“You should.” I twist my head to look at her. “Let me design something for you.”
Her eyes lift to mine, and a familiar magnetic charge fills the space between us. We stare at one another, and it’s like looking into the mirror of my soul. Her fingers are stationary on my arm, and her touch feels like a permanent brand on my flesh. “Okay,” she whispers. “I’d like that.”
I didn’t expect her to agree, and my heart swells with love and pride that she’s prepared to let me design something so intimate. “Do you have any specific requirements?”
She shakes her head, smiling. “No. Surprise me.”
“I will.” We grin at one another, and the air sparks with that same electrical current.
Kendall gulps, tearing her gaze away first, returning to the ink on my arms. We are silent as she explores the tattoos on both my arms, my upper chest, and my neck. I have all manner of stuff etched on my skin. Ancient Greek and Egyptian symbols, swords, snakes, dragons, knives, and quotes that speak to me. “These are amazing, Vander,” she says, inspecting each design carefully. “Every single piece is exemplary. I can tell how much thought and effort went into it.”
“I am never flippant about what I put in or on my body. My skin is the ultimate canvas, and I never want to treat it with anything less than the respect it deserves. I put huge thought into every design. Every tattoo has meaning to me.”
Her gaze trails up my neck and onto my face as she moves directly in front of me. “I am never more attracted to you than moments where you show me your heart and soul. It’s beautiful, Vander.” Her hands palm my face. “You’re beautiful.” She steps in closer, and I know the second she feels my hard-on nudging her stomach because her eyes pop wide, and she goes rigidly still.
“You’re beautiful,” I whisper, my gaze dropping to her lips and back up again. “And now you know what you do to me.”
Anticipation hovers in the air, and I’m dying to kiss her, but I can’t be the one to do it. We’re in her house, and I won’t overstep the boundaries. Challenge them? Hell yeah, but I won’t take that final step. Air whistles from her mouth as she holds herself very still, her eyes lowering to my lips. I hold my breath, wondering what she’ll do. Stumbling back, she removes her hands from my face, taking all the warmth with her. A red flush creeps up her chest onto her neck, and I’m glad to see she gets as hot and bothered as me. “We can’t cross a line in my house, Vander.”
“I understand.”
Her features soften. “You make it so hard to resist.”
“Then don’t.” I wind my fingers through her hair. “I know this isn’t the time, but when I have found a new place, tell me you’ll spend the night. I need to be with you.”
“I can’t make any promises, Vander. You know that.”
Dejection seeps into my veins, and I’m not sure what she sees, but it’s enough for her to reassure me. “I want you too, but it terrifies me. We both know if we cross that line there is no coming back.”
I nod. “You’re the end of the line for me, Kendall. I don’t need us to cross over it to know that truth.”
“Are you always this intense with girls?” she asks, moving around to my back.
“Never before you.”
“You make me feel special,” she whispers, her fingers returning to the waistband of my shorts.
“You are special, Kendall, and I hate you can’t see it.” That asshole has really done a number on her. Her self-confidence is pretty low, and I vow to do everything in my power to help her to reclaim it.
“You need to get into the bath before the water turns cold.” She purposely ends the conversation, and that’s okay. I have a bit more patience. I can wait a little longer.
“You’re the one stalling,” I tease. “Get rid of my shorts.”
She grabs the top of my shorts and rips them down my legs in one fast move. A startled gasp escapes her mouth when she realizes I’m not wearing any boxers. “Oh my God, Vander!” she squeals. “You’re naked.”
Slowly, I turn around, incapable of shielding my massive grin and the massive appendage proudly jutting out from my body. “One has to be naked to take a bath,” I tease as my cock salutes her.
She squeals again, covering her face with her hands, and I’m not having it. “Don’t be shy, sweetheart. Drink your fill because this beast is all yours.” Gently, I pry her fingers from her face and brush my thumb against her lower lip. “Look,” I command. “Look at what you do to me.”
Her chest heaves, and panic mixed with excitement flits across her face. She is so adorably cute, and I am so gone for this woman. “Look or I’ll make you touch it,” I whisper while devouring her mouth with my gaze.
Without any further hesitation, she drops her gaze down my body, over my broad chest and curved abs, and along the V-indent at the side of my hips before she hits the jackpot. Her brows climb to her hairline, and her mouth opens into an O shape. “Oh my…holy wow.”
Brushing hair over her shoulder, I press my mouth to her ear, grinning like an idiot. “Do you like your cock?” I whisper. “Are you imagining your lips around it or the way it will feel moving inside your hot little pussy?”
A strangled sound rips from her lips, but she continues staring at my dick, and I fucking love it. My cock jerks, loving the adoration, and I decide to push a little more. “If I put my fingers inside you now, how wet would you be?” She thrusts her arm out, gripping the side of the sink to keep herself upright. Her cheeks are flushed, her breathing is heavy, and her hard nipples are poking at the front of her flimsy blouse. I know she’s as turned on as me, and liquid lust is a rampaging beast charging through my veins demanding I take what is mine. I want to bury myself balls deep inside her and stamp my mark all over her body. I want to erase every man who has come before me so all she sees is me. I need her to know we are destined to be together and I will never walk away, because she is my fate and I am hers.
A bead of precum leaks from the tip of my cock as she continues feasting on me with her big blue eyes. I want to push her to her knees and make her taste me, but I will never force any part of myself on her. She has to do it willingly, and this isn’t the time or the place.
“I don’t need you to answer, sweetheart, because I already know.” Leaning down, I press a featherlight kiss to her neck. She shivers and closes her eyes, biting down on her lip, and I am so in love with her. “Open your eyes,” I whisper, gliding my mouth along her neck before stepping back. I grab my junk and give it a few slow pumps. Her hand flies to her chest as she watches, as if in a daze. “This is all yours, Kendall. When you’re ready to take what you own, there will be no turning back. Unless that time is now, I suggest you leave before I lose all sense of control and do something you won’t be able to resist.”
Her eyes fly to my face, and without uttering a word, she races past me out of the bathroom, leaving me alone with my cold bath.
29
KENDALL
“Be careful with that!” I call out as Crusher and West struggle to maneuver the large couch through the narrow front door of Vander’s new apartment.