by Reese Ryan
She’d been lying to herself. Pretending things were good for all of them, when the truth was they were all miserable.
Kai missed being with his dad. Nate was hurting without his son. She lived with the guilt of being the coward who broke up their family because she couldn’t deal with her daddy issues.
“Thanks, Dad,” she groaned. “You produced one damaged little girl.”
There was a tap at the bathroom door. “Kendra, are you okay?”
She opened the door partially. “I didn’t expect to take so long. I’ll be down in a sec.”
“You’ve been crying.” Nate reached his long arm through the door and cradled her cheek in his large palm. “I didn’t intend to upset you.”
Loosening her grip on the door handle, Kendra leaned into his palm, her eyes drifting shut. She savored his touch—strong, yet delicate—and the warmth of his rough palm against her cool cheek. Heat radiated into her neck and down her spine. A soothing lightness seeped into her bones, and a sense of calm settled over her.
Her eyes fluttered open. Something in Nate’s brown eyes was so tender and sweet it melted her heart. Yet the heat in his penetrating gaze and feather-soft touch took her breath away.
She inhaled, dropping her gaze to his stubbled chin. “Nate, I’m sorry I—”
Nate pressed his open mouth to hers, cradling the back of her neck.
Kendra didn’t object to his kiss or the way he slung an arm low around her waist, pulling their bodies together, his firm erection pressed to her belly.
A soft gasp escaped her mouth as his tongue moved against hers. Her fingertips glided up the soft cotton of his shirt. She pressed them to his back through the fabric, aching to touch his heated skin.
Each soft kiss Nate planted along her jawline and down her throat ignited flames along her skin.
“I want you, Dray. Here. Now. Tell me you want me, too,” he murmured between kisses.
Her hot, liquid center melted a little more at hearing him use his pet name for her. He hadn’t done that since the day she walked out of his life. Not even those nights in Memphis.
“I do.” No point in denying the obvious. Her beaded nipples pressed into his chest and her breath came in shallow pants. “But if we do this, you have to understand—”
The muscles of his back stiffened as his eyes met hers. “That it doesn’t mean anything?”
She stroked his cheek. “Being with you could never not mean anything to me. But it isn’t a promise or a commitment. It’s just sex.”
He frowned, lines spanning his forehead.
“I want this, I do.” She placed a soft hand on his stern jaw, and his eyes met hers again. “But you mean so much to me. My relationship with you is more important than this.”
He didn’t respond right away. For a moment, Kendra expected him to release her and walk away. Instead, he pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her again. His tongue tangled with hers as he gripped her bottom, pulling her hard against him.
Kendra moaned against his lips, giving in to the prickle of electricity dancing along her spine, igniting low in her belly.
Nate surprised her, scooping her into his arms and carrying her down the hall toward his large master bedroom. He nudged open the double doors with his foot, then laid her on his bed.
Kendra looked around the room. The kitchen had been essentially the same, but this room looked completely different. He’d made a concerted effort to erase any trace of her.
She had no right to be hurt. Yet she was. The walls were a dove gray now, instead of the cocoa beige they’d selected together when he bought the place.
The bed and all the other furniture were different, too. Large, sleek ebony wood pieces. Dark and masculine. All hard lines. None of the soft, organic curves she preferred.
Nate brought her back from her disquieting thoughts with a kiss. His hand trailed down her side, gripping her thigh as he settled between her legs. She whimpered at the sensation of his length pressed to the juncture of her thighs. Her breath became shallow as the heat and electricity building there spread throughout her body. Made her feel like she was floating in a pool of warm water, the steam so intense she could barely breathe.
Nate pulled his mouth from hers, their eyes meeting as he took her in. Something in that dark gaze made her feel as if there were nothing in the world he wanted more than her. And damn if that stare didn’t multiply his raw sex appeal by a factor of ten.
Nate planted feverish kisses on her throat that trailed down the vee of her shirt. She inhaled the coconut scent wafting from his dark curls and tried to get out of her own head and enjoy it.
Breathe. Just breathe.
“Stop trying to talk yourself out of this.” Nate’s husky whisper brought her attention back to him, away from the battle raging between her body and her mind. “There’s nothing wrong with two people who care for each other as much as we do being together. Even if one of them believes it’s just sex.”
“Nate, you promised—”
“Relax, Dray. I know where we stand.” There was a hint of strain in his voice and in the tension between his brows. “We’re cool, no matter what happens tonight.”
She breathed a little easier. “Then what are you still doing in that shirt?”
Nate traced her mouth with his thumb, then kissed her again. “Good question. I could ask you the same.”
She gripped the hem of his shirt and tugged it up. He adjusted, allowing her to remove the garment. Next, she shed hers. Kendra pressed her fingers to his back as she pulled him to her again. “Much better.”
“A little better.” He glided his large palm down her hip and thigh, his eyes locked on hers. “You naked would be a hell of a lot better.”
“I can make that happen.” She lifted her hips, allowing him to slide off her panties and leggings. Her bra and his jeans soon followed.
“Hey.” Kendra snapped the waistband of his underwear. “You’re not completely undressed.”
“Gotta keep my focus, babe,” Nate responded between nibbles and kisses that trailed between her breasts. “Make this last.”
Can’t argue with that philosophy.
“Fine for now, but—” She inhaled sharply when Nate caressed a stiff peak with his firm tongue. The sensation traveled straight to her sex. “Not fair.”
Nate chuckled, the sound vibrating in her chest. He kissed his way across the valley between her breasts and swirled his tongue around her other nipple, causing a rush of dampness at her core. “Who said anything about this being fair?” He trailed kisses down her belly. Each one caused her breath to come quicker as he approached the space between her thighs. “I plan to use every trick in the book to make you reconsider.”
A shiver ran down her spine as he lapped at her hardened nub. She gripped the bedding and dug her heels into the mattress. “Nate, that feels incredible.”
She’d nearly forgotten how deft Nate Johnston was with that tongue. He hadn’t gone there the last two times they were together. Those incidents involved quick, hot, angry sex. This was slow and deliberate.
He wrapped his arms around her thighs, pinning her in place as his tongue grazed her clit and the swollen, engorged flesh surrounding it.
The higher she sailed, the quicker his movements. She was trembling, cursing. Almost there. Suddenly he slowed things down with deliberate laps of his tongue, heightening the sensation.
Kendra’s breathing slowed, though her heart still beat a mile a minute. She tangled her fingers in his hair as he worshipped her sex, bringing her to the edge again.
A jolt of desire ran through her veins as Nate plunged his tongue inside her, then slowly withdrew it. She moaned softly, her tense muscles quivering in response to the delicious rhythm. Kendra whimpered, calling his name and begging him not to stop, as she dug her heels into
the mattress and clutched the back of his head.
His sly grin indicated he had no intention of stopping until he’d brought her over the edge.
And he did.
The orgasm hit her, hard and sudden. Her legs trembled and her belly contracted. She shut her eyes, allowing the intense feeling of satisfaction to wash over her like warm, soothing water.
Nate trailed kisses over her mound, up her stomach and between her breasts. He gently bit and sucked her neck, as if marking his territory like he did when they were in high school.
He pressed his lips to her ear. “This body will always be mine. No matter where you go or what you do.”
His claim was even more arousing than what he’d just done to her body. She wanted to contradict him. Make it clear that her body belonged to her and no one else. But she understood what he meant. No one will ever make you feel this way. Have you crawling out of your skin, calling his name.
If the past seven years were any indication, he was right. She’d been with a handful of guys in the time they’d been apart. She could sum up the collective experience with one word.
Disappointing.
Nate never disappointed her. He sent her soaring, shaking, calling his name. Their bodies fit together as if they were designed for each other.
As she stared into his handsome face, hovering over hers, she couldn’t deny his claim.
Her body did belong to Nate Johnston, as did her heart.
Chapter 13
Nate kissed the side of Kendra’s face, glistening with sweat. It was the middle of winter, but suddenly his sprawling bedroom felt intimate, the space sultry.
Kendra’s chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath. She hadn’t responded to his declaration that her body belonged to him, but had she disagreed, she would’ve told him so in no uncertain terms. Kendra’s silence indicated her reluctant concession to the truth of his words.
We belong together.
They would be again soon, if it was up to him.
“I love watching you come apart like that. It’s still the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He kissed her neck and trailed a finger down the center of her chest. “You will always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me.”
Kendra’s eyes twinkled as she swiped a finger beneath them. A wide smile spread across her face.
Nate kissed her again, then crawled off the bed and dug into his bedside table and sheathed himself. He joined Kendra beneath the covers and kissed her neck, her shoulders.
He’d tried hating her for breaking his heart. He’d tried to replace her with women who were beautiful or famous. None of them made him feel the way he did when he was with her.
It was Kendra he wanted in his bed and in his life. The woman who owned his heart and bore his son. The woman he wanted to retire to Pleasure Cove with and have more children.
The words he wanted to say stuck at the back of his throat. I love you. I need you. Please, come back. Instead, he kissed her fervently, conveying everything he felt through his kiss, his touch.
He glided his hands along her warm, slick skin. Caressed her back. Squeezed her hips and the swell of her breasts. Laved her tight, beaded tips with his hungry tongue. He coaxed her back to the edge of the precipice, her body responding to every touch, every kiss.
“Nate, I need you.” Kendra’s breathy plea nearly broke him down. She gripped his ass, bringing him closer. Increasing the friction of his sheathed length grazing her slick bud. “Please.”
His plans to continue teasing her, making her want him more, flew out the window the moment he gazed into those seductive brown eyes. They drained every ounce of his willpower. If she asked right now, he’d give her anything.
He pumped his thick shaft, his body already aching with desire for her. She whimpered quietly as he slid inside her, taking his time. He savored the slow, painstaking reintroduction to every damn inch of her.
He groaned, pressed his lips together as his eyes drifted closed at the sensation of being surrounded by her warm, slick flesh. Nate tried to hold it together as he slowly moved his hips, delighting in every hiss, every whimper coming from her sweet lips.
Nate cursed, his brow damp with sweat. She felt so damn good. Better than he remembered. Her delicate scent mingled with the smell of sweat and sex.
He wanted her in his bed. Every. Single. Night. He would remind her how good they’d been together. How good they could be again.
Nate leaned his weight forward, grinding against her as he entered her. He increased the friction against her hardened nub. Watched the parting of her lips until finally she cried out, writhing and calling his name.
His shoulders relaxed even as he continued his movement, heightening her pleasure until he reached his release. Muscles tense and heart racing, Nate dropped onto the mattress beside her. He tugged the covers over them as he caught his breath.
“I know we shouldn’t have done that,” she said, finally, one hand pressed to his chest, “but it was incredible.”
“Who says we shouldn’t?” He chafed at the implication that what they’d done was wrong. “We don’t have to answer to anyone.”
Kendra frowned, raising her head. “Was that the doorbell?”
Nate strained to listen, but didn’t hear anything. “I don’t think so.”
The bell rang again. This time he heard it.
“See. There it goes again.” Panic rose on Kendra’s face as she pulled the covers up higher.
“Whoever it is, they’ll go away.” Nate wrapped an arm around her. As long as it had taken him to get her to bed, he had no plans of letting anything interrupt the moment.
Kendra settled against his chest. She was silent. Pensive.
Nate massaged her back, trying to relax Kendra and return to the blissful afterglow they enjoyed a moment before. A space where it was only the two of them and nothing else mattered. That’s where they needed to be if he was going to convince her to stop running from her feelings for him.
He picked up the remote and turned on a streaming audio service, hoping the soft vocals of Luther Vandross and Anita Baker would soothe her.
She propped her chin on his chest. “What if it’s important?”
“They’ll come back.” He kissed her forehead. “Besides, if it were that important, they would’ve called first.”
“I did call first, lover boy, but you left your phone downstairs.”
Kendra scrambled to pull the covers up to her chin, and Nate held the sheet firmly in place so she wouldn’t uncover all his business to his nosy-ass twin sister.
“For real, Vi? I did not give you the key to my place so you could stroll up in here whenever you please. It’s for emergencies.”
“Seems like an emergency to me.” Vi folded her arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “’Cause I’m pretty sure you’ve lost your natural mind. I go on vacation for two weeks and all hell breaks loose. Your face is all over the news and now she’s all up in your business and in your bed.”
Nate clenched his teeth. “Look, Vi, I know you’re just trying to look out for me, but you are completely out of line. Now that you’re back we can talk about your concerns, but at a more appropriate time. Like tomorrow morning.”
Vi gave Kendra her evil stare before returning her attention to Nate. “We need to talk now. Before things get worse.”
“I messed up with that video, but I do not need you to babysit me.”
“So you don’t trust me to look after you, but you and Marcus think it’s a good idea to trust her?” Vi pointed at Kendra accusingly.
“That’s my choice. Just like it was my choice to have you run the foundation, even though half our family didn’t think you were levelheaded enough to handle a responsibility like that.”
“So now you’re going to throw
me under the bus because I’m pointing out the obvious. Ms. Thing here doesn’t have your back. She never did.”
“That’s enough!” Nate blared, his chest heaving and heat crawling up his neck. “I get that you’re angry, but don’t take it out on Kendra. I made the choice to work with her. Beyond that, she’s my son’s mother. So you will never, ever talk to her like that again. Got it?”
Vi rolled her eyes, then shrugged.
“I mean it.” He pointed a finger at his sister.
“Fine. Okay. Sorry.” She threw her hands up. “But we do need to talk. Now. Meet you downstairs in ten.” Navia left, slamming the bedroom door behind her.
Nate pressed his palms to his eye sockets and shook his head. “Sorry about that. Vi’s been out of the country, so we haven’t had a chance to talk about this. She’ll be fine. I just need to make it clear that this isn’t her choice.”
“She hates me.” Kendra tucked a few curls behind her ear. “You guys are incredibly close. She feels your pain, maybe more intensely.”
“Is that why you didn’t say a word when she was in here clowning?” When she shrugged, Nate cupped her chin. “That isn’t the fierce warrior I know. If we’re going to work together, you’ll have to deal with Vi. Don’t let her run you over. You never did before. You know Vi, if you give her an inch she’ll take the length of two football fields before you can blink. I’ll set her straight, but promise me you won’t take any shit from her.”
“We’ll work it out.” Kendra’s tone was less than convincing, but he let it go.
Nate slipped his fingers into her hair, pulling her closer. He kissed her. “Don’t move. I’ll be back with dinner.” He winked.
Kendra slapped a hand over her mouth. “Dinner! God, I hope it isn’t ruined.”
“It isn’t. It’s fine.” Nate got out of bed, retrieved his clothing from the floor and dressed. “Sit tight. I’ll be back as soon as I get rid of Vi.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Promise.”
“Don’t be so hard on her, Nate. She’s just trying to protect you. It’s been her job since you two were conceived.” She smiled, but then her expression and tone grew serious. “I won’t come between you two. I’d rather walk away.”