Page 98 of Never Will I Ever

Avery

Being in my cabin this early is strange to say the least. I’ve gotten so used to Kaleb taking up my evenings after the kids are in bed, I don’t know what else to do other than lie here in the dark, staring at the wall, while the minutes slowly tick by.

Sleep evades me, despite my efforts to count sheep, and it’s not difficult to unpack the reason why when I’m alone with my thoughts right now.

This thing between me and Kaleb has changed, and I’d be remiss to think either of us knows what it means. It may have started out as messing around and having some fun between the sheets, maybe even a safe space for me to truly accept and come into my sexuality, but something changed.

Even attempting to deduce it seems impossible.

I release a long, frustrated sigh, wishing my brain would focus on anything other than the guy likely fast asleep only a few hundred yards away.

He’s always on my mind, though. Now more than ever.

Which is why I’m choosing to think of his raincheck tonight as a blessing in disguise, if only to temper the disappointment gnawing at my consciousness like a dog with a bone.

Despite my attempt at pushing them down, I’m still lost in my thoughts when the lock on my door flips open with asnickso soft, I almost miss it. The sound of the hinges creaking open grabs my attention, though,and I turn to lift my head just in time to see a dark silhouette closing the door.

Just the sight of him has my heart thundering against my ribs.

Kaleb.

He’s silent as he crosses the tiny cabin to my bed, the only sound coming from his footfalls over the floorboards. The blankets and sheets are pulled back a few seconds later, cool air hitting the bare skin of my stomach before he crawls in the vacant space beside me.

He doesn’t move, doesn’t speak. I don’t even think he breathes for a good minute while we lie beside each other, his body heat pressed against my back. My eyes sink closed as I relax into his touch, enjoying the light scrape of his fingers against my scalp that could very well be what I need to finally succumb to sleep.

Then his lips skate over my shoulders in a whisper; not quite a kiss, but more of a phantom caress, and my heart squeezes painfully.

Fuck.

Unable to stop myself, I shift, rolling to my other side to mirror his position. His ministrations immediately come to a halt with my movement, the pads of his fingers freezing against my scalp.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he murmurs after a beat of silence.

I shake my head. “You didn’t.”

My hand moves to his face, allowing my nails to scrape over the scruff running along his jaw. The feel of it, rough and scratchy beneath my fingers, feels so right when we’re like this.

Locked together in the freedom of darkness.

Kaleb’s breath coasts over my lips, the minty scent of his toothpaste and musk from his body wash invading my nostrils. It’s a heady combination, I’ve come to realize, making him nearly impossible to resist.

Good thing I’m long past the point of trying.

Using my hold on his jaw, I pull him in, closing the inches between us. I press my lips to his in a gentle kiss. One that’s only meant to be light and chaste.

Until the fingers laced through my hair tighten.

A bolt of desire zaps me in the stomach as Kaleb’s tongue sweeps over my lower lip, and the hand still resting on my hip drags my body into his. He’s rolling me to my back seconds later, sliding a knee between my thighs while he deepens the kiss.

The hand still on his jaw slides to the back of his head as our tongues tangle, flicking and teasing against the other in the way I’ve become addicted to. Slow and sensual, taking a leisurely pace that drives me mad with want in an instant. Same as it does him, from the way his erection presses sinfully against my hip.

He’s the first to break the kiss, moving to my collarbone and slowly working his way up my throat.

“I thought you said you were too tired.”

Teeth scrape over my earlobe, sending a shiver down my spine. “Not anymore.”

It’s all the permission I need to grab his jaw again and drag his mouth back to mine.

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