Chapter 26
Brielle
“Molly, where are you?”
It’s the end of my shift, and I always come back to say bye to Molly, but I can’t find her. I check in the cat house she loves to lie in, but she’s not in there.
“Hey, Bri,” Sandra, one of the other volunteers, says, stepping inside and giving me a sympathetic smile. “Molly was adopted.”
I freeze in place. “What? When?”
I was only gone for a couple of hours, feeding and cleaning all the other cat rooms and cages. How the hell did she get adopted without me knowing?
“A little bit ago. They were pre-approved, so it was a quick process.”
“Oh, okay.” My nose stings, and tears prick my eyes. “I wish I had gotten to say goodbye, but I’m glad she got to go to a good home.”
“She did.” Sandra grins. “You heading out?”
“Yeah, all the rooms and cages are clean. I’ll see you in a few days.”
“See you then.”
Since I have nothing else going on today, I stop by Dani and Matteo’s to see them and their adorable baby, and then I go over to the Pilates studio to get a workout in.
It’s going to take about thirty days for the sale to go through, and once it does, I’ll be closing it down for renovations.
Since this is my first time owning a small business, I’ve hired an accountant who’s familiar with businesses like mine to walk me through everything, and the studio manager has agreed to stay on.
She’s pregnant and due soon, so it was perfect timing.
She should be ready to come back around the same time the studio is ready to reopen.
When I get out of my class, I shower and change out of the workout outfit I keep here, and then I check my phone, finding a text from Kane, asking when I’ll be home. I consider coming up with an excuse to stay out longer, but when I can’t think of one, I text back that I’ll be there soon.
I pull in and park in the garage and then head in through the mudroom, which leads into the kitchen, where I find Kane cooking dinner.
“Smells good.”
“I would hope so. It’s one of your favorites.” He lifts the lid, and the spices permeate the air, making my stomach growl in hunger.
“Cajun seafood pasta. How did you know?”
“Nicole.” He smirks. “She seems to be Team Kane.”
I roll my eyes. “She’s a romantic. You make this yourself?” I ask, quirking a brow.
Since I’ve moved in, all the complex meals are made and delivered by the chef he hired.
“I’m heating it up myself.” He smirks, making me laugh.
I stick my finger in the sauce and bring it to my lips, moaning at how good it is. I’m about to dip my finger in for another taste when I hear a meow, making me stop in my place.
“Did you hear that?”
“What?”
Another meow, and then Molly prances into the kitchen.
“Molly!” I bend down and scoop her into my arms.
She nuzzles into my neck, and tears prick my eyes as it hits me what Kane did.
“You adopted her for me,” I choke out, holding her closer to my chest.
Kane glances at me and smiles softly. “I’m starting to realize I would do pretty much anything for you. But, no, I didn’t adopt her …”
My heart sinks at the thought of having to give her back.
“You did,” he says, moving the pan off the burner and turning it off.
“She’s yours. You were already approved from volunteering there.
I just filled out the paperwork so I could surprise you.
Her litter box and crap are in the guest bathroom, and they gave me the food they feed her so you have some until you decide on what you want to feed her. ”
“Kane,” I breathe, tears sliding down my cheeks, “you’re making it really hard for me to hate you.”
His mouth curves into a playful grin as he steps toward me. “Good, because you’ve made it really hard for me to hate you.”
I stare at him for several seconds, and Molly squirms to get down, so I let her go, leaving nothing between Kane and me. He takes another step so our bodies are flush.
“You’re an Antonov, so by default, you’re supposed to be the enemy.” He clasps my jaw. “But I can’t find it in me to hate a single thing about you.”
“I don’t think I hate you either,” I admit.
Kane’s eyes descend to my mouth, and my heart lurches in my chest when I think he’s going to kiss me.
But instead of doing so, he tightens his hold on the side of my neck and murmurs, “Tell me I can kiss you, Princess,” once again proving how well he already knows me. He doesn’t even know what I’ve been through, yet he understands the control I crave.
“Kiss me.”
The words aren’t even all the way out of my mouth before Kane’s mouth is on mine. A whimper escapes me, and he lifts me into his arms, carrying me over to the counter and spreading my legs. And then we’re all teeth and tongues and hands as we quickly remove each other’s clothes.
“Fuck,” he groans, wrapping his fingers around the base of my throat and then peppering kisses along my sensitive flesh.
“Do you have any idea what this body does to me?” He palms my breast with one hand while keeping his other wrapped around my throat and then sucks my nipple into his mouth.
“Harder,” I breathe out.
Kane glances up at me, and it takes everything in me not to shy away in embarrassment for what I’m asking.
“You’re going to have to be more specific,” he says, his gaze filled with lust. “You want me to choke you or suck that pretty nipple harder?”
“Choke me,” I blurt out.
He stares at me for several seconds, and I’m about to tell him never mind when he nods and says, “We need a safe word.”
“What? Why?”
“Because if I’m going to do anything that could hurt you, even if you want it, we need to make sure it’s done safely. I’m not an expert on BDSM, but I know enough to know that we need a safe word.”
“Okay, um …” I glance around, unsure what to use as a safe word.
I’ve read about them in articles when I was researching my craving for rough sex after being raped, but I never considered I would be in the position to make one.
And then I remember that one article suggested you pick a word you’d easily remember but wouldn’t use on a regular basis. “Roses.”
It’s my favorite type of flower, and I’ll easily remember it.
“Roses,” Kane confirms.
“Yeah. Roses.”
Kane nods and then tightens his hold around my throat, crashing his mouth against mine. His tongue sweeps across the seam of my lips, and I open, giving him full access to taste and devour me.
“Tell me it again,” he murmurs against my lips.
“Roses.”
“Good girl.”
His lips connect with mine once again, and his hand glides up my thigh and delves between my parted legs. He thrusts his fingers into my core, and I moan into his mouth at the delicious intrusion.
He takes my noises as his cue to thrust back in harder, and I clench around his fingers, already close to coming.
His skilled mouth devours mine while he squeezes my throat, slowly cutting off my air supply little by little as he fingers me. When my orgasm starts to creep up, Kane senses it and applies more pressure around my neck, heightening my senses.
“That’s it, baby. Come all over my fingers.”
At his command, I fly over the edge, pleasure tearing through my body. He tightens his grip around my neck a bit more, and fireworks shoot off behind my lids as I come long and hard around his hand.
While I’m mid-orgasm, Kane yanks his fingers out of me and pulls me off the counter, flipping me onto my stomach so I’m leaning against the edge, and thrusts into me from behind.
One orgasm rolls into two, and I scream out his name as he grips the curve of my hip with one hand and shoves his fingers into my mouth with the other, forcing me to taste my arousal.
“Goddamn, you’re perfect,” he groans.
His movements turn erratic, desperate, and then he sinks his teeth into the delicate flesh of my shoulder. Another wave of pleasure rolls through me as Kane drains every drop of his orgasm into me.
As we work to catch our breath, an easy calmness settles over us as it hits me—Kane isn’t the man I wanted to marry, but he’s quickly becoming the man I want to be married to.
And that scares the hell out of me.
“Isn’t she just the cutest?”
I snuggle Molly into my chest, and she purrs softly.
After our delicious dinner, Kane showed me Molly’s bathroom—yes, I’ve deemed it hers, and I’m already planning on how to decorate it and make it fit for the little princess she is.
Then I assumed we’d go our separate ways, like we do most nights, so I was a bit taken aback when he asked if I wanted to watch a movie—and even more shocked when I agreed.
While we were scrolling, I saw Gossip Girl and made him click on it when he said he’d never even heard of it. We’re two episodes in, and Molly is cuddling between us, happy to finally have a home.
“She’s adorable,” he says dryly.
“Having rescuer’s remorse already?”
“No, but she’s a total cockblock,” he complains. “Every time I think about touching you, I swear she glares at me.”
“You should’ve thought about that when you decided to use her to bribe me back into your good graces.”
I quirk a knowing brow, and he shrugs.
“It worked. I just didn’t realize how needy cats were.”
“Just because she wants to be cuddled and loved doesn’t make her needy.” I lift her up and give her kisses. “I’m going to order you a custom collar,” I say to her. “I bet Gucci or Versace sells them. Which do you prefer?”
Kane chuckles. “Do you think—” His words are cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. “It’s Dominick.”
“Put it on speaker.”
He clicks Accept. “Dominick, what’s up?”
“We’re in the middle of watching Gossip Girl,” I add. “So, it’d better be important.”
“We have a problem,” Dominick says, his tone serious. “A body’s been found at the construction site down at the waterfront property.”
Kane’s eyes meet mine. “Do they know who it is?”
“No, but I have to ask—”
“It wasn’t me,” Kane says, his gaze never leaving mine. “I want this expansion to be a success the same way you do. And in case you forgot, I have millions invested as well.”