Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
As a police officer, Walker usually didn't have to look too hard for a parking spot but knowing that the wedding reception had more than its share of police attending, he was really thankful that his brother had sprung for valet parking.
It felt good to pull up and hand his keys over to the eager teenage boy that opened his door.
He leaned across toward Kennedy and waved off the kid who walked up on the passenger side. "I got it."
Walker clapped a bill into the teen's hand and accepted the claim ticket with a nod.
The kid looked at the bill in his hand and smiled. "Thanks, sir."
"I've been where you are, man."
The look on the kid's face was eye-opening. Walker remembered what it was like to be there. "Keep it close, okay?"
The kid looked into the car, and he must have seen Kennedy, because he straightened up and gave Walker a knowing nod. "Yes, sir."
Walker made his way around the car and opened the door. Kennedy put one foot out and then the other, the layers of her blue dress fluttered around her legs.
He had to drag his gaze away from her legs and that might have made the problem worse. He looked from the hem of her dress to her knees and thighs.
By the time she took his hand and stood up beside the car, he was under her spell.
The fall of copper curls around her pale skin made him hungry and the way her hand gripped his, he wondered if she felt the same way.
He stepped in, lifting her hand to his mouth for a kiss. "I plan to dance with you tonight. I don't need to do the best man speech. That's up to my sister."
She walked beside him as they walked through an archway decorated with strings of lights. "But I do hope you're planning to feed me, too."
He looked at her as they passed through another lighted archway. "Of course, I'm going to feed you. Can't have you get hungry." They approached a table with cards on it and Kennedy stopped to look. Walker leaned in and whispered to her. "We're at Table 2."
She turned to look at him.
"As one of the groomsmen, I was originally assigned to sit at the head table with the bridesmaid I was paired with to walk down the aisle, but Pilar took pity on me. Her cousin's boyfriend is sitting at the head table with her, and I get to sit with you."
He saw the way her eyes widened a little, but she didn't go running for the hills, so he considered himself lucky.
As they walked through the reception, Walker found himself stealing glances at Kennedy. There had to be a few million sparkling lights wrapped around trees and bushes and wire archways. Every single light seemed to catch her in its fire. With her blue dress and her red hair, she looked like a fairy in an enchanted world.
He knew he was losing his mind, but instead of fighting it, he let it rush through him like a light breeze, lifting his spirits. When they reached the table, he gestured for Kennedy to pick her seat and unfurled the napkin at the place setting next to hers. "What do you want to drink?"
She looked up at him, smiling. "Iced tea is great."
"You don't want a drink?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm good with iced tea."
He winked at her and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'll be right back."
He started for the bar and almost bumped into his sister.
"Whoa there, little bro."
He rolled his eyes. "Little?" He leaned in. "You know I'm a good couple of inches taller than you, right?"
She raised a brow at him. "Dress or no, I could flip you over my shoulder. Imagine what that would look like."
He surprised both of them by wrapping his arms around his sister and giving her a big hug, lifting her feet off of the ground. He chuckled and whispered to her. "You're getting really feisty. What's going on?"
He lowered her to the ground, and she gave him a pointed look that turned into a bit of side eye. "The question is why are you so happy? And huggy?"
He held out his arms. "It's a wedding. Our brother is married. Why wouldn't I be happy?"
Kate looked at him for a moment before her shoulders sagged. "Seeing them marry young enough to have kids... I guess I'm kind of feeling like... I let a part of my life roll right on by."
Her words hit him like a sledgehammer.
He took Kate's hand and pulled her to his side. "Hey, it's not too late-"
"Are you kidding? If I were to try, it would be a..." She looked around at the party goers and then looked back at him. "Geriatric pregnancy and that's a lot of worry in and of its own. I don't know if I could do it."
"Hey, you two."
Walker looked up and saw Kate's husband, Rock walking up.
"I got you a beer, babe."
"Thanks, Rock." Kate's expression brightened and she turned to Rock, but not before she gave Walker a look that said to keep his mouth shut.
He had no problem keeping quiet. He didn't know enough about what she was thinking to say much of anything.
He just wanted Kate to be okay.
Rock gave him a grin. "You have a date tonight."
Walker laughed at that. "I guess everyone sees it as this amazing turn of events."
Rock shrugged. "It is when you're known for a lot of first dates."
Walker laughed out loud. "Is that how people see me? A bit of a man-whore?"
Kate almost choked on her beer. "Man-whore? Where did you get that idea?"
Rock hid a smile behind his hand. "I always saw you as a confirmed bachelor, but way to self-own there, Walker."
Walker shrugged. "Got me."
Kate put her hand on Rock's chest. "He's changed. Anyone can see it."
Rock wrapped an arm around his wife. "Sure, Kate. Anyone can. He's just got to be the man to put it all behind him."
Walker opened his mouth to say something, but a passing server caught his attention with a tray of iced tea glasses.
He pointed at it and mentally kicked himself. "I've... I've got to go."
He turned on his heel and caught up to the server.
"Hey, can I grab two of those?"
The older man nodded. "Sure. That's what they're for."
Walker pulled out a five and tucked it in the man's pocket on his vest. "Thanks. You saved me from standing in a line."
Kennedy was feeling a little high and floaty.
She'd danced with Walker a few times and then she'd joined the party on the floor for the Electric Slide and the Cha Cha Slide. At every turn she was reminded of how different an event like this was compared to the news station. People laughed and talked as if they were old friends and maybe they were. It turns out she couldn't quite shut off her reporter brain. She looked at the room and all the fun that everyone was having. Instead of wanting to be recording the world around her.
Kennedy was so happy to be a part of the celebration and when the music changed to a slow dance, she laughed as Walker grabbed her hand and pulled her close, spinning them around.
It was a heady feeling to have Walker's arms around her and her arms around his neck. The song sounded mildly familiar, but she wasn't all that sure.
Walker leaned in and whispered into her ear. "What's got that look on your pretty face?"
Pretty? She smiled at that. "What look?"
His hands moved to her lower back, and she felt his fingers move over the layers of fabric of her dress. “You look like you're thinking deep thoughts."
She smiled and shook her head. "I'm more of a country girl when it comes to music. This song sounds familiar, but-"
"It's Coldplay."
She leaned back and looked at him. "Coldplay, huh?"
"I think the song is called Yellow, and before you think this is what I listen to, this was part of the reception playlist. Roan made me listen to it."
"Ah." She nodded. "So, no sentimental music. Got it."
"Hey," he turned her around, stealing her breath with the rush of energy, "I get sentimental every once in a while."
He gathered her closer to his chest and she leaned her cheek against his shoulder.
"Like now?"
His soft laughter reached her ears, and she felt her whole-body heat from the sound and vibration. "Yeah. Like now."
They danced closer to the edge of the dance floor and the singer from the band crooned into the microphone. " ...stars... how they shine for you... "
"Not quite country, hmm?"
She moved easily with him. "Yeah, but I like it. I guess I can be a little sentimental, too." She tilted her head back and looked at him in the twinkling lights surrounding them. "I could get used to this."
A moment later, she was tempted to take her words back. She was getting closer to Walker, but she wasn't always sure of what to say or do around him.
"I-"
"I want you to, Kennedy." He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. "I want this to go somewhere. You and me."
"Somewhere?" Her voice was barely a whisper, but she knew he could hear her. "Like my apartment?"
His smile was addictive. "You don't want to stay for the cake?"
She bit into her bottom lip, thinking of the things she wanted to do with Walker in her apartment.
In her bed.
"No." She shook her head. "I'm not really hungry for cake."
He must have heard her thoughts in her voice. Or maybe he saw them in her eyes.
Either way, he got the message.
"I can think of other things I'm hungry for."
She swallowed down the sudden lump in her throat.
She couldn't believe that she could say these things...
Hear these things... and not drop her face into her hands and hide from her own hungers.
There was something about being with Walker that made her feel... stronger.
More confident, even if it was just with him.
"Then I think maybe we could skip the frosting, and you can come home with me."
Walker pulled her tight against him, diving in for a kiss that left her breathless. When he broke the kiss, her fingers were trying to find purchase on the back of his neck and his head. She'd been on the verge of dragging his lips to the column of her neck.
"Walker." She gazed up at him, her eyes filled with his gruff beauty. "Can we go?"
"Whatever the lady wants."
He took her hand in his and pulled her off the dance floor and the two started to walk back toward the parking area.
"I'm not sure that the thoughts in my head are very ladylike."
He slowed as they reached the first lighted arbor and lifted their joined hands to his mouth. He kissed her knuckles and turned his cheek. She felt the subtle scratch of stubble against her fingers. He locked gazes with her and gave her a look that said he wanted her to hear him and pay attention.
"You," he nipped at the tip of one of her fingers, "are always a lady."
She blinked at him, hardly able to do anything more than that.
He gave her a smug smile that promised her exactly what she was hoping for.
His touch.
All night long.
"Now, let's go." He tugged her back down the path toward the valet.
When they reached the curb, he handed the claim ticket to the valet.
Kennedy wrapped her hand around his forearm. "Shouldn't we go and say goodbye to your brother and his wife?"
She didn't know what to think of the smile that graced his lips.
"They only have eyes for each other right now. I'd hate to be a distraction."
The hint of humor in his voice made her own heart feel a little lighter.
The valet brought his car around and he opened the passenger door, helping her into her seat. "You can distract me any time you like to, baby. Any. Time."
She reached out to touch him but stopped short.
A couple emerged from the darkness that led to and from the rose garden and Kennedy lifted a hand to gesture in the direction that they'd come from. "That's Pilar’s partner, right?"
Walker turned to look, and the simple gesture made it easier for him to see who she was pointing out.
Sure enough, Pilar's partner, Crois, was stepping off into the half-dark walkway headed toward the rose garden. He managed to smother a chuckle. "Hardly anything they can see this late at night."
He felt Kennedy shaking with laughter and turned to look at her.
"What?"
"It's dark, but I'm sure the last thing on their minds is the flowers."
He touched a fingertip to the underside of her chin and lifted it up. "You're all I have on my mind."
Kennedy was having a little trouble with her head.
She was a woman who told stories.
She listened and researched and then put together compelling stories to lift spirits and educate, but if someone were to ask her how they got from the Dunne Gardens to her apartment, she had no clue. She'd spent most of the time in the car, with her gaze fixed on Walker.
And Walker? He'd had his hands on the wheel and the stick shift as if either or both were liable to make a run for it.
But once they were parked and out of the car, she could only remember his hands, his darkened eyes, and the descent of his mouth on hers.
Who opened the door?
Who locked it?
Who got his dress shirt off and loosened the ties on her dress enough to let it loose and fall to her feet?
No idea, but she wasn't about to argue.
He got her undressed the rest of the way but before he could open the front of his pants, she used her fingers to pop open the button and drag down his zipper as she dropped down to her knees on the layers of her dress.
When her hands grasped the front of his boxer briefs, she tugged them down and could only stare at the sight before her.
It was...
"You don't have to."
She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to ignore how much her mouth was watering at the thought of tasting him.
"Dee?"
She looked up at him, blinking in confusion.
He managed a smile, but that smile was gone a moment later when she reached out and wrapped her hand around the base of his cock.
"Fuuuck."
She smiled when she felt the hardness in her hand twitch.
And when a shining bead of precum formed at the tip, she lifted her free hand and set it on the front of his thigh.
When she leaned in and kissed the tip of it, his hands fisted at his sides.
There must have been something in the iced tea from the wedding, she supposed. Or maybe she was drunk on the rising tide of her emotions.
The strange safety she felt in his presence.
Feeling safe meant that she could get a little wild.
She smiled and that's when she heard Walker curse under his breath.
Leaning forward, she opened her mouth and closed it over the tip.
The colorful curse that reached her ears made her smile and the movement closed her jaw just a hint, her teeth coming in contact with him.
Kennedy flinched back and wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. "Sorry."
His hands flexed and reached for her face, taking hold of her gently. "Come back up here."
She got back up on her feet, unsure of what to say, but he took care of that. He kissed her and whatever hesitations she had disappeared when he lifted her up off of her feet.
He staggered back a half-step as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
And when her back touched the wall, she lurched forward in surprise.
Their teeth clashed a little and she wrapped her arms around him determined to hold on, hold him close.
He lowered her and they both groaned when she felt him slip inside her.
She was wet, almost embarrassingly so, but it felt like heaven to have him fill her up.
It felt raw and decadent, too.
He was hot against her and the wall she leaned back against was cool to the touch.
Walker leaned in and placed open mouthed kisses along her neck and bit her gently where her neck met her shoulder.
She gasped and her pussy flexed around him, grasping and releasing. "Wow."
She swore she felt him smile against her skin and when she arched her back to put some space between them so she could see his face, but that space only pushed him deeper inside of her. "Oh god."
He looked up, meeting her heated gaze and smile. "Yeah. It feels so damn good to be inside you."
She tightened her hold around his neck and squeezed him tight inside. "Walker?"
He stopped moving and for a second, it looked like he'd stopped breathing. "Yeah?"
"Stop talking." She lifted her chin, shaking her head, sending some of the pins she'd stuck in her hair to ping off the wall and onto the floor. "Just love me."
She froze a moment later, wondering if she'd crossed a line with that.
Neither of them had said a word about love. She didn't think she could say out loud what she'd been feeling for quite some time, but that was simply survival.
She didn't think Walker was the kind of guy who really wanted to talk about those things.
Especially not when he was deep inside of a woman.
And honestly, the last thing she wanted to worry about at the moment was emotions. She was dangerously close to blurting them out because being with Walker in any way was overwhelming for her.
He shifted, hitching her up, wrapping an arm around her lower back and bracing his other hand against the wall behind her.
That's when all thought disappeared and all Kennedy could concentrate on was the aching fullness of his body inside her, stretching her, filling her to the limit. All of that stole her breath and thoughts.
He drove into her over and over again, and even though she knew that she was pressed between his body and the wall, she felt herself being lifted higher and higher from the friction between them. Who broke first? Who lost control first?
She couldn't remember it a moment later, because it didn't matter to her.
What mattered was the stunning realization that she was wholly and completely head over heels for this man who made her feel. From the top of her head to the tips of her toes, he made her feel. Most of her life was about reaching out to others and identifying what made them tick. Describing what they were feeling about what was happening to them.
She knew what was going on inside her, but she just couldn't admit it.
Exhausted by her emotions and the amazing rush that he'd just given her, she laid her head on his shoulder as he carried her to bed.
He laid her down on the covers and grabbed her blanket from the comfortable armchair she kept tucked against the window and climbed up after her. Her eyes were barely open, only the movement of his body, his amazing body, was managing to keep her conscious.
How could she ignore what she saw as pure art.
She'd seen Michelangelo's David when she'd been to Louisville and the sculptor's muse had nothing on Walker Ashley.
"You awake, Dee?"
There it was, a new nickname that she was falling for as much as she'd fallen for him.
But she couldn't summon the energy to respond to him.
He only made it worse when he snuggled up behind her and wrapped his arm around her so that there wasn't an inch of space between them.
His heat, coupled with the exhaustion of the day's activities were pulling her into slumber. "Looks like you are..."
Kennedy had a feeling that even if someone busted down her front door, she wouldn't be able to move, let alone open her eyes or say a word.
She was very nearly asleep when she heard him mumble something into her unbound hair.
"... that was a mistake."