Wonderful, page 2
Pulling away from her, I said, “I want you to ask me to have sex with you…right now.”
Her jaw dropped. “Kellan…” Then she tried to hide her body like she was naked or something. She wasn’t. She was wearing the short, tight dress her sister, Anna, had lent her for her graduation, a dress I was very reluctant to return. “I’ve asked you for sex before…Why are you purposely embarrassing me?”
I’m not. That’s not my goal right now. With a sigh, I locked eyes with her. “You’ve asked me in the heat of the moment when we were heading in that direction anyway. I want you to feel comfortable enough to ask me anytime, anywhere.”
She raised an eyebrow at that. “Anywhere?”
I gave her a playful grin. “Anywhere.”
A flash of annoyance crossed her face as she exhaled in a grunt. It was quickly replaced by reluctance, then acceptance. Hands stiff at her sides, she inhaled a deep breath, held it, then let it go. Lifting her chin, she nervously said, “Kellan, will you have sex with me?”
I was so proud of her that I was almost bursting at the seams. I contained the smile, though, and let her words seep through me instead. They ignited me instantly, and I let myself imagine saying yes, imagine pulling that dress off her, imagine pushing her back onto that messy bed…
But no, we really did need to get going. All I could do for her now was tease her a little.
Slowly sliding my eyes down her body, I lingered on all the places I wanted to explore before finally returning to her face. I stepped forward, my hips pressing into hers. Leaning down, I said in her ear, “That is the hottest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
Her eyes slid closed, and her breath stuttered. Seeing her reaction made it really difficult not to cave into her request; my body was already on board with that idea, blood surging in all the right places. I sucked her earlobe into my mouth, and she moaned. That almost sealed the deal for me, but fuck, we really did need to leave. Fortifying myself, I whispered, “But we have to go.” Then I grabbed her hand and yanked her forward, breaking the spell. For both of us. Otherwise, we might not ever leave this room.
She frowned as I pulled her toward the door. So cute. A light laugh escaped me as I told her, “I’m sorry, Kiera, but you’ll just have to be unsatisfied for a while.” Tilting my head, I grinned. “That’s sort of…karma…for all the times you’ve left me aroused and alone.”
“You’re mean,” she murmured, looking genuinely disappointed. The fact that she looked that way made me surprisingly happy; it took some of the sting out of my all-too-true statement. I removed the rest by quickly kissing her cheek.
“Hmmm, maybe I am,” I said. Wanting my next words to sink in, I grabbed her ass and pulled her into me, closing all the distance between us. She made an insanely erotic noise as we came together. Running my nose along her jaw, I mentally reminded myself that I was saying no right now. It was exceedingly difficult to remember that. “Because I’m really looking forward to teasing you all day,” I breathed into her skin.
Her body shuddered in response, but she pushed me away, annoyed. “You suck.”
Loving the effect I had on her, I laughed as I opened the door. Kiera grabbed her purse, then looked back at the bed again. With a frown, she said, “Wait, Kellan. Should we make the bed before we go?”
Confusion swept over me as I pondered her question. Why would we make the bed in a hotel room? But then I understood. It was painfully obvious that a good time had occurred in those twisted sheets, and she wanted to hide that fact. I couldn’t help but smile at her. “You’re so adorable,” I said. My grin turned devilish as I looked over at the bed again. “No, we’re leaving the room like it is. I want the world to know what happened here…on the night we consummated our marriage.” My eyes returned to hers, and she let out a soft, happy sigh. Because I couldn’t help myself, I added, “Besides…it’s hot.”
She rolled her eyes in the most fantastic way, but she left the bed exactly as it was and followed me out of the hotel room.
I was absurdly buoyant as we drove home…to our home. I literally couldn’t think of another moment in my life when I’d felt this content, this fulfilled, this completely, blissfully at peace. I felt like I could take on anything, do anything, become anything. I felt like nothing could possibly touch my good mood. I was high on life, and I never wanted to come down.
Turning onto my street, I carefully navigated the narrow, car-lined road to my house. When I got there, I saw a bright red Jetta parked in my driveway. Odd. A frown curved my lips as I pulled up next to it. I mentally flipped through all the people I knew and what they typically drove, but the vehicle wasn’t registering with me. Apprehension pricked my stomach as I shut off the Chevelle.
“Hmmm,” I said, cracking open my door. This could be nothing, a random friend who’d decided to drop by, or this could be bad. And by the crass bumper sticker on the car, I was leaning toward bad. Damn it. Why today?
Kiera looked a little forlorn as she got out of my car and walked with me to the front door; she must have also surmised that this would be bad. I wasn’t entirely sure what was going to happen, but I already felt like apologizing. Containing a sigh, I tried the front door and found it unlocked. I pushed it open, stepped inside, then held out my hand for Kiera as she followed me, subtly letting her know that whatever this was, I loved her and only her. My history wanting to see me for some reason didn’t change that fact. Kiera clasped my fingers a little firmer than she usually did, and I gave her a tight, apologetic smile.
As Kiera stepped to my side in the entryway, closing the front door behind her, I scanned the living room. The first thing I noticed was the expression on the faces of Kiera’s parents. They were still in town, visiting for Kiera’s graduation, and they did not look happy as they sat on the couch; Caroline looked uncomfortable, Martin looked pissed. Of course, he almost always looked that way around me. I wasn’t his favorite person. I didn’t think it was me making him look that way right now, though, because the next thing I noticed was a pair of long, feminine legs dangling over the side of Kiera’s favorite chair. Crap.
The person sitting there heard the door and tilted their dark head back to look at us. A very familiar face greeted me, and my stomach dropped. Oh fuck. Joey. My slightly unhinged, melodramatic ex-roommate/ex-lover who’d run off in a huff after she’d caught me in bed with another woman. Great. What was she doing here? Goddamn it. Of all the people to randomly show up at my house while Kiera’s parents were here—while Kiera was here—Joey was the absolute worst one. She was not a good person, and she did not like me.
“Shit,” I muttered, nervously glancing at Kiera. Would she understand if I asked her to go upstairs? Would she do it without questioning me? Probably not. And if she questioned me, Joey would have a field day with her. Fuck. How do I get through this without it blowing up in my face?
Deciding I’d rather have Kiera beside me, I squeezed her hand and led her into the living room. Might as well get it over with. Joey’s deep brown eyes narrowed as I stepped in front of her. I really wasn’t sure why she despised me so much. Because I’d slept with someone else? So did she. We were never together, we were never a thing, we’d just fooled around on occasion. And that was all it had ever been between us—mindless, emotionless, just-for-fun screwing. It made absolutely no sense to me that Joey was so bent out of shape about it when she didn’t give two shits about me. I was a toy to her, one she hadn’t wanted to share. Apparently. I wish I’d known that before I slept with her.
Joey’s bright red lips pursed in disdain as she stared at me. “Well, fuck me, Kellan Kyle.” She smirked, then added, “Oh, wait, you already did.”
My stomach clenched as she crassly announced our relationship to the room. Damn it. This was not a good way to start my marriage…and it definitely wasn’t going to help me win over Kiera’s dad. Ignoring Joey’s comment, I shifted my attention to my new in-laws. “Martin, Caroline,” I warmly said. Then my eyes reluctantly swung back down to the girl I wished would leave. “Joey.”
Kiera stiffened beside me, and I knew she’d placed the name. A flash of guilt went through me, but I tried to ignore it. I hadn’t even known Kiera when I’d gotten together with Joey, and I’d been…desperate at the time. Sad but true. Already hating this, I asked Joey, “What are you doing here?”
She leapt to her feet. Her long black hair flowed around her shoulders as she crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin in self-righteous indignation. “Where the hell is all my stuff, Kellan?”
That was why she was here? To collect all the crap she’d abandoned years ago? Seriously? My momentary disbelief shifted to wariness. All her stuff was gone because Kiera had gotten rid of it. She’d removed the furniture to refresh the space, cleanse it of its demons, so to speak. And I loved the fact that she’d done that for us, for me, since she’d turned the room into a sort of writing den, a place where I could work. It was sweet, thoughtful, and there was no way in hell I was going to let Joey know any of that. And why the hell would she expect me to still have her shit anyway? That was so long ago.
Annoyed, I told her, “You’ve been gone for two years. I tossed it.”
Her near-black eyes grew fiery, and she shoved my shoulder hard enough to jerk my torso. “You what? That wasn’t yours to get rid of, asshole!”
Heat surged through my veins as I took a step forward. “You ran out. It’s not my problem if you left everything behind! My house isn’t your personal storage unit.”
Joey gave me a dismissive wave, like she didn’t give a rat’s ass what I thought. “Whatever, Kellan. I don’t need your temperamental crap. If you don’t have my stuff, then you can just pay me for it.” She gave me a wry smile. “Fifteen hundred should cover everything.”
I didn’t know what was funnier—her calling me temperamental or her thinking her beat-up furniture was worth fifteen hundred dollars. Before I could respond to her absurd demand, Kiera made a grunting noise of disbelief, capturing Joey’s attention.
Glaring at Kiera, Joey snidely asked, “Who the hell are you? Kellan’s flavor of the hour?”
My blood instantly boiled. I saw Martin rise to his feet, heard him say something about not talking to his daughter that way, but I was too pissed to truly listen to him. Dropping Kiera’s hand, I stepped right into Joey’s personal space. “Be very careful, Josephine. That’s my wife you’re talking to.”
Joey’s eyes widened as she backed up a step. But then the wary look shifted into one of disbelief, then amusement. She started laughing. “Oh my God, are you serious? You, the biggest manwhore I know, actually got married? What a joke.”
Folding my arms over my chest, I quickly counted to ten, calming myself down before I did or said something stupid. Joey needed to leave. Now. And if agreeing to her price got her out of my house, then it was well worth the cost. Jerking my thumb at the door, I told her, “Fine. I’ll get you fifteen hundred for the furniture. Now get the hell out.”
Joey had a defiant smirk on her face and an odd gleam in her eye; seeing it made me nervous. She shook her head at me. “Oh, I don’t think so…not anymore, Kellan.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but I was sure I wasn’t going to like it. While I tried to understand Joey’s endgame, Kiera lost her temper. She walked right up to Joey, hands clenched into fists like she wanted to slug her. “You heard him! You’ll get your money. Now go back to whatever hole you crawled out of.”
I cringed as Joey glared at Kiera. Joey was not the type of person to let a remark like that slide. My body tensed in preparation; if Joey made one move toward Kiera, that would be it…I’d forcibly remove her from my home.
Still stabbing Kiera with her eyes, Joey said to me, “I have something of yours that I’m returning.” Her gaze shifted back to my face. “Since I have no use for it.” Confusion swept over me; I had no idea what she was talking about. Had she stolen something of mine? If she had, I hadn’t missed it. Seeing my befuddled expression made Joey smile. “And if you want it back…sweetheart…then you’ll double my price.”
Kiera yelled at Joey, calling her nuts, but icy dread was running up my spine. Joey knew something…something I couldn’t remember. She was pretty positive she had leverage over me, and if she felt that way, then she probably did. Fuck. What was I missing? What did she have?
Eyes glued on me, Joey leaned over and grabbed her bag off the chair. Curiosity kept me silent as I watched her open the bag, reach in, and pull out something…small. Joey held it between her thumb and finger, smiling at me, as what it was—and what was on it—instantly flooded my brain. Oh…fuck. She was holding an SD card from her camera, the camera we’d used to make a sex tape what felt like a million years ago. Shit. I’d completely forgotten all about that fucking tape. Jesus Christ…if Kiera found out what that was…
“Fine, I’ll give you three thousand,” I quickly told her. Just don’t tell the room what that is.
Joey smiled at me like she’d heard my internal plea, but thankfully, she handed me the SD card without comment. Wrapping my fingers around it, hiding it, I pointed at the door. “I’ll get it to you tomorrow.”
Joey patted my cheek in a condescending way. “You better…‘cause I will make your life a living hell if you don’t.” Then she gave Kiera a look that made my blood freeze solid. Fuck, she really could live up to that threat. If Kiera ever saw this, if she ever knew…but…damn it. While making a sex tape wasn’t something I particularly wanted Kiera to know about, I couldn’t keep it from her. And besides, there was no way she wouldn’t ask about the card after this. I had to tell her, and I really wasn’t looking forward to that conversation.
I closed my eyes in defeat. “Get the hell out of my house, Joey.” You’ve done quite enough. I opened my eyes so I could drive this last part home. “And don’t ever come back here.”
She ignored the heat in my glare and twisted to wiggle her fingers at Kiera’s parents. Joey already knew she’d won. She’d screwed me, and that in and of itself was satisfying to her; the money was just a bonus. Everyone was quiet as she left the house. The silence was full of tension…and questions.
I heard Joey’s car pulling away, and I forced myself to relax. Wishing we’d never come home, I shoved the card into my pocket and slapped on a smile. “I’m sorry about that,” I said to Martin and Caroline. “I hope she didn’t give you too much trouble while we were gone.”
Martin still looked upset as he stiffly sat on the couch. “I’m more concerned about what the two of you were doing last night than your tawdry friend.” He looked between Kiera and me. “What’s this about you running off and getting married? Have you lost your mind, Kiera?”
Martin patted Caroline’s hand. Caroline looked like she was about to cry, her jade eyes glistening, but oddly, having them upset over our marriage was kind of a relief; anything to stop them from asking me about the thing currently burning a hole in my pocket. Somehow, I knew I wouldn’t get so lucky with Kiera. I tossed her a nervous, worried look, praying she wouldn’t bring it up right now. Or ever. I’d be happy with that too. Let’s talk about the wedding. Hell, I’d rather talk about our wedding night at this point.
I gestured toward the couch, hoping Kiera would sit down and get absorbed in a conversation with her parents, one that would make her forget all about the thing I was hiding. Wanting out of the room—and needing to reassure myself that Joey was truly gone and that she hadn’t fucked with my car before leaving—I pointed at the door and told Kiera, “I’ll be right back. I want to go check on my car, make sure Joey didn’t mess with it.” God, if she touched the Chevelle…Just thinking about it caused me physical pain. Both meaning it and wanting to lighten the mood in the room, I added, “If she keyed my baby, you may need to restrain me, ‘cause I might kill her.” I laughed as I made my escape, even though this wasn’t funny.
Kiera didn’t let me get two steps before she asked the one thing I’d hoped she wouldn’t. “What’s on the SD card?”
My forced smile left me. Not now. Please. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it, Kiera.”
That didn’t appease her. Stepping closer, she reached for my pocket like she was going to pull out the card and pop it into something so she could watch it. That could not happen. I backed away from her, and Kiera’s face tightened in anger. She really didn’t like it when I hid things from her, but I couldn’t talk about this now, here. Not with her parents listening. They’d definitely never like me if they knew what I’d just purchased from my ex.
Kiera repeated her question, hell-bent on an answer. “What’s on the card?”
It was almost like the idea of another secret between us had made her completely forget that her parents were here. Hoping to remind her, without actually reminding her, I leaned in and said, “Can we talk about this later…in private?” It won’t be another secret, I promise.
I saw conflict in her eyes. And pain. Like she couldn’t stop herself, the dreaded question escaped her lips again. “What’s on the card?”
There was an edge to her voice that was crawling under my skin. She was never going to let this go. She was going to poke and prod until I told her, so I might as well fucking tell her. The words erupted from me without a second thought. “What do you think it is, Kiera? We filmed ourselves screwing!” Fuck. Goddamn it…I hadn’t meant to say that.
Kiera’s mouth dropped open, and her face paled. I really wanted to take the words back, but I couldn’t. They were out there, inflicting pain and revulsion on everyone who’d heard them. Me and my big fucking mouth.
Kiera’s eyes watered in a way that tore at me. I hadn’t wanted to say it like that. I’d wanted to be gentle about it, ease her into the conversation with a couple hundred apologies first. Not vomit the cold truth all over her. “You made a sex tape with her?” she whispered, her voice full of hurt.
