“But he could,” Amy pointed out, her eyes gleaming. “This is how it all starts, Abs. First, the date, followed by another date, and before you know it he’s down on one knee and you’re shopping for three bedrooms in a cul-de-sac. We could be neighbors!”
I rolled my eyes. “Two dates and you already have me married off and pregnant. Jeez, Louise!”
“It’s every girl’s dream,” Amy said with a teasing lilt in her voice. “You can’t tell me you don’t want the fairy tale. Every girl wants the fairy tale.” Pushing away from the counter, she motioned me to follow her into the living room.
“Of course I want the fairy tale,” I groused as we sat down on opposite ends of the couch and turned to face each other. “Someday. I’m not in a rush to get to the altar.”
“Abby, I hate to tell you this, but you’re not getting any younger.”
“Maybe not,” I conceded, “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to rush to find someone who fits my version of Prince Charming. If I do that, then I’ll end up with his evil twin, Sir Atrocious.”
“Fine, take your time, but don’t take too long. You don’t want to wake up one day and realize you’re forty years old and have no prospects. You’re gorgeous, but, sweetie, there’s nothing gorgeous about a desperate, middle-aged woman hunting for Mr. Right in the middle of a nightclub.”
I gave my sister my best scowl. “Do I look like a clubber to you?” I asked, waving my hands at my basic white capris and pale yellow scoop neck top.
Amy’s eyebrows rose skeptically. “Desperation does funny things to a person.”
“I’m not desperate!”
“Wait ten years.”
Snatching one of the many decorative throw pillows lined up between us, I lobbed one at her head, shouting, “I’ll show you desperate!” Squealing, Amy selected a pillow and threw it blindly, catching me square in the face. From there, a pillow fight ensued. “You’re going down, Saunders!”
“Not if I take you down first, old maid!”
We were in hysterics, battering each other over the heads with our padded weapons, when a throat cleared. Our laughter died off, and together, Amy and I looked up to find Doug and Kennedy standing there watching us, amused smiles on their faces. “Sorry to interrupt the…uh…”
“Beat down?” I supplied, and squawked when Amy brought her pillow down on my head again. “Cheater!” I accused. “I wasn’t ready.”
“Never let your guard down around me, sis, you know this.”
“Yeah, anyway.” Doug shifted everyone’s attention back to him. “I found this guy loitering outside on the porch.”
Once again, my attention was drawn to Kennedy. When ours eyes locked, I felt my stomach flip. Hell, he looked good. Dressed in a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a blue and white fitted stripped polo, I could see every hard muscle in his chest and arms. My mouth turned into a desert when they flexed, however imperceptibly, under my watchful gaze. “How you doing, Abby?” My eyes lifted, focusing on his mouth and the delicious sound of his gruff voice.
“Good,” I said, my voice sounding more demure than I would have liked. I brought the pillow I was holding to my chest, clutching it between both arms. “I thought you said you had to work tonight?”
“I did. My shift ended twenty minutes ago.”
Immediately, I calculated the time it would take him to get here from the station: ten minutes, give or take. Did that mean he had come here straight from work? To see me? My heart tripped. “Oh, well, I’m glad you could make it.”
“Are you hungry, Ken?” Amy cast her pillow aside and stood, smoothing her hair and clothes. “We just put dinner away, but I would be happy to fix you up a plate.”
Kennedy lifted his hand to stop her. “No need. I grabbed a burger on the way over.”
“You came straight from work?” Amy asked, voicing my unspoken question. Her quick glance in my direction was full of meaning, and I silently thanked her. Every muscle in my body tensed, waiting for his answer.
“I sure did,” he said, a soft smile teasing his lips as he stared right at me.
Amy and Doug looked between us, assessing the situation. Then Amy grinned and she went to stand at her husband’s side, her hand slipping around his arm to grip his bicep. “That’s about the sweetest thing ever. You two should sit, catch up. Doug and I will…” She gave him a questioning look.
“We have some, uh, laundry to do,” he filled in for her, and then, with a quick, “You two have fun,” he dragged my sister from the room.
The room plunged into an awkward silence as Kennedy and I continued to watch one another. He was so handsome, and when a slow smile crept across his face, my stomach somersaulted and my breath caught in my lungs.
Forcing myself to break eye contact, I sat back and patted the couch cushion. “Here, have a seat. I’m sure you’re tired after working all day.”
Kennedy sat extremely close, eliminating any personal space I might have wanted, but didn’t. If I had my way, I’d be sitting in his lap right now. Dropping his head back, Kennedy’s eyes slid closed and he inhaled deeply, yawning as he breathed out. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.”
I waved him away, his absence from the dinner table forgotten. “Don’t be sorry. I’m sure running into burning buildings, getting all hot and sweaty and…” My words slowed as my gaze traveled over him, noting all the hard, toned muscle hidden beneath the thin cotton fabric. Even the thick network of veins traveling from his strong hands to the tops of his biceps where they disappeared beneath his shirt sleeves were sexy as hell, and I found myself feeling a little flushed. “And…”
“And…?”
I blinked, very aware of my sudden arousal. Kennedy was watching me, a cocky smirk on his face, and I looked away, embarrassed. “So, how was work today? Did you save any lives?”
“If you consider saving a goldfish a life, yes, ma’am. We were called to a fire in the warehouse district. Someone accidentally set a trashcan on fire when they dumped their ashtray into it. Thankfully, the only life there to save was Old Goldie. But hey,” he said, picking up my hand and placing it on his hard thigh, “what were you about to say? ‘And’ what?”
I’ve never been shy, per say. I’ve always been the kind of person who spoke her mind and without apology, but there was something about Kennedy that turned me into a blushing school girl. “I was just going to say that being a firefighter must be a hard job,” I said lamely as I lightly scratched my nails over his shorts. My cheeks burned at the lie. I could still feel the butterflies twittering in my stomach, their flight renewed as Kennedy shifted closer, transferring my hand from his right to his left so he could lift his arm over my head and tuck it around my shoulders.
With his eyes on my face, he lowered his head to mine, tracing his lips lightly over the curve of my jaw. The feathery touch stole my breath and suddenly all of my senses became hypersensitive. The cool, clean scent of his cologne in my nose, the roughness of his calloused fingers around mine, the heat from his body scorching mine everywhere our skin touched, and the light tickle of his breath on my face—all of it sent tingles down my spine and caused an almost painful pinch of desire to take up residence between my legs.
“Are you the kind of girl who gets off on men in uniform?” Kennedy mused, his voice a low rumble as his lips skimmed my neck. I tilted my head automatically, giving him permission to continue his sensual assault. “Does it excite you, knowing that I run toward danger, and I conquer it?”
Imagining Kennedy running into burning buildings, when everyone else was running away, scared me. But he was right. It also thrilled me. Just knowing that he was strong and brave, able to battle the forces of nature and come out on top, made me wet. “Yes,” I admitted, and was rewarded with Kennedy’s hot, wet tongue as he licked the pounding pulse below my ear.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” Kennedy confessed. “The way your smooth skin felt in my hands, the way your legs felt wrapped around my hips as you sat on that counter
, your eyes glazed over. You wanted me inside you then, didn’t you? You would have let me do anything.”
His hand caressed the inside of my thigh, his long fingers teasing the edge of my shorts. “Yes, yes,” I gasped, my eyes sliding closed as I focused on how close he was to where I needed him to be. Kennedy was reducing me to a one-word woman, a puddle of mush in his arms as his lips found mine, kissing them firmly.
There was something different about Kennedy tonight. This wasn’t the nice, polite guy I’d been getting to know. Tonight, I sensed darkness around Kennedy, a deep yearning coupled with carnal desire that cast a shadow over the gentle man who’d held my foot to his chest while carefully tending to my injuries. Tonight, he was forward, direct, aggressive, saying things that a nice guy wouldn’t dream of saying to someone he’d just met, and it made me weak in the knees.
His tongue pushed into my mouth and a bolt of heat shot through me when it touched mine. A moan ripped from me as my fingers speared through his hair, gripping tight and holding his head still as I took control of the kiss.
Desperation struck me, and I couldn’t seem to get enough. In that moment, I would have fucked Kennedy on that couch, right in the middle of my sister’s living room, and I wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
Thankfully, Kennedy had enough willpower for the both of us. Chuckling, he gently pried my hands from his hair and set them in my lap. Cupping my face in his large palms, his thumbs smoothed across my bottom lip as he studied my face intently. “I want inside you as bad as you want me there, but not here.” I frowned and Kennedy dropped a chaste kiss to my lips, smiling as he released me and stood. He held out his hands, and I placed my palms against his, allowing him to pull me to my feet. “What do you say we go back to my place and finish what we started?”
My insides twisted and I felt a smile spring to life, but as reality set in, it died a painful death. Kennedy’s brows scrunched together and I sighed. “I can’t. Wilber’s probably pacing the floors right now, wondering where his dinner is.”
“Wilber?” Kennedy’s frown deepened and he dropped my hands, stepping back as he eyed me cautiously. “You have a boyfriend?”
“Oh, no,” I rushed out, suddenly aware of my choice of words. “Wilber is my cat. He’s on a schedule, so if I don’t have his bowl full by seven sharp, he gets cranky.”
Kennedy’s relief was visible as he stepped into me again, circling his arms around my waist. “So you’re a cat lady.”
I groaned. “Not you, too.” Amy said the same thing when she found out about Wilber, and the teasing tone was very similar to the one Kennedy used now. I was not a damn cat lady!
Laughing, Kennedy stuck two fingers beneath my chin and lifted my face to his so he could look at me. “I like cats.”
“You do?” My arms wound around his neck as he lowered his mouth to mine, sighing as he kissed me.
“Mmm, and I like crazy cat ladies, too,” he murmured, kissing me again. I could have punched him, but Kennedy’s mouth was like a drug. One kiss, and my mind was floating in a haze of ecstasy, clinging to the hope of one more hit so I could ride the high for a few minutes more.
We were locked in each other’s arms, our mouths fused together, and my body halfway to an orgasm, when Amy walked in. “I hate to break you two lovebirds up, but Doug and I have to get up early for work, so I’m kicking you out.”
I glared at my sister as I straightened my clothes. “Five minutes, Amy. Five minutes. I thought you wanted to be an aunt.”
Amy threw her head back and laughed. “You know I do, but not in my house, lady. The last thing I need is to walk in and see my sister’s naked anything. You’ll have to get your own couch to fornicate on.”
Kennedy’s face was flushed from kissing, and I got the sense that he might have been a little embarrassed at having been caught in the act, but he played it off well as he said a few quick goodbyes and walked me to my car. “Well, that was awkward,” he said, holding my door open for me.
“What, that they caught us kissing? Nah, I’ve been in worse situations than that.” Like the time my high school boyfriend and I were nearly caught with our pants down when my parents arrived home early from work. I’d never seen a person run so fast in my life. If it hadn’t been for the vapor trail he left behind, I would have questioned if he’d ever been there in the first place.
“Well, you weren’t the one who had to hide the evidence.” Kennedy shifted and my eyes fell to the impressive bulge between his legs.
My mouth went dry. “Damn,” I whispered, and suddenly I was blushing again.
“Having second thoughts?”
I looked up into Kennedy’s velvety eyes. “Second thoughts?”
“I plan to finish this, Abigail. Tonight. So which is it, my house or yours?”
The way he said my name did things to me. Tonight. Kennedy wanted to have sex. I hadn’t been with a man in…too long. Something told me that he was the kind of guy that I could fall hard for, and secretly, I wondered if I already had. I didn’t really know Kennedy, so I wasn’t sure what he expected to come from this. Was he a one-night stand kind of guy? A fuck buddy? Or was he looking for a serious relationship? I didn’t know the answer to any of those questions, but no matter which one I picked, there was only one real question I had to ask myself: Was I ready for that? The answer was absolutely. Nothing risked is nothing gained, and with that thought forefront in my mind, I gave Kennedy his answer.
“Mine.”
His eyes gleamed and his voice turned rough. “I’ll follow you.”
As he closed my door and I started the engine, I felt giddy with anticipation. Tonight, I was going to have sex, and something told me that no matter what happened in the morning, this was going to be a night that I’d never forget.
8
I bounced off the mattress once, twice. Breathless, I grinned at Kennedy, who stood back wearing a matching smile. We’d burst through the front door in a tangle of limbs—Wilbur’s arched back and angry hiss going unnoticed. Stumbling into the bedroom, Kennedy caught me by surprise, shoving me away from him so hard I fell back onto the bed, where I now lay, waiting to see what he would do next.
“Naked. Now.”
A tremor of excitement wracked me and I scrambled to my knees. With Kennedy’s blazing eyes fixed on me, I lifted the hem of my shirt, dragging it up slowly, exposing my torso inch by inch. Tossing the shirt away, I fingered the tiny yellow bow in the center of my chest and repeated his words back to him. “Naked. Now.”
Narrowing his eyes, Kennedy tore his shirt off and dropped it at his feet, revealing a beautifully sculpted chest and abs that had to be photoshopped, they were that perfect. From there we stripped for one another, piece by piece, until our bodies were fully exposed, leaving nothing to the imagination.
“Damn, Abby, you’re gorgeous.” Kennedy’s reverent words thrilled me, giving me a welcome boost of confidence. I was a curvy woman, and until this moment I’d never considered that to be an asset. But with the way Kennedy looked as if he wanted to devour me, I was quickly learning to appreciate the body I’d been given.
“So are you,” I said, drawing my bottom lip between my teeth as I perused his six-foot-three solid muscular frame. Between a pair of solid thighs, his shaft stood heavy and proud, and I licked my lips as Kennedy rolled a condom on. Clearly, he was as ready to get down to business as I was. With a crook of my finger, I called him to me.
Moving slowly, Kennedy prowled toward me, looking every bit the predator. As he crawled onto the bed and made his way up my body, I leaned back, until my head rested on the pillows and he hovered over me. The darkness in his eyes as they bore into mine was erotic, and I waited for him to make the first move.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, his voice a soft murmur.
“I’m thinking you’re moving too slow.” Grabbing his hips, I pulled him against me. The feel of his hard cock pressing hard against my clit made me breathless. It was big. So big, and I closed
my eyes, imagining how it would feel inside of me.
“So impatient,” he teased, as he flexed his hips, rubbing himself against my slick cleft. I gasped, pressing my head into the pillow as my back arched off the bed. “You didn’t think I was going to show, did you? You thought I stood you up.”
My eyes flicked opened, locking with his. There was certainty in his eyes, making it impossible to deny the truth. “No, I didn’t think you were coming.”
“You were mad.”
“Disappointed.”
“It was more than that,” he insisted. “I saw it the second I looked at you. Tell me what that was.”
Rolling my eyes, I huffed. “Fine, I was upset. I was looking forward to seeing you, and you didn’t show up. Happy? Now, less talking, more fucking.” Wrapping my hands around his shoulders, I lifted my head to kiss him, but he pulled away.
“Abby, what do you expect from our time together?”
I have to admit, I was growing impatient. I felt like I’d been waiting for this moment forever, and when I finally found a hot guy to do it with, all he wanted to do was talk. “Can’t we do this after we have sex? All this chit-chat is drying me out.”
As if to call my bluff, Kennedy reached between us and circled his fingers around my sensitive nub, before pushing them inside of me. My eyes rolled back into my head, and I moaned shamelessly. “Doesn’t feel dried out to me.” Kennedy’s cocky smirk made me want to smack him and kiss him at the same time. “Now, tell me. Where do you want this to go?”
His fingers maintained a slow, steady rhythm. I squirmed beneath him, needing more, but realized that he wasn’t giving anything until he got his answers. Frustrated, I growled, “I don’t know what I expect. Right now, I just want this. That’s the only answer I can give you, okay?”
Sweetest Temptations Page 6