Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

CALVIN

I'd never seen Kiara nervous before. She hovered by her sister, uncertain and frowning, until they both had to move out of the way to let people inside. Since she didn't seem willing to talk on her own, I stepped in and offered Talia my hand.

"Hey. I'm Cal. We talked before on the phone. Kinda wish we were meeting under different circumstances, but it's nice to officially meet you."

I realized my mistake the second I offered my hand. Talia was afraid of men. Kiara told me all about that. Talia looked nervously at my hand like I might lash out suddenly and hurt her. I grimaced, playing it off with a joke.

"My bad. I should probably shower first. Your sister basically made me roll in the dirt to hide my scent. I swear there's dirt in some unmentionable places."

Talia didn't react to the joke, but Kiara did. A hint of a smirk crossed her face before she rolled her eyes and shoved my shoulder.

"Don't talk about your unmentionables in front of my sister. And who even calls them that?"

"Polite people," I pointed out. "It wasn't like I explicitly said there's dirt in my ass crack–"

Kiara whacked me on the back of the head and I ducked with a laugh, darting away from her in case she tried again. I seriously loved to mess with her. She could feign irritation all she wanted, but I saw the hint of a grin on the corners of her mouth. She thought I was funny.

Talia watched on uncertainly, twisting her fingers like she was nervous about something. It wasn't until a woman with copper colored curls appeared behind her and nudged her that Talia grimaced and held out a trembling hand.

"N-Nice to meet you."

Kiara looked surprised, and I figured this was out of the norm for Talia, but I didn't want her standing there, awkwardly waiting for me. As gently as I could, I took her hand and shook. She was quick to snatch it back, but the redhead gave her a proud look and Talia forced a small smile in return.

Brushing off her confusion, Kiara gestured to the red headed woman. "Cal, this is Runa. She lives in a cottage nearby."

Runa wasn't the slightest bit nervous when she offered me her hand. "Hello, Calvin."

I blinked rapidly, taking her hand while looking over my shoulder at the sisters. "Did you–"

They both shook their heads, but Kiara rolled her eyes. "Don't mind her. Runa knows things, and she's eerie about it on purpose to freak people out."

A flicker of mischief flashed over Runa's face before she waved the comment away. "Ignore your mate. She growls to keep people at a distance."

"He's not my–"

Runa gave her a flat look and Kiara's mouth snapped closed. She glared at Runa for a second before grabbing my wrist and dragging me away. "You need to get cleaned up. I had my own rooms when I stayed here. You can use the spare."

"What if I wanted to stay with you?" I asked innocently. "I got used to your snores sharing a room with you the past week."

That made her growl, and she was wide eyed when she turned to look at me. "I do not snore!"

"Sure. Let's go with that," I replied solemnly. I could only hold off my grin for so long before I snickered. She was so much fun.

No amount of wheedling would get Kiara to join me in the shower. She left to check in with her sister and said she'd shower on her own later. Given the events of the evening, she figured I'd need some rest, but I felt wired instead of exhausted. Shifters were a thing, dragons were real, and I'd been interrupted twice in one day getting the most gorgeous woman on the planet into bed. I wasn't going to be interrupted a third time.

I poked around the apartment, hungry for whatever information I could learn about her, but the space was practically empty aside from furniture that looked like it came with the space. It was practically a hotel room. No pictures or personal items aside from some clothes in her closet. She said she ran when she realized how her actions affected her sister's treatment, but she had barely been living here in the first place.

When she came back, she looked… tired. All my plans for seduction flew out the window at the heartsick look on her face. She didn't even pull away when I took her hand to stop her from retreating to her room.

"Hey, hey… What happened?"

She grimaced, shaking her head. "She finally told me what happened to her because of me. The way they treated her. I thought I was keeping her safe by staying away from her and leaving her in that place. I should've gotten her out sooner. I should've–"

She was spiraling. I moved directly in front of her and cupped her neck, pulling her against me with her forehead resting on mine. It still thrilled me that she was taller and still gave me the time of day, but I pushed that aside for now. I needed to focus on her.

"There's no going back in time. Believe me, I wish I had that ability. If I could, I wouldn't be on a dragon's shit list right now. But if we've learned anything from the Marvel universes, it's that going back will only split realities. It won't change what's happening here and now."

"You're such a nerd," she murmured. But she didn't pull away. She rubbed her forehead against mine, seeking comfort in a way that made my heart race. Seeing such a strong woman look so broken was awful, but knowing I could do something to help made it a little easier to handle. She might not agree with the whole mate thing right now, but at least when things got tough, she knew she could come to me without fear of judgment. I still thought she was the most badass chick around.

"Come on. You're gonna get cleaned up, and then we're gonna cuddle. Tonight's been kind of shit, and you need a break."

"You're not showering with me," she groused as she followed me to her room.

I snorted. "Duh. I prefer driving you so mad that you have to pin me to the bed to get me to shut up. Sad and dejected isn't really a turn on."

She shoved the back of my head, huffing out a laugh as she stalked past me into her bathroom. I was borrowing clothes from someone named Jack, and I changed into pajamas before waiting for Kiara in bed. She gave me a wary look when she finally joined me, but I just held the blanket open for her and dragged her against me once she slipped under the covers.

It was… awkward. And really hard to get comfortable. We both kept fidgeting for a bit until she finally sighed and rolled onto her back.

"I'm not really a cuddler," she grumbled.

"Oh, thank god. Neither am I. I was just trying to make you feel better," I admitted. Don't get me wrong, having a beautiful woman in my arms was nice, but I liked sleeping on my stomach and I moved around a lot throughout the night. I couldn't get a good night's sleep while cuddling.

I could hear the amusement in her voice in the dark room when she asked, "Then why'd you make us do it?"

"Uh, it's not all about me. You needed comfort. I figured I'd wait for you to start snoring before giving you some space."

A pillow came out of nowhere, bapping me in the face. I barked out a laugh, putting my hands up to protect myself from another blow.

"I do not snore, you little shit!"

"Mercy! Mercy!" I yelled around the hits, still laughing.

When she stopped, I couldn't help but add, "I mean, they're not like loud snores. They're cute–"

She rolled, straddling me to get a better angle to attack me with the pillow again. Laughing, I half heartedly tried to grab the pillow away. I wasn't going to begrudge the position, and when she finally stopped hitting me, she didn't move away automatically. I couldn't help running my hands up her bare legs. She slept in shorts and a tank top, because she loved to torment me, apparently.

"Aren't you going to get cold?"

"Shifters run warm," she said blandly. When she tried to move away, I tightened my grip to keep her there. Yes, I was aware that if she wanted to, she could easily get away. I just didn't care.

"What are you doing?"

"Pushing my luck," I admitted with a grin. "I told myself to leave you alone while you're dealing with whatever you and your sister talked about, but you're sitting on me and my mind went straight to the gutter."

"What? This?" She moved just enough, and–

"Oh, shit, you're evil," I groaned.

Her chuckle was sultry and teasing. If she stopped now, I'd seriously consider tackling her. She had moved so she was sitting in just the right position to grind on my dick. I went from semi hard to hard enough to pound nails in seconds, my fingers gripping into her thighs as I thrust up to meet her. I'd never been this horny in my life, and it was all because of the woman on top of me.

"I was trying so hard to be good. Fuck…" I couldn't see shit in the dark room anyway, so I didn't feel bad when my eyes slipped closed. Next time we'd have the lights on so I could see everything. For now, I was busy enjoying what was happening.

"I'm not a delicate flower, Cal. If I'm initiating, you can be damn sure I'm in the right mindset to demand what I want."

Demand. Not ask. Why was that so damn hot?

"Demand away, gorgeous. Whatever you want, it's yours."

She purred as she leaned closer, and the noise sent goosebumps up my spine. I was a little worried I'd spontaneously combust before we got anywhere near the good stuff when she made noises like that.

"I like the sound of that. Few guys are so willing to give up control."

"I'm not most guys. I've wanted to get on my knees and worship you since the first day you walked into my work."

I wasn't going to get the chance if she kept going. I didn't normally have such a quick trigger, but damn. When she moved and the friction was perfect, I let out a strangled groan.

"Shit, shit, Kiara… Y-You're gonna get me off. Seriously. I–"

My eyes rolled back in my head when her hand suddenly slipped under my pajamas and wrapped around my dick. She jacked me like an expert and a familiar tingle in my balls told me I wasn't going to last.

"What are you doing to me?" I breathed, thrusting into her hand.

She nipped at my ear, making me shiver. "It's payback for saying I snore."

Best. Payback. Ever.

I gave up on the idea of escaping. I was too close. I'd make it up to her. And once I stopped fighting it, it was embarrassing how quickly it was over. She twisted her hand over the head and–

"Fuck!"

She hummed, stroking me through my release until I was too sensitive and had to stop her. Even with my eyes adjusted, I couldn't see her very well, but I could practically feel the smugness coming off her in waves. Well, two could play that game.