“That he is.”
“And the things he was saying were particularly interesting.”
“Are you going to make me beg you to tell me what lies he was spewing?” I asked.
“Lies? I highly doubt that he said anything untruthful.” The smile playing at the corner of her mouth was driving me insane.
All I wanted to do was kiss it right off her face. I was having an increasingly hard time keeping my hands to myself. “What did he say?”
The elevator doors dinged open.
She walked in backward so she could keep her eyes trained on mine. “That you’re madly, desperately, insanely in love with me.”
The doors started to close and I quickly hopped in, closing the distance between us. She stepped to the side, trying to move away from me. But I kept advancing until her back was pressed against the side of the elevator. I couldn’t even be mad at Tanner. Because Kennedy was looking up at me like she felt the same way I did. Her chest rising and falling faster and faster as she stared into my eyes.
“And how did that make you feel?” I asked.
“Terrified.”
I swallowed hard. “Are you scared of me, Kennedy?” I reached out and touched the side of her face. “Or of what we could be?”
“It’s just…what if Tanner’s right? What if it was always supposed to be me and you? And it just took us some time to find our way to each other?”
I knew Tanner had a meddling hand in that. But I believed it too. She was standing here in front of me for a reason. There was a reason I couldn’t stop smiling for the first time in years. There was a reason why it had been easier to breathe since Kennedy had come back into my life. There was a reason for all of this. There had to be.
My fingers slid to the side of her neck. “What can I do to make you feel less scared?”
She stared at me. “I don’t know.”
“Would it help if I told you I might have a way out of this thing with Poppy? I’m meeting up with a friend tonight.” Since when had I considered Nigel a friend? “He has connections all over the city. If anyone can help me dig up dirt on Poppy, it’s him. I’m going to keep Scarlett safe. And I’m going to get to be with you. You have my word.”
“Well…” she bit the inside of her lip as she looked up at me. “I mean, I guess that makes me feel a little less scared.”
“What else?”
She didn’t say a word.
I smiled at her. “It seems like all you really want is for me to get down on my knees and beg you for information tonight.”
She laughed as I got down on my knees in front of her. I leaned forward and kissed the inside of her thigh, right beneath the hem of her skirt. Her smile faded and her lips parted with a sigh that made me instantly hard.
I kissed a fraction of an inch higher. “Tell me what you want,” I whispered against her thigh. I’d been trying to go slow for her. A whole life of one-night stands made it difficult. I’d been dreaming of this moment. Waiting for her to say she was ready.
She didn’t say a word as I kissed higher, pushing her skirt up her hips.
“Tell me what you need.” I kissed higher still. “Or tell me to stop.” I ran my thumb along the front of her lacy thong. “Just say the words and I’ll stop, baby.”
“Please don’t stop.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
I slowly pushed her thong to the side, letting my thumb brush against her clit.
She shuddered.
“Do you ever touch yourself when you think of me?” I whispered as I slid my index finger along her wetness.
“Yes,” she moaned.
“I thought about you last night when I had my hand wrapped around my cock. About how your lips would feel wrapped around me. Have you thought about my lips on you?”
She gripped the back of my head, pulling me closer.
I took that as another yes. I leaned forward and tasted her for the first time. Fuck. She was so wet for me. I pulled one of her legs over my shoulder to get better access to her. And I tasted and tasted until she was practically shaking in my arms.
The elevator doors started to open. Kennedy stepped away from me. But instead of running out of the elevator she hit the doors closed button. And then hit the emergency button.
I stared at her. With random women, this would normally be the moment I fucked them. Where I told them to turn around and put their hands against the wall. Where I’d try to focus on them for a few minutes instead of the woman who haunted my dreams every night.
But Kennedy wasn’t most women. And she’d be the only one in my dreams tonight. I wanted her to feel safe with me. I wanted her to know that I’d take care of her. Always. I stepped forward, caging her against the wall as I kissed her.
“It’s impossible to resist you,” she said against my lips.
“How hard have you been trying?”
“Really freaking hard, Matt.”
I would have stopped there, just kissing her, but I couldn’t resist going a little further. She’d let me taste her. And I wanted to make her come. I wanted to hear her moan my name. I needed to remind her that we weren’t just friends.
“Spread your legs for me,” I whispered into her ear.
She did as she was told.
I slid one finger inside of her and then another, a whimper escaping from her lips. “I want you to come for me.” I ran my thumb along her clit. “And I’m going to make you come like this as many times as it takes for you to trust me.” I kissed the side of her neck. “Only with my fingers. And my tongue. Until you’re ready for more.”
“Matt.”
“Until you’re the one kneeling before me begging me for more.” I kissed her hard as her fingers dug into the back of my neck. “Come for me, baby.” I pressed my thumb down on her clit. I felt her tighten around my fingers as her whole body shuddered.
And she chanted my name like I’d just caught a touchdown pass. God I loved hearing her moan my name like that. I ignored the raging erection in my pants as I slowly pulled my fingers out from beneath her skirt.
She was breathing hard. “You.”
I had no idea what she was talking about. So I just stared at her flushed cheeks and mussed up hair. She looked appropriately sated. And I’d be picturing her just like this when I dreamt about her tonight.
“To answer your questions from earlier. About what I need? What I want?” Her eyes searched mine. “You. I think I’ve needed you for years. But I was scared you didn’t need me back.”
“I need you back.”
“As soon as you figure out the Poppy thing? I’ll be waiting for you, Matt.”
I smiled. “To be continued?”
She hit the button to open the doors and then pressed a soft kiss against my lips. “To be continued. Hopefully soon,” she said with a smile. “And next time, I get to please you.” She walked out of the elevator, knowing perfectly well how she’d left me dying for her.
I shifted my erection in my pants, hoping to hide it from the concierge at the front desk. I didn’t make eye contact with him as I hurried outside.
But apparently I’d done a bad job of hiding my erection, because Nigel was waiting for me outside and his eyes traveled right down to my tenting pants.