Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Shep
I threw her over my shoulder, fireman-style.
"What are you doing?" Kinsley asked as she bounced against my back.
"I'm claiming you for myself." In my bedroom, I lowered her to the bed so that she bounced once before I was on her.
I lifted her shirt, kissing her stomach. I wanted her with a desire I hadn't ever felt before. I needed to make her mine.
I needed her to know that there was no one else for me. By the time I was done with her, she'd remember what it felt like to be with me. I wanted her body to carry the memory of me being inside her.
I wiggled her shorts and panties over her hips and down her long legs while she lifted and removed her shirt, then unhooked her bra.
"Gorgeous." I'd moved some of the candles to my room, and they were on a timer so they were already flickering on my nightstand, the dresser, and the mantle, giving the room a warm glow.
The light illuminated her skin, tantalizing me.
Her nipples were hard points, practically begging for my mouth. I knelt on the bed, sucking on one, scraping my teeth over the underside of her breast.
She arched against me, needing more. I lowered myself between her legs so that she could rub against my jeans.
I was going to make her forget about her ex and everything he'd implied in that foyer. Kinsley was a good mother and a better friend. She was a tenacious lover, and I never wanted to let her go. She was mine, and she'd know it before the night was over.
Mine. Mine. Mine, I chanted to myself while I licked and sucked, my hand diving between her legs to find her soaking for me.
I nearly groaned at her scent.
She wanted me.
Not Derek or anyone else. Me.
I moved down her body, kissing a trail over her quivering stomach. When I reached her pussy, I spread her legs with my shoulders and dived in. I devoured her, adding my fingers to enhance her pleasure.
When she arched off the bed, I used my arm to keep her grounded. She couldn't escape this. She couldn't escape us.
I wouldn't let her avoid the heat.
Her thighs trembled as she fought to maintain the control I wouldn't let her hold onto. I sucked on her swollen clit. She arched against my hold, moaning as she threw her arm over her forehead.
Her skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, but I wasn't done with her. Not yet. I wiped my mouth, gripping my cock at her entrance before plunging inside.
She was mine.
She bit her lip, her eyes bright with desire. I had a feeling she was on the edge of another powerful orgasm.
I pulled out despite her whine and rolled her onto her front, then banded an arm around her stomach, pulling her to her knees.
I nearly groaned at the sight of her on all fours. She was gorgeous like this, waiting for me to claim her again. I eased inside her, slower this time, knowing I was going deeper and she was feeling more.
No matter what happened tomorrow, we had this. This moment of time where I believed that she could be mine forever.
I let myself give into the fantasy of her in my bed, Maya down the hall, and a future laid out before us filled with more renovations and maybe even our own beach wedding.
I dared to hope for more kids because now that I'd met Maya, I wanted a whole pack of them with a mix of dark and light hair, blue and brown eyes. I wanted everything.
The tingling began in the base of my spine, and I reached around to manipulate her clit. I needed her to come again. And when she went over, I held her to me, sliding deep once more before groaning into her shoulder.
There was something about the act of releasing inside her that had my instincts coming to life. I wanted to see her grow round with my baby. I wanted to see her flush from an amazing orgasm. I wanted to pleasure her.
I never wanted her to come down from this high.
When I came to, she was flat on her stomach, and I covered her body with mine. I groaned, rolling to the side and off her.
She looked at me, a satisfied expression on her face. "What was that?"
"You're mine." I softened my declaration by smoothing a strand of hair off her face.
A smile played on her lips. "Mmm. I like the sound of that."
I leaned on an elbow, kissing her softly. I hoped she tasted her essence on my tongue. This was an intimate moment, one I hadn't shared with anyone before.
She wasn't just some girl I met at a bar. She was everything, my present and my future. I just hoped that she understood that.
On Saturday, the guys stopped by to start the demolition of the kitchen. It was hard work, and instead of smashing everything, we were saving the cupboards for Hudson to use in his garage for storage, so we had to be more careful than we otherwise would be.
Kinsley had spent much of the day filming us, peppering us with questions about our process.
I hoped the addition of my brothers meant more attention would go to them. I used to think all attention was good, but not anymore.
I didn't want the kind of attention I used to get. I just wanted Kinsley's, and she was clearly upset by some of the comments on the video.
I didn't want her to feel insecure about the situation. Dad was excited about the viewership of the videos, so there was no backing out. And it was Kinsley's job to film us.
Dad had offered her extra pay for the hours she spent filming and editing in the evenings and weekends. I should want her to feel successful and get paid what she deserved, but selfishly I wanted to keep her for myself.
We threw in the debris from the downed wall into the dumpster.
"We're going out tonight," Hudson said.
I wiped the sweat from my brow. "I'm kind of beat, and I want to get an early start tomorrow morning."
"You're going out with us," Cooper said. "You haven't gone out for drinks in forever."
My brow furrowed. "I thought you wanted me to go out less?"
"You're becoming a hermit, tied up in this old house." Dalton waved a hand around us.
"There are worse things." I wouldn't exactly say it was a hardship to live here in this house on Captiva with the ocean as my backyard.
"We're going out. The girls are too," Hudson said as he edged toward his truck.
Cooper's nose wrinkled. "Take a shower. You stink."
I attempted to punch him as he walked past me, but he dodged it, and my fist glanced off his shoulder.
"Make sure Kinsley's with you. She doesn't have Maya so no excuses."
How could I tell them that I was hoping for a quiet night in with Kinsley? I wanted her to know where she stood, and going out with the guys wasn't going to help that situation. But I didn't have a choice. "Fine. Whatever."
Hudson climbed into his truck. "See you there."
We always hung out at a beach sidebar and restaurant, the kind where the bar was in the sand and the view was the water.
Inside, I found Kinsley in the kitchen, watching back the film from today. I wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on her shoulder. "Everyone's going out."
Kinsley touched my hand. "That will be fun."
"I kind of wanted to stay in with you."
"We haven't been out in forever. It's only one night."
Then why did it feel like the beginning of the end for us? I couldn't shake the feeling that the renovation would be over soon, and then it would be time for Elena and Hudson's wedding. "I'm going to jump in the shower."
"I want to edit this video and post it. I think people are going to love the dynamic between you and your brothers."
I rolled my eyes. "I find it hard to believe that anyone would find us entertaining."
"I think it has more to do with the muscles you're using while you work," Kinsley said with amusement tingeing her voice.
I showered and, when I came downstairs, cleaned up the kitchen so there wasn't dust floating through the air. We'd hung tarps to close it off from the rest of the house, but since we'd taken down a wall, it was impossible to cut the space off from the rest of the house.
I heard the water click on upstairs, and I wondered what tonight would bring. I'd have to pretend that we weren't together. She was my employee, not my lover.
When Kinsley came downstairs, she wore a sundress with sandals, and I pulled her into my body, kissing her as if I was deploying for a year. My hand traveled up her inner thigh. "We should stay in."
She kissed me solidly on the mouth. "I like where your mind is at, but we have to make an appearance. Your brothers want to spend time with you outside of work."
I groaned, adjusting my aching dick in my briefs. "Fine."
"You're going to have a great time. I promise."
In the truck, I said, "My dad warned me about getting involved with you. Should we pretend that nothing is going on?"
Kinsley looked out the side window. "For tonight, that's fine."
I wanted to ask about next time, but there was a crushing sensation in my chest I couldn't shake. "I don't like it."
"It's just for one night."
"It's been nice to do whatever we want at home, at least when Maya's not here. Do you think she knows that something's going on?"
"I don't know. But she hasn't said anything," Kinsley admitted.
It was only one night. This evening wouldn't define our relationship. I could keep my hands off her for a few hours. It couldn't be that hard. But I wished that we'd kissed before we arrived, because I couldn't touch her or kiss her for a few hours. Not until we were home again, and I hated it.
I parked, and we walked together around the building toward the bar area out back where there was cornhole and firepits on the beach and picnic tables by the bar. The girls sat at a picnic table and waved Kinsley over.
My brothers stood at the bar.
There were a few women on either side of our group, but since all the brothers were with someone, I assumed there would be fewer women hanging around us tonight, which was just fine with me.
Except when I reached the guys, a woman broke off from her group and touched my arm. "I just love that show you're doing on the renovation to your grandmother's house."