Infatuated (10 page)

“Want me to walk you home?”

“No, I’m good. But I wouldn’t object if you stayed in the parking lot—inside your car—until I was at least across the street.”

She smiled. “That I can do. Usually takes me five minutes to find my keys anyway. If it wasn’t for the keypad…”

“How many times did you lock the keys inside this week?” I asked as I dug out my own.

“Three times.”

I snorted. Since I’d met her, a week hadn’t gone by where she didn’t lock her keys in her car. Or her house. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Laura.”

“Night, Ally!”

When I made it to the sidewalk, I glanced back at Laura’s car. I could see her silhouette hunched over the passenger seat and imagined her digging through her purse for her keys. They were probably in the ignition—where she left them most times. I headed across the street as she started her car. I unlocked my door and she flashed the headlights at me twice, honked once, then pulled away.

Sighing in relief, I went inside and closed the door. I kicked off my shoes, thankful to be free of the crazy contraptions. The phone beeped as I changed.

Kale.

Home safe?

I smiled as I read his message and then typed my own.
Yeah. Got in a few minutes ago.

While I waited for him to respond, I got out the ice cream (strawberry) and made a small bowl. It ended up being mostly chocolate syrup with a little ice cream—just the way I liked it.

What are you doing?

Having some ice cream with lots of chocolate syrup.

Damn. And you didn’t share?

I grinned.
You weren’t here to share with. Better luck next time…

Tease. How was your day?

Lonely. Annoying. Filled with creeps. That’s what I wanted to say, but instead I typed,
Better now. How was yours?

I scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and then nearly dropped the bowl when the phone rang. Kale. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“Sorry. You sounded sad in your texts and I wanted to see why.”

“They’re texts. You can’t hear them,” I said. I took another bite of my ice cream.

“Okay, smartie. You said ‘better now’ which implies you were worse before.”

“Or maybe I was having a great day and you made it even better.”

“Oh. I didn’t consider that one.”

“Well, you were right originally—”

He chuckled. “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”

“Yeah. I’ve already heard that once tonight.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I had a conversation with my boss that neither of us really wanted to have,” I said as I went to the couch and curled up at the end.

There was a long pause. “About that Earl guy?”

“Yeah.” I let out a deep breath. “And… It was just one of those days. It’s better now, really.”

“What were you going to say?”

“Nothing—”

“Ally. What were you going to say?”

“He left a napkin behind. Earl,” I added quietly. “It had my name written on it and ‘mine’ a bunch of times.”

He let out a violent curse, including a few expletives I hadn’t heard yet but was impressed with.

“Feel better now?”

“No, not really.” His tone was cold. “I’d really love to get my hands on that guy and beat the shit out of him.”

My stomach dropped. “No! Look, I appreciate the fact you want to kick his ass, but don’t get involved—”

“I’m not. If I didn’t think it’d make things worse, I would though. In a heartbeat.”

“Okay. Good.” I let out a loud breath. “And thank you. In a weird way, it’s kind of nice having someone who wants to cause someone else bodily harm on my behalf.”

“You’re welcome.” He let out a breath. “So, I guess this means he was—is—the one who’s calling?”

“Yeah.” I glanced down at my mostly melted ice cream. No longer hungry, I carried it to the sink. I leaned against the counter and rubbed my eyes where a headache was forming. “But I already figured it was.”

“Well, now you have proof. Or at least pretty good confirmation. Does that make it better or worse?” he asked, his tone soft.

“Honestly? I don’t know. Both, maybe.” Confirmation was better in one way, because it meant I didn’t have two creeps harassing me. But on the other hand, it was worse, because it meant Earl was staring
and
calling me. “Have there been—has he called?”

“Once or twice. Same thing as before.”

“Oh. That’s…is that good?” I ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t even know.”

“Let’s talk about something else then, okay? Like, what you’re doing tomorrow.”

“I have school and then work.”

“What about after work? You have school the next day?”

I had to think about it for a second. “Nope.”

“How about I meet you after work then?”

“Okay.” I bit my lip. “I’d like that.”

“Good. I have to get my beauty rest,” he said with a fake feminine accent, “so I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Sleep well, Kale.”

“I plan on it. Can I dream of you?”

“No!”

“Mean. I don’t mind if you dream of me. In fact, I think you should. You should dream of me—”

“Go to bed,” I said, laughing. I probably would dream of him now, I thought. He had a way about sneaking into my thoughts, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he made an appearance in my dreams, too.

“One last thing. You’re supposed to use shorthand.”

“What?”

“When you text, you’re supposed to use shorthand.”

“I hate shorthand.”

“I figured as much. But anyway, you text like a nerd. I think it’s pretty hot.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Night, Ally Cat.”

I would have laughed at him, but he already hung up on me.

CHAPTER 8

I
did dream of Kale. I didn’t remember the dream exactly, but I woke up thinking about him, excited to see him again. It’d been a week—one of the longest I could remember having in a long, long time.

He met me after my shift the next night and walked me home. Wordlessly, he followed me in and kicked the door shut. Before I could say anything, he spun me around and pressed me against it. His tongue darted into my mouth. My hand went to his hair as he grabbed my ass, pulling me close. A moan broke free—his or mine, I didn’t know.

He kissed me until my head spun, until I had no choice but lean into him. He peppered kisses along my jaw, up to my ear. “Hi,” he breathed, then nipped my earlobe.

I blinked up at him, dazed.

“Sorry.” He cupped my ass once more and then lowered me back to the floor. “Just had to get that out of the way.”

My brain had officially turned to mush, so all I could think to say was, “Hi.”

“Nice door, by the way. Sturdy.”

That got a laugh out of me. “Thanks.”

“Surprisingly, that’s a first for me.”

“Liking a door?”

“No, smart ass. Making out against one. I approve and might have to try it again someday in the near future, so consider yourself warned.”

“Sounds like a threat, Kale.”

His head shook and he leaned forward, close to my ear. Feather light, his thumb stroked over my breast. “Not a threat,” he said, his tone a growl. “A promise.”

The idea thrilled me and ignited a ball of fire in my stomach that spread to every inch of me. “Oh,” was my brilliant reply.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since…well, the first night we met, actually.”

“Throw me against a door?”

“No.” He laughed again. “That was a happy accident.” Both hands were on my breasts now and his thumbs rubbed small circles over my nipples, making them tighten. “Kiss you. Touch you. Get my hands on you.”

I tried not focusing on what his hands were doing right that second, but it was a losing battle. My eyes closed and my breathing quickened. I reopened my eyes and reached up to grab his hands. I slid them down my stomach. “I think you’ve missed a few places.”

His eyes closed briefly. “What are—”

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Stay.”

I’d wanted him to since the first night I met him, and almost every night since then. Because I didn’t want to be alone, because I wanted to be with him. But tonight, there was no other reason.

Tonight, I wanted only him.

“Are you sure? I’m not trying to pressure—”

“Stay,” I repeated, sliding one of his hands farther down.

He didn’t need told a third time. He lifted me up again, holding me against the door with his body. Hungrily, his mouth attacked mine as his hands roamed. If he missed any part of my body this time, I didn’t know it. “As much as taking you here appeals to me—and it does—I don’t want it to be this way. Not the first time. Where’s your bedroom?”

I pointed over his shoulder. “First door on the right.”

His eyes never left mine as he carried me to my room and lowered me to the middle of my bed. With a hungry gaze, he stared down at me and pulled his shirt over his head. My eyes went to his chest. Dimly, I wondered how the material could hide so much definition. Sleek abs, strong arms, a narrow waist. I started to pull my shirt away, but his hands stopped me. “My job. I told you I work for what I want, remember?” He knelt over me, his eyes liquid fire. “Believe me, I want this.”

His fingers brushed down my sides, making me shiver. As he slid my shirt up with his hands, his mouth followed, trailing kisses along my stomach. He lifted my shirt over my head, tossed it to the floor with his, and then studied me like he could trace an outline of my body with his mind alone. My skin warmed with his stare. The way he looked at me made me feel beautiful.

He bent my legs at my knees and leaned forward to unfasten my jeans. Inch by inch, he pulled them away, then tossed them to the floor. He stood again to strip his own jeans and nearly tumbled over. “Shit. Pretend that didn’t happen.”

I couldn’t hide the grin or the giggle that escaped.

He growled. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Maybe.” I laughed again.

Shaking his head, he crawled over to me. His hand smoothed down my leg, from my knee to my thigh. He lowered himself and moved slowly up my body until his hard length pressed at my core. His hand went to my ass and he yanked me closer, stealing a moan from me. I ran my hands over his arms, back, and stomach—anything I could reach. I reveled in the feel of him. Hot, hard, and silky smooth.

He assaulted my mouth and ground against me until fire spread throughout my body. “You were saying?” he whispered.

“Was I?” I couldn’t remember. I could barely think or breathe, and when I could, all I thought of was him. All I breathed was Kale. Dark and rich.

We rolled and tumbled over the bed. Kale’s hands explored my body, grabbing, squeezing, caressing, and leaving nothing untouched. He peppered open-mouth kisses over my stomach, breasts, and neck.

When we were both naked, sweaty and breathless, he leaned over me and groaned. “I didn’t bring any condoms.”

The raw frustration in his voice made me smile. I was afraid I’d laugh again, so I just pointed to the nightstand.

“Oh, thank god,” he said with feeling. “I love a woman who’s prepared.” Reaching over me, he grabbed a condom from the drawer. He had it on in record timing and moved between my legs, wrapping them around his waist. He gazed down at me. “You’re shaking,” he said, brushing the hair from my eyes.

I didn’t really notice until he said it and I couldn’t stop it. “Nerves.”

His eyes went wide. “You’re not a—this isn’t your…you know.”

“First time? No.” Though it was close. I’d only had been with one guy before Kale, at the end of high school.

“We don’t have to do this, Ally.”

With anyone else, there would have been a plea attached to it. But there wasn’t. The concern in his tone, in his eyes, assured me of that. “I want to.”

“You sure? We can—”

“Just shut up and kiss me.”

He didn’t seem entirely convinced, but he lowered his mouth to mine in a gentle kiss. With his arms shaking, he said, “I won’t hurt you.”

I wrapped my legs around his waist. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his arms shook as he pushed against my heat. Gritting his teeth together, he rocked against me slowly, until finally, he filled me. My head fell back and his lips trailed from my neck to my breasts as he started moving inside me with slow, steady thrusts.

My hands slid over his shoulders and down the slope of his back and I made a vow to explore them more thoroughly and often. My fingers traveled down his arms. There, the muscles were hard ripples and dips, and my fingers sunk in around them.

I pushed him onto his back.

“What are you doing, Ally?”

“Exploring,” I breathed against his ear. “I work for what I want, too.” I ran my hands over his smooth, flat stomach, reveling in the ridges. Leaning over him, I nipped his strong jaw, licked along the line of his neck, and then scraped my nails lightly over his stomach. He shivered under my touch and those beautiful eyes of his closed.

His hands stroked the tops of my thighs, over my hips, around to my ass. He kneaded gently, then grabbed hard.

I gasped, closing my eyes.

He made a low, hungry sound and squeezed, making me gasp again. “That’s one of the sexiest sounds. It makes me want to grab your ass so I can hear it more.”