Pursuing Korah (Intoxicating Passion #4) (3 page)

I didn’t know Cale well enough but I thought he felt the same. He kept coming back, so that was something. I reminded myself to ask Dane about it. He’d said they were best friends and frat brothers, so he must know something.

My voice was coming back to me. It had been two weeks since the incident, and therapy happened five days a week. It hurt at first, but it wasn’t as difficult now. I sounded like an eighty year old smoker, though, and I disliked it. Dane was with me every day and there was no way he could think my scratchy, irritating voice was sexy. I often pondered why he spent so much time with me, if he truly cared, but then days like today happened and it shone a new light on Dane Davidson.

“I played football,” he said as he lay at the foot of my bed, arms resting behind his head as I leaned against the headboard.

He’d decided we needed to know more about one another, so we started with our childhoods and were slowly making our way to the present tense. It was fun, though at times made us both uncomfortable.

“Were you a whore then?” I squeaked out.

“No,” he said pointedly, giving me one of his Dane looks. “I told you before. I fell in love in high school. She cheated on me. I changed.” His eyes held a distant pain, and he gazed away from me. He was remembering.

It hurt me to see him like this. He blamed himself for a lot of things, though he would never admit it. “What was your favorite subject?” I asked, swiftly changing directions.

He turned to his side, propping on his elbow. “Science. It’s always been my thing.”

I nodded. “Cool. Tell me more about you, I’m out of questions at this point,” I stated. Three days of this and I really was drawing a blank. I cleared my throat, something I did at least twenty times a day. Having messed up vocal cords wasn’t fun at all.

“I don’t talk to anyone from high school anymore, I don’t like peas, and I think you’re the most beautiful, sexy girl I’ve ever met,” he smiled, slowly crawling up the bed to me.

“Oh?” I questioned, feeling the heat rise on my cheeks. Since the night we took a shower together, Dane had been on his best behavior. He kissed me often, but never took it further. He stopped by, hung out, and was acting decent, considering what I knew of his reputation.

It made me want him more.

He nodded, smiling seductively. “Yeah,” he whispered when his face was inches from mine. He leaned in, securing my head in his hand and pressed his lips to mine. The passion we shared was undeniable, and each kiss, every touch sent me to oblivion. He kissed me deeper, our tongues dancing as his other hand roamed my body.

I wanted him, I needed him. I prayed it happened today.

Twisting my fingers in his hair, I pulled him until he was over me. His free hand tugged on my shirt, moving it up so he was free to touch and tease my skin. His lips moved to my jaw, then left light kisses across my throat. It was no longer black, but still slightly bruised. I couldn’t wait until it was gone so he could kiss and bite me like I wanted him to.

His hand freed me of my shirt, then my bra, his head replacing his eager hand on my breast. I arched and urged him for more, pulling the back of his shirt up so he could free himself.

Soon, we were bare, our flushed bodies urgent for each other. He continued his taunting, his lips kissing every inch of my body, while my hands caressed every inch of his in turn. We played until we both were panting for breath, both of us on the brink of insanity from need.

He hovered above me, dipping his head so our noses were touching and slid in, his delicious eyes not looking away while he moved within me. My nails found his shoulder, my lips found his neck. I touched and lightly scratched his skin with each thrust, my moans growing as loud as my voice allowed.

Our urgency from earlier made release come quickly. Dane pressed his forehead to mine, our eyes deeply connected while our bodies were washed in ecstasy. I cried his name and he covered my mouth with his, drowning out my raspy voice with a long, sensuous kiss.

We lay tangled in each other, our sweaty bodies slick to the touch, our chests heaving to catch our breaths. He finally moved off me, pulling me close, pressing me to his chest and wrapping his arm around me.

“You are amazing, Korah. I don’t know what it is, but you turn me on so much,” he murmured into my hair.

I smiled, snuggling against his skin. “It’s the same with you. Remember the Halloween party?”

He chuckled, “How could I forget?”

I peered up, resting my chin on his shoulder. “I’ve never done that with some random guy before. You are only the second man I’ve…been with.” I didn’t know why I was telling him this, but I couldn’t seem to stop my mouth from pouring secrets. “Christopher was the only other one, and if you can believe it, he liked sex to be really rough.”

He studied me, his hand lightly drawing circles on my back, sending chills down my spine. “Korah, I’m so sorry you got caught up with him. I wish…I….” he stuttered. “I wish you’d never met him. I can’t stand the thought of a man hurting a woman, but knowing he hurt you stirs this anger in me. I don’t like it.”

I knew how he felt. I contained a similar anger, and for a long time it consumed me. Leela’s speech finally pulled me out of it. “I know.”

“Let’s not talk about him anymore,” he smirked, grabbing my leg and tugging until I was settled on top of him.

His fingers lightly brushed against my thigh and I felt him growing hard. “Again? Already?”

“I told you, you turn me on,” he growled. His fingers glided over my breasts, pulling and squeezing my nipples as his hips arched upward, urging me to slide on him.

I stayed as I was for longer than I wanted, but seeing him mad with lust for me was exciting. Desire took over, and I lifted enough to bring us together again. It was as amazing as the times before, our bodies were made for one another. We moved as one, pleasure taking over, leaving us drunk on lust. Or was it love?

I wasn’t sure.

We spent the rest of the day wrapped up in bed together. Talking, laughing, and giving in to our desires. Dane wasn’t anything like I expected. His true nature was often hidden behind his tough guy facade. He seemed to have lost his way during the years he tortured himself over a broken heart from his mother, then his ex-girlfriend.

Still not sure how I broke through his defenses, I kept being just Korah. His sarcastic nature made me giggle, while his attractive looks drove me insane with hunger for him and only him. I’d never knew this kind of passion. It left me aching for more. I longed for it like an addict, needing Dane’s kiss, his touch, to curb my cravings.

We were famished by the time our bellies reminded us to eat, so we threw on clothing long enough to make snack foods; popcorn, chicken tenders, and peanut butter sandwiches. We set up our
buffet
in my room, turning on a movie and settling in. Once we replenished our energy, the movie was forgotten, and once again we were lost in one another.

Chapter Five-Dane

My demons haunted me day and night, sneaking in my mind, taking control, and showering me with doubt. Uncertainty was a scary beast, rearing its ugly head at the most inopportune times. Never had I been one to deal with feelings and emotions and everything I’d suppressed for all these years.

Korah was getting under my skin. I thought of her often, more than often, really. Her beautiful face danced in my mind, her voice sung me a lullaby. My dreams starred her, as well as my nightmares. She was an unstoppable force in my life.

I needed distance.

“Dane,” Cale said loudly, waving his hands in front of my face. “What is your problem?”

“Nothing.”

“I asked you how Korah was,” he said expectantly. His brows furrowed while his gaze settled on my eyes. “Something you wanna talk about?”

I shook my head. Talking wasn’t something I did. I was talking too much lately. I needed to stop. “Up for a basketball game?”

His thumb jerked toward the window. “It’s twenty degrees outside.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot you were a pussy and couldn’t go out in the cold. Hang on, Grandma, let me get you a shawl,” I smirked, jumping up from my seat in our living area. My frustrations must be released in one form or another. A nice, friendly game sounded like the perfect plan. Maybe if I was extra taunting, I could convince Jack to join.

“Asshole. Let me go change,” he said, rolling his eyes. He scurried away, flipping me off as he bound up the stairs.

Our frat house wasn’t as active as it usually was. People weren’t coming and going as much as in the summer, so our boredom scales tipped unfavorably more often than not. Something about the cold, dreary months made us all turn into hermits. The regularly active and social guys from the house now stayed holed up in their room or some chick’s room.

It was disturbing.

The stairs squeaked under my feet as I pounded up the steps. Not paying attention, my shoulder bumped into Jack as he descended.

“Watch it, jackass,” he snarled.

I pushed him forcefully with my shoulder, causing him to stumble back against the bannister. “You watch it.”

“Dane, Leela called and said Korah was going out,” Cale yelled from his room, gaining a gleefully devious grin over Jack’s face.

“K,” I replied, not tearing my gaze from the idiot in front of me. He was such a stupid ass, a complete and total waste to society. I still didn’t know how he managed to pledge.

“Is Korah your newest whore?” he asked, hurling his body forward, getting closer than I liked. “I didn’t know you knew their names…or gave out your phone number. Does she spread her legs extra well or something?”

Jabbing my finger in his chest, I poked him hard. “Don’t talk about her.”

He smirked, “Why not? Don’t tell me you have feelings for this one?”

“I’m not talking to you about this,” I said, turning to walk away.

He cackled behind me. “Do you think I could have a turn on her when you’re done? I don’t usually like your leftovers but she must be a wildcat to have you so riled up. Is she extra flexible? Or does she give good head or something? Tell me, Dane.”

Shaking with anger, I turned quickly, pushing him away from me. “Shut your damned mouth about her. You aren’t getting anywhere near her.”

He snarled, “Oh, yeah. I will. I’ll really enjoy sinking into her, having her call my name. I’ll bet she’ll enjoy me more than she does you.”

I reacted before I could think. I shoved him as hard as I could. The bannister cracked against his weight and split. We were more than half way up the stairs, so his fall wasn’t too long, but unexpected. He flung his arms out, reaching for help, but I let him go. He yelled as he flew through the air and landed with a loud thump and a groan. Cale came running, screaming my name as he appeared. His mouth fell open when he saw the broken wood and heard Jack below.

“What happened?” he asked, stopping beside me.

“He was talking shit about Korah.” I didn’t feel sorrow over him, I didn’t care if he was hurt. I heard the brothers down there calling an ambulance and helping him up, but none of it resonated with me. He talked badly about Korah and I reacted.

Probably not in the best way.

“Dane, he’ll probably press charges,” Cale hissed in my ear.

I shrugged, watching the scene below unfold. He whimpered and whined, in true Jack fashion, always wanting someone to feel sorry for him.

I hoped he broke his arm. And his leg. Maybe his head.

“Dane, you can’t just be nonchalant about this. It’s serious. Leela told me you’re in trouble with that asshat that hurt Korah already. You don’t need more legal issues.”

He had a point, of course, because Cale was always reasonable. “I’ll get a lawyer.”

He sighed beside me. “Alright. You might wanna at least go check on his sorry ass so you don’t look like it was intentional.” He gave me a pointed look like a pissed off Dad telling me to go clean my room.

I locked my jaw and nodded, racing down the steps two at a time. Did I want to check on him, or worse, apologize? No way. My desire to not go to jail won over my pride. I stood a few feet away from the group, hands deep in pockets and watched the girls that were in the house fawn all over him.

I bet he enjoyed that. The only action he’d get this year, probably.

“You ok, Jack?” I called over. I tried my damnedest to sound concerned about his wellbeing.

I was pretty sure I failed.

He growled from the chair he was slumped in, giving me an evil glare. “Seriously? You pushed me.”

His statement earned surprised gasps from the ever growing crowd. I heard Cale clear his throat behind me and knew I needed to make this right.

“I didn’t mean to make you fall. You were getting in my face, Jack. You need to remember the whole story,” I said through clenched teeth. Staying calm was difficult, if not impossible at this point. I felt my heart beating faster and imagined my blood pressure skyrocketing.

“No, you got pissed about some chick and you pushed me and kept pushing me until the bannister broke.” His eyes narrowed and while everyone stared at me, he gave me a wink.

I wanted to crush his face.

Cale grabbed my arm, holding me back, and answered jackass Jack. “I was listening while I got dressed. Jack, you were taunting him about Korah and kept on until he reacted. I don’t think for one minute he pushed you over on purpose.”

A brother standing near, Dave, asked, “Did you see anything, Cale?”

“No, I ran in as he was falling but I couldn’t get to him quick enough.”

“So no one knows for sure. Dane says he taunted him, but Jack is sitting here with injuries—probably a broken arm. Seems a little iffy to me,” Dave said, giving me a once over. His eyes judged and chided me, making me feel lower than low.

“I wouldn’t do that to anyone, even someone as mean as Jack. It was an accident. This house is old, the wood was probably weak. The stairs squeak for God’s sake! Come on,” I yelled.

“See, he has an anger problem!” Jack exclaimed, holding his arm across his chest and his leg with the free hand.

The ambulance pulled up about the time everyone turned to glare at me again. The EMT’s loaded Jack up as he went on and on about how much pain he was in. Everyone seemed to fall for his act as he was wheeled away. The cop car outside waited until the ambulance left before parking in front of the house.