“You’re so . . .” Trailing off as my dry mouth fails me, my gaze drifts down as I move his shirt to reveal the lightly worn t-shirt underneath. Just this thin scrap of fabric hides something amazing, and electricity skitters along my skin as I roll it up. The scars that mar Owen’s skin glisten from sweat, weaving between his chest hair and rolling down the smooth flesh. My mouth waters, and my abdomen twists with an unfamiliar need as I bite my bottom lip hard against the urges that rush through me. “Wow.”

  “I love how you see the beauty and good in everything, Kaitlyn,” Owen rasps hotly, and I lean down to kiss the glob of scar tissue just under his collar bone. He gasps, his muscles writhing under my palms wildly, and I drag my tongue along his skin to gather up drops of sweat. “God, help me.”

  “Maybe that’s why I’m here.” I mumble against his sternum, and the bridge of my nose tingles almost uncomfortably as I kiss down his chest. The ragged line curling down his side quivers, and I glance up at him under heavy lids through bleary eyes. Urging me up, Owen captures my mouth with force, and the moan that clings to my lungs dislodges as pleasure surges through me.

  Gingerly pressing against my back, Owen tugs my shirt up, and the taut skin over his abdominal muscles sticks to my belly. Gripping the back sofa cushion, I sink into his chest as he works the fabric up and over my head. His chest hairs bristle as he grunts lowly, a strained sound, and my pussy clenches tight when he lifts his hips experimentally. The bulge in his jeans presses insistently against my apex, and I gasp softly into his mouth before his tongue invades sweetly.

  “I-I wish I wore that dress,” I mumble into his mouth, and Owen’s tongue tangles around mine to draw another moan from me. His hands slide down my bare sides, the callouses scratching my soft flesh, and he works open the button on my nice jeans before slipping his fingers under the waistline. My chest tightens as our kiss deepens until colors pop behind my shuttered lids. Gripping my ass with hot, wet hands, Owen’s nails scrape along my upper, inner thighs before catching on my ass cheeks.

  “I wish you wore that dress, too,” Owen mutters heatedly, kissing down my chin and neck, and I pant harshly as he rocks me on his lap. Gasping when the friction slithers up my abdomen, I stiffen as Owen’s lips settle between my breasts. Kneading my ass cheeks gingerly, he guides my hips as I tremble under the immense pressure building in me.

  There is no more space for words, the dense atmosphere closing in on us as Owen pulls off my sneakers and unzips my jeans. I can’t keep up with his hands. One moment, we were skin on skin, and the next, he is urging me to stand up. Shuddering as excitement and nervousness replace the blood in my veins, I flex my stiff fingers as he tugs down my jeans around my weak knees. Hot, passionate lips and tongue slather my abdomen, and I can’t move as my body wants to go in so many different directions.

  Kicking off my tight jeans in a pink-tinged haze, I grab Owen’s face with both my hands as his wrap around me to draw me on top of him. I can’t stop and I don’t want to despite the mounting, intense emotions flooding my system. Panting harshly, I reach between us as I sit on his knees to unfasten his own jeans, and a lump forms in my throat. His tongue slips into my mouth to overwhelm my taste buds, but all my struggling thoughts focus on my palms as I pull out his cock. Goosebumps blanket up my arms and across my chest, and I tremble from how hot and firm it feels.

  Tearing my mouth away, I look down and bite my lip as my stomach flips in a volatile mix of delight and wariness. Owen’s cock is smooth, feels unlike anything else on his body, and my heart nearly bursts as it beats too hard and fast. His strained grunts and gasps fill my ears above the blood drumming furiously, and I stiffen when he reaches between my legs to touch me. The thin fabric of my panties does nothing anymore, too damp and clinging so tightly to my pussy lips, and I inhale a gasp when he peels the fabric away.

  “Kaitlyn?” Gruffly, my name leaves Owen’s trembling, dry lips, and my gaze locks on to his. Electricity zings between us, and I crash my mouth on his as something in me snaps. My pussy throbs with need that roars up to my chest, and icy prickles ripple up my sternum. Shuffling on top of his cock, I choke on my own spit when his bulbous head swipes easily between my pussy folds. But powerful hands grip my hips tightly, squeezing, before his fingers leave me, and the faint rustling of plastic rattles my teeth. The thick hairs on the back of his hand tickle my clit when he rolls the condom down his shaft, and he wraps his hand around mine at the base.

  “Oh . . .” The tip hurts as it stretches my entrance, and I straighten to grip Owen’s forearm tightly, my nails digging into his hot, slippery flesh. Pressure builds behind my eyes as the thick ridge that forms its head enters me, and my pussy undulates wildly as I blow a huge, hot sigh. The sudden emptiness in my chest, I can’t fill again as ice lodges deep where my heart should be. An unfamiliar fullness tightens my throat, and tears prick my eyes as I lower myself experimentally. Hissing harshly, I jolt up, but Owen holds me with tender, firm hands as pin-needle-like pain assaults my abdomen. Tension floods the atmosphere of Owen’s tiny apartment, and my eyes boggle slightly when my hips suddenly touch his thighs. “I-it’s in, it’s in, oh-h, my God.”

  There is something amazing about it, and I glance down at where Owen and I are connected through blurring eyes. He holds me steady, but lets me move on my own. I tighten my grip on his forearm and sniffle a shallow, hot breath. Gulping, my ears pop harshly, and I lick my lips heavily as a sudden wave of uncertainty washes down my sternum. “I-I don’t know . . . what to d-do now.”

  “Come here, Kaitlyn.” He murmurs tenderly, and I stiffly lean forward before he pushes down on my lower back and hips. Tucking my face in his neck, I groan a tortured sound as painful prickles race down my legs and up my back. Stroking up and down my spine, Owen holds my ass cheek with his other hand before thrusting up ever so slightly. Pleasure and pain mingle confusedly behind my eyes, and a strangled yelp escapes me, muffled by his chest. He rolls his hips, and I gasp as powerful muscles move with such tight control underneath me. Sweat acts like a glue between us, and I blink back the colorful spots that assault my vision.

  Gradually, the pain recedes as Owen wraps his arms tightly around me, comfortingly, and whimpers and moans escape me. He thrusts slowly, caressing the folds of my pussy as they tighten and quiver around his cock. The pure rapture of his shaft, hot as it scrapes my inner walls, ripples up my spine, and I grip the couch cushions on either side of us. Trembling uncontrollably, I grind my teeth as the pressure builds behind my eyes, and Owen exhales a harsh breath and cranes his neck. Suddenly, we weren’t so bunched up, and I squeeze my eyes shut and hold my breath as pleasure rocks me to my very foundation.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Owen

  “How was your shower?” A strange amalgamation of nervousness, gravity, satisfaction, and straight panic makes it hard to breathe. Kaitlyn blushes fiercely with only a nod in answer. She couldn’t look at me, and I lean against the refrigerator as she fiddles with the hem of my t-shirt. Only the tips of her hair are wet, tied back in a loose ponytail. “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know?” Blurting out her confusion, she covers her cheeks, and my own twitch as I walk over to wrap my arms around her. “I don’t feel . . . different. I don’t know?”

  “We can stay up here as long as you want.” I can’t help but smile at her deep, gushing sigh before she hugs me tightly. Kaitlyn isn’t shaking, but she is hotter than a furnace on high, and I clear my throat roughly. “The first time I had sex, I yelled really loud, and she started laughing. We got over it, but it stuck with me for a while.”

  “Oh . . .” Groaning softly, Kaitlyn shudders hard against my chest before pulling back to stare at me with wide, bewildered eyes. “I always . . . you know? It’s always like when my mom gave me the talk, she said it would change me, and, and, you know?”

  “I do. I don’t think it’s meant to be a huge shift in how you feel. I’ve always thought it was a shift in perception about yourself. That you’re your own person with autonomy to make discreet decisions that impact your life, like being in a relationship with another person. It’s something you have to decide for yourself, without being influenced with other people’s opinions.” I trail off as Kaitlyn’s expression morphs from bewilderment to a tender smile. She inhales deeply before nodding firmly and steps away from me. Seeing her physically throw back her shoulders, stand on her own two feet, is comforting somehow.

  “That’s a lot of words to say I’m a big girl and need to make big girl decisions, Owen.” Reaching to palm my bare chest, she pushes me playfully. Her face begins to return to its normal color and relief surges through my veins. She rubs her face and eyes before clearing her throat. “My perception of myself . . . is that I really like you. I could’ve stopped, but I didn’t want to. It’s not that I regret it or anything, Owen. It’s just that . . . the way it was explained to me kinda overshot . . . the r-reality. And it was really painful. No one ever said it was gonna be like that.”

  “You said your mom gave you the talk, right? Why didn’t she opt for religious abstinence teaching?” I change the subject swiftly before Kaitlyn dies of embarrassment, and I duck into my refrigerator to grab a water bottle. “Was it because of your sister?”

  “Yeah, basically. My parents aren’t hardcore Christians, and after Jessie got pregnant, they realized they couldn’t get away with telling us to wait for marriage. My mom would take us girls out individually. I kinda wish she wasn’t so . . . so fantastical, though,” she mutters the last part to herself, and I smile as she holds the cold bottle to her neck. “By the time she got to me, she was pretty well practiced, but she did stress the importance of being careful of who I was with. That my first time having sex was important and would change me, and I had to be cautious if I didn’t want a terrible experience. They’re definitely not extremists and gonna disown me, you know. But I think they’d be disappointed and upset if they heard I made a poor choice, because I can’t redo it.”

  “The more I hear about them, the more like good people they sound,” I say warmly, and Kaitlyn blushes faintly with a sheepish nod. Twisting to check the time over the stove, I clear my throat before turning back to her. “It’s barely ten. Did you wanna sleep here?”

  “Ah, I have work, and I don’t have any clothes or anything here. Plus, my parents are flying up tomorrow too. I think we should just keep to next week like we planned,” Kaitlyn says practically, twisting open the cap to her water bottle to take a sip and sigh. “Do-do you think there’s any food left downstairs?”

  “We haven’t even been up here half an hour, I bet there’s plenty of food.” I can see she’s surprised by my revelation, her eyes slipping past me to widen as she stares at the clock on the stove. “Do you want to change back into your clothes?”

  “Um, yeah.” Wandering away to gather up her clothes and once again retreat to the bathroom, Kaitlyn leaves me in the kitchen in silence. Reaching to rub the back of my head, I lick my teeth and hiss a sharp inhale.

  Not in my wildest dreams did I think Kaitlyn would just go for it the way she did. I thought we’d make out a little, maybe fondle each other, but boy . . . was I wrong. Glancing over at the garbage can through narrowed eyes, I struggle with the guilt that clashes in my chest. She’d said it herself, she could have stopped and I wouldn’t have pushed her.

  But Kaitlyn didn’t want to stop.

  “Ah, fuck it,” I mutter, sweeping my hand up my hair and down over my face. “I can’t worry about it, or she’ll think she did something wrong.”

  My grumbling and rationalizations don’t make me feel much better, but I couldn’t linger on it. Walking into the living room, I snatch up my shirt off the floor to climb into it. Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply through my nose and hold my breath. A calmness flows through me, settling the hot blood in my veins, and I don’t have long to wait before Kaitlyn emerges from the bathroom in her own clothes.

  “I’m good, yeah. I’m okay.” Kaitlyn smiles at me, and I nod before we head out of my apartment. Holding her hand on the narrow rail of the staircase, I grind my molars against the pulsing music that grows stronger with each step. Laughing and talking seeps through the closed door, and I walk into the bar to glance around at the party still raging.

  All of Kaitlyn’s coworkers were drinking moderately, and Ryan and his brothers are mingling anonymously among them. A few people I’m sure weren’t here when we started the party are hanging out. I search for Michael before he backs out of the kitchen with a big bowl of potato salad. He just oozes satisfaction, and I leave Kaitlyn to walk up to him. “What’s left back there?”

  “I have a couple hotdogs, fries, this potato salad, and some mac’ n’ cheese.” Rattling off a list of sparse pickings, Michael casts me a smirk and cocks his brow. “You want one plate or two?”

  “Two is fine.” I roll my eyes at his cringy question, but Michael had a beer or several in him, and he nods before slipping back into the kitchen. I can feel Ryan staring at me a few seats away, and I hop onto a bar stool to grab a beer bottle from the bucket on the bar. “What, Ryan?”

  “I wanna hire you,” Ryan says determinately, and I suck in a sharp breath in surprise as I look over at him sharply. “Whatcha say to that?”

  “You don’t have anything I want, so no,” My answer shocks him. Ryan sits up stiffly to glare at me as I pop the cap of my beer and take a deep gulp. Amusement eases the tension between my shoulders and I smirk slightly as I lock eyes with him. “Did you think, because you gave me permission to steal the ship, it meant I owed you or something? That it was proof we could work together, or that I’d even care to work with you? You’re not that important, Ryan. And before you say it, no, you didn’t do me a favor by not acting on knowing what I was gonna do.”

  Clearly, Ryan didn’t expect me to flat-out refuse, but he doesn’t have such a proven track record with me. I don’t play games, don’t like them, and he not only treated me like some piece of entertainment, but had lied just to see if he could get away with it. Watching him through narrowed eyes as his own flare with anger, my eyelid twitches at the thin line of betrayal that becomes his mouth.

  “I think you’re misunderstanding, Owen,” Ethan says, leaning back to catch my gaze around the back of his brother. Throwing a thumb at Ryan’s head leisurely, he arches a brow quizzically. “He wants to get to know you. Maybe consider some contract work, and we’ll go from there.”

  “Right,” I reply slowly, tearing my eyes off them to take another sip of my beer. “I’ll pass.”

  Ryan scowls at me as I slide off my stool to head outside for some air, and I ruffle my hair violently. The cool breeze envelops me as I close my eyes to lean against the brick face and sigh heavily. Lifting my beer to my lips, I cross my ankles and stare up at the starless night sky while my thoughts whir quickly behind my eyes. Work for Harmon? What a joke. I’ve never worked a damn day in my life.

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself.” I jump and barely manage to gulp down my squawk of surprise, twisting to find Mark leaning against the opposite support pillar. He smirks, but it doesn’t reach his eyes, and I blink hard before washing down the cotton in my mouth with a big swig of beer. “You play that shit good, Owen. Kinda goofy, kinda childish, kinda outta the box. You’re wicked smart and brutally apathetic, though, and you know it. I watched you pull off that ship heist. You’ve killed before, that’s why you were so careful to avoid snappin’ those guys’ necks.”

  “I’ll have an official fan club eventually. You’re not gonna spout some bullshit about Ryan not knowing what to say, are you? Because I’m really not interested in it right now,” I reply with a stable voice, barely. Mark sniffs hard before pushing himself off the wall to stalk past me. Creepy, God damned light-footed as Hell.

  “I think you’re gonna get bored—a guy like you, you get bored. You got your girl, your money, your brother’s scalp in your pocket . . . but you got no friends. You ain’t got nothin’ to do but sit in this bar and stare at the wall.” Pausing right in front of me, Mark towers over me by six inches, but it’s not imposing. At least, not intentionally. “You gotta consider the future, and your future is bleak as shit in a well. All this time, you’ve made a game of stealing from Rowlan. You always thought it was easy, because he was your brother and you knew how he worked. I’ve seen the security plans, Owen. That shit ain’t easy. When you get bored, give Ryan a call. He was real nervous comin’ over tonight. What you said really rattled him. Goes both ways, I bet.”

  What had I said? Leaving me to my thoughts with those parting words, Mark heads back inside, and I close my eyes tightly. What I said. Yeah, Ryan did seem upset outside Rowlan’s gaudy, overblown house when I left, we had words.

  Welcome to the family!

  “Are you alright out here by yourself?” Kaitlyn asks, and my brows raise as I suck in a sharp breath, slinging my arm around her shoulders. Cracking open my eyes, I clear my throat and nod, but skepticism plays around her mouth and eyes.

  “Harmon offered me a job, but I dunno if I’m gonna take it. Contract work, he said. I think I’m gonna sit on it for now. I wanna spend some more time with you. I’ll get to him eventually, when I feel like it.” After all, Ryan is my brother, and he probably wants to alleviate whatever fucked up feelings he has about how that even happened. Taking a swig of my beer, I exhale my huge lungful to smile when Kaitlyn perks up happily. “What?”

  “I just think it’s great you’re open to it, but your priorities are in order.” Pleasant surprise tilts my lips at Kaitlyn’s declaration, and she giggles lightly with a bright sparkle in her beautiful, brown eyes. Tightening my arm around her, I chuckle when she pushes against me as we rock haphazardly back and forth. Kissing her mouth, I groan softly when her sigh flows into my lungs.

 

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