Chapter 5 #2
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Aspen said, downright pissed now.
She sat up and glared at him. “For the record, your smartness doesn’t turn me off.
I’m sure if we compared SAT scores, yours would probably blow mine out of the water, but who cares?
Anytime you want to babble at me in Zulu, you go right ahead, it’s not going to bother me. ”
“Sithandwa,” Kane said.
“Bless you.”
He smiled. “That was darling in Zulu,” he informed her.
“Shit, really?” Aspen asked, sidetracked from her rant for a moment. “I was totally kidding about you knowing Zulu. Hell, I don’t even know what part of Africa the language is spoken.”
“Mostly South Africa. The Zulu are a Bantu ethnic group, and the largest in that region at around ten to twelve million people,” Kane said.
Aspen smiled. She put her hand on his cheek.
“My point is, I think it’s cool how smart you are, Kane.
I find it amazing that you moved through school so fast. I’m impressed that you joined the Army as an enlisted man, and it’s more than obvious your teammates think the world of you.
All evidence is pointing to the fact that you’re not only smart, you’re a good man to boot, which in my eyes is more important. ”
Kane studied her for a long moment, a gamut of emotions rolling through his eyes and on his face. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“You’re welcome,” Aspen whispered back, feeling the air crackle with anticipation and the chemistry between them.
“The toothbrush should be in one of the drawers to the left of the sink,” he said.
“You don’t care if I go through your drawers?”
“You’re welcome in my drawers anytime.”
Aspen couldn’t help but laugh at the badly veiled innuendo. “How about we start with a few kisses first?”
“Deal,” he said, then sat up, taking her with him.
Aspen shouldn’t have been amazed at his strength, but she still was.
He moved her as if she was a petite five foot four, rather than the five-nine she really was.
Even at almost the same height, he had no problem lifting her over him and helping her stand.
She groaned. “God, I’m so sore.”
“When you get home, you should take a long hot bath,” Kane said. “Then do some stretches. It’ll help.”
“A bath sounds amazing,” Aspen said on a sigh.
He stared at her, and she could practically read his mind.
“I’m not getting naked in your tub,” she quipped.
“That might be pushing the second-date thing a little. I mean, I know we slept together and all, but rubbing my naked ass in your tub before I know when the last time you’ve cleaned it is going a bit far. ”
As she hoped, he laughed. “Fair enough. And I’ll admit that I have no idea when the last time that tub was scrubbed, but I’ll get on that today, just in case. You know, for future sleepovers.”
“You do that,” Aspen said with a smile. She chalked “not cleaning his tub enough” in the con column she was mentally keeping, but had to add, “willing to scrub when asked” in the pro column.
“I’ll start the coffee while you go and brush your teeth,” Kane told her.
“I hope you have sugar and creamer,” Aspen muttered. “I like it sweet.”
“Noted,” Kane said. “You told me that about your alcoholic drinks too.”
Aspen shrugged. “What can I say, I have a sweet tooth.”
“Also noted. Go on, your sweet coffee will be waiting when you come back downstairs.”
“Kane?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“For what?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
“For being so amazing. For not taking advantage. For letting me pick the movie, and for not being an asshole.”
“I can be one,” he said candidly.
“I’m sure you can, just as I can be a bitch. But I doubt you’d do it on purpose, and never to one of your friends.”
“True.”
“I feel safe with you, and I can’t say that about a lot of people.”
“That’s a shame,” he told her with a small frown. “You should be able to say that about the men you work alongside of.”
Aspen shrugged.
“You’ll always be safe with me,” Kane vowed.
“Thanks,” she whispered, then backed away from him before she did something she might regret later, like grab him and shove her hand down his pants to see if the erection she’d felt against her leg earlier was as big as it felt.
They kept eye contact until she reached the stairs and turned to head up them. She thought Kane groaned, but then decided she was hearing things.
She had to get her shit together. She was falling for Kane hard and fast, and frankly, it scared her. This wasn’t like her. She was cautious and never fell headlong into relationships. But there was just something about him that made her feel giddy and want to throw caution to the wind.
Doing her best to turn her thoughts to the errands she needed to get accomplished before she headed back here to spend the evening with Kane and his friends, Aspen found the spare toothbrush Kane had told her should be in the bathroom.
Thirty minutes later, she was standing next to the driver’s-side door of her car in his driveway, feeling nervous.
“So…four o’clock, right?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Anything you want me to bring other than the potato salad?”
“Just you,” Kane said. Then he brought his hand up to her face and brushed his thumb along her cheekbone. “I’m sorry you had a hard day yesterday. Thank you for letting me try to make it better.”
“You didn’t try, you did,” Aspen said.
“Good.” He took a step closer. “May I kiss you?” he asked softly.
Staring into his eyes, Aspen nodded.
But Kane didn’t immediately lower his head. His eyes ran all over her face, as if he was trying to memorize her features. Then he ran his thumb over her bottom lip.
“Kane?” she asked hesitantly.
“Hmmm?”
Aspen licked her lips and saw his pupils dilate. “Are you gonna kiss me or what?”
Instead of answering, he dropped his head.
His lips brushed over hers in a chaste caress.
Once, twice. Then he moved one hand to the small of her back and pulled her into him, and his other hand went to her nape.
Aspen felt surrounded by him as his mouth suddenly captured hers in a fierce and intense kiss.
She’d only ever felt tingles in her fingers and toes because of a kiss once before—when Kane had kissed her in the bar. Her lips parted, and then he was there, licking, sucking, nibbling. This wasn’t a mere kiss, it was a claiming—and Aspen was more than happy to be claimed.
One hand clamped onto his biceps and the other gripped his shirt at his side as she took what Kane was giving her. The stubble on his face lightly scratched her skin, only enhancing the overwhelming experience.
It wasn’t until they heard a catcall coming from next door that Kane lifted his head. He didn’t remove his hands from her though, merely turned his head, then chuckled low in his throat.
Aspen turned to look as well and smiled when she saw Winnie standing on her front porch, her newspaper in hand, waving at them. Kane gave her a chin lift, then turned to look down at Aspen once more.
“I know I need to let you go, but I really don’t want to,” he admitted softly.
And right then and there, Aspen knew she was a goner. “You’ve got stuff to do,” she reminded him.
“I know.”
“So do I.”
“I know that too,” Kane said, but didn’t release her.
Aspen smiled and ran her hand up and down his arm. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”
Kane took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then he straightened and lowered his hands, running one through his hair, making it stand up even more than it was already.
He licked his lips, and Aspen wanted to jump him right then and there. But she refrained…barely.
“Let me know when you get home?” he asked.
“It’s only a short drive,” she protested.
“Please?”
How could she deny him when he asked so nicely? “Okay.”
“This isn’t me being controlling,” he told her. “I just want to make sure you’re safe.”
“I know.” And she did. It felt good to know he was concerned about her. “I’ll text when I get there.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
Aspen nodded. Kane reached around her and opened her door. She noticed that even after she sat, started the car, and backed out of his drive, Kane remained there, watching her. She felt a little self-conscious about it; no other boyfriend had ever focused on her so intently.
When she got to the end of his street and looked in her rearview mirror, she saw Kane had walked next door and was talking to Winnie.
He was the most considerate man she’d ever met…
and somehow that scared the shit out of her.
He couldn’t be that perfect, could he? Eventually she’d find some character flaw, and she prayed it wouldn’t ruin everything else she’d learned.
She didn’t want or need a perfect man, but so far, Kane was everything she’d dreamed about as a little girl.
Time would tell if he was going out of his way to be overly nice, but she had a feeling he wasn’t.
That Kane Temple was exactly who he seemed to be.
A nice guy who’d been overlooked by women wanting an edgier, more dangerous man.
But that wasn’t what Aspen wanted. She lived a dangerous enough life as it was.
She wanted someone who would be at her side through thick and thin, and it seemed, so far, that Kane just might be that man.
Her thoughts once more scaring the shit out of her, Aspen decided she should take a step back.
She was getting in too deep, too fast. She’d still go over to his house this afternoon, but she’d fortify her mental shields first. She needed to slow down, get to know Kane a lot better.
Then she could decide if she wanted to take things further.
Her decision made, even if it was an uncomfortable one and not something Aspen wanted to do, she parked at her apartment complex and took a deep breath.
Kane’s clean scent clung to her clothes, already making her waiver.
“Please let him be exactly who he seems to be,” she whispered, before getting out of her car and heading up to her apartment.