Killian #2
“I couldn’t sleep.” She shifts in place, arms linked around her knees. “It’s kind of sort of hard knowing you were out there. Not knowing if you’d…”
She doesn’t finish the sentence, but she doesn’t have to. I get what she means. That she was worried about me.
I cross the room a slow step at a time. A sign of the uncertainty of the moment.
Truth be told, I’m not sure if I’m about to jump in the shower or head out to the Rialto or hit the streets looking for trouble.
I’ve got to do anything but give into the draw. The pull I feel toward this girl.
It’s already started as I close some of the distance between us and the adrenaline in my veins thrums even harder than it had tonight at the Vodka Room.
Equal parts hyperawareness and attraction.
Every move she makes I’m aware of. It begins to feel like a dance, like we’re moving toward the inevitable.
Jhene slides off the bed as I approach. She stands in front of me with her arms at her sides and her large glasses reflecting in the dark thanks to the sliver of light from the window.
We’re close now. Close enough that I can make out even the smallest detail about her.
She’s got that damned white tank top on, the fabric so thin it’s damn near impossible not to notice how her nipples peek through. Even in the dark, I can tell.
Her brows are drawn, worry etched onto her features. Tension lives in her shoulders as she peers up at me as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I realize I’m doing the same.
I’m so fucking lost, yet I can’t stop myself from stepping toward her.
She’s just a stray. Some girl who’s fallen into trouble, and who I’ve decided to protect due to months of tension with the Bratva.
But as rain taps on the window and we stand close, she gives a nervous quake. I realize I feel it too.
There’s no lying or pretending anymore.
Jhene Prince is more than a stray I’ve taken in. She’s the woman I want to protect. Fight for.
Prove to that she’s worth those things and more.
I want to be the one who rights the wrongs in her world.
I’m not sure what the hell we’re doing hovering so close together in the dark. Jhene seems equally as uncertain ’til she finally works up the nerve.
For a second time in the last twelve hours, she reaches up and kisses me.
Less cautiously than earlier. More boldly and confidently, as if she’s made up her mind and she’s not second-guessing it anymore.
I let her take the lead, following where she takes us. Her hands slide up my chest and then neck and wind up in my wet hair.
I lean into her as she nips at my lips and I almost grin. Who would’ve guessed the introverted, moody server girl could be so playful?
But I should know by now to expect the unexpected as far as Jhene Prince is concerned.
She’s first to introduce tongue. I’ve bowed my head and cupped her face up to mine, and she flicks her warm little tongue to my lips.
We pick up the pace, our kisses growing more urgent.
Heat shoots through me. The same hot blood that coursed through me earlier pumps faster, making a return.
My mouth travels from hers and spreads more kisses to her jaw and throat. Jhene releases a breathy moan that’s almost drowned out by the trickling rain.
I walk us a couple steps backward ’til we’ve reached the bed. Then I’m lowering her down onto it, following after her without ever breaking the kiss.
I brace myself above her, careful to keep my full weight off her small frame. She’s hardly noticed the change in position, mouth open against mine.
Our hands roam. Slowly and curiously, we map each other out.
My hand’s dropped from her waist to her hips and thighs. She’s gripping at my chest and shoulders as if feeling up every groove of hard muscle.
We’ve decided not to question what’s happening. We’ve settled on letting the moment play out.
Heavy kisses and slow touches.
We make out in the dark like two fucking teenagers hiding from their parents. The pitter-patter from the rain continues to be our soundtrack, almost rhythmic in the same way as our kisses.
It feels like hours go by. An eternity of these leisurely, exploratory kisses and touches in the dark. Eventually, the kisses grow lazier and shorter ’til we’re simply laying tangled together on my narrow bed.
Jhene nuzzles her face into the crook between my jaw and chest. “I don’t regret it.”
“Hmm?” I grunt.
“Kissing you like this,” she murmurs, her warm breath on my neck. “I want you to know that. So… you don’t think you took advantage. I wanted to kiss you, so I did. I liked it.”
I stare up at the dark ceiling, one hand low on her back. “Yeah… me too.”
“It was my first real kiss,” she adds softly. “Both times tonight. I don’t count the others.”
My silence meets her confession, though on the inside, I’m left with a lump in my throat. I swallow against it and the tide of anger that comes anytime I think about the injustices in her life.
“Then I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I rasp seconds later.
“You’re a good kisser, Killer,” she teases. “No wonder you have so many groupies.”
Jhene snuggles closer, resting her head against my chest. Her breathing steadily begins to slow, and I spend the entire time listening as it does.
I press my lips to the top of her head as she drifts off.
“Get some sleep,” I murmur against her curls.