Chapter 23
Tori
Jess slung her bag over her shoulder as we pushed through the back door of the Neon Possum, both of us bone-tired and smelling faintly of lime juice and spilled beer.
I nudged her with my hip. “I’m so freaking glad you’re driving. I’m two seconds from collapsing in a gutter.”
“Please don’t.” Jess snorted. “I don’t have the energy to drag your corpse anywhere tonight.”
We stepped into the cool night air and I stopped dead in my tracks.
Leaning against the hood of a familiar SUV with his eyes fixed on me as though I were the only person in the universe was Kai. Due to our contrasting schedules, I'd only caught brief glimpses of him since his away game last weekend.
He was wearing a hoodie with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows and his hair was damp as if he’d showered after practice and come straight here.
For me.
My chest did this stupid flutter again. I’d actually missed him these past couple of days.
Jess let out a low whistle. “Uh … you expecting him?”
“No.” My pulse was spiking for reasons having nothing to do with fear. “I was not.”
Kai straightened and the dim security light haloed around his shoulders, making him look better than he had any right to.
Jess flicked her gaze between us, her eyebrows nearly disappearing into her hairline. “Sooo … am I taking you home or…?”
I swallowed, still a little stunned. Kai gave me one of his brilliant smiles, though tonight it had an almost shy edge to it.
“Well,” I breathed, rubbing my sternum at the weird sensation thrumming through my chest. “He’s already here…”
Jess’ grin was mischievous. “Got it. I’ll leave you to your … transportation.”
She squeezed my arm once, then headed to her car, absolutely eating up my flustered expression.
I turned back to Kai, trying and failing to keep the smile out of my voice. “You didn’t have to come get me.”
He shrugged, his hands in his pockets. “Wanted to.” Then he opened the passenger door like it was non-negotiable. Our breath fogged in the chilly night air and I found myself genuinely pleased he had shown up.
As I got closer, I was hit by his warm, woodsy scent and a thrill surged through my entire body.
God help me.
I climbed in, shutting the door on the bar noise and my own pulse, beating much too fast. Kai rounded the SUV and slid into the driver’s seat. As he wrapped his big fingers around the steering wheel, something fluttered deep in my stomach as I took in the veins protruding on the back of his hands.
Was it weird I wanted to lick them?
The engine rumbled to life with a low, comforting purr. We drove in the soft glow of the streetlamps for a while, neither of us talking. It was the kind of silence that wasn’t awkward; it was just familiar. Easy.
Kai's question caught me off guard. “You know, I’ve been wondering … what got you into MMA?”
I blinked, caught off guard. “That’s random.”
“Just curious.” He shrugged one broad shoulder and his gaze flickered from me to the road. “I mean, you’re really good at it. Scary good, in fact.”
A laugh slipped out. “Is this your way of telling me I could probably take you?”
“My way of telling you you have taken me. Multiple times.” His grin hit me dead center in the stomach as it crept slowly across his face. “Not that I mind when you take me.”
Heat crawled up my neck. “That’s not — Kai, focus.”
He hummed, but when his expression shifted from amusement to pure mischief, I leaned over and jabbed my finger in his side, making him yelp.
“So, what made you do it? Why MMA?”
I rested my head back against the seat. “I guess … I got into MMA because I didn’t know what else to do with myself.”
His brows furrowed as he glanced at me briefly before returning his gaze to the road.
“I was angry a lot,” I admitted. “After my dad left, I was just … angry. At him. At my mom. At me. At everyone.” My fingers twisted in the hem of my shirt. “I used to pick fights with kids twice my size, mainly boys, just to feel like I could control something.”
Kai nodded slowly, but I doubted he would ever truly grasp what I had been feeling or what I had been like back then.
“My mom finally shoved me into a gym because she thought it’d keep me out of real trouble.
And it did.” I let out a breath, watching it cloud the window.
“On those mats a lot of things suddenly made sense. Anger wasn’t a flaw, but fuel.
Well, as long as I controlled it and harnessed it the right way. ”
Kai hummed softly. He just listened but I got the feeling he was actually listening to and taking in what I was saying.
“Does it bother you?” I tried to keep my voice even. “This part of me?”
His brows pinched like the question physically pained him.
“Nothing about you bothers me.” His words were warm and certain, anchoring me in this moment. “You learned how to turn something painful into power. That’s strength, Love. Not something to hide.”
Something low in my stomach tightened.
Oh.
Oh, that did things to me.
Kai continued, completely unaware he was unraveling me with every word.
“Everyone’s got something, yeah? A storm.
A bruise they grew around. Yours just made you fierce.
” His finger tips brushed mine on the console.
“And if you ever feel this anger coming back, you can hand some of it to me. I can hold it with you.”
My breath stuttered and I blinked rapidly.
It’s fine, I was planning to cry today anyway.
Kai wasn’t flirting or sweet-talking me … he meant every. Damn. Word.
The fluttering in my stomach intensified, leaving me feeling almost jittery.
By the time he pulled into his driveway, my pulse was buzzing under my skin like a live wire. His porch light clicked on automatically, bathing the front steps in a warm glow. He turned off the engine, but before he could say anything, I had already unbuckled my seatbelt.
“You alright?” He sounded amused.
“No,” I muttered, breathless and very much not alright. “Get out.”
His eyebrows shot up and he slung one arm over the steering wheel as he turned to face me. “Bossy tonight.”
“Out,” I repeated. I rounded the car and before I knew it, my fingers seized the fabric of his hoodie and yanked him toward me the second he opened his door.
Kai hardly had time to shut his door before I dragged him toward the house.
“Tori,” he chuckled. “What are you—”
“Inside,” I demanded. “Now.”
He followed me up the steps without hesitation, like I’d hooked him by the balls instead of his hoodie.
I shoved the door open, grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the hall. Every nerve in my body sparked as if I’d been starving for this for days.
“You sure everything is alr—”
Nothing is alright you big, beautiful idiot! You gave me an emotional hard-on, and now I’m going to have to fuck your brains out.
“No,” I snapped, tugging him harder. “I’m so not alright but we’re on our way to fix it. So shut up and do as you're told, Pretty Boy.”
We reached the doorway of his bedroom and I stopped in front of the white wooden door. I turned and looked up at him.
“Think your uncle will mind?”
“Mind what?” he asked dumbly.
A smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth as I pulled him closer, our fronts now almost touching.
“The headboard banging against the wall for the next couple of hours?”
Kai was looking at me like I was something he’d spend a lifetime learning and still never get enough of and fuck if it didn’t make my knees threaten mutiny.
I kicked the door open and backed into his room, never breaking eye contact.
“Close the door,” I ordered.
He obeyed instantly, still looking slightly gobsmacked as he turned around to face me again.
I felt overheated and needy, an achy throbbing sensation settling in between my legs. Planting one hand on his chest, I pushed him back against the door with a dull thud.
I rose to my tiptoes, sliding my palm up to the nape of his neck, and pulled his head down to me. My boobs pressed against his front as I licked up a long strip up the side of his neck before kissing him passionately.
He groaned deeply — a sound sending a bolt of pleasure straight to my clit — as I slipped my tongue inside his mouth.
When I sucked on his tongue, he pressed his bulge into my stomach. I tore myself away, my breath already coming in sharp pants.
Jerking my head toward the bed, I instructed, “Take off the hoodie and lay down.”
Kai just stared at me, a somewhat dazed expression on his face. Impatiently, I turned us around so our positions were switched and pushed him back with one hand.
He stumbled to the bed and tried to yank the hoodie over his head at the same time, but it got stuck around his shoulders. A muffled growl of frustration, muted by the fabric, emerged, followed by the sound of seams popping.
Whelp. Guess he didn’t care that much about the hoodie.
Slightly amused, I watched him toss the hoodie across the room with raised eyebrows, then flop onto the bed. The frame creaked under his weight. Spread out in all his thick glory, I took in the expanse of his tan skin and the swirling black lines of the tattoo on his shoulder.
Kai shifted around under my scrutiny, first putting his hands in his lap, then on each side of his body, and finally interlinking them behind his head.
“Fuck, I love your body.” The words had left my mouth before I could second-guess myself. But I realized I wanted him to know I appreciated what I saw. I wanted him to feel good.
He opened his mouth to respond, only to snap it shut with a clack of his teeth as I began to peel my clothes off.
“Y-you do?” His eyes were glued to my naked legs.
I smirked. “Oh, yes, I do. Do you have any idea how sexy it is you’re so thick allll over?”
Kai swallowed audibly. “It is?”
“So sexy.” I nodded for emphasis before shucking my shirt, delighted by the strangled sound escaping him. “Now … as much as I would love to get right to it, I smell like a college bar. Here’s what’s going to happen…”