Chapter 20
Maeve
As soon as Kellin touches me, my residual horror from the attack disappears. My world narrows to him. His scent, his hands, his lips. The way he ignites my body with a single touch.
In that stairwell, for the space of a few heartbeats, the cold fury and murder in Kellin’s eyes evoked shivers. I remembered how Kellin handled the drunk in the bar. Shout in my office.
Cool. Calm.
Dangerous.
Tonight, that danger broke through the surface. But, unlike with my father, his anger was on my behalf. He protected me.
I can’t lie…all that icy fury thrills me a little.
He risked his own life for my safety.
This man isn’t just another pretty face with bags full of money.
He’s so much more. But I lack the words to express my feelings.
So I show him instead.
I yank him on top of me and tug at his shirt. Frantic to remove the barrier between me and his skin.
Kellin pulls back. “Are you sure—”
“Yes.”
Sex so soon after my ordeal may seem weird, but my body doesn’t care.
In fact, messed up or not, watching him eliminate the threat without breaking a sweat aroused me.
I burn for this man. Not to erase Shout, but for me.
With him, I feel alive. Like there’s more to me than my criminal family and this hotel, and I plan to seize that with both hands.
I kiss him again, and then drag my t-shirt over my head.
His eyes dip to my breasts, which are displayed to perfection in a sexy lace bra. “Fuck.”
Lowering his head, he sucks my nipple into his mouth over my lace and flicks it with his tongue. I moan and bury my hands in his hair, urging him closer. He catches the hardened tip between his teeth and bites down lightly. The pinch of pain added to the pleasure wrestles a moan from me.
Pushing down the cup covering my other breast, he laves that nipple with his tongue. He rears back, assesses his handiwork, and then blows on the tip. Electric pleasure surges between my legs, and I can no longer wait.
I paw at the fabric over his shoulder. “Shirt off. Now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He sits up just enough to unbutton his shirt from the top while I attack the bottom. With both of us working together, his shirt is open in a flash, highlighting a sculpted chest and abs even more beautiful than I remember. I yearn to run my tongue across his skin and map the planes of his muscles.
I pull him back on top of me, our bare skin melding together.
Kellin traces the divot above my collarbone with his tongue.
My neck. The valley between my breasts. I squirm against him, greedy for more, and he laughs huskily before returning his attention to my nipples.
He rolls one between his fingers and circles the other one with his tongue.
With a whimper, I arch my back and scrape my fingers through his curls.
His heavenly lips spark pleasure with each touch.
But I still want more.
I buck my hips, and he takes the hint, positioning me so his erection rubs the perfect spot. Each grind against my clit coils the pressure in my core tighter.
It’s still not enough.
“Please,” I gasp.
“How can I not reward such nice manners?” His voice is a low rasp.
Leaning back, he hooks his fingers beneath the waistband of my sweats.
I lift my hips to assist him in sliding them off, shivering when the cool air hits my burning skin.
I’m so wet for him. Desperate. I might be embarrassed if I couldn’t feel how hard and ready he is for me too.
He stands and removes his belt. The snick of his zipper spirals my desire. After dropping his boxer briefs, he stands before me in all his naked glory. A true masterpiece with smooth skin over sculpted muscles. I admire those muscles for a moment before my gaze lands on his gorgeous cock.
That’s mine.
I lie back on the couch, thighs open. Waiting.
Kellin’s eyes trail down my body, pupils dilated. “Fuck, you’re beautiful. I need to be inside you, filling you up until I’m all you see. Until you’re screaming my name.”
My core throbs. I want that too. “Please. I can’t wait any longer.”
He shudders. Then he straddles my waist, his knees pressed down into the couch cushions. I hook a leg around his hip and gasp when his cock strokes my folds.
I need this.
I’ve needed this for days. Months. Years, probably, but no one else would do.
He grabs his dick and rubs it against my swollen clit. “Tell me what you want.”
My body is so flooded with sensation that I can barely focus. “You. Inside me.”
“Look at me.” Watching my face, he sinks into me with deliberate slowness. I struggle to hold my eyes open as everything fades into the background, becoming secondary to the delicious stretch as his cock fills me.
He groans. “You feel so good, Maeve.”
“Kellin…” I scratch my nails down his back. “Kellin, please…”
The rest of the plea escapes me, but he understands anyway.
He cups my cheek. Our lips mash together, and I moan into his mouth.
All the daydreams, the actual dreams, the visions distracting me at every spare second…none of them could compare to this reality.
He thrusts slow, then fast, then slow again, plunging his cock so deep inside me I start to see those stars from the rooftop behind my eyes.
After we spent the last couple days edging each other, I thought he’d rush us through this, but he acts as if we have all the time in the world. He rains kisses over my cheek, down my neck. He nips the top of my breast, stoking my fire with every leisurely stroke.
Still not enough.
I writhe beneath him, and when that fails to garner the desired outcome, I dig my heels into his ass and bite his earlobe. “Harder.”
With a feral growl that rumbles through my entire soul, his control cracks. He grabs my hips roughly enough to leave bruises and unleashes himself, shaking the couch with the power of his thrusts. The pressure between my legs skyrockets.
While placing a sweet kiss on my temple, he reaches down and pinches my clit. That, combined with his throaty “Maeve” when I pull his hair, tumbles me over the edge.
I sob as the strongest orgasm of my life strikes. “Kellin!”
He purrs against my throat. “That’s it, darlin’. Scream my name while your pussy squeezes my cock.”
My thighs tremble from the intensity of the waves pulsing through me.
With a final burst of erratic pumps, he buries himself to the hilt and moans my name. He rides out his release while I recover from the aftershocks.
“Holy shit.” He collapses on top of me, panting, his muscles twitching against mine.
Spent, I revel in the warm weight of his body, raking my fingers through his sweat-dampened hair until his breathing slows. Our chests fall and rise together.
We lie tangled up in each other for…minutes. Hours. Days. I hardly know.
At some point, after our skin cools, we slowly separate.
Our eyes meet. We trade small, content smiles. He brushes his hand down my thigh, and my fingers coast over his chest.
We don’t discuss him staying all night, but when I stand to head into the bathroom, the gloriously naked Kellin waltzes into the kitchen like he owns the place.
We meet again under my new duvet, snuggled up like a real couple, sipping the herbal tea he scrounged from my cabinets.
As Kellin smooths my hair, I can’t help but wonder if he’s feeling everything I am.
Does an invisible magnet tug him toward me too?
Can he tell how my heart stumbles whenever his eyes soften or he touches me with tenderness? Does he wallow in my scent the way I do his?
Or for him, is this all just a fun fling during a business trip?
I ignore the band that squeezes my ribs.
I will not let any feelings—reciprocated or not—get in the way of my life.
“Maeve.” Kellin kisses the top of my head and continues to pet my hair. The warm tingle generated by his lips tanks my focus. “Do you want me to help you figure out which steps to take next, after your earlier experience? I’m here for whatever you need.”
Steps? Experience?
I sit up, setting my empty teacup on the nightstand. “I’m not going to the police, if that’s what you mean.”
I sense him weighing his words. I brace for an argument, but relax when he smiles. At his expression, a little ember of joy sparks to life in my traitorous heart.
“I respect that. I just want you to be okay.” He sets down his mug, too, and caresses my arm. “What about telling your father? He should know what kind of men he has in his employment.”
I stifle a snort. “I’m pretty sure my father knows exactly what kind of men he has.” I don’t have it in me to inform Kellin that my father likely wouldn’t care.
He’d probably roll his eyes and ask what I did to lead Shout on.
“One of your brothers, then. I think someone in your family should know.”
“Kellin.” I straighten my shoulders. “Thank you. For wanting to help, for working through this with me. I feel a hundred times better, I promise. And I don’t think we’ll need to worry about him anymore.”
He purses his lips, obviously unhappy with my assessment. “He’s attacked you twice now.”
“He won’t come near me again.” I settle against his side and trace a loose figure eight on his chest. “I saw the way you looked at him. How you handled that. Only someone with a death wish would try to cross you after that.”
Kellin wraps an arm around my waist, squeezing gently. “Well.” I bite back a smile at the reluctant pleasure in his voice. “I still think you should tell someone. Brody, if he’s the brother you’re closest to. Surely he’d want to know.”
I shrug and offer a noncommittal hum, hoping he accepts my decision.
Kellin shifts beside me and drops the subject.
“Hey.” I scoot beneath the covers, tugging on his arm until he lies down beside me. “Where’d you learn to fight like that?”
I snuggle into him, my head cozy on his warm chest. His muscles tense beneath my cheek.
“My family’s big on us being able to defend ourselves from any threats.” Kellin strokes my spine. “You should try to get some sleep.”
I want to ask him more questions.
But lying in his arms… The intoxicating musk of skin, the excitement of the evening… The fading adrenaline combined with the tea and Kellin’s calming presence swirl together like a sedative in my blood.
My eyelids begin to droop as a comfortable haze cloaks me.
Kellin nestles me closer, his warm body curled around me like a protective cocoon, and my mind drifts away.