I wander around, taking all of it in until I’m back at the library once again. I step inside, hoping to see Kane, but it’s empty. Even the fireplace that was once lit is now cold. I sit down in the same chair Kane put me in and I wonder what the hell I’m doing. I’m trespassing this time, but still I sit here, unmoving.
“Juliet.” My name is whispered, and my head snaps up to see Kane standing in the doorway of the library.
I stand. I don’t know how long I stare at him before I’m fumbling my excuse. “I was looking for my phone,” I tell him.
“That’s a lie,” he says, his voice deeper now.
“I really can’t find it,” I offer lamely.
It’s true, but I’d forgotten all about it once I’d stepped back into the house. It’s not the only thing I’ve lost today. I think I’ve lost my mind and my sense of self-preservation. Like a flash he’s in front of me. Before I know what’s happening, he’s pulling me into him as he leans down and kisses me.
His lips are softer than I thought they would be. I’m frozen as I try to catch up and move my mouth against his. His hands come up and he pulls the ponytail from my hair. I feel his tongue graze mine and he tastes like chocolate. My hair falls free around us, and he digs his hands into it. He holds me steady as he bites at my bottom lip and I gasp. A thrill runs through me as he licks the stinging spot there before sliding into my mouth. He pulls my hair a little harder, making my head tilt back so that he can dominate me. I’m lost in his kiss and owned by his hold. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt, and I’m dizzy with lust.
I wrap my arms around his neck, meeting his kiss, and he groans. He sounds almost desperate as he pulls his mouth away from mine. I cry out at the loss, but he doesn’t stop. His lips move to my neck and he licks and sucks my delicate skin. I’m lifted up in his arms, and I wrap my legs around him. I’m holding on tight as he makes my body come alive with every touch.
Bite me, I think when I feel his teeth graze me. He sucks on the place below my ear and nips at my neck. He lets out another loud groan as I try to move against him. I shamelessly hump him until my back hits a soft surface and I know we’re on the sofa.
“What’s happening?” I breathe. My mind is so fuzzy I can’t catch up, but I’m not sure I want to. But just as fast as he was on me, now he’s standing across the room with his back to me. One of his hands is planted on the wall and he’s breathing heavily.
I sit up and bring my fingers to my mouth, still feeling him there. I lick my lips. What happened? Why did he stop?
“Kane?” He doesn’t answer me, but before I even say the words, I already want to take them back. “Maybe I should go.”
“No,” he snaps. The word is a command and it makes me tingle all over when it should scare me.
“It’s really late…or early. I haven’t been to sleep yet,” I admit.
“You’ll sleep here. I don’t want you in cars with strange men,” he tells me finally as he turns a little to face me.
He holds a hand out, and I walk towards him. An invisible thread pulls me to him, and I swear my body is no longer my own. I should go, but when his hand takes mine those thoughts leave my mind and there is only him once again.
“Did I wake you up?” I ask as he leads me out of the library. He doesn’t seem concerned that I came into his house without permission and wandered around.
“No, I was just going to bed and I smelled you.”
“Smelled me?” I glance over at him, but the house is dark. With no lights on I can barely make him out.
“Heard you,” he corrects.
“I didn’t want to leave.” His hand tightens around mine. “But…she…wanted me to leave, and I thought maybe you told her to get rid of me or something.”
“I didn’t want you to leave either. It doesn’t matter now. I would have found you today, but it looks like you came back to me.” I can hear an almost wistfulness to his tone. He makes it sound romantic.
“You would have come looking for me?” I push, wanting more.
The idea that someone cares enough to come looking for me makes that ache I was feeling completely disappear. I’ve never had that before. Except maybe out of obligation. It was someone’s job to look for me when I was in the foster system because they didn’t want to lose their paychecks or explain why they were missing a kid.