Page 11

10

Kensington

I can’t remember the last time I had a day like today, the last time I felt so carefree and unburdened.

It was like old times.

We went down to the lake and fished.

Skipping rocks and reminiscing about when we were kids.

Me busting his chops over not catching any fish, while I was reeling them in one after another.

Him teasing me over the fact that I still won’t touch a worm, while I splashed him with the frigid water for making fun of me.

Only to find myself splayed out on my back being tickled by his big hands.

We laughed and joked around all day.

And… he flirted. Finding little ways to “accidentally brush his fingers across my skin, pressing himself against my back to remind me of how to cast the rod. He kept saying things that made me blush, making my body warm with those dark eyes, which kept eyeing me up every time I moved. But… he never crossed the line. He didn’t break his promise, though there were a few times I thought he might. And God, did I want him to.

He was just like the Sean I grew up with. My Sean, not Razor. And I wanted to kiss him so badly, I could barely hold steady.

“Did you get enough to eat, babe?

”

He sinks down next to me on the couch and his heavy frame dips the cushions, taking up all my personal space, making it harder to fill my lungs.

“Yes, I got plenty to eat.” For a man, he really knows his way around a kitchen.

And is so freaking sexy to watch.

He worked with determination and dominance.

A dark god covered in ink, consuming the entire space.

His muscles flexing with every movement.

And the way he licked his fingers, tasting the sauce off his skin…

It had me starving for something other than the meal he’d made, which was the best thing I’ve eaten in years.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” I ask, desperate for any kind of distraction from my thoughts.

“Not really.” He shakes his head, shifting in closer.

The look in his eyes sets the butterflies fluttering.

My nerves are desperately trying to hold on to the ropes of my restraints and not fall forward into his arms. “I’d rather watch you strip your clothes off and sway those sexy hips. Any chance I can buy myself another dance?”

A dance?

After what happened last night, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea.

God, I loved the way he looked at me.

He watched me like I was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so sexy in my entire life.

Not even when I was up on stage, having hundreds of men shouting at me, practically begging to get their hands on me.

But nothing compared to the look burning in his hooded eyes, drawing his lids down from the weight of his desire.

And then... his mouth.

The way it felt wrapped around me, making me ache for him.

My body has never felt so hot.

Lust was burning me in its flames, and I barely made it out of the fire unscathed.

I should tell him no.

It’s a bad idea. But after what he’s done for me with the house, I’d give him a million dances for free.

Plus, he promised he wouldn’t touch me.

But the real question isn’t whether I can hold him to that promise.

The question is whether I want to.

I rise from the couch, taking a stance between his legs, looking down into his eyes.

The same eyes that have been rooted in my memories for as far back as I can remember.

Dark and beautiful.

“You have to keep your hands to yourself. You made me a promise.”

His jaw tightens as he nods, slowly, like the weight of that truth is a heavy pill for him to swallow.

It’s quite the feeling, having so much power over him.

Seeing how much he wants me.

I’m not immune to those feelings.

I want him just as much—in spite of knowing he’s bad for me, I still crave him deeply.

“Play ‘I See Red’ by Everybody Loves an Outlaw,” I tell him, choosing a song to remind myself not to get roped in by my desire.

To remind myself of what he did.

Though after today, it’s hard to scrounge up the hatred towards him.

It’s hard to cling to the memory of that one horrid night when we had had ten years of amazing moments together.

His actions today made me want to forget.

He picks up his phone in search of the song, and I walk to the fireplace, staring into the flames as I wait for the music to start.

I don’t know how things could change so fast. Two weeks ago, I was wondering what the hell I was going to do to save my house from foreclosure.

Two nights ago, I was showing up to work, fighting my pride to get up on stage, nervous as hell about Barker’s advances and the stipulations he’d placed on me in order to keep my job.

And now… Now, I’m about to dance for Sean Koda Ashton.

The one man I had never wanted to see again.

As the song starts playing through the speakers, I’m pulled from my thoughts.

Drawn right into the rhythm.

Letting the memories go as the music takes over.

I feel the beat pulsing through my body and start to sway my hips.

The flames starting to flick over my skin as I feel his stare burning over me.

I close my eyes, listening to the lyrics, but the song suddenly stops, changing to the one he played for me last night.

The one I thought would be our first song together as husband and wife.

My eyes fly open, and I turn, shocked by the pain tightened around every single one of his handsome features.

“I don’t want you hating me, baby. I don’t want to relive the pain. I want to remember how good it was between us. How incredible it was before I fucked everything up. If you want me to change the song, I will. Just don’t ask me to play something that’s going to break me apart.”

My heart clenches as I watch the regret shadow his face and hear it drip from his words.

It was a callous move on my part to choose that song.

He’s right. We’ve both lived through enough hurt.

It’s time to leave it in the past. He was wrong though.

I’m not trying to break him apart, I’m trying to keep myself from breaking.

I start to sway my hips, letting the beat seep into my bones, letting the words of “our song” bleed into my soul.

The feelings float in with every note.

The memories of our past. Of when he was holding me in his arms, looking like a prince dressed in a suit.

Staring down at me with so much love in his eyes.

It stole my breath away, and I knew he was going to be my forever.

Before I know it, I’m swaying forward, dropping onto his lap as I slip into the past. I grip his shoulders for support and my eyes open.

And there it is. The same look burning in his dark depths.

The one I wished to see every day for the last eight years.

I settle over him, straddling his waist as I’m caught locked in his stare.

My pulse is racing faster than the beat.

My hips chasing that same rhythm as I rock against him.

The flames are blazing over every inch of my body.

And he’s burning in the fire with me.

His eyes have fallen heavy, lips parted as he sucks in short breaths of air.

The hard length between my legs is pressed up against my soaked panties, seeking every single one of my thrusts.

But he keeps his promise.

His hands are gripped to the couch with white knuckles as he fights to keep them to himself.

I grind down harder, sliding over the ridge and feel the current running south.

The pleasure is starting to take hold.

Latching on and pulling me tighter into its temptation.

The song comes to its climax and I’m right there on the edge.

My blood pumping heavier than the bass drum.

My hips rocking so fast, I nearly buck myself off him.

His hands grip my waist, catching me before I fall, and that simple touch, the simple grip of his thick, rough fingers takes me right over the edge.

My orgasm blasts in like the bang of cymbals.

A current of delicious sensations striking over every nerve.

Loud and hard. My head falls back, and I gasp his name as the final note hits, the final pulse resonating in every nerve.

It’s then, as the music starts to fade, as the pounding of my desperate need stops banging in my ears, that I hear it.

His groaned release, chased down by grunts and heavy breaths as his hold on me tightens.

I open my eyes and am taken right back in time, watching Sean lose himself in the heat.

The pleasure tightening his gorgeous face.

The pressure riding through him.

And he clings to me.

Holding on like his life depends on it.

Coming in his pants just like he did back when we were teenagers.

I’ll never forget the day our friendship crossed the line, and we became more.

We’d been fighting over something stupid when he made his attack, tickle torturing me until I’d shout mercy and claim he was right.

Somehow, I’d managed to gain the upper hand, trying to fight him off and I ended up on his lap.

That’s when I felt it.

His hard length pressed between my legs, my little scrap of bikini barely a barrier between me and his wet bathing suit, which was clinging to him, allowing me to feel every ridge of his big, hard cock.

My tummy tightened with a curl of lust, and I found myself rubbing against it, shuddering when it slid against my clit.

The laugh died on his tongue and his body froze, those dark eyes locking right on me.

It was in that moment, caught in that crazy storm of rushing emotions, that my world shifted.

I gripped his shoulders and rubbed against him again and again.

And that’s when the line of our friendship snapped.

He grabbed onto me and crashed forward, kissing me until my mind was in blissful shambles.

Until I couldn’t think past anything other than what was building low in my belly.

My bikini bottoms became soaked, making a mess of his lap.

And the intense feelings were building.

And then it happened, I came.

We both did. Like an explosion of fireworks.

A beautiful array of colors lighting up my body, lighting up my world.

And they didn’t burn out.

I opened my eyes, radiating in the glow of the amazing beams of heat, and that’s when I saw it.

The look. The same one he’s giving me now.

And my heart pounds harder, nearly beating from my chest.

“You promised you wouldn’t touch me,” I tease, trying to lighten the load of my thoughts.

“I was just helping my friend out.” He winks.

“Wanted to ensure she got what she needed.”

I definitely got what I needed.

Didn’t realize how badly I needed it.

It feels like a ton of bricks has been lifted off my chest. My body feels relaxed and warm.

Cozy.

“How thoughtful of you.” I smirk, rolling my hips over him.

“Feels like you got what you needed too.” He sits up, wrapping me in his arms, and the look on his face is unnerving.

“Not even close. But I’m so damn thankful for the opportunity to make you feel good. Got no idea what it means to have you in my arms and see that smile on your face. Missed it so damn much, baby.”

And he has no idea how much I missed him.