He had no idea.
Me: “I need you. I’m so wet.”
I had no idea what possessed me to type such a thing, never mind actually send it. But it appeared on the screen along with all our other messages.
Cain: “I’m across town. Give me twenty.”
I peeked at the clock. Desperation made my fingers tremble.
Me: “I can’t wait. I need to leave in five.”
Cain: “Then you know what you need to do, kitten.”
I didn’t. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
Me: “You mean wait?”
Cain: “I mean play with her. Make her feel better.”
Play with her?
I felt like an absolute idiot for having no idea how to do that. Masturbation wasn’t a new word for me, but it was something I’d never done before. It had never interested me. What if I didn’t do it correctly?
Me: “How do I start?”
Cain: “You’ve never touched yourself?”
Heat that had nothing to do with my arousal blazed through me.
Me: “I was a virgin, remember?”
Cain: “Oh, I have a very clear memory of that, but how have you not played with her? I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off.”
Me: “Can you just tell me how to start, please?”
Cain: “It’s all about the visual. Where are you right now?”
I swallowed.
Me: “In my apartment. Living room.”
Cain: “Take off your dress and lie on the sofa. Then picture your hand as mine and run them over your body. Play with your nipples. Make them hard and sensitive before making your way down to your clit. Have you touched her yet?”
Hot, sticky desire rushed free of my body as his words caressed me with the same conviction as his hands. My already damp panties barely caught the flood from running down my thighs. There was so much of it I nearly panicked.
Me: “No.”
Cain: “Touch her. Put your hands inside your panties and feel how wet and ready she is.”
It was like the time my third grade teacher had brought a pet mouse to school. All the other children had been so thrilled and couldn’t stop petting the thing. But I’d stood in the back, eyeing it warily until I was asked if I wanted to touch.
I had.
But I hadn’t done it.
The thing had terrified me as much as fascinate.
This fell under the same concept.
Nevertheless, I bit down my trepidation and sat on the sofa. I pulled up my skirt and stretched my panties down around my ankles. I parted my knees and started to reach when my eye caught the clock.
I had a minute to leave the apartment.
Cursing, I hastily began pulling my clothes back together. But I paused with my panties straining between my knees. The dark patch in the center was enormous and nearly transparent with the last flickers of light streaming in through the window across from me. As an afterthought, I scooted down low, lifted my legs so the stain was aligned with the window and highlighted perfectly, and took a snapshot with my phone. And before I could second guess the decision, I sent it to Cain.
His response was immediate.
Cain: “I’m going to fuck the shit out of you when I see you.”
The promise sang through me with a perfect resonation that made my pussy pang and leak some more.
Me: “Promise?”
Cain: “Oh, I fucking promise.”
Putting my clothes back on properly, I grabbed my coat and purse, and bolted from the apartment at a run. My heels cracked thundering down the metal steps. I hit the bottom and sprinted across the parking lot to my car.
If I hadn’t had to park my car at the end of the drive, I could have spent those twenty minutes following Cain’s directions and I wouldn’t have been a soppy, wound up mess. But the time for pleasure would have to wait until later.
I had to first make it through the evening.
It wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been the previous Sunday night. The bare trees shielded me from most of the wind, but my blood was still sizzling hot and I barely felt it. Every step was a slippery reminder of Cain’s promise. The persistent thrum followed with each rub of my thighs working together.
I wasn’t sure I would make it to the house.
Kieran found me exactly as he had that first night. He came to a screeching halt just a few steps ahead of me on the path and threw open his door. I started to smile as he climbed out, but the smile died the moment I saw his face.
Ravenous.
It was all I had time to decipher before he was on me. His hands tore open my coat and twisted into my skirt. I barely had time to gasp and he already had me up against the bumper, legs wide around his hips. His mouth fused over mine, devouring my sanity while he fought with his pants.
I didn’t stop him. I knew I could. I knew one word, one whimper of protest and he’d release me, but my will had already succumbed to him. My wants and needs rose over my apprehension in a rolling storm of passion. They broke over my resolve, leaving nothing behind but a bone deep desperation to be had.
I was already ready when his fingers closed around my hips. I was panting and writhing, welcoming him into my body.
He drove into me without resistance or doubt. The intrusion tore through me with a violence that stole my breath. I screamed and he slammed harder, using his knees to drive himself into me again and again with an animalistic hunger that should have been excruciating. It rattled the whole car and bruised my skin, but it wasn’t enough.
“Harder!” I panted into the side of his neck. “Harder, Kieran. Please.”
He obliged with a snarling growl.
I came with a blinding explosion of words even I didn’t understand. My body seized around him, rushing and pulsing, and sucking him in deeper. My nails tore into the back of his coat, ripping fabric the way he was ripping into me.
“Christ, I love your pussy,” he hissed into my ear, his fingers cutting marks into my hips.
I felt him release, felt him gush up inside me. Thick, heavy cream washed my walls with heat. It trickled out, a mixture of him and me. But he remained firmly wedged in place, both his cock and the face he had mashed into the side of my neck.
Neither of us said a word as our bodies cooled and the ringing dulled. I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t in my wildest dreams ever imagined that would just happen like that. I hadn’t even known it was possible to get taken up against the back of a car. I sure as hell couldn’t fathom what had driven him to do it, or what I was supposed to do next.
“Did I hurt you?” he murmured against the side of my neck.
That I could answer with a definite shake of my head. Hurt wasn’t even a factor to consider. If anything, I felt amazing, like he’d uncorked a building tension in the pit of my stomach. All I wanted was a nap.
He drew back his head and peered down into my face, his eyes searching.
“I’m okay,” I assured him.
“Tell me if I need to apologize,” he said.
An apology was the last thing I ever wanted, especially for this, the thing I’d been secretly fantasizing about for six years. If he apologized, I might have cried.
“Do you want to?”
He gave a shake of his head. “No.”
Relief had me drawing in a breath.
“I don’t want one.” I licked my lips. “But we should...”
“I don’t want to do that either,” he murmured, his voice lowering to a husky purr. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to be in here, in you.”
He rocked his hips forward and I whimpered as his newly hard erection hit my base.
“I want to take you home, splay you across my sheets, and satisfy the last three years of wanting nothing else.”
He moved inside me in slow, shallow thrusts, the motion effortless in my already come soaked channel.
“Kieran.”
His smirk was dark. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say my na
me like that.”
My fingers tightened in his coat. “We need to stop. Someone will see...”
His head lowered. His nose brushed the side of my face.
“Not yet. I can feel how close you are. I can feel how much you want it.”
I was close. The friction of his cock rubbing inside me was too much to ignore.
“One more,” I panted, widening my legs around his hips. “Just ... one.”
He smirked into my skin. “For now.”
It was slower, paced.
I came with a sigh of his name. He followed almost immediately after, pumping more of himself inside me.
I’d be leaking for days.
I didn’t mind.
“Okay?”
I grinned into the bend of his shoulder. “Didn’t I sound okay?”
His hold tightened for a fraction of a second before relaxing. He drew back to peer down into my face and I felt the skin warm beneath his scrutiny.
“You sounded hot as fuck.”
I laughed. “You might want to check your car for dents,” I teased.
His grin was small, but edged with relief. “It’ll be fine.”
Gently, he lowered me to my feet. His arm remained around me, a comforting, steadying circle keeping me in place as he pulled free.
I shivered at his loss. He grinned as he reached under my skirt and adjusted my panties back into place over my mound. He gave me a little rub through the fabric.
“For good luck,” he said.
I snorted. “You already got lucky.”
“You think that was enough?” He lowered his head and nipped my bottom lip between his teeth. “That was just the appetizers.”
I said nothing as he led me to the car. We drove to the gates in silence. Kieran stopped in the same place as the last time without being asked and I climbed out with a murmured thanks.
“I’ll see you inside,” he said before I shut the door.
David was waiting in the foyer when Jameson let me in. His gaze met mine, a hungry, lingering gaze that made me want to close my coat.
“How was your walk?”
The question had my spine tingling. Paranoia slithered her icy fingers along the back of my neck. It curdled the happiness like sour milk in my stomach. All the places Kieran had touched prickled like fresh burns rising up on my skin, directing David to what I’d done. But he couldn’t possibly know. How could he? We’d been too far from the house. There was no way he’d seen us.
“Fine. Thank you.”
He seemed to be waiting for something, a confession, maybe. When it didn’t come, turned his gaze to Jameson.
The other man inclined his head without a word.
Something in my stomach twisted. My knuckles whitened around the strap of my purse. I took an involuntary step back just as the door swung open.
Kieran walked straight into my back. We both staggered forward. I was barely caught by the hook of his arm closing around my middle and yanking me back into his chest.
For a moment, I just wanted to stay there in the safety and warmth he offered. But the time for fun had passed. This was a matter of life or death.
I quickly stepped away from him, taking great care not to look directly at anyone when brushing at my skirts.
“Thank you.”
Kieran glanced from me to David. “Am I late?”
David shook his head. “Right on time. Come in. Everyone’s already in the parlor.”
He wasn’t joking. Everyone, including Marcella was already seated around the room. All eyes pivoted when we entered and that sensation in the pit of my gut intensified.
“We were just discussing next weekend,” David continued as Kieran and I claimed our seats. “It’s Marcella and my wedding anniversary.”
“Congratulations.” Kieran opened the buttons on his blazer and relaxed in his armchair. “What is it now?”
“Thirty-seven,” Marcella piped in, smiling dazzlingly.
David nodded as if confirming. “We’re doing our usual get together here at the house. You and your mom are, of course, welcome.”
Kieran inclined his head. “I’ll let her know. She’ll be thrilled. Thank you.”
“Invitations were sent out last week,” David went on. “But that was for everyone else. We consider you family, Kieran. The only thing left to do now is make it official, am I right?”
Kieran never faltered, not even a flutter of his eyelashes. “Absolutely. I’ve been giving that a lot of thought the last little while.”
The excitement those words created in the air were tangible. I could have eaten it with a spoon.
David hooted and slapped a hand on the armrest. “Now that you have business matters handled, it’s time to settle down, is it?”
Kieran offered him a tight-lipped smile. “You can say that.”
David beamed. “Excellent. Now, don’t be shy about using our party for any kind of announcement you might want to make. Marci and I, well, we’d like that very much.”
“Now, if we can just find Eric a nice girl...” Marcella chimed, casting Eric a teasing grin.
In the process of rattling ice cubes around in his glass, Eric’s head jerked up, bewilderment making his eyes appear enormous beneath the messy flop of hair. “I have an entire phonebook full of girls willing to do anything I want for an hour. Besides,” he shot his mom a sloppy wink that looked remarkably like he was having a seizure, “you know you’re the only girl I need in my life, Mom.”
“That’s not gross, or creepy,” Cordelia muttered just barely under her breath. Louder, she added, “Someone get the ass-licker a napkin. He’s got something on his chin.”
Eric, without missing a beat, flipped her off.
“There is nothing wrong with a boy loving his mama,” Marcella chirped. “Isn’t that right, Kieran? I know how close you are with your mother.”
Kieran bobbed his head slowly. “I am her favorite son. Won’t deny that.”
“You’re her only son.” Eric hiccupped.
Kieran twisted his lips into that lopsided grin I loved so much. “Exactly.”
“Oh, there are days I wish I were an only child.” Eric sighed, staring forlornly into his glass. “I suppose there’s still time.”
“Dream on,” Cordelia interjected. “As if you could ever survive in prison for manslaughter. You can barely handle a twenty-four hour lock up without calling Mommy to bail your drunk ass out.”
“Cordelia!” Marcella’s hiss went ignored by the siblings now casting daggers at each other.
“At least I’m not Daddy’s little whor—”
“Enough.” David barely raised his voice, but the room immediately fell into a blissful silence. “You should both be ashamed, behaving in such a disgraceful and childish manner in front of company.”
“Company?” Kieran blinked in feigned surprise. “I thought I was family, David.”
Realizing his mistake, David quickly backpaddled. “Of course, dear boy. I only meant, better manners are required, no matter who is present. Anyway.” He waved a meaty hand in the air as if that was all it would take to erase the stain forming over our heads, left behind by Cordelia and Eric’s bickering. “Enough about that. There are more important matters to discuss, like this decision you’ve been considering. If it is what I think it is...”
Kieran chuckled low in his throat. “I wouldn’t say it isn’t, but I won’t shadow your big night.”
“Nonsense!” David practically roared. “Marci and I would be delighted to share in the joy. Isn’t that right, dearest?”
Like a puppet on a string, Marcella’s head jerked rapidly up and down. “Oh yes, absolutely delighted.”
If I hadn’t been struggling not to make any unexpected movements, I would have rolled my eyes at the blatant prodding.
On the other end of the sofa, Cordelia was practically vibrating on the edge of her seat. Her eyes were brilliant, a kaleidoscope of triumph and elation swirling with electric blue. They kept flicking between
Kieran and David like an excited little girl hearing about the carnival being in town.
But the moment Kieran spared her a glance, her features dissolved into the perfect poise of calm, control, and mild curiosity. There was quiet sophistication in the small smile she offered him. And I wondered if she would be as equally delighted if she knew Kieran didn’t mean her. Would she and David be bright with giddy euphoria if they knew Kieran’s billions wouldn’t be going into her pockets? They wouldn’t be going into mine either, because I didn’t want them, but that was David’s whole plan — the Kincaid fortune. With that much power and influence, he would be unstoppable, especially with Cordelia by his side. I would have been amused if I didn’t feel sick.
“Great. A wedding.” Eric downed the last of his brandy and eyed the glass as if trying to materialize more. “Bridesmaids and desperate women. I am all down for that.”
Marcella playfully swatted at him, but everyone else went on as if he hadn’t spoken.
Kieran faced David once more. “We’ll have a sit down before that.”
“Of course, of course!” David waved a hand dismissively. “My door is always open.”
I wanted to stare at Kieran and demand to know what the hell he was doing, because if he went to David and asked for the wrong daughter’s hand in marriage ... things would not end well for anyone.
But I dutifully remained focused on my knees and the creases in my dress where it had been bunched between my body and Kieran’s only moments earlier. The memory brought a flush to my cheeks and a warm shiver dancing down my spine. If it wasn’t for the subtle pang between my legs, I never would have believed it happened.
“I think it’s about dinner time.” Marcella rose with only a subtle support from the sofa armrest. She righted herself and dusted delicate hands down her dress. “Shall we head into the dining room?”
I waited until everyone had risen to their feet and turned their backs on me before getting to mine.
David maneuvered Kieran from the room with a hand between his shoulder blades, his head bent close to Kieran’s. Neither seemed to notice Cordelia trotting after them at a near jog, rushing to pull up next to Kieran’s other side and garner some of that attention from both men.
Marcella paused to beckon Eric to her with the wiggling fingers of someone addressing a small child to come along. Eric obeyed without question, even if he had a little bit more of a hard time circling the coffee table. He bumped into it once, muttered a curse under his breath before staggering his way around it with a limp. Marcella coo’d and patted his arm before snaking her slender one through.
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