CHAPTER 12
Ali lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, after hours of tossing and turning. Her hands fisted in her sheets as frustration bubbled to the surface.
This was so unlike her. She generally fell asleep within ten to twenty minutes of her head hitting the pillow. Those ten to twenty minutes were usually spent crying before she drifted off into an emotionally exhausted coma, but still.
Since Kade had shown up, she’d barely slept. The first night they’d been fixing Ricky’s project. Last night, they’d stayed up all night talking. So tonight, she’d been all set to go to bed early. She’d ordered pizza for the boys, taken a shower, and was about to indulge in a glass of wine when she’d run into a half-naked Kade coming out of the shower. Now, that was all she could think about. She kept playing the scenario over and over again in her head.
She couldn’t count the number of times she’d dreamt of what he might be packing down there. He was a large man, with large hands, and large feet. Since she’d hit sexual maturity, her imagination had gone wild guessing how big, how hard, how thick he might be and it hadn’t come close to what she’d felt pressing against her belly in the hallway.
Her entire body tingled as she closed her eyes and remembered the long, thick, hard impression that was still lingering on her stomach. Her inner muscles clenched with need as she recalled the way he grew larger and harder every second that they stood pressed together.
When he’d pulled her close after she tried to step away, she’d been sure, absolutely positive, that he was going to kiss her. He didn’t and her heart took another hit.
When he joked about his towel falling and her seeing a lot more than she bargained for, she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying that she wanted to see it all. Just as well, because the comment she did make had him jumping away from her.
She wasn’t so naïve as to think that he had any romantic feelings for her just because his body responded to her the way it had. His dick didn’t know that it was Ali in his arms, just that it was a woman’s body smashed against his wet, freshly-steamed skin.
But she had to admit, it did kind of hurt when he’d reacted so abruptly to her teasing. Not so hurtful that it stopped her from checking out what he was working with, though. Her eyes had dropped down without a second’s hesitation. And, my oh my, had it been worth it. To say that seeing Kade chest bare, covered only by a towel riding dangerously low on his hips was impressive was like saying that Beyoncé was a singer. She was so much more than that. She was a legend. And so was Kade’s body. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to erase that sight from her mind. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to.
She’d always had a crush on Kade. She’d been in love with him practically her entire life. But she’d honestly believed that her feelings for him were over for good after her brother had died and she’d suddenly become responsible for what could kindly be called ten peoples’ workload, but no. Here they were again, standing up and doing a jig. She’d thought that she’d at least be able to keep them at a low simmer for the duration of Kade’s visit, and up to that point she’d done pretty well.
But she was only human. Running into Kade in the hallway had pushed her over the edge that she’d been teetering on since he’d shown up on her doorstep.
It wasn’t just the way it had felt to be in his arms or how a lot he was that was driving her to the brink. It was the way his skin was still flushed from the heat of the water. The little beads of moisture that still clung to him looked so inviting. She’d literally had to stop herself from leaning forward and licking him like a dessert.
She looked over at the clock and let out a frustrated sigh. Two o’clock in the morning. She had to be up in four hours. She couldn’t just lay there, sleepless and frustrated, all night long. She had a shit-ton of work waiting for her at the rental shop. Spring break was only six days away. And now, thanks to Mrs. D, she had a last minute budgeting meeting as well. She needed sleep.
There was only one way she knew to shut her mind off. There was only one way to quench the inferno raging in her body so she could finally get some rest. She’d never been very good at manual manipulation, but she was pretty sure it was the only way she was going to get any shut-eye at all.
The soft sheets rubbed against her bare thighs as she spread them open and slipped her hand down inside her panties. As soon as her fingertips found the hard little button of pleasure nestled between her wet folds, she knew that this wouldn’t take very long. Thanks to Kade, she was primed and ready to go.
Pleasure bloomed from the first brush of her fingertip across her clit. She kept a steady pace rubbing her nub, the whole time imagining it was Kade’s finger touching her. She slid her other hand beneath her tank top and tweaked her nipple. The slight shock of pain shot directly to her core and she pictured Kade with her, touching her, whispering naughty things in her ear.
Her breath came in shallow pants as he told her that he loved how wet she was for him and that he was going to make her come so hard she would see stars. He told her that he’d always known she was going to be his one day and that he was going to make sure she knew it too. He told her that no other man would ever make her feel the way he was going to make her feel tonight and that she belonged to him.
As she lost herself in her fantasy, the telltale signs of her orgasm built with increasing pressure and she dug her heels into the worn mattress and pressed down while her back arched. An involuntary response to the electricity pulsing through her veins.
Her hips rose to meet her middle finger as she pictured Kade between her legs. His mouth, not her hand, was covering her sex; his tongue flicked her tender folds. He told her how good she tasted, how hard she made him. He told her he was going to fuck her with his tongue and then he did just that.
As she pictured Kade’s head moving over her and imagining that her hips were thrusting up into his waiting, hot, hungry mouth, she lost herself as she came with a power that she’d never been able to achieve before on a solo mission. It was so satisfying that she almost believed it was real for the precious, short seconds that the orgasm ripped through her body…
But then it was over. Just like every beautiful thing in her life. Like every other short but blissful reprieve, it popped like a soap bubble, with no evidence that it had ever been real except for a tiny shimmer left in the air, and she was left exactly where she’d been when it started.
Alone. Empty. Exhausted. And, most disheartening of all, with serious doubts that any of that was going to change anytime soon. If ever.
Always one to try and see a silver lining she reasoned as she turned onto her side and pulled the covers up over her chin, at least all of that pent up sexual tension had dissipated. Now she could let the exhaustion she held at bay every minute of every day overtake her, and escape into a few blissful hours of sleep.
She closed her eyes, then, and did exactly that.