Page 77 of In Step

And yet none of it was enough. Not nearly enough.

He’s with me.

I let Leroy’s words sit where they belonged and stopped fighting them because, God help me, I wanted that. It wasn’t love, not yet, but I thought it could get there. At my age, I’d skirted close a few times, but nothing like this. I’d figured maybe it wasn’t in the stars for me, not that I’d been worried. Love meant compromise and a wrinkle in my career. I wasn’t ready for that.

At least I hadn’t been.

He’s with me.

What the fuck was I going to do? I pressed my lips to Kane’s hair, again and again, and rephrased the question in my head. What the fuck werewegoing to do?

Kane tilted his head back and stared at me with wet eyes. “Take me to bed, Abe. I want you to fuck me.”

My heart jolted in my chest. “Are you sure?”

He kissed me softly. “One hundred per cent.” Then he hesitated, and a frown creased his brow. “Areyou?”

I returned his kiss a lot more thoroughly, diving into the sweet taste of him, savouring what I thought I’d lost the night before. “Are you kidding me? I can’t fucking wait.”

He stole another kiss and grinned against my lips. “Just remember, it’s been a while for me.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I think woolly mammoths were still walking the earth—ouch.”

He licked the sting from his toothmarks on my neck. “Think you’re funny, don’t you?”

I cradled his face and brought us eye to eye. “In fact, I’m gonna consider this popping your cherry, babe. Your good-fuck cherry.”

He grew thoughtful. “My good-fuck cherry. You know, in lots of ways, that’s exactly what it is.” But there was a nervous edge to those blue eyes I’d not seen before.

“Trust me,” I whispered against his lips. “I’ll look after you.”

His mouth tipped into a smile. “I know you will.”

I took his hand and led him to the side of the bed where he started to unzip his jeans.

“Let me.” I wanted this to be all about him. “Just wait a second.” I grabbed the cats and shut them in the laundry, then locked the front door and returned to Kane who was watching, clearly amused.

“What?” I shrugged. “I’m not about to be interrupted by nosy felines or even nosier friends. You don’t interrupt a master while he’s at work.”

Kane snorted. “You talk a good game there.”

“I’m an old man, baby.” I nuzzled his neck. “There has to be some benefit to age, and I’m thinking experience is one.” I bit lightly into the slope of his shoulder, and he groaned and opened his neck to me.

“Jesus, Abe, I love it when you do that.”

I bit a little harder and his cock thickened against my thigh. I slid my hands around to cup his arse so I could grind against him. He groaned and arched into me, clamping his hand around the back of my neck as he buried his teeth into my neck, the sharp sting of his bite firing a jolt of electricity straight to my balls.

“God, that feels so good.” His head fell back, and I sucked at his throat, smiling at the rumbling growl that vibrated against my lips. He was so damn responsive.

“Fuck, oh fuck,” he hissed and drew back. “Shit. Be careful. Just the thought of where this is going and I’m like a lit firecracker.”

I laughed and put some space between us, lifting his T-shirt over his head and throwing it to the floor. Then I unzipped his jeans and removed both them and a pair of bright red briefs, leaving him gloriously naked.

“Jesus, look at you.” I sucked in a shaky breath and took a second just to drink my fill—his sexy morning stubble adding depth to those blond surfer looks, blue eyes dark as coal, and the flush of arousal washing his olive skin. “God, you’re beautiful.”

I reached out a hand, trailing fingers over his tightly nubbed nipples, and he groaned in approval, his cock jumping at the touch. I smiled and circled him, my fingers keeping contact with his pebbled skin, moving in a wave up and down his body until he trembled. And when I’d completed the circle, I stepped in and took his chin between my thumb and finger, tilting his face to kiss him, while my other hand wrapped around his hard cock for a couple of firm strokes.

“I am so fucking proud of what you did today, what you said last night.” I kissed him every few words and then pushed him gently onto the bed before stripping in front of him, taking my time as he watched and fisted himself, a run of filthy groans tumbling from his mouth.

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