There was no way I could answer that question because he had no clue what he was doing to me. All. The. Time.
There was a bang on the door, followed by Mia’s voice. “We’re all pretty hungry, you know.” Her probably getting back at me for earlier, the brat.
Kai cursed against my neck before hollering, “Just a minute,” not moving an inch from where he had my bottom pressed against the counter, his hands digging into my hips. Eyes hungry, he kissed me hard one last time, stealing my breath away. “We’re talking about this later,” he growled against my lips. Then he stepped away to look in the mirror and smooth out the hair I’d rumpled.
I was suddenly freezing but burning hot at the same time. I could only hope he would keep good on that promise—though we would be doing a lot more than talking.
He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before meeting Mia in the hall, saying, “She’ll be out in a minute.”
Mia retorted with a sarcastic “Mmhmm,” as if she knew we were not talking in there. There was no shame to be felt, even though she’d once caught me coming out of a bathroom after doing the dirty at a club with a random guy before, which probably made her think we’d just done the same in there. The thought had me realizing what poor choices I’d made. But this one, this one was right. Finally, a good one.
There was no way to turn off what I’d started, no way not to think about him or remove the heat from my cheeks. I looked good and frazzled when I went out to find that Kai was the only one waiting in the living room. My heart pounded at the sight of him staring out the kitchen window, his hands clasped behind his head.
“Um, did I scare everyone off?”
His gaze snapped in my direction, a smile playing at his lips. “No. I told them to head to the restaurant.” He came over to me, grasping my hands between us, stormy eyes searching mine. “You wanna tell me what that was all about?”
With a meek smile, I shrugged. “Hormones?”
That earned me one of his guttural laughs. “Well, I wasn’t joking about later. If you’re still… you know, if you still want to.”
My stomach fluttered, but I tried my hardest to ignore it. “We should get going. Don’t want to keep your family waiting.”
He chuckled, kissing me on the forehead before leading me out the door.
Dinner wasn’t horrible. We ate at a small Italian restaurant, where I didn’t find much of anything that piqued my appetite. Mrs. Hart kept trying to talk to me about how hard her twins were while she carried them and after having them. I didn't really want to talk about babies or the birthing process, which may have been the cause of my loss of appetite.
Dinner was made even more difficult by Kai tracing lazy circles up and down my leg, leaving a trail of flames in their wake.
Mia kept making suggestive comments that had me wanting to strangle her. But I guessed she was trying to keep the attention away from herself for once. I figured I would probably have to get her alone the next day to ask her what was going on. It wasn’t really my business, but maybe she would talk to me. She didn’t know how similar we were, how I could relate on so many levels.
His family was staying in a hotel near my house and promised to be by first thing in the morning for breakfast and the opening of the gifts that I didn’t want to open.
But I had a one-track mind. I wanted to get home and start where Kai and I had left off. There was nothing wholesome or family-like about my thoughts. I sat in the middle seat of the truck on the way home, and he kept running his hand farther and farther up my thigh.
The second we stepped inside the apartment, his mouth was on mine. As he trailed hot kisses along my jaw, down my neck, and over my collarbone, he led me all the way to my room. There was no room for fear or uncertainty amongst the crushing waves of need. He pulled back when we were right next to the bed, causing a whimper to escape me. Breathing heavy, he held a hand up, dark eyes pinning me in place. Heat and butterflies burned and fluttered through me all at once.
Then he came a step closer, trailing a calloused hand over my cheek. “Will you let me make love to you, Kate?” he asked, and my brain exploded.
Make love?
Not the rushed frenzy we had that one time. Not a quick romp in a bathroom, or my bed, or wherever seemed fitting with whatever guy I was with. I had never “made love” with anyone in my life. Sex had always been meaningless nothing that I used to accomplish a goal that meant zilch now. Not now that I was head over heels for this guy—breaking my first rule. Not now that I was having babies with him—breaking my second rule. Not now that I would do something with him that would mean more than any other time, that would be the first time I’d ever had sex with the same person more than once—breaking my third rule.
He’d ripped down all my defenses, had turned me into someone I didn’t even know but someone I liked, someone I thought might be the real me. The me I hid from all others.
Biting my bottom lip, I nodded, agreeing to embark on a whole new adventure, discovering a whole new me with this amazing man.
Pure bliss. That was what I felt the next morning, waking in his arms. I wasn’t scared, wasn’t angry with him or myself. He’d been so kind and loving and slow, so very slow. It was
