Frisco

30. Kali

30

KALI

M y phone buzzed beside me.

Harper: Justin’s here.

Oh boy. I already knew this. Harper knew I knew, so this wasn’t that kind of a texting conversation.

This was a something-else text.

I sighed, settling in. I was waiting for Shane to do what he needed to do. Then, well, we’d be doing what we needed to do after that. Until then… My phone buzzed again.

Harper: AND HE’S IGNORING ME! Ignoring me, Kali. Ignoring me.

Harper: He came here for me. Now, he’s ignoring me. WTF? Honestly what the effer loving feck?!

Harper: What’s worse is that he and Aly are besties. He took my bestie. She’s mine. Not his. AND her new man, because holy hannah banana, she and that Brandon are hot and heavy. How long have you been gone? Three nights? She’s been with him every night. We’re permanent fixtures at Manny’s. I’m starting a book club with a crazy lady named Rebecca and another older guy named Gus. Sigh. He’s legit nuts, but I like him. I don’t think he can read. I’m pretty sure he thinks book club is code for something else, and I do not want to ask him what he thinks it’s code for.

Me: If Justin is ignoring you, it’s because you did or said something to upset him.

Harper: Whose best friend are you?

Me: Yours. So is Aly. I reached out to him too.

Harper: I hate everyone. Even my mother didn’t care.

Harper calling.

I hit accept, and he kept on as if there’d been no break after his text.

“I called and informed her what was going down, and do you know what she did?”

I tensed, waiting for the bomb to drop.

“She asked to talk to him!” His voice went up. “Not to chew him out, or I don’t know—warn him not to hurt her baby. Nope. She wanted to see how he was doing since the breakup. I can’t believe it. My own mother. And then when he gave the phone back, she warned me not to hurt him !”

Yep. My guess was confirmed. “Harper.”

He sniffled. “What?”

“Did Justin give you an ultimatum? Marry him or break up with him?”

He was quiet for a moment. “No.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Yes…”

“You’re scared of getting married. I think that’s reasonable, considering your parents’ crazy life, but I’m pretty sure Justin will understand. Have you talked since that night?”

“No. He proposed, and I left.”

Holy—I bolted upright in bed. “What?”

“He got down on one knee, brought the ring out, and I left. My own house. I left my own house.”

“Was he there when you came back?”

“No.”

I frowned, something in the way he said that… “How long were you gone?”

“Three days.”

“Oh my God, Harper! Of course he was gone when you came back. That’s—that’s humiliating.”

“My best friend.” His voice was shrill again. “Mine. Not his—”

I heaved another breath, and he heard this one, quieting.

“I’m being irrational, aren’t I?”

“A bit.”

I waited, knowing Harper. We’d gone through this since high school. We might age, we might wise up, we could grow internal and external scars, but some things never changed—our hearts. Harper was petrified, and only he could do what he needed to do.

“When are you coming back, Kali? I could do with a Kali cuddle.”

“I’m not sure. I’m waiting to find out myself.”

“I miss you. It’s fun being out here with Aly, but we did come to be with you, you know.”

“I know.” I lay back down, settling into the pillow once again. “I don’t think my sister is coming back with us.”

“Are you coming back with us?”

I couldn’t answer that either. “What are you going to do about Justin?” I asked instead.

“Agh! Do not think I don’t know what you’re pulling. What’s going on with you and Mr. Hottie Biker Badass Shane King?”

“I don’t know either.” That was the truth. We hadn’t had sex yet. “So Aly and that Brandon guy, huh?”

Harper growled. “I totally know you’re deflecting again, but I’m going to let this one slide. I could do with some gossip distraction myself. And yes! She’s had three one-night stands with him. Keeps saying each night is the last night, until the next evening when we’re at Manny’s and she’s waiting for him to close up. That guy is a workhorse. And I met the sister. I have a crush on her. It’s official. I’m going to start my own Instagram page and fill it with pictures of her and her man, who is delicious looking. The both of them? Sex on wheels. Hot sex on wheels.”

“Aly likes the sister?”

He made a noncommittal sound. “You know Aly. She’s all bubbly and nice, but internally she’s lying to herself about what she’s doing with Brandon.”

I frowned. That sounded more serious than I thought. I sat up again slowly. “Wait. What?”

“She’s in love.”

“It’s been three nights.”

“Yeah, and you know Aly. We know Aly. She’s in love.”

“What?!”

“She blushes when he says her name. She gets butterflies before she calls him—or texts him even. She’s got the look. Our girl’s done fell in love, Kalista.”

I shot to my feet, now standing on the bed. “ What?! ”

Panic seized my chest.

Rising.

Squeezing.

The pressure filled my chest, rising to my throat.

The bedroom door opened, and Shane appeared, his face thunderous. “ What?! ”

I dropped the phone, not thinking. “My best friend fell in love for the second time in her life, and I WASN’T THERE TO WATCH IT!” I launched myself at him, knowing he’d catch me. My legs went around his waist, and I peered down at him, glaring. “You kept me here while my best friend fell in love! How dare you!”

Shane caught me easily and shook his head, probably at how insane I was being.

I didn’t care. I kept glaring, seething. “My best friend, Shane!”

The thunderous look was gone, and he took a step, dropping me on the bed. My ass hit the phone. I heard Harper squawking under me, but I was so beyond caring.

I felt myself hyperventilating. I had missed this time. I hadn’t checked the guy out. I shoved back up to my feet, shaking my hands in the air. “The last time she fell in love, Three-Inch Dick dumped her for a size-two girl. Aly’s a size ten. That’s it. A ten. He specifically told her he was leaving her for someone who looked like a trophy on his arm. Aly loves hard . She’s not loved anyone since. Now I find out she’s in love with someone, and I wasn’t there to check him out—cyberstalk him, interrogate his family members, his friends, look for him on dating sites, see what fetishes he might have. I wasn’t able to do any of that because I was here because of you and oomph —”

He’d moved in, wrapped his arms around my waist, and put me over his shoulder.

“Shane!”

He bent, then handed something to me. “Your phone, babe.”

“Babe?!” I could hear Harper again. “He calls you babe?!”

Oh Jesus. I took the phone, putting it to my ear in a very uncomfortable way. “Hey.”

“Hey? Hey yourself!” Harper was all chirpy now. “He calls you babe ?!”

I cringed, some of my anger melting, because yeah, he called me babe. “Um, I think I need to call you back.”

“You do that! You definitely do that. Take your time. Babe. Oh my gawd. Babe. I have to call Aly right now.” He hung up on me this time.

We weren’t too far from the bed, so I tossed the phone as Shane moved out through the apartment and into the bathroom. He placed me on the counter, stepping away to turn the shower on.

Say what?

We’d not had sex where his dick was inside my vagina, but he wanted to shower together?

I was putting my foot down. Consider it down. My foot. Now.

Then he turned to me, and his eyes got all hooded. Gulp . There went my will, literally melting out of me. He reached back to take his shirt off, and I gulped again because holy goodness, his chest was something else. He dropped the shirt coming toward me, and his hands went to his jeans.

I swallowed, forcing my gaze upward and away from those very magical fingers. “What?” I winced. My voice was seriously high-pitched. I lowered it, coughing. “What are you doing?”

“You were on your phone with the guy friend?” His eyes still smoldered.

I looked away.

He came closer, his hands on my knees, sliding up my legs.

“Yes.” My voice broke. I would’ve been embarrassed if I wasn’t so focused on the way his hands were sliding up my legs, right to where I wanted his dick to tunnel inside of me, but it still hadn’t. “What about him?”

“Getting my bearings here.” He tipped my chin up to meet his gaze and moved in even closer. I could feel his jeans rubbing against mine. “And your other best friend, the girl, has fallen in love with someone?”

“Mmm-hmmm.” No way was I telling him it was a guy adamantly against his motorcycle club. Forget my sister. She’d made her bed, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if she wasn’t better off here than at home. I liked Machete. Red Demon or not, I had a good feeling about him. But forget her. My new goal was getting back to Fallen Crest and checking in on this guy Aly was falling in love with.

“And you weren’t there?” Shane asked.

I nodded, starting to feel dumb. Slightly.

“Harper said she’s in love, and he’s only said that once,” I tried to explain.

“About her ex?”

I frowned. “How do you know about her ex?”

Shane moved in closer, now standing between my legs. His eyes softened. “Your brother and I talked more than you think.”

“Connor mentioned Aly’s ex?”

“Gloves kept abreast of everything in your life. He shared most of it, or I thought he did. He didn’t share that you were back in town. Did he know?”

I nodded. “Yeah. He knew.”

Shane made a noncommittal sound. “Looks like he kept that to himself then, but it is what it is. To handle the present issue, I’m taking it you want to get to your friends?”

His fingers kneaded my legs, his thumbs rubbing along the inside of them, but he wasn’t moving farther up.

Why hadn’t we had sex?

I wanted it. I’d told him in a very direct way, and nothing. He’d done everything else. But no dick insertion.

What did that mean?

I could feel him, even now. His hardness. It was right in front of me. He studied me, and I studied his dick.

“Why haven’t we had sex?”

The instant the words were out, I regretted them.

His hands lifted, and he stepped back.

Instant cold washed over me, like a bucket of water splashed in my face.

That was dumb.

I shouldn’t have asked… Wait. No. That’s a legit question.

I tipped my head up and shoved aside all my stupid insecurities. I wasn’t twenty anymore. “We’ve done everything else. I told you last night I wanted to fuck, but so far…” I reached for his waistband, drawing him to me. “This guy hasn’t been inside of me yet.”

His eyes went black, suddenly serious.

Widening my legs, I moved him until he fit right there. A flick of a few buttons, and he could’ve surged inside.

I waited.

I would wait him out.

Dark lust shone from his eyes.

I ached for him. I’d never, ever felt this before.

“I asked you a question, Shane. I want an answer.”

So direct. So assertive. Who was this new Kali? I mean, I was usually assertive, but not about sex, not when I felt like the vulnerable one.

He made a growling sound as his hand came up, gripping the back of my neck. He took hold of my hair and slowly moved fully against me.

I closed my eyes, just briefly, at the touch, the connection.

He felt so good there. Then again, that’s where all this had started—grinding against a motel wall.

“You want to know why my dick hasn’t been inside of your pussy?”

I panted as he moved against me, rubbing.

“Yeah.” I stared right up at him. “I do.”

I wasn’t scared of him. Not anymore. I let him see that. In this area, I’d never be scared again. No man was going to take that power from me.

He bent down, his eyes glittering, his hand holding tight to my hair, keeping me frozen in place. But I wanted it. I liked it.

As he got even closer, his mouth almost to mine, I shifted and wrapped my legs around his waist, yanking him even closer.

His mouth dropped to mine from the motion, and while he wasn’t expecting it, I was. I nipped at his lips, but his mouth widened and took over, suddenly very commanding. His hands cupped my face, tilting me back for him, so he could plunder my mouth.

His tongue claimed me. Taking over.

Then he picked me up all over again and turned, walking us into the shower. Water rained down over us as he pressed me into the wall.

He massaged my ass, both cheeks, as he kept kissing me.

The kisses. I could die from just the kisses.

He removed my clothes, dropping things one by one on the shower floor until we were both naked, writhing against each other.

He grinded into me, rotating, moving, repeating.

I was back to panting, but he wasn’t letting go of my mouth, not once, not even as his hand swept between my legs. Then his cock was there, paused at my entrance.

I groaned, my head falling back.

Finally, he lifted his mouth only enough to growl, “My dick’s not been in you because I’ve been waiting. I want all of you. Not just your body or your mind. I want all of you.”

And as he said those words, he thrust inside. He went deep, his hand holding the back of my neck. “I know I don’t have all of you—not yet. But you want this? You’re getting it.”

He slid out, and then thrust in again. He went hard, almost aggressive, punishing.

I grasped his shoulders. I wanted this.

Yesss.

I gasped, as he moved again, I felt like I was being branded from the inside out.

I was his.

He had commanded it.

His thrusts were hard, rough. They weren’t smooth, but this wasn’t smooth between us.

It was raw. Desperate.

And so fucking needed.

My hips moved with him, and he kept my head anchored in his hand, but the rest of my body slammed into the wall. Over and over again.

He continued to kiss me, his tongue now in rhythm with his dick.

My fingers sank into his skin, holding on. We were frenzied. Both of us together.

Pleasure soared through me, rising, building…

He kept moving inside of me. In and out.

I dropped one of my hands to his hip, the other to the shower wall, and I began riding him, pushing up and out on my own. We moved into and against each other. Now that I was holding myself in place, his hand moved to my clit and began rubbing there slowly, almost tenderly—in total opposition to the way he moved inside of me.

He looked into my eyes, and I knew he could see inside of me, but I could see inside of him.

He needed this as much as I had, maybe more. No. Definitely more. Need flared bright in his gaze, and my emotions pressed up and threatened to burst out of my chest.

I was coming, but God, no. I didn’t want to. Not yet. I wanted to wait, to savor this.

He saw me fighting it back and shook his head before he grabbed both of my hips. He held me there, pausing before he slid out, almost all the way, but then he repositioned me. He held me higher up, moving in and I couldn’t do anything except wrap my arms around his neck, my legs closing around his back, my ankles hooking over each other.

I tucked my head as we bear hugged, and he began pounding up and into me, almost pistoning.

It sent me over the edge, and I shattered in his arms, my whole body seizing on my climax.

He kept moving, losing some of his intensity as he waited for me to come down, for my body to calm after the waves had crashed through me. Once I did, he pulled out and turned me in midair before pressing me against the shower wall. His hands found mine, his fingers lacing with mine as his cock slid back up inside of me.

He fucked me from behind, up and up and up until I starting to feel the tingling all over again, and I fell back into him. My head rested against his shoulder. He still thrust up into me, and he moved our joined hands between my legs, touching me there with my own fingers. We worked me to the edge together, and he paused until I cried out all over again. Then I felt him surge up, one last time, grinding and rotating until he came inside of me.

I was replete, boneless.

He eased out of me, pressing a soft kiss to my shoulder, and his hand moved up to circle my breast. I thought he’d say something, but he didn’t. He only held me. We were both shaking a little. After a few moments, he carried me out of the shower, grabbing some towels on the way.

Back in the bedroom, he tossed one down before settling me on it.

I eased back, shaken by what had just happened.

It’d been violent at moments, almost a domination sort of sex, but I was shaken because it had felt right for me. With him. Only him, though.

He stood, staring at me.

I stared right back.

There were no words. No feelings. He’d wrung every single one of them out of me.

But I knew I could sign up for a lifetime of sex like that.

That scared me.