Miss Understanding (The Miss Series Book 1)

by Aubrey Bondurant

  My world had just been officially rocked. I couldn’t recollect half the drive home. Instead, I’d been in such a lust-induced state of mind, my body had operated on autopilot. After Kendall sat up, I realized we were sitting in the complete dark in my garage.

  “You okay?” she asked, sounding a bit unsure of herself.

  “Yeah. Remind me not to question how I’m conservative ever again.”

  She chuckled. “Shall we go inside?”

  “Yes.” I was slowly regaining my wits. At least there was light when she opened her passenger door, so I could see what I was doing while I redid my trousers.

  We didn’t speak until we were inside. I still hadn’t recovered when she said, “I’m heading up to take a shower if it’s okay?”

  “Yeah. Sure.”

  She gave me a small smile before climbing the steps.

  It occurred to me she was right. I wasn’t spontaneous. Hell, I wouldn’t even say I was adventurous. I liked control and the feeling it gave me. However, I’d enjoyed surrendering it completely, too. To be taken off guard and completely overcome with passion had been wonderful. The sensation was foreign, yet I suddenly craved it again.

  I was up the steps two at a time, stripping off my clothes once I hit my bedroom. The sound of the shower came from my bathroom. I was hard again, thinking about her in there, wanting her with a carnal attraction I wasn’t sure was completely sane. I didn’t care. I needed her. I wouldn’t let the thought freak me out.

  At the sound of the glass shower door opening, she turned, her eyes wide. I enjoyed the way her hungry gaze raked over my body and how free she was to express it. I didn’t hesitate, just framed her face and kissed her hard, not caring if I tasted myself still on her lips. I backed her into the corner, feeling the hot water on my back and needing to possess her.

  “Are you clean?” I asked lifting her up against the stone shelf.

  “Yes. But remember, I’m not on birth control.”

  Shit. That should’ve been something we discussed.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, looking as if she’d done something wrong.

  “Nothing to apologize for. Hold tight.” I walked out to the bedroom and grabbed a condom from the nightstand, trying not to freak out. See, this was why I couldn’t lose my mind. Because the consequences could be disastrous. She could very easily not have reminded me, and then we’d be dealing with my worst nightmare of an unplanned pregnancy.

  Kendall’s eyes met mine hesitantly when I walked back into the shower. Although I had a condom on now and could’ve picked up where we’d left off, I didn’t. Instead, I cupped her face and kissed her softly. “I’m sorry for not remembering.”

  “I could probably go on the pill.”

  “I don’t want you to do anything you’re not ready to do.” I meant it. Plus, condoms were safer and wouldn’t send the wrong message.

  “My appointment is next month. I’ll talk to my doctor about it.”

  “Okay.” This was dangerous territory. Relationship territory. I think my dick realized it too because it was starting to soften.

  Apparently noticing the problem, she took me in her hand. “I think we should stop talking and start making out again.”

  I grinned. “I’m on board with that plan.”

  We slept for a few hours before I woke her up with my tongue. Now who was unspontaneous?

  After two orgasms, she was all smiles, stretching in the bed. “Someone is out to prove me wrong, isn’t he?”

  I crawled up her body with kisses, loving the way her body quivered against my lips. I was quickly becoming addicted to her taste. “Prove that I’m not boring? Maybe.”

  She giggled, sucking in her breath when I fastened to one of her nipples. “I never said you were boring. Oh God—”

  My fingers were back inside of her. “You were saying?”

  “I was saying how you always are so unpredictable. So adventurous.”

  I nuzzled her neck, flipping her on her side. “Mm-hmm. And how adventurous would you like to be?” I swiped her wetness back to a place I’d never been but had always fantasized about.

  She only gasped when I breached her slowly.

  “I’ve never done that.”

  “Mm. Me neither. I think we could get adventurous.” The thought fueled my anticipation.

  She shifted, squirming with the new sensation of me working her both places. I knew her body; she was getting close. She exploded, screaming my name and arching her body up with a loud moan.

  I wasted no time putting the condom on and entering her from behind. It was the first time I’d had her this way. I was deep in her pussy, so I went slow.

  “Harder,” she rasped. “Faster and harder.”

  Jesus. This girl was about to be the death of me. The slapping sound filled the room, as did both of our growls when we both hit our climaxes at the same time. I’d made sure of that with my fingers on her clit. Afterward, we lay there in the bed, her naked body curled up to mine until I had to get up to take care of the condom.

  Once I was back in the bed, I blurted out what was on my mind. “I have to fly out for Hong Kong tonight.”

  She laughed. “I’m acquainted with the girl who does your schedule, so I’m well aware.”

  I grinned, kissing her neck. Of course she knew. Why I’d thought she’d somehow be affected by the fact I was leaving for the next week, I didn’t know. This was just amazing sex. This wasn’t a relationship. Maybe if I repeated it fifty times, I’d learn to believe it.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Liam

  My arrival in Hong Kong was Monday morning local time. I went straight to the hotel from the airport to shower and change into a fresh suit. Luckily, I’d slept some on the plane because it definitely hadn’t happened Friday night. Not with Kendall in my bed. I kept waiting for it to be awkward, but thus far we hadn’t hit a saturation point. She made it easy to be around her.

  Normally, with any new sexual experience, I’d find my interest waning after a few times together. But with her, if anything, I only found the attraction growing. Her teasing, sexy, and sometimes downright sassy attitude turned me on like nothing else. It made me miss her already if I was being truthful with myself.

  All the more reason to use this week apart to gain some perspective.

  What I needed was to focus back on the job. This case was everything. My adrenaline was pumping as it often did when it came to a deposition or trial. It was moments like these when I could say I truly did love the law.

  It would be a long five days. I was in business mode, or as my fellow partners liked to call it, “the zone,” which meant I had to dismiss all other thoughts. Especially those about Kendall. We kept our emails back and forth professional. No phone calls. No text messages. Nothing personal. By the end of the week, I was ready to get back on the plane and be home.

  Arriving in at seven o’clock on a Saturday night, I drove directly home. Glancing at the time, I saw it was now after eight. Kendall would be at work in the club. I’d missed her.

  I felt some regret that I’d made it all business between us this last week, but I’d needed to test myself and prove I was still capable of doing so by putting up barriers. She’d put in a lot of hours. Even after her classes, she’d logged in to help me. I recognized part of my success with this deposition was due to her diligence.

  I spent the next few hours prepping for Stephen Walsh, who’d agreed to come in and interview me and the firm this week. It had been worth enduring Tabitha’s company at the charity function to get this shot at his business.

  At one o’clock in the morning, I got in my car and drove north toward the club. I didn’t bother to go inside but waited for Kendall out in the parking lot. The big dude escorting some of the ladies out recognized me.

  “Your girl isn’t here tonight,” he said in his gruff tone.

  “What do you mean?” Why wouldn’t she be here?

  A blonde I recognized as her roommate came up. “Yo
u’re Liam, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “I’m Chloe.”

  “Nice to meet you. Where’s Kendall?”

  “She’s at home. Sick in bed.”

  “What? Since when?” We’d just emailed one another yesterday about my flight confirmation. Had she been sick all week long?

  “She’s been barely sleeping all week, between both jobs and school.”

  Although Chloe wasn’t laying the blame at my feet, I was busy doing it for her. All the guilt. All the blame for having Kendall work so many hours. “Can I follow you to your place to check on her?”

  She assessed me for a moment before agreeing. “Yeah. I’m driving in her Civic.”

  I followed Chloe down the freeway to Torrance, where we pulled into the parking lot of a garden-style apartment building. It wasn’t fancy, but it looked safe with its well-lit parking lot, and cameras mounted on the entryways.

  She led me up the stairs to the third floor. As soon as I stepped into the small studio apartment, I spotted Kendall’s petite figure huddled up on a twin bed in the corner of the room. I didn’t hesitate in kneeling down by her side and stroking her hair.

  “It’s me. How are you feeling?”

  I put the back of my hand to her forehead, immediately feeling the heat.

  She stirred under my touch. “Not good. When Almanzo got a fever, they put him in a tub of ice, but I don’t think I want to do that.”

  I glanced up at Chloe who came from the bathroom with a wet washcloth in her hand. She shrugged at Kendall’s incoherent rambling. “She was binge watching Little House on the Prairie on her laptop all day.”

  “Do you have a thermometer? We should take her temperature.”

  Chloe put the cool washcloth on Kendall’s head. “We don’t, unfortunately.”

  “Have you been throwing up?” I asked Kendall.

  “No. I’m stuffy. Achy. Cold.”

  “We should get you to the doctor to see if you have the flu.” But it was after three o’clock in the morning. That would mean the ER. At this time of night, it was a crapshoot as to how quickly she’d be seen. Suddenly, I was struck with an idea.

  “My neighbor is a doctor. I’ll take her to my house, and he can come over.”

  Chloe pursed her lips in thought. “He’ll come over at this hour?”

  “Lucas is a friend.” Not to mention, he owed me a favor. I wasn’t above cashing it in if it was for Kendall’s well-being.

  Hoping to put her at ease, I took out my phone. “If you give me your number, I’ll send you a text message to let you know what he says.”

  “You promise you’ll take care of her? No work?”

  What kind of monster did she think I was? The thought of the answer made me sick to my stomach. “I promise.”

  Lucas owed me for help with his messy divorce, which was why he was willing to come by at three thirty in the morning. The man was accustomed to making house calls at all hours, so he came in looking crisp and professional in a button-down shirt, slacks, and with his bag full of items.

  I led him up to the master bedroom where I’d tucked Kendall into my bed.

  Her eyes fluttered open to his soft, soothing voice saying her name. I watched her take in his movie-star good looks, bouncing her gaze from me back to him. “You’re definitely not Doc Baker.”

  He chuckled. “Afraid not. But thankfully, we have better medicine these days than they did in Walnut Grove.”

  She gave him a smile. “Probably for the best as I’m fresh out of chickens to give you for your services.”

  He looked at me with a grin. “She’s adorable.”

  Yes, she was. And first thing tomorrow I was binging on Little House on the Prairie simply because it bothered me to learn Lucas knew the reference and I didn’t.

  He took her temperature, which read one hundred two degrees, before doing a throat swab.

  He came back a short time later with the results. “Good news is she’s negative for the flu. But she has a virus of some type giving her the fever. Make sure she stays hydrated. She can also take Tylenol and a cold decongestant. I’ll write down the one I recommend, so you can get it from a drugstore. If she develops a cough or a severe headache or any signs of an earache, call me.”

  “Thanks, man. I owe you.”

  He shook his head. “No. I owed you. I’ll come by later today to check on her again.”

  Once we were left alone, I sent Chloe a text message letting her know Kendall didn’t have the flu but did have a virus of some sort. I couldn’t blame her for worrying or for being pissed at me for exhausting Kendall to the point she’d been susceptible to such a illness.

  I stroked her hair. “Hey, beautiful, I’m running to the store. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I needed to get her medicine and some things she’d be able to drink and eat.

  She merely mumbled something like “okay” before rolling over and going back to sleep.

  After driving to a twenty-four-hour pharmacy and buying the items Lucas had suggested, in addition to chicken soup, Gatorade, and Kleenex, I arrived back home an hour later.

  I went straight up to my bedroom to see an empty bed. Panic hit me. Then I heard the water. Was it the shower? I opened the bathroom door a crack and sighed in relief to see her in the glass enclosure. However, upon further inspection, I could see she was bracing herself against the wall.

  I wasted no time stripping out of my clothes and joining her. “You okay?”

  She turned, putting her head on my chest. My arms went around her. “No. I was sweating through the sheets and wanted to get clean. Then I got in here, and I’m so weak with the hot water.”

  “I’ve got you. Come on. Let me wash you real quick, then get you warm and into a clean bed so you can take some medicine.”

  “’Kay.”

  I made quick work out of washing her, including her hair. I tried to be gentle, and provide comfort instead of focusing on my erection. Evidently, he wasn’t getting the message that she was sicker than a dog.

  After getting her dried off, I helped her dress in shorts and a T-shirt her roommate had packed for her. Then I went about stripping and re-making the bed. Finally, once she was in it, I had her sit up to drink some Gatorade and take some Tylenol.

  “I’m sorry you’re stuck taking care of me,” she said.

  I took the hair brush out of her bag and came back to the bed with it. “I’m not stuck with anything. I’m happy to take care of you especially since I’m responsible for you getting sick.”

  She scooted up, letting me sit in back of her to get a better angle on brushing out her hair. Who would’ve guessed brushing hair would be this intimate?

  “How are you possibly responsible for me getting sick?”

  “Because of all the hours I had you work. You got run-down.”

  “I’m sure it has more to do with me taking public transportation on a daily basis. It’s cold and flu season, and I obviously came into contact with someone who had something.”

  “Still, I feel terrible.” I brushed the knots out of her long hair as gently as I could.

  “So guilt is what made you bring me here?”

  “No. I came to the club to pick you up from after work and was surprised to see you weren’t there.”

  “Bet this wasn’t the way you thought we’d be spending the morning.”

  I grinned. No. It hadn’t been. Yet, there was something immensely satisfying in being able to take care of her this way. I found myself taking on the role without any qualms. “I’m sure it’s not the way you’d have preferred to spend it, either.”

  After her hair was brushed, I got up to get her a dry towel to get some of the moisture out. I wished I’d thought to pick up a blow dryer while I’d been at the pharmacy. “You okay with staying here a couple of days until you feel better?”

  Her eyes widened. “Are you?”

  “I’d prefer you did. You can rest here, and Lucas will be by later to check on you. Your roomm
ate can come over tomorrow if you’d like her to.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. She’s worried. Unless you’re still planning to go see your family today?”

  “No. I wouldn’t want to pass it on especially not to my nan. Better I quarantine myself.”

  “Did you work the bar Friday night?”

  “No. I got there and Jose took one look at me and sent me home. As much as I was disappointed, I’m glad I didn’t spread it around.”

  “Me, too. I’ll pay you for wages you lost over the two nights.”

  “You’ll do no such thing.”

  “Yes. I will.” I was adamant she not come up short this month for her grandmother’s care.

  There was temper in her eyes. “No, you won’t. You’re the one who said nothing should change just because we’re sleeping together. I have a bad cold. I missed work. It is what it is. You didn’t cause this. And I’ll have enough overtime from last week to cover anyhow.”

  Most people had no trouble asking for money or even taking advantage. The fact that Kendall wouldn’t take my offer said a lot about her character. It also made me regret ever questioning her integrity. “Anyone ever tell you how stubborn you are?”

  She gave me a tired smile. “It’s a bit of the kettle calling the pot black, don’t you think?”

  “True. You should get some rest. You won’t be able to go in Monday. And I’ll work from home.”

  She snuggled down into my bed. The one I enjoyed seeing her in. “You don’t have to work from home for me.”

  “I know, but I want to.” More than I cared to admit.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Kendall

  I woke to the smell of coffee and my stomach growling. Sitting up in Liam’s bed, I rubbed my eyes. My muscles ached, and so did my head. I hadn’t eaten yesterday, so having my appetite back was a good sign I might be on the mend.

  “Hey. How are you feeling?” Liam’s voice came from the doorway. He crossed over to take a seat beside me on the bed and put the back of his hand to my forehead. He was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, making me smile. He looked awfully handsome in his suits, but this was a side of him I knew most didn’t get to see.