“This?” he asked.
“You. Hugging me.”
Closing his eyes in gratitude that Kenna was as forgiving as she was. And that she’d done what he’d asked and talked to him when she’d heard about his lie by omission, he took a moment to compose himself before he responded. “I should’ve come over last night,” he whispered.
He felt Kenna shrug. “You’re here now.”
Yes, he was. And he wouldn’t take her for granted. “I am,” he agreed. “Sleep,” he told her.
“Bossy,” she muttered.
Aleck saw the smile on her face though. He leaned over and kissed her temple and soon she was fast asleep once more.
Aleck was a man who didn’t necessarily like to sit still. He liked to be doing something at all times. But at the moment, he couldn’t think of anything he wanted or needed to do more than he needed to lie there with Kenna. There was something immensely satisfying about her trusting him enough to hold her while she slept. She was extremely vulnerable like this, but Aleck would never hurt a hair on her head. The day she’d jumped into the ocean to save him was the best day of his life, he just hadn’t known it at the time.
At seven forty-six, Kenna stirred in his arms. Aleck had dozed lightly a time or two, but mostly he’d stayed awake, just enjoying the intimacy of being with her.
She mumbled something under her breath, then her eyes opened and she looked up at him sleepily. “What time is it?”
“Almost eight,” he told her softly.
Her eyes widened. “Eight? Shit! I meant to get up an hour ago.”
Aleck held her tight when her body tensed as if she was going to leap up. Not that there would’ve been much leaping out of the beanbag.
“Easy, babe. It’s fine. We’ve got three hours to browse the market.”
“But the good stuff’ll be gone,” she sighed, settling back against him.
Her T-shirt had risen up while she slept, and Aleck could feel her bare legs against his own. But he wasn’t feeling horny, exactly, just wildly content.
“You okay about last night?” he asked gently.
Kenna sighed, and Aleck felt her warm breath against his neck above his shirt. Goose bumps broke out on his nape. It was a surprising reaction, but he merely smiled.
“I keep thinking about what might be happening today. His wife said she wasn’t pressing charges, so the cops probably had to let him go.”
“If he was drunk, they could’ve decided to keep him until he sobered up,” Aleck suggested.
“Maybe. But I can’t imagine he’d be any happier whenever he was finally released to go back home. I hope he doesn’t take out his anger on his wife or son.”
“Do you see that kind of thing a lot?” Aleck asked.
“Not really. I mean, in public, people are usually on their best behavior. And it’s Hawaii and most are on vacation.”
“Which in itself can bring out a lot of stress sometimes,” Aleck noted.
“True. I’m thankful though that Alani and the rest of management is supportive of us making a judgement call and calling the cops if we think it’s necessary,” Kenna said.
“Me too,” Aleck said.
Kenna lifted her head and met Aleck’s gaze. “Thank you for talking to me last night. I needed that.”
“Of course. As long as I’m around, I’ll always pick up when you call, no matter what time it is or when you need to talk. And this is probably way too soon, but fuck it. Before too long, I’d like to be there in person to discuss your night.”
Aleck mentally kicked himself when she didn’t immediately answer. He held his breath as he waited for her response.
“I think I want that too,” she said quietly.
Aleck smiled. He brought his hand up and ran it over her hair before sliding it under the messy locks, gripping the back of her neck.
“I love when you do that,” she said, her eyelids drooping.
“Do what?” he asked as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
“Hold me by the nape,” she told him.
Making a mental note to do so as often as possible, he kissed her nose. Then her cheek. Then he brushed his lips against hers lightly. Teasing her. Enjoying the intimacy of the moment.
When she squirmed against him and grumbled under her breath in frustration because he refused to deepen the kiss, Aleck smiled. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“Kiss me already,” she ordered.
“With pleasure,” Aleck said. He tightened his hold on her so she couldn’t pull away—not that he thought she’d do so—and dropped his head once more. This time there was no more teasing. His tongue immediately sought entry to her mouth, which she granted.
She tasted slightly of mint from when she’d brushed her teeth earlier, and he savored each tiny moan as their tongues dueled erotically. Her hands eased under his shirt beneath the blanket, and his nipples immediately hardened. He only had one hand free because he wasn’t about to let go of her nape, especially now that he knew how much she liked it when he held her possessively, but he eased it down her body, making sure she was all right with his touch before moving further.
When she arched against him, he ran his hand up her bare thigh, then her side.
She squirmed against him and mumbled, “Ticklish,” before taking his lips once more.
Some men might have taken advantage of her ticklishness, but he didn’t want to make her laugh right that moment. He wanted her to moan even more.
So he moved his hand from her side to her belly. He was tempted to ease it down, under the elastic of her panties, but instead shifted it upward. Not willing to tease her, or himself, Aleck boldly palmed her breast, and they both moaned. Kenna pulled her head back and arched harder into him.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He gave her another squeeze, then flicked her hard nipple with his fingernail. To his surprise, she reciprocated, doing the same to his own nipple.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
He saw the satisfied smile on Kenna’s face and freaking loved that she wasn’t just lying docile against him. She was just as into this as he was.
He removed his hand to throw the blanket back, ignoring her pout. Then he ventured back under her shirt, the pout fading as he began to tease her nipple once more. Her own hand had stilled, as if her brain had short-circuited. He was all right with that. He wanted to please her more than he wanted or needed to be taken care of. She would come first. Always.
“That feels amazing,” Kenna whispered.
Shifting so he was hovering above her now, Aleck still didn’t remove his hand from her nape. His thumb brushed back and forth over the sensitive skin there, as he did his best to arouse her with his other hand.
Her nails dug into his chest, and it turned him on even more. His cock was as hard as it had ever been, but he didn’t spare a moment to do anything about it. This was all for her. His woman had a hard night, and he wanted to help make it better.
He lowered his head and suckled her nipple, biting and nipping through the wet cotton of her shirt.
“Oh my God, yes,” Kenna said.
Then she delighted the shit out of him by reaching for the hem of her shirt and pulling it to her chin, exposing herself fully.
For a second, Aleck was struck dumb. She was so fucking beautiful. Her round tits sat high and firm on her chest, her pink nipples beckoning. Her hand went to the back of his head and she gripped his hair, pulling him down to her chest.