Make Me Stay (17 page)

“Kitty, are you knocked up?” I asked urgently.

“What? Knocked up? No.”

I let out an exasperated breath. “Oh, thank God.”

She stood there for a second, mentally counting maybe. I didn’t know how women keep track of that shit, all I knew was I didn’t use a condom and I assumed she was on the pill because she didn’t stop me.

“I got the job, Kane,” she said, smiling up at me.

The job? The job, in New York.

“They want me to come back to J&K. They heard I had an interview with the competition. There was some huge mix up after my internship. They were going to hire me all along, but some paperwork got messed up and they told me to leave, instead of someone else. I got my dream job, Kane! They are offering me an assistant lead position on a huge account. They’re going to pay my first year’s rent in an upscale condo, and I get a 50,000-dollar bonus on top of my 105,000 dollar salary!”

She was jumping up and down by the end of telling me. Her pony tail was bouncing all over the place, she even squealed in excitement.

“Did you say yes?” I was happy for her, truly I was, but how could I be happy when she was going to leave me?

“Of course, I said yes! I’d have to be stupid not to!” She was laughing as she said it, but once she saw my expression falter, I think it hit her, too.

“Well, congratulations, I guess.” I tried my best to smile, but fuck if I didn’t want to go over and add another hole to the wall.

“Don’t act like this, Kane. You knew I was going to be leaving. I told you from the beginning that I wasn’t staying longer than the summer.”

Taking a breath I tried to stay calm. “Shit’s changed, Kitty, you know it, and I know it. You have to call them back and tell them no.”

“You’re kidding me, right? You honestly think I’m going to give this job up? It’s what I’ve always wanted, Kane. It’s what I’ve been working toward the past two years. I gave up everything for this job, friends, a social life, everything. I can’t turn my back on it.” She sounded, again, as if she was trying to convince herself and not me.

“So you’re going to turn your back on me, the guys, and your father?” I asked challengingly.

“No--I--Kane, I told you I was leaving.”

“No, you’re not leaving. You’re running, you’re running away again. What did I tell you about that?” I asked, getting in her face.

She took a step back from me, a guilty expression on her face. She was trying really hard to act like she wasn’t thinking the same fucking thing I was.
This is a big fucking mistake.

“I don’t know, Kane, but we can’t--”

I cut her off because if she said she couldn’t do this with me one more time, I was going to blow my fucking lid.

“I told you, if you run, I’m running after you. Now, do I have to go tell the guys that I’m leaving, or what?”

She shook her head and, for a split second, I thought that this conversation was over, and we could move onto how to deal with Nate Rodgers. I took her in my arms, needing her closeness more than ever. I needed to show her that I was serious, that I’d follow her anywhere, because I didn’t want to live without her, not after last night. I didn’t want to wake up another morning without her right next to me.

The room was silent, except for the muffled voices coming up through the floor boards. I took her face in my hands, my lips found hers. Soft, plush lips that I wanted to be able to kiss whenever I wanted. I pulled back, our noses almost touching.

I sighed. “I need you, Caroline.”

She smiled up at me, her eyes the color of blue liquid again. She blinked and two single tears rolled down her cheeks. I swiped the tears away with my thumbs then kissed her soft lips again.

CHAPTER 29

Caroline

Why did he have to say that? I didn’t want it to happen, but he had turned into my everything, and last night just proved that I should have listened to my heart, instead of my head, all along. My thoughts were so clouded with negativity, I never let myself see the good. I was so scared of becoming my mother and so hell bent on doing the opposite, I never let myself fully trust Kane, let him in, but last night I did, and it was amazing.

I didn’t expect to get
the
call that morning, to be offered my dream job. To be honest, after she told me all that they were going to offer me, I didn’t think twice. I hung up, jumped up and down a few times, and then slipped on the clothes that I had left on the floor. My ecstatic mood had deflated as I stared at them on the tile floor. As the woman from J&K was talking to me, I forgot about Nate and that whole fucked up situation. I knew that I had made the right choice in saying yes to the job. I had made the mistake of running away after my mother died. I shut out my father for too many years, years I wasn’t going to get back, but I wasn’t going to do that again. I’d call, visit, and have him visit me. I wasn’t running away, just moving on with my life.

A loud bang got my attention, bringing me back to the present. Outside the door, a man who had grown on me like a weed was waiting for me. He was going to be so mad, hell I was even pissed I’d have to leave him behind. I had finally gotten all of Kane and now I was going to have to leave. He was not going to take it well.

Every part of me that believed in fairytales and happy endings was telling me to stay, but I knew I couldn’t. I knew I was going to take the job, and they didn’t want me to come after summer. They wanted me there in two weeks. I loved what I did, as much as Kane loved being up on the stage. I would never make him choose between his music and me, but he didn’t have a problem making me choose. Sure, he might follow me, or run after me as he said, but it wouldn’t last. He’d miss the guys and performing, I’d be stuck at work all the time, and we’d never be together. Simply put, it wasn’t going to work.

So as he kissed my lips, I made a decision that was going to ruin us both. He was going to hate me, I was going to hate myself, but I was going to do it anyway.

“Kane,” I said against his lips. “Will you drop the Nate thing?”

Holding my face in his hands he smiled down at me, nodding. “I’ll drop it, if you stay.”

I was fine with that, killing two birds with one stone, I put on my best smile.

***

“Holy shit!” Reece said through a mouth full of Lucky Charms. Three other heads lifted up from their cereal bowls to look at me.

“Hey, Cuz,” JJ said, spooning another bite in his mouth, clearly not surprised that I was standing in his kitchen with Kane’s shirt and boxers on.

“Is this really happening right now?” Trent asked.

“Fucking right, it’s happening! I don’t care what you fuckers say either. Call me whatever you want. Hell, I’ll do it for you. I’ve been pussy whipped,” Kane responded, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

His fingers wandered up under my shirt for a second before I slapped them away. Turning around I punched his arm, hard.

He winced. Rubbing his newest soon to be bruise. “What the hell?”

“No groping in front of the guys or this pussy will not be whipping you.” I smiled up at him then made my way over to Reece. “Stop staring at my tits, you buffoon,” I scolded him while swatting him upside the head.

“But they’re right there--in a white shirt--and its cold,” Reece said, almost crying in agony.

I shook my head and went to Trent, plopped down on his lap, and took a drink of his coffee. I knew things had changed with Kane and me, but I still loved sitting with Trent. He always smelled really good and he was like a big bad biker teddy bear. I didn’t want things to change between any of us. I still wanted the guys to know that I loved them and this was my way, beating Kane and Reece, sitting with Trent, keeping an eye on Aiden, and hanging out with JJ.

Was I surprised when Kane had steam coming out of his ears as I sat down on Trent’s lap? Not really.

“So you’re really banging Kane?” Trent asked, his face hung low.

I cupped his cheek in my hand, so I could look at him. “I still love you, Trent,” I said, smiling at him.

“What the hell, Kitty?” Kane asked, frustrated. “You’re still telling him you love him and you can’t even say it to me. That’s wrong. And why the fuck are you still sitting on his lap?”

“Kane, calm down. Damn, you get jealous,” I said, turning from Trent.

He walked over to us, yanking me off of Trent. “Damn right, I’m jealous. You’re my woman. I’ve never had one before and fuck if I’m going to let my first one sit on some other guy’s lap.”

He held me tight around my waist, securing me to his body. His strong hand held the back of my neck as his lips met mine. I melted in his arms, as his tongue separated my lips, twisting its way in my mouth while I fought back with my own. My hands came up his bare arms and around his neck, to finally rest in the mess of his hair. His other hand made its way down my back. Finding bare skin at the back of my thigh, he hitched my leg up.
So much for not groping
. The warmness of his hand crept from the back of my thigh to my ass, and inside the loose fitting boxers. Oh God, I was putty in his hands and I had completely forgotten that we had an audience, until JJ ruined it.

“Ahem, I’m all about watching you get it on with a hot-ass girl, but I really don’t want to see any more of my cousin’s ass, please.” Hurriedly I put my leg down and buried my face in Kane’s bare chest.

“I got to...umm...I need to go,” Aiden said, running from the table and up the stairs. His door slammed shut and I swear to God, I died a little from embarrassment.

“JJ, you jackass! Maybe the rest of us wanted to see her ass, you ever think of that?” Reece said, his hands resting on the top of his head, as if he was sitting back, getting ready for the next show.

I looked up at Kane, praying he would go over and punch Reece for me.

“We’ll be right back,” Kane said, throwing me over his shoulder and rushing up the stairs to his room.

Kicking the door closed with his foot, he placed me on the ground, ripped the shirt off, over my head, and buried his face between my breasts. Wrapping his arms around my ass he lifted me up and carried me to the bed. I couldn’t have helped the giddy laugh that escaped me if I tried.

“You have no fucking idea how good it feels to just take you to my room and have my way with you.” His lips and hands were all over my body, bringing it to life. His hand slid up between my legs. I gripped the covers tightly at my sides. “On second thought, maybe you do know how good it feels,” he said through a wolfish grin.

CHAPTER 30

Kane

A mane of blonde curls lay against my chest as I ran my fingers through it. Her even breathing told me she was still sound asleep. It was early in the morning, the sun had yet to make an appearance, but the promise of dawn was just around the corner. The last two weeks, had been the best fucking weeks of my life. I was able to call kitty my own, without her beating the shit out of me for it. On second thought, that wasn’t completely true. She was still a violent little thing.

The night after she finally let me in, I had told her I’d drop the whole Nate thing, but the moment I saw that jackass walk into the bar, all I saw was red. I happened to be up on stage when he strode in like he owned the place. He walked over to a table in Kitty’s section. It took all of my self-control not to jump off the stage and kill the bastard. I searched the room and, when I saw her cowering in the corner, I again had to control myself. She put on a brave face, but I knew the moment she was out of sight, she’d escape from the crowd and start to build that wall back up.

It was killing me, not to be holding her, to get her through that. As soon as we were done, I jumped off the stage and ran to her, out back on the patio, wrapping her tightly in my arms.

“You all right, Kitty?” I asked.

Her face was plastered to my chest. Her small hands splayed on my sweaty back. “He’s sitting there acting like nothing happened.”

“I know, baby. I still think we should tell someone.”

“Tell someone what?” B asked, walking up behind us.

She pushed away from me, fixing her hair as she looked up at her father.

“What’s going on?” he asked, looking between us skeptically.

I took her hand in mine, only to find that she had started shaking with nerves. I should pull B aside and tell him, but I knew Caroline would never forgive me, so I improvised. “B, we want you to know that...” I looked down at Caroline. Her eyes were glimmering blue, begging me not to say anything. I squeezed her hand, smiling down at her. “B, I think I’m dating your daughter.”

B stood there for a moment, then reached out and grabbed both of us in a huge hug. “Well, it’s about damn time!” he said, laughing. “I knew you two were going to hit it off before you even got here. I guess this means that you’re going to stay, right?”

She smiled up at him wearily.

I squeezed her hand again, pulling her out of a trance.
Was she still thinking about taking the job?
My heart sank at the thought of her leaving. She had told me she wasn’t going to, but who the fuck knew with her?

“Dad, I’m here. Are you sure you’re okay with this?” she asked, holding up my hand and giving me a dirty look.

“Well, I assume that you have put him in his place and that he’s changed his ways. As long as your happy, honey, then I’m happy for you.” He gripped her chin, smiling down at her as only a father could do. “I’m happy to see you two finally together. I have to get back to it in there. Behave yourselves,” he said before turning to leave.

I took Caroline in my arms again, her body relaxed against mine.

“Caroline, are you ignoring me?” Nate’s snake like voice said from behind us.

We turned, hand in hand. His face was all bruised and he had a cut on the bridge of his nose.
Did this fucker really come back here to start shit?

“Rodgers, what the hell are you doing back here?” I hissed.

Caroline let go of my hand and stepped between us. Nate, being the pompous ass that he was, placed his hands casually in his pockets.

“I think you should just leave,” Caroline growled, low enough for only the three of us to hear here.