Chapter 25
25
DORIE
M y body shuddered as his warm mouth enveloped my nipple. His teeth grazed the sensitive skin. Pleasure raced through my veins, chasing away the lingering anxieties about work and Eliza’s wedding. In this moment, with his hands and lips exploring my body, nothing else mattered.
I tangled my fingers in his hair as he switched to my other breast, lavishing it with the same attention. Arousal pooled between my thighs, dampening my panties. The thin cotton of his boxer briefs did little to conceal his hardening length pressing insistently against me.
Rick’s disgruntled meow broke through the haze. I glanced over to see him watching us with a look of barely concealed disdain.
“He’s probably wondering why I’m making out with someone on the kitchen counter instead of feeding him breakfast,” I said breathlessly.
Kaisen lifted his head, his eyes dark with desire. “Let him wonder,” he murmured huskily. “I’m feasting right now.”
He licked a hot trail up the column of my throat before biting down on my pulse point. I let out a sharp gasp, my head falling back in surrender.
His mouth covered mine again. Kaisen kissed me hungrily. The edge of the counter dug into my thighs, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was the feel of his mouth on mine, his tongue stroking against my own as he deepened the kiss.
His hands slid down to my hips, gripping them tightly. He pulled me impossibly closer. I could feel every hard inch of him pressing against my aching core. Heat coiled in my belly. Desire pulsed through my veins like a wildfire.
I wanted him so badly it hurt. I craved the oblivion only he could provide, a temporary escape from the real world and all its problems.
“Lift,” he murmured against my lips.
I knew exactly what he wanted. I put my hands on the counter and lifted my hips to allow him to peel off my panties. I couldn’t believe my bare ass was on the counter. The health department would not be thrilled, but it was my kitchen and I could do what I wanted.
I pushed his briefs down, his cock springing free. I wrapped my hand around him and squeezed. He groaned, his hips jerking forward.
“Damn,” he groaned. “Do you know what you do to me?”
“There’s condoms in my bathroom,” I answered.
He laughed softly even as he kissed my ear. “Someone is impatient.”
I squeezed his cock again, pulling another grunt from him.
“Alright, alright,” he said.
I watched him walk away, admiring his tight ass and his muscular thighs. I couldn’t help but whistle.
He looked over his shoulder before disappearing into the bathroom. I heard him rummage through the drawer.
“Got one,” he said.
He walked back into the kitchen with the condom. He tore open the wrapper with his teeth, rolling the condom over his length as he moved. The man was like a panther, all sleek and muscular.
He didn’t hesitate to reach between my legs. His fingers stroked through my wet folds, teasing my sensitive flesh. I shuddered, my hips rocking eagerly into his touch. He circled my clit with a maddeningly light pressure before dipping lower to tease my entrance.
“You’re so wet,” he murmured appreciatively.
He thrust two fingers deep inside me. I cried out sharply, my inner walls clenching around the welcome intrusion. He pumped his fingers slowly at first before speeding up the pace. His thumb found my clit and rubbed firm circles around the sensitive nub.
Pleasure coiled tighter and tighter inside me as he fingered me deeply. Conscious thoughts scattered as every nerve ending focused solely on the feel of his touch. Arousal gushed from me, dripping down his hand as he stroked my spasming walls.
“So tight,” he groaned, his breath hot against my neck. “You’re squeezing my fingers so tightly, like you’re trying to milk them dry.”
“Please,” I moaned. “Please. Now.”
He lined his cock up with my opening and pushed just the tip inside. The sensation was electric, a slow, burning stretch that made me gasp. He paused, his dark eyes locked on mine, searching for any hint of hesitation. But there was none—only need, raw and unrelenting. His hands gripped my hips, steadying me as he pressed deeper, inch by torturous inch. The fullness was overwhelming, a delicious ache that had me arching my back to take more of him.
“Fuck,” he breathed, his voice strained. “You feel incredible.”
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. My hands clawed at the counter behind me for support as he began to move, each thrust deliberate and deep. The rhythm was slow at first, almost teasing, but it wasn’t long before the tension between us became unbearable. His pace quickened, each stroke making the pleasure go higher and higher. I closed my eyes and dropped my head back.
“Look at me,” he demanded, his voice low and commanding.
I obeyed, meeting his gaze even as my body trembled with pleasure. The heat in his eyes was undeniable. There was a possessiveness there that heightened things. It thrilled me in ways I couldn’t begin to explain. My fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer until our foreheads touched.
“Harder,” I whispered.
He obeyed without hesitation, his thrusts becoming more forceful, more urgent. The slap of skin against skin echoed in the room, each impact driving me closer to the edge. My legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him deeper, craving every inch of him.
His hands slid up my body, fingers splaying across my ribs before one hand cupped my breast, thumb brushing over my nipple. The dual sensations were too much. I felt myself spiraling toward release.
“I’m close,” I gasped, my nails digging into his shoulders as I clung to him. He nodded, his movements becoming even more erratic, his own control fraying.
“Let go,” he urged, his voice thick with desire. “Come for me.”
His words were the final push I needed. The coil inside me snapped. I cried out as waves of pleasure crashed over me. He followed moments later, his body shuddering as he buried himself deep inside me, spilling with a guttural groan.
His forehead rested against mine. Slowly, he withdrew, pressing a tender kiss to my lips before he helped me off the counter. He walked into the bathroom and returned a minute later.
His phone started buzzing in the bedroom. He ignored it at first, but when it kept ringing, he groaned. “I better see who it is. It might be Cullen or my office.”
“Go ahead,” I said. “I need to deal with the bakery stuff.”
I heard him in the bedroom talking to someone. When he came out, he looked disappointed.
“I have to go,” he said. “I missed a tee time I didn’t know about—or maybe forgot about—and now the guys are insisting we meet up for lunch.”
“I get it.”
He pressed a kiss to my temple. “I’ll be back soon.”
I nodded, but as soon as he left, the doubts started creeping in. Should I be feeling like this? Where did we go from here? He was going back to New York. I doubted I would ever see him again.
And that was going to suck.
Later that afternoon, I met up with Annie at a café near the bakery. She’d been my rock for years. I needed her advice now more than ever.
“Dorie!” Annie exclaimed when I reached for my glass of Coke.
“What?” I asked.
She pointed at my neck. “Do you have a hickey?!”
I slapped my hand over my neck. “What? No.”
“Oh, that’s a hickey. I was wondering why you were still lounging about the apartment. You never hang out at your place. Who was it?”
I debated what I should tell her. “Kaisen.”
Her eyes widened. “I so knew he was into you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know about that.”
Annie leaned forward, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Okay, spill. What happened? Don’t leave out a single detail. I need to live vicariously through you.”
I hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, fine. It was unexpected. He brought me home last night and we had sex. He stayed the night. One minute we were in the kitchen and then things got very, very heated.”
Annie grinned. “Uh huh, go on.”
I blushed. “Well, we—you know. It just escalated fast. We did it right there on the counter.”
Annie let out a low whistle. “On the counter? Damn, Dorie, that’s hot. How was it?”
I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. “It was incredible. He’s so intense, you know? Like, he’s all controlled and composed most of the time, but when he lets go…” I trailed off, feeling my cheeks heat up again.
Annie smirked. “Sounds like he knows what he’s doing. But what about you? How are you feeling about all this?”
I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “That’s the thing. I don’t know. To be fair, it just happened. I haven’t had time to really process it.”
“How much do you know about him?” she asked. “I mean, we know he’s rich and owns a company, but is he married? Dating anyone?”
“Not really. I know he’s successful.”
She pulled out her phone, typing furiously. A moment later, she turned the screen to me, showing me an interview with Kaisen. He was smiling, charming, and completely at ease as he chatted with a reporter. The interviewer asked him if he had any plans to relinquish his title as the hottest, most eligible bachelor in New York City.
Kaisen laughed, his tone cocky and arrogant. “No,” he said, his smirk widening. “I don’t believe in marriage, and I see myself as a bachelor forever. I’ve never had an interest in having kids, either.”
It was hard to hear him talk like that. The man in the video was Kaisen, but he was different. He lacked the dry, sarcastic edge I’d grown to love, and his words cut deeper than I wanted to admit. For some reason, hearing him say those things hurt more than I expected.
Annie looked at me, her expression concerned. “Are you okay?”
I forced a smile, nodding. “Yeah. It’s fine. It was just a one-night stand… plus some tomfoolery this morning. It meant nothing.”
But even as I said the words, I knew they weren’t true. It had meant something to me, and that was why it hurt so much. I couldn’t let him do this to me. I’d always been the one people used, and I was tired of it.
I was trying to pull myself together when Annie frowned at her phone, her expression darkening. She turned the screen to me, her voice hesitant. “Did you know about this?”
My heart stopped, then shattered as I read the headline: Seely Enterprises Acquires Waterfront Properties in Cape May. The article went on to explain how Kaisen’s company had been quietly buying up properties along the waterfront, including the building next to mine. My stomach churned as I realized the truth—Kaisen’s company owned the brokerage firm that was trying to buy my building.
I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. How could he do this? How could he kiss me, hold me, make me feel like I mattered, while his company was trying to take everything from me?
Annie reached out, her hand resting on mine. “Dorie, are you okay?”
I shook my head, my vision blurring with tears. “No. I’m not okay.”
I didn’t know what to do or how to feel. All I knew was that I couldn’t let Kaisen see how much this hurt me. I couldn’t let him know that he’d gotten under my skin. Because if he did, it would only make it worse.