She fell apart beneath him, a crazed, animalistic sound escaping her as her orgasm crashed down on her. With that, he lost all semblance of his own control. Everything in him went tight and hot, his balls drawing up and his cock swelling with release. He thrust into her like an inhuman thing, every ounce of his energy pouring into those last few thrusts as he spilled inside her.
Bliss. Perfection. He rode the high with her. Soaring.
When he’d sapped every bit he had to give and she’d sunk into the bed beneath him, he reluctantly slid out of her and rolled onto his back, fighting to draw breath. Colby tugged on a pair of shorts then quietly undid her restraints and set towels on the side of the bed. He leaned down and kissed Tessa’s cheek. “That was amazing, Tessa. Thanks for letting me join y’all tonight. Kade’s a lucky guy.”
The sentiment hit Kade right in the gut. She’s not mine. The words were like rusty nails puncturing the bubble of bliss from a few moments before.
Tessa turned onto her back with a sleepy, satisfied smile. “Thanks, Colby, that was fun.”
Fun.
That’s what this was to her. She wanted sexual adventure, and Kade was giving it to her. He needed to get that through his head.
But when Colby left the room and she curled into Kade’s arms to fall asleep, he knew he was never going to be satisfied with just that.
Tessa McAllen was meant to be his.
He knew it back when he was seventeen and he knew it now.
But how he felt didn’t matter when she was too scared to even be seen with him in public.
He sagged against the pillows, holding her close, and wished, not for the first time, that her prince and captive fantasy could be true. Because right now, all he wanted to do was tie her up, throw her over his shoulder, and keep her.
NINETEEN
“How’s she doing?” Kade asked, setting down the report he’d been looking at when his brother had strolled in and parked in the chair across from his desk. He’d called him in here earlier to get the report on how Tessa’s job training was going, but Gib had been tied up with another meeting.
Gibson hooked his ankle over his knee and leaned back, looking like a Kennedy descendant instead of a guy who’d grown up being called trailer trash. “Quick study. Motivated. Still a little insecure soliciting the donations but getting better. When James Alario went all cross-examination on her early on, asking her the financial stats of her organization and business plans and shit, she knew a lot but not enough for Alario, apparently. He didn’t donate. Busted her confidence and I thought she was going to throw in the towel, but later that day I saw her with the P&Ls for the charity. I asked if she wanted me to send Marcy in from accounting to help her decipher them, but she said she wanted to try to figure it out herself first.”
Kade nodded. “She’s taking business classes two nights a week. And numbers always came easier to her from what I remember, so I’m not surprised. How is the fundraiser looking?”
“She secured Third Sky for the musical headliner, so that’s been a huge help because they’re a hot ticket right now. Apparently, Billy, the guitarist, grew up in foster care here, too, and Tessa knew him from back then. She called in a personal favor.”
“Impressive.”
“Yeah, like I said, she’s motivated. And she hasn’t lost that Ms. Popularity thing she had in high school. She’s easy for people to like. So with that and the band’s name to throw around, she’s landed a few good donations over the last few weeks and has sold some booth spots. It’s a solid start. Though, I’m not sure it really matters.”
Kade lifted a brow. “What do you mean?”
“Come on. You may be fooling her, but you’re not fooling me. I know you’ll give her whatever money she needs if she comes up short. You can fix her charity with one quick check.”
“She doesn’t know I’m willing to do that, though. And doesn’t need to know. I want her to see that she’s capable of doing it on her own.”
“She’s working her ass off and pulling in any connections she can manage, so I can’t fault her on effort.” Gib did that little shrug like it hurt him to give her credit.
Kade rested his forearms on the desk, not liking Gib’s tone. “You faulting her for something else then, little brother?”
“Only for what’s going on between you two,” he said bluntly.
“That shouldn’t concern you.”
“Come on, you’re seeing her every night, man.”
“And that matters, why?”
He made a face like the answer should be obvious. “Because you’re sneaking around like teenagers and letting her do the same damn thing she did to you back then. Taking what she needs from a
relationship with you without anyone else having to know. She’s dragging you into the pit again.”