by Burton, Jaci
She grinned.
After she picked up what she needed at the store, they headed to the house. When they walked into the kitchen, Becks saw the bag Kal was carrying.
“I told you we had everything covered.”
“Hannah’s making a watermelon salsa,” Kal said.
Becks smiled. “Then by all means, carry on.”
Hannah washed her hands and, with Kal’s help, sliced up watermelon, mango, cucumber, jalapeno, onion and basil, then added lime juice, a little sugar, some garlic and salt. She scooped a bit onto a spoon and slid the spoon between Kal’s lips for a taste test.
“I’m about to go run out the front door with this bowl and eat all of it by myself.”
“No, we’ll share.”
“Why? I don’t even like my brother.”
“Yes, you do. And you like Becks, too.”
“Glad you added me in there,” Becks said.
He sighed. “Fine. Sharing sucks, though.”
She laughed and tucked the bowl into the fridge to cool.
“Anything I can do to help you?” she asked Becks.
“Nope. Everything is on the skewers and ready for Jackson to grill.”
The kabobs looked great, with chicken, pineapple and green peppers all strung along in neat rows. After the guys went outside to grill, Becks poured wine for Hannah and herself.
“It was a good day. And your son is adorable, Hannah.”
“Thank you. He’s a good kid. I’m very lucky.”
Becks took a sip of wine. “I’d say a lot of that has to do with having a good mother.”
“It’s been a rough ride for both of us. Deciding to divorce and then relocate wasn’t easy on either of us. But Oliver is a smart kid. And he wasn’t happy living with his dad any more than I was. Landon liked to pull disappearing acts, or didn’t show up for important occasions. Reliability isn’t his strong suit.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I got used to it. Much harder for a child to accept. It was easier to remove Oliver from Landon’s presence than to have his heart broken all the time. And once I sat down with Landon and explained to him that he couldn’t keep shirking his duties as a dad, and how much he was hurting Oliver, he agreed. He really does love his son. He’s just not father material.”
Becks shrugged. “Some men aren’t. At least your ex realized that. He gets props for that and for letting go of Oliver without a fight.”
“I give him huge points for that. Oliver misses him—theoretically, I think. He doesn’t miss being hurt by him. He has more stability in his life now than he had before, and that’s more important than having a father who wasn’t around half the time.”
“Agree. My parents were . . . well, let’s just say they weren’t the best role models. Trust me when I tell you that having no parents at all is better than bad parents.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“I turned out okay. I ended up with some great foster parents, and they loved me. I had security and stability and got to see what it was like to have a family. And now I have love and a family who means the world to me. And someday I’ll have kids, and they’ll know what it’s like to feel safe and loved every day of their lives.”
“That’s pretty awesome, Becks. A lot of people don’t come through what you experienced without scars.”
She shrugged. “You can either take it with you or you can leave it behind. I faced all my demons a long time ago and left them in the past. I refuse to continue to relive it when I have so much awesomeness ahead of me.”
“That’s a good philosophy. I should probably work on doing the same thing.”
Becks studied her, then asked, “Still leery about relationships?”
“You could say that. I mean, I get that not every guy is going to be like my ex. But I have Oliver to think about. The last thing he needs is for some man I decide I’m in love with to suddenly not be there for him. It would break his heart.”
“And yet you’ve let Kal into Oliver’s life.”
Hannah’s gaze drifted toward the back door where Kal and Jackson were talking and laughing. “Yes, I know.”
“Regrets about that?”
She returned her attention to Becks. “I don’t know. I guess I’m letting things happen organically. I can’t control everything that happens.”
“And maybe you can’t protect Oliver from everything that happens, either.” Becks took a sip of wine and laid the glass on the kitchen island. “Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen with the two of you. I don’t know where you are in your relationship. I know the two of you have a past that I know nothing about, and that’s not my business. But I can tell you that Kal’s a good guy. He cares about children. He wouldn’t intentionally hurt Oliver.”
Hannah nodded. “I know that. I see that and I feel it whenever he’s with Oliver.”
Becks reached out and laid her hand over Hannah’s. “None of us can predict the future. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut. And maybe a little bit of your heart.”
Hannah drew in a deep breath, realizing that what Becks had said made a lot of sense. “You’re right.”
Then again, logic had never failed her. That’s how she had gotten out of her marriage. She’d been rational, had thought it all out and had made a sensible decision. She’d done her best to keep emotion out of the equation and had done what was best for both her and Oliver.
It was whenever she’d let emotion in that things became messy.
But she also liked spending time with Kal, and logic had nothing to do with that.
The door opened, and Kal came in bearing a plate full of delicious-smelling food. And speaking of delicious, she realized that whenever she caught sight of him, her entire body nearly vibrated.
That was a physical response, so she couldn’t even call that emotion.
She sighed.
See? Complicated.
But not all bad, either.
After Kal washed his hands, he came over and threaded his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck. Sensation traveled down her body like a slow-moving river, giving her goose bumps and endorphins and making her smile.
“Wait ’til you taste these.”
She tilted her head back to look at him. “You were taste testing outside?”
“Someone had to make sure the chicken was done.”
She reached up to smooth her hand over his square jaw, drinking in the way his gaze caught and held hers, as if he was looking inside of her, could see all her secrets, could feel how she felt.
That part was definitely emotion, and she needed to brush it away, so instead, she said, “Good of you to take one for the team.”
“That’s me, babe. Always one to sacrifice.”
“Okay, you two,” Becks said. “Enough with the romance. Time to set the table, because I’m hungry.”
They grabbed the food and plates and placed everything up on the table, then they sat and dived into the food. From the utter silence and groans of pleasure, it appeared that everyone must have been hungry.
“This is so good,” Hannah finally managed in between bites of food and sips of water.
“This watermelon salsa is to die for,” Becks said.
The guys didn’t speak. They were too busy shoveling food into their mouths. Which, Hannah supposed, was complimentary to the food.
“How’s things at the TRT?” Jackson asked Kal.
Kal shrugged. “About the same.”
“Those guys still giving you shit?”
“Yeah. I tried talking to them again.” He took a swallow of his beer.
“And?” Jackson asked.
“They seem to think that Dad had a part in giving me a leg up in getting my spot on the TRT.”
Jackson frowned. “That’s bullshit. The department never lets nepotism favor one candidate over another. It would be a violation of standards. You got in on merit and nothing else, same as when you got the job
at Station 6. Dad was excluded in making the decision on your hire. Your assignment was the captain’s decision. Even Rafe and I weren’t included in that.”
“I know. We were all just lucky to be assigned to the same station.”
Hannah hadn’t heard any of this. “Someone on your team is giving you a hard time?”
Kal nodded. “Two guys have been riding me since I first started there. They criticize everything I do and think I don’t deserve to be on the TRT.”
“But his lieutenant thinks he’s doing a good job,” Jackson said, dipping a chip into the salsa and shoving it into his mouth. After he swallowed, he said, “So as long as his superior is okay with his performance . . .”
Hannah looked at him. “Then those guys have it out for you for other reasons. Jealousy, maybe?”
Kal shrugged. “I guess. I don’t really know. I’ve given up trying to figure it out.”
“Do you get along with the other members of your squad?” she asked.
“Yeah. We all get along great.”
“Then screw those guys,” she said, rubbing her hand along his forearm. “You’re good at your job, your boss knows you do it well and you have coworkers who think you do it well. No one else matters.”
He smiled at her, but she could tell it bothered him. “Thanks.”
She wished she could do or say something to take his pain away, but she knew better than anyone that conflicts with coworkers could only be solved with either time or replacement of said coworkers. And since that appeared unlikely to happen, all she could do was offer moral support.
She knew how hard Kal worked, knew how much he loved his job. It pissed her off that some people were making it harder for him to do the job he cared so much about.
After dinner they cleaned the dishes and the kitchen. Jackson and Becks were going to a late movie, so they said their goodbyes.
Hannah hugged Becks. “Thanks for the invite to dinner. I had fun.”
Becks squeezed her. “I’m so glad you came over. Let’s do this again.”
After they left, Hannah took Kal’s hand. “I’m sorry you’re having conflict at work.”
“Hey, don’t be. It’s not all the time. And I can handle it.”
“You shouldn’t have to. Those guys are dicks and need to get punched in the face.”
He laughed and pulled her against his warm body. “Yeah? And do you think you could take them?”
“They’d never see it coming. I’d lay them flat.”
“Okay,” he said, stepping back. “Show me what you’ve got.”
She arched a brow. “You don’t wanna mess with me. I really do know how to knock you on your ass.”
He gave her a benign, patronizing smile. That did it. She had planned to lie back, but now she was going to show him just what she could do.
“Come at me,” she said, turning her back to him.
“You sure about that?”
“I’m waiting.”
She tensed, waiting for him to strike. When he put his arms around her she stomped on his foot, the least amount of damage she could do.
“Ow, dammit!”
She pivoted and directed a palm strike, stopping just shy of his nose. He hadn’t expected it, and he reared back. She also caught the shocked look on his face.
“Really?” he asked.
She shrugged. “The next step would have been to break your nose. Still don’t think I have it in me to defend myself?”
“My damn foot hurts.”
“That’s the idea.”
“Okay, you took self-defense classes.”
She nodded. “Several. I wanted to be able to take care of myself.”
“I’d say you can do that just fine. Also, my foot still hurts.”
She looked down at his feet. He was wearing tennis shoes, and she hadn’t stomped with all her might. “You’ll live.”
“You’re mean.”
She laughed. “I can be. But you doubted my ability to defend myself.”
He started to say something, then stopped and looked at her. “You’re right. I was wrong. You’re a badass, Hannah Clark. I should have remembered that from the time you threw rocks at me when you thought I was cheating on you with Penny Fairbanks junior year.”
She blinked, then laughed. “I’d totally forgotten about that. I did throw rocks at you behind the school. I was so pissed at you.”
He pointed to his chest. “At me? It was Penny who was flirting with me, trying to break us up. And when that didn’t work, Penny told you that I asked her out, when in fact I never did that, would never do that. And what did you do? Did you come to me and ask me if it was true? No, you didn’t. You threw rocks at me instead.”
It hadn’t been her finest moment. “I apologized, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, after about the twentieth rock, when I finally convinced you I never asked her out. Those rocks hurt, by the way.”
“But did you die?”
He rolled his eyes. “No, I didn’t. And you have trust issues, Hannah.”
He was so right about that. “I can’t help it. Besides, Penny Fairbanks was beautiful. Smart. And popular. Who wouldn’t want to go out with her?”
“Me. I didn’t want to go out with her. I had you. Plus, you are beautiful, and smart, and everything I wanted. I wasn’t in love with Penny Fairbanks.”
Her heart did a little jump. “Point taken.” She stepped toward him and wound her fingers around his neck, nestling her body against his. “Maybe it’s time you forgive me for the rock throwing.”
“You hurt my foot.”
“Poor baby. Maybe I could help you forget about your foot.”
She lifted up on her toes, drawing his lips to hers.
It was a fiery-hot kiss, no preliminaries, nothing soft about the way his mouth claimed hers so deeply, the way his tongue dived in to tease and flick and make her breath come in gasps. She fisted a handful of his shirt to pull him nearer to her, as if by holding on to a part of him she could draw in his scent, could feel the skin-to-skin contact she craved.
He grabbed on to her butt and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around him and held on while he carried her up the steps. They stopped at the landing. He pushed her against the wall, his cock grinding against her pussy. She wanted to hold him there—right there—until she came in a blistering orgasm that made her scream.
“We might not make it to my room,” he said, his voice tight.
“I don’t care. Just make me come, Kal.”
His mouth met hers again in a feverish kiss that made her blood run hot. His hands seemed to be everywhere—on her stomach, on her breast, grabbing her butt so he could pull her close and grind against her, making her head bang softly against the wall because it felt so damn good.
And then he slipped his hand inside her pants to cup her sex and she thought she might explode from the heat of his fingers teasing her clit and dipping lower to slide inside of her pussy. He rubbed and fingered her until she rolled against his hand in search of the orgasm that was hovering just on the brink of explosion.
He flicked his tongue against hers, nibbled at her lips, whispering to her in that dark, sexy voice of his.
“After you come I’m gonna get you naked and eat your pussy until you scream for me.”
She was breathing so hard she was getting light-headed, the sensations swirling around her so strong she half thought she was going to die. But this would be the best death, because her climax burst and she cried out, rocking against his hand in uncontrollable spasms that left her weak and spent in his arms.
He picked her up and carried her the rest of the way to his room, laid her on the bed and stripped off her clothes while she lay there like an overcooked noodle, unable to move.
“You’ve killed me,” she said.
He gave her a half smile. “Not yet. We haven’t even started.”
After she was naked, he took off his clothes, and she couldn’t help but admire his body as she did every time she was alone
with him. He went into the bathroom for a second and came back with a condom packet, tossed it on the table next to his bed, then climbed in next to her and pushed her onto her back.
“What did I say I was gonna do to you?” he asked.
“Oh, right.” She stretched, feeling the pull in her muscles that had tightened during her epic orgasm. “Maybe I could get my heart rate back to a nonlethal level first?”
He swept his hand over her breasts, teasing the nipples to a sharp, tight point before bending to suck one tip into his mouth, causing her to gasp as pleasure shot straight to her core.
He lifted his head and smiled at her.
“Cardio’s good for you.”
Her heart rate started pulsing. “This kind of cardio might kill me.”
He continued to smooth his hand over her body, snaking his fingers over her belly and lower until he once again cupped her sex. This time his movements were slow and easy, lulling her into a dreamlike state where there was only pleasure, only the feel of his fingers gliding over her slickened sex.
He eased down her body and spread her legs, replacing his fingers with his mouth, and that easy, dreamlike state heightened into gasping intensity. His tongue was hot and wet, rolling over her like he was well familiar with the map of her body and knew exactly where he wanted to go. All she had to do was hold on for the erotic ride.
But holding on wasn’t going to be easy, because he had her right there, hanging off a cliff and ready to plunge into the fires of ecstasy. All she had to do was fall.
She fell, losing control of her senses, feeling only the thrilling pleasure of soaring through her climax. Kal held on to her while she shuddered and rolled through the most magnificent sensations until she felt as if she were floating.
Then he was right there, pulling her to face him, his cock sliding into her while she was still pulsing from her orgasm.
“You haven’t screamed my name yet,” he said, withdrawing and easing back into her, making her take a breath. It was as if every sensation was heightened. When she didn’t think she could feel anything after those two mind-blistering orgasms, he had her rising again, climbing again, ready to take that plunge one more time.
“I never scream.”
“We’ll see.”
He rocked against her, ground against her, and her body heated with every stroke. He swept her sweat-soaked hair away from her neck and licked her skin, possessing her in a way she’d never been possessed before, taking her mouth in a deep, soulful kiss that felt less like sex and more as if he were trying to tell her without words that she belonged to him, and that he belonged to her, that they were forging some kind of bond together with every movement they made.
