Powerful: A Driven World Novel (The Driven World)

by Kathleen Kelly

  “Are you sure?” he asks.

  The air seems to be fueled with electricity, and I nod.

  “Say the words, Athena.”

  “I’m hungry.”

  Kris grins, reaches down, and undoes his belt while I shimmy out of my panties. The only noise in my home is our heavy breathing and the sound of him kicking off his shoes and letting his jeans hit the floor. He comes back to me, kisses the side of my mouth, trails kisses down my neck, and then comes back to take possession of my mouth. His fingers loop under the straps of my dress, and he eases them over my shoulders, then kisses his way down to my breast, where he sucks on my nipple, taking it into his mouth. Clutching the back of his head, I moan his name.

  Kris straightens, picks me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist. The feel of his cock so close to my entrance excites me even more.

  “Which room is yours?”

  “First one on the left.”

  There’s no more talking as our hands explore each other. I’m reveling in the feel of his body pressed so close to mine, but I need more, I need to feel all of him. Reaching down, my hands go up under his shirt. Kris puts me on the bed, and in one swift movement, pulls his shirt over his head and reconnects his mouth to mine. My hands cusp his face as his hands move down to pull my dress up and off me.

  Then he stops. I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, naked, and he’s standing before me—all six foot five of him, tanned, sculpted, perfect. Kris drops to his knees, spreads my legs, and kisses me. His hands go to my ass, and he pulls me to the edge of the bed. Where his body touches mine, it feels so good like a fire that burns from within my soul. His lips leave mine as he kisses down my neck, and his fingers brush the lips of my vagina. I gasp, and he pushes me back. Kris lifts one of my legs and kisses the inside of my knee. His eyes never leave mine as he kisses his way to my clit.

  With my heels on the edge of the bed, I spread my legs further. This is not the clumsy lovemaking of our youth. This is a man who knows how to bring a woman to the edge and beyond. Entwining my hands in his hair, I hold him in place as I grind into his eager mouth. Kris sucks and licks, and just when I think I’m about to shatter, he stops and does something else. He brings me to the edge so many times, only to stop.

  “Please,” I beg.

  Kris rises over me, pulling one of my nipples into his mouth. “Please, what?”

  “Kris, I’m so close.”

  “How close?” His finger rubs on my clit, and I grind into it, unable to control the fire within.

  “I need you.”

  I close my eyes and concentrate on his hand, but again, he stops. My eyes fly open, and he smiles at me.

  “How hungry are you, baby?”

  “I’ll do anything.”

  A smirk appears on his face as he inserts a finger into me, and a moan escapes me. “More?”

  “Yes,” I purr as I ride his hand.

  The smirk is replaced by something ravenous as he slowly lowers his mouth onto my clit while moving his finger in and out of me. Within moments, my body feels like it’s exploding as my orgasm washes through me. Kris sucks and laps until I’m spent. I feel like my whole body is liquid fire. Briefly, he leaves the room, and I push myself further up the bed. I hear him come back in, his kisses start on the inside of my leg, his tongue licks my slit, and then he works his way back up to my mouth.

  I wrap a leg around him and feel his long, hard cock nestling at my entrance. Kris kisses me while his hands stoke the fire that has dimmed but not burned out. Kris tweaks a nipple between a finger and thumb, and I arch up. He rocks back, so he’s kneeling on the bed, he spread my legs and reaches under me, pulling me closer. With his cock only inside me an inch, he slowly pushes it all the way in then just as slowly pulls it back out, my body stretches and adjusts to his length and girth. Kris does this a few more times, then slams into me. I gasp at this new onslaught, relishing in the feel of his cock inside me.

  “Athena?”

  “Yes?” I pant.

  “Are you okay?”

  His question confuses me.

  Maybe I’m not doing enough?

  I plant a foot in the bed and switch positions with him, now I’m on top. Kris’ hands go to my hips as he moves me at a punishing speed. The angle his cock is at elicits a new orgasm that takes me by surprise. Riding him harder and harder as it crests, I convulse around him. Kris groans and yells my name, his eyes shut, the veins in his neck bulging as I give him the release he so richly deserves.

  “Stop, stop, stop,” Kris begs.

  And slowly, I stop my movements. He opens his eyes and smiles.

  “Swear to God, you are going to be the death of me.”

  It’s my turn to smile. “Ditto.”

  I lay on top of him, and he encircles me with his arms, his fingers drawing shapes on my back. For a while, we stay like that, him embedded in me and me listening to his heartbeat.

  “Babe, are you asleep?” whispers Kris.

  “No,” I whisper back.

  “Can I stay?”

  I go up on elbows and look down at him. “Will you make me a tea in the morning?”

  Kris grins. “I can do that.”

  “You can stay.”

  Leaning down, I kiss his lips and move to the side, sliding off him. Kris groans, but he has a satisfied smile on his face.

  “The bathroom is straight across the hall.”

  “You want me to shower first?”

  “If you want.”

  Kris smiles and sits up. “Your wish is my command.”

  It’s not until he’s fully standing that I realize he’s wearing a condom.

  “Ahh, that’s where you went.”

  He looks down and nods. “I wasn’t sure if you were on the pill and better to be safe than sorry, right?”

  “I’m glad one of us was thinking.”

  Kris pads out of the room, and I hear the shower start. Putting on a robe, I go out to the kitchen and pick up the food that spilled onto the floor, thankfully none of it escaped the containers it was in, so no clean up. He has enough food here for more than four people, so I pick chicken satay sticks, yellow chicken curry, a pad thai noodles, and some rice and divide it on to two plates and put one of them in the microwave.

  Kris comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. “Whatcha doing?”

  “I’m hungry.”

  “I’m not enough for you?”

  I giggle. “You are more than enough.”

  “Go shower. I’ll finish up here. You want the rest in the fridge?”

  “Yeah.” I twist in his arms and kiss him.

  Kris deepens the kiss and walks me backward until I hit the kitchen cabinets.

  “Woman, do you know what you do to me?”

  “I think I’m starting to.”

  “Run before I take you again.”

  Kris kisses my forehead and lets me go. I wander back down the hallway and into the bathroom. Catching my reflection in the mirror, I smile. It’s been too long since I’ve had sex. While I stare at myself, I try to recall the last time. It was with Kris in an old shack on the beach that we used to sneak out to. I take off the robe, and my eyes instantly go to the skin on my ribcage. Immediately, I avert my gaze and shake my head.

  Not tonight.

  I will not let those memories tarnish tonight.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I turn on the shower. Stepping under the warm spray, I let the water wash those memories away, leaving me in the present and feeling sated.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kris

  Athena is curled into my side while I trace circles on her back. Her body responds to me like no other woman ever has. It’s like she was made just for me, or maybe it’s because I’ve loved her since we were kids. Todd’s words come back to haunt me. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to get her to open up to me. I know I have to before some asshole in the press breaks the story.

  It’s early hours of the morning, the sun only just beginning to break throu
gh the darkness.

  “What’s up?”

  I look down at Athena, who’s looking up at me.

  “You snore.”

  I’m grinning at her, and she lets out a yelp and slaps my chest.

  “I do not!”

  “Yeah, you do. You sound like a freight train.”

  Athena shakes her head, “Nuh-uh.”

  “Oh yeah, and don’t get me started on the drool.”

  “Kris!” shrieks Athena.

  Laughing, I hold up my hands. “I’m kidding… mostly.”

  Athena smiles. “You promised me tea.”

  “Woman, the sun is barely up, and you want a tea?” She nods. “Okay, baby. How do you have it?”

  “I want peppermint tea and just hot water.”

  Sitting up, I place my feet on the floor and stand. My cock is awake and up. Athena crawls across the bed, grabs it, and puts it in her soft, warm mouth. She swirls her tongue over the tip, teasing the nerves there. I gasp at this unexpected pleasure. Needing to see her face as she blows me, I twist her hair into a ponytail and hold it with my fist. My other hand cups her face as I move in and out of her mouth. Athena begins to hum, and the sensation causes my balls to tingle. She reaches up and pushes me away. I still have hold of her hair. Athena repositions herself, so she’s sitting on the edge of the bed, spreads her legs, grabs my cock, and pulls me back into her mouth. Tilting her head back, she looks up at me, and I watch as she pleasures herself while sucking on my cock.

  I’m close, but this isn’t what I want. I want to bury myself inside her and feel her pussy convulse around my cock, and I want her to moan into my mouth as she comes. Sharply, I pull her head back, and Athena gasps, eyes wide, and I think I see fear there.

  “As much as I want you to blow me, I’d rather be inside you.”

  A smile breaks out on her beautiful face.

  “Okay, baby.”

  Putting my lips to hers for a quick kiss, I release her hair and ask, “How would you like it?”

  Athena crawls back up the bed. “Come here, lover.”

  With my body covering hers, I push into her tight, wet pussy. Athena arches her neck back and moans. I link my fingers with hers and move in and out.

  “Athena, look at me.”

  Looking at me through her lashes, she smiles. “I see you.”

  “Keep your eyes on me.”

  “I always see you.”

  Increasing my speed, Athena matches me thrust for thrust. She begins to buck wildly and chews on her bottom lip. Bending down, with eyes open, I swallow her cries and watch as she lets go, and her orgasm washes through her. The feel of her pussy convulsing around my cock tips me over the edge, and I lose myself in her. Breaking the kiss, I put my forehead to hers and keep on pumping inside her until I’m spent. Athena cups my face, her thumb brushes over my lips and arches up, kissing me.

  “I could wake up like that every day.”

  “You’d have to move to LA.”

  The smile falters, and she draws her eyebrows together. “LA?”

  “Yeah, it’s where I live.” I kiss her nose. “If you want to wake up like this every day, you’d have to move there.”

  Pulling out of her and away, I sit on the end of the bed and look at her in her bedroom mirror. Athena sits up gazing out the bedroom window. She shakes her head and looks down at her hands.

  “I think you promised me a tea.”

  “But I could give you so much more than that.”

  She looks up and stares at me in the mirror, then smiles. “Right now, I’d settle for a tea.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Athena

  Two nights of bliss. We haven’t left the house, but it’s Friday, the day before the wedding, and Ashlea and Mom are waiting for me at my parents’ house. Ashlea wants to make sure my dress is perfect, and she wants a trial run in hers. We’re doing the dress, the heels, the veil, everything. She was supposed to move in with me, but TB couldn’t be without her. But it’s the night before the wedding, and Mom has put her foot down, either Ashlea moves in with me for the night, or she stays with them. Wisely, she chose me.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” asks Kris as he puts a cup of tea in front of me.

  “I can’t stay, and you have to go.”

  “Can I drive you?” I nod. “I have to check in on Dad, but I can come back later?”

  “No, lover, you can’t. Ashlea will be here, remember?”

  A smirk appears on his handsome face. “If you could be quiet, she’d never know.”

  I take a sip of the pomegranate tea he’s made. “Where’s the fun in that?”

  Kris chuckles, his eyes twinkle with mischief. “It’s that, or you sleep alone, and there’s no fun in that.”

  We’re sitting in my walled garden, the sun is shining, and I don’t want to leave, nor do I want Kris to go, but family and the wedding have to come first. I stand and run a hand across his shoulders.

  “Come on, lover, let’s go.”

  “Do you have a to-go cup?” Kris asks as he picks up my teacup.

  “Yeah, I think so? In the overhead cupboard next to the microwave.”

  Wandering back into the house, Kris goes into the kitchen, and I go into my bedroom to grab my handbag. When I come out, Kris has a photograph and a piece of paper on the kitchen table. As I get closer, he holds out my tea and gestures to them.

  “How long were you in New York for?”

  For a moment, I stop breathing. My eyes go to the offending documents, and I feel my throat close.

  “W-What?”

  He holds up a picture of me at my job in New York, my colleagues surrounding me. It feels like a lifetime ago—I’m smiling. It was taken after my first big story broke before I was attacked. I’d forgotten it was even in the cupboard. I’d forgotten I had kept it.

  Kris is searching my face, his eyebrows draw together in concern. “Athena?”

  I take the picture and the paper and put them back in the cupboard.

  With my back to him and my hand frozen on the closed door, I mentally shake myself and say, “It was a long time ago.”

  “You looked happy.”

  “How did you know it was taken in New York?”

  Slowly, I turn around, and he shakes his head. “The name, the name of the company, was on the piece of paper. Their offices are in New York.”

  Cocking my head to the side, my lips turn down. “They have offices all over the country.”

  Kris crosses his arms. “But their head office is in New York. Athena, why are you being this way?”

  “Sorry, not all the memories from New York are good ones.”

  Kris walks toward me and places his hands on my hips. “Babe, you can tell me anything, you know that, right?”

  Anything?

  No.

  This man still sees the girl he fell in love with at seventeen—the girl who was only his.

  She doesn’t exist anymore.

  I plaster the fake smile on my face that I’ve gotten so good at showing everyone and nod. Reaching up, I place my hand on the back of his neck and run my fingers up and down it.

  “I know that, lover.” Mechanically, I kiss him then pull back slightly. “Mom and Ashlea are waiting. We should go.”

  “You never talk about it.”

  “About what?”

  “New York. I know you did well there and then came home? I know you were attacked. What happened?”

  I push on his chest and walk around him to grab my bag. “Now is not the time.”

  Kris turns around. “When?”

  “Never. It’s not important. Can we go? I’m already late.”

  Kris nods. “Okay, babe. But one day, we are going to have to talk about it.”

  Somehow, I manage to smile and nod while I head for the front door. Briskly, I walk down the path to his car, not paying attention to my surroundings. When I stand beside his Audi, a flash goes off, and I realize there’s a man with a camera standing there.

 
“Care to comment on your relationship with Kris Livingston?”

  Kris appears beside me and gives me my forgotten tea as he opens the car door, then holds out a hand to the man in a stopping gesture. “No comment.”

  “She’s pretty, Kris, and the locals tell me you two used to be an item. It’s Athena Boswell, isn’t it?”

  “Get in the car,” orders Kris, then he looks back at the man. “I told you, no comment.”

  Kris slams my car door and stalks around the hood of the car, staring daggers at the man who’s still taking photographs. When he gets into the car, Kris starts it, revs the engine and peels out of my driveway in a hail of gravel.

  “Was that necessary?”

  His jaw is clenched, and a nerve is jumping in his neck. “I can’t protect you if I don’t know everything.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “New York, Athena, I’m talking about New York.”

  Throwing my hands in the air, I say, “There’s nothing to know. I had a job there. That’s it!”

  Kris accelerates and has me at my parents’ house in half the time it usually takes. He comes to a screaming halt and turns and looks at me.

  “You’ve built this little world here, Athena, but that guy and more like him are going to put you under a microscope. Just by being with me you—”

  I open the car door. “Well, that’s easily fixed,” I shout.

  Getting out of the car, I’m on the top step when Kris reaches me, grabbing my hand.

  “Stop,” orders Kris.

  Dad opens the front door and comes out. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing, Dad.” I look down at Kris and wrench my hand out of his. “Absolutely nothing.”

  Then I turn and walk into the house.

  I can hear Dad and Kris talking outside, but I keep going, heading for Mom’s sewing room. She and Ashlea are sitting down talking. When I enter, they both look at me, smiling, but whatever they see causes them both to stand.

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” asks Mom.

  “Are you okay?” Ashlea moves to put an arm around me.

  “Kris, he, I mean…” words fail me, and before I understand what’s happening, the tears fall.