Shameless

by Lex Martin

  I blow out a breath. “You were going to let me take that money because you wanted to help my family?”

  She nods, her lower lip trapped between her teeth.

  “From someone you hate?”

  Her whole body is tense, like she’s afraid I’m going to yell at her.

  “Yeah,” she whispers. “Pretty much.”

  I laugh. “I’d be really pissed if I went through with it and found out later.”

  Her hands fidget in her lap. “If you sold the farm, I’d hoped you wouldn’t find out. That you could go back to Boston and restart your life. Use that money to raise Izzy. To take care of your parents.”

  A silence stretches between us, and finally, I groan. “You’re amazing. I don’t even know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. You’re worth it.”

  “I’d say you’re the one who’s worth it.”

  Resting my forehead in the crook of her neck, I breathe her in. Her hands thread through my hair, and we stay like that for a long minute. When we part, I ask something I’ve been dying to know. “So what happened with him? Why’d you break up?”

  “I realized the senator didn’t mean half of his campaign promises, and Eric knew this and let me go along like an idiot.” She rolls her eyes. “That’s why the campaign hired someone right out of college. Someone who was dumb enough to believe the spin and sell it. Because I was passionate. Convincing. Especially when it came to fracking. Anyway, I overheard Eric and his dad talking one afternoon and found out his father had no plans to enact any reform. Of course, I was livid. Eric and I argued about it. I told him I was going to quit. Which he thought was insane since, hello, I worked for a senator. But I couldn’t in good conscience continue to lie for the campaign.”

  “I’d be pissed too.” I pull her back into my lap, and she rests her head on my shoulder. “Since we’re having this big discussion, can I ask you something else? Because I heard parts of your conversation with Eric last week.”

  She stills, and I lace our fingers together, wanting to reassure her.

  “You can ask me anything you want.”

  I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Were you really pregnant last spring?”

  A deep sigh leaves her. “Yeah.” She’s quiet for a moment. “Right after that argument, I got really bad food poisoning and threw up non-stop for two days. It compromised my birth control, and I was too sick to realize it. Then a few weeks later, my period was late.”

  I rub her back. “So what happened? Did you? You know…”

  “Oh, God, no. I didn’t get an abortion. I mean, I’m totally pro-choice, but I don’t think I could’ve gone through with it. Eric was pissed I had gotten pregnant. Upset about how it would look for the campaign. You know”—she lowers her voice—“‘son of a conservative senator knocks up girlfriend.’ We weren’t in a good place at the time—we had already been arguing about the campaign when this happened.” She blows out an exasperated breath. “Anyway, then I came here.” She takes a deep breath. “I had just arrived when I started spotting. The doctor said sometimes pregnancies terminate without rhyme or reason.”

  “Damn, that’s heavy.”

  “Kinda.”

  “I’m sorry, babe. That’s a lot to go through.”

  She nods against me.

  “Mrs. Mac said you guys were engaged.”

  “No way. Before the pregnancy scare, he had brought up marriage. But I couldn’t see that kind of future with him. I had never really wanted kids—I helped raise my sister. I didn’t want to be saddled with children while he was traipsing around the state.”

  I clear my throat, wishing we’d had this conversation sooner. “Do you still feel that way? About kids?”

  She laughs and turns to kiss me. “No. I want kids, silly. Just not with him. I mean, how could anyone be around Izzy and not want kids?”

  Thank God. A wave of relief washes over me. “Cause, you know, I have a kid.”

  Kat laughs harder. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

  I’m surprised by how right that seems. Yeah, Izzy is my kid. I’m tempted to feel guilt. To feel like I’m being proprietary for something, someone, who isn’t mine. But Cal would want me to feel this way, I realize. Cal would want me to love Izzy like she’s my own. And I do love her. With every fiber of my being.

  Kat nudges me. “What about you? Have you had many relationships?”

  “Not really. A couple of girlfriends in high school. A few in college. None of them serious.” At least, none of them move-to-a-different-state serious.

  She nibbles her bottom lip. “What about Dani?”

  “No, we were just friends.”

  “How is that possible?” She clears her throat. “I saw that photo.” Then she comes clean and admits she dropped by the tattoo parlor, but chickened out and took off.

  “Mmm. My little stalker,” I joke as she smacks me playfully.

  “But you guys looked close.” Two little lines form between Kat’s brows.

  “Dani was always clear she wasn't interested in me that way. I told her it was fine, but then I wanted more. It was really a one-sided crush.” The expression on Kat’s face tells me she needs a little more convincing. “Sweetheart, I’ve barely seen her since she and Jax started dating last winter. She says she’s never been happier, and I’m glad for her. In fact, I’m starting to feel lousy I’ve been so down on their relationship.”

  Kat’s whispers, “She’s just so beautiful. And you two look really hot together.”

  “You know who’s really hot? My girlfriend.”

  A laugh falls from her lips as I turn her so she’s straddling me. I stare up at her, wanting to know just how much she means to me. Wanting her to realize that she’s my orbit now.

  Our kiss is lush and deep. I lick into her mouth and stroke against her tongue. Her breath comes out heavy, like a gasp, and I move her closer until our hips fit together. I’m pulsing against the zipper of my jeans, dying to strip her out of her clothes,

  It only takes a minute to realize the Christmas gift will have to wait.

  62

  Katherine

  Breaking away from his kiss, I take off my glasses, setting them down on the coffee table, and then reach down and strip off my t-shirt. Brady stares at my sheer white bra and starts to lean toward me.

  I put a hand up to stop him, and he growls.

  “Not so fast,” I chuckle as I tug on his shirt.

  He scoots me off his lap and reaches behind his head to yank it off. As I’m standing in front of him, admiring this stunning man, he unbuttons my jeans and slowly slides them down my hips.

  Brushing his nose across my bikini line, he murmurs, “I like this white lace.”

  “Because it’s virginal?”

  “Because it’s sheer,” he deadpans.

  I’d laugh, but I’m too distracted by his mouth that’s nibbling a trail across my stomach. I run my fingers through his thick hair and shiver when his hands slide up the back of my thighs, so close to where I want them.

  A second later, my jeans and shoes are gone, and he’s pulling me down to straddle him again.

  At first, he just holds me to him. “I missed you, baby. I love you. So damn much.”

  My heart swells, understanding how momentous it is to find someone who loves you. Someone who looks at you like you could put stars in the sky.

  “Love you, too.”

  He leans up to kiss me. And it starts out gentle. Just a whisper of his lips against mine. Soft. Like he’s trying to memorize what this feels like. How we fit.

  Arching my head to the side, I sigh as he kisses up my neck and presses me closer until my breasts meet his solid chest.

  How I’ve missed this. His warmth. These strong arms. His calloused touch.

  Dipping my head down, our mouths meet as I rock against him. I’m aching to be closer. To feel his body slide against mine. To feel him move inside of me.

  He threads his fingers through my hair
, deepening the kiss, and I suck his tongue until he groans.

  Pulling me down with him, he reclines on the couch where his touch becomes fervent. He lowers the cups of my bra and grabs both breasts, licking one nipple before nipping it with his teeth.

  Those dark, green eyes watch me as I flush from his touch.

  And then he gives me that look. The one that sends shivers down my back. “Scoot up,” he rasps.

  We’re lying horizontally on the couch, and we take up the whole thing. Where does he want me to go?

  He answers my question by lifting my hips and moving me over his shoulders, so that my knees rest on either side of his head. I stare down at him and I feel that wicked grin everywhere.

  Those rough hands slide up and down my thighs.

  “Take it off.” His voice is low and gravelly as he tugs my panties down my legs.

  Oh, God.

  My nipples tighten painfully as he watches me wiggle out of my undies so they’re dangling off one ankle.

  I’ve never done this before. Yeah, Brady’s gone down on me, but this is more intimate.

  Way more intimate.

  He bites the inside of my thigh, and every cell in me flares, like he’s the match and I’m the kindling.

  Reaching behind my back, I unclip my bra and let it slide down my arms. His eyes darken as he watches me.

  “Hold on to the couch,” he orders.

  I nod, feeling out of breath and desperate for his touch.

  He takes a deep breath. “My beautiful girl. I’m gonna make you come so hard.”

  Those rough fingers pull me closer until I feel his hot breath between my legs. He nibbles up my thigh. Drags his teeth on my skin. Licks one side of my mound.

  My breath comes out in a rush.

  He studies me there as he drags his finger through my crease.

  “Is this for me?” he asks, his voice rough. “Do I make you this wet?”

  “Ye… yes.”

  He’s barely touching me, and I’m trembling.

  That finger runs across me again, and my whole body quakes.

  Damn.

  Leaning up, he takes one agonizingly slow lick, leaving me gasping.

  Then he takes another. And another.

  My fingers dig into the side of the couch to stay upright. But then he slides two thick fingers into me, and I groan and lean back.

  I can see everything. How his wet fingers thrust in and out of me. How he swirls his tongue on my skin, making the throbbing worse.

  Reaching down, I part myself so he can get closer.

  He stares back, his eyes feral. And then he really starts to lap at my skin.

  God, the sound. His tongue against my wet skin. My gasps. His grunts of approval.

  “That feels so good,” I moan as I thrust against his welcoming mouth.

  As I watch him, I’m filled with the need to pleasure him too. So I lean farther back and grip his erection through his jeans.

  But it’s not enough to touch him like this. Not enough to pleasure him the way he’s pleasuring me. And suddenly I know exactly what I want to do even though I’ve never tried before.

  “Stop,” I whisper and start to get up.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong.” I thread my fingers through his thick hair. “I just need to reciprocate.”

  I flip around onto my stomach, keeping my knees just above his shoulders.

  “Aw, fuck, Katherine.” The appreciation in his voice makes me even more eager.

  He grips my ass as I lean down and take him out of his jeans. He’s so beautiful and thick and hard. He smells like warm male and soap. I rub my lips along his tip, and he hardens more in my palm. And then I open my mouth and take him in.

  “Fuck, yes, baby. Suck on my cock.”

  The groan that rumbles beneath me makes me smile around him, but when he pulls me down onto his mouth and resumes his torturous licks, I can barely think. All I know is that I’m close. So close my thighs are quaking around him.

  He pushes my knees wider, and then those talented fingers spread me.

  I’m so hot. So hot, I’m burning. Trembling above him.

  That wicked tongue flattens as it strokes more earnestly. Those thick fingers press into me. His rough hand grips my ass.

  “Oh… God…”

  I can barely focus on what I’m doing as he increases the pressure, so I give up trying and just suck gently on his tip while my hand strokes his erection in an erratic rhythm.

  And just when I think it can’t feel any better, when I can’t get any higher, he twists his fingers inside of me, hitting me in just the right place, and I come apart, clenching my eyes shut as the rest of me tightens and throbs so hard, I have to hold onto his hips with both hands so I don’t smother him. I’m still quivering when his hands skate up and down my thighs.

  “C’mere, baby,” he whispers. “Let me hold you.”

  Those words warm me. Because I love how he always wants to take care of me.

  And I can’t wait to show my appreciation.

  63

  Brady

  Jesus Christ. I could die right now and be a happy man.

  Kat crawls over me and collapses. She’s still gasping. I chuckle and run my hand through her silky soft hair.

  “Good?”

  She sighs, nuzzling into me. “Life-altering.”

  I kiss her neck. She’s so warm as she molds herself to me. I close my eyes to appreciate this moment. Just being together.

  I’m still throbbing between our bodies, but I like how sated she feels. How calm and relaxed. Like we could hide away forever. Even on this awful couch with the springs that want to bust a hole in my ass.

  We lie entwined as she catches her breath.

  A minute later, she pulls back, and I move her hair out of her face. A smile lifts her lips. “Love you,” she whispers and leans down to kiss me.

  “Mmm. Love you too, baby.”

  And then she nibbles on my neck. “I want you to come just as hard as I did.”

  I laugh. “Yeah?”

  She pushes on my chest as she sits up and leans back to shove my jeans lower. When she turns back to me, I’m so struck by her beauty, my mouth goes dry. Her hazel eyes are wide and vulnerable. Long, thick locks of dark hair tumble over her shoulder and dance just above her breasts.

  She licks her lips, which are swollen and wet and completely tantalizing.

  I grab her and knead her skin. Those slender legs slide on either side of my hips as she moves against me. She’s slick and hot and feels so good, I want to pound into her.

  But I don’t.

  Instead, I steady her hips and thrust against her.

  Her eyes shudder closed, and I do it again and watch as my dick parts her folds.

  “Brady,” she moans, letting her head fall back.

  I repeat the motion until her thighs tighten against my body and I know she’s close again. I lift her up and position myself against her opening, holding her weight up as I slowly nudge in and out.

  “Holy shit.” She’s shaking again.

  Kat leans forward to grip my shoulders, her hips bucking against me. I know she wants to me to fill her. I’m dying to feel her too.

  A little whimper leaves her mouth, and it breaks my resolve to go slow. She sinks down on me so fast I see stars.

  “Fuck,” I grunt as I take her ass in my hands and slide her up and down on my shaft. “You feel so fucking good.”

  Her gasps sound in my ear. “Yes,” she moans on each thrust, encouraging me, so I go faster, until I can’t fucking wait another minute.

  I flip her onto her side against the back of the couch and hook her leg over my hip and pump into her. Hard and fast and furious.

  Her nails dig into my back. She chants louder.

  And when I reach a hand between us and rub that spot, she comes apart, quaking and rolling, squeezing my dick so hard that I follow with my release.

  We’re panting and sweaty when I wrap my
arms around her and hold her close. She squeezes her thigh muscles, and I laugh from the intensity of still being inside her.

  Which makes me realize I never grabbed a condom. After everything she just told me.

  I lean up on one arm and gaze down at her. “Sweetheart, we okay just on your birth control?” Kind of an idiotic question to ask after the fact, but I should still ask.

  She nods. “Yeah. We’re good.” I kiss her and collapse back down as her leg tightens around my hip. She whispers, “You’re the only one.”

  “The only one for what?”

  “To go bare.”

  It takes a moment for that to sink in.

  “Even with your ex?”

  She nods, and a primitive sort of pride fills me, the kind that makes me want to toss my girl over my shoulder and run off so no other asshole can appreciate her.

  Kissing her lips, I grunt, “Good.” And then it dawns on me. “You’re a first for me too.”

  She’s quiet as she runs her hand up and down my bicep. “Really?”

  I can hear the happiness in her voice. “For a lot of things, Kat.” And for many more things to come I hope.

  Her hair tumbles over us, and I inhale her sweet scent. Mine. This girl is mine. For as long as she’ll have me.

  The barn is quiet the next morning when we feed our merry band of random animals. A quiet contentment fills me as I watch Kat pet Sampson, who neighs and huffs against her palm.

  “Who took care of these guys while we were gone?” she asks as she brushes out his mane.

  “The MacIntyres.”

  Bandit pops out of nowhere and grips Kat’s leg in a bear hug.

  “Oh, wittle baby,” she coos. “I missed you.”

  Kat picks up the raccoon and hugs the thing to her chest. He grins at me over her shoulder.

  She’s mine, asshole.

  “He peed on my stuff again,” I gripe.

  She gasps, narrowing her eyes at him. “You’re a very bad boy. I don’t know what to do with you.”

  I take the raccoon out of her hands—holding him at arm’s length, mind you—and set the little bastard on the ground where he scampers off to harass the goats.