Chapter 87

Ardal

I glare at Kadeem, my jaw clenched tight. My inner wolf is like a wild, caged beast, simmering with anger, and it's a battle to keep her from lunging. Kadeem's muscles are taut as he holds me in place. He is staring back at me with dark, piercing eyes - pure vexation written across his face.

"Did you ever think," I begin, drawing out my words, "There was a problem you couldn't muscle your way out of?" I wriggle against Kadeem's immovable frame.

All I want is to be rid of him and escape to bed. The roller coaster of emotions today has left me drained, and on top of it, I'm panicking about kissing him tonight and letting on how much I feel for him.

"No," he snaps back mockingly, but there's a subtle flash of contrition in his expression and he loosens his grip.

I jerk away as soon as he does, staggering back against the white shower curtain behind me. He reaches out his hand to steady me, but I shove him away.

"Well, next time," I hiss, "Pick up a Nicholas Sparks book instead." My cheeks are burning hot and I barely manage to control the volume of my voice so as not to wake the kids. I huff and reach out my hand to open the door. "A little romance will get you a lot further than brute force."

Kadeem snickers darkly and crosses his arms. "Would you really let someone seduce you, Chels? Rayburn tried, but it didn't seem to get him very far."

I pull my hand back from the door as though burned. My fingers curl into tight fists and I fight to keep my nails from becoming sharp claws to tear into him. I want to rip into him and fuck him still. That electric connection between us is not extinguished by hatred. It's heavy and thick in the air.

Kadeem narrows his deep brown eyes at me. "I'm not trying to force you. I'm just trying to stop you from sprinting out of here after kissing me twice, and -"

"I have a right to change my mind," I burst out.

"Certainly," he says coolly, venom coating each word. "And you exercise that right quite frequently."

Rage sears through me, so intense I can barely stand it anymore. "Get out," I bark, pointing my finger towards the door.

His brow furrows. "Fine," he growls. Furiously, he snatches the door handle to wrench it open.

"Good." I barely choke out the word. My voice quivers just enough that Kadeem hears it. He turns back to me, his still curled around the handle.

I raise my chin defiantly, attempting to fight against crying so I can hold onto the fraying threads of what dignity I have left, but it's no use. The tears start pouring down my face and I crumple like a ragdoll into a heap at the side of the bathtub.

Kadeem stares helplessly at me for a moment before slowly extending a hand to pull me up. Reluctantly, I take it, feeling the little pings of electricity again.

We face each other in a stillness punctuated with the crescendo of unspoken words between us. There's so much in Kadeem's eyes - yearning and a kind of sadness that I feel in my bones.

Gingerly, he runs his hand through my hair, sending a shiver down my spine. The drip-drop of the leaky tub faucet is deafening as the silence hangs between us. But then he pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around me as he presses his lips firmly against mine.

There's a tenderness, but also an anxious longing to it that unravels the last of my defenses.

“Damn it,” I groan aloud. Desperately, I push into him and lace my fingers around the back of his neck, feeling my body melt into his embrace. He cups my face with his hands and chuckles softly into my mouth, amused at my expense. I shut him up with a deepening kiss, letting my tongue find his.

I can feel his growing urgency. His erection rubs against me, and I press my hips against him in a needful rhythm as he squeezes my ass, his chest heaving, his breath heavy in between kisses. His fingers dig into me, kneading and caressing me.

"I have to have you," he says, voice husky as his lips travel down my neck.

He pulls back to look at me, pausing while he studies my expression. His breath is ragged and his eyes search mine for signs of trepidation. I answer him with a frenzied kiss, hastily stripping off his borrowed shorts before I claw off his shirt.

I let out a groan when his lips find my neck again. I rake my fingers through his hair, then let my hand trail down to grasp the hard length of him. He inhales sharply and shuts his eyes, while I continue to play with and slide my hand against the bulge in his underwear.

He sucks in a breathy moan, then frantically begins to strip me of my clothes, leaving me in my lacy bra and underwear, his eyes taking in every part of me. I start to peel those off myself, when he catches my hands to stop me. He kneels before me, drawing down the fabric with a knowing smile that reveals his dimples as he unwraps me like a gift.

My breathing is shallow and my heart pounds in my chest as he slowly begins to stand - kissing the length of my body along the way. "Don't tease me," I plead. He pauses mid-kiss and stands back to full height, before nodding and pressing his forehead to mine.

"I had to lighten it up a bit," he murmurs against my lips.

"Why," I whisper, fingers tracing the curves of his face.

He takes my hands in his. "Just an old habit," he says in a hollow-sounding lie.

I open my mouth to protest, but he silences me as his fingers start to trace along the straps of my bra.

His hands are gentle and precise as he unhooks it, exposing my breasts to his hungry gaze. My skin tingles with anticipation while Kadeem's hands wander down my body, sending shivers through me and igniting a fire that I can't quench.

He takes one of the hardened nipples between his thumb and forefinger, massaging it as I gasp in delight, pulse racing.

I moan softly as his mouth trails kisses along my collarbone and then lower still towards my breast. His tongue circles around each nipple before he takes it into his mouth, tugging on it gently with his teeth as my breathing increases and my heart races.

I tear off Kadeem's underwear like a ravenous animal, and his hand slides down between my legs, exploring the wetness that awaits him. My fingers wrap around his phallus. The vibrations of his deep groans echo throughout the small room as I jerk his dick up and down.

His touch is electric and I arch against him with each stroke of his fingertips. Then he slips one finger inside me, driving me wild with pleasure as it moves in circles within me, pushing deeper and deeper until I want to scream out from the intensity of it all.