Chapter 8
Kennedy
Rain continued to pour the following day.
I loved the rain, but never yet had I been housebound with two handsome men who I fantasized over.
It was different, and I didn't even know what to do with myself.
I stayed in the room for most of the day, using tiredness as an excuse.
Neither Elijah nor Jasper questioned it, but I could tell Elijah wanted to.
I figured the space was probably best until I figured out what I wanted to do where they were both concerned. Elijah said all I needed to do was ask, but what about Jasper?
Did he even want me? Or was I reading too much into a few compliments and the way he looked at me?
I stayed there thinking about my next move and whether or not I was bold enough to make it. I'd only ever had one sexual encounter in my entire life, and I hadn't been the one to make the first move.
As clear as my fantasies were to me, reality was a lot more daunting.
Fantasy Kennedy was fearless. Reality Kennedy was hiding in her bedroom, terrified.
At around five, Jasper called me out for dinner. I left the room, my heart racing when I saw them sitting in the small living area, plates of food in front of them, chicken Alfredo, to be exact.
"You didn't have to," I said as I took a seat around the small, circular table.
"Jasper loves to cook. He doesn't mind," Elijah said, glancing at me with that look in his eyes that had been there the night before.
That look that said he remembered the kiss. That he wanted more.
"You do?" I asked Jasper, who looked between us with pride.
He shrugged. "I love to eat, so it's only right."
"Well, everything looks amazing."
"Thank you," he said as he dug in and started to eat.
My eyebrows shot up when I took my first bite, surprised at how good it tasted. Sure, he'd done breakfast before, but breakfast was basic. This really showed his skill.
"Wow, this tastes amazing."
"Thanks, Kennedy."
"Seriously, Jasper. Where'd you learn to cook like this?"
He grinned. "Trial and error. Lots of error."
"I don't believe that," I said.
"It's true. Ask Elijah. He's suffered through my learning curve."
Elijah chuckled. "There was a phase with burnt everything."
"We don't talk about that phase," Jasper said.
I laughed, and the tension eased slightly. But when I glanced at Elijah, it came rushing back. His eyes were on me, intense.
We ate in silence for a while before he said, "I was thinking about going out in the rain again. I got some pretty good photos yesterday."
"It's raining a lot heavier today," Elijah said.
Jasper glanced toward the window. "You're right, but I hate being trapped in the house like this. Feels like I'm already going crazy."
"It's only been one day," I pointed out.
"Exactly. One day too many."
Elijah chuckled. "Something's seriously wrong with you."
"Says the guy who brought medical journals on vacation."
"I haven't even opened them," Elijah protested.
"Yet," Jasper said. "Give it another rainy day."
Jasper grinned before he said, "Well, I'm gonna take a shower and head in. I get all sleepy when it rains."
"It's barely six," Elijah said.
"And?" Jasper stood, stretching. "I'm a growing boy. I need my rest."
"You're twenty-eight."
"Still growing." He grabbed his plate. "Emotionally."
He brought his plate to the sink, winked at us, and then headed to his bedroom. I was alone with Elijah, and all of a sudden the air grew thick with tension.
This was it. My chance. The moment I'd been thinking about all day.
I finished the rest of my food in silence before I stood and brought my plate to the sink. I began washing the dirty dishes before Elijah came and stood beside me.
"I can do that," he said.
"I'm sure you can, but I want to."
"You cooked. I should clean."
"Jasper cooked."
"Semantics."
I laughed softly. "Just let me help, Elijah."
He leaned against the counter, staring at me. "What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"
Everything. Everything I wanted and everything I was afraid to say.
I glanced at him. I shrugged. "Not much. I'm just thinking about tomorrow, if it's gonna rain or not."
"That's what you've been thinking about all day? The weather?"
"Maybe."
"Kennedy."
"What?"
"You've barely left your room."
My hands stilled in the soapy water. "I was tired."
"Were you?"
I bit my lip. "I... I needed to think."
"About?"
"Things."
"That's specific."
"I like the rain, but not when I'm on vacation," I said, trying to change the subject.
"Sounds like you'd rather be hiking."
"As exhausting as it is, I enjoy it," I admitted.
"That's music to my ears. It's one of our favorite things to do together, Jasper and I."
"Do you guys plan on doing it again tomorrow if the rain stops?"
"Er, to an extent. There's a waterfall nearby that we wanted to visit."
I paused and looked at him. "A waterfall?"
He nodded yes. "It's beautiful."
"Wow, I didn't even know the mountain had sights like that."
He chuckled. "Sounds like you were planning on staying inside your entire stay."
"Something like that. I planned on taking walks, but that was just about it. I just came to relax, be at peace for a while, y'know?"
He nodded slowly. "I'm sorry you're not able to have that with us here. I mean, I'm sure you weren't expecting the company."
"No, I wasn't, but this is a lot better than what I had in mind," I confessed.
"Really? How so?"
I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat. "I'm having fun. I've already seen one of the most beautiful views ever, I don't have to cook..."
Elijah chuckled, and I grinned as I stared at him. "And I experienced what was surely the most amazing kiss of my life."
Elijah had that look in his eyes again that made my stomach flutter. "What more would you like to experience?"
"Everything," I said softly, lost in his blue gaze.
"Tell me," he said, and my heart stuttered.
Say it. Just say it. He already knows you want him.
"I..." I started, then stopped. My hands gripped the edge of the sink.
"Take your time."
"I'm not good at this."
"At what?"
"Asking for what I want."
"You're doing fine."
"Everything I said was in my diary," I muttered shakily.
He took a step toward me, his scent wrapping around me. "You want sex with more than one man," he said, his gaze trained on my lips.
My breath hitched, my pulse racing. "How about just one for tonight?" I asked.
I couldn't believe I'd even had the courage to say the words, but here I was saying things that would have been an entry in my diary instead. It felt good. It felt right. After years of being ashamed, I was finally asking for what I wanted.
Elijah smiled and cupped my face in his large hands.
I stared into his lustful blue eyes, watching with bated breath as he slowly lowered his head toward mine.
I anticipated his kiss like it was the very oxygen I breathed.
And when his soft lips finally grazed mine, I closed my eyes to revel in the feeling.
My body tingled with arousal as his lips caressed mine, gently guiding, stroking, getting me hotter by the second. I slipped my hand around his neck and pulled him closer, loving the way my body responded with each tug of his lips.
Things were happening to my body, and the feeling was one I didn't want to end.
But then Elijah broke the kiss to look at me. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
More certain than I'd ever been about anything.
His lips were back on mine, kissing me feverishly, his hands roaming down my body, over the small of my waist and down my ass.
There, he pulled me closer so my body was pressed against his.
Heat pooled low as I felt his hard bulge pressing against my stomach, filling me with a quiet desperation that made me heady.
I deepened the kiss, but just then Elijah lifted me in his arms and walked with me to my bedroom. He kicked the door shut with his foot before lowering me onto the bed.
"I knew I wanted you from the very second I saw you in that grocery store," he said, pulling his shirt over his head and revealing hard, toned abs that made me even more flustered.
I watched in awe as he peeled off every bit of clothing, and seconds later he was standing in front of me, completely naked. My mouth fell open as my gaze left his chest to roam his lower half. Heat roamed through my body when I saw his thick, long erection that gently throbbed.
I tried to gauge the size, wondering if it could fit inside me. I'd never seen anything so big, so rigid.
I snapped out of my trance when he took a step toward me. I immediately started tugging on my shirt, lifting it over my head. Elijah helped me by pulling it off and tossing it to one side of the room.
My nipples tightened feeling the heat of his stare that shifted lower and lower. He watched me just as I watched him. I pulled my shorts down along with my panties, and soon we were both naked, standing in front of each other.
No turning back now.
Elijah's gaze moved over my entire frame, his throat bobbing, blue eyes darkening with need. I felt even more aroused knowing a man like him was attracted to a woman like me. He was the type of man I wrote about in my diary, and here I was living the reality.
"You're perfect," he said, placing a hand over my breast. I sucked in a breath when his warm hand covered my flesh, filling the palm of his hand. He gently caressed it, and I whimpered, my core tightening, aching with need.
He dragged his hand from one breast to the other as he walked around my body, assessing every inch of me. My chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, my body consumed with a feverish heat.
He paused behind me, and I could feel the heat of our bodies against each other. He cupped my breasts from behind, and I closed my eyes, soaking up every bit of pleasure. His hands slid down my body, over the gentle curve of my hips and between my legs, grazing my most sensitive spot.