Page 43 of Return to You

He returned with an Ace bandage and after gingerly drying off her foot and calf with a dish towel, he wrapped her ankle. “You need to elevate it when you sleep and stay off of it as much as possible. Ice it a couple times a day and keep it wrapped.”

Ali saluted him, trying to tease him and relieve some of the sexual tension she was feeling. “Yes, sir.”

It backfired. His emerald stare darkened, increasing the tension. “Damn, I had no idea a sprained ankle would make you agreeable.”

“You like a yes woman, huh?” She knew she was playing with fire, but she didn’t care. At this point she was burning up anyway.

“I like you,” he said with a serious tone that caused her chest to expand and her breath to catch.

Kade was standing in front of her, his hands resting on either side of her thighs as he stared into her eyes. No part of him was touching any part of her but she felt trapped. The walls of arousal were closing in on her causing her to feel the now familiar claustrophobia.

“Well, I think I’m good now. Thanks.” She carefully placed her hands on the edge of the counter to hop down but when she lifted her hips a searing pain shot through her left palm. Her butt landed back on the tile counter as she hissed through her teeth.

Kade lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her Band-Aid. She wasn’t even certain that she actually felt it through the bandage, or if seeing it tricked her mind into thinking she did. But whatever the case, she felt it. Everywhere.

She sucked in a shaky breath as he moved his mouth so that he kissed the outline of her Band-Aid. His lips brushed against the sensitive skin of her wrist and she trembled under his attention.

“Better?” he asked when he’d covered the entire area.

Unable to speak, Ali nodded. She didn't know why she was going down this road with him. She just knew that she was, and there was no getting off the path now that she’d started.

The energy between them was crackling with electricity Ali was sure had to be visible to the naked eye. Kade stood in front of her staring at her with a look of tenderness, possession, and desire. He wanted her. She was sure of it. She’d never been more sure of anything in her life.

“Is there anywhere else that you need me to kiss and make better?” He asked in a low, raspy voice.

The challenge in his tone was evident.

The absolute sureness in his voice, even when asking a question, sent a tremor running through her. Maybe “tremor” wasn’t the right word to describe it. Earthquake. Yeah. This was The Big One.

He lowered her hand and lifted his arms, softly brushing her hair back off of her shoulders, causing goosebumps to rise all over her exposed skin. He stepped between her knees, parting them as he did. He was standing so close to her now that she could feel the heat radiating from his chest. She could feel his breath fan her shoulder as he asked, “Does it hurt here?”

Her heart was pounding so hard that she could hear the blood rushing to her head. She nodded once and felt his lips touch her bare skin. He then gently planted kisses on her neck and along the ridge of her shoulder. When she felt his teeth nip at the area just below her ear, her inner muscles clenched.

He moved his hand lower, grazing her collarbone. “What about here? Does this hurt?”

"Yes,” she whispered. Her voice was strangled now, her throat constricted by lust.

His lips moved lower down the exposed skin of her décolletage. He continued his journey along the neckline of her dress, allowing his mouth to travel over her nipples. The cotton barrier that covered them created friction as it rubbed against her hardened nubs.

As he continued his sensual journey, she felt like a stick of butter left out in the sun, melting into a glistening pool under the heat of his touch.

Using the last of the strength left in her limbs, she lifted her hands to his shoulders as he moved in to press his body up against hers.

He leaned toward her. His mouth hovered so near hers that she could feel the heat from his lips even though they weren't quite touching.

“Does this hurt?" he whispered, his eyes drowsy and half-lidded.

She tilted her chin upward, pressing her lips to his. "Yes," she moaned against his mouth, surrendering herself completely. When he captured her in a kiss that blew all of her fantasies out of the water, she dissolved into him. His tongue swept between her parted lips, claiming her with urgency. He navigated the recesses of her mouth with demanding mastery.

One hand wrapped around the back of her neck as the other fell to her hip. He flexed his fingers on both, tilting her neck to give him better access and pulling her hips to meet his. The material of her dress stayed in place as her thighs spread farther and her sex collided with his rock-hard erection. She rolled her hips into him and felt him throb through her damp panties.

He groaned into her mouth as they rocked against each other. They were like two puzzle pieces snapping neatly into place. She’d never experienced such an overwhelming sense of rightness before, and now she couldn’t bear the thought of losing it.

In that moment, every negative emotion she felt about Kade was washed away. That wasn’t to say those feelings wouldn’t reemerge at some point when she was thinking a little more clearly, but for the moment, they were washed away by tides of lust and arousal.

She was feeling overwhelmed, to say the least. But not the same kind of overwhelmed she’d been feeling for the last year. No, this was not the kind that made her desperate to get grounded again. It was the kind that asked her to surrender to it completely.

He kissed her with a passion, a fierceness, a barely-restrained control that made her feel protected and cherished. With Kade’s arms around her and his mouth on hers, she felt a kind of safety that she hadn’t even dared to dream might be available to her.

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