Page 18 of No Gemini Does it Better (BLP Signs of Love #2)

“Shawty,” he whispered, his deep voice barely above a breath, laden with all the things we both wanted but knew we shouldn't have. His eyes, those deep pools of cocoa, widened slightly, a silent question hanging in the air between us.

I didn’t answer with words. Instead, I leaned forward, and our lips met again, crashing together with total abandon, only need.

His mouth was warm, insistent, and all-consuming.

It was as if I was breathing him in, and he was every bit as desperate as I was.

We were lost in each other’s touch and the sensation of being so close. Nothing else mattered.

I sank into him, the firmness of his body against the give of mine feeling like a puzzle piece snapping into place.

His strong arms wrapped around me, unyielding, and I felt secure, even as my heart raced with the danger of what we were doing and where we were.

His lips moved with mine in an urgent rhythm, every kiss reigniting the need that had simmered between us.

His calloused hands traced over me, outlining the curves of my body as if committing every peak and valley to his memory bank. No words were needed. Our bodies spoke volumes, each caress a sentence, every gasp a punctuation mark in the story we were writing together.

I jumped into his arms, a tangle of limbs and whispered sighs. His lap cradled me, his grip on my ass both possessive and tender as I lowered myself onto him. It was a perfect fit like he’d been made just for me.

“Mmm, shit.” He growled into my ear as he eased me up and down on his long rod without a condom.

Our combined gasps filled the room, a sound mingling shock and satisfaction as we connected in a way I’d forbade myself to even think about ever again.

But here we were, moving together, my former decision becoming a distant echo with every thrust and pull.

There was no turning back now, only forward into the heat and the hunger that haunted both of us.

I bucked against him, taking from Kadeem what he was giving me, our rhythm urgent and raw. He leaned in close, his breath hot against my ear.

“You feel so fuckin’ good, shawty,” he whispered, the tremor in his voice revealing just how much this meant.

His words were a solace to the hours of mental turmoil and silent yearning I'd spent during the long drive.

The small bathroom seemed charged with electricity, every nerve ending alive as we explored each other.

My fingers dug into his shoulders, finding new strength in my grip, while his hands roamed across my back, down my sides, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

We switched positions as the world outside faded away, time losing meaning as we lost ourselves in the feverish pace of our connection.

Kareem entered me from behind, and a fresh wave of desire coursed through me as I gripped on the bathroom sink.

Each thrust was hard and deep, and it felt like he was reaching parts of me that hadn’t been touched before him.

The intensity of his movements, the way he filled me, sent shockwaves through my body.

He fucked the bonnet straight off my head, braids spilling over my face as I clawed at the edges of the sink, anything to anchor myself as he thrust hard and fast inside of me.

His hand slid down over my stomach, inching closer to the heat between my thighs. When his fingers finally touched me there, it was like a circuit had been completed. A current jolted through me, and I came apart at the seams, shattering into a million pieces.

“Yes, yes!” I whispered. “Don’t stop! Don’t stop!”

Panting, my heart still racing from the crescendo of pleasure, his hands gripped my hips and pushed my head down.

There was no hesitation, only the desperate need that had been building between us for too long.

I was now face down with my cheek pressed against the cool counter and my braids a tangled mess around my face.

The room was thick with the sound of our breaths, the slap of melanated skin on skin, and the low, guttural moans that escaped from his lips.

His fingers dug into my flesh, pulling me back onto him, and I pushed against him just as fiercely.

We were two halves of a whole, moving together, driving each other toward something that felt inevitable.

“Mmm, fuck,” he groaned.

And then it happened. He stiffened behind me, his grip tightening on my hips as if he was trying to hold onto the moment, and I felt the shudder that ran through him as he pulled out and finished with a groan that seemed to unleash from his very soul.

The finality of it, the release, echoed through the room, vibrating within me.

We stayed close for a few fleeting seconds, the aftershocks rippling through us like coarse waves.

Then, slowly, we parted, and I stepped away from him, both of us still trying to normalize our racing heartbeats.

As the daze of lust began to clear, reality seeped back in.

Suddenly, the air felt colder, and I felt as though I was see-through.

I wrapped my towel back around myself, more as a shield than for warmth.

A heaviness settled on my heart—the weighted pressure of guilt and confusion.

What had we done? This wasn’t just a random hookup. This was a convicted felon.

It was too late to untangle the mess of emotions, to separate the wrong from the right. As the silence grew between us again, I couldn’t help but wonder if the feelings we'd stumbled upon would be enough to weather the new storm we’d just created.

When I woke up the next morning, I knew it was time to say goodbye and start the drive back to Jacksonville.

Leaning against the bathroom sink, I stared at the girl in the mirror.

She looked like me, with thesame long braids framing her face and the same worried brown eyes, but there was something else there too.

I had this look about me, like I’d just come out on the other side of something that scared the fuck out of me.

“Get it together, Sawyer,” I whispered to myself, trying to push down the anxiety bubbling up inside me.

My hands gripped the edge of the sink, knuckles tightening as flashbacks of our last night together replayed in my head.

The cool porcelain was grounding and real, unlike the warm, electrifying fantasy that kept trying to pull me back to Kareem.

I splashed water on my face, hoping the shock of cold would wash away the heat, the longing, the feelings that were too close to the surface.

But when I reached for the towel, my hand was still shaking.

“Focus,” I told myself, drying off my face.

I took a deep breath, the kind that fills your lungs until they’re ready to burst. Then, I let it out slowly. In and out, like those stress management techniques they teach you when life’s got you by the throat.

“You’ve got this, Sawyer,” I murmured to the woman in the mirror. “It’s almost over.”

I leaned closer to my reflection, searching for the strength I knew was somewhere in there.

The same strength that got me through law school on caffeine and two hours of sleep.

The same grit that let me stand up in courtrooms packed with seasoned lawyers who looked at me like I was just some kid playing dress-up.

Feelings don’t run the show. You do.

It was easier said than done, sure. But wasn’t everything? How foolish was I to even consider that we’d be able to have an ending that resembled a happily ever after? Good wood or not, he was an escaped felon, after all. We were always meant to have an expiration date.

Don’t let good dick fuck up your life, Sawyer. This was never supposed to be a forever thing.

After cleaning my face and freshening up, I walked outside to my car. Kareem was leaning against the driver’s side door, waiting for me.

“So, I guess this is it, huh?” I asked when I approached him.

That was the million-dollar question. Every time I looked at him, every word we shared just seemed to chip away at the wall I’d built around myself. And now, after touching him again, the dam was cracking, threatening to flood me with all these feelings I was supposed to be holding back.

“I guess it is,” he responded.

“Kareem,” I breathed out, barely recognizing my own voice, thick with desire. Every time I said his name, it felt like a key unlocking something primal within me.

He responded without words, his hands growing bolder as they sketched the outline of my hips, drawing me closer until there was no space left between us.

My body responded instinctively, pressing into his firm chest. The hard lines of his physique contrasted with the softness of my own, yet they fit together as though molded from the same clay.

“I gotchu something.” Kareem stepped back before digging his hand in his pocket and retrieving a wad of cash. “Take it. It’s to fix your patio door in case your landlord gives you shit about not wanting to take care of it or something.”

A slight smile lifted one corner of my mouth. “Wow. I was planning on telling him it was damage from the storm, or use my renter’s insurance. But thank you. I didn’t expect this.”

“Use it for whatever you need. It’s yours now,” he insisted before placing the money in my palm and closing my fingertips over it.

I glanced up, and our eyes locked. There wasn’t any need for words. The air between us was thick with all the things we didn’t say. I reached out and laid my hand gently on his arm. It was a simple touch, but it was all I had to offer. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

Kadeem’s gaze drilled into mine, those brown orbs swimming with a sadness that seemed to reach out and wrap around my chest. For a second, we just stood there, me with my hand on his arm, him looking like he was about to say or do something we’d probably both regret.

My eyelids fluttered shut for a moment, and I felt his body lean into my touch ever so slightly.

There was comfort there, but underneath it all, a spark of something more dangerous, something more enticing.

It was buried under layers of fear and uncertainty, but the desire we both fought to keep at bay for reasons we didn’t have to say out loud was there, nonetheless.

I leaned in, and our lips met, crashing together in a kiss charged with pent-up emotions. It wasn’t soft or tentative. It was the kind of kiss that said all the things we hadn’t dared to speak since our paths had crossed, the kind that spoke of hidden yearnings for something more than just sex.

“What's on your mind?” he inquired once we finally pulled away.

I rolled my eyes. “There you go trying to analyze me again.”

Since I’d known Kareem he’d been reading my mind like it was that easy to see through to my thoughts.I couldn’t help but wonder if his mind was playing the same games as mine.

“It’s not my fault I can read you like a book. Now tell me.”

I sighed. “It’s nothing. It’s silly. It’s stupid.”

“Tell me, Sawyer,” he demanded.

“Okay, okay. I was just wondering if things were different between us and we’d met under different circumstances, what our first date would be like.”

He arched a curious brow. “Our first date?”

“See! I told you it was stupid,” I replied, feeling my insecurities taking over. “I don’t even know why the thought crossed my mind.”

“That's not stupid. Maybe impossible, but not stupid.”

“Yeah?"

“I've never been on a real date before,” he admitted. “But I’d go all out for you.”

“Next lifetime?” I inquired with a half-shrug, trying to lighten the mood.

He bobbed his head once and only once as if trying to dislodge the words stuck in his throat. “I’ll see you there, shawty.”

“What about in this lifetime? You think we’ll see each other again?” I questioned before I could stop myself.

He stepped back before winking at me. “If it’s meant to be, I’ll know where to find you.”