Page 75

Chapter 21

Kaden muffled something along the lines of shock or surprise. I placed one hand on the back of his head, the other in the crook of his neck. Then I stroked his tongue with mine.

When he groaned, my whole body answered.

My God, I wanted Kaden. More than anyone ever before.

Together we stumbled into the room. Kaden shut the door behind us. For a moment he loosened his lips from mine to look at me. His eyes were darker than ever, and I could see in them only passion and pure desire. My heart was pounding so hard that my whole body shook. Suddenly Kaden was holding my head in his hands, kissing me until I was dizzy.

I wanted to feel Kaden, to explore his skin and kiss every single one of his tattoos. But he was wearing too much for that. Way too much. My hand traced down his back to the edge of his shirt; within a few seconds I’d pulled it over his head and tossed it aside. Now I kissed his chest, which made him sigh; I leaned back and let my eyes feast on his body.

He was as well-built as I remembered. And this time I could gaze at him without feeling ashamed. And touch him. His muscles tensed as my hands traced his upper body, first hesitantly, then more determined. I lingered on his stomach, wondering whether I should keep on going. Why not?

“Oh God, Allie,” Kaden blurted out, running his fingers through my hair. He gently tipped my head back and started to kiss me again. His tongue danced slowly and also roughly with mine, sending such tingling through my body that my knees threatened to buckle. It seemed like Kaden felt the same; he put his hands around my waist and guided me with staggering steps toward the bed. Our kiss continued until he dropped backward and took me down with him. Now I sat straddling him, not even caring that I was naked under my bathrobe.

Kaden looked up at me through half-closed lids before his hands found their way under the soft robe and reached my skin. He stroked my thighs, back and forth, and a pleasant shudder ran through my whole body. I leaned forward, supporting myself with one arm next to his head, and bent over him. I kissed his stubbly cheeks, traced his jaw down to his neck, and remained there until Kaden let out a groan that seemed to come from deep inside his chest.

“You’re killing me,” he gasped, then ran his hands up my body, under the knot of the bathrobe tie, just under my breasts. There he paused, stroking me with his fingers.

I bit gently into his neck and began to move my hips. I could feel his excitement. The fabric of his jeans rubbed against my skin and I wanted them off. My hand moved down, but before I reached his belt, he whirled me around and pressed my back against the mattress.

Kaden’s face was close to mine; I could feel his breath on my lips. He smelled of mint and of Kaden, and I wanted more.

“Allie… this isn’t why I came here.”

I silenced him with my mouth, kissing him until I couldn’t breathe, digging my fingers into his shoulders and pulling him down to me as hard as I could.

Again Kaden drew away from me and said, panting: “I’m not sleeping with you. Not like this.”

Now all I could do was emit a frustrated groan.

Kaden gave me a crooked grin. “It’s great to know you want me, but I don’t think that now… is the right time. With what you just went through, you’re not totally… able to decide.”

Though my body hated him for it, Kaden was right. I loosened my grip on his shoulders and stroked his back.

Kaden closed his eyes, and held his breath. “If you keep this up, I might reconsider,” he murmured and buried his face on my shoulder. His stubbly chin scratched my naked skin—a feeling that made me mad with desire. He kissed me right there and I felt his teeth. I sighed. Kaden knew what he was doing.

When I stopped stroking his back Kaden lifted his head to look at me. His gaze was mysterious but attentive; his eyes darted over my face. Lying between his arms, I felt encompassed. Whatever happened around us, this was a safe place. I turned to look at my favorite tattoo, tracing the lyrics with my finger until his muscles tightened under my touch.

“I love your tattoos,” I murmured, turning to look at the circles on his other arm. “Not because I have a fetish for guys with tattoos, but because their meaning is so powerful.” When I saw the Morse code, I had to smile. Now that I’d met Rachel I could understand the tattoo so much better.

“I like how you always stare at it, and every time I catch you, you blush.”

His mouth twitched. My finger followed the outline of his lips. His eyes darkened, but then Kaden rolled off and lay down next to me. He leaned his head on his hand and looked at me. His eyes kept on returning to the belt of my bathrobe.

“Could you maybe put something on? I’m having a hard time concentrating.”

I rolled on my side so we were facing each other. “Are you sure you want to turn me down?”

His jaw muscles tightened. “Allie.”

“Kaden.”

For a moment he said nothing; he was working on an answer. Then he uttered a sound that was half laugh, half groan. “I didn’t reject you, Bubbles. I just said I won’t sleep with you.”

A second later he had rolled back on top of me. With one hand he opened the bathrobe, and I held my breath as he gazed at me with fiery eyes.

“That doesn’t rule out other things.”