I did agree with him that being near my job would be easier, but with the quickness that our relationship has progressed, it’s important for me to be able to have a place of my own. Not to get away from him, but rather to give us a little sense of normalcy in his abnormal world.
Maybe I’m being a little timid, pulling away without completely doing so to make sure he doesn’t get sick of me being around, but when I really think about it I know I’m making the right decision. We will never be able to date normally. The long period of time when couples go out, get to know each other, and then enter a relationship of love happened in a month for us. Because of his celebrity status, we kept our dating to catered dinners, private screenings of movies not yet released, and hours upon hours of talking. We basically condensed six months of speed dating into just weeks. Because of that, I know I need this space—well, space without real space—to put a little reality into the mix.
The brisk knock on my door makes me jump and let out a little scream of surprise. I had been too busy daydreaming and had lost track of time.
Walking over to the door, I make quick work of the locks and swing the door open. I don’t even get a second to enjoy the view of Kane filling my doorway before his arms are coming around me, lifting me with his hands on my rear, and pushing me into the closest wall. I hear the door slam just before his lips crash to mine.
“I missed you,” he rasps against my lips before kissing a blazing path down my neck.
“You just saw me yesterday morning.” I laugh, fisting his shirt in my hands when the warm heat of his mouth pulls at the bottom of my ear. “But if this is how you tell me hello, we can do this again.”
He makes a rumbling sound of protest and bites my sensitive lobe while rocking his hips into mine.
“Kane?”
He shakes his head and continues to assault my neck in kisses.
“Kane, please.” My hoarse whisper comes out desperate and weak.
His head comes up; those brilliant blue eyes hit mine, and my whole body shudders with the force of his need. His thick hair, blackened with the dim lighting where we stand, looks like he’s been running his fingers through it all day. The stubble on his jaw makes him look even more rugged than normal, but it highlights the sharpness of his features making him look even more handsome.
“I need you,” I tell him. “I can’t wait anymore, Kane, and if you push me away again, it might just kill me. I need you that badly.”
I watch, with satisfaction, as his eyes darken and his jaw slacks with my forwardness. He starts to protest, but I push my hands from their resting place around his neck and slide my fingers into his hair, pulling him to my mouth.
Without letting our lips touch, I keep my eyes trained on his and demand, “I can feel how much you want me, Kane. Stop denying it and take me. All of me.”
His throat works and rapid breaths fan from his thick lips. “I would never deny that I want you, Willow. I’ve wanted nothing more than to sink my cock into your body for weeks, but I have to know you want this just as much as I do. I wasn’t denying you to be cruel, baby. That’s the last thing I wanted to do. I was trying to go slow, give you time, and not rush you into something you might not be ready for.”
“I’ve been ready, Kane. So ready I’m about to go mad.”
“You aren’t scared?”
I push my head back slightly so I can study his face better. The pieces of the puzzle I had lacked finally coming together. He hasn’t been pushing me away; he’s been making sure I wouldn’t regret anything. Letting me learn to walk in this newfound confidence before I could run without abandon. He was letting me heal.
“I needed to know you were ready, and it wasn’t something you were doing because you thought I wanted it, or because it was something I expected. I had to make sure you knew this wasn’t just about a quick fuck, Willow. It’s killed me, burned my gut to turn you away, but baby, I had to.”
My eyes burn with emotion, but thankfully, no tears rush forward. “And I love you even more for that, but listen to me when I tell you I’m beyond that point. I’m so far past it that if you don’t take me right now, I’m going to tie you up and take you myself.”
His jaw moves, clenches, and his whole body trembles at my words. Yes, thank God is all I can think when his mouth crashes against mine. His head lifts and I see him look around, searching for the way to my bed. Before I can point, his mouth is plundering mine as he stomps toward the open doorway of my bedroom. The light, much brighter than the dim hallway by my front door, washes over us. For the first time, the thought of sex with the lights on doesn’t terrify me. I don’t care if my boobs bounce too much or the soft skin around my stomach jiggles as much as my butt does. I want the light because I wouldn’t be able to see how much this man loves every single one of those things that I used to hate without it. I would miss the way his eyes burn in hunger when he follows the path of his hands down my curves. And most importantly, I would miss the look of rapture when he finally comes inside my body.