Effortless (Thoughtless #2)(4)
Author: S.C. Stephens

After swishing the door open dramatically, he led me to my tiny two-bedroom place here. While it was postage-stamp small, it did have a pretty spectacular view of Lake Union. Following him through the door, I sighed tiredly and switched the light on. Removing my purse from around my body, I set it on a small table while Kellan shut the door. Mere seconds after I was done, my body was jerked forward and then slammed back into the front door.

I had time to gasp but that was it. Kellan’s body pressed against every inch of me, his lips hungrily attacking mine. Without a thought, my fingers snuck up into his hair, twisting around the long strands. My heart surged forward so fast I thought I might collapse to the floor. Kellan’s firm grip around me wouldn’t have allowed that, though. Everywhere, from his chest, to his chiseled stomach, to his sensuous hips, was flush against mine, pressing into me like he wished we could be closer.

As the fire in me started to heighten, the arousal I felt for him burning away every other thought in my head, my breath quickened. His breath was quick too between our hungry kisses, our light tongue flicks. Then his hand traveled over my bottom, curving around my thigh to the back of my knee. Shifting us slightly, he grabbed my leg and adjusted it up his hip. Lining us up perfectly, his aroused body pressed into mine, just where I needed it to.

Groaning, I tightened my hands in his hair and firmly attached my lips to his. A sultry noise escaped his throat, rumbling through his body as our mouths moved together intently. It stoked the fire already in me to a boiling point. I needed him. All of him. Now.

Arching against the door, I broke away from his glorious mouth. "Kellan," I moaned out, instantly grateful my sister was not here, "…bedroom…"

His lips traveled down my throat, his tongue flicking every erogenous zone on the way down. I groaned again, rubbing myself against him, trying to dull the ache somehow. A chuckle left his mouth as the tip of his tongue traced my collarbone. He was enjoying this, enjoying teasing me. Pushing his shoulders back, I frowned at him. He cocked an eyebrow at me, the edge of his lip curving up in a similar manner. It was so incredibly hot, especially with the desire smoldering in his eyes. No one could do bedroom eyes like Kellan could.

Then his demeanor completely changed. Smiling playfully, he let go of my leg that he’d hitched up his side. Tilting his head as he watched me struggling to breathe like a normal person, he took a step back. "Are you ever going to move back in with me?" he asked, his thumb coming up to trace the line his tongue had slid down earlier.

I blinked at his sudden change of direction, my head feeling sluggish as it fought against the desire to push him back into the living room and take him on the monstrously ugly orange couch. I was pretty sure he’d let me. Wondering if he’d really just asked about us living together again, I took a side step away from him. It was also a side step toward the hall, toward my bedroom, and the smolder in his eyes came back a little.

Smiling impishly, he nodded his head that way. "Because I really hate hav**g s*x on a futon." Winking, he added, "Not that I won’t, though."

Smirking at him, I reached out and grabbed his hand. "You’re the one that kicked me out," I said, managing to keep my voice light, even though the memory was a painful one for me.

Backing us towards the hall, I watched a flash of that pain wash over his face. It was gone instantly though. Shrugging, he laughed out, "Well, it sounded like a good idea at the time."

My hallway was a short one, with my room at the end closest to the front door. Anna’s room, the larger room, was at the end of the hall with our tiny, shower-only bathroom in the middle. Kellan’s place wasn’t all that much bigger, but it seemed like a spacious mansion in comparison.

Stopping us in front of my closed door, I put my other hand on his chest. "No, it was." My hand traveled up his neck to cup his cheek; he leaned into my touch. "You and I needed space. We needed to get our heads on straight."

He smiled a little, then sighed. "Well, now that they are…why don’t you come back?" His voice lowering, he stepped into my body, his arms wrapping around my waist. "I know we’ve taken things slow, but I still want to move forward…with you."

I swallowed at the warmth in his voice, the love in his eyes. I wanted that too, I really did, but, I was trying to be a stronger person, my own person and I knew that if I moved back in with him, he’d be my world again. I’d drown in him.

Smiling encouragingly, I ran my fingers back through his hair. The serious look in his eye softened as I caressed him. In as reassuring of a voice as I could, I softly said, "I think it’s better if we keep waiting." Switching my hand to run my thumb over his cheek, I added, "I’ve sort of come into my own being with my sister. I don’t want to fall right back into needing a man to feel…complete."

I bit my lip, hoping he wasn’t offended. His insanely blue eyes ghosted over my face, taking in every feature. Inhaling deeply, he squeezed me a bit tighter. "What if I’m the one that needs you?" His face was completely, heartbreakingly serious. Shrugging, a tiny smile broke into his lips. "I hate sleeping alone."

Even though he’d said sleeping alone, I knew it was more than that. Kellan hated being alone. Oddly, it was something we had in common. But knowing we needed this, I threw on a bright smile and shook my head. "You’ll be alright." His tiny smile curved into a disgruntled one and I laughed, slinging both of my arms around his neck. "Besides, we almost always end up sleeping together anyway."

I flushed bright red after I said it, instantly realizing how suggestive it sounded. He grinned at me adorably, reaching behind me to open my bedroom door. Laughing at my comment, he shook his head. "Exactly." Pushing my door open, his eyes came back to mine, playful now. "Think of the gas money we’d save." He tilted his head, walking me backwards into my room. "And rent, you wouldn’t have to pay that, living with me. You could work less, concentrate on school more."

He smiled and shrugged, like it made perfect sense. And logically, it did. Emotionally though, I thought we were in a good place now and maybe we shouldn’t mess with that. Freeing one hand to flick on my light, I sighed. "I like my life, Kellan. I finally feel…well rounded."

As he closed my door with his foot, his hands slinked down to cup my backside. Smiling devilishly, he murmured, "Yes, I know, very well rounded." I smacked him on the shoulder as he chuckled. Then he sighed, pulling my body flush to his and kissing me softly. "Fine."

I melted into his lips, savoring the taste of him all wrapped up in the smell of him. Pulling apart, he kicked off his shoes with his toes and tilted his head at my lumpy futon. "But that seriously sucks. Can I at least buy you a decent bed?"

Smiling as I stepped out of my flip-flops, I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the bed he hated. He was right, it was lumpy, with a heavy bar in the middle that dug into your back, but it was a large one and there was plenty of room on it to…roll around. Backing up to the edge of the futon, I grabbed the bottom of Kellan’s t-shirt. "Of course. You can even help me break it in."

His seductive grin in place, he helped my fingers remove his clothing. "Hmmm…you may have sold me on this idea."

Laughing, I ran my hands down the wondrously etched lines in his chest. His breath hitched when my fingers traced the black ink of my name swirled over his heart. Nothing in this world was as beautiful to me as that tattoo, except the man bearing it.

"Anything that ends with sex, sells you." I giggled.

Kellan playfully pushed my shoulder back, and I sat down on the bed that sagged a little in the spot that was technically the "sitting" area when it was folded up. Scooting into the center of the bed, the hard support bar apparent under my body, I felt heat rush through me as Kellan leaned over the edge of the mattress. His eyes peering up at me, he huskily murmured, "True."

My breath hitched as I watched him crawl over to me on his hands and knees. Leaning over me, my breath embarrassingly faster, he eyes scoured the length of me. Feeling the pure sex appeal radiating from him, I swallowed. It sometimes amazed and mystified me that this man was mine, practically any time I wanted him. It was still a little miraculous to me that out of every person in the world that he could be with, he’d picked me. I still didn’t see why.

Smiling as his lips came down to mine and my hands traveled back up that smooth, perfect chest, I whispered, "Whore."

He laughed in my mouth as his body settled beside mine. "Tease," he breathed, his hand coming up to run through my hair.

I laughed at the terms that we’d once used to hurt each other with, being used as affectionate phrases now. Things were like that with Kellan. Cold one minute, red hot the next. Our going slow was how we were working on keeping the relationship even, consistent. Kellan didn’t seem at all worried that we’d burn out, but I sometimes did. After all, he could have anybody. Even if he was experiencing something with me that he’d never had before-a true, deep to his core love-a secret, buried part of me knew that now that he’d been opened up to love, he could find it again with someone else if he wanted to.

God, I hated that thought.

Pushing back my doubts, I instead concentrated on what I had no question about. Right now, Kellan wanted me. Right now, Kellan loved me and only me. And right now, my sister wouldn’t be home for hours.

Dressed only in his worn denims that hugged him so perfectly, his sculpted chest above me as he leaned over my body, Kellan worked his mouth softly against mine as the fingers of his free hand spun around a dark lock of my hair.

My fingers were busy as well. They’d moved up to his wonderfully messy head of hair. It was so much fun to bunch it around my fingers and I couldn’t resist giving him a light tug. He grinned against my lips. Then my fingers trailed down his neck, enjoying the lean muscles, and the light pulse of his veins under his skin. From there they decided to swoop up and over his shoulder blades, lingering for a moment on the tensing and releasing muscles as he played with my hair. Their only natural course after that was straight down his back. My lucky fingers delighted in the smooth, lean expanse of skin on the way down to his waistband. Of course, halfway there, they decided to head back up to those shoulder blades and retrace the path down to his waist. But this time, I lightly scraped my nails across his flesh instead of the softer, gentler finger pads.

"Don’t tease me," he muttered as he sucked on my lower lip.

I laughed lightly as I remembered harshly digging through that perfect skin once before…in an espresso stand, no less. I felt my face heat as blood rushed to my cheeks. It was sort of an embarrassing moment for me. Kellan pulled back from our kiss to look over my features, probably noticing my flushed cheeks and understanding my expression. His finger ran along my cheek before sweeping over my lips. "Do you have any idea what that did to me, when you scratched me?"

His lip twisted devilishly at the memory while my blush surely deepened. Not being able to speak, I merely shook my head. He smiled wider and leaned over to my ear. "I think that’s what made me come."

My eyes closed for a second at hearing him say it and I chuckled despite myself. "I didn’t realize you were so kinky," I whispered.