“I won’t get pregnant if that’s what you’re worried about,” her soft voice said.
“Yeah, why is that—you on your period?” He barked out a dry laugh. “Doesn’t matter what fucking time of the month it is for you. I’ve knocked you up. My sperm live longer than an average fucker’s does.”
She huffed and sat up then gripped his jaw. “Listen to me for once, would you?”
He set his eyes on hers and ground his teeth together. “It always happens. There’s no way to stop it.”
“Even if I don’t have ovaries?”
“You . . . What?” His heart pinched and stopped. Dread filled his veins and his hands went cold on her skin.
“Yeah, I had tumors on them as a teenager. I had to have them removed. I can’t have kids.” Her voice went up in pitch and her face contorted. She bit her lip and nodded like she knew he’d get this, finally.
“You can’t,” he let it seep in for a moment before continuing on, “but you want to.” His hands drifted up her legs. “I can see it in your eyes—you love kids.”
“I do,” she whispered.
“Oh, God, I’m sorry. And I just said . . .” He turned his eyes away from her and groaned. “So fucking stupid. I should be whipped.”
“I can arrange that.” Her tone brightened.
“You can, huh?” He chuckled.
Her legs moved around under his hands. “Uh huh. I know some pretty kinky people. Maddie’s been dabbling with BDSM stuff.”
His breath caught. “Yeah, I have to stay away from that shit. You think I’m an animal now? Imagine if I tied you down and had you at my full mercy.” What was he talking about? He was acting like this was going to happen again. Odds were she never wanted to see him after this one nightmarish brief experience she had with him.
“Hey, I can see what you’re doing. Stop it.” She reached out for him. “Let’s sleep all this craziness off, and if my touch is too much, say so and I’ll stop.”
“’Kay,” he said under his breath and collapsed next to her.
“Snuggle with me?” Her voice was like velvet, caressing the doubts right out of his head.
He rolled right into her and slung his leg over her, keeping her under him in some way.
“What are your plans today?” she asked through a yawn.
“Nothing but sleep—why?”
“You’re coming to work with me. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
“That little boy? You’re not shitting me, right? He’s really not yours?”
“My ovaries wish he was, but he’s not. Besides, he’s a handful; I doubt I’d have the patience to raise him right. He deserves better than I could ever—”
He covered her mouth. “Shut up. I don’t wanna hear crap like that. You’d make the most wonderful mother in the world, and now I wish I had knocked you up, as selfish as that sounds.” He shook her head back and forth with his hand still clamped over her mouth.
When he released it, she grabbed his hand back and kissed his palm.
“Well, since you got to be all mushy, I get to say you’re the sweetest man ever.”
He laughed. “That’s more than a stretch, that’s like a . . . Well, I don’t fucking know what, but it’s not true.”
“It is true. Now, hold me and stop being adorable so I can sleep.” She nuzzled into his side and her hand slapped onto his chest.
Before he could say anything else stupid, she was pelting his chest with her soft, sleepy breaths.
He kissed her crown and let his mind drift off, praying he wouldn’t have that awful dream while she was near.
Chapter 6
Kel slept like he was running a marathon, jerking, yelling and talking about all sorts of frightening things. Needles. Chains. Whips.
It was pretty clear these things had been done to him against his will.
She simply held him and stroked him as gingerly as she could so as not to wake or startle him.
He was so damaged and guarded, but those moments he let his walls down, she could see straight inside him and he was a glorious creature. So beautiful in his dark, intensity.
It was close to eight, and she didn’t actually have a whole lot planned for work today, so she thought she’d take him along and then ask for a favor from her friend with medical connections.
When he settled after another nightmare, she snuck out of the room with her cell.
The phone rang several times and then Jana finally answered. “Hey, Casey. You okay after last night?”
“Yeah, but I need your help. Things got kind of complicated.”
Jana exhaled and then yawned. “Sorry, still letting the caffeine get a grip in my veins.”
“It’s fine, but he called me.”
“He did? Holy shit! What did he say?” Jana’s voice went quiet at the end. She must be at work already.
“A ton of stuff I probably shouldn’t repeat, but he really needed me to come back to his place, so I did.” Casey rested her forehead in her left palm. This sounded worse than it really was—like she was the foolish teenage girl being lured into the big, bad man’s home by candy and promises of cheap thrills.
“No way! Did you get laid?”
“Shhhiiiiit, Jana.” She bit her tongue for a moment and then blurted, “Yeah, okay—I did, happy? But that’s not what I need help with.”
“Then what? How to get him to drop trou again? Just go to the club this weekend, silly.” Jana laughed.
“God, I wish that was all I was after. Look, I wound up taking him back to my place, and this man has some serious issues, and I don’t mean the usual asshole stuff. I mean, he’s mentally ill and needs to be evaluated. Do you know someone I could take him to that wouldn’t charge me a ton for this? I get the vibe he doesn’t have any health benefits, I mean, he lives in an attached apartment at the back of his club.” She failed to mention that he’d told her repeatedly he was running from some kind of authorities. Jana didn’t need to know that.
“I’m not a shrink—you know that. I’m a pediatrician—big difference.” Jana shuffled some paperwork in the background. “But let me make some phone calls. I might be able to get a contact from one of the children’s psychologists I work with regularly.”
“Thanks, hon. I owe ya one, big time!” Casey made a mental note that the next time she saw her at the office to give her a big old smooshy hug.
“Tell that man to keep his temper in check. He kinda flipped out on both Maddie and me last night.”
Casey’s brow scrunched. “When did that happen?” Last night seemed like one big blur now.
“When we went back after dropping you off. You told me to apologize to him for you, remember?”
“Oh yeah.” She stared at the floor. It all seemed to click into place for Casey. “Is that how he got my number?”
“Yeah. You were so upset in the car on the way back, barely talking. Just . . . promise me you’ll be careful? If he’s as off the hook as you say he is . . .“
“I am, and I’ll continue to be. I know what I’m doing. And, Jana?” Casey’s brows rose a little.
“Yeah?” Jana’s voice lowered.
“Text me the contact info instead of calling. He’s still asleep in my bed.”
“Holy fuck, girl, are you kidding m—”
Click.
Casey grinned.
They did not need to get into the particulars of how this man fucked her like he was a demon obsessed with her.
Bzzzz . . .
She glanced at her phone. It was a text from Jana.
Not cool. No wonder he was calling you a bitch. ;D
Casey chuckled, tucked her phone away and walked back into her room.
She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at him. Each breath he took was a relief for some asinine reason. She felt like a new parent, hovering at the bedroom door of their new infant sleeping in the crib, checking for movement, breath and sound.
She rolled her eyes at herself and went out to the kitchen. After s
he ate she’d be a little more clearheaded.
Eggs sounded good, but cooking them might be loud and wake him up.
Banana and yogurt it was.
She grabbed what she needed and plopped down on the couch, reading something on her phone.
Her mind wasn’t registering anything. No matter how many times she kept trying to absorb the words, nothing sunk in.
She chewed her food and stared at the rug. Maybe she should wake him? She was restless, waiting for him to rouse on his own.
Once her banana was consumed and most of her yogurt, she shoved to her feet. She checked her phone and somehow had missed Jana’s follow-up text.
Here ya go. Dr. Donna Jeffries, and she says she’ll charge you $100/hr. You’re welcome. Now, go get some more action…
There was a phone number and address in the next text sent a few seconds after the first.
Casey’s heart fluttered at the thought of trying to seduce that mysterious man sprawled across her bed.
In fact, it was all kinds of comical when she thought about it with the daylight, shedding light on it all.
He didn’t belong here.
Not on her white bedspread with little violet flowers patterned all over it and amongst her throw pillows.
She was too tidy, and his place was sparsely furnished and a wreck.
It smelled good like him, but it was apparent cleaning wasn’t a priority to him.
She walked back to her room, slipped inside and once more, found herself looming over him and smiling like an imbecile. Why did she feel so happy to have him here as if this was a rare privilege?
Her heart ached at the simple things like a facial twitch and a frown while he slept.
Enough of this. She needed to get him up, get him fed and she needed to get dressed.
But if she woke him now, was he really going to let her shower without his millions of hands being all over her like he’d been in the car ride over a few hours ago? How could she get anything done once he was awake and moving about in her space?
As she continued staring at his ruggedly handsome face and chiseled body splayed out for her, she realized she wasn’t getting anything done now, so what difference would it really make if he was awake? All she could do was fixate on him and what might be going on in his head as he slept.
She leaned over and blew across his legs.
Goose bumps jumped up and made his hairs erect like blades of grass.
She smiled.
Once more, she blew harder.
Same reaction.
“Uuuuhhhnnn, cold,” he groaned and rolled over onto his stomach.
She raked a fingernail across the sole of his right foot.
He flinched then made a sound like he liked it.
She did it once more simply to watch it again if for no other reason.
“Uuuunnngh, goddammit, you know my feet are ticklish.” He wiggled his toes then his breathing went heavy with sleep again.
Ticklish? Hmm . . .
She grabbed the bowl with the melted ice cubes from a few hours ago that was room temperature at this point and dipped her fingers in it, then flicked water across the bottoms of his feet.
That elicited even less response than before, so she blew across the wetness and tickled her way up with the ends of her hair she had grasped in her fists.
He gasped. “Jesus—you tryin’ to kill me? Knock it off!” He rolled onto his side and when he opened his eyes, a trapped, scared look took hold of him.
“It’s okay, it’s Casey—you’re in my house,” she told him, moving over to his side and squatting down so he was looking into her eyes. She set her hands on the edge of the mattress and then rested her chin on top. “I let you sleep as long as I could, but I’ve gotta get to work soon. You said you’d join me, so I figured you could eat something while I go shower.”
He yawned and his eyes went heavy. “Whoa, whoa, whoa . . . Who said anything like that? I sure as hell didn’t say I wanted to tag along all day with a know-it-all-bitch that drives me nuts.” He grinned.
“Very funny, smart ass. Get up. Eat whatever you like.”
“Coffee. Lots of it.”
“I don’t drink coffee. I was too addicted to the stuff, and it made me cranky when I couldn’t get enough, so I quit. You could probably find something else that might wake you up. I’ve got orange juice. Just squeezed it fresh yesterday.” She fluttered her lashes at him and then stood up.
“Are you serious? People actually do healthy shit like that? Sounds like way too much work.” He stretched and his abs rippled then his cock began to stiffen.
Why was that always the first part of a man to wake up?
She turned away, grinning and headed to the bathroom. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen after I’m dressed and ready to go.”
“Fuck that—I’m showering with you.” He swung his long, shapely legs over the side of the bed.
She closed her eyes and sucked her lips in. Legs. She always loved a man that was proportional and didn’t ignore the bottom half of his body.
When he stood up and she glanced over her shoulder, she got an eyeful of the most fantastic ass she’d ever seen on a man.
Good Lord, that thing was flexing when he was pumping inside her and she didn’t get to see it?
Cameras might be a must in the future.
She rubbed her forehead with her thumb and forefinger, spreading them apart then bringing them back together. Her legs were sluggish as she traipsed her way into the bathroom. She moved quickly before she went over to get a handful and see what those cheeks felt like in her grip.
He was still standing in her room, trying to wake up, looking half-dead when she picked up her pace even more and abandoned the idea of groping him. That man was too adorable and sexy as hell. Dangerous.
Maybe if she got in the bathroom and showered fast, he wouldn’t slow her down too much and she could get her mind out of the lust-induced fog he’d already created in her.
There was no use telling him no at this point anyway. He’d seduce her easily without even trying. She knew that much about him by this point. The man oozed masculine pheromones through every pore, and her body definitely responded.
She turned on the shower, used the toilet and brushed her teeth while the spray heated to the right temperature. By the time she got in, she wondered if he was going to join her or not.
Her mind raced with all sorts of dirty images of shower sex. She’d only done it once in a shower, and it wasn’t in hers. It had been in Brad’s, and he sucked as a kisser. He was marginally better in bed, but the slobbering, open-mouthed sloppy kisses were repulsive. It was her first and last escapade while washing.
But then the kisses with Kel . . . God almighty—they were scorching hot. He’d start with soft, warm pecks, and then they’d heat like this water had until she was so relaxed, yet so turned on, she could do nothing but open to him and make these soft pleading sounds for more.
She scrubbed her body with mechanical skill and speed, wanting to get out of her head and out of this place before she drove herself completely nuts.
“What’s the rush?” his deep throaty voice asked as he opened the door in an unhurried way.
He stepped in and stood there, staring at her with a lopsided grin in place.
“Going somewhere, remember? Work? Ring any bells?” She rinsed the last of the suds out of her hair.
“Oh yeah—that. I don’t like working. I like touching—and you want to see if I am every bit as good as I was last night, don’t you? That’s why you woke me up before you showered, to see if I’d take the bait. Naughty girl.” He chuckled and his upturned, rigid cock, bobbed.
She backed up a step, unsure of what to do. The spray was drenching her face, but she didn’t care. She simply gaped at him.
He was naked, yes, and she’d already touched him a lot last night and seen him bared a little bit, but this was . . . There was light enough for her to really see him now, and my Lord, the man looked like
he’d been carved out of stone with all those cut angles of his muscles and his sturdy frame.
She’d had this man inside her and survived without being the one passing out? How was that possible?
“You’re panting,” he pointed out.
“You’re gorgeous, Kel . . . I know you’re already aware of that, but, fuck, I can’t stop staring at you.” She barely allowed herself to blink. Her mouth actually watered as she gawked at the V shape leading to his large cock. Normally seeing a man’s naked dick failed to do much for her, but this was impressive, and it did make her want to do more than look.
“See, now this is what I was missing in my life—group showers.” He chuckled and motioned for her to come over to him.
“I like being over here. I can see you better,” she said, sounding hypnotized.
He tipped his head back and laughed so hard it made her jump.
It was loud, but that wasn’t what made her startle. The fact he sounded genuinely thrilled to be with her and that he thought her truly funny made her insides do odd things. Her heart squeezed, her nipples tightened and she was even more turned on than ever.
“I love your laugh.” God, she sounded stupid, but her mouth was on autopilot, and she couldn’t seem to stop. “And your kisses . . . I, well, I, uh, I’ve experienced some pretty awful ones.”
He beamed at her. “Really? I’m good at it, huh?” He exhaled on his nails and pretended to buff them on his stunning chest that was flexing at her. That small motion drew her in even more. So cute.
She smiled. “You’re adorable, too, but you know that as well, don’t you?”
“You seem to think I stand on a pedestal all day long and watch women burn incense and pray to me.”
“No, not incense. I imagine them tossing you their panties and bras.” She let the water run over her face even more and closed her eyes. Maybe if she stopped looking, her head would clear and she would make sense.
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