As if his tattoos and piercings weren’t sexy enough, his body rippled with muscles. Every inch of him appeared hard and unyielding, from his bulging shoulders and biceps to his six-pack cut abs, but I knew better. When he held me in his arms, that hardness faded away to reveal a gentleness he kept hidden beneath his tough exterior.
He seemed oblivious to my staring at him as he stood drying his cropped hair with a towel. Throwing it over one of the kitchen chairs, he closed his eyes and cracked his neck twice, all the while saying nothing to me.
I couldn’t stand the silence, and I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Did you have a nice shower?”
Practically dismissing me, he nodded and mumbled, “Yeah, it was fine.”
God, the man didn’t even like me enough to try to have a conversation. There I was standing in his home still in my dancer’s costume from the sexiest club in town while he stood in just a towel, and it was like we were strangers waiting for a bus. I snuck a look at that towel and saw his cock had as much interest in me as his mouth and brain did in talking to me.
“Since you didn’t get to see me dance much tonight, can I dance for you now?”
His eyes widened like they always did when I said something that interested him, and his pupils seemed to take up his entire eyes, blocking out the gorgeous blue color. He said nothing but stared at me with a look that conveyed a longing for something.
Was that something me?
I closed my eyes to shut out my doubts and began to dance, rolling my hips slowly as I moved toward him. With my arms raised, I turned away from him and leaned into his body, loving the feel of his muscular chest against my back as I slid my hands up toward his neck. The damp towel brushed up against my legs as I swayed back and forth to the music in my head, and I sensed his cock harden with every time I touched him.
Each moment that passed made me want him more, but his silence told me my feelings weren’t returned. Rolling my hips in bigger circles, I pressed my body to him, praying he’d do something to show me this made him happy.
I should have stopped, but I couldn’t. I wanted him. I wanted him to want me.
“Take the wig off,” he said in a deep voice meant to let me know that wasn’t a request.
I stopped my dancing and turned to face him, unprepared for what I’d see. The impassive man who so often seemed disinterested had disappeared, and in his place stood one with wild eyes full of need.
“I said take it off, Abbi.”
The stern look in his eyes commanded me as much as his voice, so I lowered my hands to my head and slipped off my blond wig to once again reveal what made me ugly. Holding it in my hand, I hung my head, unable to hide my unhappiness and insecurities, and whispered, “There. It’s off.”
“Why do you want to tempt me like this?” he groaned above me.
“I can’t now. Now I’m just me, messed up me,” I said quietly as I tugged on the ragged ends of my hair.
He cupped his hand to my cheek and lifted my face so I had no choice but to see him. His face strained, as if he was in pain, and he closed his eyes, wincing. “I’ve tried so hard to fight my desires, Abbi. All we’re going to do is hurt each other if we do this.”
“You would never hurt me, Kane.”
His eyes opened and in them all I saw was that pain I’d seen in his expression. “Everyone I get close to gets hurt. The last thing in the world I want to do is hurt you.”
“I can’t believe you’d hurt me. Not the man who drove all the way across town to protect me.”
Those beautiful blue eyes that so often seemed so cold flashed the purest emotion I’d ever seen. “Every demon I have inside me wants you. They scream your name day and night, and I’ve been fighting them because I’m terrified what will happen if I give in. Leave here and never look back. Take all the money I have in my wallet and run, Abbi. Leave me alone with them and be happy.”
Cradling his face, I shook my head and smiled. “I don’t want to leave. I’m not afraid of bad things. Every man I’ve ever been with had bad in them, but none of them cared for me like you do. I don’t believe you’re a bad man.”
Kane leaned down and gently kissed me. Pressing his forehead to mine, he said in a voice filled with anguish, “I’m sorry if I hurt you. I swear it’s the last thing I want to do.”
I didn’t know what demons he had in him, but I wasn’t afraid of them. The only thing I was afraid of was losing him. I didn’t know what it was about him, whether it was how he walked into that club and rescued me from that awful place or how he held me in his arms all night long after, but I didn’t want to think of my life without him, demons or no demons.
“Kane, you never hurt me.”
He kissed me deeply and whispered against my lips, “I will, and for that, I’m sorry.”
His hands slid down to cup my ass, and he lifted me so my legs easily wrapped around his waist. Clinging to his neck, I felt his muscles thick against my calves as I pressed my heels to his powerful lower back to bring him closer to me. His towel still hung across his hips, but I wanted what was underneath that towel.
Kane kissed me hard as he pushed me against the wall, like he couldn’t hold back how much he wanted me anymore. His tongue snaked into my mouth, searching for mine, and I met his need with my own, softly mewing my desire for him.
Pulling away, he looked down at me. “I want to be inside you so fucking bad it hurts.”
With my heel, I pushed down on his towel, and it fell to the floor. Licking my lips, I stared into those gorgeous eyes and said, “Please…no more waiting.”
He lifted me higher and covered my mouth with his in a kiss that took my breath away. I felt the head of his cock press against me, and then he stopped, making me want him even more. “I don’t wear anything because of my piercings. Are you…?”
I nodded and kissed him. “Yes. Don’t worry. Please don’t stop.”
Kane’s hands cupped my ass and squeezed as he slid into me, those piercings grazing my sensitive skin and making my nerve endings come alive. The feeling was the most exquisite I’d ever experienced.
“I tried to stay away, Abbi,” he groaned as he thrust the last few inches hard into me. “I did. Ever since that first night, I tried.”
His cock stretched me until I couldn’t imagine being able to take any more of him, and then as soon as my body adjusted to his sweet invasion, he left me, making me feel emptier than I’d ever been before. I clung to him, crawling up his body as mine begged for more of him. Pulling away from his kiss, I whispered, “Don’t stay away, please, Kane. Don’t leave me alone.”