Page 74

“We all have choices.”
“Then my choice is to stay here.”
I turn, clicking all the locks into place. The heat of Brawler’s gaze makes my movements hurried. It’s amazing how rapid the feelings grew between us. Then again, it’s not all that difficult to understand. When you live a life here, you never know which day will be your last. Brawler knows that more than most.
The two tattoos gracing his neck tell his story, but they also tell a cautionary tale. You don’t even have to be directly involved in shit to become a victim of hate. When you never know what might happen, you find that the world opens up to you. You find beauty in strange things. You find feelings in the tiniest of moments. In that, him and I are the same.
The heat from his body washes over me before his fingertips graze down my arm and back up, circling where he patched me up from the day Johnny slammed me against a wall. His fingers trail down my arm, across my wrist, until they tangle with my fingers.
He kisses my neck, and I drop my head to the side, allowing him space. “I asked for you,” he breathes. “I asked for someone to give me a reprieve from all this fucking pain. You’re the first person to draw me out, to make me stop. You, Kyla.” His soft lips trail to the spot behind my ear, and my body shakes as the sensations roll through me.
He grips my hand before moving them both to my stomach, splaying our fingers there, pushing me back into him until his hard cock presses into my lower back. He takes my cell phone out of my back pocket and tosses it onto the recliner before fitting himself behind me again, making delicious waves of pleasure tighten my core.
“I know I can’t. I know I’m just sentencing myself by even touching you like this, but when you’ve lived in the dark for so long and only one thing brings you out, that’s not the time to go running scared. I don’t care, Kyla. There was never much hope for me anyway, and I’d rather die at your altar than turn away.”
I breathe in a shaky breath, letting my head fall back onto his shoulder. He presses more soft kisses to my skin, making my body come alive under his touch.
He’s right. I came here to the Heights so I could have moments like thisafterI took my life back. Taking Big Daddy K out means taking control of my life. It means having moments like this, a reprieve from the thoughts that have haunted me.
“I asked you once if I could touch you, if I could kiss you. Please tell me yes.”
My body aches. It can’t hold back anymore. “You’re already kissing me, aren’t you? You’re already touching me.”
His fingers tighten on my stomach. He breathes out, his hot breath teasing my already sensitive skin. “I need to hear you say it.”
Growing some lady balls, I turn in his arms, facing him. I want him to see how much I mean it when the words come out of my mouth. I lift my hand and press my palm into his cheek. His blue eyes light with desire. “I want you to touch me. I want you to kiss me until I can’t breathe anymore and then kiss me again to fill me back up.”
He doesn’t need any other invitation than that. His lips slam into mine, moving us back several paces before he steadies us. He kisses me like a man starved, his hands capturing the back of my head to hold me in place. He devours me. Attraction radiates through every lick, nip, and stroke.
One arm bands around my back and lifts. I bend my legs, pressing my thighs into his hips as he walks me into the bedroom. We stand there, each devouring one another until he breaks the kiss, pressing his lips down my neck and collarbone. I breathe out, biting my lip as shivers overtake my body. I start to rock into him, and he pauses, moaning against my skin. “Fuck me.”
“I intend to,” I say, smiling.
He pulls back, caught off guard. He presses a chaste kiss to my collarbone. “One day, but not now.”
I pout, and he grins.
He presses a finger into my lip, effectively stopping me from asking why. “Today, I want to taste. You told me I can kiss and touch, and I’m taking full advantage of that fact, Princess.”
He lowers me to the bed, my back landing on the soft sheets while he stands between my legs. He places one knee between my thighs and leans over, kissing the base of my throat, and then trailing his nose down my body, making a flush of heat follow him wherever he goes. When he gets to the tops of my jeans, he leans back, using his hands to make quick work of the button and zipper. I lift my ass as he pulls them down, taking his time, trailing his fingers down my legs as he frees one foot first then the other.
Leaning over me again, he kisses a trail across my abdomen, then moves up, moving my shirt with him. When he gets to my bra, he uses his hands to move it up and over my breasts until he’s helping me pull the shirt off. He tosses it to the side and stares down at me. His gaze lingers. I don’t have anything he hasn’t seen before, but the way he stares at me makes me feel like I do. He makes me feel special, wanted.
First, he rails his finger along the curve of my bra, lips chasing his soft stroke until he’s pushed the cup aside and captured my nipple in his mouth.
I buck off the bed. “Fuck.”
He presses me back down, trailing his lips down my front until he hovers over my drenched panties. He slides them off with the same care he did my pants.
My heart lurches in my chest. I’m not a virgin. I’m not a stranger to sex, but this is different. I’ve always been a in-the-heat-of-the-moment-I-just-want-that-release kind of girl. I want the high of breaking apart, and my partners were only too willing to give that to me.
This is something much different. His heart is in every move he makes. He’s not just chasing his own release, he’s making this about me.
He traces his hands up my thighs, then pushes down until I’m bared to him. Even though everything I have is just waiting for him to ogle, he stares into my face. He keeps my gaze as he leans down, his hot breath hitting my core. My hips arch off the bed. “Oh God.”
He smooths his hand along my stomach, fingers spreading wide over my skin, and when he finally darts his tongue out, he closes his eyes as if he’s taken his first breath of fresh air in years. “Mmm,” he murmurs.
Fuck. This is too much.