40
Kelly
I knew the moment that I saw them together that Kaycee had done the hard talking for me.
Sauntering over to Kendra, I could see the nerves ticking in her neck. “Kelly, I had nowhere to go.”
I closed the gap that kept me separated from her one step at a time. The way she was looking at me led me to believe that Kaycee had told her about Nora. I didn’t mind. It was only a matter of time before I would have to confess my past marriage. But what she didn’t know was that Nora was the reason I’d come back to her tonight.
“I was just leaving.” She pointed to the suitcase propped by the door. “Alex is somewhere in the building. She can help me gather my things.” When her eyes met mine, she gulped down a large breath of air. “I know you don’t want to see me and I can just stay with her.”
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, I quickly pulled back, hesitant to touch any more of her. My brows pinched with a painful expression as I held my hand close to her face, willing myself to not take it any further out of fear of being the one to set off another trigger.
Kendra turned her head and looked at my hand, her pupils dilated. She was as nervous as I was. And though I knew she couldn’t see or hear my pounding heart, I was terrified, not knowing how best to deal with this.
I wanted to touch her. Comfort her, let her know that she was here to save me.
Everything slowed down.
The room spun.
And soon it was just us, together, breathing as one.
Finally she lifted her hand, stealing mine somewhere along the way, and brought it to her cheek.
Her face was warm in my hand, soft against the touch. Closing her eyes, she pushed more of her face into my palm. Slowly, her lips tugged into a smile and as bad as I wanted to lift my other hand and smooth it down her opposite arm, I didn’t have it in me to do so.
We continued on like this for what felt like forever, suspended in time. My eyes raked over all her delicate features I loved so much. And she continued to nuzzle into my hand like a cat seeking attention.
My entire body tingled for her. I knew that whatever Kaycee had said made Kendra think twice about the man I truly was—the man I wanted to become. She knew what I knew. That she was here to take me out of the darkness and guide me into the light.
I held my breath when Kendra’s eyes fluttered open. Standing on her toes, she curled her fingers over my shoulders and pulled herself up against my chest. Then she pressed her lips against mine.
My muscles were stiff as I stood there frozen, unsure if I could kiss her back.
“Kiss me, Kelly.”
I was dizzy as I let my eyes dance with hers.
“It’s okay, Kelly. I want you to kiss me.”
She pressed her lips against mine again and without thinking, my mouth parted wide enough to allow her tongue to slide into my mouth. What started off slow and cautious quickly intensified into desperate flicks and thrusts.
My fingers clamped around her waist and she whimpered into my mouth, buckling at the knees. Hanging on for dear life, I caught her weight and pulled her tighter against my hard body.
I would never let her fall. “Kendra, baby, I needed to be alone. What I didn’t need was for you to disappear forever.”
She laughed and kissed me deeper. “Kaycee told me, Kelly.”
My lips rounded and I blew out a heavy breath.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice was sincere, filled with compassion.
I snaked my hand around her waist, raking my fingers up and down her spine as I brought my gaze above her head. “Her name was Nora. She was the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Kendra kept her head tipped back, staring at my face as I talked. Her eyelids hooded over with immense pain for my loss. I could appreciate it but I didn’t need her sympathy.
“She was my world.” The memories that still haunted me swelled behind my eyes. “And then one day,” I swallowed down the stone in my throat, “she killed herself.”
Kendra’s head snapped up as she gasped. Then her eyes closed just before she rested her head against my dead heart. “Oh, God, Kelly.”
I closed my eyes and just wrapped her up into my arms, needing to hold onto something good. The room was silent, lifeless as we just stood there, holding each other into eternity. Then I said in a low voice, “I loved her. More than anything. God, I still do.”
Kendra clasped her hands behind my back and squeezed my torso as hard as she could.
My vision blurred as my eyes watered with remorse. “And there is nothing I can do to bring her back.”
Kendra lifted her head, tipped her chin back, and brought her hands around front and placed each of them on both sides of my face. Then she kissed me.
Then she kissed me again.
And again.
“You’re loved, Kelly.”
I nodded.
“I’m here if you need me.”
Her lips pressed against mine again.
“We all go through tough times. And I’m here.” She smiled.
Thanking her, I said, “I want to be here for you, too.”
Her eyes fluttered.
“I know we can make this work.”
She bit the inside of her cheek and nodded.
“But I don’t want to be the reason you’re reminded of what your uncle did to you.”
She wrapped me up in her arms and clung to me as if her life depended on it—which in a sense, it did.
“What he did was wrong and I will do anything to make sure he gets the justice you deserve.”
She sniffled and I knew that she was crying. Then, after a silent minute, she collected her emotions and said, “I want to help you heal the hole left in your heart.”
My eyes closed as relief washed over me.
Kendra flattened her hands on my chest and took one step back.
I watched her cross her arms and pinch the hem of her shirt before lifting it over her head. My heart slammed against my chest as I watched her toss it to the floor. My gaze lowered to her breasts and my cock twitched. Before I knew it, she had stepped out of her pants and was standing there in nothing but her underwear.
God, she was beautiful.
I was hard but hesitant.
And too afraid to tell her that I didn’t know how to love her any other way than what she already knew. Our sex was fun and I still held onto the desire to make her submit fully to my demands. But I couldn’t risk losing her along the way.
Stepping forward, she must have seen the struggle I was waging with myself, because before I knew it, she was ridding me of my clothes for me. My fingers flexed as I bit my lip, holding back the dark desires of what I wanted to be doing to her.
I wanted to spank her.
Flip her around and taste her.
Shove her to the floor and tell her to wrap her plump lips around the tip of my cock.
I wanted to tie her up and test her limits. I wanted to do all these things to her. Instead I murmured, “You tell me what you want—what you need—and we’ll play by your rules.”
Her eyes sparkled with a renewed hope. “Is that a demand, Counselor?”
Nodding, I smiled and crashed my lips over hers.