Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
KENNEDY
LET’S brEAK THE RULES.
As soon as Henry opened the door and we strode into the apartment, Captain Sushi jumped on the kitchen island with a pissed meow.
“Yeah, yeah,” Henry mumbled as he grabbed the treats we kept in one of the kitchen drawers and gave him a piece. “Sorry, bud.”
“Do you think he only acts pissed when we’re out of the house all day to get treats?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.” Henry scratched Sush’s ear. “We’re onto you, dude.”
The cat simply stared at us as he ate his snack, and once he was done, he jumped off and curled up on the couch.
“What a warm welcome,” I shouted so Sush could hear me. “I’ll be sure to remember that next time I go to the pet store to buy those organic salmon treats you love so much.”
“You spoil him.”
I crossed my arms. “There are cat beds that you bought him in every room of this house, even though he literally uses none of them. And you think I’m the one who spoils him?”
He sighed, defeated. “Okay, you may be right.”
We both looked at each other and laughed. Once our laughter died, a sudden charged silence fell between us. It was so strong, I could almost taste it. We were toying with the line of no return, but neither one of us was sure of what to do or what the next step was.
I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I wanted more. I wanted him.
But I was also scared.
This had the word messy printed in bold, neon letters. Mixing business with pleasure wasn’t the best idea—it was why I created the contract in the first place.
But I hadn’t lied when I told him I wanted to break the rules.
We quietly walked down the hall and stood at our respective doors to retreat to our bedrooms. My eyes found his, and we just stared at each other for a few silent beats.
My body buzzed with nervous energy; it was holding me back.
It was strange, how the sight of him alone was making my heart quicken.
It freaked me out, to be honest. I couldn’t pinpoint when exactly I had started to feel things for the guy who, up until the other day, I claimed I couldn’t stand.
He leaned against his door and crossed his arms. “Today was really fun.”
I rested my head against my door with a nod. “Yeah, it was.” I didn’t think I had felt so at ease and had so much fun in…hell, forever.
He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself and simply nodded awkwardly with a smile.
“Night, pretty boy,” I whispered.
“Night, Kenny baby,” he rasped.
I gave him a small smile and opened the door to my bedroom. When I shut myself in it with a soft click, I rested my forehead against the sleek white door with a long sigh.
I couldn’t shake the disappointment in the pit of my stomach when he didn’t reach for me. I was expecting…something. Anything. I was terrified of making the first move. I didn’t have it in me to do it again.
Haven’t you been complaining that you’re tired of not living?
I shook my head as I stepped into the shower. My brain was getting too many crazy ideas, and it was clouding my judgment.
Hot water ran down my skin, relaxing my muscles as my head continued in overdrive.
Is it crazy, though? To live and enjoy life? To have causal, fun sex for the hell of it?
When I got out of the shower and slipped into an oversize sweatshirt, I glanced at my door like it was going to give me all the answers I was looking for.
Should I do it? Go up to his door, knock, and be selfish for once? If there was anyone I trusted at the time to give me what I was looking for, as crazy as this was to admit, it was Henry.
No, I thought to myself. That’s insane.
But what if it wasn’t? We had already crossed the line. What difference did one more time—or multiple—really make?
With my heart lodged in my throat and adrenaline coursing through me, I took three deliberate steps, and with a shaky breath, I grabbed the door handle, opening it.
I was determined to see this through—to be brave.
My steps faltered when my eyes landed on Henry standing in front of me in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs that did nothing to hide what I knew damn well he was carrying.
My eyes raked over every hard muscle of his forearms, the pronounced veins, the freckles that dusted his pale skin, and his chiseled abdomen.
He was tall, broad, and all man—it was overwhelming.
His broad chest rose and fell quickly, like he was having a difficult time breathing.
Which was funny, because my chest was like a drum pounding too hard, too fast, and it made it just as difficult for me to breathe.
My eyes settled on his, and they were this darker shade of blue, with flecks of gray that all but screamed how hungry he was for me.
If I had to describe how Henry looked, only one word would come to mind—feral.
The energy barreling through my body was hot and wild, and impossible to tame. Electricity danced in the space between us, charging the very air we breathed like a live fuse.
My eyes dropped to his lips, and a deep growl bubbled out of Henry’s chest as he breathed out, “Fuck it.” Then he swiftly threaded his fingers through my curls possessively, searing our lips in a deep, hungry kiss.
I moaned like it was instinct when his lips met mine. He was the only source of air my body demanded. His kisses were explosive, like a collision of stars leaving their hot mark. I welcomed the burn. I wanted more of it.
We were a mess of hot, wet kisses and heavy breaths as his other hand gripped my waist, and he walked us inside my room and shut the door then turned me around and pushed me against it. He tilted my head to get more access and started to trail kisses from my jaw to my neck and collarbone.
I was fucking alive underneath his touch and the way he planted kisses across my skin like I was the only thing he wanted to savor.
It fueled me with reckless confidence, so I pressed my hand to his chest and guided him until the back of his legs hit the bed, forcing him to sit.
I straddled him, and his hands gripped my ass while his wild, hooded eyes met mine.
My fingers found the hem of my sweatshirt and lifted the fabric without wasting a second.
Henry’s eyes landed on my naked chest, and he groaned a low, “Fuuuuck.” He was in awe, just staring at me like I was his sole focus.
In my thirty-two years of life, I had never felt truly powerful. Most of my life, I’d moved through with false confidence. But one heated look from him, and I was ready to conquer the whole fucking world. It terrified me.
But it didn’t matter. The need to be with him was stronger, and it made it easier for me to push all those unwelcome emotions to the side.
I threaded my fingers through his hair and gave it a gentle tug. “What are you waiting for?” I rasped against his lips. “Fuck me, Henry. Let’s break the rules.”
“Oh, Kenny.” His chuckle was dark, gravelly. “I’m going to have so much fun with you.”
I moved my hips, pressing my center against his length, and I smirked when he let out a low, pained groan. “Show me what you got, pretty boy.”
He swiftly picked me up and splayed me against the soft mattress.
His body hovered over mine as his mouth found one of my brown nipples and he swirled his tongue around it, pulling a moan out of me.
His calloused hand roamed my ribcage, my abdomen, and my curves like he was committing every inch of me to memory until it landed on my drenched panties.
He met my stare through his eyelashes with a lazy smirk playing on his lips. “Are you wet for me already, Kenny baby?”
“Yes,” I replied without an ounce of shame. This was not me. I wasn’t the kind of girl who talked during sex. But Henry… Well, he made me fearless. “What are you going to do about it?”
He arched a brow. “Is that a challenge?”
“I don’t know, is it?” My tone was playful.
His lips traveled with hot kisses from my sternum to my stomach to my hips. I tilted my head back with a moan when he placed a few kisses on my inner thighs. If the way he fucked felt half as good as his lips and hands felt on my body…I didn’t know how I was going to survive.
He gripped the hem of my panties as he nipped my inner thigh to get my attention. “Oh, no, no.” He clicked his tongue. “You’re going to look at me in the eyes while I eat your cunt, Kennedy. I want those pretty brown eyes on me at all times.”
“Oh my God,” I moaned breathlessly as my clit throbbed painfully at his words.
What the hell was happening? How was this real life?
He took my underwear off in one quick motion then wrapped my legs around his shoulders. “I’m the only one who’s going to fuck you senseless.” Long, sleek fingers gripped my thighs. His stare was intense and set my body ablaze. “The only name I want you moaning is mine,” he growled.
I couldn’t even form a response, because Henry flattened his tongue against my center and licked it torturously slow.
My eyes rolled to the back of my head, and I was transported to another dimension.
My body wasn’t mine anymore. It was possessed by lust and instantly craved more like an insatiable hunger, ready to devour anything in its path.
“Eyes.” Lick. “On.” Lick. “Me.” Lick.
It took everything in me to open my eyelids and meet his gaze, but when I did, he rewarded me with a twirl of his tongue around my clit.
Then he latched his mouth on to me and started sucking and slurping like a thirsty, desperate man.
The sounds were downright filthy; it was almost too embarrassing how my core tightened and how wet I became with each suck and erotic sound.
But I was so intent on obeying him, my eyes never left his as I propped one of my elbows on the bed then threaded my fingers through his hair.