He closes the distance between us and places his hands on my waist. He drops a quick kiss on my lips, picks me up, and deposits me on the counter. Standing between my legs, he nuzzles the delicate skin on my throat with his nose and mouth, leaving what will surely be scruff burn on my neck.
“My home is your home.” He says it so quietly I almost don’t catch it. I did catch though. I definitely caught it. Taking his face in my hands, I kiss him. Talking is going to have to wait.
I peel his shirt over his head and the sight of his happy trail has me so worked up, I slide off the counter and drop to my knees. I unbutton his jeans slowly and yank on the waistband until his erection springs free. Stroking him with my hand, I play with his balls and glance up. Shane’s head is thrown back in sheer ecstasy, his fingers grasping for purchase onto the counters and cabinets.
A man’s body is a walking contradiction. Soft and hard. Cool and hot. So strong and yet so fragile. My lips wrap around the head of his erection. I take him deep into my mouth until he groans and comes and stumbles back.
And when I’m done, after I stand and wipe my mouth, and his eyes flutter open, I say, “Dessert was on me.”
Twenty minutes later, both of us naked and in bed, I’m draped over his chest, busy gliding my fingertips through his hair and around his dark, little nipples. He pulls the covers over us higher. It’s September and there’s a bite to the air in late afternoon.
Love is growing inside of me at an alarming rate. If this keeps up, I’ll be consumed by it by day’s end. I roll onto my back and he follows, pushing my legs apart and rubbing himself against me until he’s rock hard.
The pain over my heart keeps reminding me to tell him that I love him. It’s an alien baby trying to rip and claw its way out through my sternum. There’s gonna be blood everywhere, which will probably end with my demise.
He looks at me funny. “Are you feeling alright?”
“An alien baby if trying to split me in two.”
He’s not sure whether I’m joking or certifiably insane. I’m a little of both at the moment. “Did you eat too much?”
“No.”
“You’re the strangest girl I’ve ever met.” The sweetest smile spreads on his face.
I sigh. “Is that a good thing?”
“It’s a great thing.”
If I didn’t love him before, this sealed my fate.
“We don’t have any condoms left. What do you plan to do with that phallus between your legs?” Watching me closely, he rolls his hips and pushes the bare head of his erection inside of me. I shake my head. “Were not raw-dogging it, not even in Vegas.”
He starts laughing and I almost faint from the sight of all his perfect white teeth. Shane Hughes laughs?
“Shane?” a woman calls out. She sounds close––close enough to be right outside the trailer. Shane immediately scowls and jumps out of bed, his dick so hard it almost hits the side of the wall.
“Shane!” she hollers.
“I’m coming out. Stay where you are.” In his defense, he does not sound happy to see her, his expression alone would have me running for cover.
“Who is it?” I whisper. Why am I the one whispering? I don’t know. I’m not the intruder here.
“Kaya,” he says without sparing me a glance. This hurts me. The pressure on my sternum gets worse. He shoves on his jeans one leg at a time, forgoing the underwear, and walks out.
My stomach drops. I scramble out of bed to get dressed. In the meantime, Shane walks out in nothing but his jeans with his fly open and his dick practically sticking out.
It bothers me that she gets to see him like that. It bothers me that she knows him that way too. The whole situation bothers me.
“What are you doing here?” I hear him snap.
Tip-toeing closer to the door, I lean in to eavesdrop. Even though it’s bad manners, I’m not about to miss out on what happens next.
“Joyce called me when she saw the Cobra drive up the street. I really think we should talk––”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Where’s your shirt?” she asks, like she has the right to know. And to think I felt sorry for her when she was crying. “Is somebody here with you?”
“Are you kidding me right now? That’s none of your business, Kaya. We’re divorced,” he says, stressing the word. “You remember the agreement, right? You got the house in Laguna and the apartment in New York and I got to tell you to go fuck yourself.”
“Your language is atrocious.”
“You don’t have to put up with it. In fact, I’m asking you nicely to leave.”
He sounds so stressed I want to hold him and tell him it’s going to be alright. Shane handles adversity so well I sometimes forget he’s still hurting from the betrayal. You can’t just flip a switch, like he once told me. It makes me think of my father and how long he’s held onto his feeling for my mother. God, I hope that’s not what’s in store for him.
There’s a pause and then I think I hear feminine tears falling. “I just… I just wish we could go to counseling. I think if we did that, had we done it earlier, none of this would’ve happened.”
“We’ve been over this a hundred times. We don’t love each other anymore.”
“I still love you.”
“No, you don’t. And I don’t love you. And quite frankly––and I am not saying this to hurt you––I don’t think we ever really loved each other.”
Okay, so I shouldn’t feel good about that. But like… I do.
“You don’t mean that,” she continues.
“I do. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it.”
“Let’s talk about this inside,” she keeps pressing.
“No.”
“Are you seeing someone? Is that why you won’t go to counseling? I can be patient, Shane. Have your fun. I get that you want… I don’t know… revenge?”
My God, this woman is persistent.
“No, I’m not seeing anyone else. And no, I don’t want revenge. I don’t want to be with you. Do you understand? I don’t love you. I don’t think of you anymore, Kaya. Not ever.”
If he had taken a sledgehammer to my heart, it would’ve hurt less.
“You’re so fucking cruel. This is why I slept with Aidan. Because you’re mean and he understood that better than anyone.”
I have to put a stop to this before she destroys all the hard work Aidan and Shane have done to repair their relationship. To that end, I pat my hair down and make sure my t-shirt is tucked and tidy.
“Mr. Hughes? I’m done cleaning.” I say, stepping out of the trailer blank-faced. My gaze darts between the two beautiful high-fliers standing a few feet away, facing off. They look like a matched set.
Kaya examines me like I’m a spider she caught in her home. Kaya’s a red fox; beautiful and cunning, opportunistic. She’s wild like Shane. Not domesticated. If you try to domesticate her, you’ll come home to find it destroyed.
I’m pretty sure she doesn’t buy my little act, but it doesn’t matter. It’s an excuse to distract her and get us out of here.