Forcing her weary body to keep going, she headed to the bed. When her knees hit the mattress, she turned and flopped down on her butt, holding her rumpled clothing against her nakedness. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there like that, but she didn’t move until the bedroom door opened and in walked Gage.
Unwilling to look him in the eye, she continued staring at the floor before speaking. “You’re free to go. I’m not the cuddling type, so I don’t need you to hang around.” God, she hoped her voice sounded as stern as she’d meant it to.
Gage didn’t respond, but she felt his eyes on her. When his boots moved into her field of vision, she felt the heat from his body against her skin even with a foot or so between them.
The clothes she held protectively against her breasts were pulled from her hand as Gage moved in front of her, lowering himself to his knees until they were almost face to face. Kylie fully expected him to apologize or say something that would somehow make sense of what they just did. He didn’t.
Gage cupped her face in his big hands and tilted her head up so she met his eyes. What she saw there mirrored what she felt on the inside. Confusion. Desire. Need. It was a churning sea of tumultuous emotions that had led to the sexiest thing she could’ve imagined. They hadn’t had actual intercourse, but aside from her body yearning to know what it would be like to have him inside of her, she wouldn’t have known it. Her mind was awhirl with thoughts that she knew were better left alone.
“Lie back,” Gage instructed and Kylie stiffened. What was he doing?
“Gage, I think you should go,” she forced the words past trembling lips.
“Not a chance,” he whispered and Kylie’s heart danced at the thought of him staying. For some reason, she expected him to run out the door as quickly as he’d come in.
That wasn’t what was happening.
“Lie back,” he repeated gently and Kylie slowly leaned back onto her elbows, as he crawled closer, spreading her thighs as he did. Watching him as he knelt between her legs was so damn hot, she fully expected her comforter to catch fire.
“I need to taste you again. Your pussy’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever had on my tongue.”
Chills ran over her skin, making her shiver as the words sank in. This was entirely foreign to Kylie. Aside from the exceptional sex she’d encountered with Travis back when she was too young to appreciate all that he’d made her feel, Kylie had only ever known plain vanilla. Her past sexual relationships had been boring at best, and she’d thought it was her fault.
Gage lowered his head, his fingers separating the folds of her sex as the warmth of his breath tickled the heated flesh. Another shiver raced through her as his mouth hovered just out of reach, teasing her with every breath he took.
Kylie was focused on him, the way he stared up at her, his eyes meeting hers as he slid his tongue slowly through her slit, gently lapping at her until she was ready to beg him to finish her off. Just when she thought he was going to let her come, he stopped. Realizing that she’d closed her eyes, Kylie opened them, only to see another expression on Gage’s face that she hadn’t expected. There was no grin, no arrogant, cocky smirk to show her that he knew just what he did to her.
She didn’t look away as he stood, toeing off his boots and then removing his jeans. He continued to watch her, and Kylie got the impression he was waiting for her to send him away. It wasn’t that she didn’t know right from wrong – and this was so very wrong in more ways than one – but she wasn’t willing to let him walk out that door just yet.
Kylie knew without a doubt that this was nothing more than pleasure brought on by heightened emotions that neither of them could control. And she was ok with that.
Liar.
When Gage retrieved a condom from his wallet before tossing the leather billfold onto the floor with the rest of their discarded clothes, Kylie held her breath. She watched as he sheathed his long, heavy erection with slow, practiced movements.
The intensity was still just as significant, however, the level had reduced tenfold, taking on a sweeter, gentler feel. They knew what was to come. And if Kylie was right, sex with Gage was going to blow her mind and ruin her forever, but she couldn’t seem to make him go away. Her heart had waged an all-out war with her common sense and had won by a mile.
Gage’s warm weight pressed down on her as he knelt on the bed between her thighs. Just when she expected him to thrust inside of her, he surprised her by easing over to his back, pulling her along with him. With their positions reversed, Kylie was left straddling him on her bed. The warm column of his erection pressed between her thighs and she gasped, wanting to feel him inside of her more now than before.
“Please,” Kylie whispered, begging as she met his eyes, watching as he seemed to be thinking this through. She was both nervous and anxious, desperately hoping she didn’t ruin this for him. Or her.
“I’m right here, Kylie. Right here.” Gage’s words were like a flame to the kindling that was still smoldering deep in her core. The tenor of his voice was pitched low, the rhythmic cadence both soothing and tender. For a second, she was at a loss, the battle with her emotions waning fast.
With unsure movements, Kylie adjusted their positions until she had the head of his penis pressing against her entrance. He was huge, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to take him inside of her completely, but she was certainly going to try. Lowering herself gently, Kylie took Gage inside of her, inch by inch. The expression on his face was one of wonder and pain.
“God, baby. You’re so tight.” The rough gravel of his tone eased her fears, letting her know he was right there with her.
Kylie had to ease down onto him slowly, his unyielding erection penetrating her, stretching her even more as her body fought to adjust to his size.
“Come here.”
Kylie leaned forward, letting Gage wrap his muscled arms around her as she pressed her hands flat against his chiseled chest. She didn’t take her eyes off of his face as she let the warmth of him consume her. She was quickly losing herself to this man, unsure how she ever thought she could keep this about pleasure and nothing more.
“Kiss me,” he told her.
Kylie did as he asked, pressing her lips to his, tasting herself as she licked the outer swell of his bottom lip repeatedly. She was so engrossed in tasting him, teasing him with her tongue that she barely registered when he was fully inside of her.
Gage, although filling her perfectly, didn’t try to move and he didn’t rush her, so Kylie took it slow, trying to burn this moment into her memory because this would be the first and last time she offered herself up to this man. Despite her confused state at the moment, she knew she would come to her senses at some point. Although she feared it was going to be too late by then. Hell, it was probably too late already.
As their tongues slid over one another, Kylie began to move, lifting and lowering her hips, keeping a steady, gentle pace as she took him even deeper, nerve endings she didn’t know she had begging for attention, urging her to increase the friction, basking in glorious sensation. She desperately tried for slow, but it became too much as her body struggled, reaching for a release she felt looming over her.
Gage gripped her hips, lifting her gently as he began thrusting up inside of her, going deeper than she thought possible, hitting that sweet spot that ignited the tingles in her core. Her orgasm consumed her, and she couldn’t even cry out because her body was so overwhelmed by the sensation, the only thing she could do was feel.
Gage’s body tensed, his chest muscles flexing beneath her hands, his hips pushing up off the bed as he too gave himself over to his release as silently as she had, the only sound was the rough, strangled growl that sounded as though he were trying to keep it inside.
Yep, there was absolutely no doubt about it. Kylie was officially ruined.
Chapter Eight
♂♀
Gage held Kylie against him, staring up at the ceiling a short while after he went and did the unthinkable.
Making love to Kylie, watching as she rode him with a leisurely passion had moved him in ways he wasn’t sure he had ever felt before.
With his arms wrapped around her, he didn’t think she was asleep, but she was breathing slow and steady, her head perched on his shoulder, one arm draped across his chest. He wished she’d touch him, maybe run circles over his chest, use her fingernails to scrape sensually over his skin. Anything to let him know she was awake and not envisioning a hundred different ways to castrate him.
Coming over here earlier, Gage had expected a number of things to happen, conjured up a series of scenarios in his head. The two of them ending up naked in her bed wasn’t one of them, although he was ready for a repeat whenever she was.
He didn’t think that was going to happen.
Kylie shifted, but before she could pull away, Gage held her closer, refusing to let go just yet. He knew it was coming and knew she was going to send him packing. Not that he could blame her. After what he did, he was surprised she hadn’t called the cops when he made his way through her front door earlier.
The cold chill of the iced tea had been a nice touch though, he had to admit. He’d seen the desperate swirls of anger churning in her beautiful blue eyes and had suspected it was coming. He deserved much worse than that, he knew. It wasn’t like he didn’t expect her to be riled up the moment she saw his face. Hell, he wouldn’t have blamed her if she had hauled off and slapped him halfway across Texas. It wasn’t like she’d be able to make him feel any lower than he did right then and there.
Even now. As he reveled in the memory of what it felt like to slide deep into her warmth, to get lost in the wonder of having her wrapped around him, her pussy milking him until he barely knew his own name. It was payback of the worst kind. Gage wasn’t going to walk away from her unscathed. He wondered if she knew that.
As he held her soft, pliant body against his, he tried to remember why he’d come up with the plan to hurt Travis in the first place. Not only did he hurt her, he also got all of the Walker clan riled up, including Kaleb – who wasn’t speaking to him at the moment. Not that he could blame him either.
What made it even worse was that not even for one fraction of a second did Gage feel as though vindication was served. No. He felt exactly the opposite, in fact. Between the hurt and anger he saw on Kylie’s pretty face and the storm clouds that brewed in Travis’ penetrating gaze, Gage had felt lower than low.
Hoping that everyone would have some time to cool off, Gage had taken off for a little while. Well, that was partly true. His disappearance was a little more selfish than that, but he hadn’t known what to do with himself. He could’ve added the anger and resentment that both Travis and Kylie felt for him, multiplied it by infinity and still not come up with even half of his own self-hatred for what he’d done.
He’d resorted to dousing his pain with alcohol, trying desperately to erase the last few months, praying that he’d wake up from the nightmare to find he hadn’t done the worst possible thing he could think of. At one point, he’d even ended up shit faced drunk, sicker than a dog in an apartment at Club Destiny, and he had no idea how he’d gotten there or who had come to his rescue. The only thing he remembered was seeing Travis’ handsome face somewhere in his drunken stupor, wishing and hoping he’d finally gotten the chance to apologize, to show him just how he felt. But no, that had only been a dream. One that continued to torture him every night since.
That’s when he knew he was going the wrong direction.
Giving himself a couple of days to sober up had been the only solution, and that’s when he decided it was time to make amends. He had so many people to apologize to, but first on his list was Kylie. Not that he expected her to hear him out, much less forgive him, but he had to try. He needed to try and relieve some of the guilt that was weighing on him because if he didn’t, he might just drown himself in a bottle of Jack and call it a day. Hell, he might do that anyway.
Never in his life had Gage intentionally set out to hurt anyone the way he had managed to hurt the angel lying naked beside him. The sweet, little spitfire he’d come to know had evidently disappeared, and in her place was a woman ready to light him up like a bonfire. And she had. In ways he would never forget.
For all the time they’d spent together, getting to know one another, it had all been in vain because even after this, he knew she wasn’t going to give him the time of day. The worst part about it all, he still wanted to get to know her even though he didn’t deserve it.
Every curious bone in his body still wanted to know what happened between her and Travis all those years ago that would send them away from one another, yet never severing that one tie that held them together indefinitely. Even after Beau Bennett had swept Kylie away that day, and Gage had called Travis to the carpet right there in front of all of his brothers, the man hadn’t told him a thing. When his brothers chimed in, trying to get to the bottom of what happened, Travis had closed up altogether and stormed out of Kaleb’s house leaving more questions than answers.
Rather than stay and face the music, which Gage knew he should’ve done, he took the easy way out. That was until his conscience ate at him to the point he thought he would go insane. That and the downward spiral of booze that was getting too far out of control. That’s what led him to Kylie’s front porch, and ultimately to her bed.
Thrusting his free hand through his hair, Gage closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If he weren’t lying down, he’d be pacing back and forth in order to burn off some of the restless energy that still fueled his mind to work overtime. He couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Kylie, or Travis for that matter, but it didn’t seem to matter how many miles he might walk back and forth, he didn’t know how to fix this.
Inhaling sharply, Gage knew he had to face the music once and for all. As much as he wanted to roll over and slide into the heavenly warmth of Kylie’s body again, he suspected that she was already beginning to overthink what had happened between them.
“Will you reconsider restoring my house?” The moment the words were out, he felt Kylie flinch. Damn it. That didn’t come out right. And his timing sucked.
“Is that why you’re here? For my services?” Kylie pulled away, taking the sheet with her and leaving Gage totally exposed – in more ways than one.
Sitting up and twisting to the edge of the mattress, Gage dropped his feet to the floor, his head hanging low. No matter what he said or did, this wasn’t going to turn out well.
“You know that’s not it,” he grumbled, making his way to his feet and retrieving his jeans from the floor before pulling them on.
“No?”
The reverence he thought he’d heard in her voice earlier was no longer there. The sweet, uninhibited woman was long gone, and in her place was the devastated girl who probably couldn’t even see him through the red haze of her own anger.
Deciding to try one last time, Gage grabbed his socks and his boots and sat on the edge of the bed to slip them on as he glanced up at her. “Will you at least take the job?”
“Why would I do that?” she asked.
“Because I want you to.”
“Not good enough.” Kylie turned and stormed out of the room, still clad in only the sheet and Gage gritted his teeth to keep from going after her. Her passion stirred something inside of him, which explained how they ended up ravishing one another in her kitchen earlier.
He gave her a minute before he followed her out of the bedroom, grabbing his shirt from the floor and pulling it on as he went. She was in the kitchen, staring out the window when he made his way behind her. Her narrow shoulders and slender arms were smooth and seemed to beg for his touch, but he knew better. It was all in his mind. She was ready to be rid of him, and he had a feeling that he could drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness, but she wasn’t going to give in.
“Look, Gage,” Kylie began with a weighted sigh and Gage steeled himself.
Before she could give him the old heave ho, he interrupt
ed her. “Restore my house. I’ll pay whatever you want. Give me another chance.” Ok, so maybe he wasn’t past begging, but he wasn’t going to drop to his knees.
“Look,” Kylie said, sounding serious and so terribly sad. “As much as I’d like to take the job, I can’t.” She followed her statement with another heavy sigh, and Gage waited for her to continue. “Travis and I shared a history together, and I’m not willing to intrude on his space. I wouldn’t want him doing the same to me, which means I won’t be able to work in the same town he lives in.”
Gage understood her reasoning. Really, he did. She just wasn’t telling him what he wanted to hear. “I’ll make sure you and Travis stay far away from each other. Hell, I won’t even tell him you’re there.”
“Right. And after what you did, I should believe you? Not on your life.” Kylie paused, and Gage knew she was gearing up to throw him out on his ass. “I don’t know what your motive is, but I don’t appreciate being used in this vendetta of yours. I saw Travis’ shock just as much as he saw mine. Our past is our past, and I don’t plan to relive it again. Not with him and certainly not with you.”
He couldn’t come up with the words to argue. He wanted to ask her whether what they just did meant anything to her, but he knew better. It had. He’d seen it in the way she regarded him while they made love. He had felt the exact same way. But Kylie was hurt, and he knew she was more stubborn than he gave her credit for.
Gage had fucked up royally. Trust was something that had to be earned and even if he started out at zero originally, he knew he had a long way to climb before she ever even attempted to believe him again, yet he was willing to give it a shot. There was something about this woman. Something about her that would not allow him to walk away, no matter how hard she kicked him toward the curb.
When Kylie turned to walk away from him again, Gage found himself moving closer. When she pivoted abruptly to face him, he had put so little distance between them that they collided. Reaching out to steady her, Gage found himself unable to let go.
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