Infatuated (11 page)

“I don’t mind,” I said, then blushed furiously when I realized I’d spoken out loud.

“Turns you on that much?”

I nodded, still blushing.

“Tell me.” When I didn’t, he squeezed again.

“It’s my biggest turn on.” I ran the words together fast, dying of embarrassment.

“I’m never taking my hands off your ass then.” And he didn’t. He grabbed again and again, a little harder each time, making me moan and gasp. He sat up, sucking one of my breasts into his mouth. He nipped, squeezed, licked, grabbed.

Hot need built like a fast-burning fire, until it seared me. Kale rolled me onto my back and I clutched his shoulders, my fingers digging into his skin.

He kissed me, fast and hard, his fingers clutching my ass and pulling me up as I arched into him. He rocked into me, slow still, but more powerful. Each thrust and squeeze of my ass had me gasping. Lacing his fingers in mine, he groaned, the sound rumbling in his throat like distant thunder.

I came apart first, trembling and moaning beneath him. Swallowing my cries, Kale thrust deep and broke with me.

He rolled onto his back, taking me with him so that I was sprawled across his chest. The hand on my ass stayed there, caressing, rubbing gently.

His chest rose and fell and I tried moving, giving him space to breathe, but he shook his head and held me tighter. “Uh uh.”

I laughed. “Kale.”

“My hand is perfectly content where it is, thank you very much.”

“And while I’m perfectly content for you to keep your hand where it is, you need room to breathe.”

He wrapped his other hand around my waist and squeezed my butt again.

“You’re going to use what I said against me, aren’t you?”

His smile was slow, sexy, and absolutely wicked. “Oh, yeah. Every chance I get and twice on Sunday.” He made another low, throaty
mmm
sound. “In fact, I’m kinda curious how much I can turn you on by that alone.”

I gaped at him and slapped my palms down on his chest. “You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because we just—”

He shot me a satisfactory smile. “Yeah, we did.”

“And—so—”

He ignored my protests, feeble though they were. His eyes were bright with challenge. “I think it’s time to get back to work.”

“I
’m starving,” Kale said a few hours later, walking out of my bathroom after a shower. A towel hung low on his hips and beads of water dripped down his hair and face. And chest. “I worked hard.”

Blushing, I forced my gaze upward, to his face, and grinned at him from the edge of my bed. “You seemed to enjoy your job.”

“Oh, yeah.” He sauntered over to me and tugged on the robe I’d put on after my own shower. “I hope it’s a full-time position.”

“If you play your cards right, it could be.”

“I play to win. I’ll cheat if I have to.” Kneeling between my legs, he pulled my robe apart. He stared at me and ran his hands over the tops of my thighs.

“I thought you had to leave?”

He shook his head. “Unless you’re going to kick me out to do the awkward after-sex thing, I thought we could have some food.” He smiled. “I earned my keep, didn’t I?”

The hunger in his eyes had me breathless, and his hands made it hard to concentrate on his words. I bit my lip. “Yeah. You earned your keep.”

“I might need a snack first.” He closed his mouth over my breast. He suckled and licked while rubbing this thumb over the nipple of my other breast. As the heat started to build, he pulled away with a groan. His gaze stayed locked on my breasts. “That’s not going to hold me over long.”

“You’re very…”

His eyes were bright. “Hungry?”

“That’s one word for it.”

“You’re sexy.” He shrugged. “And this is why we showered separately. I still can’t decide if that was a smart decision or an idiot one.”

“Food, Kale,” I said, slapping his hand away when it eased between my legs.

“Mean.” But he stood and held out a hand to help me up. He pulled my robe back together, or started to, but his fingers paused over my breasts and started rubbing. He dropped his hands to his side a second later. “Maybe you should handle that and I’ll get dressed.”

“Probably a good idea.”

I smiled as I made my way to the kitchen. Kale wasn’t just different. He made
me
feel different. Warm and wanted, sexy and shameless, eager and enticing. And that was before we’d ever made love. Now that we had, those things were intensified by a hundred. He brought out the best in me or made me see and believe it. I wasn’t like him, not really. I didn’t have his easy-going nature, but it blended with mine. It…smoothed me out, somehow.

We just fit.

It was the easiest explanation and it made complete sense.

And all I could think now was,
Thank God we fit in bed, too
. That had worried me. I wasn’t comfortable with most guys. I could flirt and usually did without trying to, but in bed…that was different. Or maybe he was just different. He could laugh and make it fun.

He could touch me and set me on fire.

“I really hope you’re thinking about me.”

I glanced over my shoulder, startled. “What?”

“You’ve been staring at the fridge—or into space—for the last few minutes, looking lost in thought. So, whatever you’re thinking about, I hope it’s about me.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, managing to look boyish and sexy at the same time. “I hope I’m naked.”

“And you say I’m trouble.”

“So we’re both bad. At least we’re in good company.”

I opened the fridge and winced when it was nearly empty.

Kale came up behind me, smoothly sliding his arm around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder. “Your fridge looks worse than mine. It’s a guy fridge.”

“Did I mention I hate shopping? Especially for food. Either everything looks good or nothing does, so I end up grabbing fast stuff. Sandwiches, Hot Pockets. Eggs. I can handle those. Sometimes.”

“Not a cook?”

“Not if you value your stomach. Or your life.”

“Well, it looks like I’ll be cooking then.”

I raised an eyebrow and shut the fridge. “You cook?”

“Sure. I’m not a chef, but my food is edible.” He grinned down at me and moved away. “Looks like you’ll owe me one.”

“I will?”

“Yes. I’ve already earned my keep, remember?”

I blushed at the thought and nodded.

“So…that means you owe me. You can repay me with sexual favors. I’m easy.”

“I’ll bet you are.”

“Hey, I’m easy, not cheap.” He cocked his head to the side. “Okay, maybe a little cheap, too, but—”

I laughed. “You’re kinda cute when you babble.”

“Thank you.” He said nothing for a minute, then raised an eyebrow at me. “I cook, which means you set the table. That’s how this works. You’re a bad gift receiver
and
a bad meal receiver, you know.”

“I’ve never had anyone cook for me before, outside of family, I mean.”

“No?”

I shook my head.

“Well, that’s about to change.” He made a shooing motion at me. “As soon as you set the table.”

It didn’t take long to do. When I was done, I took a seat at my small kitchen table and watched Kale. Everything he did looked sexy, even cooking. It would have been even sexier if he’d kept the towel on instead of his jeans, but I couldn’t deny the view was still good. He hadn’t bothered with a shirt, so I got the pleasure of watching the muscles in his back and arms work as he grabbed this or that. More than once, I found myself staring at the curve of his lower back and wanting to go over and run my tongue along his spine.

God, he’s turned me into a horny teenager.
No, that wasn’t right. Even as a teenager I’d never been like this. I never
wanted
like this. I’d always thought something was wrong with me, being so different from my friends who wanted to sleep around with as many guys as possible. That was never me.

I’d been waiting. For Mr. Right.

I didn’t know if Kale was that man, but he was Mr. Right Now.

CHAPTER 9

F
or the next week, Kale came over every night and cooked me dinner. When he didn’t have work in the morning, he stayed the night with me—like last night. I’d gone to sleep with him curled at back and woke up with him there, holding me close to his body. His hand was at my stomach, fingers half-curled into a fist. I slid my hand into his and brought it to my chest as I closed my eyes. When his fingers tightened around mine and he pulled me closer, my stomach fluttered. His breath was hot and warm on my neck. Comforting.

He was the first guy I’d ever had stay the night and the first guy I’d ever fallen asleep with. I decided it was definitely something I wanted to happened more often. It was nice.

Kale let out a low rumbling sound. “I can feel you thinking.”

I bit my lip and grinned. “I can feel you, too.” But if the bulge at my backside was any indication, then I was pretty sure I wasn’t feeling him thinking. Or if he was, they definitely weren’t pure thoughts.

“That’s what happens when I go to sleep thinking about you. I wake up thinking about you.” Smoothly, he slid his hand out of mine and ran it over my breasts. When it started south, I grabbed it to keep it still.

That didn’t deter him, since he just used his other hand.

“Uh huh. I have a huge to-do list of stuff for today.”

“You can stay in and do me instead,” he said, shifting to give himself better access. Deftly, he slid one of his legs between mine and used it to brace one of my legs while his fingers moved over me.

And god, those fingers could move. I bit my lip again to keep from groaning. “I don’t think ‘Kale’ is on my grocery list.”

“It should be. I make a great snack.” He brushed the hair from the back of my neck and kissed along my shoulder. “Besides, what’s the fun of having a to-do list if I’m not on it?”

“You...might have a point,” I decided. And a good one.

“Of course I do.” He licked my neck and pulled me closer. His hand found my breast again.

“You’re trying to distract me.”

“I am.” He pinched my nipple. “Is it working?”

I closed my eyes. “Maybe a little.”

“Only a little? Guess I’ll need to work on that some more.”

K
ale was a master at distractions and could have taught a college course in it. Not only that, he was a pro at taking his time.

Wiggling out of his arms before he got any other ideas, I jumped out of bed. When I turned back, he was watching me intently. Eyes smoldering, hair messy, and a pout on his face that was both sexy and utterly adorable. “You’re so pretty.”

He blinked up at me. “Pretty?”

“Yeah, pretty. You’ve got that too-pretty mouth with those full lips and those too-pretty eyelashes that most girls would kill for.”

“I prefer ruggedly handsome. Or masculine. Or even okay looking. Not sure I like being called ‘pretty’.”

“Tough.”

The sheet dropped as he got to knees and made his way across the bed. He grabbed me before I could dodge out of the way and rubbed against me. “Manly.”

I almost purred. And then I almost jumped him. Instead, I pushed him away. “I need actual food in my apartment, as you’ve pointed out anytime you’ve come over, because we’re down to cereal or…cereal. I also have to pay bills and other adult-like stuff.”