by Emma Vikes
Her phone rang and she excused herself.
Beside me, Kate set her drink aside roughly.
I turned to look at her.
“Why did you drag me here when you’re on a date?”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. “This isn’t a date, Kate. Olive’s my real-estate agent. I thought looking for a house to lease for about three months or more was a better idea than booking an AirBnb.”
Relief flooded her face and her annoyance seemed to deflate. “Then why am I here?”
“Because I want to have your input.”
She blinked and turned away, her cheeks reddening slightly as she took a sip of her drink.
“So, what were you doing at the bistro?” I asked.
Kate pursed her lips.
For a moment, I wondered if she would give me the right answer.
She shrugged and casually replied, “Met with the guy I was supposed to have a blind date with last night. It wasn’t fun.”
I couldn’t help but crack a smile at this explanation. I nudged her with my shoulder. “That’s because you’ve been taken out on a date by Ryan Bell. The other dates you’ll be on will be incomparable.”
Kate rolled her eyes and it felt like we were back in our familiar rhythm again. “It wasn’t a heart-fluttering date, Ryan. You bought me dinner. It’ll pale in comparison with a better one, someday.”
“I doubt it,” I said and then leaned closer to her. The proximity was so close between us that if I moved a little bit more, our lips would brush against each other. “It won’t because it was with me.”
Kate didn’t move, her blue eyes staring right into mine. She chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes briefly flickering to my mouth. Then she turned away as she let out a shaky breath
Olive came back, still smiling… all bubbly and flirty.
I told her we should check the house out right away because I had something to do even when I didn’t. I knew Kate wasn’t comfortable with her presence, so this needed to end soon.
After a brief drive, we arrived at the house. A simple bungalow abode with two bedrooms and one bathroom and Olive did her spiel, “The bathroom is adjacent to the two rooms, and the master bedroom is significantly larger than the other. Since you’ll be living alone, you can use the spare room as a study. It’s also well-furnished, so there’s really nothing to worry about.”
The house was simple with all the basic furniture. I didn’t really need to add much which was good because I didn’t want to spend on unnecessary things. I felt someone cling to my arm and I was half-expecting it to be Kate.
It was Olive, smiling brightly at me as she walked me through kitchen, pointing out everything as well as the custom tracked lighting. “I think this is the perfect house for you to stay in, Dr. Bell,” Olive stated, her fingers deftly gliding along the countertop. “And I don’t know, maybe one night we can have dinner? I haven’t told you but I’m—”
“Is that a shed in the backyard?” Kate asked rather loudly.
At the overly loud question, Olive jumped back. She let out an annoyed sigh and turned to Kate.
Kate stared back at her at her rather innocently.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, taking note of the familiar glint in her blue eyes.
Before Olive could respond, her phone began to ring again and with a huff, she excused herself to answer the call.
Kate leaned against the door leading to the backyard, arms crossed over her chest. “I’m guessing that she’s not immune to your charm like I am.”
My eyebrows rose at her bold statement. “I don’t really think that anyone is immune.”
Kate scoffed, turning away, moving forward to check the house even more. “Even when we’re friends now and all, you’re still too full of yourself.”
I followed her to the master bedroom. It had a great view of the backyard because of the huge sliding door installed. They also installed automatic blinds.
Kate found the remote to test it.
When the room turned dark because of the blinds and we were doused in only a sliver of light, my heart raced. A thought, a daydream, my imagination going wild, as it occurred to me—her and I were alone in a darkened room
Kate turned around, painfully slow and faced me.
I couldn’t stop staring at her. My lips tingled again, remembering how her mouth felt against mine. “It’s not that I’m full of myself. I’m merely stating facts.”
She licked her lips. “Don’t be too confident, Ryan. You don’t have an effect on me.”
I stifled a groan at the sight of her lip licking. Her words sounded like a challenge and I couldn’t help but chuckle darkly as I approached. My steps were measured, purposeful, and even.
Kate sucked in a breath when I was near, just a few inches away from where she stood.
Leaning closer, our breaths mingling, I whispered, “Are you sure?”
Kate swallowed but her eyes burned bright with challenge. “A hundred percent.”
Then…it happened— my lips crashed on hers, all my restraint gone, wanting to answer the challenge set for me.
Kate gasped, backing away until her back came up against the wall. I waited for her to push me away but she didn’t. Instead, she responded to the kiss with an urgency that matched mine.
I felt like I was on fire. Every inch of skin that Kate’s hands caressed brought an unnatural heat through me. As if she brought a warmth that I’d been longing for all my life and I couldn’t get enough of. This lone kiss seemed to quench the thirst I’d had for years but it made me thirsty for more. I wanted more of her.
She clung to me tightly, pulling me closer as our mouths met in a fiery battle, meeting in an urgency in an almost feral way. I bit her bottom lip and Kate gasped, her mouth opening more, my tongue diving in. Her hands were all over me and mine gripped her thighs. I hoisted her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist as I pushed her against the wall even more.
My hand dipped under her skirt, thumb gently caressing her inner thigh. I could feel the heat coming from her core, radiating to my hand. I sucked in a sharp breath and lowered my lips, kissing her collarbone. My other hand inched into her shirt and her skin felt like velvet under my hand. I moved my hand further until I could feel her breast.
My thumb caressed the curve of her breast and Kate moaned as her eyes closed. The sound brought my cock to attention even more. I knew she could feel it as I was pressed so close to her.
“Dr. Bell?” Olive’s voice echoed throughout the house.
And just like that—Kate and I sprang apart.
Her cheeks were heated and it made her face look redder.
Olive arrived in the room. “Oh. You’re already here. You like it?”
Kate was quick to turn away. “I-I should go.”
I wondered if Olive even noticed how both mine and Kate’s lips looked swollen. If she did, she didn’t say anything and she continued to regard me in the same flirty manner.
Quickly turning to Kate, I saw how she stared at me with wide and confused blue eyes. I swallowed, unsure of what I should say. “Why?”
Kate flashed me an uneasy smile. “I just remembered I have to do something. It’s nice meeting you, Olive, and the place looks great, Ryan.”
Before I could do or even say anything, Kate hurriedly left the room.
Olive put her hand on my arm.
Her touching me, made me jump in surprise.
She stared at me with a flirtatious smile on her face.
I instantly shrugged her hand away from me. “Give me a moment.” I rushed outside the house, hoping I could still catch her. The moment I stepped outside, her car had already started and she pulled away. Even if I tried calling out to her, it was pointless because she either wouldn’t hear me or wouldn’t stop the car.
Fuck. What the hell just happened?
13
Kate
I was completely screwed.
No, I wasn’t the only one screwed. Both Ryan and I were because we’d
both crossed the line. Ryan already crossed the line when he kissed me the other night and now, he’d crossed it once again. I could’ve pushed him away, shoved him from me, or clamped a hand over my mouth. I saw the kiss coming and yet—I didn’t do anything to stop him.
I didn’t because I wanted it to happen.
Oh, god.
I wrapped myself in a blanket, pulling it around me and making myself look like a burrito. I covered my face with a pillow and screamed, successfully muffling it. Part of me hated myself for allowing the kiss to happen ‒ the part of me that knew better ‒ this was Ryan Bell that I’d kissed! My brother’s best friend who’d I known for so long. Hell, I hated the guy longer than I’d tolerated him and became friends with him. It didn’t make sense. I’d allowed him to kiss me and I’d allowed the way he did it. This all didn’t make sense. I’d become a jumbled mess of emotions now.
And then a part of me… seemed to wake up when I began seeing him in a different light. Spending time with him, talking to him, and even just being near him seemed to thaw the ice surrounding my heart. I became willing, responding to his touch, the vixen that had been asleep for years, woke up from a long slumber.
The vixen had come awake and no way in hell, would she be taking another nap.
Even imagining how he held me, how his lips attacked mine, how his hands roamed my body and made my knees go weak. I could feel the growing wetness in my core as my mind flashed back to what happened a couple of hours ago. My lips still tingled with his kiss, my skin still ablaze where his hands had touched me, and my core still wet from the feeling.
But all horniness aside, another part of me wondered…
Ryan had acted coldly last night when he’d left me on my own. He hadn’t called me all day nor did he send a text. Then it’d been only by chance that we met today and he didn’t even bother with an explanation. Ryan acted as if nothing happened between us last night. He acknowledged that we had a ‘date’ but it seemed like he’d forgotten the part where he’d kissed me.
Or maybe he didn’t think of it as a kiss. Maybe to him, it was simply two lips against each other, unmoving and without feelings. Maybe I was the only one who imagined the moment our lips met halfway, I was doused in a warmth I’d never imagined possible. I’d felt a completeness like I’d never experienced before—as confusing as it was beautiful.
I placed the pillow on my face again and screamed for the second time. The confusion this whole situation brought made my head ache. Aside from the blossoming headache, I’d developed another ache, a longing for his touch. For years, I’d painted Ryan Bell as public enemy number one in my life.
Now, it seemed like all the hatred I’d harbored for the guy had transformed into lust.
There would be no denying the urgent response on my end, because I wanted him too. It didn’t make sense and there were so many unanswered questions going on in my mind. Despite all of this, I felt the unyielding certainty of wanting Ryan Bell, in the same way he’d wanted me, as the urgency in his kiss had claimed.
But he is Ryan Bell!
A knock echoed throughout the house and it made me pause. Glancing at the wall clock, it read 8:43. I wasn’t expecting anyone this late. It couldn’t be Faith because she was having the time of her life with her grandparents. Vanessa had plans for the night too. Andrew and Mila wouldn’t be back in the city until next week.
Which left one person to randomly drop by…
In one swift motion, I stood up from the couch ‒ blanket still wrapped around me ‒ and rushed to open the door.
Ryan stood on the other side with his hands stuffed into the back pockets of his jeans his head hanging a little low. He looked up when the door opened.
My gaze met his striking green eyes, boring straight into mine.
“Kate.” His voice sounded hoarse when he said my name.
The way he said it sent a shiver down my spine, almost making me gasp.
His features were serious and there wasn’t any glint of that familiar amusement in his eyes. He was stoic and solemn, eyes downcast after flickering on mine.
It dawned on me that he must have come here to apologize. But if it was so, Ryan didn’t look apologetic. He looked like he was trying his best to restrain himself. Hell, I didn’t even want him to apologize.
What I wanted was the tangible feel of his lips crashing on mine, our teeth grazing against each other, hands all over each other's body. What I wanted was for him to back me up to the wall again, lips on my collarbone, his kisses heading down south. I wanted to feel my skin against his, his heat enveloping me in an addicting warmth.
But just like him, I had to reign myself in. “What are you doing here? Are you here to apologize?”
Ryan didn’t dare to take a step inside. He remained where he was. He licked at his bottom lip and looked at me to meet my gaze. “I have something to say.”
Eyebrows furrowing, I took a step aside. “Why don’t you come in and have coffee and I’ll listen.”
Ryan shook his head. “If I come any closer, I won’t be able to restrain myself, shortcake.”
“Oh,” was all I could say because of all the things I’d expected him to say, it wasn’t that. His answer sent an excited thrill through me, heading straight to my core. “What is it you wanted to say?” My voice sounded a little shaky, heart thumping so fast in my chest that I wondered if I was close to having a heart attack.
Ryan again, licked his bottom lip and I couldn’t help but imagine the way his tongue felt against my mouth. He looked at me, his green eyes flaring with an intensity that made me shiver in excitement.
Even with the short distance, even in just his gaze, his need was palpable. “I want you, Kate,” Ryan began.
Those three words perked up the vixen inside of me. I blinked, staring at him with my mouth open in an O. As much as I wanted him to say this, actually hearing the words, come out of his mouth was surprising.
He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a frustrating exhale. “But I know that you’re off-limits. Of all the women that throw themselves at me, it’s you I want and it doesn’t make sense. You’re Andrew’s little…sister.” His voice broke when he said it and he stared at me with a pained expression on his face.
I swallowed, feeling his dilemma because it was mine as well. We were connected in a way, and we knew crossing the line would mean truly crossing it. We weren’t strangers and if we pushed this further, it would change everything.
“But I still want you,” Ryan whispered, looking at me somberly. “Fuck, I can’t even stop thinking about you. The way your skin felt against my palm and your lips on mine. Your scent draws me in. You’re poison to me, Kate, but you are addicting as you are intoxicating.”
His words made my heart race even more and I couldn’t help myself… I took a step forward.
Ryan then took a step back a step. “If you come any closer, I won’t be able to control myself, Kate.”
“Then don’t.”
The two words lingered between us for a moment.
It took him a while to understand what I meant. When he finally did, he looked up, hands balled into fists, his gaze unwavering on my face. “I won’t hold myself back.”
“And I’m telling you that you don’t have to.”
“There’s no turning back.”
“You’ve set me ablaze, Ryan,” I whispered, my eyes boring into his green ones, “and I need you to put out the fire you lit. Just this once.”
We were both treading on dangerous waters but it was a risk I wanted to take. I wanted him and my mind was devoid of any rationality at the moment. It’d been so long since I’d felt the ache of longing for someone. At first, I thought I liked having him around because of how I was able to reach him. Now, it wasn’t because of the heartfelt conversations.
It was this aching need innate in human beings and I needed him to satisfy mine.
Ryan took one cautious step forward and I allowed him, my eyes fixed on his face, on his lips. Hi
s cautiousness made me impatient. When he was within reach, I yanked him by the shirt and crashed my lips on his. I was never one for eagerness but the need felt so urgent I was no longer able to resist.
He responded instantly. His hands laced around my waist as he backed me into the house, pressing me against the wall and shutting the door with a kick. Our mouths latched onto each other, tongues tangled with our hands all over each other again.
He slipped a hand under my shirt, to caress my breast. I moaned my mouth opening a little bit more and giving him more access. We were a tangled mess of urgency and lust as we finally reached the couch, falling onto it.
Ryan straddled me, pulling off his shirt in one swift motion. I sucked in a breath at the sight of his chiseled body. I’d always known he worked out and I’d seen him shirtless countless times but this was different. My hands splayed on his abdomen, feeling the rock hard abs beneath, his heat enveloping me.
He hooked his thumbs on my shorts and pulled them down, leaving me in my shirt and panties. “Take off your shirt, shortcake.”
His voice exuded dominance and it sent another thrill through me as I followed his order. His eyes zeroed in on my breasts and his mouth was quick to latch onto a nipple. I moaned as he rolled it between his teeth. I closed my eyes and whimpered when I felt his hand on top of my panties, fingers circling my clit teasingly.
“Ryan,” I whimpered his name, my fingers tangling through his hair, “please.”
He moved his head and kissed me briefly on the lips before planting kisses from my lips to my chin, and then he moved down south. When he reached my belly button, he gave it a quick lick and I gasped at the heat of his breath. He finally reached my mound and he inhaled sharply, his eyes flickering to my face and meeting my gaze. “You’re already so wet for me, shortcake,” Ryan whispered, hooking one finger into my panties, raising the thin fabric.
Even a light touch was enough to almost make me explode. I felt his finger trace the curve of my folds and I gasped slightly.
In that instant, he was quick to remove the fabric.
