by Jaci Burton
“I moved back not too long ago.”
“Well, we’re glad you’re here. And I’m very happy to see you.”
Kal’s mom had always been great to her. Warm and welcoming and made Hannah feel like family. “Thank you. And congratulations on Rafe’s marriage.”
“Thank you.”
Mr. Donovan gave her a hug, too. “Been a long time. How are you?”
“I’m good, thanks, Mr. Donovan.”
“We’re really glad you came tonight,” Mr. Donovan said.
Kal’s mother took her hand. “And you’re an adult now. You can call us Laurel and Josh.”
“Okay . . . Laurel.” Hannah smiled shyly at the unfamiliarity.
“Kal, go get me a wine spritzer,” Laurel said, taking his seat, “while I catch up with Hannah.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Kal and his dad walked away, and Hannah and Laurel sat.
“So your mom told me you got a divorce. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. But it was the best decision for me and for my son.”
Laurel smiled and patted her hand. “Sometimes it is. And you have a little boy. Tell me about him.”
“Oliver is seven. He’s smart and full of energy and just the sweetest little boy ever.”
“I’d love to meet him sometime. You’ll have to bring him by the house. Oh, we bought a new house last year. I don’t know if Kal mentioned that. Does Oliver like to swim? I have a pool now.”
Hannah smiled. “Kal told me about your new place. How exciting for you. I would love to see it. And Oliver loves to swim.”
“Then you have to come over. Have Kal make arrangements when you’re both off.”
“Thank you for inviting us. That’s so sweet of you.”
“We’ll have more time to catch up on our lives then.”
“I can’t wait.”
Kal came back with his mom’s drink. “Carmen said to tell you that they’re cutting the cake now, Mom.”
“Okay.” She bent over and kissed Hannah’s cheek, then squeezed her hand. “So good to see you again.”
“You, too.”
After she walked away, Kal slid back in the chair. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. I like your mom.”
“Yeah, the drawback to bringing you to a family wedding is . . . the family.”
She laughed. “Stop. I’ve always loved your family. Your parents are wonderful, and your brothers are great.”
“Yeah, they really are.”
She appreciated that he didn’t complain about his family, that he truly loved them all.
Rafe and Carmen cut the cake and they watched as the photographer took photos of them feeding each other a bite. Hannah tensed, waiting to see if Rafe would smash the cake into Carmen’s face. Thankfully, he gently slipped a bite into her mouth and Carmen did the same. She should have known the way the two of them were so sweet with each other that there’d be no cake shenanigans.
Then Hannah watched Kal rock back and forth impatiently while the staff cut the cake. He was like a kid, waiting expectantly until they were finished.
Fortunately, the wedding party received their pieces of cake first. Kal brought a plate to her at the table and set it down.
She was about to slice into the beautiful cake when Kal stopped her.
“Wait,” he said, then slid his fork into his cake and offered her a bite.
“I’m surprised you can wait that long to eat. And that you’re willing to share yours.”
His lips curved. “All worth it to feed you.”
She took the bite from his fork. It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious, with a subtle flavor of almond and the most delectable buttercream frosting she’d ever tasted.
“It’s so good.”
“Yeah, it is,” he said, but he was looking at her and not the cake, making her entire body flame up.
She ate a few more bites, then offered up the rest to Kal, who greedily cleaned her plate.
Jackson and Becks went out on the dance floor, followed by Rafe and Carmen, so Hannah and Kal joined, too. They danced and laughed, and there was a photo booth where they all stopped to take silly pictures with props. She couldn’t recall when she’d had more fun.
The slow dancing was her favorite part, because she got to be in Kal’s arms, and even though the ballroom was filled with people, the way he looked at her made her feel as if they were completely alone.
She waited for the warning bells to sound off in her head, the ones that would tell her she was moving too fast, that she should slam on the brakes.
Nothing. Maybe she was just having too much fun. Maybe it was the wine and Kal’s family.
Either way, she was going for it, because she was enjoying herself too much tonight to let any warning bells get in her way.
When the night got late and lots of people had left, they swayed together on the dance floor to a slow, sexy song. Kal’s hands moved up and down her back, and the feel of his fingers sliding along her skin caused delicious pinpricks of need to skitter through her nerve endings.
“I got a room at the hotel tonight,” he said.
“That’s okay. I can call for a car to take me home.”
“Or . . . you could stay with me.”
Could she? Her mind filled with the possibilities. The logical part of her said no.
But the part of her in Kal’s arms right now? The part of her that felt his hands roaming down her back, tingling all over as his fingers teased the nape of her neck? That part of her wanted to scream yes.
But could she lose herself in the moment?
CHAPTER 13
As Hannah looked at Kal, she thought of all her responsibilities. Her son. Sunday was grocery shopping and laundry day.
Then again, her mother did tell her to have fun. To stay out late. Overnight might be too late, though.
But was it? She knew her mom. She wouldn’t care, as long as Hannah sent her a text to let her know she’d be out with Kal all night. Knowing her mother, she’d probably send out a cheer emoji.
It had been a long time since she’d spent the night with a guy. And it wasn’t like Kal was a stranger. As he held her in his arms and moved her around the dance floor, she realized this felt right.
“I could stay with you,” she finally said. “I just need to clear it with my mom so she’s okay with it.”
His lips curved. “Back when we were teens there was no asking permission.”
She laughed. “Back when we were teens we’d have gotten killed for sleeping together.”
“True.”
“I’m going to send her a text now, before she goes to bed.”
He nodded and let go of her hands. She went to the table and grabbed her purse, pulled out her phone and sent her mom a text message letting her know she was going to hang out with Kal at the hotel tonight.
It didn’t take her mom long to reply.
Yes! Have fun! Don’t come home too early tomorrow. Love you.
And her mom had used a celebration emoji. Hannah rolled her eyes. So predictable, that woman. But she was also always in Hannah’s corner, and she loved her mother for that.
She went back into the ballroom to see that everyone was packing up to leave. Carmen and Rafe had already headed up to the honeymoon suite, and then tomorrow they’d take off for St. Lucia in the Caribbean for a weeklong honeymoon, which sounded decadent and delightful.
They helped Josh and Laurel load the wedding gifts in the cars and said their good nights. Jackson and Becks stayed to visit with Kal’s parents. Kal pulled Hannah along toward the entrance to the hotel.
“In a hurry?” she asked as they made their way to the elevator in the lobby.
“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to get you alone?”
The doors opened, then closed.
Kal pushed the button.
“About as long as I’ve wanted to be alone with you?”
He pinned her against the wall of the elevator, his mouth coming down on top of hers, hard and hot and filled with the same urgent need that fueled her. She wound her fingers into his hair, breathing in his scent as his tongue ramped up her desires to a fever pitch.
When the doors opened, he broke the kiss, took her hand and they walked at a brisk pace toward his room.
Hannah’s heart raced as he opened the door and flipped on the entryway light. He didn’t turn any other lights on, so Hannah barely registered the room’s layout. She didn’t care, and Kal seemed to know the way to go, so he led her by the hand into the room, took her bag from her and laid it on the dresser, then sat her on the bed.
“You thirsty?” he asked.
“No.”
“Need anything?”
“Just you.”
“Good.” He knelt and took off her shoes, taking his time to rub her feet, her calves, sliding his hands along her skin, eliciting shivers all over her body.
“Cold?” he asked.
“Exactly the opposite.”
He spread her legs and moved between them, laying his hands on her hips.
“Did I mention how much I like this dress you’re wearing?”
She could barely breathe right now since his hands were gripping her hips, clenching and unclenching in a way that made her want to wrap her legs around him and draw him inside of her. It had been so long, and this slow tease of his was making her tense.
“Thank you. You look pretty hot, and I don’t want to mess up your tux. You should take it off.” She reached out and undid the bow tie, pulling it away from his collar, and tucked it into the pocket of his jacket.
He shrugged out of the jacket and stood, laying it over the chair. Then he toed off his shoes, took off his socks and undid the buttons of his shirt. Fortunately, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she had a lovely, if dimly lit, view of him removing his shirt.
Damn. He’d grown some muscle over the past ten years. And his shoulders were so broad. She couldn’t resist getting up to smooth her hands all over the amazing skin he’d just revealed.
She walked over and ran her palm across one shoulder, then down his arm and back up again. She stopped when she saw the tattoo on his right biceps. It was dark so she couldn’t make it out all that well.
“You got a tat.”
“Yeah. A couple of years ago. Jackson, Rafe and I all got the same one.”
“I’ll have to check it out when it’s light.” She continued to touch him, smoothing her hand over the top of his shoulder, then paused.
“Is this okay?” she asked.
He looked down at her. “Your hands on me? Very okay.”
She moved her hand across the top of his chest, feeling his muscles jump as she shifted lower, down across his chest to his wow-are-these-even-real sculpted abs.
“So, you work out, huh?”
“A little.”
“More than a little, I think.” She walked around behind him to admire his broad back, wondering how much work it took to get all this muscle. He’d been in good shape in high school; he’d always worked out. But his body now? This was a man’s body.
He turned to face her and drew her against him, putting his lips on hers and taking her breath away with a deep, lingering, hot kiss that made her toes curl into the carpet. And when he reached for the zipper of her dress and drew it down, she sighed against his mouth.
She pulled back so she could draw the dress off her shoulders, letting it pool into a puddle at her feet.
“Wow,” he said, staring at her. “You’re gorgeous, Hannah.”
She blushed under his perusal of her body. “Do you remember how fast and furious sex was when we were in high school?”
He grinned. “Yeah. I can count on one hand the number of times we actually had the opportunity to get fully naked. Mostly it was fumbling around with our clothes half on so we wouldn’t get caught.”
“Right.” She moved closer to him, winding her hand around his neck. “But it was still really great sex.”
“Now it’ll be even better.”
She arched one brow. “Oh, we’re boasting?”
He laughed. “No, I meant we’d have more time to enjoy each other.”
“So you’re not any better?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Hannah.”
Now she laughed. “Sorry.”
“Devil.” He bent and kissed the side of her neck, reaching around her back to unhook her bra with one hand.
“Still good at that, I see.”
“The kissing, or undoing your bra?”
She smiled. “Both.”
He slipped his hand under her bra and cupped her breast. Her breath caught at the warmth of his hand, the tease of his fingers across her nipple.
“So soft,” he murmured against her neck as he swept his hand across her breasts and her nipples hardened, sweet pleasure shooting directly to her sex.
He’d always had the touch, knew exactly what to do, how to touch and kiss her to take her right to the edge of madness. They were just getting started, and she was already quivering all over.
He pulled the bra from her arms, then undid his pants and let them drop, along with his boxer briefs, revealing his glorious cock. She couldn’t help but lick her lips.
“Stop that,” he said.
She arched a brow. “Stop what? Remembering what you tasted like in my mouth? The way it used to drive you crazy when I—”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence, because she’d been lifted and thrown onto the bed. She couldn’t help but erupt in squeals of laughter.
Her laughter died when Kal’s hand cupped her sex. “I seem to remember you going a little mad when I put my mouth on you.”
She gave him a thoughtful look. “Really? My memory is a little dim in that regard. You might have to refresh it.”
He gave her a devilish smile, then slid his hand under her panties, making her gasp as he rocked his fingers back and forth over her already primed flesh. “Does that help?”
Her breathing quickened. “Somewhat. But don’t stop.”
He didn’t, instead teasing a finger inside of her, then two, pumping a delirious response from her that made her lift her hips against his hand. She was so ready to go off, all he had to do was rub the heel of his hand against her clit and she’d be there.
But he was deliberately avoiding her hot button, taking her so close she grabbed his hand to put his fingers right where she needed them.
“Oh no, babe,” he said. “I know what you need.”
He slid down her body, taking her panties off as he did, then spread her legs and put his mouth on her overheated flesh. She tilted her head back and rode the wave of orgasm that hit her almost instantaneously as he rolled his tongue over her and took her right to the promised land and beyond. And then he eased her down with soft licks and brought her right back again with his fingers and mouth until she cried out hard with a second orgasm, this one more intense than the first. And even sweeter.
Could this be heaven? If it was, she was more than happy to stay here forever.
It took her a while to come down from the utter high. Kal kissed her hip and her belly as he made his way up her body. She rolled over to face him, sliding her fingers over his jaw.
“And that,” she said. “I remember so very well.”
He grinned. “Good.”
She walked her fingers down his chest and abs until she circled his erection, taking in the way his breathing changed when she began to stroke him.
Touching him excited her, spiked her adrenaline, made her want to climb on top of him and slide his cock inside of her and ride them both to an explosive climax. But first she wanted to t
ease him, making him want and need in the same way he’d done to her.
Except he rolled her onto her back and kissed her, driving her legs apart with his knee and sliding his erection against her sex, and now she was the one who wanted, who needed. She reached up to dig her nails into his back, moaned against his lips and arched into him.
He pulled his mouth from hers. “Gotta grab protection. Now.”
“Yes.”
He left her and opened the closet door, dug into his bag and came back with a condom, then climbed back onto the bed.
“I’m so glad you were prepared,” she said, enrapt as he tore open the wrapper and applied the condom.
“I was hoping we might have some time together.”
She lifted her arms and pulled him down on top of her. “Lots of time. All night long.”
His mouth met hers, and then it was lips and tongues and his body against hers. And when he slid inside of her, she stilled, absorbing the way he fit her so perfectly, the way her body quivered and tightened around him in reaction. She couldn’t help but react with a moan of pleasure, which elicited his groan in response.
She rolled her foot across his calf, slid her hand down his arm, needing to touch him everywhere she could, to feel that skin-to-skin contact. Kal’s mouth was everywhere—on her lips, her neck, his tongue licking along her skin like flames, making her feel as if she were burning from the inside out. The only thing that was going to douse this inferno was the orgasm that quickly built inside of her.
Kal scooped his hand under her butt, lifting her against him. He ground against her as he moved, and that was all she needed to explode into a blazing climax that sent sparks of pleasure shooting through her. She dug her nails into his arms and rode out her release, then wrapped her legs around him to draw him in when she felt his body go taut. He shuddered against her, burying his face in her neck as he rocked through his own orgasm.
They stayed connected like that for a while, Kal continuing to stroke his hand along her side. She had to admit it felt good to be caressed.
He finally lifted his head. “Sorry.”
She arched a brow. “For?”
“I wanted it to last longer.”
Her lips curved. “I was barely breathing by the end. Any longer and you might have endangered my life.”
