“All right, you three.” Kelsey herded her dogs away from Ian and Micah. “Calm down. I know—it’s a party. I never have this many people over.”
“You barely let a single person in your house, never mind multiple,” said one of the unfamiliar men. He was on the shorter side, with blond hair and a striking resemblance to Kelsey. That must make him her twin, which meant the guy with him was Kevin’s fiancé. Ian didn’t have all the details about Kelsey’s family, but he’d learned some over the past weeks.
Kelsey scowled, and Ian couldn’t miss the knowing glance shared between Kevin and Josh. “I’m aware. But Ian said the best part about the day was the dinner afterward when his family got together, so I thought I’d get everyone together—the important people, I mean.”
Heat crept up Ian’s neck. Clearly he wasn’t the only one being given hell about their relationship.
Kelsey introduced him and Micah to Kevin and Peter, and Ian exchanged hellos with Josh and Taylor Lipin.
“Just to clear,” Micah said, “is this a rare sight—Porters and Lipins spending time together? Should I be in awe that I’m privy to this?”
Kelsey shot Micah a wry expression. “Yes.”
“I do enjoy being gazed upon in awe,” Taylor added, striking a pose.
Josh planted a kiss on her forehead. “Some of us always gaze upon you in awe.”
Kelsey groaned, and Ian chuckled along with the happy couple. Given everything the feud was forcing him to deal with, seeing the relaxed way these members of the two families were coping with the situation gave him hope that sometimes sanity could prevail in this town.
“Does this mean we can eat now?” Kevin asked after the bad jokes died down. “I’m starving.”
Kelsey shooed him out of the kitchen. “Back off. You weren’t fasting all day. Ian and Micah go first. And maybe Josh.”
Kelsey had said Josh was sort of Jewish, whatever she meant by that. Given how Josh motioned for Ian and Micah to go ahead of him, Ian took it to mean Josh was even less religious than he was and probably hadn’t fasted.
“I wasn’t sure what to get,” Kelsey said, “so I looked up stuff online. I hope that’s okay. I bought bagels and smoked salmon, and I made rugelach and apple cake and a noodle kugel. Although I’m not sure how great that turned out.”
“Anything is wonderful.” Ian wanted to add more—like that she was sweet and thoughtful and amazing—but too many people were already watching every move he and Kelsey made.
“I like you,” Micah said to Kelsey, grabbing a plate. “I like you a lot.”
Kelsey laughed. “You might want to try my baking before you say that.”
Ian grinned, but he had a feeling Micah’s comment was meant as much for him as it was for Kelsey. His friend not only approved of her, he was telling Ian to stop worrying so much about their relationship.
To be fair, Micah wasn’t wrong. As everyone dug into the feast and the three dogs dove for the scraps that fell to the floor, the sadness he’d been feeling since his call with his family lifted off Ian’s shoulders. For the first time since moving to Helen, he did feel like he could belong here eventually. Like he could have friends. It wasn’t the same dynamic as he had with his family, and obviously it could never replace them, but it was a hopeful substitute. If Ian had a tail of his own, it would be wagging, especially as he watched Kelsey. She grumped and scowled and traded barbs with everyone, but Ian saw the pink flush on her cheeks and how she turned away, as if trying to smile in secret, whenever someone’s teasing amused her.
He also saw the way she looked at him when no one else seemed to be paying them attention. There was no question anymore about what he should do with regards to her. To pretend otherwise was pointless. He’d fallen for her, good and hard, and walking away was impossible. Ian didn’t know how they could make it work, but the solution to his dilemma was obvious: he had to try.
23
SOMETHING HAD BEEN bothering Ian when he arrived. Kelsey had seen it in the tightness around his eyes. But she’d also seen how his mood had lifted when her dogs rushed him. If there was one positive she could take away from this whatever-it-was with Ian, it was that. She’d helped him, and by extension had helped dogs everywhere. But mostly, she thought about Ian. And when she did, she didn’t want his overcoming his fear of dogs to be the sole defining triumph of their relationship.
That meant she didn’t want him to walk away now that he was “cured.” As much as it scared her, Kelsey didn’t want her no-relationships policy anymore either.
It wasn’t supposed to have happened this way. Ian was supposed to have been a test of her bedroom skills and nothing more, but she’d screwed that up spectacularly, and she wasn’t even upset. Finally, she’d found someone who was worthy of keeping around beyond a first date. Ian the puppy and Ian the man had become one and the same, and he’d charmed his way into her heart.
Insufferable was no longer the word. Adorable was.
God, she was so screwed.
Kelsey shut the door as the last guest left, leaving her alone in the house with her three dogs and one man. She’d looked at Ian, and he’d looked at her, and by some silent conversation, they’d decided he was going to stay. Kelsey was equal parts pleased, excited, and terrified.
“So?” Ian had helped her put away what was left of the food, the dogs had been let out for the last time, and now he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “Does staying over mean I finally get to have you naked upstairs?”
Kelsey relaxed her body against his. Judging by the pressure in her lower back, Ian had been anticipating a positive response. Not smart on his part, because feeling him growing hard was going to make it challenging for her to let him get as far as the stairs before she tore off his clothes.
“You think we can make it up there?” she asked.
“You doubt my self-control?” His breath tickled her ear.
“No. I doubt mine.”
She could feel him chuckle, and he kissed her ear. “As much as I like it when you get bossy, I think I’m going to refuse to obey any demands for downstairs sex. So you’d better come after me.”
Ian let go of her waist, darted across the living room, and ran up the steps. Damn him. “You’re going to pay for that,” Kelsey yelled. She turned off the downstairs lights and charged after him.
Ian was waiting for her in the hallway, and he pulled off his shirt as she reached the top.
“Tease.”
“I’ve never been in your bedroom,” he said. “Seemed wrong to barge in without an invitation.”
“Consider this your invite, then.” She grabbed the waistband of his jeans and pulled him down the short hallway to the last room. Her bedroom was as small as the office, and Kelsey had to scoot across the bed so she could lower the blinds on both windows. That accomplished, she settled against her pillows and raised an eyebrow. “You may continue the strip show. Was that bossy enough for you?”
Ian seemed to consider. “The ‘you may’ was more polite than I’m used to, but I’ll allow it.” He dropped his jeans and crawled onto the bed to hover over her. “Your turn.”
He didn’t wait for her to do it herself. Ian dropped a kiss on her lips, then worked his way down her throat until he’d pushed her flat against the bed. She had zero resistance as he kissed her lower and lower, and layer by layer peeled off her clothes.
There was something different about the way he touched her tonight. Softer. Gentler. Slower. All their previous encounters had an air of desperation and franticness about them, but tonight Ian seemed to be savoring each moment and she did too. She concentrated more fully on the taste of his lips and the curve of his muscles under her hands. He was pretty—so pretty—but instead of just admiring his chest or the swell of his erection, Kelsey focused on the feel of his hair through her fingers, the mole on his neck. He was gorgeous not because of hi
s stupidly perfect cheekbones but in spite of them. Because there was something delicious in the unique scent of his skin and the calluses on his hands.
Kelsey came with his name on her lips, her fingernails digging into his back, and she didn’t want to let him go. There was no better, more comfortable place in the world than with her flannel sheets beneath her and Ian’s warm body pressed against hers. Letting him go so she could clean up and he could dispose of the condom was a crime, but it had to be done.
Ian crawled back into bed with her a few minutes later, and she wasted no time getting as close to their prior position as she could. “You’re too muscly to be a good pillow,” Kelsey said, resting her head against his chest.
“My apologies, but your head isn’t the softest body part in the world either.” He kissed the top of it and lightly squeezed one of her breasts. “These, on the other hand, are perfectly soft.”
Despite being completely satiated and sleepy, Ian’s fingers aroused more glorious sensations in her body. “You can play with them all you want, but are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”
She could feel him shift with surprise. “Nothing is bothering me. Thank you for this, for everything you did tonight. It means a lot to me.”
Kelsey propped herself up on one elbow so she could see his face. It was true that whatever had been bothering him earlier appeared to be long gone, and the way he was smiling at her did all kinds of funny things to her insides. She might as well have been melting. “I’m glad you liked it. I was afraid I’d screw it up.”
“You couldn’t if you tried. It was wonderful. You’re wonderful.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.” She kissed his nose. “But something was upsetting you when you arrived. Is everything okay?”
Ian groaned. “I was missing my family.”
“Even the father who made your dog phobia worse?”
“No, not him. Good point.” He closed his eyes. “The dogs were the least of our issues.”
Kelsey nodded but chose not to prompt him. She’d definitely gotten the sense from their time together that there was more to Ian’s relationship with his father than the dog stuff, but if he wasn’t comfortable enough to share it with her, it wasn’t her place to ask. Although it hurt to see him hurt, and it hurt to be walled off, they’d never admitted that there was anything more between them than this—dog therapy and sex. And it wasn’t like she’d opened up to him, as tempting as doing so had sometimes been. So far Ian had given her every reason to trust him, but her own issues died hard.
“He’s an asshole, my father.” Kelsey had resigned herself to the silence when Ian’s voice broke it. “About a lot of things. It’s not only that he didn’t want to raise me and Izzy, but he made it clear that he never saw any potential in either of us.”
“Potential?”
Ian tucked some hair behind her ear. “My father has a limited idea of what it means to be successful. We were never ambitious enough for him, or driven enough. Isabel liked art and music, but he didn’t consider those worthwhile. I wanted to be a scientist. I actually majored in chemistry in college, believe it or not, but that wasn’t good enough for him either.”
“Chemistry wasn’t smart enough?”
“Chemistry wasn’t likely to make me lots of money, and I was good enough to get a degree, but I had to work at it. I wasn’t some genius saving the world by age twenty. That’s what he believes makes someone successful—money or fame, preferably both.”
“How many people become rich and famous?”
“If not rich, then well off,” Ian said. “He’s successful enough by those standards, but he’s a workaholic. I got the brunt of his dissatisfaction, being the boy. If it wasn’t about grades, it was about hobbies, and it wasn’t just about what we liked, it was about how well we did those things. To give you another example, I played baseball in school. He wanted me to play tennis or run track—any sport where there was more opportunity for personal glory. In his opinion, teams could only drag you down, no matter how good you were. You had to put yourself first.”
“Wow.” She hadn’t guessed quite how bad it must have been for Ian. It was almost ironic in the way it was so vastly different from her own father issues. With her family, personal glory only mattered if it came at the expense of a Lipin. Otherwise, it was more important to put aside your personal desires and goals to support the greater cause. Still toxic, just in a different direction.
Ian laughed at what had to be the stunned expression on her face. “That about sums it up. I heard my whole life about what a failure I was and how I’d never make anything of myself.”
Kelsey kissed him, because the only words that came immediately to mind were Yup, your father is a major asshole, and she wasn’t sure that was helpful. Poor Ian. Her father—and possibly her mother—might not approve of what she did, but they weren’t so openly disparaging. Her heart ached for the boy who’d had to grow up being told he’d amount to nothing.
How wrong his father had been.
That was what she ought to tell Ian, and so she did. “Screw him,” she concluded. “Everyone I know who’s had your beer likes it, and you’re selling lots of it from what I heard tonight. You’re very successful, but more importantly, you’re a good person. You’re smart and sweet, and my dogs love you, despite the rocky start there. Dogs are excellent judges of character. That’s also success.”
“Thank you.” He kissed her back, making her toes curl. “I appreciate the pep talk, but I swear it’s not needed. I know his warped ideas are just that—twisted. But people like him get inside your head. I’m not going around angry at him all the time anymore, but. . . .”
“Words stick.” She ought to know. She believed in the power of words, and her ex’s had certainly stuck with her.
Ian winced. “They do.”
Kelsey swallowed. Now that Ian had opened up, part of her wished he hadn’t. Ian talking about his past and his pain meant a lot to her. It meant she should trust him. Could trust him. She was finally having to face the way everything was changing between them.
Kelsey trailed her fingers down Ian’s chest as she collected herself. “My ex still lives inside my head sometimes. I told you I don’t do relationships—he’s why.”
Anger flashed in Ian’s eyes. “Was he . . . ?”
“Abusive? Not in the way you’re thinking.” Recounting the tale was humiliating, but it wasn’t like no one else knew it. That was the problem—lots of people knew it. “We were together for almost two years in college. It was my first serious relationship, and he was the first guy I ever slept with. Only eventually, I found out he was less than satisfied with that part of things. Not that I had a clue, because it sure wasn’t like he had a hard time getting off with me. But apparently he’d been regaling his friends with tales about what a lousy lay I was the whole time.”
Kelsey thought she did a good job of keeping her voice steady, but she could feel her cheeks erupt in flames. Damn Anthony.
Ian gaped at her. “You’re serious.”
“Yup. I’ve basically refused to get close to anyone like that again. Who needs the hassle? That’s why I started reading so much romance and writing my own. I needed to know the truth and work through the massive hit my self-esteem took.”
“I can tell you the truth.” Ian pulled her closer, forcing her to straddle him. “The truth is he sounds like a clueless dickhead. Trust me when I say no one has come close to blowing my mind the way you do, every time. You are the sweetest.” He kissed her. “The sexiest.” And again. “The most amazing woman I’ve ever been grateful to for giving me the time of day.”
God, didn’t he know when he said shit like that she turned into a pile of smoldering, smiling goo? Kelsey buried her face in the crook of Ian’s neck while his hands roamed down her back and cupped her backside. The desire to hold him tighter warred with the urge to kiss the ha
rdening length she could feel on her stomach. This perfect man was knocking down all her well-built walls.
“What I’m saying,” Ian continued when he’d reached the limits of where he could kiss her without them rolling over, “is that I’m one hundred percent confident that any bedroom problems you experienced with your ex were his fault.”
Kelsey raised her head. “Oh, so am I. Now. At the time, I did wonder if I just sucked.”
“I happen to like it a lot when you suck.”
Groaning, she poked him in the side before applying a playful nip to his shoulder. “I kicked myself for giving you that opening as soon as the words left my mouth.”
Ian grinned—smug and adorable at once. “You can’t tempt me and expect me not to take the bait. You should have figured that out. But are you really feeling better?” His expression turned serious. “No more believing a word from your evil, inadequate ex?”
Anthony the Inadequate Ex. Kelsey approved of this unintentional rhythm, and she mentally filed the nickname away. “Believe him? No. But like you said about your father, pieces of him live on in my brain.”
Ian cupped her cheek before deciding he was tired of her on top, and he flipped her onto her side. “Then I’m formally requesting permission to kick him out of your brain. I want to take up that space instead. I want to replace every awful thing he said to you with lavish praise, not just about your bedroom skills—or not-bedroom, as is our usual—but also about how wonderful you are. And I want to override any memories you might have of unsatisfying naked encounters with lots and lots of mind-blowing orgasms.”
Kelsey’s brain was suddenly racing, along with her pulse. “What exactly are the details of this request?” Was Ian saying what she thought he was saying, or was he being cute? He’d said he didn’t do relationships either.
Paws and Prejudice Page 21