Blaire (Corked and Tapped Book 9) Read online

  He had a point. She needed to relax. She was alone with Kyle, the only man she’d ever met with whom she’d dreamed of being alone. And he was doing nothing but holding her hand, though she was starting to wish he would do more.

  The fact he was holding her hand spoke volumes. It wasn’t just friendly. He was making a move. And she was warming to him.

  She shook her head. “No. Never. You’re right. But you don’t know anything about me,” she pointed out. Nothing important.

  He laughed as he lifted her knuckles to his face and rubbed them across his lips.

  She stared at the action, mesmerized. Tingles raced all down her arm and made her shiver. She watched his lips, lips she’d admired for months, wishing she could know how they might feel against hers. Hell, she wouldn’t mind feeling them against her entire body.

  Lord, what is wrong with me?

  “What’s so funny?” she asked, her gaze lingering on the way he gripped her hand.

  “It’s just that I know a lot about you. How could you say I know nothing?”

  “I mean, I’m just a girl who comes into the bar where you work. You can’t be expected to memorize details about everyone who comes through the door.”

  He held her gaze and worried the inside of his cheek again, and then he took a breath. “’Kay, you’re not a girl. You’re clearly a grown woman. And, you must realize you turn heads.”

  Her brows shot up. “I don’t turn heads. That’s crazy.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, babe. You do. It makes me nervous every week, worrying some asshole will follow you out the door when you go home.”

  Shock was her only response. “That’s…sweet. I’m always careful.”

  “You weigh like a hundred pounds. Anyone who wanted to could grab you right off the street.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Well, they haven’t, and I can’t imagine why they would. I only live a few blocks in the other direction. I carry mace. It’s well lit.”

  He lifted his free hand and touched her nose. “Don’t freak out on me, but I know where you live.”

  She blinked. “Why?”

  “Because, like I said, you make me nervous. So, either I or another employee always follows you to make sure you get into your building.”

  She gasped. “Are you serious? How long have you been following me?”

  He tugged her hand so she leaned closer, and she flattened her palm against his chest. “A few months. And it’s not always me. Sometimes it’s Jeremy or one of the other guys. I’m not some kind of stalker. I just worry about you.”

  “Why?” Her heart pounded. This was weird, but the truth was her imagination was getting away from her, and now she was praying he really did find her attractive and was interested in her. It was a lot to hope for, but what other explanation was there?

  He slid his other hand up to cup the back of her neck. He pulled her closer until their foreheads touched. “Because I like you. I’m fucking slow about asking women out, but I’ve been working up the nerve forever. Is that so hard to believe?”

  “Yes.” She didn’t hesitate.

  He sighed as he gave her a few inches, but he kept his hand on her neck and gripped hers against his chest. “And as for not knowing you, let me list what I know about you. I know you’re an extremely loyal friend who doesn’t mind sitting alone in a bar every Friday night so her roommate can have wild sex.”

  She couldn’t keep from smiling at that picture.

  “I know you’re farsighted because you only wear those fuck-me glasses when you read.”

  Her mouth fell open.

  He laughed. “Yeah. You heard me. Every time you peer over the top of them, my heart stops.” He grinned. “I also know you’re working on your master’s in literature. I know you’re extremely disciplined about your schoolwork. I know your entire demeanor changes when you put away the classics and pull out one of those erotic romance novels.”

  She stiffened. He paid attention to what she read?

  He continued, but his voice was lower, and his face was closer, his lips inches from hers. “I know that your face heats and you start to squirm when you read for pleasure. It’s a wonder I get anything done after nine o’clock, the precise time you allow yourself to switch from business to pleasure.”

  She stopped breathing.

  His voice grew even deeper. “I know my cock stiffens as I watch you squirm. And…I know you’re squirming right now in exactly the same way. Did I get anything wrong?”

  She opened her mouth, though she had no idea what she might say, and it didn’t matter because he closed the distance and set his lips on hers.

  Chapter 5

  Blaire couldn’t believe this was happening. Kyle was kissing her. He started out sweet and soft, but then he groaned, pulled her body against his, and deepened the kiss.

  She reached for his biceps with her free hand and held on. His heart pounded against the hand she held to his chest.

  He angled her head with the palm at her neck and slid his tongue along the seam of her lips until she parted for him, letting him in.

  Her brain scrambled. How long had she dreamed of something like this happening to her? Maybe she’d actually been knocked out from that punch and was currently unconscious on the floor of the bar.

  Please, God, let this be real.

  By the time he released her lips, they were both panting, and she realized she was practically in his lap. His hands were on her back, rubbing up and down. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

  “Am I conscious? Or did that guy knock me out cold?”

  He chuckled. “Baby, you’re totally conscious.”

  Flutters raced around in her belly every time he called her baby.

  His head fell back on the couch, and he stared at the ceiling. “I’m such an idiot.” He lifted his face again to meet her gaze. “If I had asked you out at any point in the last few months, would you have said yes?”

  She nodded, still absorbing the fact that he would have done so.

  He shifted his entire body on the sofa, grabbing her shoulders and facing her more directly. “I know you probably think I’m some oversized bouncer guy who has no business hitting on a woman with an advanced degree, but I want you to know I’m not just a buff body. I promise.”

  She wasn’t sure why he needed to explain himself. He was the entire package. “I never once thought anything like that, Kyle. I’m not that shallow.” Just because he worked as a bouncer at night didn’t mean he wasn’t intelligent. There was no correlation. The books stacked all over his apartment proved he was a curious learner just like her, apparently including subjects that made her squirm.

  He shrugged. “Yeah, but you’re this sexy, studious woman who will probably write a masterpiece someday and become famous with some nerdy husband behind you in a suit.”

  She laughed. “I lost you after sexy. Say that part again.” This was surreal.

  He slid both his hands into her hair, removed the clip and dropped it on the coffee table. And then he ran his fingers through the long, straight, boring locks. “Extremely sexy. The first night you came in, I fell for you. You have so many sides. This serious side all buried in schoolwork. This prissy side all worried about making sure your book bag is in the right place and your shirt is straight so your cleavage doesn’t show.”

  She gasped. He noticed that? She so totally did tend to glance down and make sure she wasn’t flashing people. In fact, her hand went to her chest now, flattening between her breasts before intentionally tugging the still damp material down too far. She didn’t look, but she would bet the edge of her bra was showing. “I do not,” she insisted in contrast.

  He chuckled. “And let’s not forget this sensual side that gets all hot and bothered reading erotic books while glancing at me over and over as if I’m the star in every one of them.”

  Her face heated.

  “Yeah. I noticed. That didn’t mean I thought you would actually go out with me for real. Just b
ecause you like looking at my ass.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Everyone looks at your ass. It’s perfection.”

  “Yeah?” He smiled, his eyes glazing with the same lust she felt. “Well, I’d like to feel your hands on my ass, gripping it while I make you writhe like the characters in those books.”

  She swallowed, forcing courage. “I’d like that too. But honestly, if you know all this about me, why didn’t you just ask me out?”

  Kyle held her gaze. “I was afraid you would turn me down. It’s one thing for you to picture me when you read those books, but agreeing to a real date is totally different. I could tell you’re normally introverted, and I hoped over time I could prove to you that I’m a good guy who just wants a chance with someone special. Someone like you. I never quite gathered the courage to take the risk before tonight. If you’d turned me down, my dream would have been shattered. But when that guy hit you…” He glanced at her cheek and then stroked it gently with his thumb. “Something snapped. I knew it was time to stop stalling and grow some balls.”

  “Kyle…”

  He shook his head and then cupped her face, narrowing his gaze. “I’m never going to be a nerdy guy in a suit.”

  “I never wanted that stuffy guy in a suit. I’m never going to be that curvy woman you said you were attracted to earlier.”

  His eyes widened. “What are you talking about? You’re curvy.” He leaned back and stared at her for a second. “In all the right places,” he whispered.

  She watched his face soften as he took her in.

  His voice was low and deep when he finally spoke again. “I know we just crossed into new territory tonight, but now that I know you would have been willing to date me, I can’t stop imagining all the nights I’ve missed being too chicken to ask you out. I don’t want to miss any more of your nights. Would you consider…staying the night?” He toyed with the hem of her shirt, his fingers grazing the skin at her lower back and making her squirm.

  She stared at him, absorbing his speech, while trying to convince herself he was for real. Spend the night? With Kyle? In his…bed? She swallowed back her nerves. “I could do that, but you should know something about me first.” No way would she sleep with a man without being totally honest. “I’ve never done this before.”

  His smile grew. “What? Spent the night with someone?”

  Her heated face burned hotter. “Had sex.”

  His slow inhale made her nervous. And then he shocked her. “Neither have I.”

  She flinched. “Uh… Seriously?” No way.

  He nodded. “Yes. And if you tell anyone, I’ll deny it.” He smiled, but he was shaking a little. “You’ll ruin my reputation.”

  “But you must have women drooling over you every night. I’ve seen them.”

  He winced. “If you’ve seen them, then you know why I turn them down. Gross. I can’t help it that I really enjoy working out and taking care of my body, but at the same time that tends to attract a type of woman who doesn’t interest me.”

  She nodded slowly. “I can see that.”

  He sighed and then shifted and pulled her into his lap.

  It felt so good to be held by him. He had one hand on her back, fingers splayed, and one on her thigh, rubbing it up and down. He had no idea how arousing that was, and she had no intention of telling him.

  “Call me old-fashioned or whatever, but my parents are still married, and there has never been a day when I didn’t know for certain they love each other deeply. When you grow up watching that, it tends to rub off on you. I want that. I never wanted to settle for less. I want to marry someone who looks at me like I see my mom look at my dad, and I’ve never been able to bring myself to have sex with someone just for the sake of saying I did. I don’t even know how it could possibly be good.”

  He glanced down at her. “I want someone in my life who looks at me the way you do. I love the way you listen to me as if what I have to say is important, looking me in the eye even though I know at first it was hard for you.” He took a deep breath. “Am I freaking you out?”

  She shook her head. He wasn’t. Surprisingly. His words were beautiful. “I guess my situation is the opposite. I watched my parents fight all my life until they finally divorced the year I moved out. It was stupid that they held on so long as if it were better for me. It wasn’t. It hardened me. I never wanted to get into a relationship without being sure it was something special because I never ever want to live in a home with tension like that.”

  He listened intently and then kissed her forehead. “I love that.”

  She glanced away, her gaze landing on the book he’d stuffed behind him on the sofa that was now next to his thigh. She reached for it. Hot Sex Positions.

  He groaned, but didn’t snatch it away this time.

  She flipped to the page he was obviously reading because the binding fell open to it. There were even pictures. Graphic ones. She flushed and set it on the coffee table. “You’re going to have to explain your unusual reading material.”

  He scrunched up his nose and met her gaze. “I swear I’m not some perv. What can I say? I wanted to know what the hell I was doing when the time came. I wanted to be able to get it right.”

  She licked her lips. “Is there a right and wrong way to have sex?”

  His hand went to her cheek. “I think so. I’ve listened to guys talk about sex for half my life. I gather that it’s super easy for men to orgasm and takes a bit of work to get women on the same page. I don’t want to do anything wrong. I’ll never be the kind of guy who’s just in it for myself. If I’m going to have sex with a woman, then I want her to be every bit as into it as I am.”

  She searched his face. He was so sincere. No way was he feeding her lines. In fact, his hands were shaking.

  She squirmed. Her sex was swollen and wet, and she was pretty sure there would be no problem with her being as aroused as him. “I don’t think that’s going to be an issue,” she whispered. After all, she’d fantasized about him for months, and here she was. In his apartment. On his lap. Listening to him say exactly the right things.

  He smiled, and his eyes lit up. “You’ll stay?”

  Chapter 6

  Blaire thought that was a well-established fact. “If you promise to demonstrate whatever that position was you were reading about,” she responded boldly.

  His grin grew. “All of them.” His hands went to her neck again. “Jesus.”

  She held his gaze.

  “I don’t take this decision lightly.”

  “I don’t either.”

  “I didn’t decide I wanted to sleep with you tonight, Blaire. I’ve known it for months.”

  “Me too.”

  His face lit up further. “I have two stipulations.”

  She scrunched up her nose, somehow knowing something about this was going to be silly. His eyes were dancing.

  “One, from now on I get your Saturday nights, but they’ll be held at my place, not yours. So, you can let your roommate know she gets the entire weekend.”

  Blaire giggled. “She’ll be happy about that.”

  “And two…” He hesitated. “You have to come home with me tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner.”

  She pursed her lips. “Kyle, that’s huge. I’m not good with people. I’m an introvert. We just crossed into this territory tonight. It feels awkwardly soon to meet your parents.”

  “Just think about it. After I’ve tasted every inch of your body, then you can tell me you’re not sure and it’s too soon.”

  She tried not to giggle. “Tasted?”

  “God, yes.” He leaned in and set his lips on her neck, kissing her sweetly and then dragging his tongue up to her ear.

  She shuddered as he flicked his tongue over her earlobe, gripping his biceps. “Kyle…”

  “Yes,” he breathed into her ear. “That’s what I want to hear. About two dozen times. That’s one.” He gave her earlobe a playful bite and then shifted to the front to take her lips again.
r />   A sound came out of her mouth, shocking her.

  Kyle rose from the couch, never breaking the kiss, his hands under her butt, lifting her with him. “Wrap your legs around me, baby,” he murmured against her lips.

  She did as he said, her arms going around his neck. She kept her eyes closed as he walked them through the apartment, around a corner, down a hallway, into a room she knew would be his bedroom.

  He lowered her gently onto his bed, coming on top of her, his hands under her shoulders, dragging her across the mattress. When his knee went between hers, she moaned.

  Still kissing the life out of her, he angled his head to one side to deepen the contact, and then he pressed that knee between her legs up against her sex.

  Her ability to think fled the room. Her body was on fire. She gripped his shoulders with both hands and lifted her heated center against his thigh.

  Oh. God. Her breath caught, and she pulled free of the kiss, light-headed.

  He was smiling down at her. “The books painted a much different picture. So did the locker-room talk.” He finally pulled back and leaned over to the bedside table. A moment later, light filled the room.

  She licked her swollen lips, gasping for air. “What?” Her brain was muddled.

  He kept smiling, but he held her gaze as he pressed his thigh harder against her sex.

  Her mouth fell open, and her eyes rolled back for a moment. She was going to come against his damn leg. She wasn’t even sure she cared.

  “Yeah… That’s not how I’ve heard that women respond.”

  She met his gaze, narrowing her eyes. “If you’re making fun of me…” She shoved at him.

  “God, no.” He held her tight. “Never. I’m fucking elated that you’re so damn aroused. It’s fucking sexy. My dick is going to explode before we get our clothes off.”

  She searched his face. He wasn’t kidding. “’Kay. Don’t tease. I don’t know what I’m doing here. I can’t help it if I don’t react like what you’ve read or heard.”