Still, something in me tells me I’m going about this all wrong. That I’m flirting with disaster. That she needs me to be better, needs me to be patient.
But she doesn’t seem to hesitate. “Do it then,” She says, lifting her arms to the sides.
“What?” I ask, taken aback. What is she talking about?
“Fuck me, then,” she says, the challenge clear in her eyes. “You want me to go so you can get laid. So fuck me. Then you won’t be missing out.”
Chapter 23
Victoria
He’s staring at me like he’s trying to figure out if I’m serious or just messing with him. Then he looks away.
“I thought so,” I say. Suddenly, he closes the distance between us and he’s kissing me. But this kiss isn’t sweet or gentle, no, he’s kissing me like he’s punishing me.
And it’s amazing.
A muffled moan leaves me and his tongue slips between my lax lips. He can have whatever he wants. I’m not going to struggle. I want this. I’ve wanted this for a while, and knowing he has feelings for me changes nothing.
Well, that’s not true. It makes her sure I’m right. That this is perfect. That this man, as imperfect as he is might just be perfect for me.
I feel like my body is melting into him as he pushes me further. His tongue dances around mine and I whimper, feeling my knees tremble like they’re going to give out on me. His arm circles my ribs like steel and he holds me upright as his tongue continues to plunder my mouth like I’m a prize he’s won.
And it feels good.
My arms wind around his neck and I cling to him, feeling like a starving woman tasting ambrosia for the first time in forever. It’s like coming home and finding perfection all at once. Every inch of my skin is alive, my heart is slamming, and my head is swimming.
The lightheaded sensation isn’t unpleasant, though. It feels right.
His hand slips down the front of my pants and I feel his fingers questing in the delicate vee between my hips. And I can’t help but moan in pleasure as he expertly parts my flesh and strokes my clit in a long, gentle motion that sends my body lighting up like a Christmas tree. I’ve never wanted someone as much as I want him, right now.
“Oh, Victoria,” he growls, his teeth capturing my lower lip.
All I can manage is a strangled moan of pleasure as my head falls back. He takes advantage of the access to my throat and begins to taste my flesh here and here, sending tingling pleasure throughout all my nerve endings.
My hips buck against his fingers as I beg for more with a pitiful, shameless whimper.
Suddenly, he’s stroking me quicker, my heart is hammering my ribs, and I feel faint. I’m hanging on the edge of something incredible, but it’s just out of reach.
And I feel Sentinel’s whimper.
Instantly, Kyle’s balancing me on my feet, his hand gone from the delicate button of pleasure between my legs. “You okay?” he asks me gently and I nod.
“Yeah,” I say, then I call out to Sentinel. “Hey boy.”
He whimpers and I hear the pain in the sound. Kyle drops to his knees as Sentinel comes in. “He popped a couple stitches,” Kyle says, scooping Sentinel up in his arms. I head toward the front door, knowing he wants to get him over to the office to stitch him back up.
We’re quick to cross the parking lot. Kyle tilts his hips as we halt before the door. “Keys, right front pocket,” he says and I reach into his pocket and pull out the keys. I unlock the door and open it for him.
“Code 4372,” he says and I hurry over to the box. I punch in the code and rush back to turn on the lights for him. He’s got Sentinel on the table.
“Stay,” he tells him and Sentinel lays down, placing his head on his front paws as he watches Kyle move around and get ready. Kyle washes his hands and I follow suit. He gets supplies out and I dry my hands before walking over to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
He takes the wicked, fishhook-looking needle and threads it. I see where the stitches popped and see some ooze and blood coming from the spot. “Can you help me?” he asks, his blue eyes serious as he looks at me.
“Yes,” I say, hoping he trusts me when I say that I can.
He nods. “Glove up,” he says I pull on a set of latex gloves. “I need you to dab up the blood with some of those sterile pads,” he says, and I do so. Sentinel lets out a little whimper and I tell him to shush. We need the quiet, I need to hear every order Kyle gives me. It’s more important than comforting Sentinel right now. He’ll feel better when we’re done and I’ll give him a treat for being good.
With the blood clean, Kyle snips the snapped stitches and pauses to let me dab the fresh blood. I clean it up again and he quickly sews a couple neat stitches and ties them off. I dab blood and he snips the thread.
“Perfect,” he says, looking down at me with something that’s a bit too close to respect for comfort. “You did amazingly well. I might have to hire you on,” he says and warm pleasure washes over me.
“Thank you,” I say, but can’t help teasing him a little bit. “But then you’d never be rid of me.”
And I decide it’s time to own up to my own mistakes. “Sorry I called you an asshole. You’re not. And I know why you did it.”
He stiffens a bit and I decide to open up to him a little. “I regret all the things I missed, but I’m not excited to experience life on life’s terms. Plus, Love doesn’t have to look a certain way. It just has to feel right.”
At the word love, his eyes meet mine and lock on with the most intense stare he’s given me yet. And I know why. And I’m strong enough to say it.
“Yes, I love you. I know I’m crazy. I’m not supposed to say it because it’ll scare you away,” I pause to shake my head at myself. “But I’d like you to give me a chance to decide what I want.” My voice grows stronger as my courage rises word by word. “And I’d like you to be honest with yourself about what you want, too.”
Chapter 24
Kyle
I don’t know what it is about this girl, but she’s fucking amazing. In every way. She knew we needed Sentinel quiet. Rather than coddle him and baby talk him like most owners do when their dogs are upset, she put her emotions on the back burner and got him quiet.
Now, she’s telling me she loves me. That she’s crazy for telling me and risking screwing things up. That I need to let her decide for herself what she wants. That I need to be honest with myself about what I want.
But it’s not that easy.
“Where were you running to?” I ask and she stops talking as surprise overtakes her features.
Her brows come together over an adorable wrinkle in her forehead and she scrunches up her face a little. “Don’t you mean what am I running from?” she asks, her voice confused.
I shake my head. “You’ll tell me that when you’re ready. Or you won’t. But I’m not interested in where you came from, but where you’re going.”
To my surprise, her eyes begin to tear up a little. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” She says, and I feel a bit bad for her. The world has been so unkind to this girl.
“Why don’t we have some lunch?” I say as she nods. I scoop up Sentinel and set him on his feet. We head out of the office and toward home, my heart feeling lighter than it did before Sentinel forced us to work together.
He walks next to us, his tongue lolling out as he looks up at his owner with adoration. I feel like it’s the same look I’ve been giving her. Once we’re back in the house, all I can think about is where we’d left off to help Sentinel.
She’d been so sweet, bending to my will, melting under my kiss, bucking into my touch. I see her cheeks flame red and know she’s thinking about it too. We’re quiet as I start prepping lunch.
A knock at the door makes me groan internally. Who the hell would be bothering us right now?
“Want me to answer it?” Victoria asks quietly and I nod.
“Sure. I’m not expecting anyone.” But I have a fe
eling I know who it is.
But Victoria is feeling silly. “I did. I invited only fifty of my closest friends. Hope you don’t mind.” She heads out of the room toward the front door and I can’t resist shouting at her.
“I know you don’t have friends.”
“Jerk!” She shouts back as she opens the front door. “Oh, hi,” I hear her say in surprise and the voice that greets her is unmistakable.
“Victoria!” Emma says and I turn in time to see the woman I loved hugging the woman I love. It’s an odd feeling, knowing that Em no longer fills that spot in my heart. She’ll always keep a piece of it, perhaps, but she’s no longer the one my sun rises and sets with.
Over Victoria’s shoulder, Emma glare at me. I smile and wave. Until Kieran steps over the threshold. Instantly, I stop and stalk toward him. I don’t want that bastard in my home. He’s not welcome here.
I see Emma silently begging me to stop, but I push past her. And Victoria’s fingers link with mine. She gives a little tug and I look down at her. Her eyes lock on mine and I see her silent request. She wants me to play nice.
I guess I will. This once.
And she seems to know it. Her lips curve into a beautiful smile and she turns to Kieran, who’s watching both of us very closely. I want to tell him he’s here on her grace, so he better keep it in line, but I don’t bother.
“I was getting lunch together. Are you hungry?” I ask my brother. He elevates his chin a bit as if realizing this is the first time I’ve acknowledged him since we fought at Emma’s house and I told him what I really thought of him.
“Yes,” he says, his blue eyes locked on mine. And I see hope there. Hope that we can fix things, that we can be brothers in more than name once more.
I’m not there. But I’ll refrain from poisoning him.
I head back into the kitchen as Victoria and Emma talk about the mare. “Where’s Olivia?” I ask Kieran. I’m curious how my niece is doing. He follows me as the women walk into the living room.
“At a friend’s house,” he tells me, his eyes sparkling.
“So what’s up with you two?” He asks, and I shake my head. Victoria’s off limits for now. I have to tell her how I feel before I tell anyone else. I owe her that.
But, as Kieran stares at me, I know he knows. “Man,” he says, leaning back on the counter, “Once it happens, you’re just along for the ride, trust me. Fight all you want, but you’re screwed.” He flashes me an easy grin and I realize I missed him. We were close growing up. All three of us brothers.
And while I’ll never forgive Kieran, I can admit – to myself – that maybe he only did what he thought was right. As fucked up as it was, he was only working on his flawed perspective. And that’s the downfall of life; we’re all only doing the best we can with the limited information presented to us.
“So how are things with you and Emma?” I ask, finally able to think about it without being angry at him for ripping her away from me.
Kieran smiles. “We’ve got news,” he says softly and I arch an eyebrow at him. “I’m not supposed to tell,” he says, but I see his eyes dancing with excitement. “But brother’s honor,” He says, taking me back to us as children, sharing secrets we were told not to tell. This was how he’d told me the first time he kissed Jenny, how Sandy let him get a hand under her shirt, how he admitted he’d gone all the way with Laura.
Now, he’s just as giddy about whatever adult news he’s got, and I’m remembering a time when we trusted each other. When we’d loved each other.
“Brother’s honor,” I say softly and his grin widens.
“We’re pregnant!”
Chapter 25
Victoria
“I’m supposed to be keeping it a secret,” Emma says, peeking past me into the kitchen where the guys are as she lowers her voice to a tiny whisper. “I’m pregnant!”
Joy fills me and I realize I’m much more deeply emotionally invested in these people than I thought I was. “Congratulations!” I whisper, trying to keep my voice down despite the excitement bubbling up in me.
“I wonder if they’re killing each other yet?” Emma asks, her neck craning so she can look past me.
I smooth my hands over my knees. “I think we’d hear something if they were,” I say, realizing that maybe it was a bad idea to let them go into a room full of knives alone together. “Let’s go see if they need help,” I suggest and she’s quick to agree. I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing I am as we creep toward the kitchen.
As soon as we come into view, Kieran holds his hands up. “We’re good,” he says and Emma walks up to him and gives him a quick kiss.
I see Kyle glance at me and I feel the promise in his eyes that we’ll finish what we stared here in this kitchen later. And I can’t wait.
“How’s Jax? Emma asks and I shrug. As if he heard his name, Jax trots in, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Quick on his heels, Sentinel walks in with a slower, more painful gait.
“Oh, hi Sentinel!” Emma says and he walks up to her to give her a kiss on the chin. He lowers his head a little and offers Kieran a soft growl.
I see Kyle glance over in surprise as I tell Kieran that he’s not generally okay with men. Kieran studies Sentinel, and my god glares him down as if daring him to make a move.
“Sentinel,” I say and he walks over to me. I feel the need to explain, but I don’t want to give much. “There was a guy who often threatened to kill him. I think he started seeing men as a threat because of it.”
I meet Kyle’s gaze and know he’s asking why it’s never been a problem for him. I shrug. I have no idea why Sentinel was okay with him. Maybe Sentinel knew Kyle wasn’t a threat. Maybe he trusted the man who jumped to help him when he needed it most. Whatever the reason, I bet it had something to do with my own trust of Kyle. Maybe not consciously, since Sentinel has been so confined while getting well it hadn’t occurred to me until now that he was still so nervous around guys.
After a moment, Sentinel quieted down and I tell him to go lie down. He walks off, his nails ticking on the floor as he passes a sad Jax. Jax looks up at me, his tail slowly wagging.
“Need to go outside?” I ask him. His tail moves quicker and I head to the back door to let him out. He scampers out and I feel eyes on me.
“What?” I ask the group of people watching me.
Emma flashes me a smile. “It’s good to see Jax so taken with someone other than Kyle,” she says, looking over her shoulder at Kyle, who looks down at her with a slightly disdainful look.
“You didn’t tell her?” Emma asks, and he gives his head a slight shake. She turns to me. “Didn’t you notice Jax ignored me?”
I think about it a second. He had walked in after hearing his name, but he’d come to stand closer to Kyle and I. It was Sentinel who gave her kisses and attention. But why does that matter? Confused, I shrug at her to let her know I have no idea what she’s getting at.
“Jax only likes Kyle. That’s why he’s not a service dog,” Emma says, her eyes sparkling. “Kyle was trying to train him for a vet, but Jax just wouldn’t take to anyone other than Kyle. So he wound up stuck with him.” She glances up at Kyle with a teasing look on her face. “I guess Jax is the one stuck with you,” she says and Kieran smirks.
“I had no idea,” I say, wondering if Jax ever ignored me.
“Food,” Kyle says, plating up several servings of chicken crusted with cheese, a side of perfectly steamed rosemary carrots and potatoes, and pulls a pan of rolls from the oven. The smell is incredible and I hear the groans of pleasure.
“Why don’t you cook like this?” Emma teases Kieran while digging her elbow into his ribs.
“Thanks,” Kieran says sarcastically to Kyle who dips his chin with an amused, “Anytime.”
I set the table quickly with Emma’s help. The guys bring over plates, the rolls, and butter. “Drinks?” Emma asks everyone, heading to the kitchen to get gasses.
“Water,” I say at the same time as Kyle.
/>
“Weirdos,” Emma says, her eyes sparkling as she opens the fridge and grabs milk. Kieran joins her and nudges his head toward the table. “I can get drinks,” She says to him and I can’t help but smile. It’s good to see big, tall, imposing Kieran taking care of her. And no wonder, knowing she’s pregnant.
I catch Kyle’s glance and see him arch a brow as if he knows my secret. And I realize that Kieran must have told him too.
Good. It’s nice that the brothers are getting along. Maybe things between them can be healed after all. Maybe with enough time, they’ll finally realize that it’s important to stick with the people you love.
Well, when those people aren’t just there to hurt you. I could never forgive my father. And while I know it’s not the same, I could understand Kyle if he was never able to forgive Kieran for the past. I’m sure as hell the last person who should be judging people based on who they cut out of their lives or their reasons.
When we’re all at the table, I feel like I’ve found my family. They’re not perfect, but they’re here.
Chapter 26
Kyle
When we finally close the door behind Emma and Kieran, I’m ready to attack Victoria. She seemed to spend the whole night trying to turn me on. Every little moan of pleasure, every little look, every time she made sure I had a great view at her cleavage or her ass left me desperate to finish what we started.
But now, with the door closed and company gone, she seems timid at best. She glances up at me, her brown eyes wide as she studies my face.
She’s not getting away that easily. I reach out to touch her face and tilt her head up to kiss her. Her lips are soft under mine and I quickly deepen the kiss.
Billionaire Bash: The Complete Steele Series Page 48