"That would help." I smiled even though my chest hurt. "Thank you."
"Is that why you came? To thank me?"
"I came to return your card. And to make sure we're okay." I met his eyes. "I didn't want you thinking I hated you."
"Hey," he said, scooting toward me faster than I could back away, though I didn't try. His hand rose to cup my cheek, his thumb tracing the line of my lower lip. "I would never think that about you. You are the most perfect thing I've ever done in my life, Lainey."
The whiskey on his breath was thick, but when I looked into his eyes I could see he meant every word. This wasn’t a drunken confession. Kade really cared.
"Kade, I..."
"Stay with me, please." His thumb pulled my lip down and let it spring back as his fingers curled around the back of my neck. "You drove all this way. Give me a few minutes of your time."
I sucked in a breath to bolster my own courage to refuse him. I had to play on repeat over and over how stupid I would feel when his parents found out I was pregnant. If they thought I was horrible already, they would demonize me and vilify me then.
"I can't, please," I said, scooting back an inch, but Kade consumed that space and pulled me back to him at the same time.
"I need you, Lainey," he whispered, and I got the feeling he didn't mean sex. This man in front of me was desperate, as if his world was collapsing and I alone could save him.
"Your parents?—"
"I'll give them something to talk about, won't I?" He licked his lip again, and his eyes dropped to look at mine. "My bed is empty right now, and I'd like to know if you'd join me in it, because thethought of spending one more second alone up there might just kill me."
My heart...
How could I say no to that?
23
KADE
Lainey was putty in my hands. I led her to my room and locked the door behind us, though my head was swirling a little from alcohol. It'd been a while since I had my last drink—which was intentional because I knew I was getting too drunk, and I knew I had such little self-control when I was wasted. The last thing I wanted was to jump into bed with one of Gavin's lady friends and kill my own conscience. Now, my self-control was paying off.
"Thank you for coming to my room," I said as I leaned into the back of her neck and breathed her in. My hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her into my body, and she arched her head to the side and gave me access to her skin. I nipped and sucked her pulse point as I felt myself already swelling.
"Should we talk?" she asked, but her body was already undulating, rubbing back against mine.
"Yeah, we should,” I grumbled, turning to her to face me. "Later."
The kiss turned hungry fast. Her mouth opened for me, tongue meeting mine in hot strokes that made my cock throb against her belly. I gripped her waist harder, pulling her flush against me so she could feel how hard she made me. Her hands fisted in my shirt, tugging at the buttons until one popped open. I broke the kiss to look down, watching her fingers work the rest free.
I kissed her hard, my tongue pushing into her mouth as she opened for me immediately. Her taste flooded my senses as I walked her backward until the backs of her knees hit the mattress. She dropped onto the bed, pulling me down with her.
My hands found the bottom of her top. I tugged it upward. She lifted her arms to help, and the fabric came off in one motion. Her black lace bra cupped her breasts perfectly. I reached behind her back, fingers working the clasp until it released and the bra fell away. Her nipples stood tight and dark against her pale skin and I covered one breast with my palm, squeezing while my thumb brushed the peak, causing her to arch into the touch.
“You know my name on your side sort of says something about you,” I told her, drawing my hand over the dark ink emblazoned on her skin.
“Shut up and kiss me,” she mewled, pulling me back toward her.
Lainey grabbed at my shirt and I helped her, yanking the material over my head and tossing it aside. Her hands immediately roamed my chest, nails scraping lightly over my skin, tracing the ridges of muscle down to my stomach. The sensation shot straight to my groin.
“God, I thought I'd never see you again." All that worry and fear for no reason. She was here and I hadn't screwed everything up the way I thought.
I pushed her shoulders until she lay flat; then I climbed over her, knee settling between her thighs to spread them. My mouth returned to her neck. I sucked at the pulse there, hard enough to mark her and she moaned, the sound vibrating against my lips. Her fingers worked my belt open, then the button of my jeans. I ground my hips down, letting her feel how hard I was. It only made her whimper louder.
"Oh God..."
I stripped her jeans off next, dragging her panties with them. She lay bare in front me, legs parted, pussy already slick and swollen. The sight made my cock jump. I stood long enough to shove my own pants and boxers down. My erection sprang free, and Lainey’s eyes locked on it. She reached out, fingers wrapping around the shaft, stroking me as her thumb smeared the bead of pre-cum across my head.
