Every Time We Touch: A Redeeming Love Novel (Book 5)

by Parker, J. E.

  He swore that he was fine, that it didn't hurt the least little bit, but I had a hard time believing him. He'd never lied to me before, but I doubted he'd ever tell me if he truly was in pain.

  Hence the reason I wanted to scream.

  Turning his hand over, I ran my fingertips over the inside of his wrist. "Are you going to tell me?" I asked, forcing my voice to remain steady. "Or do I need to get Grandmama out here and let her take her flyswatter to you."

  "I'm fine, Princess.” He grimaced and looked away. “Nothing for you to worry about."

  "I know you'll be fine," I replied, not fooled by his attempt to evade my question. "But that's not what I was referring too."

  Tightening his jaw, he stared out into the front yard where Liam, Declan, and Lucca were playing football, while Bella and Melody watched from the swing set in Pop's yard, which was right next door.

  "Tell me," I whispered, not wanting anyone else to overhear us.

  He turned his head, eyes landing on mine. "Got suspended from work."

  My mouth fell open. "What?" I hissed. "Why?"

  "Because I punched Carson in his ugly damn face."

  "You hit Carson?" I repeated his question like a loon. Why I had been surprised at his answer, I didn’t know. I’d known the confrontation was coming, and I’d even expected it to go down the way it did, but it still frustrated me. Kyle deserved better than the anger he wore like a second skin.

  The look he gave me was all the answer I needed.

  "Why?"

  His eyes narrowed. "You know why."

  "Honey, I know he messed your truck up, but the insurance will pay for it, and it's not worth getting fired—"

  "Fuck my truck," he snapped, before quickly looking around to make sure none of the kids were within hearing distance.

  Thankfully, they weren't.

  "I didn't hit him for vandalizing my truck."

  "Then why did you?"

  His jaw ticked. "Numerous reasons."

  My fingers stilled. "Tell me."

  Lifting his free hand, he grasped my chin between his fingers and tilted my face to meet his. My eyes closed as he dipped his head, bringing his mouth closer to mine.

  "Open your eyes, Carissa," he demanded, his tone leaving little room for argument.

  Like always, I obeyed his command.

  My eyes slid open and my lips parted as his minty breath wafted over my face, bathing me in his warmth. Heart beating wildly, I focused on inhaling and then exhaling as he stared into my eyes, wreaking havoc on my body.

  "Reason number one—that piece of shit destroyed my personal property, and it’s the least of why he got hit, but it still cost me time to deal with it."

  Though I didn't condone violence in most situations, I could understand how someone destroying his property would fire Kyle up.

  "Reason number two," he continued. "He made you uncomfortable. I still don't know what happened that day in the bays, and part of me doesn't want to know, but him scaring you was unacceptable. Period."

  The fierceness in his words went straight to my belly, making the butterflies that resided there awaken.

  "Reason number three—he wants you, and that will never be okay in any shape or form."

  "Kyle—"

  "Yes, I'm a possessive asshole," he interrupted, "but I take care of what's mine, and Carissa, you are mine."

  I blew out a shaky breath. "I know I am." It was the truth. "But that doesn't mean you get to beat up every guy who has a crush on me."

  "The hell it doesn’t."

  “It doesn’t. Just like I can’t go around backhanding every hussy whose eyes linger on you longer than they should.”

  Dropping his hand from my face, Kyle quirked a brow. “When does that happen?”

  He had to be joking.

  “Only all the dang time. It drives me crazy.”

  My guy smirked. “Jealous, Princess?”

  “No,” I replied honestly. “I’m not.”

  “Yeah? And why not?”

  “Because I know no matter how hard they look, or how hard they throw themselves at you, you won’t betray me.”

  He brushed his lips against mine. Softly. Slowly. “You’re right,” he whispered. “I’ll never betray you, because you own me, Beautiful Girl. Always.”

  Ignoring the way my heart skipped a beat at his words, I scooted closer to him, pressing my side against him. “So what are you going to do?”

  “About what?”

  “Work.”

  Readjusting the black ball cap he wore, he blew out a breath. “After I got into it with Carson, Cap sent me home. Only I didn’t go back to the apartment. Without you it feels empty and I can’t stand it.”

  The butterflies dancing in my belly kicked it into overdrive. “So you went to your Mama’s?”

  He jerked his chin down once in affirmation. “It’s weird because I’ve gone for weeks, even a month without visiting her before. But after last night, I wanted to see her again.”

  “I’m assuming everything went fine.”

  Again, he jerked his chin down. “Yeah, baby, it did. We talked a lot and I didn’t shove my hand through a wall. That’s progress right?”

  I smiled. “It definitely is.”

  “What did y’all talk about?” I regretted the words the moment I spoke them. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me… just if you want to, I’m here.”

  Turning at the waist, he placed his hands on my hips and lifted me. Turning me sideways, he deposited me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. “I’ll never keep anything from you. Doesn’t matter if it’s serious or stupid, I’ll tell you. Got it?”

  I nodded. “I’ve got it.” Lifting my hand, I pulled off his ball cap and ran my fingers through his messy hair. Despite the copious amounts of conditioner I used in the shower, my hair would never be as silky as his was. Trying to be cute, I put the way-to-big cap on my head and patiently waited to see if he would tell me what he and his Mama talked about.

  Smiling, he looked from the hat I wore to my head to the yard. “Talked about how we both felt guilty over what happened to Lily, how for too long we blamed ourselves for shit that wasn’t our fault.”

  Wait a minute.

  “Kyle,” I whispered. “Look at me.”

  When his eyes met mine, my heart began to slam against my ribcage. “Are you telling me it finally clicked?”

  Confusion flitted across his face. “What?”

  Removing my fingers from his hair, I placed my hands on the sides of his neck, feeling his heart beat bleed into my palms. “Do you finally get that what happened to your sister wasn’t your fault? I mean, do you truly understand that now?”

  Silence fell between us and suddenly I found it hard to breathe.

  Please, tell me you finally understand…

  “Kyle—”

  “It wasn’t my fault,” he whispered, tears shining in his eyes. “What happened to her, what the monster did to her, none of that was on me. Wasn’t on Mama or Daddy either. Only motherfucker responsible for my baby sister’s death is Edgar Louis, and I pray—I fucking pray—he’s burning in hell for it.”

  I couldn’t stop my tears.

  Like a flooding river, they rose and spilled from my eyes, sliding down my cheeks. I couldn’t stop them nor ebb their flow; therefore I didn’t bother to try. “Does your Mama understand now too?”

  Please, please, please…

  Kyle nodded. “She does, baby. Her heart is still broken but she promised me she’d work on healing it—that we’d work on healing it. Together.”

  That had been the turning point.

  Earlier when I walked out of the shelter and saw Dottie, I knew something was different. As bad as it sounds, I found the way she hugged Heidi and then jumped in the car with Grandmama to be slightly odd because less than twenty-fours before she’d been so full of pain and sorrow.

  But hearing of the breakthrough she and Kyle had achieved explained everything.

/>   Though she—nor Kyle—would be fully healed for a long time, any step in the right direction was progress, and today they’d both taken one huge leap toward a better life.

  It was a beautiful thing.

  “She agreed to go to counseling with me,” Kyle continued, figuratively knocking me right on my behind. “Even called and made an appointment for next week.”

  “You made a therapy appointment?”

  Again, he nodded. “I want to get better, Carissa. For you, for Mama, for myself.” A sly smile spread across his face. “For the house full of kids we’re going to have someday.”

  “I want at least 3,” I blurted out. “Maybe more.”

  His smile grew. “I can handle that.”

  “You’re not going to get fired, right? Cause I can’t provide for three kids alone and—”

  “I’m not going to get fired,” he interrupted for the millionth time. “Cap is just trying to prove a point. After I get off suspension, I’ll be scrubbing toilets and washing the trucks with a toothbrush, but I’ll do it all with a smile on my face. Breaking that asshole’s nose was worth it.”

  I groaned. “You’re such a caveman.”

  “Yeah? Well, this caveman says that you need to give me your lips right now; else I’m going to toss you over my shoulder and carry you back to my cave where I can have my wicked way with you.”

  “You want them?”

  “You know I fucking do.”

  I raked my tongue across my bottom lip, wetting it. “Then take them.”

  Kyle didn’t need to be told twice.

  Gripping the back of my head, he pulled my face toward his, slamming my mouth against his. He nipped my bottom lip, an unspoken demand for access. My lips parted and his tongue dipped inside, tangling with mine. Completely lost to the lake of desire he submerged me in, the rest of the world faded away.

  Every time we touch…

  Lost in pleasure, I was seconds away from begging him to take me right there.

  Thankfully, a certain crazy person intervened, saving me from my lust-crazed hormones.

  “Y’all better not be necking on my dadgum porch,” Grandmama hollered through the open screen door, interrupting us.

  I jerked away from Kyle, embarrassment boiling in my blood.

  He growled in return, obviously not happy with the intrusion.

  “You want to do that mess go hide in the garage like everybody else. Boy if those walls could talk.” She chuckled. “ Besides, I got neighbors, ya little deviants.”

  Looking over his shoulder at her, Kyle smirked. “Is it open?”

  The Crazy Old Biddy shook her head, pretending to be disgusted. “You two are worse than Anthony and Shelby. I swear those two have had s—”

  “Grandmama,” I hissed, “zip it.” Extending my arm toward the yard, I continued. “The kids are over there.”

  “No they ain’t. They’ve been in the backyard for the past five minutes. Thank the good Lord above too since you two hornballs were out here putting on a show and desecrating my freshly painted porch.”

  I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

  Seriously.

  This is so dang embarrassing!

  Grandmama’s eyes moved to Kyle. “Speaking of doing the dirty, I need to talk to you, Hulk.”

  “About what?”

  “About your babymaking equipment.”

  “Grandmama!”

  Ignoring me, she kept her eyes focused on my guy. “Me and your Mama were talking. She wants a grandbaby to spoil. You need to get on that.”

  Swear to God, my eyes widened to the size of saucers.

  I opened my mouth to tell her to zip it, but Kyle spoke before I could.

  “Working on it,” he said, a huge smile spreading across his face. “Give me the key to the garage and I’ll work extra hard right this minute.”

  My cheeks flamed.

  “You did not just say that,” I whisper-hissed.

  “The hell I didn’t,” he replied.

  Grandmama opened the door and stepped onto the porch. Wearing a devious smile, she stuck her hand down her blouse and pulled out a set of keys before handing them to Kyle. “Get to it. Your Mama needs a grandbaby… so does Daryl.”

  Kyle dangled the keys off the end of his pinky, clearly weirded out. “Was this in your bra?”

  “Of course it was. That’s where I keep everything. My cellar phone, my keys, my comb, my lipstick, my cash, my flask.”

  “Your flask?” Kyle asked.

  Grandmama nodded. “Your dadgum right. Best place for it. Only problem I ever run into is when I lose something and have to dig for it. Why, I was in Kroger last week and—”

  I’d heard enough.

  “Alright, Crazy Old Biddy,” I said, fighting back laughter. “We don’t need to know about the stuff you conceal in your over the shoulder boulder holder, k?”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’ve suddenly gotten a mouth on you.”

  Key in hand, Kyle stood, taking me with him.

  “Take care of my Mama, Crazy Old Biddy.”

  “She’s in the kitchen baking pies,” Grandmama replied, making Kyle stop.

  He turned his head and looked back at her. “Pies?”

  She nodded. “Yep, pies. Done made three of em’ and she’s going to town on a few more. Daryl and Felix are already sitting at the table like two hound dogs waiting for their supper.” She once again waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Anyway, I got her. Y’all go have fun… But don’t be doing no funny business on my new car! I find a single butt print on the wax I’ll shoot you.”

  Kyle laughed because he thought she was joking.

  She wasn’t.

  “We’ll be inside in time for supper.”

  It was the last thing Kyle said before we started to move again.

  Thirty-Five

  Kyle

  Carissa was pinned.

  Unable to move, I had her wrists secured in my hands, her arms extended above her head, and her back pressed into the sheetrock covering the garage wall. Cheeks flushed with excitement, her lips were parted the slightest bit, and her eyes—her beautiful fucking eyes—were filled with lust.

  My cock had never been harder.

  Sliding my free hand under her shirt, I touched her bare belly, riding up her ribs to her perfect tits. She moaned, jerking her head from one side to the other when I took the plump flesh in my hands and squeezed. My dick twitched as her lace-covered nipple hardened beneath my palm, the rose-colored tip just begging to be licked, sucked and bit.

  Needing to taste her, I dipped my face and nipped the lobe of her ear before trailing my lips and tongue down the sensitive column of her throat.

  She gasped before squirming against me, rubbing her soft curves against my hardness.

  “Tell me what you want, baby,” I whispered, planting kisses on the other side of her neck as I made my way back up. “I’ll give you anything.”

  Her head dropped back, banging on the sheetrock.

  “I want what you want.” Her words were breathy, her tone needy. “Please, Kyle.”

  I smiled against her before lightly scraping my teeth along her jaw. “You sure about that?”

  “Yes.”

  One word; one answer.

  It was all I needed.

  Releasing her wrists, I took a few steps back, giving her space to move away from the wall. “Come here,” I told her. “Now, Princess.”

  She started to walk.

  No hesitation.

  Stopping in front of me, she sunk her teeth into her bottom lip. Every time she bit or licked her lips, I could only think of one thing. And that one thing? It was something she hadn’t given me yet.

  “Get on your knees.”

  Her eyes flared but once again, she didn’t hesitate.

  On her knees she went, prepared to take what I was about to give her.

  My chest heaved as I unbuckled my belt, popped open the button, and tugged the zipper down. Pus
hing my pants, along with my briefs down my hips, I watched as my cock sprang free, the head already damp with beads of pre-come.

  Taking myself in my hand, I pumped my fist up and down my shaft, squeezing hard so my balls got the message to calm the fuck down. Drawn tight and laden with seed, they were ready to explode.

  That wasn’t happening.

  Not yet.

  “Give me your hand, Carissa.”

  Releasing my cock, I wrapped my fingers around her wrist and guided her hand to me. The moment her silky hand encircled my length, I sucked in a breath. “Good girl. Now move your hand up and down”—I covered her hand with my own—“like this.”

  I groaned as she pumped me, quickly finding the right rhythm.

  “Now open your mouth and take me inside.”

  She did as I asked.

  Only problem was, she took me too deep on the first stroke.

  A rookie mistake.

  She gagged before pulling back.

  “Easy, baby,” I said, holding her hair back from her face. “My cock’s too big for you to deep throat, Beautiful Girl. Just take it slow, and take what you can.”

  Nodding, she gripped me tight and pulled me back inside her warm mouth, trailing her tongue along the underside of my cock before swirling it around the sensitive tip and sucking the head. My stomach clenched as chills raced down my spine. “Fuck, baby,” I hissed, “just like that.”

  Encouraged and learning quickly, she tightened her lips around me and sucked. Hard.

  My goddamn back bowed.

  Fisting her hair, I yanked back on the strands, jerking her head back.

  My cock popped free of her lips and she whined in protest. “Why did you do that?”

  Because I’m losing my damned mind…

  “Get up.” When she didn’t move fast enough, I slid my hands under her arms and lifted her to her feet. Then I spun her around and walked back toward the wall. With only a few feet separating her and the sheetrock, I placed a hand on the middle of her back and pressed down. “Bend over, Carissa.”

  She looked at me over her shoulder. “What?”