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I gritted my teeth. It wasn’t pleasant, having someone digging in your flesh, but it had to be done. Kit was gentle, all things considered, and deft with his hands. He got it on his third try, slipping the sliver out.
Then he pressed a soft kiss on my throbbing flesh. “There. All better.”
He smiled up at me, and it was only natural to lean down and kiss him.
He reached up, burying one hand in my hair, as his lips parted under mine. I didn’t usually lead when we were together like this. I followed his cues.
He seemed warmer here, in his home, though. More like the guy I’d met in Omaha and less like the horrified brother of a woman I’d hurt.
I lost my balance, sprawling forward, and with a laugh Kit took me with him to the floor. He landed on his back, me on top of him.
“Sorry.” I tried to raise myself off him, but Kit tugged me back down, locking his lips on mine, drawing the kiss out.
His hands slipped up the back of my shirt, hot against my spine. I gasped a little against his mouth, my insides fluttering.
“Damn. I’d take you right here on the floor, but I’ve got that meeting in a few minutes.”
I drew back, flustered. “Oh god. I probably made a mess of you.”
I scrambled off him and helped him get to his feet.
“No harm done.” He straightened his T-shirt, tugging the wrinkles out.
I reached up and smoothed his hair down. He turned his head, kissing my inner wrist. “It’s fine, Joey, okay?”
I exhaled unsteadily, more affected by that innocent kiss than any of the dirty, sexy ones we’d exchanged. “Okay.”
He led me toward the kitchen. “Just make yourself at home. This consult won’t take too long, I hope. If you haven’t eaten yet, there’s some leftover lasagna in the fridge. It’s pretty good.”
“Oh, I don’t want to eat your food…or Dakota’s.”
Kit gave me a long look. “Eat, Joey. You’re going to need your strength later.”
He spoke in the same tone he used to order me to suck his cock or to wait to come until he said it was okay.
Heat sizzled through me. “Okay, I’ll eat.”
He leaned in, kissing me gently. “Good. I’ll be back soon, and then we’ll get to the good stuff. Until then, eat, watch some TV. My home is your home, okay?”
My stomach flip-flopped. The invitation was nothing more than most friends would extend to each other. But Kit and I had never been friends. We were uneasy bedmates, and nothing more.
At least, that had been the plan. Kit was so much more to me, but expecting him to feel the same? That would just be setting myself up for disappointment.
Kit was attracted to me. Addicted, even, as he’d said before. But not in love. Not even in like.
What I’d done was unforgivable. He’d told me that.
When he got back from his meeting, things would normalize. I was just off-balance because we were in his house. Soon enough, we’d get naked together and everything would be the way it’d always been.
CHAPTER 26
KIT
“Thank you for your input, Dr. Willis. This was a tough one.”
“Anytime. I’m always interested in the work you’re all doing in cortical remapping. I’d love to hear how the patient progresses.”
I stayed abreast of the latest spinal-cord-injury research. In the beginning, it had been in the hopes it could help Dakota regain more motor function. But she’d decided about four years post-injury that she didn’t want to live in the constant cycle of struggle, hope, and disappointment.
