When I'm Gone_A heart-wrenching romance story that will make you believe in true love

by Jaxson Kidman

  “Why the eye roll?” Lexi asked. “Be proud of it. Unless you’re not in love with him. Wait. You’re in love with him. Right?”

  “My life is my business,” I said.

  “Oh, damn,” Candice said. “Falling in love. That’s a big step. You’d better have that drink and really think about it.”

  “Why?”

  “Are you sure you’re in love?” Candice asked.

  “Or just in love with his dick?” Lexi asked. “There’s nothing wrong with that, just so you know.”

  “Maybe it’s both,” I said and shrugged my shoulders.

  “Good for you then,” Candice said. “What are you still doing here?”

  “I thought I would sit and talk with you both for a little bit. And you keep forcing this drink on me.”

  “Here, I’ll take care of that,” Lexi said.

  She plucked the shot glass away and threw it back with ease.

  “Now go home,” Lexi said.

  “You’re cut off,” Candice said and waved a towel at me. “Go home to your lover boy.”

  “And his lover toy,” Lexi said.

  I stood up, laughing. “You two are crazy.”

  “I think the only one crazy is you, Sienna,” Candice said. “Crazy in love.”

  “Crazy with cock,” Lexi said.

  “Wow,” I said. “Yeah, I’m definitely leaving now. You two have a great night.”

  “Don’t mind us over here,” Lexi said. “Just the single crowd.”

  “We can do anything we want,” Candice said. “You’re the one locked down.”

  I showed them both my middle finger and left work.

  It felt so good to sit in my car for a second and breathe.

  It felt even better to drive to Kace’s apartment.

  This had become a routine. A really comfortable routine.

  Now, the first couple of times he waited up for me, it was a sweet thing. After that, it really showed me how much he cared. I wasn’t used to someone keeping their promises in life.

  I opened the apartment door and saw the glow of the TV.

  Kace was on the couch, stretched out end to end, his feet hanging over one side.

  I walked to the couch and saw that he was sleeping. His head to the right, eyes shut, somehow looking just as sexy as ever as he slept. I could have left him sleeping, but what was the fun in that? Instead, I slowly crouched down and kissed his cheek.

  He moved his head and his eyes opened with a crusty, sleepy eyed look.

  “Hey,” I whispered.

  “You’re home, darlin’,” he said.

  “Yeah.”

  Kace moved fast, touching my waist and pulling me right on top of him. I let out a yell as I laughed. My body resting on him had me melting like ice cream on a summer day. His right hand slipped to the back of my head and he kissed me as though we hadn’t seen each other in years.

  My breath was instantly stolen as my heart pounded like a sledgehammer trying to take down a wall. His other hand went right for my ass, squeezing it hard enough that my hips thrust at him without me being able to control it.

  He broke the kiss with a sly grin. “I love when you do that darlin’.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I whispered. I rubbed my nose against his. “How was your night?”

  “Boring until now.”

  “I can feel that,” I said as I wiggled my hips.

  One thing I could say truthfully about Kace was that he made me feel so wanted and beautiful by the way he smiled and reacted when we kissed. Sure, he was a guy and getting hard was probably second nature, but it was the fact that the second our lips touched, he always grinned. I always got butterflies. And he would get rock hard.

  I brought my right hand up to his shirt and pushed it up. I turned my hand and pulled at the front of his jeans, wrestling with the button for a few seconds until it popped free.

  “How was your night, darlin’?” he asked, that grin getting bigger.

  Just like something else.

  “Better now,” I whispered.

  I kissed him. Hard. As hard as I could. I slipped my tongue into his mouth as I slipped my hand into his jeans. Of course he would be wearing no boxers. The second my fingertips felt his thick root, I groaned, giving up my power over the kiss. Kace gripped my face with both hands, growling as he took control. My hand eased up his length and curled around his well-defined tip. I held him from the bottom of his thickness and gently eased him out of his jeans.

  I broke the kiss to look down and see my hand touching him. Holding him. Pressing him against his stomach and rubbing up and down, gritting my teeth as I did so.

  Kace let out a groan and trailed a line with his finger down to my neck. He moved around and pulled at me, bringing my neck to his mouth. I sighed with relief as his tongue began to kiss my neck, inching from one side to another.

  I began to stroke him, feeling him swell thicker in my hand. My hips ached and gently rocked, wanting him.

  I put my hand to the couch and pushed away from him, hovering over him.

  My eyes scanned from down at my hand pleasuring him, all the way up to his eyes. When I met his eyes, I realized the look was wild. An almost animalistic type look that made me shiver with a warmth between my thighs that made me bite my lower lip.

  Kace slammed his hands to my hips, the sound echoing through the apartment. His fingertips curled tightly around the sides and pushed with force. So much force that I released my hold on his cock and hurried to climb off the couch so he could strip me. He had this masterful way of capturing both my pants and panties at the same time. Ripping at them both made me feel dirty, but in a good way. I blushed as I stood there, Kace growling as he pushed my pants and panties down as far as he could. I hurried to step out of my shoes and then my clothes. His fingertips trailed up my bare legs. I was still wearing a white button down shirt so I began to unbutton the buttons starting at the top.

  I thought I was going to be slow and seductive, but Kace won that battle too.

  He slipped his left hand around to my bare ass and pulled me forward. I stumbled and gasped, his right hand cutting between my thighs, moving right up to my soft and wet skin. I flexed when he touched me, puckering, waiting for more.

  With two fingers, he touched me, gently spreading my folds open, pressing against my slit, entering me with just his fingertips. And only for a quick second. He moved forward and up, seeking my clit and finding it with ease. I was swollen for him, and when he touched me, my hips thrust at him.

  “Oh… Kace…”

  His hand squeezed my ass tightly as he growled, sliding his fingers back and then plunging them into me.

  I was three buttons down on the shirt and I froze. I put my head back, embracing the pressure of his touch inside me. I reminded myself that there was something much bigger waiting for me. I slowly put my left foot to the couch and offered myself to him. Kace swirled his fingers inside me, sending warm pulses through my core and the rest of my body. I bent my knees and groaned, rocking forward and back at his touch.

  I finally got my shirt open and slid it off and let it fall to the floor.

  I climbed on the couch, over Kace.

  He eased his fingers out of me and touched my hips, guiding me down to his thickness. I placed one hand to the back of the couch and the other to his chest. My breathing was already erratic and there was no calming me now.

  As he entered me, I bit my lip and shivered with an achy pleasure that shot through me. I felt the perfect definition of his tip opening me. I inched down and pulled right back up, giving my body a second to get used to him. Every inch was better than the previous one. His hands held me tightly, his thumbs pressing against my hip bone that left me almost ticklish. He pulled me down to the hilt and held me there, pausing so I felt everything. And trust me, I did.

  His hands slid up my body and cupped my breasts over my bra. I began to lift and lower on him, riding him with an intense pressure between my legs that made me forget about the night
, work and everything bad in life. I almost felt badly for anyone who hung back at work to have their free drink. That drink couldn’t do anything close to what Kace did to me.

  I quickly reached back and unsnapped my bra. Kace’s hands went up to my shoulders and pulled my bra down and threw it across the living room. I put my hands to the bottom of his shirt and pushed it up. It was totally unfair that I was naked and he wasn’t. It took a few clever seconds of sitting up and wiggling, but I managed to strip Kace of his shirt. His hands then hugged me as he continued to sit up on the couch. He turned both of us so that his feet were flat on the floor and I was still straddling him.

  The swell within my core was worsening in the best way with each passing second. I held his shoulders tightly, sinking my nails into him like claws. I moved hard and fast, almost bouncing on him as I started to cry out with pleasure. I put my head back and Kace kissed my chest. His big hands spread across my entire back, pulling me tighter to his body. His tongue licked up to my throat and then right back down. I arched forward and up as his hands moved around, cupping my breasts for a second before he nuzzled his nose around my nipples.

  My inner thighs trembled and clenched as the pleasure mounted to climax. Everything flexed tightly as I held, feeling my body lose all control. Kace made his next move, never leaving my body as he stood up, holding me. He turned and lowered me to the couch, kissing my neck again as he took control with the hard pumps of his body. He was relentless as he moved, taking me through the first of several climaxes. One after another, like the crashing of waves in a storm. My hands clutched at his back, my noises became more and more inaudible. He finally kissed my mouth and stayed there.

  Having me. Fucking me.

  I realized that he was also loving me.

  Finding that perfect speed where our warm bodies slid against each other, and we were able to kiss and feel everything that we had to offer each other. My right hand grabbed at his hair as I groaned into his mouth. My other hand inched down until I touched his ass. I loved his firm and pumping ass.

  Kace pulled away and locked his eyes to mine.

  We were in a rhythm that I never wanted to end. The world stopped turning. Time stood still. The butterflies in my stomach danced everywhere. Precious and romantic places like my heart and memory, but also in naughty places like the swell of my breasts and between my achy and pleasure filled thighs.

  I’d never felt anything like this in my life.

  My lips quivered with words of I love you and fucking kiss me harder.

  Kace grunted as he moved harder but kept the same speed. Each thrust forward, my entire body jumped. The couch sometimes groaned in protest, other times it jumped a little bit off the floor.

  I managed to slide my hands up his body, memorizing every inch of muscle, feeling that muscle working hard as he continued to love me.

  I touched his face.

  I held his face.

  His hands settled to my waist again, holding me down and keeping me where he needed me the most.

  I felt him swelling again, filling up with all the love he had to offer.

  Kace’s lip curled as he grunted again, reaching the last few seconds.

  “Fuck, darlin’,” he whispered and then hissed as he let go.

  My hands pulled at his face as I tilted my head back, crying out at the filling sensation of him releasing. I tried to cry out, but it sounded like a breathless gasp.

  Kace gently placed his lips to my neck, breathing heavily and grunting with the pulsing of his body inside me.

  I pulled him tightly against me and pushed him downwards, wanting him to kiss my chest.

  His mouth was ravenous as his lower half slowed by the second.

  He finally slammed forward and held there, collapsing to my chest.

  “Damn, Kace,” I said, trying to catch my breath.

  “Damn, darlin’,” he said back.

  I looked down as he lifted his head.

  Our eyes met and a second later he jumped forward and kissed me again.

  This wasn’t some romantic kiss after loving each other.

  This was a wild and passionate kiss.

  My body shivered, knowing what was happening.

  Kace slipped his hands around me and he moved from the couch, lifting me with him.

  I wrapped my legs around his hard body and we continued to kiss as he walked me through the apartment.

  I knew that he was taking me to bed.

  And there was no way in hell that we were going to sleep just yet.

  I opened my eyes and the second I saw Kace sleeping, I smiled. And then strangely, I blushed. My mind replayed everything that had happened the night before. The way he took me on the couch and Cassied me to the bed. The way we didn’t stop staring at each other the entire time, like our eyes were trying to do what our bodies were. We lost track of time and listened to the clock ticking inside our bodies. Meaning that I fell asleep when my body needed to fall asleep. I was in his arms, naked and sweaty, feeling more alive than I could ever remember.

  For the record, I was still naked. I was on my belly, staring at Kace as he slept on his back, the covers just below his defined chest. The perfect cut of his scruff laced jaw was enough to make me bite my lip, my body waking up in more ways than one being next to him.

  Slowly, I moved my legs, trying to find my way out of the bed without waking him. Before I could get one leg off the edge, Kace turned, opened his eyes, and put his arm around me and the covers, pulling me close to him with ease.

  “Morning, darlin’,” he said in that rough, sleepy voice that all but destroyed me.

  “Sorry if I woke you up,” I whispered. “I’m not used to this.”

  “Oh, come on, I’m sure you’ve done the next morning sneak out of the bed thing.”

  “I wasn’t trying to sneak out of the bed.”

  “What were you doing then?” he asked, smiling.

  “Fine. I was sneaking out of the bed. But I wasn’t leaving or anything like that. I was going to let you get some sleep.”

  “Well, it looks like we’re both awake now.”

  “Yeah. It looks that way.”

  He moved his hand to my face and stroked random pieces of hair out of the way.

  “Kace, what are we doing here?” I asked.

  “Looks like forgetting the world,” he said.

  “I mean, us…”

  Kace blinked. “Us. Right. What about us?”

  “I don’t know. Sorry. I don’t want to be that woman.”

  “What woman?”

  “The one who talks about the future.”

  “So we’re talking about the future?” he asked.

  “No. Maybe. Yeah.”

  Kace laughed. “This is why I love you, Sienna. Don’t hold back on me though. Okay? Ever. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

  “That’s the thing, Kace. I can’t figure it out. I’m just here. I’m happy to be here with you. I’m not thinking or worried about anything else. Part of me is trying to convince myself to do something else in life. But what does it matter if I have you? If I feel the way I feel? Right?”

  “I agree,” he said. “We’re here and together, darlin’. Nobody else understands what that means to us. That’s why I don’t care about anything else.”

  “You’re a really strong person, Kace.”

  “Oh, now that I won’t listen to. We’re not talking about strength and all that bullshit. But if we were, you’re the stronger one. And anything you want with my future, it’s yours. Take it out of the drawer and dust it off and change what you want.”

  “That’s a big deal, Kace.”

  “No it’s not, Sienna. Having you next to me is a big deal. Everything else is time. If that’s what you want and need, you got it. It’s all yours. I just want you. I just want this very moment.”

  I leaned in and kissed him. The butterfly feeling had worked itself into my heart, which was a strange sensation. A tickling and tingling romantic feeling ripping thr
ough my chest.

  Kace gently touched my face and put his nose to mine. “Now, who’s to say I haven’t thought about the future already?”

  “Oh yeah? What does that entail?”

  He rolled to his back and stretched his arms above his head and groaned. I loved this moment. Watching him in bed, a moment private enough that it was just us sharing it.

  “Hello?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “What about the future?”

  “Oh. Right. I see… coffee. Breakfast. Secret kisses. A hot shower.”

  I smirked. “Thanks for that.”

  “What? Did you think I was going to propose to you?”

  My eyes went wide. “Wow. That’s a hell of a jump.”

  He rolled to his side again and touched my cheek. “Darlin’, you’ll find out everything soon enough.”

  “Soon enough,” I whispered.

  Those two words made me excited and scared the hell out of me.

  Kace tore the covers off the bed as he stood up. He stood next to the bed, his bare ass staring back at me. I crossed my legs and put my arms across my chest to try and cover myself.

  “Not cool,” I said.

  “What?” he asked. He looked down at the blanket. “Oh. Right. Whoops.”

  “You’re an ass.”

  He kept looking over his shoulder, smiling. “You know, I can do this every morning for the rest of my life. Just wanted to tell you that.”

  My breath and voice were stolen as I watched him get dressed. Watching muscle ripple and flex. Watching his body…

  I started to nod.

  I can do this every morning for the rest of my life too.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Goodbye and Mine

  Kace

  I was on a ladder working on some crown molding trim when my phone started to ring. I looked back and down and saw that it was across the room and on the floor. It was just a number calling so I ignored it. I was damn tired from working as much as I had been in the apartment, but the outcome was going to be well worth it. This place had become my new project. I forgot about the workshop and spent all my time cleaning up this old place. Mack was still working on other paying jobs, so most of the time I was alone. I tried to listen to the radio a few times but the noise bothered me. I remembered as a kid my grandfather always worked in silence. Telling me it was the only way to focus and forget. To just exist in a moment that was between himself and the work in front of him.