Page 38

Chapter thirty-six

Isabelle

“Why is your hotel so far away?” I half pant, half whine as Kai’s lips travel down my neck.

We’re in the back seat of a car my mom somehow arranged for us, and I want to beg the driver to speed up.

At the same time, we don’t need to draw any more attention to the fact that we haven’t been able to keep our hands off each other for the last ten minutes.

“Almost there,” he mumbles against my skin, his hand dragging up my bare thigh to the hem of my shorts. He moans under his breath before suddenly moving back to his side of the car and sitting on his hands.

“Stay over there, wicked temptress,” he teases, eyes flashing even in the low evening light.

I let out a light giggle and copy his position, sitting on my hands. We haven’t done anything too naughty. Good thing, too, since the driver keeps eyeing us in the rearview mirror. I’m not sure if he recognizes Kai, but we don’t need to take chances.

Thankfully, a couple of minutes later, we’re dropped off in front of a very swanky hotel.

Kai grabs my hand, threading our fingers together with a soft smile as we walk inside and go quickly to the elevators.

We managed to beat the team bus here, which I’m grateful for.

I don’t want to have to talk to anyone else when all I can do is stare at Kai.

“I wonder if we can get Coach to look the other way when I sneak you into my hotel room more often,” Kai murmurs, stroking his hand down my hair that I twisted into a braid before we left the stadium.

“Normally, wives and girlfriends don’t get to stay with the players, but hey, maybe we can get a special perk with you being his stepdaughter. ”

I lift up on my toes to kiss his cheek. “I think tonight is a one-time thing. Let’s not push our luck.”

Kai chuckles and takes his hat off to set it on backward before leaning down and kissing me properly. “Nah, don’t worry about it. He knows he can’t go far without me.” The cockiness in his tone might be warranted, but I still slap his chest for it.

“Ego, much? It doesn’t matter, I don’t want things to be awkward for any of us. He’s married to my mom, remember? I live with them?”

Kai crowds me against the back wall of the elevator. “No.”

I raise my eyebrows as the doors open on his floor. “No?”

He doesn’t respond, instead taking my hand and half dragging me down the hall to what I assume is his room. He stays silent all the way there until we’re inside and the door is closed and latched behind us.

“No. You’re not living with them anymore.

” That confident, bordering-on-cocky tone falls way, and in its place is a thread of vulnerability.

“I want you to live with me, Iz. I want to wake up with you every morning and come home to you every night. I want to know that you’re sleeping in our bed when I have to travel.

I want lazy mornings in the offseason, and I want us to cook dinner together, and I want us to shower together, and —”

“Okay, I get it.” I laugh, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him. “If you want me to move in with you, then I will.”

He kisses me before pulling his head back slightly. “Seriously? That was way easier than I expected it would be.”

I tilt my head to the side before removing his hat and letting it fall to the floor so I can rake my fingers through his hair. “Why would I fight you on it? If we’re living together, I can have orgasms on demand.”

“Mmm,” he moans again before lifting me up into his arms. “And I can have pasta on demand.”

I shriek with laughter when he dumps me on the bed. “Is that all I’m good for? Pasta?”

I scramble away from him when he gets a wicked glint in his eyes.

I know what’s coming. “Kai,” I say in a warning tone, lifting my hand as I try to plan my escape. The room is small, but if I can get to the bathroom, I could lock myself in…

“Yes, Isabelle?” he replies, his smirk only growing. “Is everything okay?”

“No!” I shriek as he lunges forward, his fingers grazing my side as I try to dart off the bed toward the bathroom.

I don’t even make it off the mattress before Kai lands on top of me, ignoring my cries of protest, even the kicks I try to aim toward his shins.

Instead, he shifts to pin me down with his legs and tickles me.

“Noooo! Stop! Oh my God!” I shriek in between laughs, but he’s relentless. I know there’s only one thing that will make him stop. Our safe word from long-ago tickle fights. “Balk! Balk!”

His hands lift from my body at that word. “Don’t curse me with illegal pitches, woman.”

Once I’ve caught my breath, I scramble away from him. “No more tickling and I won’t.”

He grins down at me, placing one hand on the pillows beside me and dipping his head down to kiss me. “Deal.”

We stay like that, two fools smiling at each other, kissing each other, for a minute or two. I wonder if he’s remembering all the times we did the same thing, chasing each other around our dorms, laughing and being goofy together. Of course, back then, the tickling inevitably lead to…other things.

As if he remembers that at the exact same second I do, Kai’s eyes narrow with a sensual intensity that threatens to take my breath away, even more so than being tickled.

“Isabelle.”

That’s all he says. My name. And then our clothes are flying. He’s naked first, and I’ve managed to get my shorts and underwear off. When I go to lift my Yamaki jersey off, he stops me.

“Don’t. Leave that on.”

My tongue darts out to wet my lips, but I nod.

His gaze never leaves my face as he reaches his hands around behind me, under the jersey, and makes quick work of removing my bra, sliding it through the sleeves.

He tweaks my nipples with a devious smirk before removing his hands and bringing them up to cup my face.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” he murmurs before kissing me again, slowly and sweetly this time. Reverently.

“You’re just saying that because I’m wearing your jersey,” I try to tease, but it comes out a lot more needy and breathy than I planned.

His chuckle is low and promises wicked things. “You wearing my name is sexy as fuck, Iz. And if I have my way, you’ll wear it for the rest of our lives. But no. You’re gorgeous, with or without my jersey.”

I can feel my entire body heat with a blush at his words. “Kiss me,” I whisper, lacing my fingers around his neck and tugging him down with me. He lowers to his elbows and does as I’ve asked, kissing me deeply, tongues tangling and teasing.

His lips start to travel, grazing lightly over my jaw, and down my neck.

He skims his hands down my body to the bottom of my jersey before pushing it up.

My eyes close as my back arches into his touch.

Lips, fingers, tongue, he uses it all to torment me until I’m writhing under his touch.

He moves down my body agonizingly slow. It’s killing me, taking all my strength not to beg him to go where I desperately want him.

But above all, I trust Kai to take care of me. He may tease, he may drag out my pleasure until I’m certain I can’t take it any longer, but I can. I trust him to know exactly what I need.

Which is why, when his hand slips under my back, one finger trailing along the seam where my thighs meet my ass, I don’t flinch.

“Some day.” He presses a kiss just below my belly button as that finger drags closer to the part of me I’ve never considered letting anyone near. “Some day, I want all of you. I want this perfect, juicy ass, Isabelle. Will you let me?”

He punctuates the question by grabbing my ass in his large palm, squeezing hard enough I’m certain I’ll have fingerprint bruises there tomorrow.

“Yes,” I gasp as his tongue dives into my pussy. I’d let him do anything to me.

He groans against my clit, the sound reverberating through me as he devours me like a man starved. “Fucking love this pussy. Sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted.”

I want to hear every word he says but there’s a roaring in my ears as my orgasm builds under his relentless attack. He bands his arm over my hips to hold me in place, but that only does so much to stop my hips from moving, seeking more, more, more.

My thighs must be crushing his head but he doesn’t let up until I’m convulsing under him, crying out so loudly, the people in the rooms next to us must know exactly what’s going on. But I don’t care.

I don’t care about anything but the man between my legs and the magical things he’s doing to my body.

“Kai!” His name, on one last raspy cry, is all I can manage as I fall over the edge.

He’s right there, soothing me through every intense wave of my release, murmuring things that I can’t hear as my body shudders and shivers.

The next thing I’m aware of is him stretched out beside me, lifting my leg to drape it over his hip as he kisses me.

“I love you, Isabelle Murphy. And I’m never gonna stop loving you.”