by Brea Viragh
Peter.
I chased him from my mind and focused on Kai. “Having never been to Portland or anywhere even near there, I can only go on what I’ve heard. And I’ve been told it rains nonstop,” I said.
“It’s wet, for sure, but I like it that way.”
I loved the way his lips formed the vowels, and I grabbed on to his terminology.
“Some do like it…wetter.”
I let the word hang in the air between us and smoothly changed the subject. My tongue trailed along the mouth of the beer bottle before I asked, “What do you do for a living, Kai?”
His grin started small, widening until it dominated the lower half of his face. Nothing open or necessarily cheerful about it, but disarming. A smirk accompanied by narrowed eyes and an unvoiced agreement. He knew what I’d meant.
“Computer programming,” he drawled. “It’s something I can do where I don’t have to go out and face the public. I design software, write and maintain source code, and work with a number of clients developing programs and prototypes.”
“Wow. You must keep pretty busy.”
“I do. Although right now I’m back in school taking classes.”
A red warning light flashed in my head and I knew I’d have to bring up the question of age. Damn, I knew he was too good to be true. But there was no sense in continuing our dance if he was underage. I rested a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t have anything against jailbait, Kai, but how old are you?”
Back again was the shit-eating grin so fitting for his features. “Worried, Nell?”
“I need to know the rules before I take the plunge,” I retorted. “Can’t play if there’s a chance of being disqualified.”
“To answer your question, I’m twenty-four.”
Yikes. “Twenty-four?”
“Quarter of a century in January.”
He fit right into the range of acceptability. To be his age again. The clock was ticking down before I hit the big three-oh.
“Then why are you still in college?” I asked.
“I’m taking classes to get a better-paying job.”
“Minimum wage can be murder.”
His answer was matter-of-fact. “If I can take classes to get ahead, then I will. It’s kind of off-putting, though, getting back into the school scene when I’ve been out for so long.”
I leaned forward to rest my elbows on the bar. “Well, I have to say, you were the last person I expected to see in this place.” Tapping my index finger to my nose, I measured my words. “But I’m not disappointed. I’m not disappointed that you chose to have a drink with me, and I’m not disappointed that we’re standing here having a conversation.”
“Neither am I. What do you do?”
“I’m a health care professional. A nurse.”
“Sexy.”
I indicated my chest where my scrubs would usually cover any feminine shape. The pocket where I kept a variety of pens and my stethoscope. “I don’t dress up.”
He gave me the same deliberate once-over. “It looks good on you. You work at a hospital?”
“Easy guess. I’m a part-time clinic aide and part-time receptionist.”
“You must get a lot of accidents in a small town like this. One stoplight in the whole county.” Kai chuckled, the sound rich, throaty. Arousing. “You probably have collisions a hundred ways from Saturday.”
“You would be surprised how many people come in with wounds from machinery. Runaway tractors, mishandled chainsaws. Axe heads that come loose and fly off the handles. There are also broken bones from cow or horse accidents, which aren’t fun to deal with.” I shuddered and tactfully scooted closer to him. “Nothing like blood to start the holidays off right.”
“My, my, Nell, what a dark sense of humor you have.” Kai accepted the invitation, tilting to the left until our shoulders touched. “I should have expected it from you, trying to pick up a stranger in a bar. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there.”
Chemistry sizzled between us. All I could think of was hooking my tongue through the loop in his ear and going to town. Did the desire make me a bad person? Not in my mind. Already the small hairs on my arms stood to attention and a zip of energy made its way down to my nether regions.
“Is that what I’m doing?” I placed my hand on his forearm. “I had no idea.”
“It certainly seems that way. Although I could be misreading the situation. I hope I’m not.” He moved his head down to mine to whisper in my ear. “I saw you when I first came in, you know.”
“I aim to be noticed.” I slid onto the closest bar stool and as I did, my back arched of its own accord, pushing my breasts forward slightly for his perusal. Yes, trouble. I prayed I’d gotten what I came for and Kai would take the bait and run with it.
“All your crazy hair and pale skin. You look like you stepped out of a painting,” he murmured.
“I appreciate the dirty talk.”
Nothing better than a compliment. I’d hoard that one in my back pocket.
Kai placed his empty beer bottle down on the bar, his fingers falling on my waist. “I didn’t come here expecting this tonight. I want you to realize I’m not the type of person who goes out hoping to pick up a woman.”
“You may not have expected it, but I’m glad you’re here.” I lowered my voice to a purr. “I’m glad you came to Heartwood.”
“Imagine, a sexy woman buying drinks for me.”
Another three inches and we would be kissing. The bar noise faded until it was the two of us standing there with our layers of obstacles. Yes, I enjoyed being the pursuer, the person in control of the situation. I went out and if I found someone, ideal. If I didn’t, I left without a second thought. In all my years of being the dominating personality, I’d never had anyone affect me the way Kai did. In an instant. A snap of his fingers and I would be on the edge of reason.
He wasn’t conventionally attractive but the way he smelled had me rubbing against him. To me, he was pretty damn good-looking, someone I could see myself having a relationship with if I dated. Which I’d sworn off.
I pressed my lips together and fought against the lust curling around my belly. Coming on too strong may send up a flag. “Then I’ll be the first. I don’t mind.” I looked up into his eyes and crossed my legs and rocked in my seat.
“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked. “I don’t exactly have a place, but…”
There was the shy boy I first saw when he stepped foot in the Tooth. The hint of uncertainty, better than the sweetest touch.
“I have more than enough space at my place.”
“Place where we can…play?”
“It will be worth your while.” I wanted to be right up front from the start. Not pushy, but explicit.
“There’s no doubt,” he said.
“Stay here. I’ll get my coat.”
It took effort to drag myself away from Kai and walk the three feet back to my original bar stool. I shot Fenton a hooded look, grabbed my coat. Slapped a wad of money down on the counter.
His eyes darted from me to Kai and back again, punctuated by a sigh. “I’ll see you next week,” he said.
I thought of Kai and bit my lower lip. “Don’t count on it.”
If the evening went the way I hoped, I would have enough fun to last until he went back to whatever college he came from. I hadn’t thought to ask and it didn’t matter for what I planned to do tonight.
Slipping my arms through the sleeves, I returned to Kai’s side and looked up. And up. God, how had I failed to notice how tall he was? Perfect.
“You ready to head out?” I asked.
The way he beamed had my insides trembling and I buckled in for the roller coaster ride.
Instead of answering, Kai followed me out into the blustery night and let the door slam behind us.
CHAPTER TWO
“You didn’t get lost along the way,” I remarked the moment I stepped from the car.
Cold night air brought my nipples to
peaks and they strained against the fabric of my shirt in an automatic response I knew Kai couldn’t miss.
“A five-minute drive with a goal in mind?” he answered. “I wasn’t going anywhere.”
My heart began to beat a furious tattoo. I felt it in my wrists, my throat, lower pulse points I couldn’t mention.
“Good. Then let’s go.”
We fell into my apartment together, with lips locked, tongues crossed, and a power struggle. I wanted to see who would get the other’s clothes off the fastest. I was winning. His jacket fell to the floor followed by the underlying shirt.
The kisses were fast and slick. Kai gave me no time to think or fine-tune my game plan. His arms were around me in one swift move and the pressure of his hand brought me closer until we molded together.
The intimacy of the moment sent a zing of heat southward from my spinning head. His mouth took possession of mine, demanding and insistent, and a shimmering wave of lust started in my toes and rose until it met the zing somewhere in the middle.
Stunned pleasure hummed along the planes of my arms and I opened my mouth in welcome, needing more. Wanting more. Eventually I summoned the will to lift my arms, circling his neck seconds before my knees threatened to buckle.
Kai trailed a line of kisses down my neck to my collar bone before settling above my breast. He pressed his teeth against my skin. “I want to fuck you,” he whispered.
Hot damn.
Aroused? Hell, I was on fire. My chest rose and fell in quick succession. My pulse increased. Blood awoke. I managed to nudge the front door closed; the living room was small and neat with my personal touches scattered around the space. The scent of burned food still lingered in the air from the lasagna I’d tried to make earlier but came up unsuccessful.
“Nice place,” Kai managed on an exhale, kicking his pants aside until he stood before me in full naked glory. Where had the underwear gone? Why hadn’t I noticed the departure?
“You can see it later. Remind me to give you the grand tour.” I kept the lights off and leaned into him. The cold had brought color to his cheeks visible in the darkness. “Right now, there are more pressing matters to tackle.”
Kai grabbed the back of my coat and yanked me closer. “I know.”
I stepped forward to press my chest to his, pulse spiking when his cock bobbed against my hip. “You seem like a smart man. What do we do now?” To emphasize my point, I bit down on his lip. “Tell me.”
Yes, the boy has style, I thought when he closed the distance and ravaged my mouth. Definite style. The taste of him flooded my system and I pressed into his chest. His hands flung the jacket away, rushing underneath the shirt to touch my hips, my waist. He pinched my nipples and sent my arousal ratcheting higher.
Here I was, turning down offers for dates while aching for no-strings-attached sex. I’d gotten my wish. After several minutes with Kai my skin felt combustible. The slightest twist of his body sent me flinging over a precipice.
My fingers tangled in his hair, the deep mahogany strands as silky as they looked despite the hair gel. There was no way in hell I could contain myself with the heat rising between us. I didn’t want to. Unlike some, I easily dropped my inhibitions and let the fire erupt, uncontrollable.
He yanked the shirt over my head in a single jerking motion before I knew what he’d planned. Muscles in his jaw clenched when he took in my chest, his gaze darkening and the evidence of his arousal pressing against me.
I would need to make quick work of my jeans.
“Nell.” His voice was strained as he watched me unclasp my bra. “You are beautiful.”
“Shut up and get me naked,” I demanded. “I didn’t bring you here to be sweet.”
Still, his statement sparked something inside the corners of my mind. Sweet. Sentiment came out of nowhere and refused to leave, whispering of how this could be the beginning of something delicious.
“You brought me here to fuck. I understand.” He laughed, a throaty chuckle. The kind guaranteed to kindle a fire in my abdomen. “I’m down for it.”
I fell on him. “You’re damn right.”
His tongue thrust inside my mouth and my core clenched. We tangled together, his fingers working my nipples, tweaking and pinching and rolling them between his thumbs and forefingers. A lean chest and roped muscles were available for my unhindered perusal. Some may think Kai too thin, too scrappy. For me he was too much.
What can I say? Everyone has a favorite type.
I broke the kiss to nip down his chest. A narrow V of hair led lower to the protrusion of his hips. He and I struggled to get my pants button undone before I kicked the jeans away.
He gasped when I took the length of his erect penis in both hands. Half-naked, I dropped to my knees in front of him. It pleased me to look up and meet his eyes the second I took half of him in my mouth, sucking deep. I ran my tongue along the underside of his cock and he threaded his fingers through my hair.
“Holy…h-holy hell,” he managed.
Yeah. Skills.
Suckling and laving amidst his strangled groans, I continued my assault. His grip tightened when I drew him deeper. There was an answering response inside of me. My stomach contracted with the rhythmic pulse of his hips.
He tasted of salt and sweat. My fingernails dug into his backside and I released him with a final pop. Kai glanced down, fingers still tangled in my hair and his chest rising erratically. “It’s good you stopped. I might not have made it to the grand finale.”
“Then I’d have felt deprived.” My lady bits ached to have him fill them, pound inside, and never leave. Wetness pooled and the last remaining shreds of my control frayed, snapped. I ran my hand along the lines of his abs, fully seeing his body for the first time. He looked like he wanted to gobble me in a single bite.
Kai dragged my cotton panties down with a yank. I stood before him completely bare before he nodded, cheeks reddened. I was stepping clear of the panties when he plunged a finger between my legs seconds before the fabric hit the floor.
Shockwaves thundered out from the contact. It took everything I had not to shove against him. I rocked my hips, sliding him through my folds.
“You like that?”
I’d lost the ability to speak. If he stopped probing my clit I might not survive. It was delicious, delectable.
“I can’t wait to make you come.”
God, yes. The man was talented.
“I’m going to—”
My head dropped back when he coaxed my first orgasm. I was close even before he initiated the contact, and rode the wave until it crashed. Left me begging for more. Shuddering beneath his ministrations. Fueled by a mad fervor and undeniable greed for him.
Kai bit my neck and collar bone while he ground against my clit. His free hand palmed my nipple and breast, punishing me with desire and pleasure.
“That was too easy,” he murmured on an exhale. “You’re soaking wet.”
“Shut up.”
He and I fell with a giggle onto my aging couch, a flea market find from way back when, and he went to town on me once more. I’d never known a kiss to turn me on. Kai’s was the first. I squirmed underneath him, gasping for breath while my hands flexed at my sides, pinned down. As wet as I was, it would take only a slight change in angle for him to thrust home. I wanted him to, more than anything, and his teeth scoring my shoulders made it urgent.
With him on top of me, I felt each tiny movement, every seizing jerk and wild buck of his hips. His eyes pierced mine and I opened myself to him. Through the tantalizing haze, I didn’t realize that our night had only begun. There were many more hours to play and ponder the infinite possibilities. I found I wanted to cut the foreplay short to get him inside me. He burned away my capacity for thought. I was lost to him, to the tangle of limbs and lusty fervor.
Taking control of the situation, I arched my back and changed the balance, flipped Kai around on his back to straddle his pelvis. He didn’t appear shocked. He must be a man used
to the haste of a late hook-up, not caring for sweet romance or lazy lovemaking. I loved the way his jaw clenched, his eyes flared and penetrated mine when I scratched against his stomach.
How we proceeded was my decision.
Positioned above him, I used my hands to tease him, prolong the satisfaction despite my overwhelming desire to rush ahead. His skin was heated and smooth to the touch. Cock bobbing. Mushroom head purple, throbbing. My nerves were raw at the feel of him and I was alive in a carnal way. Blood surged hot in my veins.
Too much time between thrills, I thought.
His teeth fastened on my breast once more and I breathed his name, pressing a hand to my mouth to stifle the exhalation. With my free hand I scraped a trail down his belly.
“Do you know what you do to me?” he asked. Raising up on his elbows, he watched me rub myself along the line of his dick.
Heat exploded in my stomach. “I have a pretty good idea.” I fought down a purr of delight, leaning back to push my full weight onto him.
He pulsed beneath the roundness of my buttocks. There was a demand for more circling between us, in the empty crevices waiting to be filled. I’d been empty for far too long. It wasn’t just the lust speaking. My heart thundered against its cage when I reached behind me and grabbed.
“Are you ready for me?”
He twitched and I watched in delight as his eyes crossed. “I’m the one who’s supposed to ask you—”
“Answer the question,” I demanded.
“I have to tell you…it’s been awhile since I’ve been with a woman.”
My voice was thick when I answered, “It’s like riding a bicycle. Just hop on. Trust me.”
I set him up for the entry, shamelessly angling myself in the right place, and Kai drove home. A cry tore from my throat when he thrust hard and deep. I ground against him in response, the sounds of our flesh striking against each other fueling me forward.
Hips pistoned and speed increased until sweat beaded along his hairline. I felt the long, ridged length of him inside.