“So you vet all your ex’s girlfriends?”
She thought back to the multitudes of the pretty blondes he’d paraded around and gave a cold laugh. “Not exactly. But it’s different. He only has women for one thing. They never get involved in his life.”
Kane’s eyebrows lifted. “Well, I think you’re allowed to have someone, too. Don’t you?”
She felt suddenly shy. “Yes, I guess so.”
Did that mean he was still interested, even though he knew about Dylan?
“So let me take you out again,” he said with a smile. “When are you free?”
Her mind whirled. Mike had said he’d have Dylan one evening during the week to make up for bringing him back early on the Sunday. Did that leave her free to be able to see Kane again? Her stomach churned with excitement at the thought.
“I think Mike is having Dylan on Wednesday. Does that work for you?”
For a moment, she worried he’d say he already had plans, which would mean their second date would be dead in the water, as she didn’t know how likely it was that Mike would stick to the weekend either, but Kane grinned.
“Yeah, I can do Wednesday.”
“Great.”
“I’ll pick you up around seven,” he said, as they both got to their feet. “Assuming you won’t have any more surprise children popping up at that time.”
She laughed. “No, no more surprise children. I promise.”
They stopped before they reached the door, facing each other. Their bodies were only inches away, and she had to crane her neck to look up into his face.
“Good,” he said, smiling, and then his fingers laced into the back of her hair and his mouth lowered to hers, kissing her softly, slowly, his tongue pushing into her mouth so she melted against him.
God, the man knew how to kiss.
He broke it first, touching the end of her nose lightly with his. “I’ll see you Wednesday, then.”
Feeling like her legs no longer belonged to her, and her head was full of candyfloss, Holly left the tattoo studio, already counting down the days until Wednesday.
TWO DAYS LATER, HOLLY was getting ready for her date with Kane.
Miraculously, Mike had stuck to his promise to have Dylan and had picked him up straight after school. She’d been stupidly nervous all day, her mind bouncing possibilities around. What if he changed his mind and didn’t show up? What if he expected them to sleep together? She didn’t know how she felt about that. She wanted to, but it had been a long time. Would she remember what to do? Plus, she was nervous about what he’d think of her body. He’d seemed pretty keen before, but he hadn’t seen her fully naked. He was probably used to nubile twenty-year-olds whose bodies hadn’t been through the changes of becoming a mother. Her stomach wasn’t as flat as it once had been, her breasts were heavier, and she had stretch marks across her stomach and thighs. She’d spent far too much time in front of the mirror while she’d been getting ready, sucking things in and holding things up, trying to see herself how Kane would see her.
She also wished she’d asked him where he was going to take her. Would they be going somewhere dressy? Kane didn’t seem like the type of guy who’d want to go to a fancy restaurant, but she didn’t want to judge him either. In the end, she settled for a pair of fitted jeans, an emerald green strappy top, and a pair of heels. She’d brushed her hair until it was smooth and silky, and gone with a little mascara and some lip gloss. She knew it was the fashion these days to wear heavy makeup with a ton of contouring and red lips, but that wasn’t her at all.
The door bell rang, and she hurried down to answer it. She yanked open the door to reveal Kane standing on her doorstep. He wore a pair of smart jeans, boots, and a shirt which was open a couple of buttons, exposing the tattoo on his chest, and rolled up at the sleeves, showing off his forearms.
His mouth dropped open when he saw her. “Fucking hell, you look stunning.”
She smiled. “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”
His gaze darkened. “You’re aware that I’ve offered to take you out, but now I know where your bedroom is, I’m half tempted just to turn you the hell around and take you back up there.”
She smacked him playfully on the arm. “I’m not that type of woman, Kane,” she said, though she was teasing him. After all, they had ended up in that bed after their previous date, even though they hadn’t gone all the way.
“That’s okay. Means I get to savour ever moment of being with you.” He gave her a lopsided smile, but the way he looked at her made her think he was still thinking about sex.
And she found that she didn’t mind a single bit.
Chapter Twelve
Holly McCarty was absolutely beautiful. It was enough to take his breath away, and while he’d joked about trying to get her into bed, it had mainly been to try to hide his reaction at seeing her again. Over the past couple of days, he’d tried to kid himself that there was no way she could be as gorgeous as he kept remembering, and yet here she was, looking even more beautiful.
He held out his arm to her, and she stepped out of the house and pulled the door shut behind her, before looping her arm through his. “So, where are we going?” she asked.
“There’s a bistro pub around the corner from here. It’s got great reviews.” He caught her expression. “What? Is it bad?”
She laughed. “No, not at all. I haven’t been for ages actually, but Mike and I used to go all the time when we first moved in here.”
“Shit.” He drew to a halt. Trust him to mess up at the first hurdle. “Shall we go somewhere else?”
She tugged on his arm. “No. It’s about time I started making some new memories for myself. And the food is really good.”
Her assurances relaxed him, and he grinned. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
“Absolutely. And anyway, I like that it’s just around the corner. I can’t go too far in these heels.”
“They’re sexy as hell, though. Keep them on and I’ll just carry you everywhere.”
Holly laughed, her deep, from-the-chest laugh, and happiness swelled inside him. Yeah, she was beautiful, sexy, funny, caring. Everything he could ask for. But it wasn’t only her he was dating. She had a family, too, and he had to remember that. He hadn’t quite processed it yet, not fully. He knew her having a son wasn’t enough to chase him away, though, he just didn’t understand fully what it meant to have children around.
He’d been an only child himself and had always felt envious of his friends with their brothers and sisters. The big family Christmases when it was only ever him and his mum and dad. They were still together, living in the same North London family home he’d grown up in, and he visited for Sunday lunch a couple of times a month. But yeah, he liked the idea of having a family of his own, even if it was a family that had been pieced together from someone else’s broken marriage. He could barely believe his mind was going in that direction. He needed to rein himself in. Trouble was, when you dated a woman like Holly, those were the things that needed to be thought about. It wouldn’t be fair on anyone if he got into this only to change his mind.
The pub was more modern than cosy, with wooden floors and high ceilings. Kane ordered a beer, and she went for her customary white wine. The menu was written on a huge chalkboard on the wall, and they had to order at the bar, giving their table number rather than have the more formal waitress service.
Both of them decided to go for the steak.
“How do you want that cooked?” the girl behind the bar asked.
“Medium-rare,” he said and then looked to Holly.
“Oh, thank God you said that,” she said, holding her hand to her chest. “Nothing annoys me more than a guy who insists on having his steak well done.”
He laughed. “No chance of that. I like a little blood to dip my chips in.”
“Me, too.”
They grinned at each other, and his face heated. When she looked at him like that, the rest of the world vanished and it was just
the two of them.
They took their drinks over to the table, choosing seats beside each other rather than opposite. While they waited for their food to arrive, they discussed every topic possible, from what films and music they liked, to what they’d been like at school, pausing only when the food arrived. He discovered that Holly had been the quiet, studious kind, while Kane had bunked off whenever he could and left at sixteen.
“You said the guy you work with gave you a chance.” She popped a chip into her mouth and chewed.
Kan nodded, careful to choose his words. “Yeah. I fell in with the wrong crowd when I was at school—older guys who used to be into some stupid stuff—stealing cars and dealing weed—that kind of thing. I got myself a bit of a bad reputation and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. It was a bit of a downward spiral, but then Art and I met through some mutual friend neither of us sees anymore, and he told me what he did. I’d always loved to draw but never once considered it was something I could actually do as a job.” He paused, taking a swig of his beer, and then continued. “When I mentioned that I drew to Art, he told me to come back and bring some examples of my work. I stayed up all night putting together a whole portfolio and went to the shop the next morning, having had no sleep. I was only twenty-one then, and the rest is history.” He lifted his beer bottle, angling it in her direction. “What about you? How did you get into your job?”
She shrugged. “Mine’s pretty dull compared to your story. Left school, got my A-levels, started an office job and worked up from there. I met Mike when our company was doing some work with his. I was only twenty-three at that point and by the time I was twenty-four, I was already pregnant. We got married, and I had Dylan and dropped down to part-time hours. Mike and I should never have got married. If it hadn’t been for Dylan, we probably would have broken up long ago.” She shrugged. “But then I wouldn’t have had Dylan, and I’d trade years of putting up with Mike if it meant having that boy in my life.”
He watched how her face changed when she talked of her son, a softness to her blue eyes, a faraway smile spreading across her face. It occurred to him that being a mother simply added another facet to a woman. It taught her how to be selfless, and most importantly, how to love another human being more than you loved yourself.
Chapter Thirteen
They didn’t need to have a conversation about what would happen once they’d finished their meals. In an unspoken agreement, they walked the few streets back to her house again. Kane’s hand automatically found Holly’s, and she couldn’t help but look up at him while they walked, a stupid smile on her face. No one had made her feel this way for such a long time. She’d honestly thought that, at the ripe old age of thirty-two, she was beyond this whole loved-up feeling, but she was quickly discovering the spark still existed inside her. She wasn’t dead and buried just yet.
“What about Dylan coming home?” Kane asked, pausing outside of the front door before he stepped over the threshold.
“He won’t be home tonight, not unless Mike decides to be an arsehole again.”
“What about the morning?”
“His dad should take him straight to school. If he doesn’t, you might just have to be quicker at hiding in the bathroom this time.”
Kane laughed. “I can manage that.”
She looked at him seriously. “We will arrange a time for you to both meet properly—I mean, assuming you want to hang around for that long.” She realised she’d sounded presumptuous. They’d only known each other a few days, and this was their second date. He might not be thinking about a third, never mind meeting her son.
But his hand took hers, their fingers entwining, and he tugged her to face him. “I’d love that. When the time is right, okay? Totally your call.”
She smiled, “I’d love that, too.”
He pulled her in and kissed her, slow and deep, so her legs turn into strings of spaghetti and her stomach into mush. She was aware that she was standing on her front doorstep, making out with a guy, and while she shouldn’t care what the neighbours thought, she preferred to do this in private. Not wanting to break the kiss, she stabbed at the lock with her keys, managed to get the front door open, and pulled Kane inside. Nerves fluttered through her stomach. She was a grown woman and she knew exactly what as going to happen now. She wanted it, too. Kane had shown her he wasn’t in this only for the sex. They talked like old friends, and he was still interested in her, even though she hadn’t told him the whole truth about her life when they’d first met. It would be easy enough for someone like him to hook up with a hot twenty-year-old, if he was in this only for one thing. By the fact he was still hanging around, she could only assume he liked her for more than just that.
His hands were in her hair, his lips on hers, his body pressing her hard up against the wall. Between them, they managed to kick and shove the door shut behind them.
Gasping, Holly, broke the kiss. “Wait. One minute.” She leaned back into the door and put the security chain on. She gave him a wicked smile. “Should buy us a few minutes, just in case.”
“I like your thinking,” he growled, stepping towards her again, his blond hair hanging over his face.
He scooped her up, and then they were stumbling up the stairs, towards her bedroom. Kane knew exactly where he was going this time, and before they’d even made it through the bedroom door, his fingers hooked beneath the bottom of her emerald-green top, dragging it over her head. She wanted to feel his skin, too, and she reached for the buttons of his shirt, pulling them apart to reveal his chest. Kane worked the rest of the shirt off, shrugging it from his shoulders to fall to the floor. She took in the sight of him in only his jeans. Holy hell, he was gorgeous. A lean body but with just the right amount of muscle. The style of tattoos he loved so much covered almost every inch of skin, from his neckline down to his wrists.
He didn’t appear to be thinking too much about what he looked like, however, as his gaze raked up and down her half-naked body. He caught her chin in his fingers, lifting her face to his, fixing her in his gaze.
“You know what the sexiest thing is about you, Holly?” The conversation half embarrassed her, but she still loved to hear the words coming from his mouth. “It’s that you have absolutely no idea how ridiculously hot you are. Other women are so damned obvious, but you’re so sweet and sinful, all rolled up in one sexy little body.”
“You make me feel sexy,” she told him honestly. “It’s been a long time since I felt that way about myself, and it feels like I’m getting a bit of myself back.”
He kissed her again, his hands running down the sides of her body, tracing the hourglass shape of her waist and stopping at her bottom to drag her against him. “I have no idea why you wouldn’t think this is sexy, but it is,” he spoke between kisses. “Crazily sexy. Your tits are fucking works of art, and your arse makes me lose my mind. I literally want to run my tongue over every single inch of you.”
She was heady with desire at the words he said and the way he was looking at her.
“I want you, too. All of you.”
They both kicked off their shoes, and then they were kissing hungrily again, fingers on the buttons of each other’s jeans, desperate to feel flesh against flesh. Now, in only their underwear, they tumbled to the bed. Kane made quick work of removing her bra, exposing her breasts to the air. Her nipples puckered instantly, and, as she lay flat on her back, with Kane above her, he lowered his mouth to her tits, sucking on one nipple before moving on to the next. His teeth grazed the sensitive flesh, and heat coursed down between her thighs.
From the way his erection tented his boxer shorts, it was clear he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She reached for him, wanting to feel his hardness in her palm, but he batted her hand away.
“Not yet,” he growled. “I wanted to taste you first.”
Holly snatched a breath.
Kane moved farther down her body, his fingers hooking in the elastic of her panties. He paused to appreciate the
artwork on her hip, then glanced up at her from under his hair.
“I can’t tell you how good it feels knowing you have something of mine on your hip.”
“I love it, too,” she managed, though she had barely finished before he’d pulled her underwear down her legs, and then was pushing her thighs apart.
“Spread them for me, baby,” he murmured, “I want to see you.”
And she did, opening herself up to him. The scent of her arousal filled the air, as he dipped a finger into her pussy, sending sparks through her body.
“Beautiful,” he groaned. “Already so wet.”
Fuck, had she ever heard anything as sexy as the way he talked?
Then he ducked his head between her thighs and his mouth was on her, licking her from the base of her pussy, right up to her clit. He circled the little nub of nerves and then headed back down again. His tongue hardened, spearing her, and her back arced. It had been a long time since anyone had done that to her.
“Oh, God,” she cried, reaching to tangle her fingers in his hair.
He continued to lick her, harder and faster. His fingers replaced his tongue inside her, and while he flicked the nub of her clit with his tongue, his fingers curled, stroking her inner walls.
The muscles in her thighs and stomach tensed, the familiar coiling of arousal building at her centre. Holly squeezed her eyes shut, lifting herself up to him, wanting more. She knew she was going to reach that point of no return at any moment. It had been years since she’d experienced an orgasm at another person’s hands.
“Oh, God, Kane. I’m going to come.”
He suckled on her clit, his teeth grazing, sending her back bowing. Her toes curled as she came, crying out, her fingers tightening in his hair.
Kane gave her a couple of final licks as she was coming down, sending little sparks of her still subsiding orgasm through her, and she shuddered. Her chest and cheeks threw out heat, and she knew she must be a flushed, sweaty mess. But Kane was looking her at as though she was fine meal.
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