Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
Dane
She has no idea what I already know about her. I take notice of everything, especially if my interest is piqued. I was fucking hooked from the minute she sauntered by my table on her way to the bathroom that unforgettable night.
When she pulled out that box of shit from her ex, I wasn’t about to tell her I already knew most of the story.
As an attorney, I have ways of finding out about assholes like Jake.
My blood boils again thinking about him and how he treated her.
He deserves to rot in fucking hell, and I’m not above making that happen.
“So what else have you been paying attention to?”
“I’ve been paying attention to everything about you. What you love, what you hate, who your friends are, what you like to do, who you are in here.” I use my finger to circle her heart.
“Oh, well, you’ve been busy.” She places her hand over mine.
We’re interrupted by her phone. It must be a text message because I watch as she picks it up, reads what’s on the screen, and smiles. A genuine smile, not like the fake one she flashes to other people.
Anger is rolling up my neck, the same feeling I got when it all took a fucking nose dive with Maggie.
She and my best friend. I couldn’t believe it when I found out.
Betrayed by both of them. She would get text messages and act giddy.
When I asked her about it, she’d say it was just her friends.
But it was my best friend. That same dreadful fucking feeling is seeping into me right now.
The longer she stares at that phone, the more tense my muscles feel.
“I’m right here, so who is making you smile like that?”
“Just my group chat with my girlfriends,” she says and texts them back.
She’s not Maggie!
The only way I can compose myself is if I distract myself. I use Logan as a cop-out. I grab my phone and make the call. Needing to walk away, I stroll to the living room.
“Bro, what’s going on? It’s Saturday.”
I snap. “I know what fucking day it is, idiot.”
“Ah…You okay?”
“I’m at Kendall’s and, fuck, I don’t know.”
I know, but to say it out loud. Logan has extensive relationship experience, and he’s married. That’s gotta count for something. I want this to work out between us because I think she is the one. I’m fairly certain Logan knows that.
“Du…de! What do you mean you’re at Kendall’s? I thought it wasn’t like that.”
“Fuck off!”
“I knew it. Man, do I know you well. And if you’re there, why are you calling me?”
“I needed an excuse to walk away for a few minutes; you’re my scapegoat.”
“You’re smitten, aren’t you?” Logan asks with a knowing tone.
“Who even uses that word anymore?” I grab the back of my neck and rub out the tension building. “And yeah, I guess I am.”
“Admitting it is the first step.”
What a smartass. I take the next few minutes to fill him in on everything with Kendall—the smile, the text message, and how I jumped to conclusions with all the shit Maggie did to me. At the end of the conversation, Logan says one word: “Communication.”
He talks about communication in relationships all the time. Not sure how he became so wise, but I’m taking his advice. After we hang up, I stalk straight to Kendall, and I run my hand through her hair. Her hand automatically drops the phone on the island and grabs hold of my arm.
She caresses my arm and snakes the other one around my waist, holding me tight. “What’s going on with you?”
I clear my throat, tightening the grip I have on her head. “Ugh, I have a history, and I know that’s my shit to deal with, but I want you, in every way.”
She softens ever so slightly. If I weren’t paying attention, I would have missed it. “Well, I have to say I like where things are going, but you know my history. There’s a lot of baggage. So tell me.”
The words that come out of her mouth are laced with kindness and want, yet stern and matter-of-fact. She is giving me a little grace here, but I need to be better, do better with her. If I want her by my side, I need to treat her like the queen she is.
“You’re right.” I take a deep breath and simply say, “My last long-term relationship ended with her cheating on me with my best friend, who also had a girlfriend. She said I was a terrible boyfriend who didn’t know how to communicate and was a workaholic.
They texted right in front of me, and she would smile at her phone all the time. It hit a nerve.”
The rest of her softens. She takes my other hand and kisses my palm. It’s a simple act, but one that has my heart bursting at the seams. This woman is perfect for me. She knows exactly what I need. She deserves the very best, and that’s me, everything I have to offer her. She’s mine to worship.
“Dane, I’m so sorry. What a shitty thing for them to do. For the record, being a workaholic isn’t a bad thing.” She rubs my back and says, “I’m not her.” She lifts herself onto her tiptoes and kisses my neck, whispering in my ear, “I’m yours.”
Her hands move to the back of my neck; mine instinctively circle around her waist. The warmth of her embrace calms my soul and my thoughts. This is where we belong—together.
Her arms loosen around my neck. And the heat from her body dissipates. I want it back. But instead, we eat our dinner.
Silence spreads throughout the kitchen at first. Then she breaks it. “How’s the case going?”
I tell her what I can without breaking privilege. As we continue the conversation, she tells me about her new workout routine, now that the openings are done, and the latest book she’s reading.
After cleaning up, she stands by the doorway, wiggling her eyebrows. There’s my invitation. It took only a few steps with my long strides to be on top of her. Picking her up, she wraps her legs around my waist.
“You still have plans to fuck me up against this wall?” she asks, biting my neck like she’s lost all control of herself. I’ll take every bit of that.
Lowering her to her feet, I undress her; it’s pure insanity with clothes flying across the room.
Once we are naked, I grip both of her hips and yank her to me.
She holds on tight around my neck, and I feel her leg muscles supporting her.
Sexy as fuck. A pained groan escapes me as I slam her against the wall.
“Fuck me, Dane.”
“Anything you want, sweetheart.” I mean it as I find her entrance and inch by fucking inch I’m sucked into her sweet, dripping wet pussy.
“You were made just for me.” She whimpers when I’m all the way in. “You’re fucking mine, sweetheart. I’m going to worship you tonight and every day after.”
My heart races and my muscles tense up, holding her as I move my hips. Long strokes with my cock coming almost all the way out and slamming back into her. She pants in my ear and bites my lobe and neck. Thrill shoots through me, and this won't take long if she keeps that up.
I feel her legs tighten on my waist, and her panting gets quicker; she’s close. Her head falls back against the wall as she cries, “Dane, harder.”
I do what I’m told. Short, quick strokes in and out of her pussy. She’s tensing up, and I feel that tight pussy clenching my cock. A few more and she’s moving her hips, chasing her orgasm, rocking that pussy, my balls tighten.
“Dane,” she moans as her eyes roll back in her head.
I spill into her. My hips stutter as her pussy pulls every last drop of cum from me. Our ragged breathing, hearts beating at an alarming speed, and sweat consuming us.
The night continues with us in her bed, wrapped up in each other. I smile so wide my cheeks hurt. After a couple more rounds of mind-blowing sex, we fall asleep.
I wake up to her sleeping on my chest. Squeezing her closer to me, I place a kiss on the top of her head.