Page 5 of Bonding with the Beta (Fated Souls #2)

5

KAYLEIGH

W hen we get back to their house, Jaxon is waiting for us in the kitchen.

“Hey, baby.” He glances up from the counter and walks towards us. I step back as he quickly kisses her lips and then places a hand on her stomach. “How are you?”

Ava’s cheeks are a little tinted from the sun as she smiles up at him. “Yeah, good,” she exhales. “We had a great time at the lake. It was nice to get out of the house.”

“You drank enough water today?”

Her eyes roll. “Yes. I’m fine. Baby’s fine. Everything is fine.”

Jaxon’s gaze roams her face for a long moment before nodding and pulling away. “Did you enjoy the lake, Kayleigh?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “It’s beautiful out there. Your home and land are honestly incredible.”

He steps away to grab two glasses and fills them with water. “It’s perfect this time of year.”

“Thanks.” Ava smiles, and I take a glass, drinking half to quench my thirst from the sun. “I’m excited to take the baby out there when she’s here. I can’t wait.”

Jaxon kisses her head. “Me, too.”

His phone vibrates on the side, and he walks over to retrieve it. “Oh, fuck,” he murmurs.

Ava visibly tenses beside me. “What?”

Jaxon shakes his head to calm her sudden spike in anxiety. “I totally forgot about the reservation we had tonight.”

Her eyes go wide in realisation. “Oh, how did we forget?”

“We’ve had a lot going on,” he sighs.

“We’re going to have to cancel.” She nibbles on her lips. “This is my weekend with Kayleigh. It’s not fair on her.”

I instantly wave my hands. “No. No. You guys go! Don’t worry about me. We already went out today, and I’m here until tomorrow. Don’t cancel.”

Ava turns to me with a look of apprehension. “But I feel so bad. We can do it another time.”

My mouth curls. “It’s fine. I promise. You guys should get as much time together before the baby comes.”

“Are you sure?” Her brows pinch together.

“Yes.” I nod in agreement. “Date nights are important. I’ve got some work I can catch up on. It’s only for the evening. I can keep myself entertained.”

She continues to chew on her lip. “Kayleigh, I feel–”

“Go,” I encourage her. “I promise. You guys deserve some alone time.”

“Then we’ll do something soon to make up for it.”

“Sure.” I smile.

Ava steps towards me and wraps me up in a hug, her bump pressing into my belly. “You’re the best. Thank you.”

I laugh softly. “It’s all good.”

“I need to start getting ready.” She pulls away and presses a hand to her head. “There is some wine in the fridge if you want something to drink. Help yourself to anything you want. Kayden and Lucy will be around anyway, so they can help with whatever.”

My stomach bottoms out at the thought of alcohol after last night. “Depends on how bad my essay is coming along,” I joke.

Ava tilts her head. “What did we talk about earlier?”

“I know.” I purse my lips.

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

When Jaxon and Ava leave for their date a few hours later, I head up to my bedroom and get changed into some comfy clothes. My hands snake around my back as I remove my bra, which has been constricting me all day. A sigh of satisfaction escapes my lips as it falls to the floor, the wire no longer digging into my ribs.

I throw on a white T-shirt and black silk pyjama shorts before grabbing my laptop and heading downstairs to Jaxon’s private living room—which I pray is actually private as I need the space to focus.

As I make my way down the stairs, I poke my head into the living room to find it empty. I exhale in relief and set myself up on the sofa, searching for the TV remote to put on something that will drown out the silence around me.

I crack my neck and open my laptop, allowing my fingers to fly across the keyboard to get this research paper done. An hour ticks by, and I’m up to a thousand words. I want it to be perfect. It has to be after my grades started slipping a few months ago. I cannot afford to let this year go to waste.

My lungs inhale a breath, and I push my laptop to the side. I glance up at the TV to find a raunchy scene playing out on the screen. My eyes widen as they kiss fiercely against the door, desperate to get each other's clothes off.

For some reason, I don’t look away. I’m enthralled.

It’s full of lust, desire, and want.

“What are you watching?”

If my laptop had been on my lap, it would have flown six feet across the room. I press a hand to my chest at my rapid heartbeat and glance over my shoulder as Kayden leisurely strolls in.

“Can you stop doing that?” I rasp.

“Stop living in my house?”

My eyes narrow at him as he flicks his playful gaze to mine. I shouldn’t look, but I do. He’s wearing a dark T-shirt that makes his biceps look carved out of marble. I saw him shirtless the very first time I met him last year, and I really wish I hadn’t. I hate to admit the image is forever tattooed into my brain, especially after seeing it again last night.

The sound of a high-pitched moan echoes on the TV, and my cheeks heat as he quirks a brow at me. “What are you watching? Don’t tell me you’ve hooked up porn to the big screen. That deserves jail time.”

I gawk at him. “It’s not porn. It’s a show I put on. I don’t even know what it is.”

Kayden hums, sounding unconvinced. I exhale a quiet huff and grab my laptop once more, turning my back to him. I expect him to leave, but instead, he walks around the sofa and plops himself down beside me.

“I mean,” he gestures to the TV, “this is practically porn at this rate.”

I glance over and get an eyeful of the woman’s breasts as they bounce in the man's face as she rides him. God, this feels more awkward than watching sex scenes with your parents. I’m heating up—and not in a good way.

“What do you have against porn?”

“Nothing.” He laughs. “I’m pro-porn, as long as it’s ethical.”

The scene changes to where he rolls her over so she’s on her back, and the sound of the bed bangs against the wall.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Ethical porn involves the woman actually climaxing,” I mutter under my breath.

Kayden snorts. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That most men don’t know how to truly please a woman.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Trust me.” My brows raise. “Girls know how to fake that shit. Men are oblivious to it all. It’s sad, really.”

Kayden rests his arm on the back of the sofa, his fingers inches from the tip of my shoulder. “Surely not the entire male population.”

I pin him with a stare. “A lot of men don’t even know where the clitoris is. That’s a huge problem in itself.”

“Can’t relate,” he says simply.

A laugh tries to fall from my lips, but it gets stuck when I realise what exactly we’re discussing. “You would say that,” I murmur and focus my eyes back on my laptop when the TV show finally changes to another scene.

“Because I don’t understand female anatomy? Kayleigh, I’ve done my fair share of research.”

I don’t look at him. I don’t look anywhere other than the words on my screen, which become blurry the harder I try to focus. My chest is heavy at the thought of him doing research.

“And why would you do that?”

“Because I believe sex isn’t about me. It’s about the woman I’m experiencing it with. It’s simple. If she’s having a good time, I’m having a good time.”

My heart stammers at the smoothness of his voice. Men can admit they want sex to be about their partner, but when they’re in the moment, it’s a whole other story.

“Yeah…well,” I lick my lips, “not all women are the same. So research won’t go very far for you.”

He hums, and I can feel his eyes burn into the side of my head, but I’m still not looking. I can’t. I won’t. I’ll fumble, and that’s the last thing I need right now whilst we discuss sex openly, like we’ve known each other for years.

“That’s why communication is a big thing for me. It’s not hard to learn what your sexual partner likes and doesn’t like. Granted, men can get insecure about being told what they’re doing is wrong. But how will they learn if they don’t ask and listen to their partner? It just makes them shitty lovers,” he states plainly, and I hate the raw honesty in his voice. “And women deserve better than that.”

My eyelashes flutter at the way he speaks. I shouldn’t be pressing my thighs together like I am right now. I don’t want to admit it, but from what I can see so far, he doesn’t have an ounce of toxic masculinity in his body.

I’ve always believed that’s the issue with a one-night stand. You’re both there for your own pleasure, rarely the other person's. How are you meant to fulfil your needs when he fucks like he’s on a pogo stick?

Yeah, I’ve experienced it all.

“Don’t tell me you’ve doomed all sex because a couple of guys couldn’t find your clit?” Kayden drawls lazily.

I suck in a breath and glance at him unexpectedly. “You’d be surprised how selfish university students can be.”

His dark eyes drag over my face slowly. I’m exposed to him, and I pray my cheeks don’t start to tint pink; otherwise, I’m packing my shit and heading to bed without looking back.

“I suppose you need to blow off some steam.” He gestures to my laptop, which has my essay open on the screen.

“Yeah,” I exhale and shove it to the side. “Except it would be good if I could ever finish.”

My throat tenses. Why the fuck did I say that?

I close my eyes and count my breaths because I know Kayden’s gaze is still trained on me. A small laugh erupts into the air. I flick my eyes open to see him leaning forward, which does nothing to stop his arms from stretching out his T-shirt even more.

“When you say finish, I presume you don’t mean your essay?”

“I didn’t mean anything,” I blubber before standing and making my way towards the kitchen to put some space between us.

Am I clearly this delirious to be making an absolute fool out of myself around him? Again.

The kitchen is empty, and I walk straight to the fridge to grab something cold to drink. My throat is burning and turning dry by the second. I spot the bottle of wine Ava mentioned, but I grimace at the thought. That will make the situation even worse.

I opt for a can of Coke and shut the fridge door. My eyes flick up, and I jump as Kayden leans a hand on the top of the fridge and smiles down at me with a glint of mischief in his eyes. Oh, God. If he’s about to tease me, I’ll jump out the window.

At this angle, he looms over me, making me feel small against the fridge. His arm is fucking huge as I study the long vein that runs along the inside of his bicep. A smirk tugs at his lips. His gaze drops down to my white cropped T-shirt and black shorts.

Fuck . I should have worn more appropriate clothing.

Something flares in his eyes, somehow making them even darker. I suck in a breath and clear my throat. His intense gaze makes me flush, and my nipples begin to tighten.

Kayden traces his eyes back up before settling on my chest, where my nipples are poking through the thin fabric of my top. Then, after what feels like an eternity, he lands his gaze on mine. “Are you stressed, Kayleigh?”

My legs tremble at the sharpness of his voice, straight to the point.

“I-I–”

“Are you stressed? Yes or no.”

I startle at him as he twists into me, my back now firmly against the coolness of the fridge. It’s the only thing keeping me upright. “Yes,” I state with a strangled tone. “Yes. I’m always stressed. It’s inevitable being a student.”

“Mmm.” He presses his lips together. “And how would one relieve stress?”

With my vibrator.

The corner of his mouth twitches again, and I bite down on my jaw to stop myself from shuddering at the close proximity between us. His finger brushes the space between my shorts and top, right across my midriff. My skin rises in goosebumps, and I hold my breath, so I don’t release any kind of sound that will send me into an early grave.

It’s a tease of a touch, but it shamefully makes my core ache.

Kayden’s arm is still above me, caging me between the heat of his body and the coldness of the fridge. The two sensations making my head spin.

“You don’t relieve it?” he asks. “That’s a shame. You must be so… pent up.”

Good God.

I think I might have lost sense of my sanity.

“I-I’m used to it,” I stutter.

But I would die for a little stress reliever.

His lips twitch downwards as the tip of his finger flicks over the skin on my hip, and I stiffen despite my body’s desire to shake in response.

“Used to it?” Kayden repeats and then tuts. “I don’t think that’s good enough.”

“What?”

“I would offer to help,” he raises his hand from my hip and brushes a strand of blonde hair behind my ear, “but I probably don’t know where the clit is.”

From our conversation earlier, I can guarantee he knows exactly where the clit is. Without fail. No man would speak so nobly about himself. Most of the time, it's false confidence and knowledge—but he sounded like he was stating facts.

“Wanna put that theory to the test?” I murmur out of nowhere.

I might hate myself tomorrow, but all I can think about is Kayden’s fingers and if they’ll bring me even the tiniest relief.

Kayden’s head tilts with a challenge. “Not sure. I don’t want to be shunned for my lack of experience with the female body.”

I release a breath that sounds a little too desperate. “Like I said, we can test it.”

He hums and traces his finger down the curve of my neck and over my shoulder. I try not to visibly tremble as he dips past my hip and across the sliver of skin on show until he drops his hand to my thigh and traces a pattern on the inside.

I gulp as I shiver.

“You’ve changed your tune, huh?”

“How can one learn if he doesn’t get to practice?”

Kayden’s lips part, releasing a deep chuckle that would send my eyes rolling back if I didn’t keep myself in check. “I don’t know,” he drawls as he leans in, his finger moving closer to my core until he slips one inside my loose pyjama shorts and swipes his index finger along the slit of my soaked thong. “But you’re right. Practice makes perfect.”

I jolt as he brushes the tiny bundles of nerves in my clit. I desperately gasp for a breath and look up at him through dilated eyes. He smirks yet says nothing. He doesn’t need to say anything. He’s touched me for all of two seconds, and he already has me in the palm of his hands.

A part of me is screaming at myself that this is a bad, bad idea.

But the other part of me couldn’t give a single fuck when he looks at me like he’s starving.