Barely Breathing(32)

He pressed his mouth to mine in a hard, demanding kiss. I tried to wrap my legs around him but he was so tall that he had to put a hand under my ass and hike me up on the wall.

“Oh . . .” I cried as his erection pressed against me. “Kane . . . you feel so good.”

He squeezed my ass and let me slide back down the wall. Keeping my wrists in the air with his hand, he pulled my shirt up and off over my head, letting it fall to the floor. When he dropped to his knees and pressed his lips to my bare midriff, I moaned and ran my hands over the short dark hair growing out on his head.

I grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it up and off. The wide planes of muscle and huge tattoo of an eagle on his back made me feel hot and needy for him. I ran my hands over his hard, bare shoulders and back as he kissed around my belly button.

“I want you so f*ckin’ bad, Viv,” my murmured against my skin. “You don’t even know.”

The brush of his beard across my sensitive skin made me gasp and sink my nails into his shoulders. The growling sound he made as he ripped the button of my jeans apart was primal. He slid his hands down my hips, taking my jeans down to the floor.

I was shaking with desire as I stepped out of the jeans, still clutching his shoulders. He pressed his mouth to my wet panties and I cried out again. Then he ran his tongue up and down the seam of my opening through the fabric.

“Oh God,” I cried. “Fuck me now, Kane. Please.”

He slid his hands up my thighs, his fingertips gliding beneath the sides of my panties. When he looked up at me and our eyes locked, I saw reverence.

His hands stilled and he held my gaze. I waited several seconds, my body wound tight with eager arousal.

“Fuck,” he muttered, sliding his hands out from beneath my panties. “I can’t.”

He reached for his t-shirt on the floor and I let my emotions take control.

“No,” I said, ripping the shirt from his hands. “You’re not walking out on me again. Not now. No, Kane.”

He sighed heavily and pressed the heels of his hands over his eyes. “You don’t know, Viv. This isn’t right. Give me my f*ckin’ shirt.”

“Not right? You lick me through my panties and then decide it’s not right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I decided,” he said, lowering his hands and glaring at me. His tone was filled with bitter anger. “It’s not right for me to f*ck you, Viv. Not because I don’t want to.”

“Oh, don’t play that,” I said angrily. “Fuck that. What’s really going on?”

He leaned closer, his face just inches from mine. “I. Just. Can’t. You don’t know me.”

“I know enough,” I said, forcing myself to hold his steely gaze.

“You don’t.”

I threw my arms up in frustration. “Do you have . . . performance issues? Because it’s okay if you do.”

He shrank back, his expression horrified. “Performance issues?” He gestured at the giant tent shape jutting out from his jeans. “Does this look like an issue to you?”

“I don’t know. I thought maybe you couldn’t . . . finish or something. We can work through it.”

His lips parted in shock. A second later he closed them and put his clenched fist up to his mouth, a vein in his forehead bulging ominously.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” he said. “My dick gets hard, stays hard and f*cks well.”

“Then let’s have it,” I challenged.

He shook his head and reached out. “Give me my motherf*cking shirt, Viv.”

“No.”

“Fine.” He narrowed his eyes at me and picked up the leather jacket he’d put on the console table. “I’ll f*ckin’ freeze, then.”

I jogged to the door, my breasts bouncing shamelessly in my bra. Kane scowled at me as I pressed myself against it.

“You are not walking out on me again.”

“Don’t do this. I’m not right for you. Just trust me, okay?”

Something inside me sank hopelessly. I wouldn’t be the only one fighting for this. I stepped aside and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Okay. But this is the last time. Walk out now and we will never talk again.”

He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

“Viv . . . I just need time.”

“Time for what?” A horrifying thought took hold. “Are you in another relationship?”

“No. Fuck no.”

My eyes filled with tears. Damn him for reeling me in and throwing me back like this.

“Don’t,” he said softly.

“Just go. You’ve humiliated me enough.”

“You don’t know—”

“Then tell me!” I clenched my hands into fists at my sides. “Fucking tell me or don’t, but stop playing these games.”

“You want to know the real me?” he challenged bitterly. “The guy who did six years in prison? You want to f*ck that guy?”

I swallowed hard, the silence between us heavy. “Is that it? That’s why you think—”

“For armed robbery. I pulled a gun on a gas station clerk, Viv. I would’ve done anything for a fix. Anything. You have no idea what it’s like to wonder for all these years whether you would’ve pulled the trigger if the guy hadn’t handed over the money. I think I might’ve.”