Was he? Testing that theory, he nudged her inside her apartment, kicked her front door shut, and gently pushed her up against it.

She stared up at him as he lowered his head, not closing her eyes until the last second, but when his mouth covered hers, she moaned and wrapped her arms around him tight enough to hurt in the very best possible way.

 

 

Chapter 21

 

#TurnDownForWhat

Willa lost herself in Keane’s words . . . “I need you,” in the feel of his hard, heated body up against hers, in the taste of him as he kissed her in the way only he could. He made her ache and yearn and burn. She’d told him that he was in, and she meant it.

Like it or not, he was definitely in her heart. What she wasn’t sure was what it meant, to either of them. She’d said they weren’t going to do this again, and she’d said that out of self-preservation, but now with his hands on her, she couldn’t remember why exactly.

“I’m not usually this easy,” she said out loud, hoping to make him laugh and relieve some of this tension, because she didn’t know about him but she felt strung tighter than a bow.

“Willa.” He did indeed laugh, sexy low and gruff as he pressed his face into her hair. “Babe, you’re many, many things. But easy isn’t one of them.”

When she tried to shove him away, he tightened his grip and lifted his head to meet her annoyed eyes with his laughing ones. Then his smile faded. They watched each other for a beat, his gaze suddenly heated and unwavering. “I know you said one night was all you wanted,” he said. “But I’m thinking two is better than one.”

She nodded, happy to be on the same page. “Two is always better than one, right?”

Letting out a very sexy, very male sound of agreement, he kissed her again, his hands both rough and arousing as they slid up to fist in her hair, holding her still for his kiss. With one tug he bared her throat, scraping his teeth along her skin, making her shudder and press even closer if that was possible. Then his hands skimmed beneath her shirt. She managed to get hers into the back of his jeans and—

“Mew.”

Breathless, they broke apart and turned in unison to find Petunia, head low, butt raised in the air and wriggling.

“Watch out,” Keane said. “Attack mode initiated.”

“Petunia,” Willa said softly and the cat lifted her head. Ice blue eyes were narrowed in disapproval.

“I didn’t know that she’s a kiss blocker,” she said on a laugh.

“In two more minutes she’d have been a cock block—” Still laughing, Willa put her fingers over Keane’s lips. “No swearing in front of the children.”

He nipped at her fingers and heat slashed through her from her roots to her toes, setting fire to some special spots along the way. “So,” she whispered, staring at his mouth. “Where were we?”

He slid his hands up her arms and back into her hair. “Right here.” And he kissed her again, a slow, melting nuzzle of lips; warm, comforting.

Tempting.

Her body moved of its own volition, shifting closer, seeking his heat. With a groan, he pulled her in, those wide shoulders blocking out the light, everything but him. One of his big, warm hands settled at the nape of her neck, holding her steady as he continued to kiss the ever-loving daylights out of her.

She cupped his strong jaw, stroking the two-day stubble that she wanted to feel scrape over her body. When her jacket fell from her, she startled. He’d unzipped and nudged it off her shoulders and she hadn’t even noticed.

“Shh,” he whispered, his mouth on her throat. “I’ve got you.”

And he did. Supported between the wall and his big, delicious body, it was okay that her legs felt wobbly.

Because he had her.

They had to break the kiss for a single beat when he lifted her shirt over her head and then his warm hands were on her bare breasts.

He’d unhooked her bra, letting that fall away as well.

Lifting his head, he looked down at her and let out a long, slow exhale, like he was struggling with control. He watched as she arched into his touch, begging without words for his mouth, for him to find her irresistible, pretty.

“I can’t take my eyes off you,” he murmured, lips at her ear. “You’re so beautiful, Willa.”

“Mew!”

“Quiet,” they both said at the same time, holding each other’s laughing gaze.

“I thought it was kids that were supposed to act like birth control,” he said.

Petunia actually sighed and stalked off, legs stiff, tail twitching.

“Don’t go away mad,” Keane told her. “Just go away.”

“Keane.”

“Only for a few minutes,” he called after the cat. And then he lifted Willa into his arms, the muscles of his shoulders and back rippling smoothly under his shirt. Mmm. Pressing her mouth to his jaw, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her down the hall to her bed.

Where he tossed her.

A surprised squeak escaped her but before she’d bounced more than once he was on her, pressing her down into the mattress, covering her body with his.

“What did I say about dominating me?” she asked with a laugh.

He raised his head, his eyes as dark as the night. “I was hoping that didn’t apply to sex.” His mouth left her lips, heading toward her ear, taking little love bites as he went. “Cuz I’m feeling a little dominant here, Willa.”

Each nibble, each scrape of his teeth seemed to melt her bones away. “That’s okay,” she panted. “Maybe we could take turns.”

“Maybe.” His movements over her were sensual, slow, and dreamlike, and so erotic she writhed for more. He worked his way south from her neck to her collarbone—who knew that was an erogenous zone?—making her gasp when he got to her breast. His tongue worked her nipple over, teasing and tormenting along with his talented, knowing hands, and the sensations drove her right to the edge of a cliff and left her hanging there. “Keane.”

“I know.” He slid further down her body, divesting her of the sweats as he went. Then he made himself at home between her legs, spread wide by his broad-as-a-mountain shoulders.

“Um,” she said. “I—”

He scraped her panties to the side, pressed a kiss to the hot, wet flesh he exposed, and she promptly forgot what she’d been about to say. She heard a shuddery moan and was shocked to realize it was her. “Off,” she demanded, pushing his shirt up his ridged abs, not wanting to be the only half-naked one, but also wanting to see his gorgeous bod.