“Not your fault.” Zane shook his head. “Hell, even I saw that coming. Man doesn’t hook up with a girlfriend and make her the center of his universe, and then repeatedly leave her at home while he goes to his parents’. It isn’t right.”
“That’s what I thought. I’ve been a little bitchy about it, I’m afraid.”
“Understandable. I warned him.”
Kayla twisted around. “Where’s Thor?”
“My place.”
“Ah.”
“I’m sure he’d be happier with you, though.” He lifted one side of his mouth in a small smile.
Kayla grinned back.
“Listen. Go home. Sleep tonight. You look like shit.”
“Thanks.” She punched his arm, though she knew he was right. “I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“They’re moving him to a regular room tomorrow.” Zane reached into his front pocket and pulled out a card, which he handed to Kayla.
Her fingers shook as she glanced down at it. “Think he would mind?”
“Well, probably, but I told him I was personally going to put an end to this madness. So, if he’s mad, it will mostly be at me. And if he’s any kind of friend, he’ll forgive me for barging into his life and talking to his woman behind his back. A conversation he should have had himself. I’m gonna cut him some slack for being in a confused state of grief. So he’d better cut me some slack for being right.”
Kayla chuckled at that. “Good point. I’ll go tomorrow.”
“I think that’s the best plan.”
“Thanks, Zane. You’re a great friend.” She leaned toward him and wrapped her arm around him in a sideways hug.
He did the same in return. “Nothing I wouldn’t do for any of The Fight Club. We’re like brothers.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kayla walked into the hospital and headed for the front desk. “Hi. I’m looking for Jed Holland.”
The woman scanned her computer and glanced back up. “I can’t give you his room number. It’s listed as confidential. Are you a family friend?”
“Yes.”
The woman smiled warmly. “His wife and son are in the family waiting area. I saw them a few minutes ago.” She pointed to the hall to the right of her. “Go down this hall and take the first left. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you so much.”
Kayla tried to relax as she made her way toward the waiting area. She hoped his dad hadn’t taken a turn for the worse. In either case, she needed to be there for Gage. And he was going to have to get over himself and let her.
As soon as she stepped into the room, she swallowed.
Gage sat in a plastic chair, horrifically uncomfortable looking considering its location in a waiting room, his head dipped to the floor, elbows on his knees.
A woman sat next to him, undoubtedly his mom. The woman glanced in Kayla’s direction. She smiled, and the smile grew as though she knew exactly who Kayla was. In fact, without removing her gaze, she grabbed Gage’s arm and tugged.
Gage turned his face toward her and then followed her line of sight. For a split second, he stared in confusion, and then he righted himself and stood, rubbing his hands on his jeans. “Kayla.”
She came into the room farther, hesitantly. She didn’t want to upset anyone, especially his mother.
If she was truly unwanted, she would leave.
But suddenly Gage came toward her, picking up speed as he moved. And then his arms were around her, and he pulled her into his embrace, burying his face in her neck and clutching her a bit too hard. “You came,” he mumbled into her hair.
“Of course I came. And I would have been here sooner if you hadn’t been so pigheaded.” She tried to sound teasing.
Thankfully, he didn’t take offense. He pulled her away from his chest and looked her in the eye. “I’m sorry, baby. It was stupid.” He led her from the room, holding on to her arm on one side. They retraced the steps she’d taken to get to him, all the way out the front door.
“Do you want me to leave?”
He looked at her quizzically. “No.” And then he glanced around. “Oh. I just thought we could talk in private for a minute.”
She nodded, relief making her slump her shoulders. “Zane came to me.”
“Yeah. I figured he would. I mean I asked him to go handle things when I saw your text. I’m sure he told you more than he should have.”
“Don’t be mad at him. He means well.” She grasped his hand as she spoke.
“I’m not.” He let out a long breath. “And I’m sorry I tried to keep this part of me separate from you.”
She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his middle. “We all have vulnerabilities, Gage. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’m choked up that you love your parents this much. It doesn’t make you less of a Dom. It makes me think even more highly of you.”
He wrapped his arms tight around her also and kissed the top of her head. “I should have given you more credit.”
“Yes. You should have trusted me. I’m not a total bitch. You don’t have to keep things from me or coddle me. I can handle a little stress and a man with a soft spot for his dad.” She grinned, but he wasn’t smiling back.
“Like you trust me with your secrets?”
She stopped breathing.
Fuck.
Seconds passed.
She blinked, but his words dug deep, and she had trouble processing or deciding how to respond.
Finally, Gage glanced away on a sigh. “Uncalled for. I’m an ass.”
She shook her head. “No. You’re right. Totally. I deserved that.”
Silence stretched. When he looked back at her, he changed the subject. “The timing sucks, and my mom is a wreck, but do you want to meet her?”
“Sure, unless you’d rather wait until some other time. I don’t want to intrude, and I don’t want either of you to be uncomfortable.”
Gage rolled his eyes. “Baby, if I don’t bring you back inside to meet my mom, she will personally kill me right here, and that will be awfully messy inside the hospital.”
Kayla nodded. “Did you tell her about me?”
“I did. We’ve had a lot of hours to kill in the last two days.”
Kayla smiled. He’d told his mother about her. Her heart beat hard, her chest swelling. “I’d love to meet your mom.”
»»•««
Sunday morning Gage walked into his dad’s room and froze two steps from the doorway. He held a cup of coffee in one hand and an iced latte in the other. It wasn’t exactly what Kayla normally ordered, but it was the best he could do from the cafeteria.
Kayla didn’t notice him yet. She was holding his father’s good hand and talking to him in hushed tones. His dad was unresponsive. He hadn’t regained consciousness since the stroke. It was too early for the doctors to know how severe the damage from this second stroke might be.
Gage almost dropped the drinks. How could he have been so stupid as to keep this from Kayla? She was strong. Clearly stronger than himself. As he inched closer, he saw that Kayla caressed the back of his dad’s hand with her fingers.
Tears gathered in Gage’s eyes, and he fought to keep them from falling.
“Hey. I brought coffee.” She glanced his way, and he handed the iced cup to her as she twisted toward him. “Are you telling Dad all my dirty secrets?” He grinned and set his cup of coffee down on the table by the bed, his hand landing on Kayla’s back and stroking up to wrap around her neck. He leaned over her from behind. “You know he can’t hear you, right?”
Kayla frowned. “You can’t know that for sure. He needs to know people are around him and rooting for him.”
He kissed her forehead, swallowing the lump in his throat as she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. “Where’s Mom?”
“She went home to change and hopefully take a nap. I told her I would let you know when you got here.”
“How long have you been here?” He’d only gone to the cafeteria. After anot
her night slumped in a chair in the corner of the room, he was stiff and uncomfortable. He needed sleep himself. He’d introduced Kayla to his mom yesterday and they’d bonded over vending machine snacks in the waiting room. But seeing Kayla with his dad took his breath away.
“I must have arrived right after you went to the cafeteria.” She smiled.
Gage took his father’s palm from Kayla and squeezed.
He sat on the side of the bed and rubbed his dad’s leg under the blankets. For the first time in his life, he felt the weight of the world lifting. Even though his father’s condition was uncertain, Kayla was his. And she was a gem.
They sat like that for a few hours, Kayla never seeming interested in leaving. The two of them bantered with each other, talking to his father as though the man could hear them.
When his mother returned, she looked slightly refreshed. She hugged Gage and then Kayla. “I still can’t believe he was keeping you from us,” she teased. “He’s lost his marbles.” His mom leaned down to kiss her husband’s forehead.
Gage’s chest tightened. His parents had always been so close. This had to be hard on both of them. And it got harder every day. The future was uncertain, but after this second stroke, it seemed unlikely Jed Holland would ever return to normal.
His mother pointed at the door. “Go. Both of you. Gage, you need sleep. We’re fine here. I’ll call you if there’s any change. It could be weeks before he improves. You know that.”
Gage hesitated, but when Kayla wrapped her arm around his and hugged him close, he knew he needed to be alone with her. It was true he needed sleep, and the only way that would be restful was with her at his side.
Gage squeezed his father’s hand and led Kayla out of the hospital. When they stepped outside, the fresh air made him tip his head back and take a deep breath. “Follow me?”
“Of course,” she whispered, leaning up on her tiptoes and kissing him on the lips, a soft kiss that promised him she was at his side.
When they arrived at home, he kicked off his shoes and padded through the quiet house, tugging Kayla behind him.
“Should we get Thor from Zane?”
“Later. Zane will take care of him. I need sleep. And I need you with me.”
“Okay.”
In his bedroom, he turned toward her, took her face in his hands, and kissed her long and deep. His eyes slid closed as he stroked her tongue with his own, reaching for the hem of her shirt. He broke the kiss to see what he was doing.
Gage tugged her shirt over her head and proceeded to remove the rest of her clothes. “God, baby. You take my breath away every time.” He stepped back and divested himself of everything he wore also. And then he led her to his bed and pulled her into his embrace as he covered them. With both arms wrapped around her, he settled her back against his front and kissed her neck. “You smell so sweet. Never change this shampoo.”
She giggled as his breath hit her skin, squirming in his embrace.
But he held tight. “So tired, baby. Give me some time. Please don’t leave.”
“Never,” she whispered, her hands settling over his and squeezing him with reassurance.
∙•∙
Kayla fell into the most peaceful sleep she’d experienced right alongside Gage. She woke before him and watched the sun fall in the sky while he continued to inhale and exhale the shallow breaths of deep sleep.
Watching him was the best thing in the world. He still touched her in several places, but when she’d awoken, she found herself on her back. He had one muscular leg nestled between hers and a hand lying on her belly. The sheet had slipped down so her breasts were exposed, the nipples puckering the instant she woke up to see his face next to her.
She’d been dreaming, and now that she saw her surroundings, she understood why. Her pussy was wet, drenched in fact. Not surprising considering the way her legs were pressed open by the giant thigh between them.
Her breathing increased as she tried to remain still and enjoy staring at the man who was beside her. He’d given her so much in such a short time. And yesterday he gave her the last piece of himself, his vulnerability.
She’d watched him with his mother and then with his father, Aletha and Jed, and understood immediately what Zane told her. Gage’s parents were beyond important to him. He loved them deeply. And he ached just as deeply for what they were going through. That sort of raw exposure would be difficult to share with the woman you’d been seeing for such a short time.
Of course, she knew their relationship had escalated fast. She could barely recognize herself from a few weeks ago. And she knew deep inside she owed him information about her past. It would be painful reliving the details, but it was only fair. His words about both of them keeping something from the other had made her cringe. She hadn’t been able to shake the uneasy feeling she’d had about the imbalance of their relationship since then.
She hadn’t expected to ever be this intimately involved with a man again in this lifetime, but now she was. There was no denying how she felt every time she was with him, or even when she wasn’t.
Suddenly, Gage’s knee shifted upward, pressing firmly against her pussy. At the same time, his hand skimmed up her belly to cup her breast.
Kayla moaned and turned her face toward him. Her body was instantly on alert. He hadn’t made love to her for a week. She wanted to feel him inside her again.
He was smiling at her through hooded eyes. “Best sleep ever,” he mumbled. His cock grew rapidly against her hip, and he leaned his face into her neck to nibble a path toward her ear. He pressed his entire frame closer, squeezing her breast and pinching her nipple. His lips met her ear. “Open wider for me, baby.”
She bent her knee and let it fall to the side.
Gage kissed a path down her body, sucking her free nipple into his mouth on the way. He climbed between her legs, slunk down lower, and pushed her thighs wider with both hands. His face disappeared between her legs before she knew what was happening. “Mmm.” His hum against her pussy made her buck into his mouth.
He backed off, lifting his face to meet her gaze. “Baby, stay still. Ass on the bed. Hands above your head.”
She lifted her shaking arms up over her and grabbed the rungs of the bed. It was easier if she grounded herself like that. Less tempting to release her fingers and reach for him. And God how he loved to have her sprawled out like a feast before him.
“Can you stay still?”
“I’ll try, Sir.”
He grinned. “We’ll see.” And he lowered his mouth to her pussy again, licking a path up to her clit and then circling the swollen nub before flicking his tongue over it rapidly.
Kayla stiffened, working hard to remain still. She closed her eyes as she concentrated on his talented tongue. Within a minute she was on the edge.
“Don’t come, baby.” He lifted off her again.
She gasped, biting her lip to keep from begging him to let her come.
Is this how it would always be with him? Gage dominating her in bed, and her enjoying it immensely. Her fear of being harmed was dissipating. He was nothing but tender and attentive. At no point had he shown signs of turning on her.
It was hard, letting him in like that. It took herculean effort to trust, but it was getting easier every day that went by as Gage proved himself over and over.
“Flip over, baby.”
She lifted her head off the pillow. “Sir?”
“Onto your knees.” He lifted from between her legs and grabbed her waist to help her.
She released the rungs of the bedframe, surprised by his maneuver. Before she could wrap her mind around his intent, she was on her elbows and knees, her ass in the air. Her nipples grazed the sheet beneath her, stiffening with every movement as Gage nudged her knees apart and settled on his between her thighs.
His hands were on her everywhere. He flattened his palms and caressed them up her back and down again. “I love the way your back dips right here,” he said as he thumbed the small
of her back, making her squirm.
His hands landed on her ass next, massaging the globes and pulling them apart.
Kayla held her breath as his thumbs grazed down the crack between her cheeks. “Kayla, I need to know if you’ve ever been taken here.” He tapped her puckered hole as he spoke.
Kayla flinched at the contact and then shook her head. “No, Sir.” She wasn’t at all sure she was interested in such a thing.
His hands left her butt to circle around and dance up her belly until he cupped her breasts. He toyed with them until her nipples were ultra-sensitive. “I love the way your tits respond to me.” He pinched the hard buds in emphasis. And then he released her and leaned across her leg to one side. He opened the bedside table and righted himself behind her.
Something soft landed on her back, dragging up her spine until it met her neck.
“I want you to let me blindfold you, baby.”
She flinched. The idea scared the fuck out of her.
This is Gage.
He tapped her hand on one side of her face. “You aren’t restrained, baby. If it gets to be too much, all you have to do is tug the material off your eyes.”
True. But in the meantime, she worried she might freak out on him.
“Trust me, baby. Every time you push yourself to step outside the box, it makes me so fucking hot my cock aches. You know I won’t strike you just because you can’t see me.”
True again.
“There’s no correlation. I’m just asking you to eliminate your sense of sight. Have you ever been blindfolded?”
“No, Sir.”
“Good.” He wove his fingers into her hair and lifted her head. “I love that I have the privilege of being your first at so many things. I won’t let you down. Ever. That’s my promise to you.”
“Yes, Sir.” Her voice was weak.
“Safe word?”
“Red, Sir.”
Gage leaned over her and slid the silky black material of the blindfold over her eyes. “Breathe, baby. Nothing has changed. I’m still the same man behind you. You have full control over the situation.”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered.
The Fight Club - Boxed Set Page 78
