I quickly show Kayla through the double doors to the bedroom, which is long and narrow but looks out onto the street and park. Lionel’s dog bed is usually in the corner, though Amara has it now and he rarely uses it anyway, preferring to sleep in my bed, sneaking up in the middle of the night.
“Now,” I tell her, taking her by the shoulders and sitting her down on the bed, “you rest. I’ll get the luggage and get Emily settled.”
“No, no,” she says, attempting to stand up but I keep her pinned in place.
“I won’t let you sleep all day,” I assure her. “I don’t want your jetlag to get worse. But a two-hour nap isn’t going to kill you, all right, love?”
She puts her hands on either side of my face, and the softness of her touch causes my eyes to fall closed. “Come to bed with me,” she says softly, leaning forward and brushing her lips against mine. My whole body relaxes—I hadn’t noticed how tense I’ve been since we landed—and suddenly all I want, need, is to crawl onto the sheets beside her. Let her bring me into the here and now.
Somehow I find the will to pull away. “I will,” I tell her, my voice low and rough from even the idea of sex. “Let me just deal with all of this first.”
She nods and slowly lies back against the sheet, her dark hair spilling around the white pillow like some hypnotic inkblot. I’ll have to avoid this room and the sight of her if I’m going to get any work done.
I close the doors and get started. It doesn’t actually take too long to get everything in order, though I suspect it’s because I’m racing through things. My pulse just won’t slow down, and I feel positively charged with excitement and anxiety. I take the luggage up and stack it in the hall, putting away what I can, trying to make the place more homey. Then I text Amara and let her know to come by with Lionel whenever she can, probably in the afternoon since she’ll be at the shelter for most of the day. After that, I clean up Emily’s crate and take her outside, doing a loop around Circus Place until she seems a bit more comfortable with me again.
Though it’s still quite early, a few neighbors are out and about. They raise their hand in greeting when they see me but they don’t approach me, asking where I’ve been, why I haven’t been around. They know enough by now that I’m not the talkative type, and while I’ve always been cordial, I don’t care to get close to them. That said, you need your neighbors on your side when you own a pit bull or any kind of bully breed in the U.K. If you piss off the wrong person, they could try and get your dog taken away from you. It’s happened before, and Lionel would be killed if it happened again.
Emily looks up at me with knowing eyes, as if she can sense what I’m thinking. I give her a quick smile. “S’all right,” I tell her. “You’re safe. And we’ll find you someone worthy of Miss Emily, yeah?”
I go around the building, hooking left on Circus Lane to check on my Range Rover. The Freelander is still sitting there, looking no worse for wear other than rain spots on the black finish. If it wasn’t for rugby practice tomorrow I’d pile Kayla and the dogs into it and take us far away from the city, out to Dunnottar Castle, maybe even to the start of the Highlands. But I’m already missing today’s practice, the first of the season as it is.
The thought of it makes knots twist in my stomach. I know that I should be there, especially after missing so much at the end of last season, but I’m not about to leave Kayla to her own devices on her first day here. The poor girl is jetlagged and in a city where she doesn’t know anyone. Besides, I’m truly selfish. Even though we’d just landed, I can feel time sliding past us, and sooner rather than later, she’ll be gone. I need to spend as much time with her as possible, like soaking up the sun after an everlasting winter.
With that thought, I head back into the flat. I let Emily off the leash and keep all the doors open so she can explore the flat in its entirety. She seems to take her time in each spot, and I know she can smell Lionel. Hopefully when he comes back later today, the two of them will hit it off okay. I’ve had some dogs not get along with him, but as long as I kept them in separate parts of the house, we’ve been able to make it work.
While she’s busy sniffing the couch, I go into the bedroom, shutting myself inside.
The sight of Kayla on my bed is a hit to the gut. I have to just stand there and take her in. She’s taken off her shoes, socks, and jeans, and is just lying there on her back in a white t-shirt and a pair of knickers. Lacey. Hot pink.
Fucking hell.
The sun is streaming in through the window, bathing her skin in a diffused glow, and her face is absolutely gorgeous. Peaceful and vibrant all at the same time. She’s unreal, and just staring at her in my own bloody bed makes me feel crazy. She moves something deep inside of me, something I don’t think I can ever move back.
“Kayla,” I whisper to her, and she stirs slightly, letting out a soft moan from her lips that makes me unbelievably hard. I want to bring out deeper, hungrier noises from her. I want to make her come in my home. I’ve never brought a woman here before; in the past we had always gone to her place.
I’m not normally such a wishful thinker, but still, I take off my clothes, casually discarding them on the floor and hope that Kayla is up for some jetlagged sex.
I slowly climb onto the bed, the mattress moving beneath my weight. She stirs again as I straddle her, my thighs on either side of hers, my erection thick and hard, bobbing above her stomach. I lean down, bracketing her shoulders between my arms, and slowly run my lips down her forehead, over her nose, until I place them flush on her mouth.
“Mmm,” she says softly. “Where am I?”
“With me,” I murmur, nibbling on her bottom lip before leaving a trail of kisses from the corner of her mouth to her jaw.
She raises her arms, lacing her fingers behind my neck. “In Scotland?” she asks, her voice drowsy.
“Very much so,” I tell her, pressing myself down against her skin.
She lets out a soft gasp. “Are you naked?”
“Aye.” I suck the soft skin on her neck, my head swimming from her raw taste. “And very, very hard.”
“Then I’m glad you woke me up,” she coos, reaching down between us and stroking the tip of my cock. I don’t even have to raise my head to know she’s got a devilish twist to her lips.
A moan falls out of my mouth as her fingers get a better grip, the weight of my body against hers adding crucial pressure. I close my eyes, succumbing to the feeling as I work my mouth down her milky white neck, and start rocking my body gently against hers. The friction on her stomach is incredible, my precum adding just enough slickness.
Before I can get as carried away as a teenager, I pull back and kiss and suck my way down her body. From her shoulder, across to the soft hollow of her throat, down between her breasts, my hand cupping them perfectly, one at a time. I love teasing around her nipples, love how she always arches her back, pushing her breasts up, so ravenous for my lips, for my touch. I like to prolong it as long as possible, doing long, circular laps with my tongue and then blowing lightly. I watch her skin erupt in shivers, her nipple becoming harder, pinker, and it’s torture not to put it between my teeth and give it a sharp tug.
“Oh god,” Kayla whimpers, her hands running through my hair and tugging on the ends.
“Tell me what you want, love,” I tell her, my voice rough with lust. “Tell me what you want and I’ll give you what I have.”
She grabs my head and places my lips on her nipple. “There. Give me pain.”