27. Wren
WREN
During our meal, we talk about anything and everything that’s happened in the last three years, ending with my photography internship in London.
I shrug, moving the last bites of my dessert around my plate. “I love it, don’t get me wrong. I just…I’m not sure if I can see myself doing it full time.” I huff out a laugh. “I’m not sure what I can see myself doing.”
Kai studies me for a minute, his eyes more serious than they have been so far tonight. “I guess I never really thought of what me leaving meant for you in that way. We had a plan for our future, well, together.”
I look down, not being able to hold his gaze, as that’s exactly what happened. We had our life planned out. I never thought there was an alternate path that I would take alone. Even now, are we back on that track, or has so much changed that neither of us really knows what the future holds?
Kai’s end goal never changes, or does it? Does he still just want the NHL, and whatever comes with that, he’ll accept? Or does he still hold onto the hope that it will be us at the end?
After we finish our food, Kai pays the tab, and we head toward his car, his fingers fitting perfectly around mine. He brings our joined hands to his mouth, pressing a kiss to mine.
When we reach his car, he opens the door but doesn’t step back right away.
“Thank you for coming with me tonight,” he says softly, brushing back a stray strand of hair from my face. Anywhere his skin touches mine, ever so slightly, my body heats.
I smile up at him. “Thanks for asking me.”
He kisses me then, bringing his mouth to mine. Kissing Kai is the only time when I feel like I’m floating above everything that’s trying to pull me down. Like he’s been the missing piece, the small ray of sunlight that can break through the darker moments of my life.
I pull him closer, deepening the kiss, and he moves flush against me with zero hesitation.
I’m breathless when we finally break apart. He rests his forehead against mine as he gets his breathing back under control.
We stand there for a moment before he moves, tipping my chin up to meet his gaze. “Do you want me to take you home?” he asks, his voice husky, just as affected by this as I am.
My answer is simple, and I’ve never been more sure of anything. “No.”
His eyes darken as he kisses me again before nudging me into my seat and walking around to his side. I don’t miss the adjustment he has to make before getting in, and that little fact puts a small grin on my face as we head back to his place.
I hold the flowers in my lap because I need something to do with my hands in order to keep them to myself.
But after the second stoplight, I give up and reach for him.
Kai turns his palm up immediately, threading our fingers together over the console like he’s been waiting for me to make the first move.
Grayson is gone when we get to the apartment. I know because his shoes aren’t by the door and because Harlow texted me after the game.
Harlow: Gray’s staying at my place tonight. I want exactly zero details. Love you.
Kai takes the flowers from my hands and lays them on the counter before taking my bag and hanging it over the back of one of the stools. He looks around the kitchen, almost begging for something to clean. He’s nervous.
“Kai.”
He turns. “Yeah?”
I walk toward him. “Your kitchen is clean. Your roommate is gone. We just got back from our second first date, and if you tell me we don’t have to do anything, I’m going to scream.”
He scoffs. “I wasn’t going to say that.”
I lift a brow at him, and he grins sheepishly, coming to stand right in front of me. “Okay, maybe I was going to say something similar to that, but not because I don’t want to.”
He studies me, his eyes moving between mine, searching for something, an answer maybe?
To a question he hasn’t quite asked. “I don’t know how to do this, and it not mean…
more. It’s not just something casual. You are not something casual, and I don’t want to freak you out by bringing up feelings and all that, and I—”
I kiss him, half to stop his overthinking spiral, half to answer his silent question.
I pull back only slightly. “I want this to mean something.”
This time, he kisses me.
There is no gentle lead-in this time. His hands cup my face as I grab his shirt, pulling him down as his mouth opens over mine.
All day has been building toward this—the glances at the rink, the flowers, his thumb over my knuckles, the quiet drive back—and the touch of his mouth gives all of it somewhere to go.
He walks me backward until my hips hit the kitchen island.
He lifts me then, sitting me on the edge of the counter, and my hands explore his shoulders, down to his chest through the fabric of his shirt.
I play with the buttons, and the sound he makes against my mouth says he’s fine with it coming off.
His hand slides to my waist, warm and firm, and I arch into him without meaning to.
“Kai.”
He pauses immediately, breathing hard. I shake my head before he can pull away. “We should probably move to your room.”
For half a second, he just looks at me.
Then he picks me up, and I laugh quietly into his neck and wrap my legs around his middle as he carries me down the hall.
Kai’s room is dim, lit by the small lamp on his nightstand. It smells like fresh sheets and soap with a hint of mint, like him.
He sets me down, and for a moment, we stand there, my hands idly playing in the hair at his nape, his eyes scanning my face. I thought this part might feel awkward, but it doesn’t. It feels like slipping into something new, but familiar.
One careful hand, thumb brushing below my eye, then over the freckles there.
“You’re sure?” he asks.
I cover his hand with mine, kissing his palm. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
“Oh yeah?” His mouth curves, but his eyes stay hot. “I’ve been thinking about you since you walked into my apartment with Harlow a few months ago.”
“Only since then?” I tease.
His eyes stay locked on mine, no sense of teasing to be found. “No.”
“How long?” I ask, even if I’m not sure I can handle the answer.
His gaze drops to my mouth. “You haven’t left my mind since middle school, Freckles, no matter how hard I tried to let you go over the last few years.”
The ache that moves through me is sharp and sweet at the same time.
I bring my lips to his. He kisses me thoroughly as his hands find the hem of my sweater and pause there until I nod. When his palms slide against my skin, I gasp into his mouth.
He stops. “Okay?”
“Kai.” I huff a nervous laugh, bringing his eyes to mine. “I promise I will tell you if I’m not okay.”
I sit up just enough to pull my sweater over my head and drop it on the floor.
He goes completely still.
Not in a way that makes me feel exposed. In a way that makes me feel seen. Like he needs a second to take in the fact that I’m here, choosing this, choosing him.
“You’re staring,” I whisper.
“I know,” he says, voice husky and gruff, but also reverent. “Committing this version of you to memory.”
My laugh turns into a shaky breath when he kisses my shoulder.
His shirt slips open under my hands, one button at a time until patience becomes laughable.
I push it off his shoulders, and it falls to the floor.
Our shoes are kicked toward the wall. His belt comes undone, my jeans hit the floor, he laughs against my mouth when we nearly trip over my sweater, and my hand tightens around his arm.
The laughter turns into a choked sound when my hands explore lower, opening the button of his pants, my eyes never leaving his. Carefully, I pull them down, leaving him in just his boxers, his body tense and breathing ragged.
Wanting to tease him more, I lean forward, placing a kiss just below his navel.
He sucks in a hard breath. “Fucking hell, Wren.”
“What?” I ask, continuing to place a trail of kisses along his waistband. “You want these off?”
He nods. “Yes.”
I hook my fingers under the material and drag them down his legs, giving him time to kick out of them, admiring the view.
He’s beautiful. The years of hard work in the gym are showing everywhere, skin taut over his muscles. I bring my gaze lower, and even his cock is perfect. He’s hard, very hard, and his tip glistens with excitement.
I graze my nails down his abdomen, and he inhales with a hiss as I move them lower.
I cock my head, looking up at him with wide eyes, feigning innocence. “What’s wrong?”
Kai wipes a hand down his face, muttering a line of curses that I can barely make out. I move my hands to the top of his hips, and he groans as I lean forward, kissing the spot there. He sucks in another breath, his entire body beginning to tremble.
“You sure nothing’s wrong, Kai?” I purr, moving another inch closer to where he wants my mouth. “You’re shivering. Are you cold?”
“Fuck, no, I’m not cold,” he nearly chokes out as I move my hand even higher on his thigh, skating right past his dick without touching it.
“What do you want then? You made the rules; use your words.”
“Please touch me,” he begs. “Hands, mouth, I don’t care. Please just fucking touch me.”
I smirk, licking my lips. “Good boy.”
Then I take him into my mouth.
“Holy fucking shit,” Kai murmurs, bringing his hands to tangle in my hair. “Holy shit.”
Bringing my hand up, I wrap my fingers around his shaft as I take him farther into my mouth, sucking slightly. He groans but only lets me have my fun for a few more seconds before he pulls away and urges me up.
“Listen, I love that. A lot,” he pants. “But if I let you keep going, this is going to be over faster than it started.”
I giggle, and he places a quick kiss on my lips.
He lowers me onto his bed slowly, one hand braced beside my head, the other warm at my waist. His eyes move over my face first.
Always my face first.
Then lower, careful and hungry in a way that makes heat gather everywhere at once.
“You’re beautiful,” he says.
I look away, overwhelmed by the feelings swirling through me, but Kai catches my chin, gently bringing my eyes back to his. “Don’t hide from me.”
“I’m not.”
His thumb brushes my bottom lip. “Freckles.”
My breath shakes.
“I’m not,” I whisper again, and this time it is closer to the truth.
He kisses me again, taking all the worries out of my mind for the moment.
His mouth moves from mine to my jaw, then to my throat, and I feel everything as he takes his time.
His movements are slow, torturous even. The sharp inhale of his breath when I arch into him.
The quiet curse he presses to my skin when my hands slide over his shoulders and down his back, nails digging in just slightly.
He chuckles against my neck. “You’re trouble.”
“You knew that.”
“Yeah.” His mouth brushes mine again. “I forgot how much I liked it.”
The next kiss is more. It’s years of memory and weeks of restraint mixed together. It’s intoxicating.
His hand slides along my thigh, and my whole body reacts before I can pretend otherwise. His mouth curves against mine, and I tug at his hair until he lifts his head.
His hands reach the waistband of my panties, and he pauses there, pulling back to look at me before continuing.
My answer comes fast. “Yes.”
He slowly slides them off my body, leaving me bare beneath him. He takes his time bringing his gaze back to mine. Moving his hand to my thighs, he slips a finger in, eliciting a moan from me.
“So fucking wet for me, Freckles.” Kai removes his finger from me before bringing it to his mouth, tasting me, and I all but choke on air. “My favorite flavor.”
He moves to reach for the drawer of his nightstand, but I stop him.
“We don’t need a condom. I’m on birth control,” I tell him, suddenly feeling shy, and I can feel a slight blush working its way up my neck. “Or if you want to, that’s fine too. I just—”
Kai silences me with a kiss before bringing his forehead to rest on mine. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I haven’t been with anyone.”
Shock bolts through me. I mean, I had hoped, but didn’t want to assume. “Really?”
The left side of his mouth turns up in a half grin. “Yeah, really. I couldn’t imagine myself with anyone but you, Freckles, and I mean that. You’re everything.”
“I haven’t either.” I feel him get harder against my thigh. I lower my hands to his hips, lifting my own to urge him to move. “I need you inside me. Please.”
He groans, shifting slightly to line himself up with my entrance before carefully sliding inside. We both moan at the contact, fitting together perfectly, like we always have.
“Yep. I’m positive your pussy was made for my cock.” He buries his head in my neck again. “So fucking perfect.”
He starts to move, and I’m done for, pulled under by a tidal wave of want and desire. The heat and weight of his body on top of mine, the rhythm of his hips as he slides his cock in and out, seeming to hit every sensitive spot possible.
My breathing turns shallow, both of us panting, as he continues to work me over. My hands roam his shoulders before finding purchase in the hair at the base of his neck, before pulling his lips to mine.
I pour every ounce of emotion I’m feeling into our kiss, and when I deepen it, he takes over like he’s been waiting for permission.