Page 17 of Kalix
I jump onto the bike and hold a hand out, instructing her where to step and to swing her leg over once she does. She does as I say, and I reach behind to grab her arms to wrap around my center. Her touch lights my body on fire, I just wish these weren’t the circumstances to feel her for the first time.
“Hold on tight,” I call behind me as I start up the bike and take off into the night. Her grip on me strengthens, and her whole body is tense behind me. Her instinct to bury into me for safety in this moment has me feral for her.
Take it slow, Kalix.I berate myself.Don’t scare her off yet. You have her, for now.
I repeat the mantra in my mind as I zip down roads, careful to not do anything too reckless with my special package in tow.
When we finally pull up to her complex, I park the bike before hopping off and reaching up to help her off. She weighs practically nothing, making it easy to do so.
Her helmet comes off next, and out of habit, she pushes the imaginary glasses up her nose. Her nose crinkles when they’re not there and I want to kiss her.
“Come on.” I put my hand out for her to take, and to my surprise, she does. I let her drag me this time, like this is the first time I’ve been here. I figured it would be better to let her believe it is, at least for now.
When we reach her door, she drops my hand and turns around. She gazes up at me, her long black lashes and big blue eyes staring into mine with so many questions.
Brushing a piece of hair behind her ear, I admire every thing I can see, down to the last freckle.
“So, this is me.” She says, finally breaking the silence.
“Okay…”
“Well, thanks. You know, for back there.”
”Anytime.”
She’s quiet, and rocks back on her heels as a sign of discomfort.
“Well, I’ll see you around?” She asks it like it’s a question and I don’t appreciate it.
“I thought you had questions?” I return the question back.
“Oh… y–yeah, I do.”
I invade her space, leaningdown to inhale her lemony scent.
“Then how about you invite me in.” Her breath hitches at my proximity and I smile to myself.
“Uh…yeah…” she says nervously, “Do you want to come in?”
“I thought you’d never ask, little rabbit.”
I straighten to my full height and look back down at her as she searches her pockets for her keys. Once she finds them, she turns and unlocks the door.
Jackpot.
CHAPTER 15
LAINEY
I don’t even wantto know what would have happened if that very hot, tattooed man wasn’t there to intervene. I still can’t believe Alex tried to force himself on me. He seemed like a nice guy, or at least I thought he was.
On the way back to my apartment, I must have repeated the phrasebreathe in, breathe outa million times in my head. I’m pretty sure I felt my heart drop to my asshole when he asked me to invite him in. It was as if someone else had taken over my body, because I completely lost all sense of control and allowed him inside.
Despite being terrified of the dark, I’m allowing a complete stranger into my personal space right now. One who I’m pretty sure has been following me. I can’t be certain, but I get the same uneasy feeling around him that I do when I feel like I’m being watched.
Which is why I need to get my shit together andstart asking questions. I quickly glance around as soon as we enter the apartment, stopping just short of the kitchen. “What’s your name?” I ask, walking into the kitchen and turning back to face him.
“Kalix.” He says, taking a step towards me.
