Kane Richards Must Die (11 page)

K
ane carried on kissing me, our mouths moving against each other heatedly. Kane moved his tongue gently against mine and I shivered in his arms. As he hummed against my lips, the kisses transformed into slow, soft and gentle pecks. I opened my eyes and found his closed, his forehead no longer wrinkled with that crease of pain that I had seen when he swung open the door. When he opened his eyes, they were red and puffy, his hair in wild disarray.

“Suranne,” he whispered against my lips. He sighed softly before kissing my mouth again, cupping my face gently in his hands, brushing my cheeks, and winding his hand in my hair. Our breathing became panting, and he pulled away for oxygen, resting his forehead against mine. Our lips barely touched and our breaths bounced against each other’s.

“You came,” he murmured gently. His full red lips twitched into a small smile, then disappeared almost as quickly. His eyes flashed with worry. “How much did she tell you?” he asked hoarsely, pulling away. I stood, blinking at him, stunned by his sudden change in behaviour, but I stepped forward and grasped his hands firmly in mine, locking my gaze on his deep chocolate-brown eyes.

“I don’t care about what she said, Kane. She’s not important to us.” I raised an eyebrow, waiting for confirmation about the last part. He nodded slowly and I sighed in relief as he pulled me close once more, pressing a soft kiss against my hair then resting his head atop of mine.

“Where’s your family?” I mumbled into his chest, feeling it vibrate with his humourless chuckle before his smooth voice rang against my ears.

“Who knows where my mom is. Probably on the streets, buying as much alcohol as possible and consuming it all before she gets back, knowing I’d take it from her and throw it the hell away.”

I hugged him more tightly and wondered how he and his sister managed. I didn’t know much about Ashley, he only mentioned her briefly yesterday at the park when he was telling me about his father’s plane crash.

“Ashley’s at her friend’s. She tends to stay away more these days. I don’t blame her.” He sighed wearily, and I pressed a kiss against his shirt-covered skin, then looked up, propping my chin against his firm chest. His arms wrapped more tightly around my waist.

“It’s not your fault, Kane. You’re only seventeen; you can’t be expected to handle everything.” His face warmed as he looked down at me, his swirling brown eyes melting my concentration, burning intensely into my own. Ducking his head, he pressed his soft lips to mine lightly, lingering there for a second before pulling away. His expression changed into one of anticipation and excited eagerness; his eyes burned brightly with some new idea.

“Come on, I wanna show you something.” He grinned briefly and grasped my hand and pulled me into the direction of the stairs. I quickly craned my head to look around his house, shocked that I hadn’t realised how beautiful it was. The furniture was all soft chocolate and cream colours, and the kitchen countertops were a shiny, sleek black between modern appliances.

“You have a nice home,” I muttered as he hastily pulled me up the stairs. He chuckled and thanked me briefly as we approached a door which I assumed led to his room. He pushed it open and dragged me in, not letting go until we were planted in the middle. My eyes widened as I took in his personal space. A large king-sized bed was pressed up against the eastern wall with sheets, from what I could make out, of black silk. A flat-screen TV was attached to the western wall facing his bed. He stood beside me smirking, watching my reaction as my eyes travelled around the room. He ducked his head to whisper softly in my ear.

“Turn around, baby.”

I shivered as his words sent tingles down my spine and heard him breathe a quiet laugh at my reaction. I slowly turned, taking a deep breath in preparation for whatever it was that he wanted to show me. When my eyes finally met the object in the corner of the room, partially hidden behind his door, I gasped loudly and covered my mouth.

“Kane . . .” I whispered, too numb to move. A beautiful, sleek Baldwin R1 medium-sized grand piano stared back at me, the inner lining of bright gold merging with the shiny black exterior. The mahogany slide covered the keys and my whole being ached to push it up.

“I know,” he murmured softly into the silent air surrounding us, and then he once again took my hand and brought me over to the extraordinary instrument, pulling out the leather bench and sitting down, patting the space next to him. I tentatively sat next to him, silently waiting for him to lift the sliding cover. I released a shaky breath when he did, and the startlingly white keys screamed back at me, contrasting with the smaller black keys between them, begging to be played.

“May I?” I asked softly, reaching my hand out, waiting for his approval.

“Of course.”

I smoothly stroked the keys, relishing the cool ivory through my warm fingertips, and gently played an A chord. My eyes closed as the melancholy sound ricocheted against the walls of Kane’s room. I opened them and situated my fingers, starting to gently play the right hand of Yiruma’s
River Flows in You
. I wasn’t able to reach the left-hand keys with Kane next to me, but enjoyed the tinkling sound all the same. Kane quickly lifted his left hand and added the accompaniment as I carried on playing through the first couple of bars. I smiled at him as we continued playing the gentle tune together, though I sometimes missed a key when my eyes focused on Kane’s long, slender fingers moving with a grace I had never attained. He would smirk arrogantly, and I would blush, knowing that he had caught me looking. I sighed as we finished the song, Kane shifting to play the last chord, letting it ring out and shimmer against our ears.

“You play well, mostly,” he chuckled, and pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek.

“Thanks . . . so do you.” He then graced me with his sexy, crooked grin, his eyes bright with warm emotion as he gazed back at me. His lips parted, and he sucked in a quick breath “Suranne
. . . I . . .” he trailed off, his eyes burning down into mine, trapping me in his stare, and I felt paralysed.

“You what?” I breathed, my heart flipping in my chest and my breathing becoming heavier as the intensity of his stare evoked in the pit of my stomach an uncontrollable burning desire I had never felt before. It spread through me, mainly occupying my heart, but expanding slowly through my veins with every beat.

Kane broke eye contact and sighed, running his hand through his hair and gripping it tightly, muttering to himself too quietly for me to hear. I could only distinguish a few words.

“… her . . . too much . . . just say it . . . shit.”

I grinned at his adorable discomfort and placed a gentle hand on his face, curving it to fit perfectly against his cheek. He brought his attention back to me, and I immediately saw the tension dissipate from his features. Whatever it was that he wanted to tell me, it seemed to have been forgotten for the moment.

He leaned towards me and brought his lips within an inch of mine, obliterating my senses. I could almost taste his lips as they turned up into a small smile.

“Let me play something for you . . .” he whispered, pressing his lips gently against mine, parting them minutely and running the tip of his tongue against my lower lip. The sensation of his wet tongue caused me to shiver and breathe a light moan. He pulled away and winked at me, turning back to the piano, his hands hovering over the keys. He lowered them and pressed gently, and I recognised the song straight away. I smiled broadly as his fingers continued gliding swiftly over the keys. He bowed his head in concentration as the delicately sweet notes of
Kiss the Rain
filtered through the air.

He looked down at me briefly, and I saw his eyes laced with a hint of sadness, or disappointment, and I frowned, trying to guess the reason he would be sad. His hands continued to sweep over the keys, the beautiful music filling the room as his eyes continued to burn into mine.

“Listen, Suranne,” he murmured, his voice strained.

“I am,” I replied softly, smiling as the song reached the bridge and his hands went further down the keys to play the chords an octave lower. He shook his head lightly, and his eyes flicked back to the piano slightly, then back to me.

“No, Suranne. Listen.”

I closed my eyes and let my body open up to the music as Kane pressed more heavily on the chords, the deep bass bleeding through the room and vibrating in every fibre of my body as if communicating some underlying message. As he weaved back through the first half, the light notes tinkled against my ears, wrapping around me, consuming me. All I could hear, and all I was, in that moment was the music. I felt emotion swell through me, so strong and intense that it knocked me breathless. Is
this
what Kane had meant when he told me to listen? Is this what he wanted me to feel? This. . . Love?

His
love?

I gasped and snapped my eyes open, only to be met with the most intense pair of brown eyes imaginable. Kane had never stared at me like this, and his playing faltered, lacing the room with eerie silence as he continued to gaze at me, the bright chocolate of his eyes swirling and burning ferociously into mine. My skin burst into flames and my breathing hitched as my heart began to pump a burning desire through my veins.

“Kane,” I whispered, my skin blazing under his stare as his eyes dragged over my body, his chest rising heavily, and his tongue sweeping lazily over his lower lip. His gaze fluttered from my eyes, to my lips, to my hair, to my neck before going back over my body. I shivered and closed my eyes as my breathing became heavier and my desire to have him touch me increased tenfold.

“Suranne.” His hoarse voice assaulted my ears and I slowly met his gaze, gasping once again as his eyes stared back at mine, his hair even messier in that sexy, unruly way. I couldn’t handle the space between us for much longer.

“Get over here,” I murmured, and his lips smashed against my own before I could finish my sentence. I fisted my hands in his hair, gripping tightly as our mouths attacked each other. He groaned and slid his hands over my ribs, down my waist, and gripped my hips firmly. This unrecognisable, untameable feeling I felt coursing through me only increased with every movement of his lips against my own, and all of a sudden all I could think in my head was more.

More, more, more
.

“More,” I panted. He pulled away from my lips, his own breathing laboured as he peppered kisses along my neck. I tilted my head to give him better access, sighing at the sensation of his lips against my skin. The familiar tingles shooting through every bit of skin his lips touched and the thirsty raging desire I felt within me were becoming too much to handle.

I whimpered and gripped his hair more tightly. “
More
,” I pleaded. He lifted me off the bench, and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. It was evident that he wanted more just as much as I did. He pushed his lips back against my own as he blindly shuffled towards his bed and our tongues swirled deliciously. After a few seconds we dropped, Kane falling on top of me, my desire still raging through my veins and I grabbed his shirt, ripping it open; the sound of his buttons bouncing off the floor echoed against the walls.

He broke the kiss and chuckled lightly, panting for air and pulling away to undo his belt buckle. He dropped his jeans and launched himself back at me, his hands roaming over my chest and torso. I sucked his lower lip between my teeth and bit down causing him to groan loudly and curse as he fumbled with my sweater before he yanked it over my head and tossed it across the room.

Our loud breathing filled the room as he pulled off my jeans and discarded my bra so it joined my sweater on his bedroom floor.

“Suranne,” he moaned, trailing his eyes, black with lust, over my body. He lowered himself on top of me and stroked my face softly, his eyes dark and burning, but not just with want. There was something else, something stronger and intensifying as he carried on focusing on my face.

“You’re beautiful,” he muttered and dipped his head to brush his lips softly against mine, before trailing them to my cheek, across my jaw, and down my neck. His lips left a burning trail against my skin as he carried on his journey downwards.

After a moment, he sat back and I ran my hand down his chest, fingering the firm muscles of his abdomen and watching them twitch under my touch as he released a shaky breath.

I became nervous from his intense stare, and self-consciously attempted to close my legs, but his hands firmly gripped them, stopping my actions.

“Don’t . . . don’t hide from me, Suranne.” His hoarse voice caused me to close my eyes and shiver.

His eyes quickly darted to his bedside table’s drawer where he pulled out protection. Then, bending forward, he kissed me sweetly, his tongue sweeping across my lips. He carried on kissing me gently, but my desire for him was too strong, and my head was once again filled with that one-word chant.

More, more, more.

He seemed to get the message, massaging my knees with his hands before situating himself against me. I held my breath and closed my eyes, preparing for the sense of being filled, of being completed.

But there was nothing.

I opened my eyes and found Kane staring at me, his face masked in worry, his eyes seeming desperate.

“What’s wrong?” I asked breathlessly.

“I’m afraid, Suranne,” he choked, his voice tight.

I ran my hand up his arm, across his shoulders and back down his chest. “Afraid of what?” I asked softly.

“I don’t
want
it to be the same. I
really
don’t want it to be like the others.” He breathed, his face screwing up even more, and his eyes becoming glassy with worry. I frowned at him, tilting my head in confusion. He sighed and dropped his head.

“The other chicks were meaningless. A distraction. Once I was done, I left,” he murmured gently. Then his head lifted, and his eyes locked with my own, flaring with emotion as he continued to speak.