by Dakota Gray
Her tongue flicks out to wet her bottom lip. “You're probably scared you won't last very long.” Her eyes light. “Like the last time.”
I know she's baiting me. I know it.
The joke cannot stand.
I brush my mouth against hers. “My arm is starting to hurt.” I add a little more vulnerability to my voice and do my best to hit her soft spot. “I—I need you to get on top and finish this.”
Her gaze softens. “Okay.”
She's so gentle with me I almost feel bad for playing her. That’s until she gets the condoms from the drawer then uses her mouth to put one on me. Kennedy’s fucking ruthless when she wants to be. I like that about her.
I grab a handful of her hair to pull her away from my cock. “Not the lips I want on me.”
The corner of her mouth lifts. “I wanted to make sure condom was on right. I’m on the pill, but mistakes happen.”
I jerk her up. She moans at the violent display, climbing my torso. I let go when she straddles my lap. Her fingertips are a whisper against the tip of my cock as she positions herself over it. Then heaven. Pure heaven. She's dripping for me. So goddamn tight. Jesus Fuck. Her pussy...I'm going to shoot my face off with it.
She takes all of me and we both moan.
“Kiss me,” I murmur.
Her breasts crush along my chest then her mouth is on mine. Before I can try to catch my breath, she's lifting her hips up and down. So slow. Tender. The mattress protests even that small movement, but I don't care. I'm not beating back control as her pussy fucking undoes me. The moment she comes so am I. This was the point, but...
I didn't expect...
I'm moaning. The aching throb in my arm I've been ignoring has moved to my cock. And Kennedy. She breaks the kiss to frame her hands on my pecs. The better to roll her hips.
And.
Jesus.
Fuck.
She looks like a goddess in the glow of the light. Her red hair is a mess of wet and dry tangles. Her tits are pressed together yet they bounce every time her ass slaps down on my pelvis. Her nipples are red, hard points. I'm surrounded by the scent of lilacs and sex and pussy. My heartbeat climbs as the pleasure pounds into me.
I don't fight it or try to rein it in. I always do, and I’ve missed so much fighting. I revel in the way my cock is buried, squeezed and stroked by her. So fucking slowly.
“Look at me,” she whispers.
I'd closed my eyes without realizing it. “Kennedy.”
She clenches. “You better not come.”
“You better.”
I reach between us and flick my thumb over her swollen clit. She grinds into me and my hand to get off harder and faster. Her skin flushes. I love that she blushes even when doing dirty shit.
“Make me wet, Kennedy. Drip all over me.”
She slaps a hand over my mouth but it's too late. Her pussy is tugging me deeper, tighter. I shift to rest my feet flat against the bed to fuck her back. The pace is hard and fast to get her off quicker. Doesn’t take long before she stiffens, biting her lip.
Shit. I have to bite mine too to hold back. Every heartbeat pulses in my cock, my balls and the back of my skull. I can't blow yet. I pant while her orgasm rips through me, leaves me soaking and half-blind.
She's trembling above me, but her hips are still jerking me off. I can't wait anymore. “Gonna come.”
“Wanna taste it,” she says.
Her words are still ringing in my ears as my cock pops free of her embrace. Less than a second later come spurts out. She slips the condom off with one hand and with the other she fists me, stroking out the rest of the come. That's it. That's all she wrote. Thoughts cease.
Kennedy rubs her thumb over my slit. I think I make a sound. I'm floating too high on how good everything feels.
“You made a mess.”
I have to blink twice for my vision to clear. She drags her tongue over her thumb then forefinger.
“Kennedy fucking Mclane,” I rasp.
“You taste as good as I remembered.” She smiles. “Lasted as long too.”
She's digging herself a hole and doesn’t even know it as she climbs up me for a kiss. Even that is cocky. Maybe I just love the fact she's kissing me, using her tongue to decimate any thought I dared to have. God, I let her until my cock is thick and hard again. I close my arm around her waist and roll us.
She gasps. “Your arm—”
“Can't feel it.”
My kiss is punishing. I don't let up as I straddle her legs. She gets hickies on her neck for the shit talk. Her tits get my mouth again. My dick pokes her belly and she squirms, wanting more.
I loom over her and make sure she can see my eyes. “On your belly, Kennedy.” I give her enough room to do just that. Her ass is perfection. I grab another condom, slip it on then finally I lean forward.
I whisper in her ear, “This time you most definitely are going to need a safeword.”
She looks back at me. “Pancakes.”
“Scream it when you need to.”
“Big talk.”
I don't spread her legs. I stay straddled on them since my arm can't crap out on me in this position. My dick is still wet from my own come. I press the tip between her ass cheeks, down until I find the sweet spot. She arches up to help. I slip inside her again. It feels just as good. Better.
She makes me want to come, and hope I never come. I want to die while being buried inside her. I flex my hips, mesmerized how my cock disappears and how I'm completely surrounded by her. She clenches her hands in the sheets.
“Duke.”
“Please say that again when you come.”
I slow my thrusts but make sure to give her a nice, hard pump at the end of each one. The mattress lets out a squeak and she bites into the sheets. It's not long before I feel the first spasm around my cock.
I brush her hair away from her back, lean forward on my arm, and fuck her like I mean it. I think she eats half the sheet to keep from screaming. I grind into her until she's trembling beneath me and trying to kill us both with the aftershocks of her orgasm.
I nip her earlobe, doing my best to think of puppies or penal codes—anything that’s not Kennedy squeezing my dick. Kennedy soft and wet enough I want to lap her up when she’s done trying to end my life through my cock.
Finally she relaxes, and I can breathe.
“I forgot to say Duke,” she murmurs.
I lean back and slap her ass. “I know.”
“Do that again.”
“I thought we were saying please to each other?” I slap her ass anyway, because...fuck, yeah.
She shifts. “You’re still hard.”
“You noticed?”
She wiggles. “Yes.”
“Then you should know the first time I come is easy. It’s the second one that should worry you.”
Her laugh is husky. “Is that your way of saying I should play with my clit?”
I wrap her hair around my hand and tug until her neck is curved. She won't be able to scream into the sheets. “Pancakes is the only thing I want to hear from you.”
“Make me.”
I swallow the laugh. I’m not even close to being done with her. “Kennedy, I’m starting to think you want me to fuck you until you can’t walk straight.”
Her teeth scrapes over her bottom lip. “Please?”
I won't bore you with the details. I'll just say she screamed her safeword.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The next morning I leave Kennedy sleeping in the bedroom and follow the scent of coffee. Nate and Tarek loiter in the kitchen. The cabinets had nothing but canned items the night before. Now there are bagels, cream cheese, and fresh fruit on the counter.
Most important though is the coffee. Tarek hands me a cup without prompting.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“Six-thirty,” Nate says.
Tarek explains, “He slept in.”
“Given you get up before roosters can crow, I'll count my ble
ssings.” I guzzle coffee. The brew won't win awards, but it'll do.
Tarek gestures with his chin to my arm. “How you feeling this morning?”
I took off the bandage to let the wound get some air. Near the bottom, flaky traces of blood decorate the skin. Kennedy's going to be pissed about that, but for the most part the swelling and pain is annoying at worst.
“Fine, I guess. I think other plans have to be made to get me off this mountain.”
Nate takes a long sip of his coffee. “Yeah. You shouldn't work up a sweat or overexert yourself. The doctor said that before she left.”
Tarek grins, and I know what they were talking about before I entered the kitchen. There's nothing to do but take another drink of my coffee.
Nate’s grin widens. “I think the cabin is haunted.”
Tarek’s brows go up, clearly playing along. “Why would you think that?”
I glare at the ceiling and sigh. “I hope you both fall off a cliff today.”
Nate adds, “Strangest noises last night woke me up.”
“Really?” Tarek’s not even trying to hold back his laugh. “What did they sound like?”
“And that there are rocks at the bottom of the cliff. Sharp ones.”
“Squeak. Squeak. Squeaksqueaksqueaksqueak. Squeak. Squeak.” Nate takes another sip then says, “And I could have sworn I heard something about breakfast foods.”
Shit. I didn’t know we were that loud. Not that I cared at the time. I open my mouth to tell them both to fuck off, but the hairs on my nape stand on end. I glance back. Kennedy's standing a few feet behind me. Her hair is still very much a mess but she's wearing a long-sleeved shirt and tights. Her cheeks are a deep crimson.
“I'm sorry, Nate, about the bed. The pain pills refused to kick in and Duke needed some help sleeping. I did manage to cover his mouth between screams. So...could have been worse.”
He chokes on his drink. Tarek, I think, is going to be the first person to die from laughing. His breath is just a wheeze. She kisses my cheek as she passes to grab some fruit and bagels. She leaves us be a minute later having decimated any form of conversation.
Nate wipes the coffee from his chin with his forearm. “You're going to have to marry her.”
I finish my cup and drop it into the sink. “She made you blush. I'll consider it.”
Tarek pushes away from the counter. “I have to get back in a bit. Everyone was asleep but the Russian when I left. Nate, we're heading out in two hours to the waterfall then we’re headed home.”
“Let me wash up real quick, and I'll leave with you.”
They both look at me. “Like I said, Kennedy and I will be taking other transportation off this mountain. I'll catch up with you when I get home though.”
Nate leaves us alone. Tarek takes measure of me, a frown etching along his brows. “You seem happy.”
“Let's psychoanalyze it.”
“I'm saying you have sex like it's maintenance. You have fun in the same way. You can take it or leave it. Too often you leave it.”
He’s not lying. “And?”
“She makes you laugh. So I mean it when I say don't fuck it up.” He shrugs. “Maybe even talk to her about your dad.”
Nate tried to have that conversation with me more than a few months ago and I shut him down. I'm a little surprised it's taken Tarek this long to poke that bear. Then again, when I wanted a stiff drink the night of my father's funeral, he was the one to practically pour liquor down my throat. Not to shit on Nate. He fell asleep sitting up after the third cup. Fucking lightweight.
I roll my shoulders hoping the thoughtless movement pushes down the sudden tension. “I don't want to talk about my dad.”
He sighs. “Of course you don't.”
The muscles in my back still bunch into a knot. I'm defensive when it comes to my father. I'm aware of it and can't help the knee-jerk reaction. Tarek and Nate know all the ugly details. They witnessed the truth a time or two. It's history that doesn't need to be retold. It's buried now.
“Let's cut through the shit,” I say. “You want me to emote?”
“In summary.”
I tell myself to relax, but my jaw still flexes as my teeth scrape against each other. “I thought you were leaving?”
“As soon as Nate's done washing the funk off his balls.”
As if on cue, Nate comes back into the kitchen to steal some bagels. “I'm ready to go.” He glances between us. “Did you tell him to show his feelings?”
“I did.”
“We've done all we can do. Let's head out.”
They want the best for me, of that I have no doubt. I roll my shoulders again and let their advice sink in. Kennedy told me actions speak louder than words for her, and ours are screaming—things I’m not sure Kennedy wants. Hell, I want. Before I complicate things that don't need to be, I should see where her head is at.
At the very least, she needs to know how deep the rabbit hole goes.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
It takes her twenty minutes to leave the bathroom and enter the living room. I've made a home on the couch. I've rested the balls of my feet on the coffee table, settled into a Castle marathon—the cabin has a satellite dish. She's dressed in the tights and long shirt, unfortunately, and she's pulled her hair into a ponytail.
She grabs a pillow and offers it to me without comment, only a raised brow. That look is why we’re finding other means off the mountain. I’m still trying to avoid picking at the frayed edges of us. We’ll unravel at the slightest tug. I’m not ready for her to leave my bed.
I prop my arm without complaint. “Something on your mind?”
She’s wearing her poker face. “Do I have your friends’ approval?”
If that's not the best opening... “Did you want it?”
She shrugs. I can see through the action. She wants the okay from my friends. “It feels important to you.”
Her wording makes me tilt my head. It didn’t cross my mind Nate and Tarek wouldn’t like her. They’d already told me they did. Yet if they hadn’t, I don’t know how I’d feel about it. I narrow my gaze at her. “That sounds like a relationship thing.”
She shakes her head then laughs. “You invited me to a weekend camping trip, and you're unsure if we're dating?”
Huh. She’s right on that point. “Okay.”
Her brows shoot up. “That's it?”
“Yup.”
She straddles my lap. I drop my feet to the floor for better leverage. Her lids lower as she inspects my face. “Was this your way of having the relationship talk?”
I wrack my brain for anything else that needs to be said. “Are you fucking anyone else?”
“If Colin had kept his cat pics to himself...”
I give her ponytail a soft yank. “I'm being serious.”
“So am I.” She nips at my bottom lip and whispers against my mouth, “You're the only person who will spank me in my kitchen.” She glances around the cabin. “Or anywhere else.”
“Good.”
“You are not this simple.”
I yank her ponytail again. “Neither are you.”
Her legs tense around me. I should leave it at that. No, I don't want to talk about my feelings, but I need to know what I'm facing with her. I don't like going into any situation blind.
“With that said,” I keep my voice level, “I want everything on the table. I don't want any surprises down the line. Don't lie to me or leave anything out. If you’re not ready to say it out loud, that’s fine. Just fucking say that.”
She drops her gaze and my stomach follows. “And you'll talk about your father?”
“There's nothing to talk about with him. He loved my mother. He tolerated me. Tolerated me less when I didn't fall in line. He died.”
She presses her palm to my cheek. “Okay.”
My chest tightens at the softly spoken word. “Don't say it like that.”
“Like you're full of shit, and I'm being kind enough to go with it?”
<
br /> I turn my face into her palm and bite it. She laughs, pulling forward so her cheek brushes mine. “I grew up poor, then middle class. My father didn't remarry until I went off to college. I love my step-mother. She’s a good woman. My dad is happy. This is the first year I can take a breath with my business. It’s doing well. I’m in a place in my life where I don’t mind letting a man with a growly voice and dark eyes leave hickies on my neck.”
“That’s it?” She nods, but the knot in my gut refuses to loosen. “That's all?”
“No. We're alone. We have a few hours to kill. Truth be told I'd rather lick you right now.”
I know it's a tactic to distract me. I should force the conversation. It’s not like me to shy away from a fight ever. The fact I’m even having a mental debate about this lets me know I’m losing my goddamn edge with each passing minute.
Push this, or get my dick wet?
I’m feeling sane and normal today.
“Where?” I say.
She traces my jawline with her tongue as her answer. Everything in the moment heightens, turns tactile. The rustle of her clothes when I close my hands on her waist. The scratch of my stubble against the softness of her tongue. The way she arches her hips into me, to rub against my cock. It’s possible to take a bite out of the air and eat the scent of the cinnamon.
That’s where I live in the moment with her. This I can experience the depth of—there’s no way I can breathe without feeling my heart thud along, my head get hazy with want. I tear at her shirt, my mouth finding its way back to hers once it’s gone. She curls her hands in my hair. My scalp tightens at the slight tug.
I dig my fingers into her flesh, loving the way they sink into her softness. Her breath skates along my jaw as she closes her teeth on my chin, her tongue following the same trail. I grope, I caress, and leave no part of her upper body untouched.
“I love when you do that,” she murmurs along my skin.
“What?”
“You always touch me like it’ll be your last time.”
For three years that had been the truth. I made myself promises that if the next time she stopped caring if I was a good guy or not I wouldn’t waste it. I wouldn’t take her trip to the dark side for granted. I’d kiss the back of her ear, caress the heel of her foot, nip at the crook of her—everything, I’d fondle and lick everything so no part of her didn’t know what it was like to be worshiped by my touch.