Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

DANI

T onight has been nothing like I expected.

I figured Kyle would pick me up on the bike, we'd go to dinner somewhere, and then he'd drop me off. Honestly, I wouldn't have been surprised at the Applebee's deal he said he does most of the time.

But he's different. I keep thinking that, getting surprised by his comments, his kindness, and by… him. Which probably doesn't speak well for my own judgy thoughts, preconceived ideas, and bitchy tendencies.

All in all, he does seem to be a fully-functioning adult man who doesn't need or want someone to take care of him, which might seem like a low bar but is undeniably sexy to me. The man himself doesn't hurt either, with his shaggy, floppy hair that's dark blonde at the roots, but lighter toward the tips from the hours he spends in the sun, his icy blue eyes that seem to pierce into my soul, and the smile he flashes that takes his whole aura from bad boy to boy next door. The muscles are a damn good bonus, too. Riding behind him, feeling his abs working as he held us steady, and watching his arms flex as he steered us had me wanting to ride him instead of the motorcycle.

But beyond Kyle's physical appeal, what's really drawing me in is the way he makes me feel.

Kyle has been a complete gentleman tonight, not bowing up to my initial confrontational attack, giving me space when I needed it, and keeping things comfortable. In fact, he's been taking care of me all evening in a lot of ways, making sure that I got enough to eat, refilling my wine, and when I excused myself to the bathroom, he did our dishes.

I think tonight is the first time in a long time that I haven't felt like I had to do something. I've been happily existing, enjoying the conversation and Kyle's attention, and simply taking it all in instead of constantly being the one who gives, gives, gives.

Somehow, hours pass and we're sitting on the couch, facing each other and slowly getting closer and closer even though I don't feel like either of us is moving on the long stretch of brown tweed fabric.

"What's the big dream for Daniela Becerra?" Kyle asks. "Like five years, ten years down the road?" He's careful to avoid the buttons I've warned him about, not mentioning the usual like husband and kids the way most people would.

"I don't know. I don't really have the luxury of thinking that far ahead when I'm worried about this week, this month, next month. Guess I'm not a dreamer, more of a doer."

"Well, I'd say you're doing damn well. I see you succeeding, trusting yourself even when your people don't have faith in you. Hell, I bet their doubting you is what stokes that fire in your gut because if there's one thing that's gonna motivate you, it's proving someone else wrong and shoving it in their face that you thrived in spite of them, not because of them."

That sounds like something he might know a little bit about too, but I don't pry, letting things stay easy. "You make my stubbornness sound like a good thing." I laugh, having never heard it framed quite that way.

"It is. Without it, you'd be in an unhappy marriage, probably to some asshole who doesn't appreciate how amazing you are, taking care of him and your parents while never receiving a single thank you, and making yourself small to fit someone else's opinion of what you should be. You say you're not a dreamer, but I think you're working your ass off to make your own dream come true. Just because it's not something cliché like a white wedding, or a picket fence, or a trip to Europe doesn't make it less important. Dreams are what you make of them, and I happen to think you've got a pretty great one."

His finger is tracing over mine one at a time, each gentle caress building the fire inside me that started with his compliments because I don't hear good things about myself often. Usually, it's that I'm wasting my time or could be doing something more worthwhile, which makes his words that much more valuable to me. I know I'll replay them in my mind next time Mama and Papa try to undervalue what I'm doing. No, when they underestimate me .

"What about you?" I ask. "You're stuck at Kathy's for the next few weeks, and then it's on to the next job, but what's the big dream beyond that?"

"Is it shitty if I say this is it?" He looks around the living room before his eyes return to me. "I'm happy where I am. Maybe that means I lack ambition or something, because I've basically accomplished what I set out to do, but it took a lot to get here and I want to just… be . And enjoy it."

I make a point of looking around too. "Seems like you're living the dream too."

I think he blushes a bit, but that has to be a trick of the light or something because something that simple can't possibly get to a guy like Kyle who lets seemingly everything roll off his back.

"My family would be horrified to hear you say that," he says, and though I've been listening intently, my ears perk up at his mentioning them. "I started out on a crew right after high school, no college like my brothers and sister, no plans for a corner office or anything like that. That was never me."

His eyes go distant for a minute like he's remembering his younger self.

"Stayed with that crew for a couple of years, learning and working, and taking ridiculous amounts of pleasure from walking into my mom's house with dirty boots that left footprints everywhere." He chuckles. "She threw so many fits over that."

"Negative attention is still attention, and that forced them to see you," I guess, remembering what he said before, and he nods.

"When the boss said he was retiring, I jumped at the opportunity to buy him out, making monthly payments at first, and finally, when I'd grown it enough, I bought him out. It's mine now, and I'm damn proud of that, but my siblings are all big-shots, so my digging holes, no matter how fancy they are, is unfathomable to them. We don't even talk about it. When we have family dinners, they all sit around and talk about this deal and that bullshit, and nobody even asks what I'm up to. Sometimes, I wonder if I'd see them at all if I didn't force my way into their lives."

"I'm sorry," I say quietly. "You said they asked what made you so happy last night. That's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah," he allows, but he frowns. "But I was there because I went over to check on Janey while Cole's out of town. He didn't ask me to, I just took it upon myself to do it. I do that a lot, just show up here and there to take my niece out for ice cream or fuck up one of my brother's perfect schedules so I can make sure they're okay." He looks down at our hands, his eyes following the movement of his finger over mine. "We're closer than we've been in ages, but it's hard to forget that they all just left… one by one… to do their own thing, and I was stuck at home with Mom and Dad, who ignored me unless I was setting something on fire. Usually myself."

"Being the baby of the family's not always all it's cracked up to be, huh?"

He shrugs like it's not a big deal, even though it feels like his family's lack of interest hurts him a lot. "I'm happy where I am, don't need more than this right here."

"Sounds like you're making the most of your dream too."

I hear the similarities in our journeys—the overbearing families, the fierce need to succeed on our own terms, and the way we both live in the moment, not putting too much weight into tomorrows and maybes.

"I'm trying," he says, taking my hand in his. He weaves his fingers through mine, and his thumb begins to swirl a thoughtful circle on the back of my hand. I can feel the roughness of his palm against mine, and it itches a scratch I've ignored for too long but is beginning to loudly demand attention.

"I've been thinking…" I start, but then my tongue freezes, not sure how to say what I want to say.

"About?" Kyle prompts, his eyes locked onto my mouth like he's hanging on my every word.

"My conversation with Nessa this morning." God, was that only this morning? It feels like a lifetime ago. "She has this guy, a friend, if you will."

Kyle's lips lift into a smile, but it's not his beaming one. This one is pure sex, and when his gaze meets mine, the heat there nearly scalds me. "Friends are good. We're friends."

"You said friends can hold some things against each other," I remind him, hearing the needy breathiness in my own words.

His nod is slow and thoughtful. "I did say that. I think my specific suggestion was holding their bodies against each other. Is that what you want, Daniela?"

My full name on his tongue in that rough, deep voice must be some sort of black magic spell because I can feel every doubt I have simply poof into nothingness as heat pools low in my belly.

I think I need to be the one to make the first move, for myself and for Kyle, especially after last time, so I scoot toward him and then create a place for myself, straddling his hips as I settle into his lap. I lay my hands on his shoulders, and his palms land on my thighs. I look into his eyes, falling into the desire I see burning deep in their icy depths. "This can't mean anything," I caution him. "Nothing's changed. I don't have time for a relationship or more than this."

His eyes scan mine, looking for something he must find because his hand lifts to cup my jaw. I tilt into his touch, my eyes trying to flutter closed, but he jerks my head back to center and forces my forehead to his as his gaze locks onto mine. "Are you sure?"

He's giving me a moment to panic, to retreat, to resist this thing growing between us, and I appreciate that more than he knows because I want to fight it. I always fight everything—my parents, my brother, my customers, my life, myself. I fight myself more than anything, but I'm so tired of it all.

I need him—a man who sees something in me beyond what I can do for him, a man I trust to not push for more than I have to give, a man who's promised me, in word and in deed, that he can make my body feel more than the all-too-familiar empty exhaustion, a man who can make all the noise of my life just shut up for one moment.

That's what I need.

That's what Kyle offers.

Peace. It's not the quiet calmness you usually imagine. It's the fiery release after desperately holding a tight restraint on myself for too long. That's the peace I want.

And I think I can do that for him too. I think he needs that as much as I do.

"I'm sure," I say firmly before I angle my head to kiss him.

There's a moment when our lips are barely an inch apart and our breaths mingle where I feel like I'm giving in to something inevitable, something that's been destined to happen since that first day when I cussed Kyle out in my front yard. Something I simply put off when I kicked him out of my house while fate laughed and said, ‘It's gonna happen no matter what you do.' This kiss will be different from that one because I'm going into this with my eyes wide open about what's happening. And I'm ready this time.

He lets me be the aggressor for one short, sacred second where I press my lips to his, feeling him surrender to me, and then his hands move to cup my face as he demands entry to my mouth.

His kiss is as powerful as he is, and I can feel his need for more matching my own as our tongues fight for control. His mouth moves against mine, and one of his hands finds its way to my hair. I can't help but let my head fall back into his hand, enjoying the way he's running his fingers through my locks, and he uses my position to place searing kisses along the column of my neck. I moan, holding his head to me for more.

He's everywhere, his mouth and tongue placing kisses across my jaw and neck while his hands roam from my hair, down my back, to my hips, which he squeezes in his strong grip.

God, it's been so long since I've been touched like this.

Kyle slips a hand under my shirt, and the feel of his palms on my sides raises delicious goosebumps all over my skin that only make me more sensitive. I reach down, pulling my shirt over my head.

"Jesus," he whispers reverently when he sees my breasts lifted in my prettiest bra. I chose it intentionally, knowing that I was playing with fire tonight and wanting to be ready if I decided to dance with Kyle in the flames, and I'm glad I planned ahead because when he traces the blunt tip of his finger along the lace cup, I feel beautiful and feminine and… worshiped , all things I've never experienced.

Kyle presses a soft kiss to the mound of my right breast and then my left, his hands cupping me while his thumbs swipe over my hard nipples through the lacy fabric. I arch into his touch. "More."

His skilled hands make quick work of the clasp at my back, and then he pulls my bra down my arms, leaving me to deal with it as he returns his attention to my now-free breasts. His tongue wetly rasps over the nub of my right nipple while his thumb and finger pinch and roll my left, and then he switches, driving me higher and higher.

I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him into my cleavage at the same time I lean into him, pushing him harder against the couch. He scoots his butt down, reclining further so that I'm sitting on his hips, not just his lap, and I buck against the thick hardness I feel in his jeans. Kyle groans and pulls me against him harder, his cock throbbing against my pussy. I feel powerful, like I'm turning him on as much as he's turning me on, and I lean down with a small smile to kiss him again.

His mouth is hot, his kiss punishing as he demands more from me. His hands grip my ass, pushing and pulling me over his cock, rubbing himself with my center, but also hitting my clit with every stroke. It's through my jeans, which shouldn't be enough, but it feels so good that I'm already getting close.

Suddenly, Kyle picks me up, and fearing I'm going to fall to the floor, I wrap my legs around him, but he places me securely on the couch. Standing over me, he goes straight for my waist, his fingers deftly undoing the button and the zipper, while I kick off my shoes. He peels my jeans over my hips and down my legs, turning them inside out as he gets them off me and then unceremoniously dropping them to the floor. He doesn't pause, going for my panties next and pulling them off.

Kyle's eyes trace over me. I should feel vulnerably exposed, naked on his couch while he's looming over me, still fully dressed, but the hunger in his eyes doesn't allow for nerves or insecurity. He likes what he sees. That much is obvious, especially when he scrubs a hand over his dick and mutters, "Fuck."

He places a knee to the couch between my legs, spreading them so he can lie on top of me. His mouth returns to its previous work of kissing along my jaw and neck while his hand moves down my side to my leg, which he bends, creating more room for himself in the cradle of my thighs. His cotton shirt and denim jeans are deliciously overstimulating to my sensitive skin, but I want to feel him and tug at his shirt. "Off. Take it off."

He reaches over his head, gathering a fistful of the material at his nape and pulling it up. He stops kissing me long enough to take it off but goes back to sucking my nipple as he drops the shirt to the floor. And then I have access to his skin too.

I run my fingers up and down the hard muscles of his back, feeling the way they flex as Kyle moves over me. I test using my short nails on his spine, and he arches into me, his groan vibrating my nipple. "Fuck, yes," he says. "Show me that fire."

I writhe beneath him, desperately needing and wanting more. Fire? He's come to the right place. I rub my feet up and down the backs of his legs, squeeze his hips with my thighs, and scratch and knead his back and shoulders, my touch drifting to his chest and up to his jaw. "Make me come, Kyle. Please." I mean it to be an order, and though it sounds more like a plea, Kyle obeys.

He pushes my legs further apart and leans to the side, pinning one beneath him. My other leg is pressed against the back of the couch, opening me as wide as possible, and he squeezes the flesh of that inner thigh, working higher and higher as he gets closer to where I need him most. When his index finger glances over my pussy, I jerk reflexively. "Jesus, that's sexy. I barely touch you and you respond so much." I'd argue if there was any denying it, but as he runs the flat of his fingers from my entrance up to my clit, a full shudder goes through me, so I bite my lip.

"Nu-uh," he murmurs, his thumb teasing over my clit in tiny circles now. "Let me hear that mouth. You're not the quiet type, and we both know it. I want to hear you."

I'm not a dirty talker. I'm not a talker in bed, period. But Kyle makes me want to be, makes me want to tell him what I want. "Rub my clit."

His chuckle is dark and ominous, and when he gets nose to nose with me, I can't help but freeze. "I don't need you to tell me how to get you off. I know what I'm doing. But I don't want you holding back. I like you mouthy. Say my name, scream if you need to. Just don't go quiet on me."

With that, he slides two fingers into me without warning and my entire pussy clenches, not fighting the invasion but trying to keep him there, filling a void I didn't know existed until he filled it. I don't hold back the cry of pleasure, and though my eyes have fluttered closed, I can feel Kyle's victorious smile like it's a physical thing in the air between us. "There you go. That's what I want to hear."

Kyle works my body like he's known it my whole life, his fingers fucking me, his thumb circling my clit, and his mouth sucking and tugging on my nipple. In a ridiculously short time, I'm on the edge, in danger of falling. But I don't want this to end. It's too soon. It's not enough. I want more. I want this to last forever.

"Quit fighting it, Daniela. I want you on my fingers before I take you with my mouth."

"What?" I moan as he strokes into me harder, rougher, his fingers curling forward to pet a spot he's discovered makes me very nearly lose all control.

He runs his free hand into my hair, gripping the strands deliciously tight as he brings my eyes to his. What I see there is heat and hunger that nearly does me in. "Did you think this was it? I told you I want you coming over and over, so quit fighting it. Fucking come, so I can lick your pussy the way we both want me to."

He doesn't stop his movements while his mouth is promising filthy things, and it's too much for me to withstand. I fall apart, shattering into messy spasms that rack through me as my eyes fall closed. I cry out, maybe Kyle's name or maybe just incomprehensible sounds. I don't even know because I'm lost to the pleasure.

Before I come back to the here and now, I feel Kyle move down my body. His fingers never leave me, but his thumb is replaced by the hot, wet feel of his tongue. I arch hard, my back lifting from the couch as I try to lock my thighs against him and run my fingers into his thick hair, pulling him away. "Too much," I tell him, but Kyle growls against my clit, battering it with the tip of his tongue while somehow sucking it at the same time.

"You can handle it. Show me how good you can take it," he murmurs against the softness of my pussy lips.

For some reason, his words take just the right amount of edge off, and it's not too much. Instead, it's perfect, it's amazing. I let him tease me, getting me close to the edge that never quite leaves me and then retreating as he slows down his attentions. I pick my head up, looking down my body at him between my legs, and he lifts his eyes to mine. His tongue never stops, but one side of his mouth tilts up. He's smirking while licking me, like this is as much for him as it is for me.

I'm someone who does everything for everyone else, and as Kyle eats me, I can sense the same thing in him. He said it about his family, and I've seen the way he takes care of his crew. Now, he's doing it with me, the same way he has all night. Selfishly, I need that more than I'd like to admit. But even as I get close to shattering again, I vow to return the favor to Kyle too. I want to give to him, not only take the way everyone else does because I know how lonely that can feel.

We both deserve someone to pour into us the way we pour into everyone else.

This time, when I come, it's with that in mind. I ride the wave of pleasure he's brought to my body, floating through the blackness dotted with sparkles behind my closed eyes, calling out his name on purpose.

As soon as the spasms subside, I'm moving, pushing him off me and sitting up. He sits back on the couch next to me in confusion but realizes what I'm doing as soon as I reach for his jeans. "Dani, we don't?—"

I tug one of his nipple rings, which shuts him up really quick. Pain or pleasure, it cuts him off like a light switch. "I'm gonna suck your dick. You got a problem with that?"

He blinks once, twice, and then a smile blooms on his sexy mouth.

"Didn't think so."

I lick a circle over his nipple, the feel of the warm metal against my tongue new and exciting, while my hands undo the button and zipper. Kyle raises his hips, helping me to shove his jeans down a bit, taking his underwear with them.

His cock is rock hard and thick, its length rising up against his stomach. I look him up and down and then lift my eyes to his as I lick my lips. His head lolls over to the side as he watches me, waiting for me to do what I've said I'm going to. I give him a seductive smile, knowing he wants this as much as I wanted his mouth.

When I lean forward, I see that his thumb and first two fingers are at his base, guiding his cock to my mouth. I let him stay there as I lick teasing circles over his head, swiping my tongue through the salty precum that's already spilling. But, ready for more, I move his hand, taking his length in my own fist as I start to swallow him into my mouth.

"Fuck, Daniela," he groans above me, and I fight the smile that's trying to steal across my lips because I don't want to lose suction on him.

I work him up and down, coating him with my saliva and teasing him at the back of my throat. I feel his hand at the back of my head and freeze. This is a test, as real and as important as the verbal ones I keep throwing at him. If he pushes my head down the way some guys do, not caring if you're gagging, so help me, I will get up, grab my clothes, and walk out that door with nothing more than a ‘fuck you' thrown over my shoulder while he sits here with his dick out. But he doesn't do that. He gathers my hair in his fist, holding it out of my way, and when I peek to the side, I can see that he's just giving himself a better view of me sucking him.

Relieved, I vacuum my cheeks, wrapping every inch of him with my flesh and swallowing his length again and again, using my hand on the part I can't take, getting faster and faster. I feel him go even harder in my mouth, his balls pulling up tight against the edge of my fist.

"I'm gonna—" Kyle warns, and I nod, not slowing down in the slightest.

I want him to come in my mouth. I want this power over him, but more importantly, I want to do this for him, want to give him the same selfless pleasure he gave me. I get a little irritated at always being the one who makes sacrifices and scoops out my own soul for everyone else, but Kyle gave to me first, without asking or expecting anything in return, and I want him to feel as seen, as appreciated, as wanted as he's made me feel.

He grunts, the sexy sound rumbling in his throat a moment before his whole body jerks. Jet after jet of his hot cum fills my mouth, and I swallow it all down hungrily, still sucking along his length to draw out his pleasure.

When he sags, panting heavily, I peek up at him.

"Come here," he growls, pulling my mouth to his.

His kiss is softer, but still as powerful as he swipes his tongue over mine. I taste myself on his and know he can taste his own cum, but he doesn't seem to mind so I don't either. Spent, we flop back on the couch, smiling happily.

I stretch my legs out in front of me, resting them on the coffee table that's been pushed askew and crossing them at the ankles.

"You were right," I say lazily, and Kyle rolls his head over to look at me questioningly. "You do fuck as good as you fight."

He laughs and throws his arm around me, gathering me into his side. "Woman, I haven't even fucked you yet, but we might need to leave that for another night."

I can't be disappointed, not after the two best orgasms of my life. But I am excited by what ‘another night' might bring.