Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(50)

He’d just gone about it all wrong. Jumping into the physical aspect of a relationship without building up the emotional part of it. No wonder the feeling had never lasted long after the sex for him. No wonder he’d flit-ted from person to person, desperate and unhappy.

And besides, his past was his past, and just like we’d talked about today, it was all behind him. He’d found what he’d been missing. The only person he was being overtly sexual with was me…and that was the way it should be.

Laughing lightly as I organized stock shelves that didn’t need organiz-ing, I tried to imagine the funnier stories the girls had told about the group. I could just picture them all drinking stale coffee at some middle-of-nowhere rest stop, complaining about Griffin’s crappy car.

Smiling at the image of Kellan in wet board shorts at a water park, I re-folded the stack of Pete’s shirts for the third time. Eventually I’d need to go back out there. Maybe after I filled all of the extra salt shakers.

Vaguely, I heard the sound of the door opening and closing, the noise of the bar increasing and decreasing. Sighing that an employee was messing with my chi, probably about to bite my head off for hiding out during the busiest night we’d ever had, I kept my back turned, trying to appear horribly busy in my quest for…something.

But then, I felt a body come up right behind me, way too far into my personal space. Alarm washing through me, I started to twist around.





140


Strong hands rested against the shelves on either side of me with a firm, hard body pressed into my back. While my heart raced, a mouth hovered near my ear.

“Don’t turn around.”

My heart surged, racing through my veins and thudding in my ears. A list of horrible, life changing events passed through my mind. Was I being attacked? Was I about to be raped? Would anyone hear me scream back here? Would anyone rush to my rescue? Where was Kellan?

Panicked and scared out of my mind, I instantly turned around. Or I tried to anyway. The strong hands jerked my head straight. The body behind me pressed me up against the shelves, the arousal of the man evident against my low back. Oh God, so this was going to be rape then? I started shivering as the voice growled in my ear, “I said, don’t turn around.”

Just as I was debating which part of my body to hit him with first, my attacker started laughing. The ice and fear leeched from me as I instantly recognized the amused chuckle. Rolling my eyes, heat taking over fear, I twisted to face him.

“Kellan! You scared the shit out of me!” I smacked him in the chest, then did it again for good measure.

He backed away a step, then pulled my body flush to his. Still chuckling, he shook his head. “You’re disobeying me…” Grinning devilishly, he leaned his face against mine and backed me up into the shelves. I could smell the wave of alcohol on his breath. “I may just have to punish you tonight,” he whispered.

It was so erotic, I instantly wanted him, then hated my treacherous body for submitting so fast. It was hard to think, though, with his evident pleasure now pressing right where I needed it. Grabbing my leg, he hitched it up his hip a little, and pressed that marvelous hardness against me even more. I groaned softly, closing my eyes and wrapping my arms around him.

“Don’t…I’m mad at you,” I muttered.





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A low rumble came up his throat as his mouth attached to my neck. “It makes me hot when you’re angry,” he murmured, dragging the tip of his tongue from my neck to my ear. I sucked in a breath, my head dropping back to the shelf behind me while his ready body rubbed against me.

Oh, damn.

His fingers deftly untucked my Pete’s shirt, one hand dipping underneath to cup my breast. His teeth lightly tugged on an earlobe before his hot lips closed around it. He groaned low and seductive as he pressed against me, and before I knew it, I was nearly panting, silently begging him to take me.

Hissing through his teeth, he murmured, “God, I want you…do you want me?”

The hand not engaged in fondling me, slinked inside of my jeans and darted inside my underwear. I exhaled in a rush, my eyes flying open.

“No, Kellan, don’t.” I grabbed his hand right before his fingers could reach me. God, if he actually touched me…we’d be undressed and all over each other a second later. And I knew from experience that this room wasn’t exactly secure.

Frowning, he pulled back to look at me. Or he tried to look at me. His eyes focused and unfocused. “Why’d you stop me?” he said, slurring a little and blinking slowly.

Sighing, I tried to get his hand out of my pants; somehow he managed to inch it down a little more. “Are you drunk?” I whispered, bringing my other hand down to try and yank his up.

He laughed lightly, his stronger hand not budging, even with all of my efforts. God, I hoped no one walked in on us like this. “Probably,” he giggled a little, “and I want that sex now.” Shaking my head, I set my mouth into a firm line. “No, I’m not having sex with you in the back room.”





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Frowning, he brought his lips to mine. I resisted, but he teased me with light flicks of his tongue against my skin and I had no choice but to let him in. My grip on his hand relaxed just a fraction, too. “Why not?” he murmured. “I had Pete fix the door…it’s locked, if that’s what you’re worried about.” His hand slid down a half inch lower, and I let it.