Chapter 15 #2
He steps back like I’ve slapped him. “You don’t mean that.” It was a harsh thing to say, but he needed to know the truth.
I blow out a long breath. Between Kade’s attitude toward me and now Jeremy wanting to reconcile, I’m done with the day—and men. I want to get into my apartment and crawl into bed. “Yes, I do. We were never going to work. I stayed longer than I should have.”
“You really mean that?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. My father liked the idea of us more than I did.”
Jeremy’s shoulders slump. “If that’s how you feel. My parents are going to be disappointed. They’re embarrassed to attend your father’s church after our breakup.”
Exactly what I thought. They’re behind this. “It is.”
“If you change your mind, you know where to find me,” he says with a glint of hope in his eyes.
“I won’t change my mind.” No point giving him false hope. “Goodbye, Jeremy.”
He walks up the street and disappears around a corner.
“So… argh.” The conversation was a little humiliating. I stare at the cracks in the concrete at my feet. I can’t look Kade in the eye. “Thank you for taking me home.” I turn to head into the building.
His hand clasps around my bicep. “I said I would see you safely to your apartment.”
I point to the glass doors. “I’m not far. You don’t have to do that.”
He gives me a I’m not taking no for an answer look.
I sigh, too tired to argue. “Fine.”
We head inside and take the steps to the first floor. At my door, I turn to him. “This is me. I’m safe. Happy?”
“I’m far from happy.”
I frown. “What have you to be unhappy about?”
“That fuckwit coming to your building.”
I drop my head. “Sorry you had to hear that. I’m so embarrassed.” Now I wish I’d asked him to leave.
He places a finger under my chin and tilts my face up.
His gaze pierces through me, rooting me to the spot.
My heart rate picks up. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. He’s the one who should feel embarrassed.
Only a stupid kind of man lets a woman like you get away.
He should’ve done whatever it took to make you happy. ”
My breath hitches in my throat. A woman like me? What does he mean by that?
“And calling you vanilla is far from the truth. I should know.” His thumb ghosts over my jaw.
“The things you let me do to you that night in my club…” A finger trails down the curve of my neck and over the top of my heaving breasts.
I lean my back against the door for support.
“With a man you didn’t know. If that clown couldn’t fire you up, he’s the problem, not you. ”
My whole body vibrates with need from his words… his touch.
He braces a palm on the door above my head and cups my jaw with the other.
The space between us vanishes as he leans in, and warmth from his body washes over me.
In a heartbeat, his lips claim mine. The kiss starts slow, tentative, as if he’s savouring every moment.
My fingers curl in the soft fabric of his shirt, and I anchor myself to him.
He deepens the kiss, sliding the hand on my face to my waist.
In my twenty-six years, I’ve had my share of kisses.
They have ranged from bad ones that never got my pulse racing to great ones that made my toes curl.
But kissing Kade is another level. Toes curling, goosebumps exploding, skin burning, tingles firing like missiles in every part of my body. It doesn’t get better than this.
I lock my arms around his neck, and he wraps his around my waist, pulling me to him. So close, I don’t know where I end and he begins. The kiss turns hungry. Demanding.
He drags his lips down the column of my neck, and I drop my head back, giving him better access as I squeeze my eyes closed.
I glide my hands over his broad shoulders, down the length of his muscular back.
I slide my hand between our melded bodies and reach for what’s pressing against my stomach.
When my hand covers his erection, Kade drags in a deep breath and rests his forehead to mine.
“Fuck me,” he grinds out from clenched teeth when I tentatively stroke the length of him.
A tremble racks his body, and it gives me such pleasure that I can cause such a reaction from a man like Kade with a mere touch. I get bolder and clasp my fingers around him as much as I can through the fabric of his pants and pump my hand.
Groaning, he latches onto my waist and lifts me off the floor. I wrap my legs around his waist, and the skirt I’m wearing rides up, leaving me exposed in the hallway where anyone can pass by. I don’t care. All I want is for Kade to pull my panties to one side and drive into me.
Once again, our lips crash together, his tongue sweeping into my mouth as he grinds against my sex. If he keeps this up, I’ll come apart.
Pulling away, I say on a shuddery breath, “Kade, come inside.” As much as I’d probably let him fuck me in the hallway, I want to see all of him. Touch all of him.
His gaze is glassy, like I’ve pulled him out of a dream. “Inside?”
“Yes, I want more.”
“What more do you want?” His eyes dip to my lips like he wants to take them again.
“You.”
“Tell me what you want me to do.”
I shake my head. “No. This time, I want you to tell me what you want to do.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “You do, do you?”
“It’s only fair.” Time to switch things up.
“Sure. I’ll be happy too,” he says with a sexy grin. “I want to come inside your apartment. Then I’ll slowly remove your clothes.”
“I like the sound of that. What else?” He circles his pelvis against mine. I’m so wet, I’ve probably dampened his pants.
“Next, I’ll lie you on your back. I’ll drop to my knees and kiss my way up your spread thighs. When I reach your pussy, I’ll fuck you with my tongue.” My legs tremble, and I bite my bottom lip. “After I’ve made you come with my tongue—”
“Yes?” I want to know more. I want him to do all those things. In a flash, he drops my feet to the floor. I yelp at the sudden movement. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t want to tell you what I want to do to you. I want to show you. I can’t wait a second longer to be inside you.”
I dig inside my bag to find my keys. When I have them, they fumble in my fingers. Unlocking a door has never felt so difficult. Before I can get it unlocked, Kade’s phone rings. He pulls it from his pocket and looks at the screen.
His eyes lift and lock with mine, all expression wiped clean from his face. There’s no trace of the desire he had for me a moment ago. “It’s Evan.” He swipes at the screen, not answering it, but stopping it from ringing.
My body deflates. He’s not coming inside.
He scratches his fingers into the stubble of his hair. “This was a mistake. Every time I’m with you, I do stupid things.”
“Kade, we are attracted to each other. What’s wrong with giving in to it?”
“I’ve told you. If you’re with Evan, this can’t happen.”
“Well, it seems like it still does happen, if I’m with him or not. There’s nothing official or serious happening with Evan.”
He shakes his head and takes two steps away from me. “Until he knows where he stands with you, then we need to stop this.”
Pointing a finger in his direction, I say, “You need to stop this. You’re the one who can’t keep his hands to himself.
And for the record, I can see or have sex with anyone I want.
I’m sick of you telling me what to do.” With the keys still in my hand, this time, I have no trouble finding the lock.
I open it and step inside my apartment. “Until you can work out what’s going on with you and where your morals lie with Evan, don’t touch me again. ”
With that, I close the door in his face.