Tangled: Emerson Falls, Book 1

by Harlow James

  “Fuck, baby…”

  “More Kane…”

  “Yes, Liv…”

  “Harder…”

  “God, woman…”

  “Faster…”

  “Fuck…”

  “Oh, God!” I shout as my orgasm hits me, sharper and more intense than the last. Kane’s hand reaches between us to rub my clit while I climb high and then come again, making my orgasm double in one swift move. The man plays my body like an instrument, making sweet music with my strings, plucking me in the just the right way that I lose myself in his touch. I’ve never been with a man that can make my body sing like he does.

  Once I start to come down, Kane flips us over, reaching up to pull my hair out of my ponytail, my long locks falling and framing my face as I hover over him this time.

  “Ride me, baby,” he grits out while grabbing one handful of my hair and the other handful of my ass.

  And so I do. I rock and bounce, lifting up and down his length, which feels even bigger from this angle. Kane moves with me from below, meeting my thrusts and stroking my body up and down my curves as I move.

  “Yes, baby… God, you look so beautiful when you ride my cock.”

  “It feels so good, Kane.”

  “Tell me how good it feels, baby.”

  “I’m so wet. I don’t think I’ve ever been this wet in my life,” I pant as I feel another orgasm come on. I clench around Kane’s length inside of me, which ignites a growl from him.

  “Are you gonna come again, baby?” He asks, guiding my hips to rub along him.

  “Yes, but I need you to touch me, Kane…”

  Not hesitating, Kane reaches between my legs and rubs my clit expertly, applying just the right amount of pressure so that it doesn’t take long for me to reach the edge of the cliff again, falling over in an orgasm that drains every last drop of energy from me.

  “Fuck!” Kane shouts as he sits up, wraps his arms around my torso, and thrusts into me, stilling once his orgasm hits and squeezing me hard as he comes down from his high.

  Sitting back slightly, he brushes the hair from my face so our eyes find each other—and we just stare, nothing but the sound of our breathing filling the room. I watch his dark eyes scan my face, softening as his hands caress my cheeks before pulling me to him in a soft kiss that melts my body into his. We hold each other, not speaking, not even thinking—just immersing ourselves in the feeling of our bodies connected to one another again.

  “What’s going on in that mind of yours?” I ask Kane, both of us resting on our sides facing each other in his bed after we cleaned up and relaxed from the mind-blowing sex.

  Kane’s hands trail up and down my body, soaking up every curve and inch of skin. I can’t get enough of the way it feels to have his hands all over me. I’m addicted. And I don’t know if I can ever live without his touch again.

  “I’m thinking I really like having you here,” he says on a slight smile, his eyes softening with his words.

  “Does that surprise you?”

  “Yes.”

  I notice a shift in his expression, so I force myself to push him further. Kane has already let me in more than I anticipated when he first made his intentions clear, but I know there’s something he’s not telling me—either by choice or because he’s not ready to talk about it. But I desperately want to understand him. Ever since he told me he hasn’t pursued a woman since he was sixteen, I’ve been dying to know why.

  “Can I ask you something, and you’ll promise not to get mad?”

  “Just the fact that you prefaced your question with that question alarms me.”

  “I just need to know something, but I’m afraid of how you’ll react,” I confess.

  Kane sits up a bit more, propping his elbow further, his hand resting on his head so his entire body straightens. “I don’t want you to be afraid to ask me questions, Liv. I just… there are some things that are hard to talk about.”

  “I understand that. But I need to know… why haven’t you pursued someone since you were so young?”

  And silence fills the room as Kane shifts his eyes from mine, hiding the pain there even though I can read him like a book. Whatever happened has to be a huge reason why he is the man he is today—guarded, a little off-putting, but secretly a man with a soft heart who cares about those close to him. He’s shown me all three sides, but I can’t help but feel like he’s struggling to figure out which one he wants to be.

  Kane exhales before lying back flat, staring up at the ceiling. I trace the lines of his chest and stomach with my fingertips while I wait for him to speak. Just when I think I’ll let him off the hook, his voices fills the room.

  “Her name was Natasha. We were high school sweethearts. We started dating when we were juniors and then I joined the Army after graduation to serve my country and get my degree paid for at the same time.” He pauses and his eyebrows draw together as he gathers himself to continue. “She understood my choice and promised to stay with me while I was away. And for the first four years, things were fine. We made it work. But then I re-enlisted for another four years and she wasn’t happy with my decision. I was just at a place where I felt like I couldn’t leave, but I promised her that after those four years, I’d be done. I even proposed to her so she knew I was serious. I saw my future with her and I loved her.”

  He shifts again, back to facing me. The anguish in his eyes penetrates my soul as I watch him struggle to continue. Instinctually, I reach for his hand, intertwining our fingers and caressing his, silently showing my support.

  “I came home early, discharge papers in hand to surprise her, when…” he clears his throat of the emotion clouding his voice, “When I walked in on her fucking my best friend, T.J.”

  And my stomach drops, my heart breaks, and my eyes cloud with tears when I realize this woman shattered the man in front of me.

  “Oh, Kane…”

  “Don’t, Olivia. I don’t need your pity.”

  “It’s not pity, Kane. I just can’t imagine being betrayed like that,” I argue, hoping he doesn’t shut down on me now.

  “It killed me, but I’ve been working past it. I just… I’ve never felt a betrayal like that in my life, and it made me want to shut myself away from the rest of the world.”

  “I can only imagine,” I whisper, tracing the lines of his shoulders before cupping his face.

  “It’s been over three years, and even though the sting isn’t as fresh… it still is something I struggle with accepting. The two people that I thought I could trust the most ripped my heart from my chest and left me a shell of the man I thought I was. It took me a long time to accept that their choices were their own, and I could either let them define me, or move on. I vowed to never let anyone in again… but then I met you…”

  I swallow hard as he pulls me close to him, the full length of our bodies touching as his eyes search my face.

  “Me?”

  He nods. “You were the one thing I never thought I wanted again. Even though the night we met was more about letting go and trying to have some fun, there was something about you I couldn’t stop thinking about. And when I saw you again, it made me feel things I hadn’t felt since… well, since I wanted Natasha.”

  And right then and there, I surrender to this pull I’ve felt to him since that night.

  “I understand completely, Kane. In fact, more than you probably think.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Well, that night was about me escaping betrayal myself. My entire reason for coming home was because I found my boyfriend fucking his secretary in his office. I was trying to surprise him, but it seems I’m the one who got the surprise.”

  Kane shakes his head and then presses a light kiss to my lips. “Why any man would want to cheat on you boggles my mind.”

  “Well, I could say the same thing about you. I thought I had it all. I thought I saw a future with my ex, but when I realized all the warning signs were there, I blamed myself for not seeing them.�
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  “It’s easy to take the blame for other people’s actions, especially when they hurt you.”

  “I’m sorry you were hurt, Kane. I’m so sorry that the people closest to you made you question your ability to trust again. But thank you for opening up to me about it. Yet, I guess I should really be thanking Natasha...”

  Kane chuckles. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

  “Because if she hadn’t messed up, you and I wouldn’t be here right now.”

  The words leave my mouth before I thought them all the way through, yet the smile on Kane’s face tells me he understands my confession as exactly what it was supposed to be—a clarification that things happened the way they were supposed to.

  “Her loss, your gain, huh?” He teases, rolling me onto my back as he hovers over me.

  “Definitely,” the rasp of my voice comes through as I feel Kane’s length harden against my leg. My entire body heats up in an instant at his touch, his hands traveling down to my thighs, pulling my legs apart so he can settle between them, rubbing his cock through my wetness.

  “Christ, woman. What did I do to deserve you?”

  “You killed all of those crickets,” I joke as he throws his head back in laughter. “This is just my way of repaying you.”

  “You better not show your appreciation to anyone else who kills crickets for you in this way.”

  I shake my head. “Only the really good-looking men,” I wink.

  Kane smirks at me before kissing me deeply, teasing me with his lips and tongue.

  “Thank you again for telling me, Kane. I know that can’t be easy to talk about. But I feel like I understand you better now.”

  His eyes search mine, stalling in the moment before rubbing his hand along my face. “I don’t want to live in the past anymore, Liv. I’m enjoying being here with you in the present far too much,” he whispers while teasing my opening with his dick.

  “Kane, I want you again. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough…” I mewl, wanting to so badly to feel Kane bare inside of me—a gift no other man has experienced. “I’m on the pill…”

  His eyes dance between mine before he clarifies my request. “Are you sure?”

  I nod. “Yes. I want to feel you… every inch.”

  “Fuck, Liv,” he growls before diving his tongue in my mouth and pushing forward, claiming me as his. He dives into me, resting his forehead on mine while rocking us back and forth. My back arches with every drive as he leans down and pulls my nipples into his mouth, biting and sucking on the rosy buds while moving in and out of me.

  My entire body comes alive as he ignites every nerve ending on my skin. His fingers, his mouth, his cock—he owns my mind and body tonight and probably forever, knowing I’ll never feel this way with another man. No man will ever compare to him and I don’t want any other man to try.

  As Kane brings us both to orgasm again until we’re both sated and surrender to sleep, I realize there’s no turning back for me now. I’m falling and I don’t want to get up.

  Chapter 32

  Olivia

  “When is he going to be here?” Clara whines as Perry and Amy both arrive from their trip to the bathroom and sit at our table.

  “God, your patience is worse than that of a child,” I scold her while nonchalantly scanning the crowd.

  It’s a Saturday night at Tony’s and the place is packed. Yet as I sit here with my four best friends, the only person I’m anxious about seeing finally walks through the doors.

  Kane stands there in his brown coat, brushing his hand through his hair as he takes off his beanie and searches the room momentarily before his whiskey-colored eyes find mine, lighting up his face with the most blinding smile I’ve ever seen from him before.

  “My God. If a man ever looked at me like that, I’d ignore my friends for weeks too,” Clara teases as I throw an elbow in her ribs. But the truth is, I haven’t been the best friend lately, spending every moment of my free time I can with Kane. I’ve sent texts to let them know I’m alive, but most of my time and communication has been reserved for him.

  Ever since our night at his house, we’ve been inseparable. We either stay at his place on the weekend or my place during the week. The only time we leave the bedroom is to eat or go to work. This is the first time in my life I’ve put a relationship above my job and friendships, and it’s both scary, yet liberating.

  The anguish and uncertainty I felt when I came back home has vanished, replaced with elation and lust, and I’m happily drowning in it. I don’t feel like just Miss Walsh, the teacher, anymore. I feel like Olivia, this woman who finally feels like all of the puzzle pieces in her life are falling into place. And it’s not just that there’s this man now in my life that is making me feel things I never thought were real. It’s that I’ve finally accepted the path I’ve taken to get here and I’m optimistic about the future direction of my life.

  But that is in large part due to the man stalking towards me right now.

  “Hi, handsome,” I greet him just as he steps up to me and crashes his mouth to mine, in front of all of my friends, staking his claim and drowning me in one of his kisses that makes my toes curl.

  Once he’s satisfied with leaving me breathless, Kane breaks apart from me and turns to face my friends. I follow his lead and see the three of them—Amy with her jaw dropped, Perry with the widest smirk, and Clara wide-eyed and fanning herself.

  “Hi, ladies. I’m Kane,” he extends his hand to my girls, the three of them taking turns to shake his hand.

  “Hi, Kane. I’m Perry. It’s nice to formally meet you this time without tequila clouding our minds.”

  “Yeah, I barely remember that night,” Amy adds. “Clara kept saying there was a lumberjack that evening, but all I remember is running to the bathroom.”

  “Lumberjack?” Kane asks, furrowing his brows as he turns to me.

  “Don’t you remember you were wearing that flannel the night we met, babe?”

  Kane nods his head in recollection as he takes a seat. “Aw, yeah I guess I was.”

  “Hi, I’m Clara. And can I just say… I don’t know what you’re doing to my friend, but keep doing it. I’ve never seen her smile this much before,” she teases him.

  “Clara!”

  “Oh, come on, Liv. Don’t act like you’re not completely smitten. I would be too if a fine piece of man meat like that was bringing me to orgasm every night.” Clara rolls her eyes.

  “Dear Lord,” I lower my head in my hands while Kane’s deep laugh rumbles beside me, his arms pulling me into him while we’re both perched on our stools.

  “Don’t be embarrassed, babe. She is right, you know.”

  “Kane! Don’t encourage her! If you accept her vulgar mouth, she’ll never shut up and will keep pushing her limits with you.”

  Kane casts a gaze at Clara, and then focuses back on me. “There’s nothing wrong with a woman who can speak honestly about sex. And hey, it’s nice to know you’re smitten with me… because I’m smitten with you too,” he nuzzles his nose with mine as my friends collectively sigh beside me and my smile spreads wide across my face.

  “Oh, my God, you guys are too cute!” Perry croons.

  “That’s it. I’m starting a fight with my husband when I get home so he knows he should act like that with me,” Amy snarks.

  “Hey, don’t be jealous ladies,” Clara argues. “Be happy for our friend. But Kane, if you have any single friends who know how to woo a lady such as yourself, you can send them my way,” she winks just as the cocktail waitress comes over and takes our drink order.

  “So ladies, what are the down and dirty stories I should know about Liv here?” Kane drills my friends. It’s his turn for my elbow in his ribs, which makes everyone at our table laugh besides me.

  “This is not going to turn into a gang up on Olivia night, or I’m leaving.”

  “Oh, come on, babe. From what you’ve told me, these women know you better than anyone.”

  “Exactly
, and if they wish to remain those women, they will keep their lips zipped,” I shoot a warning look at all three of my friends.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll just wait until you’re in the bathroom to divulge all of your secrets,” Clara waves me off, which entices a laugh from Kane, Amy, and Perry.

  The five of us continue to talk, my friends sharing stories of their kids and husbands, and tales of our teenage years I deem acceptable.

  “So Olivia thought a perm was a good idea…” Clara continues with her third story of the night.

  “In my defense, it was the nineties and perms were all the rage.”

  “Uh, I think that was the eighties, babe,” Kane pesters while whispering in my ear.

  “Well, then I was born in the wrong decade.”

  “Anyway,” Clara speaks, cutting off my protest. “She left the chemicals on too long and ended up looking like a cross between weird Al and Carrot Top,” she snorts as Perry and Amy fall back in laughter as well.

  “Curly hair was in and I was desperate to have it. I admit, it wasn’t the best look on me, but I learned my lesson, okay,” I drop my head in embarrassment as Kane pulls my face to his.

  “Don’t be embarrassed, babe. We’ve all been there. Hell, I had bleached tips back in high school.”

  My eyes go wide with his confession, struggling to imagine Kane with bleach blonde hair on any part of his head given his jet black, dark and mysterious thing he has going on right now that makes my panties wet for him ‘round the clock.

  “Oh, God, no you didn’t!”

  He nods in confirmation. “Yup, and I thought I was the shit. Justin Timberlake and all the boy band members were doing it, so I thought I could too. Looking back on the pictures now, I wonder what the hell I was thinking. But hey, we were young and stupid, right?”

  “Awww, it’s like you two were bad hair soulmates,” Clara bats her eyelashes at us.

  “See, meant to be,” Kane kisses my cheek before excusing himself to the bathroom.

  “So what are the plans for Thanksgiving?” Perry asks once Kane walked away and we’re knee-deep in our second round of drinks. He’s currently leaning against the bar talking to Tony, who Kane told me is a close friend.