Chapter 21
JESS
“Didn’t I tell you not to move?”
My hand freezes halfway to Kane’s hair, and I whip it back to my side with an apologetic, “Sorry!”
Amusement lights his gaze as he looks at me, his lips quirking in a teasing smile. “Should I go get the scarves? Would that help?”
Even the thought of that silky fabric wrapped around my wrists makes me even wetter than I already was. My core throbs with need, the tiny muscles convulsing around Kane as he sinks deeper inside me.
“Do you like that idea?” Kane asks. “I could go get them. Although…” He smirks. “Then we’d have to stop. For a few minutes, at least.”
The deep timbre of his voice brings another surge of desire. I love it when his voice gets all low and rumbly, as it always does when we’re making love.
As I’m debating—wait for Kane to run inside to get the scarves or not—he reaches between us and finds my sensitive bud, stroking gently before giving it a little tweak. A low moan slips out, and I clench my legs around his waist instinctively.
Even if my brain is torn, my body knows what it wants. To feel Kane seated deep inside me, his every move a tantalizing tease drawing me closer and closer to the edge.
While I adore being restrained by Kane, the idea of losing contact with him for even a second is unthinkable. To be empty again after this delicious feeling of completion.
“No, not this time,” I reply on a gasp, as Kane tilts my hips so he can plunge even deeper. Then he hits that spot, the one he knows drives me wild. My head falls back and my eyes flutter shut. “Just don’t… leave.”
Kane leans over me, his warm breath fanning across my cheek. Amusement shifts to something more serious. “Never, sweetheart. I will never leave you. That, I promise.”
Then he captures my wrists and lifts them above my head, pinning them to the couch cushion in a firm but careful grip. “I don’t want to leave now, either,” he adds in that same, raspy voice. “Not when you feel so damn good wrapped around me.”
I can’t disagree. Making love with Kane is always amazing, and no matter how many times I think it can’t possibly get any better, he does something to prove me wrong.
Like surprising me with this fully decorated igloo out on the back patio, complete with heaters and a little fire pit and a sumptuous couch that’s the perfect size to fit both of us.
Not just creating this little winter escape in our backyard, but making a romantic date out of it, with wine and a gourmet charcuterie platter and a box of my favorite truffles.
Not just that, but it’s the way he’s this perfect incongruity.
Gently forceful while we make love, telling me what to do and sometimes ordering me not to move—which I never would have thought I’d be into before I met Kane, but now I can’t get enough of.
It’s not an abdication of power, like I used to think submission was, but a gift instead.
When I let Kane control things, it’s granting him my absolute trust.
And I know he would never, ever break it. Not in bed, or on this couch, or anywhere; whether it’s making love or not. Kane might like being dominant in the bedroom, but I know his priority is making me happy. Making sure I feel safe.
Kane never does anything without asking me first, whether it’s the first time or the tenth. And he doesn’t expect me to always want to submit, either. Sometimes I want to take charge, like the other day, when I climbed on top of him while he was sleeping.
He definitely didn’t complain about waking up to that . And when I told him not to move, to let me take care of everything, I didn’t miss the flare of heat in his eyes. Or the way he twitched in my hand, going hot and slick with excitement.
“We can bring the scarves out next time,” I tell him. “And maybe the blindfold, too.” Pausing, I amend, “Although. It’s so pretty out here. I don’t want to miss anything. ”
Kane presses a soft kiss to my lips. “So you like it? The igloo? Even though it’s a dreaded surprise ?”
“I think I like—” I almost swallow my tongue as Kane pulls almost completely out of me, then plunges back home. My inner walls quiver and my toes curl. “I…”
“You like what?” Kane asks with another smirk. “This? Or surprises?”
“Both,” I manage. “I love both. Ever since the office. And?—”
Another thrust. Another flick of those sensitive nerves. Another nip at the skin at the base of my neck.
“I love all your surprises,” I finish. “I think I’m a convert. At least with you.”
“Good.” Kane covers my mouth with his, stroking at the seam of my lips before dipping inside.
His tongue strokes mine, sending a flood of sensation through me.
Then he ends the kiss and looks at me, his eyes nearly black, with just a tiny ring of deep blue showing.
He releases my wrists and says in a growl, “Now. Don’t move this time. Okay?”
“Okay,” I reply with a little nod. “I won’t. But… please. I’m so…”
“Close?”
“Yes.” My hips are thrusting towards him, jerking in an erratic rhythm. My skin feels like it’s on fire, with every touch sendings shockwaves of heat and electricity through my body. “I’m so close, Kane. I just need…”
“I’ve got you, baby.” Kane drapes my legs over his shoulders and kisses me again. “Whatever you need, I’ll do it.”
Oh.
This man .
When he says that, I know it’s not just words. It’s the truth.
Kane would do anything for me.
“I just want to feel you,” I tell him. “Feel us finish together.”
His gaze meets mine, holding it for a moment. And as he looks at me, everything he’s feeling is right there, on full display. Love. Desire. Trust. Devotion. “Okay, baby.”
And then he moves again.
Slow at first, but quickly moving faster.
His fingers teasing, stroking, caressing.
Impossibly thick and hard, filling me with every thrust.
Hitting that spot again and again.
Kissing me, swallowing my moans and whimpers.
Murmuring, “I love you so much, Jess. So much.”
And finally, with one final plunge, lighting the fuse that ignites the fire kindling inside me.
In a burst of sensation, I explode, not just going over the edge, but rocketing past it.
Flashes of bright color fill my vision.
My muscles lock as ecstasy takes over.
My best efforts to stay still are thrown to the side as I clutch at Kane’s shoulders, my nails digging in.
“I love you,” I whisper. “I love you.”
A moment later, Kane flies into space with me. Thickening. Pulsing. Filling me with heat.
I peel my eyes open to look at him, memorizing every detail.
His taut features, like a gorgeous sculpture carved from stone .
His eyes, filled with a depth of emotion I’ve never seen before.
His chest, thickly muscled, glistening with perspiration.
The lock of auburn hair falling over his forehead.
My Kane.
My love.
And though I never really believed in it before, my soulmate.
As the aftershocks move through both of us, Kane carefully rolls us over and drapes me across his body. He pulls a blanket from off the back of the couch and covers us both with it, conscious as ever of my comfort.
His lips press to the top of my head. After a few seconds of silence, he says quietly, “I love you so fucking much, Jess. Words aren’t enough to explain it.”
My heart swells. “I know. Love isn’t a big enough word for how I feel.”
“Jess.”
“It’s true.”
Kane’s arms tighten around me. In an almost uncertain tone, he asks, “Are you really happy, Jess? Being here? Is there anything else I can do?—”
I jerk my head up, nearly smacking it into Kane’s chin. “Am I happy ?”
“Yeah.” He pauses. “I know there have been a lot of changes over the last month. Moving all your stuff here, putting your mom’s place on the market, finding a new job… I just want to make sure I’m supporting you enough.”
“Of course you have. How could you even ask? You’ve done everything for me. ”
While it’s true there have been a lot of changes in the month since my abduction, Kane’s been right by my side through all of them.
Interviews with the police and the FBI, avoiding the media until a new story came along to capture their interest, moving into his house for good, making the decision to put my mom’s house up for sale, not to mention deciding to find a new job…
It could have been overwhelming, if not for his support.
But he’s been amazing, anticipating my every need.
And surprising me with the most incredible things, like the office for my gaming, this little winter igloo on the patio, and the four-poster bed that suddenly appeared in our bedroom last week, along with a fresh supply of scarves in a rainbow of blues.
Honestly, though I’m still working through things with my counselor and have the occasional nightmare, I couldn’t be happier.
My mom’s house is going to go to a new family, one with a baby on the way, and they can create new memories there.
I’m starting a new job as lab manager at a medical practice in town, which I’m really excited about.
Not only is it more money, which is always nice, but when I went in to meet the staff yesterday, everyone was so friendly.
They told me about weekly happy hours and monthly potluck lunches and not once did I feel like anyone was judging me.
It wasn’t my intention to leave my old job, at least not in the beginning. But I found it was a lot harder to go back there than I thought. I couldn’t walk into my office without fighting a panic attack. There were just too many bad memories there.
Then Scarlett mentioned that the practice she works at was looking for a new lab manager, so it just made sense to look into it. One interview later, I had the job. Now I’m going to be working just around the corner from the police station, so Kane can stop by to say hi whenever he wants.
And the biggest thing contributing to my happiness is Kane, of course. Living with him, not just as a temporary thing, but permanently.