Teagan
“That cake was ridiculous.” Kane could say that, since he’d eaten almost half of it. Our walk home had been so reminiscent of old times; a few times, along the way, he’d squeezed my hand, and not just in affection but for assistance. The small gesture meant the world to me.
“I should hope you liked it, you did have three slices.”
Kane patted his flat stomach. “So damn good.”
We were snuggled up on our sofa. We didn’t fit as well as we had as kids, but I loved having his body so close to mine. Dinner had been like old times, except for Mrs. Marks’s absence. Zeus was curled up on the floor.
“I’m going to see Mrs. Marks again tomorrow. I don’t like how I left. She’s recovering and I’m adding stress. It was thoughtless and stupid.”
“It was human, Tea.”
“Will you come with me?” I asked.
“Yeah. What time were you hoping to go?”
“Around noon. I can come get you.”
An edge rang in his voice when next he spoke. “I’ll come to the house.”
Sitting up, I turned to him. “Okay. So you tell time by a clock that speaks?”
“Yeah, and I have a watch that opens so I can feel the hands.”
I touched his face, his cheek, his lips, and he closed his eyes. “I asked Mr. Clancy about the fire and what happened after. I wanted to know, but I didn’t want you to live through it again.”
His eyes opened and in them I saw torment, the memory haunting him still. “It was as close to hell as a person can come.”
Sympathy and bitterness caused an ache in my chest. “I would have never left your side.”
“I knew that’s how you’d feel, and that’s why I didn’t tell you.”
“Not to beat a dead horse, but I’m going to anyway. Had it been me, in that hospital bed, alone, scared, hurt, blind, would you have wanted me to keep you in the dark about it?” I asked.
Every muscle in his body reacted to that. “Fuck no.”
“Now you understand how I feel. It should have been me at your side.”
“If it had been you in the hospital bed, would you have wanted me to sit and watch as you suffered, struggled to live, only to witness you die? To have my final memory of you be in the burn unit of the hospital?”
Just the idea of it made my eyes burn. “No.”
“Now you understand how I feel. We’re here now. Let’s move forward. Looking back won’t change anything.”
“I can do that.”
“So, why antiques?”
“This house. My life here. You. For the longest time all I wanted to do was look to the past, and eventually I learned that sometimes it is healthy to look to the past. Maybe you’ll come to Boston and see the life I’ve made there.”
He didn’t answer, because we’d had this discussion already. I knew his answer to traveling to Boston was a no, and he knew I knew. I understood, I really did, but it hurt that he would never know that significant part of my life. I brought it up again with hope that maybe he’d feel differently after he’d had time to think it over.
I was pushing it, but I added, “I’ll be with you. Think about it?” And though he said what he knew I wanted to hear, I knew his mind was already made up.
“I’ll think about it.”
Watching Kane work was an experience. He listened to recorded books and translated them into Braille. He had started the practice as a way of learning Braille, and now he found comfort in the work. He offered the books he translated to the public library, which distributed them among the other branches who had a need for them. He had a trusted group of people around him—Mrs. Marks and his family at Raven’s Peak; the O’Malleys; his lawyer and accountant, who took care of all his bills and legal matters; and Mr. Miller, who helped him with his boat.
As I watched him work, I couldn’t help but think as wonderful as this was for him, he was limiting himself. There was a big world out there, and yet he stayed here, where it was familiar and safe. I suppose I understood that, but the Kane of our youth had wanted to see the world. He’d dreamed of driving his boat up and down the coast. Sure, he wouldn’t see it in the same way, but it seemed he was giving up so much.
I wanted him to come to Boston. The topic was over. I knew he had no intention of coming to see the life I had made for myself. Maybe it was selfish of me to ask it of him, but it seemed to me that if you wanted to share your life with someone, you would want to know everything about that person. I’d been doing that with Kane, asking everyone about him, trying to really get the picture of his life when I wasn’t in it. His refusal to make the trip hurt. I got that he didn’t want me to treat him differently because he was blind, and yet he was treating himself differently, using his blindness as an excuse to disengage. He couldn’t have it both ways.
“You’re thinking too loud.”
Glancing over, I saw that Kane was no longer working but staring in my direction. My heart tripped in my chest like it did every time I looked at him. I couldn’t believe I was here with him, had thought the day would never come.
“Are you okay, Tea?”
“More than okay.”
“I’m almost done, and then we can go for a swim, if you want,” he suggested.
“I’d like that.”
His smile stopped my breath. “So would I.”
He kept pace at my side, never more than a foot away, his long strokes easily cutting through the water. He knew the area so well there was no anxiety, and as long as he could hear me next to him, he didn’t worry about me either. I loved that he still swam and that he had taught me how to so I could share moments like this with him. I knew how much he enjoyed swimming.
He wore a swim shirt, something he had never done before. He was covering his burns, I knew, but I wished he wouldn’t. Scarred or not, he was beautiful to me. And then I realized that he had never seen them. He didn’t know what they looked like, and I guessed that what was described to him by the doctors was technical and not for the layman.
After our swim, we sat on the beach, the sun drying us, and, though there were long periods of silence, it wasn’t uncomfortable.
“Kane, has anyone told you about your burns?”
His muscles flexed; the subject was clearly not a favorite of his. “The doctors, but I tuned them out because I wasn’t ready to hear it. As I healed, I didn’t really see the point in having my head filled with the image of what I had become.”
That broke my heart—his scars weren’t as bad as he clearly believed them to be. I wouldn’t coddle him; he’d hate that, so instead I asked, “Aren’t you even a little curious?”
Every time those eyes found mine, I marveled at how well he was able to do that. “Maybe a little.”
“Would you like me to describe them for you? And before you say no, I think you are beautiful, scars and all. I wish you wouldn’t hide them from me.”
He said nothing, and I knew he was considering my words.
“Take off your shirt and let me tell you what I see.”
He hesitated, but he did as I asked and removed his shirt. He wouldn’t look at me, even though he couldn’t see. I got it. He was embarrassed.
My fingers were gentle when I ran them over the scar tissue. “It’s darker than the rest of your skin. Twisted and red, stretched in areas. Just above your nipple, across to your underarm, and up the center to your collarbone. Your neck down to midback, concentrating mostly on the left side; the edges are less pronounced and almost blend into the rest of your skin. To have survived this, to be the man you are, having lived through something so horrifying . . . yes, your skin is scarred, Kane, but it’s your skin, so it could never be ugly.”
He moved so fast, turning and drawing me to him, his arms coming around me like steal bands. His mouth found mine, his tongue pushing past the barrier of my lips to taste. My arms moved around his neck, holding him closer. His hands roamed down my body, over my breasts, and across my stomach, and everywhere he touched burned, aching for more. I felt his fingers on the strings of my top, felt when they stilled.
“Please don’t stop. I want you . . .” The memory slammed into me, the words came out before I could stop them, not that I would have. “I want you to poke me, Kane. Please.”
His entire body stilled, even the air in his lungs seemed to still before he started shaking. Concerned, I tried to pull away, until I realized he was laughing. The sound was so glorious, I closed my eyes and just soaked it in.
When he was able to speak, he said, “Are you begging me to poke you, Tea?”
“I really am.”
And then he was kissing me again, turning me, and lowering me to the sand. He worked my top off, his fingers tracing my collarbone, down my shoulder. He was learning my body, seeing it through his fingers. His other hand moved over my stomach, down my thighs. Straddling my legs, he cupped my breasts in his hands, his thumbs brushing over the nipples just like he had done before. His head lowered, and his mouth closed over my breast. It was heaven feeling him touch me again. His fingers danced down my stomach and slipped under my suit bottoms. When he touched me, just the tips of his fingers on the nub that ached, my back arched. His mouth was on my other breast while his thumb took up the stroking, his fingers sliding over my aching flesh until he found me and pushed a finger in, slowly, as if he was savoring the sensations as much as I was.
His mouth moved lower, down my belly. Untying the strings of my suit bottom, he removed the fabric that separated me from him. Moving down my body, he lifted my ass and pressed a kiss right where his fingers had been.
“Kane.” My body was so oversensitive that, feeling his mouth on me again, I already felt the start of an orgasm. I fell completely over the edge when he pushed his tongue in deep, just as he squeezed that nub.
His mouth drifted back up my body, his lips lingering over mine. Reaching for him, my hand slipped under his waistband, finding him and wrapping around him. He moaned. His eyes closed. Shifting us, so I was straddling him, I moved lower down his body. His eyes opened, his focus on where my hand held him.
Pulling his shorts off, following the fabric down his legs, I slid back up his body and took him into my mouth. The sexiest sound rumbled up his throat as I worked him, twirling my tongue around the tip before sliding it under his shaft, while fondling the sac between his legs. He was close but he moved, pulling me up his body, and turned to pin me under him. Pushing my legs apart, he gripped my hips and slid into me. Feeling him inside me, being connected to him again, rocked me, and the emotions that burned through me were staggering. I realized he wasn’t moving and one glance confirmed that he was experiencing the same profound moment I was. And then he started to move, a slow, easy glide, in and out, until it wasn’t easy but hard, fast and frantic, to reach that moment together.
“Come for me, Tea.”
And I did at the exact moment he did.
Leaving the beach, we returned to his house for a shower. In the bathroom, he turned on the water before he held his hand out for me. Grasping it, he drew me into the shower with him. His mouth was on me before I even felt the spray. His hands moved over my body, which was sleek from the water. Cradling my face, he kissed me deeply, like he needed to kiss me or he’d die. My hands found his stomach, the chiseled muscles of his abs. His body wasn’t the body of the boy I’d known, he was a man, a beautifully defined man. He broke the kiss and reached for the dispenser, filling his palm with shampoo, and his fingers on my scalp nearly made me moan in pleasure. No one had every washed my hair before, and no one could ever make it feel as wonderful as he did. My bones turned to goo.
Rinsing my hair, he moved on to my body, washing me so tenderly. When he was done, I washed him as thoroughly and sweetly as he had done for me. He tensed when I moved over his scars, and I felt his discomfort in every muscle. But he needed to get past that, because he was mine, all of him. He lifted me into his arms, pressed me against the shower wall, and when he entered me this time it was as tender as his washing had been. Kissing me as if I were the most precious thing in his life, he slowly and deliberating brought me to orgasm. My name passed his lips in a whisper when he followed shortly after.
I woke up in Kane’s bed and reached for him, but he wasn’t there. Stretching, my thoughts turned to the night before. After our shower, he’d brought me to his room and made love to me again. In the middle of the night, he’d reached for me twice. And just before dawn, we’d made love again. And it was love, not sex, it was a sharing of not just our bodies but our souls. That was what every sexual relationship I’d had since Kane had been lacking. No one but Kane had ever touched my heart or my soul.
Sitting up, I reached for the robe he’d left for me, but I got distracted when I saw his nightstand, or rather, what was on it: a glass of chocolate milk with whipped cream. My heart sighed at the sight, and then I saw what else shared the nightstand, his pictures. Ones he could no longer see, but still they were there, pictures of me, of us, through the years.
“Tea?”
Kane was leaning against the doorframe, his voice questioning, wondering if I was up yet. “I’m awake,” I said.
He walked into the room, his steps sure, before he sat down next to me. I took a sip of the milk, then reached for his hand to pass him the glass. “Do you still drink a glass of chocolate milk with whipped cream every morning?”
He didn’t seem to want to answer, but reluctantly he did. “Yeah.”
“So do I.”
This earned me a smile. “You looking at my pictures?” he asked.
“Yes. Where did you get all of them?”
“Mrs. Marks. I asked her if she had any. I wanted you close.”
“At home, I have a picture of you too.”
“Did you throw darts at it?”
“That was the intention, but no. When it got to the point that I missed you so much I ached, I’d pull it out and wish that it was me here with you instead of the woman who was.”
“There has never been anyone but you.”
“For me either. I know you don’t believe that, I can see that clearly on your face. Yes, I dated, I had sex, but that is all it ever was. I never had what we shared last night, never, only with you.”
“I’m jealous of those other men. Really fucking jealous.”
“Nothing to be jealous about. They got my body but never my heart or my soul. Those have always been yours.”
“I still don’t like knowing other men have touched you, tasted you, seen and heard you as you came.”
“You’ll drive yourself crazy thinking about it, so please don’t. There will never be another, I can promise you that.”
“Damn straight.” But he said that with a little smile. He wasn’t over it, but he was trying, and that was all that mattered.
The following morning found me at the boatyard. Kane had gone to the public library in town, but for what, he didn’t say. I’d asked if he wanted company, and he said he thought I’d get bored. This gave me the perfect opportunity for my mission. Silas Miller stood in a boat hangar where a sailboat was being refinished.
Hearing me approach, he turned and smiled.
“Teagan, hi.” He looked past me. “Is Kane with you?”
“No. I came alone. I wanted to ask you for a favor.”
Placing down the mechanical part he had been working on, he wiped his hands with a towel he had stuffed in the front pocket of his work pants.
“What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping you could teach me how to drive a boat.”
Interest moved to understanding and settled on approval. “For Kane.”
“He always wanted to build a boat and drive it up and down the coast. He’s building the boat, but I imagine, as self-sufficient as he is, he won’t be able to drive it.” Looking down for a minute, my throat tight thinking of Kane losing so much more than his sight, I added, “I want to be able to give him that.”
“He would love that.” Mr. Miller’s words were so soft, my gaze met his. “He often mentioned it, you and him, his boat.”
Knowing he had still been thinking of me, still wished for the dream, even with all that had happened, settled very comfortably in my chest.
“Let’s go check my calendar and we’ll schedule some days. You’ll need to get your boater’s license, but I can help you with that.”
“Thank you.”
“Damn sad turn of events, tragic, but seeing the two of you together is just proof that some things are meant to be.”
Kane and I were finding our way, and I was happier than I’d been in a long time. I wasn’t sure what he was doing when he went to the library, had asked him a few times, since he went daily, but he said it was a surprise. Whatever it was, he was happier after doing it, more confident and aware, so whatever he was doing, I hoped he kept at it.
Mrs. Marks was feeling almost back to normal. She had been in the hospital for nearly four weeks, but the last few times that I’d visited her, she wasn’t disoriented and was able to speak with no apparent struggle. The doctors were talking about discharging her. Hopefully in the next few days she would be coming home. It had been far too long since the five of us were all together in the house. The visit with Kane’s mom was coming up, and I knew he was nervous, but I sensed a vein of excitement in him too. I hoped that their first meeting, after all these years, wouldn’t be a disappointment for him.
The only blemish in my nearly perfect world was Mr. Sleazy. I couldn’t stop thinking about him—he was up to something. Simon had hired a PI a few years ago after someone had come into our shop and sold us a fake. When Simon left for Boston, he’d planned on contacting the PI to have him look into Mr. Sleazy. I had the sense Mr. Lawson was doing so already, but I was still uneasy and, with Mrs. Marks in the hospital, I wanted to make sure the man who was in her home wasn’t planning something nefarious. Wondering if Simon had heard from the PI, I reached for my cell phone and called him. He answered on the first ring.
“Hey, how’s it going? How’s Kane?”
“Better, good, really good. He’s more open with me, and his instinct to push me away seems to be occurring less and less. He’s working on something new—he won’t tell me what, but I love seeing him look less haunted.”
“That’s good, that’s what he needs.”
“Simon, we made love.”
“And?”
“It was perfect.”
His voice sounded deeper, softer. “You love him, that makes all the difference.”
“So how are you? How’s the shop?”
“We’ve been busy as hell. I uncovered a couple of treasures that the previous owners were clueless about. I think I should be able to tie everything up in a few days. I’m thinking about shutting it down for a month. What do you think?”
“A month?”
“Double, Teagan, we’ve made double what we normally do in a month. I’d like to close up and join you in Maine.”
“I’d like that.”
“Now’s not the time, but we need to talk about the shop, especially if you’re thinking about staying in Maine.”
Thinking about the future caused my stomach to twist into a knot. I wanted Kane, so if that meant staying in Maine, I was fine with that. But for Kane to not even consider living in Boston, to just want to settle at Raven’s Peak—I didn’t think that was the healthiest option for him.
“We’ll talk, just not now.”
“You know, we can always open a branch in Maine. There are options.”
I had thought of that, but I didn’t want to make any decisions now. When it came time to think about what was best for our business, I wanted the only factors to be the ones that were directly related to the business. My personal life shouldn’t have an impact on my professional decisions. It wasn’t fair to Simon or our business. “You’re right, and when I’m more comfortable with where Kane and I are heading, then we can sit down and figure it all out. Whatever happens, Simon, I don’t want to lose you.”
“Not going to happen, so don’t worry about it.”
“I needed to hear that. So I called . . .”
“Not just to hear my sexy voice?”
“That, and have you gotten anything back about Sleazy yet?”
“Not yet, but I’ll be with you soon, so when our PI calls, we can hear it together. Tell that lovely Mrs. T I’ll be returning in a few short days so she can prepare a feast in my honor.”
“You’re an idiot, but I’ll tell her.”
“Teagan, Kane.” A worried Mr. Clancy pulled me from sleep. Kane stirred at my side, his head turning in the direction of the voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s Mrs. Marks. The hospital just called. She’s had a stroke. I don’t know the details, or how severe.”
Kane and I jumped from the bed. I was wearing my nightie, and Kane wasn’t wearing a thing. Mr. Clancy started for the door. “Car will be in the drive in five.”
As soon as the door closed, Kane’s head turned in my direction. He sounded serious, but I saw his slight grin. “He got an eyeful.”
He looked embarrassed, so I said, “A fucking nice eyeful.”
We dressed quickly and hurried down the stairs, my hand in Kane’s for support as well as to guide him, since being in a hurry could make him miss a step. I didn’t want to be visiting him in the hospital too.
The car was in the drive, Mr. Clancy and Mrs. T already inside it. Once Kane and I climbed in, Sam, the driver, didn’t hesitate to peel out.
“I don’t understand how she could have had a stroke when she’s being so closely monitored,” I said.
“My thoughts too,” Mr. Clancy said, his focus on the window. He was nervous or maybe scared. He and Mrs. Marks weren’t just employee and employer, they were friends, best friends, as near as I could tell. Covering his hand, I gave it a reassuring squeeze. “She’s going to pull through this.”
“I believe that too, I really do.”
Mrs. T chimed in. “I owe her a hundred bucks. She ain’t going let me slide with that.”
And just like that, the tension in the car dropped drastically.
Kane’s fingers linked through mine and I could feel his discomfort in the rigidness of his fingers.
“You okay?”
“It’s times like these that I really hate my blindness. Someone I love is in trouble and I feel completely useless.”
“There isn’t much for any of us to do.”
His voice took on an edge. “At least you can find the fucking building without needing help.”
How did I respond to that? I didn’t, just held his hand tighter in mine.
As soon as the car pulled up to the curb, we filed out and headed to the front desk. It took a good fifteen minutes for the doctor on call to come see us. What he had to say was better than I was expecting, however.
“She’s had a mild stroke, her left side is affected, and her ability to speak has been impaired. This could just be temporary—it most likely is—but we’ll know more by morning.”
“How did this happen? You ran all those tests. Weren’t you thinking she’d already had a mild stroke?” I demanded.
“She exhibited signs of a stroke, yes, but the tests all came back negative. What’s happened now isn’t uncommon, a piece of the clot that caused her heart attack traveled through her bloodstream to her brain. It happens, but the good news is the stroke was mild and so the effects will be minimal if not completely temporary.”
“Can we see her?”
“Only one visitor. Too many will be overwhelming to her.”
“You should go, Mr. Clancy,” Kane said, and Mr. Clancy didn’t hesitate to follow the doctor down the hall. “I’m going home.”
“What’s wrong, Kane?” I asked, but he ignored me.
“Sam?” Kane asked.
“I’m here.”
“I’ll come with you.” I said.
“You should stay.”
He barely got those words out before he turned and allowed Sam to lead him from the building.
I stood for a while in the same spot, my mind on Kane. One step forward, two steps back. I wanted him in my life and I knew he wanted the same, but maybe his blindness was just too big a hurdle for us to overcome. Maybe our love just wasn’t enough anymore. With a heavy heart, I sought out the others.
Kane
As soon as we were out of hearing distance, I told Sam, “I’m about to have an attack.”
“I’ll get you in the car.” Sam practically hauled me to the car, opening the door and helping me in, since he knew it was mere moments before I’d be fully consumed. I barely heard the door close before it was on me: pounding heart, sweating, pins and needles breaking out over my body, and the fear, the fucking fear that stole my breath. Lying back on the seat, I tried for calm, but I knew I’d have to ride it out.
“Are you okay, Kane?” Sam’s voice penetrated, the last of the sensations fading.
“How long?” Was that my voice?
“Almost fifteen minutes.”
Damn, that was definitely one of the longer ones. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks for getting me to the car. I didn’t want to freak everyone out, especially with Mrs. Marks in the condition she’s in.”
“Understood. You want to go back inside, or should I take you home?”
“I think home.”
“You got it.”
My legs were still unsteady by the time we reached home, so instead of going to my house, I decided to crash in Tea’s room. “Thanks, Sam.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m going to sleep, but thanks.”
I heard the lock on the front door click and felt the air stir when Sam pushed the door open. “I’ll head back to the hospital. You’ve got your phone right?”
“Yeah.”
Zeus greeted me at the door and assisted me up the stairs. Kicking off my shoes, I climbed into Tea’s bed and felt as Zeus settled in next to me before I was out.
When I woke, I knew Tea was in the room by her scent. “Tea?”
“Yeah, I’m here. You okay?”
She couldn’t have been wearing shoes, because I didn’t hear as she approached until I felt the bed dip as she settled next to me.
“How’s Mrs. Marks?”
“She’s good, the doctors were really happy with all her numbers this morning. Kane, what happened last night?”
I should have told her this already. I hadn’t because it was another sign of weakness. “Ever since the fire, I’m overcome with anxiety at times—panic attacks are what my therapist calls them.”
“Oh my God.”
“I didn’t mean to snap at you yesterday, but I really didn’t want to freak you out. I knew I didn’t have much time before I was completely overtaken by it.”
“What happens?” Her voice was soft, concern lacing through her words.
“It feels like a heart attack. You’re completely out of control for about ten minutes—your heart races, you feel numb or get pins and needles, you break out into a sweat or get the chills, and, even being unable to stop it, you are cognizant of what is happening.”
“That sounds horrible. How often do you get them?”
“I used to have one almost every week, but now they’re few and far between. In fact, it’s been a while since my last one. I’ve found that exercise really helps to reduce the occurrences, which is why I use my bar as often as I do.”
“Oh.”
“What?”
“I thought you were working out your anger issues.”
She knew me so well. “In the beginning I absolutely did, but now it’s more therapeutic. Except recently—” I stopped midthought. No need to go there.
“What were you going to say?”
“Nothing.”
“Kane, talk to me. Recently it’s more than therapeutic, so what’s causing the anger you need to work through?”
The words just tumbled out. “You and the men you’ve slept with. I’m having a hard time dealing with that.”
“I have slept with five men including you.” The sharpness of her voice was proof enough that she was pissed.
“Tea, you don’t . . .” And yet hearing that there had been four other men, I wanted to hunt them down and kill them.
“You’ll listen because you need to get over it. The first man was Erik. We dated for six months, four and half years after you broke up with me, six months after I learned that you were married. The second man’s name was Drake, we dated for a year, Donovan lasted five months, and then there was Colin, on and off again for two years. Every single one of them was sex. I didn’t love them, I didn’t want a life with them, but I enjoyed them. I’m not sorry for that, Kane. I was, I felt guilty that it was them and not you, but you know what? You’re the one who made your bed. Every action that’s happened after you broke my heart falls completely on your shoulders. You can’t change the past and you can’t change me. Just as you are not the same person, neither am I. I’ve slept with four other men, that’s who I am now. Deal with it.”
She was gone, her scent fading. “Tea.”
“No. Seriously, Kane, it’s enough. I was angry at the hospital, because I thought you were pushing me away again. But I can’t say that this is any better. You’re dealing with a panic disorder but you didn’t think to mention that? What would have happened if you’d had an attack when we were alone? Don’t you think that would have scared the shit out of me?
“You say you want a life with me, but you need to let me in, all the way. It worked for us before, because we held nothing back, but all you seem to want to do is hold back. And as far as the beauty of what we share, I never had that with anyone but you. Having sex and making love are two entirely different things. We make love, those men gave me sex—scratched an itch—nothing more. You want to move forward and leave the past in the past, then fucking starting living those words. I’m sorry your life turned out so far from how you saw it, I’m sorry you’ve endured all that you have, but you can only use your tragedy as an excuse for so long.”
I don’t know how the hell I found her as easily as I did, but I was out of the bed and across the room, pressing her between the wall and my body, in a heartbeat. Her muscles quickened against mine, but it wasn’t out of anger or fear, it was desire.
“Am I being unfair? Absolutely. I fucking love you, hell, I’m damn near obsessed with you. I have been ever since I heard you crying on the night you arrived.”
“And yet you cut me free.” Her voice was barely over a whisper.
“I never should have.”
“A point we can agree on.”
“I don’t want to linger in the past, but I can’t help my jealousy. Had it been me who’d slept with others, you can’t tell me that wouldn’t feel like acid burning in your gut.”
“It would, but I can’t change the past.”
“I know, and that’s why I work out the anger on my bar. Eventually, I’ll come to terms with it. I’ll never like it, but I’ll learn to accept it.”
“And in the meantime?”
“I want to love you so completely that those other guys are forgotten.”
“They already are, Kane. It’s only your taste I crave, your touch I seek, your body I want, and your heart that I need. You, only you, always you.”
My mouth slammed down on hers, my hands yanking her shirt over her head. Cupping her breasts, I licked the swells, teasing her nipples through the silk of her bra with my thumb. As I flipped the clasp, her breasts spilled out into my hands. There were so many fantasies that had sustained me over the years, so many visions of us that had haunted and teased me, and one of them was that I wanted to fuck her breasts, wanted my shaft cradled between them and the head in her mouth as she sucked me off.
My expression must have given me away. “What do you want, Kane?” I felt her soft hands on my face. “I told you I was all in and I am. I’m not holding back, not with anything. Tell me what you want?”
My hands tightened on her breasts. Without my saying anything, she seemed to understand and directed me to a chair.
“Sit,” she ordered.
And I did, happily. I felt when she dropped to her knees between my legs. Her fingers worked my zipper before she pulled the denim down my legs. We’d dressed so quickly earlier I hadn’t bothered with briefs. My eyes closed when her hand wrapped around me. I moaned when she moved closer, pushing me into her cleavage as she sucked the head of my dick into her mouth. My hands moved back to her breasts, pressing then together as my hips rocked and, coupled with her sweet, hot mouth working the tip, it wasn’t going to take me long. I heard her, the soft mewling in the back of her throat, and I knew she was getting off on pleasuring me. I didn’t deserve her, but she was mine. Her hands moved to my thighs, her fingers digging into the flesh, her head moving faster, her beautiful breasts cradling me and I came, loud and long. She swallowed and I growled.
“Stand up and take off your jeans and panties.” That came out as more of an order than I intended.
I heard the rustling of her clothes a few seconds before she said, “Okay.”
I stood and offered the chair. “Ass on the edge, Tea.” As soon as she took it, I dropped to my knees, spread her, and ate her until her scream nearly shattered the windows.