Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(7)

Sliding into the leather bench seat, he glanced over at me as I slid in too. “Your place or mine?” he asked, exaggerating the huskiness in his voice.

18



I laughed as I leaned over to kiss him. Still trying to keep our relationship on an even keel, instead of bursting right into the red-hot zone that we so easily could dip into, Kellan and I were still living apart, still taking things slow. “Mine,” I breathed, trying to be as sexy as he was, but, I’m sure, failing horribly. Although, he did bite his lip as he looked over my face. Flushing instantly, I sat back and ran a loose lock of hair behind my ear. “Anna’s gonna be late tonight, so we’ll have the place to ourselves.”

His grin widened as he started the car, the hearty engine roaring to life, its growl as sexy as Kellan’s smile. Feeling the heat in my cheeks, I shook my head and added, “School is starting soon, so I should really start going through my stuff.”

That wasn’t really what I wanted to do tonight, but the intensity of his gaze was riling my body up, and I hated how much he could see himself affecting me. I wished I could be more subtle around him.

Twisting his lip, he seemed to contain a laugh. “Uh-huh, school stuff.

All right. I’m great at…school stuff.” His mouth breaking out into a heart-stopping grin, he pulled his car away from the place he’d just completely rocked.





Chapter


Peace


We pulled into the parking area of the apartment that I shared with Anna about twenty minutes later. Kellan still had a fantastic smile on his lips as he shut the car off, and I knew he was still a little high from the adrenaline of being on stage. While I could think of no greater torture than being the center of attention in front of hundreds of complete strangers, not to mention singing in front of said strangers, he lived for it.

He was grinning ear to ear as he met me in front of his car, humming one of his songs. Smiling up at him, I looped my arm through his. I had no desire to live his life, but I would happily bathe in the aftereffects of it. We’d been through so much in our path to each other; his joy now brought me joy, too. I’d much rather see a delighted smile on his face than tears in his eyes.

After swishing the door open dramatically, he led me to my tiny two-bedroom place here. While it was postage-stamp small, it did have a pretty spectacular view of Lake Union. Following him through the door, I sighed tiredly and switched the light on. Removing my purse from around my body, I set it on a small table while Kellan shut the door.

Mere seconds after I was done, my body was jerked forward and then slammed back into the front door.

I had time to gasp but that was it. Kellan’s body pressed against every inch of me, his lips hungrily attacking mine. Without a thought, my fingers snuck up into his hair, twisting around the long strands. My heart surged forward so fast I thought I might collapse to the floor. Kellan’s firm grip around me wouldn’t have allowed that, though. Everywhere, from his chest, to his chiseled stomach, to his sensuous hips, was flush against mine, pressing into me like he wished we could be closer.

20



As the fire in me started to heighten, the arousal I felt for him burning away every other thought in my head, my breath quickened. His breath was quick too between our hungry kisses, our light tongue flicks. Then his hand traveled over my bottom, curving around my thigh to the back of my knee. Shifting us slightly, he grabbed my leg and adjusted it up his hip. Lining us up perfectly, his aroused body pressed into mine, just where I needed it to.

Groaning, I tightened my hands in his hair and firmly attached my lips to his. A sultry noise escaped his throat, rumbling through his body as our mouths moved together intently. It stoked the fire already in me to a boiling point. I needed him. All of him. Now.

Arching against the door, I broke away from his glorious mouth.

“Kellan,” I moaned out, instantly grateful my sister was not here,

“…bedroom…”

His lips traveled down my throat, his tongue flicking every erogenous zone on the way down. I groaned again, rubbing myself against him, trying to dull the ache somehow. A chuckle left his mouth as the tip of his tongue traced my collarbone. He was enjoying this, enjoying teasing me.

Pushing his shoulders back, I frowned at him. He cocked an eyebrow at me, the edge of his lip curving up in a similar manner. It was so incredibly hot, especially with the desire smoldering in his eyes. No one could do bedroom eyes like Kellan could.

Then his demeanor completely changed. Smiling playfully, he let go of my leg that he’d hitched up his side. Tilting his head as he watched me struggling to breathe like a normal person, he took a step back. “Are you ever going to move back in with me?” he asked, his thumb coming up to trace the line his tongue had slid down earlier.

I blinked at his sudden change of direction, my head feeling sluggish as it fought against the desire to push him back into the living room and take him on the monstrously ugly orange couch. I was pretty sure he’d let me. Wondering if he’d really just asked about us living together again, I took a side step away from him. It was also a side step toward the hall, toward my bedroom, and the smolder in his eyes came back a little.

21



Smiling impishly, he nodded his head that way. “Because I really hate having sex on a futon.” Winking, he added, “Not that I won’t, though.” Smirking at him, I reached out and grabbed his hand. “You’re the one that kicked me out,” I said, managing to keep my voice light, even though the memory was a painful one for me.