Chapter 26 #2
I loosen my tie, tugging it free. Guiding her off my lap, I stand. “Then go fix it.”
She folds her arms. “Excuse me?”
I pull the tie free and toss it onto the couch.
“Get naked,” I tell her calmly. “And get in my shower.”
Her mouth opens and closes again.
“Bossy pants,” she mutters.
I start walking toward the hallway. “You coming?”
She hesitates for exactly one second, and then she grabs her water bottle and follows me.
The bathroom fills quickly with the sound of running water. Steam begins curling toward the ceiling as Kayla steps inside ahead of me, pushing her hair off her shoulders.
I lean against the doorframe for a second, just watching her.
She turns when she feels my eyes on her. “You’re just going to stand there?”
“I’m deciding,” I say calmly.
“Deciding what?”
“Whether yoga was actually your plan tonight.”
She rolls her eyes. “I told you, I’m trying to fix my writer’s block.”
I step into the bathroom and close the door behind me.
“And bending yourself into a human pretzel is the solution?”
“It’s called grounding your body.”
I unbutton the cuffs of my shirt slowly. “And is it working?”
Kayla shrugs, stepping under the spray and tilting her face into the water. “Maybe.”
Water runs down her shoulders, darkening her hair.
I loosen another button.
“Because from where I’m standing,” I say, voice low, “it looks like you’re just trying to distract yourself.”
She glances back at me. “From what?”
I hang my jacket over the back of a chair. “Me.”
Her mouth opens. The water continues running between us.
For a moment, the room goes quiet, except for the steady rhythm of the shower.
She holds my gaze for a long second before she shakes her head and reaches for the edge of the shower door.
“Well,” she says, stepping back into the steam, “if you’re going to stand there, making accusations all night, you might as well get in.”
The invitation hangs in the air between us. I loosen the last button on my shirt and move forward.
I kick off my pants and step into the shower. Kayla leans against the tiles. Her eyes move along my body with wonder and appreciation.
I brace my hands on the wall, caging her in. “You have no idea what you do to me when you look at me like that.”
I watch her chest rise and fall rapidly.
“Show me,” she replies.
I’ve been craving another taste of her all day.
The second the thought hits, I’m already dropping to my knees, pushing her lips apart with my thumbs.
Her clit is swollen and obviously aching for my tongue. I waste no time moving my tongue along it while I stick my fingers inside of her.
“Ooh, yeah,” she exhales.
I look up and see her head leaning back against the tiles, eyes closed.
“Open your eyes. Now,” I demand.
Her head lifts from the wall, and her gaze drops to me.
I go back to work and suck on her clit, then push my fingers against her favorite spot.
I don’t know what just came over me.
When her eyes were closed, it felt wrong, too distant, like she could be anywhere in her head.
I want her looking at me—to know exactly who’s making her feel like this.
It’s primitive as hell … and I don’t like how much I need it.
Kayla runs her fingers through my hair, which makes me groan into her center. She pushes me against her harder and gets on her tiptoes.
Her jaw goes slack as she watches. I can tell she is getting close.
I move my free hand behind her and slip my thumb into her ass.
“Oh fuck, Sawyer,” she screams as I feel her walls ripple in waves against my fingers.
Her fingers clutch on to my hair like she’s terrified I won’t ride out her entire orgasm. I lick and suck until I know she’s done. Until her body relaxes against the wall.
I stand up and grab one of her wrists, then spin her around, placing her hands up on the tiles.
Her perfect ass sticks out, baiting me. I can’t help but give a cheek a good slap. She throws her head back in response.
I squeeze that cheek and jiggle it, then spread her open.
“Fuck, Kayla,” I say as I rub my dick up against her back entrance. “Have you ever been fucked here? You’ve never written about it in your books.”
She glances over her shoulder. “How do you know I’ve never written about it?”
I stick my thumb back in, and her eyes flutter like she can barely keep back a moan of pleasure.
“I’ve read all of your books.”
That gets her attention. “You’ve read all of my books?”
I pull my thumb out and tease her ass with my tip one more time. “Don’t ignore me. Have you ever?”
My body tenses as I wait for her response. I ignore how pathetic it is that I’m holding my breath for the answer.
“No,” she whispers.
“One day”—I push in just a centimeter, then pull away— “I’m going to be the one who does.”
I move down to her pussy, and before I push in, I realize I don’t have a condom.
“Fuck,” I growl.
She looks down. “I’m, um … on the pill. And clean.”
Her suggestion throws me off. Not so much that she said it, but that my first reaction isn’t hell no.
Not even close.
Instead of weighing my options, I push inside of her.
“Oh shit, Kayla,” I growl as I clutch her hips desperately.
I’ve never gone bare before. The sensations are out of this world. Any semblance of control I thought I might have is gone. I begin to fuck her fast and hard.
I have to hold her in place by her hips, so she doesn’t go flying into the wall. I’m sure I’ll be leaving bruises on her.
I flip her around. I need to kiss her.
She wraps her arms around my neck while I lift her in the air and push her back against the wet tiles. I feel her feet hit my back.
I slide my tongue into her mouth. She matches my intensity. Moaning into me with every single thrust that drives her higher against the wall.
Her hands slide down my shoulders, fingers gripping hard as she holds on to me, then one of them drifts lower across my back.
Her fingertips trace along the raised skin near my shoulder blade.
My entire body jerks. A sharp breath punches out of my lungs before I can stop it. For a split second, everything inside me locks up.
Kayla freezes, her hand still pressed against my back.
The heat in the room shifts instantly.
I start to pull away, but before I can, she grabs my face and drags my mouth back to hers in a harder kiss.
“Hey,” she murmurs against my lips. “Stay with me.”
The words cut straight through the noise trying to claw its way into my head. My hands tighten on her hips. I force myself to breathe … to focus on her.
On the way her body moves against mine and the sound of her breathing.
Slowly, the tension in my chest loosens just enough that I can keep going.
I tighten my grip on her hips and move again, slower at first, like I’m testing whether my body will cooperate.
Kayla’s breath catches instantly.
Her fingers slide back into my hair, gripping tight as her forehead presses against mine.
“Don’t stop,” she whispers.
The sound of her voice sends a fresh surge of heat straight through me.
Whatever control I thought I had left is completely gone now.
The heat between us builds with every movement. Her breaths come faster, shorter.
My name slips from her lips again and again, like she can’t hold it back. Each time it hits my ears, something inside my chest tightens.
Her nails drag down my shoulders as she clings to me, her body moving with mine now, matching every motion.
The intensity keeps climbing.
“Kayla …” I breathe.
She shakes her head against my shoulder, already on the edge.
I feel the moment it hits her. Her entire body tightens in my arms, her grip on me turning desperate as her breath breaks into a sharp cry against my neck.
The sensation pulls the last thread of control out from under me.
I bury my face against her shoulder as the tension finally snaps, my hands gripping her tighter as the release crashes through me.
The only sound in the room is the steady spray of the shower and our breathing trying to slow.
Kayla’s arms loosen slightly around my neck as she exhales shakily.
I keep holding her there, chest rising and falling hard while the last waves of adrenaline fade.
For a long moment, neither of us moves.
The water continues to fall around us, steam curling through the shower while our breathing slowly steadies.
Kayla’s forehead rests against my shoulder, her arms still loosely wrapped around my neck.
I keep holding her there, not ready to let go yet.
Eventually, she shifts slightly, her hand sliding down my back again.
Not exploring this time. Just resting there. The moment her palm brushes the raised skin near my shoulder blade, every muscle in my body tightens again.
She notices. I know she does.
Her hand stills instantly, and a few seconds pass.
She slowly moves it away, like she’s pretending she didn’t feel anything unusual at all.
My jaw tightens. Now the questions are sitting in the space between us, and she’s not asking them.
Kayla pulls back just enough to look at me, her cheeks flushed and her hair damp from the steam.
For a moment, her eyes search my face. Curious but careful. Then she leans forward and presses a soft kiss against my mouth.
No interrogation or hesitation. Just that quiet decision to leave it alone, which somehow makes my chest feel even tighter.
I know she felt them.
And sooner or later … she’s going to want to know where they came from.