“Two months,” he murmured with a slow shake of his head. “I was so close.”
“Kaleb?”
Tenderly, he set her foot down and rose. Without her shoes, he seemed dramatically taller. It was interesting to have to tip her head so far back to look into his face. His dark eyes bore mercilessly into hers.
“What if I don’t want to leave, Katie? What if I want to stay here with you?” He wet his lips. “Will you let me? Even if I can’t promise I’ll behave?”
What was she supposed to say? No? What would have been the point? This was something a long time coming. Two months in fact. This game was one they’d been dancing around every time she walked into class and their eyes met. Every time she asked a question and he walked over to her desk and their arms brushed. It was in the spark and heat that seemed to follow them through the corridors. No. No was not an option.
“Stay.”
She was unclear what she was expecting to happen next. Dylan had grabbed her the moment they were alone in the motel room, kissed her roughly, and told her to get naked and on the bed. She had done it and he had wasted no time crawling over her. The room had smelled like musty gym socks and the people next door had had their TV on too loud on some horror flick and the bed was a pile of rocks encased by sheets. Having his weight pushing her down hadn’t helped. It hadn’t worked her into a frenzy, as the books called it. Nor had his awkward petting helped ease him inside her.
She had known there would be pain. Maybe it was because she had braced for it, tensing all over, that it felt like he was ramming a baseball bat into a nail hole. But it was also because she hadn’t been ready. He hadn’t made the effort and she’d been so scared. The pain had been astronomical. The whole five minutes he grunted and slammed into her again and again, could have been hours as she bit her lip and willed herself not to sob. Then, he’d finished and rolled off her without a word. Katie had never wanted more to curl into a tight ball and weep more than she did at that moment. Then he was gone the next day, never to be heard from again.
“Katie?” Gentle knuckles brushed the side of her cheek, pulling her out of that dingy motel to the extravagant suite and the handsome man watching her with concern. “Where did you go?” he asked quietly.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
His thumb moved down the length of her jaw to her chin. “Have you changed your mind?”
Had she? Would he be upset if she had? Dylan had been furious when she even suggested it.
He’s not Dylan, the voice in her head reminded her, and no, he wasn’t. He was nothing like Dylan and something told her it would be different with Kaleb. He would be different. He would be gentle and thoughtful. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did.
“No.” She took a deep breath and smiled up at him. “I want you to stay.”
He didn’t smile. He didn’t grab her and start tearing at her clothes. Instead, he watched her. He peered into her eyes as he continued to trace her face from chin to the curve of her jaw. Very slowly, he slid his hand down her arm and took her hand.
“Dance with me?” he said, tugging her away from the door towards the single-step platform in front of the windows.
Katie hurried to keep up, unsure she’d heard correctly. “Dance?”
He did smile now as he twirled her out to face him. His hands moved to her waist. She was drawn into him, into his chest, much closer than they had ever been.
“Yes, dance. I know you know how.”
Still not sure what his play was, she said nothing as he lifted her arms and set them on his shoulders. Her hands locked instinctively around his neck. She wondered if he could feel her heart trying to slam out of her body and into his.
“Tell me something,” he said.
“Okay.” She straightened her shoulders. “Something.”
The corner of his mouth quirked. His lashes fell half-mast over his eyes. “Funny girl.” His fingers inched up and down her back. They tangled in the ribbons restricting her corset and, as if he’d tightened them, her breathing hitched in her chest. “But I want to know about you. What do you like? Where do you want to go after high school? What’s your favorite food? Why are you single?”
Cautiously, Katie let her fingers drift down the back of his neck, testing the taut, warm flesh. “I like coffee, Ding Dongs, and Twizzlers. Oh, and blueberry muffins. That all falls into the favorite foods category as well, by the way. I also have a deep love for shrimp, which borders on frightening. I want to go to Morocco and Egypt and Mongolia and about a million other places. I think my love for shrimp can only be overshadowed by my love of planning trips.”
His hum vibrated between them. It sent shivers down her spine. “And the last question?”
Her chuckle came out sheepish, like a wince of pain. “I was dating someone, but then he graduated last year and … I’m in the final grade,” she reminded him. “I’m older than all the boys in my class.” She gave him a grin. “And I don’t get out much.” The smile faded as a terrible thought intruded. “You’re not with anyone, are you?”
“No,” he said, and smiled when she exhaled in relief. “I wouldn’t be here if I was.”
“I’m sorry, but I had to ask.”
He nodded. “I know.” He slid a hand up her back and lightly brushed away the curtain of hair falling over her shoulder. He let his fingers glide over the curve of her neck, sending rivulets of heat coursing along her skin. His voice dropped to a low murmur as her eyelashes fluttered closed. “You’re the first girl to make me not want to be alone in a very long time.”
Eyes opening, she peered up at him, marveling at how close he’d gotten without her knowledge. There were flecks of green embedded in the sea of gold. Mesmerized, she almost didn’t feel his hand settling beneath her chin until her face was tipped even further to his.
“I should have known you were trouble.”
Then he kissed her.
Katie gasped. Her breath stilled in her chest for a full heartbeat as he drew her even closer. His hands splayed across her back, arching her into him. Her own threaded through his hair and fisted. The minty taste of his mouth tingled on her lips and washed across her tongue as he prodded it with his. The room spun, a dizzying blur of colors and the floor vanished so they were seemingly suspended through time and space. The longing inside her swelled with the longing pouring through her. Her muscles trembled as she pushed up onto her toes, needing more of that mouth. His arms crushed her, holding her to him as he devoured her senses.
Against her back, the ribbons tightened beneath the tug, then unraveled as the knot was released. Warm fingers slipped through the gaps and stroked hot flesh. She gasped against his mouth as that single caress seemed to explode through her like a thousand splinters of desire. The muscles at the pit of her stomach clenched in a way it hadn’t … ever.
Kaleb drew away, just enough to bathe her flushed cheeks with a very ragged breath while peering hungrily into her eyes. Goose bumps erupted across her body as his nimble fingers skimmed the bumps along her spine, tracing each one to the nape of her neck. He cupped the back of her skull. He dropped his mouth for another kiss. Then another. Each one hard and intense. The sleeves of her gown slipped over her shoulders. They caught on her bent elbows before she lowered her arms and let the fabric form a purple puddle of silk and lace at her feet. She stood before him in nothing but a pair of lacy, black panties and miles of flushed skin.
His breathing pulsed around them, hard and uneven. His eyes seemed to shine like hot coals as they roamed over her. His Adam’s apple bobbed rapidly.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful.”
The blush deepened across her skin and spread up her chest to flood her face. Katie smiled. “Thank—”
She was scooped up into his arms before she could think to finish. Her legs instinctively looped around his hips as he stomped across the room with her held fast against his chest. What did register was the fact that they weren’t moving towards the bedroom.
Her question froze on her lips with a yelp of surprise when her bare backside was seated on a sheet of ice.
She was on the dining room table, straddling a corner with her legs dangling over.
Kaleb drew back to peer into her face, his grin dark. “The lighting is better here,” he told her simply, gesturing to the crystal chandelier twinkling above their heads.
“The table is for eating,” she told him.
His smile was wicked and devastating as he moved into her space, as he nudged aside her thighs, grabbed the back of her knees and jerked her forward. With a squeak she tumbled backwards across the glass surface. The unexpected coolness against her bare back made her cry out and arch, simultaneously thrusting her breasts forward.
“What do you think I’ll be doing?” she heard him drawl. It was followed by the slow glide of his palms up her thighs to her waist.
Katie dropped her chin to watch as he traced the lines of her body splayed out for him like a banquet. She studied the fierce grip his teeth had on his bottom lip and the way his chest rose and fell in anticipation. His face was a mask of desire and it was set just for her. It only further added to the moisture collecting between her legs.
Ravenous eyes traveled up the length of her to meet hers. The fire in them scorched her straight to the marrow.
“I’ve dreamt of this moment every day for two months,” he told her in a husky murmur. “Late at night when I should have been sleeping, I would close my eyes and see you, just like this, splayed across my bed wearing nothing but my hands and my lips.” A smirk twisted his mouth. “Surprised?”
It must have been showing on her face because she was. But she couldn’t find the sense to reply.
He chuckled. “Yeah, I was too the first few nights.” Dark strands slipped over his brow when he bent at the waist and grazed his lips over her navel. He didn’t react when she shivered, nor did he glance up. “I thought I was losing my mind.” He moved up her ribs, pressing warm kisses to each curve. “I’m still not sure if this is one of my dreams, or…”
He reached the underside of her breast. Katie held her breath even as her heart hammered under his mouth. There was no way he hadn’t noticed. He drew up the slope, moving dangerously close to the hard peak begging for his attention. Katie felt her back arching, offering herself to him without words. But he bypassed. He receded like a tide rolling back into the sea. He moved down her body, retracing his steps until he was at her abdomen. His hands extended across her thighs. The thumb on each hand drew circles on her skin. Gradually, he traveled north, stopping at her hips and the only scraps of fabric covering her. He seemed to hesitate and for a panicked moment, she thought he would stop. She nearly grabbed for him, terrified that he would leave her like that with her body aching. The very idea made her want to cry.
“Kaleb…”
“Shh,” he whispered, never looking up from his task, which was slipping first one, then two fingers beneath the lace hugging either side of her hips. “We’re not finished.”
She was breathing hard, unable to regulate her air intake. Her heart was cracking with such ferocity against her chest, she was sure she was about to have a heart attack. She tried to generate spit to speak, to beg him to touch her, but she couldn’t seem to think. And he was taking so long sliding the material down her thighs, over her knees and off. She didn’t even care when he tossed it carelessly over his shoulder. Her attention was on him and his attention was on the treasure he’d uncovered.
“Open, Katie,” he said, his voice tight. “Let me see how ready you are for me.”
It was a little harder to follow that order when she was on the corner and there really was nowhere to put her feet, except to raise her knees and bring them to her chest, which she couldn’t do.
“Kaleb, please…”
Eyes that had once been soft gold were pits of dark fire when they shot up to her face. “Open, or I stop.” He couldn’t have used a better tactic.
Cheeks enflamed, she lifted her knees, tucked a hand under each thigh and hugged them to her chest. That wasn’t enough for him though. He pried his hands between her knees and thrust them apart, wide apart and Katie gasped in mortification at being so lewdly exposed. She tried to close them again, only to falter when his fingers drifted down the insides of her thighs to coax open her moist lips. She had no doubt she was ready for him. She knew she was ready. She could feel it with every brush of cool air tickling her bare flesh.
“So perfect,” she heard him murmur, but it was drowned out by her sob of ecstasy when two blunt fingers thrust their way inside her to the knuckles. And that was all it took to rip the floor out from beneath her.
She cried out as her toes curled and her back arched off the table. The world buzzed between her ears as she shook with waves of release. He was still moving with even strokes inside her when she finally settled. His eyes were on her face when she pried her own eyes open. His face was set in dark pleasure and deep contemplation.
“I’m sorry,” she began.
“You’re so wet,” he said as though she’d never spoken.
Then, as if she needed evidence of the fact, he slipped his fingers free and raised them so she could see her arousal glistening on his skin. She waited for the wave of embarrassment to hit her, but it never came, not even when he returned his fingers to her slit. “I want to be in here,” he said, circling her opening with one finger. He rested his free hand flat on the table next to her and leaned over her. “I want to be inside you.” Katie moaned and bucked into his hand, fully prepared for another fall as he pushed first one, then two fingers home. “I want to fuck you, Katie.” His nostrils flared as he searched her face. “I want to fuck you until you never forget me.”
Dizzy and turned on, Katie reached for him. Her hands fisted in his blazer and she dragged him closer. “Yes. Please.”
The last thing she saw before he smashed his mouth over hers was the look of absolute madness on his face. Then he kissed her like a man possessed. A third finger joined the first two and pounded into her. The heel of his hand slammed against the blood-filled muscle protruding from between wet lips, making her see stars with every slap. Then he suddenly stopped.
“What … no!”
He bit down hard on her bottom lip, making her cry out. “There’s someone at the door.”
Door? What door?
“Leave it.” She tightened her grip on his lapel. “I need you.” She wiggled her hips against the hand still embedded inside her.
It started to work. He kissed her again only to pull away completely, ejecting from her body and taking two full steps back.
“I’m not done with you,” he promised, still backing away from her. “I’ll be right back.”
Katie dropped back against the table, frustrated and hot. A few more minutes and she would have come undone all over again. Damn whoever was at the door.
Trembling like a newborn calf, she rolled off the hard surface and stretched the ache in her back and shoulders. Across the room, she saw Kaleb talking through a narrow slit in the door at whoever was on the other side. She couldn’t hear the conversation as she made her way to the bedroom on unsteady legs. Her mission was to retrieve the robe she’d seen hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Then she thought about taking a long, hot bath. She only made it as far as the bathroom.
“Leaving so soon?” Kaleb stood in the bedroom doorway, one hand in his pocket, the other hanging casually at his side.
“Just getting a robe—”
“You won’t need that.” He was in front of her in two long strides. He bent down and tossed her unceremoniously over his shoulder, getting a squeak out of her. “I plan on making sure you stay naked the entire night. Naked and wet.”
Laughing as he stomped to the bed, Katie shook her head, watching her hair swing wildly above her head. “I won’t argue with that.”
She was dropped onto the bed of feathers and nearly sunk in the soft folds. The silk sheets rustled beneath her, cooling her
skin.
“Good.” He stood over her, watching her as he yanked off his blazer.
Pushing up onto her knees, she reached for his tie. Her gaze never left his as she unraveled it from his neck. She went for the buttons on his shirt next, half yanking and half ripping the buttons off in her haste. He didn’t seem to care as he tore it off the moment the last button was free. Katie bit her lip as she took in the well-structured wall of his chest, the perfectly defined muscles and the contour of his torso. Her fingers traced a path down the grooves carved into flesh to the buckle restricting his pants. Her eyes flitted up through thick lashes to peer at him, as her hands skimmed even lower. Her smile blossomed into a wicked grin, as her fingers closed around the rock hard shaft tucked inside his pants.
“Shit…!” he hissed, rocking forward into her palm.
The feel of it stiff and hot through soft material made her insides flutter. She’d felt Dylan’s erections enough times to know what it would feel like, but it wasn’t the same at all. There was something profoundly naughty about holding Kaleb’s cock.
She wet her lips. “I want him,” she whispered. “I want to feel him inside me.” She wiggled closer until her breasts grazed his chest. “You promised to fuck me, O’Reilly. I’m ready.”
His eyes were pools of raw black set against a face carved from anguish and longing. “Show me.”
Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, she scuttled back on the mattress and lay down. She spread he legs. Spears of pleasure shot through her as she watched him tear open his belt.
“Touch her,” he commanded gruffly.
Pushed into new territory, Katie hesitated. True, she had touched herself plenty of times. She knew her own body. But she’d never had an audience present before. Dylan had stuffed his hand up her skirt a time or two. He would fumble around and get frustrated when she wouldn’t get wet. But he never asked her to do it while he watched. She wasn’t sure she would have for him. But for Kaleb…
My Soul For You Page 8
