Raising Kane

As soon as he stopped moving, Ginger’s mouth was on his. Unrelenting and hungry. Kane remained in the pushup position as long as he dared, letting her control the kiss, but his arms needed a break. The last thing he wanted was to crush her dislocated shoulder.



Ginger made a soft protest when he broke the kiss.



“I know, darlin’, but give me a second, okay?” He shifted back, dislodging his cock. Wetness trickled down her leg and it occurred to him why it’d felt so goddamn good: they’d forgotten a condom.



Fuck.



She realized the oversight the same time he did.



“Shit, Ginger, I’m so sorry. I was just so damn crazed to be with you that I forgot.” He rested on his haunches, dropping his palms to his thighs. “I’ve always used a condom. Always. And it’s been a while for me, so I’m clean. I know that doesn’t probably ease your mind as far as—”



“Kane.” She sat up and placed her hand in the center of his chest. “It’s okay. We should’ve thought of birth control—both of us—but I was just as eager as you were. Besides, I’m on the pill.”



“You are? But…why?” The spike of jealousy surprised him. “If you’re not seein’ anyone regular?”



“I had one unintended pregnancy. I’ve been on the pill since Hayden was a baby.”



“Ah. Well, that’s good, I guess.”



“And the few times I’ve let myself act like a woman, and not a mother, I’ve insisted on condoms.”



Her hand inched down and she swept her thumb across his nipple. “I loved the feel of you in me, no barriers. Just you bare.”



“Me too.” Goose bumps prickled his skin from her lazy stroking motion on his chest.



“So we can skip the condoms entirely, if you want.”



Kane’s hand slid into her hair. He tilted her head back while bringing her closer. “Oh, I want, all right.”



Silence passed between them as they looked at each other. Lust built quickly, reflected in equal measure.



He softly brushed his lips across hers. “Again. Right now.”



Ginger’s gaze dropped to his cock. “Here I thought I’d get to use my hand to help you rise to the occasion.”



“I ain’t stoppin’ you.”



She reached between them and fondled his balls. Then she wrapped her fingers around his girth and stroked, keeping her eyes glued to his. “See? I’m not very good with my left hand.”



“That’s the thing, darlin’, you don’t have to be good. Just puttin’ your hand on me does all sorts of good.” He loosened his hold on her hair. “Need help climbin’ up on my lap?”



“What do you mean?”



Kane adjusted his legs beneath hers. “Hold onto my shoulder.” As soon as Ginger had some semblance of balance, he lifted her so her legs were half-wrapped around his waist as they faced each other.



“Oh. I like this,” she murmured.



He aligned his cock and slid into her in a single slow glide.



“I really like that.”



“This way I can have my hands free to touch you.”



“Not to mention I can kiss all those spots that’ve been tempting me.” Ginger used her teeth to follow the muscles corded in his neck. She methodically tasted the section of skin under his strong jaw. She slid her lips to his ear. “While this control thing is a turn on? I want equal time to explore your body.”



“Ah. Okay, Jesus.”



“Move in me, Kane. Put your hands on me. God, I love the way your rough hands feel on me.”



Kane grabbed her ass cheeks and rocked into her. In this position he couldn’t pull his cock out, but there was something very intimate about staying connected while hands and mouths explored. While pulses raced and sweat beaded on skin.



And Ginger took her own sweet time in her exploration. She kissed, nibbled and licked the slope of his shoulder, his jaw, all the while making very satisfied, very approving noises. He loved the way her tits pressed into his chest. The stiff nipples rubbing the hair on his sweat-slickened skin when she shifted to touch him at another angle. He loved the feel of her quickened breath puffing out every time he lifted his hips and drove into her a little deeper.



He loved everything about this. About her.



Part of him wanted to stay locked with this highly sensual woman for the next hour, just existing in the physical reaction. Another part wanted that drive to orgasm.



When Ginger reconnected their mouths the urgency re-ignited.



His hands cupped her buttocks, lifting her completely off his cock so he could plunge in fully.



She ripped her mouth free, arching her neck. “It’s right there.”



“Bear down on me, oh fuck yeah, just like that.” Kane buried his lips in her throat and sucked hard.



“Omigod. Yes. Yes!” Ginger’s body tightened, inside, outside.



Kane came with a roar as her climax milked his with every rhythmic pulse. He was pretty sure he stopped breathing for a second or so. He was pretty sure the damn world stopped spinning. He was also pretty sure one day in bed with her wouldn’t nearly be enough.



Soft kisses tracked his hairline.



His eyes fluttered open.



Ginger smiled at him.



“Jesus. That was fucking amazing.”



“Or amazing fucking,” she teased, kissing his nose.



“That too,” he murmured. He sensed her restlessness and need to move. “Hang on. Lemme help you.”



He lifted her, turning so she balanced on her good arm before lowering her to the mattress.



She immediately closed her eyes and rested her bum arm on her bare belly.



Kane crawled beside her and swept the damp hair from her rosy cheek. “You okay? Need anything?”



“Some recovery time before round three.”



“Funny, Red, that’s supposed to be my line.”



“I could use a drink of water.”



“Be right back.” Kane slipped on his boxer shorts and wandered to the kitchen. He checked the time, checked his phone and washed his hands and face in the sink. He half expected to find her asleep when returned to her bedroom.



But Ginger was wide-awake. Looking sexy as hell propped up on the pile of pillows on her bed.



“Here.” He handed her the glass of water and she drained it. “More?”



“No. But we worked up a powerful thirst, didn’t we?”



“More like a powerful hunger for me.”



Both her auburn eyebrows lifted. “There’s going to be a third round, isn’t there?”



“Uh-huh.” Kane kissed the top of her foot. “And a fourth.” He kissed above and below the bandage covering the gash on her shin. And the cute dimple above her knee. Then the bruises on her upper thigh.



“And possibly a fifth.” Finally he kissed the sexy curve of her hip. “Just not right now.”



She shivered.



“You cold?”



“Always.”



“Maybe I can warm you up.” He carefully pulled her into his arms.



She wiggled until she could press her cheek into his chest. Her cast clunked into his shin as she attempted to twine their legs together. “Sorry.”



“It’s okay.” His fingers trailed lazily up and down her spine.



After a bit, Ginger sighed. “Want to know something that’s embarrassing to admit? It’s been so long since I’ve been with a man, I was worried I wouldn’t remember how.”



Amused, he said, “Remember how to have sex?”



“No. Remember how to be a woman.”



His heart lurched. He wanted to reassure her she was all woman, but he didn’t interrupt, as he suspected this was something she’d never admitted to herself, let alone to anyone else.



“I’ve been asexual for so long, mother, professional woman, daughter, that I let the part of me that loves sex, that loves to be bold and fun in bed, the part that loves the feel of a man’s hands on me, his arms around me…God. Just to be held like this. Do you know how long it’s been? It’s like I slammed the door on that part of myself and never even peeked inside.”



“So, do you regret me kickin’ that door wide open?”



She laughed. “No. Never. Especially now that I know what I was missing behind that door with you.



Do you think it’s weird I had the overwhelming urge to tell you the truth?”



“A lawyer speaking the truth? What is the world comin’ to?”



Ginger laughed again.



“When did that door on your sexual being close?”



“Right after Hayden was born. I tried to recoup some of what I’d lost. But then I realized I never had it in the first place.”



“Was it Hayden’s father who did such a number on you?”



Her body went rigid. “I never talk about it. About him. Whatever.”



Kane ignored her clipped tone. “Then sugar, I think it’s long past time you did.”



Chapter Nine



Ginger had wondered if this would ever come up.



So far she’d avoided the subject with her son.



But she knew there’d be no avoiding it with this man.



But strangely, she trusted him. She wanted to tell him.



“Ginger?”



“Sorry. Just wrestling with where to even start.”



“How about at the beginning?”



She toyed with his chest hair, purposely not looking at him. “After I graduated from law school I landed a job with a big law firm in Los Angeles that specialized in contractual law in the entertainment industry. It was a highly sought-after job and I was damn lucky to have gotten it.”



“Good perks?”



“Amazing perks. Anyway, after my intern period passed, I was assigned permanently to the contractual dissolution team.”



“What’s that?”



“We were hired to find loopholes to break existing contracts.”



His fingers never stopped moving on her back. “Is that big business?”



“Very big business. I worked directly under the senior partner, Chas Daly. I admired him because he was brilliant and charismatic. He treated me like a rising star. He introduced me that way. ‘Here’s Ginger, our newest rising star.’ It was heady stuff.”