inside me, stilled, moaning into my shoulder. I swear, I felt it as he came.
It shouldn’t have turned me on, but it did.
He held me there against the wall until we’d both regained our breath. Leaning back, he pulled out of me and gently lowered my legs to the ground. My toes touched down tentatively, and although I was shaking, I nodded to tell him I was fine.
Brantley curled one hand around the back of my neck and kissed me. At odds with the way he’d fucked me, it was gentle and sweet, and seemed to say so many things I couldn’t figure out.
“Oh no,” I whispered when he pulled away.
“What?” Alarm tinged his tone, and he met my eyes.
I sighed. “Now, it’s going to be awkward when I leave. And I have to leave, or everyone and their mother will be discussing the fact I didn’t.”
He blinked at me, then burst out laughing. “Is that it?”
“That and I have a healthy amount of come dripping down my leg right now.”
He tilted his head, lips twitching. “Let me get you a towel for that.”
“That would be great, thanks,” I deadpanned. And squeezed my legs shut.
God, that doesn’t happen in porn, does it?
Never mind porn giving men unrealistic ideas about a pair of tits—it’d given me an unrealistic expectation of how clean wall sex was.
Which was not at all.
“Here.” Brantley handed me a black towel, and I stuffed it between my legs in the most unladylike way possible. He laughed at me again. “Now, for the second problem… Since you like to run, would it help if I used the bathroom and be in there just long enough for you to get dressed and leave? No awkward goodbyes, no nothing that you tend to avoid.”
Huh.
That wasn’t a bad idea.
I nodded. “Let’s go with that. It’ll save me doing something stupid like thank you for the orgasm on my way out.”
He pressed his lips together, shoulders shaking. “Right. Well, I’m going to use the bathroom.”
I nodded again, casting my gaze around for my clothes. Bra…shirt…shorts…
“Oh, and, Kali? You’re welcome for the orgasms.”
I grimaced. Ah, well. He knew I was awkward anyway.
The sound of his laughter accompanied his exit, and I quickly wiped my legs and between my thighs. God, sex was gross. They really needed to teach that in sex ed.
I gathered my clothes, shoving my bra and shirt on quickly. My plaid shirt was a crumpled mess on the back of the sofa, but whatever. The only thing I couldn’t find was my panties.
Where the hell had he put them?
Another quick look, and I had to cringe and throw on my shorts without them. There was only so long Brantley could pretend to be in the bathroom.
I grabbed the rest of my things and paused at the front door.
Did I shout goodbye? That I’d see him tomorrow at ten?
Shit.
I opened the door and ran before I really made a fool out of myself.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I stared at the ceiling. My alarm had gone off an hour ago, but I’d barely moved from bed since. Not that it mattered, because I didn’t have any work to do first thing this morning.
What I did have was a healthy dose of regret for the decision I made last night. Except this time the regret wasn’t because of what I’d done, it was because I didn’t feel bad about it at all.
No. For the first time since I’d met Brantley I was…happy. It felt right. The guilt was there because it shouldn’t have, but no amount of staring at the plain white ceiling would make me feel any differently about what we’d done.
I sighed and rubbed my hand over my face. If I thought it had been awkward after we kissed, I didn’t know what I was gonna say to him today.
More to the point, I didn’t know how I was going to cope with the realization that I had feelings for this man. It was weird that it had taken sex for me to realize that I had genuine feelings for him, but hey, my life was weird, and so I didn’t expect this to be any different.
The next issue, of course, was what I was going to do about the feelings. Which was, at this point, not a damn lot. What was I supposed to do? After all, he’d moved her to escape the death of his wife. I couldn’t exactly try to convince him to have a relationship.
Not that I wanted a relationship.
Besides, even if I did want a relationship, falling for a man with children was never in my plan. Except, of course, these weren’t just any kids. Eli and Ellie were different—and, dammit. I wasn’t just falling for their dad, I was falling for them, too.
And that was the biggest problem.
Avery time I looked at them, I saw myself. I saw myself as the five-year-old girl who lost her mother. Granted, they lost their mother a lot younger age than I had, but it didn’t change the fact I knew how it felt to grow up without one.
Not that it meant that it was my job to take over as their mom.
Not that I thought I could. You didn’t just take over a job like that, after all.
See? This was exactly why I didn’t want to fall for somebody who had kids. There were too many questions, almost a strange kind of etiquette that came of this situation. And I didn’t know how to handle it. I was too flighty to handle it.
But…was there a way to handle it? I knew my stepmother had. Portia had never had an issue, at least that’s not what it seemed. To me, she’d stepped smoothly into the role of being a parent although she never had any kids of her own. Maybe that was why she was able to. Her maternal instincts had been there after all and it had never been her choice not to have children but one that the universe is decided for her.
The difference was, I’d never wanted to have children.
It had never even been in my plans. Never considered, never been anything I’d ever particularly wanted.
Well, until now.
At least, I thought I wanted that.
Maybe, I just wanted Ellie and Eli.
It was a strange feeling. I never thought I’d find myself falling in love with somebody else’s children. The problem was, Ellie and Eli were so very easy to fall in love with. Sure, they fought, but what kids didn’t?
No, the best part of their relationship was the way they loved each other even when they were screaming at each other. Not to mention they were both just so adorable it would be hard not to love them anyway.
With a sigh, I pushed the bed sheets to the side and climbed out of bed. I’d laid still long enough, and it was time to get up and do something. Even if that thing was only walking to the coffee machine.
Not that walking to the coffee machine didn’t achieve anything, and, honestly, it felt like the only thing I could do right now.
Because I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to say to Brantley when I saw him this morning.
I couldn’t exactly be like, “Oh, hey, thanks for the sex last night, I’m going to build your kids wardrobe now.”
No. Ugh.
What was I saying about not regretting last night?
Stupid me. I’d spoken too soon.
I walked into the bathroom to a doubletake
in the mirror. There were dark bags beneath my eyes and my hair was messed up beyond belief.
Honestly, I looked like I’d been in a fight with a bush and lost.
I turned on the shower, and stared at myself in the mirror while the water ran behind me. I looked like shit. My make-up was smudged, giving me dark circles under my eyes. My dry lips still held hints of my red lipstick where I hadn’t bothered to wash my face before going to sleep last night.
And I didn’t even include the zip that was coming up on the side of my nose. Great. Just great.
I took a deep breath and grabbed my face cloth. I dipped it under the flow of water coming from the shower and wiped my face until all traces of yesterday’s make-up had gone.
I sighed heavily, stripped off, and got into the shower.
Letting the water rush over me, I tried to relax. It wasn’t working. So many horror theories about what would happen when I saw Brantley were swirling around in my head. I didn’t know why I was so nervous. Was it because I knew he wasn’t really in a position to have a relationship? Or was it because I knew no matter how much I liked him this wasn’t the kind of relationship I wanted?
Was it just because he was a closet dirty talker?
I shivered as the memory of last night washed over me. Everything is thought about him had been proven different. I’d only ever seen as this funny, sexy guy, who was a great dad.
But, last night sent me a different side of him. It’d shown me this alpha male who wasn’t afraid to take charge, and make me do something that had made me blush as hard as I’d come. I certainly hadn’t expected him to get me off and looked me in the eye while I came.
Yeah.
Dear God. How was I supposed to look him in the eye, knowing that he knew exactly what I looked like when I came?
Jesus, I was a mess.
I quickly washed my hair and soaked off before I got myself into even more of a mess than I was already in. By the time I turned off the shower water, I’d gone over fifty different scenarios about what was going to happen when I finally got to the Cooper house.
All of them involved me blushing like crazy and him smirking at me. Which, to be honest, was exactly what was going to happen.
