Less than five minutes later, we pulled into the valet area of Kean’s building. Expecting dinner at an actual restaurant, I shot Thad a quizzical look, which at no time was answered, while I was escorted into the elevator and up to the condo.
When we reached Kean’s door, Thad unlocked it and held it open with one arm stretched over my head. I took a step in and stopped when I noticed he wasn’t following behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I gave him another questioning look.
“Ciaran, this is where I leave you for tonight. Although I wasn’t sure what to expect from meeting you, I must say it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m sure we will run into each other again in the future.” Placing a hand on the small of my back he gave me a soft push forward before shutting the door and locking it from the outside.
I grinned. I liked the man. In some ways he reminded me of the one I was meeting.
Amusement plastered on my face, I strolled into the dimly lit living room expecting to find Kean waiting.
He wasn’t.
As disappointment blossomed within, my gaze locked on the glowing city skyline that shimmered through the back wall of windows.
Maybe he hadn’t made it home from work yet. Maybe that was why I was alone.
“Ciaran.”
My name came from a deep voice at the edge of the room. Turning my head, I barely made out Kean leaning against the tall bar counter half hidden in the shadows. He had a short tumbler of amber colored liquid in the hand resting at his side, while the other hand was tucked into the pocket of his dress pants.
Raptly watching me, he raised the glass to his mouth, touched the tip of his tongue to the edge and took a sip.
My temperature spiked. I wanted to be that glass. I wanted his tongue and mouth on my body. I wanted him to drink every drop from me as I moaned from beneath him.
“I thought we were going out to dinner?” I asked, my voice husky.
“Change of plans. I thought we could have dinner here.”
Taking several steps towards him, I removed the drink from his hand, pressed my lips to the side and took a sip. The smoky smooth flavor of bourbon coated my throat, bathing it with warmth.
Fire pooled in Kean’s emerald eyes. They glided over my face as if they were committing every minuscule detail to memory.
I set the glass down on the bar and closed the inch of space between our bodies reveling in the feel of being pressed against him. Tilting my head back, the desire to have his mouth on mine was too much for me to shun.
“Are you going to kiss me hello, Dr. Bennett?” I asked, but before his name had left my lips, his mouth was pressed against mine. His tongue stroked through, firing off every nerve in my body.
Kean stepped forward, backing me up until my feet were on top of a soft rug in front of the fireplace. He gently lowered us to the ground. Settling in between my legs, he thrusted his hips upward grinding his rock hard bulge into the apex of my thighs. With his lips hovering above mine he gave closure to an important question that had been plaguing me for days. “Ciaran, how can you not know it’s you that I want? How can you not know it’s you I can’t get enough of?”
His words robbed me of both my breath and my heart at the same time but it didn’t stop his pilfering.
“I’m starting to think you’re exactly who I’ve always wanted,” he whispered, before covering my mouth with his.
I kissed him back with every inch of my soul.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ciaran
Brenda’s tray clanged on the table as she unceremoniously plopped into the chair across from mine.
“Well, hello, stranger who is too busy receiving white roses from some mysterious man to make time for her very best friend. Or is it your piece on Dr. Endowed that has left no time for me?”
Looking up from my slice of pizza, I smirked. “Do you think you can refrain from calling him Dr. Endowed and just call him by his name like a normal person?”
“Hey, I resent that. I’m normal.” She laughed. “Fine, but you are no fun, missy. Let me rephrase my question. Ciaran, how is your piece about the charming Dr. Kean Bennett going?”
“Okay.” I shrugged.
“Just okay? That sounds kind of ominous.”
“Ominous? Really?”
“Yes, ominous. If you were hitting it out of the park you would have said – in a happy-go-lucky voice – ‘Oh, Brenda, I am kicking ass with this assignment. Shawna is going to give me a huge raise when she reads it.’” She finished the last couple of sentences in a high pitched falsetto thinking she was mimicking my voice.
I set the pizza slice on my plate and grabbed a cheap brown paper napkin from the dispenser on the table. I was struggling to keep from flashing a mouth full of teeth like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. It was extremely difficult because every time I thought of Kean, the teeth wanted to make an appearance.
I wanted to tell Brenda about Kean and I, but was unsure how to explain the new plateau our relationship had reached. Were we boyfriend and girlfriend or just a causal booty call? It felt like so much more than a booty call but no matter how on board I was with his “I’ll try,” I was not sure how to label us.
This morning I had woken up in his bed with his arms wrapped securely around my naked body and instantly knew I never wanted to wake without him again. I was left warm under the sheets to doze, with a sweet kiss pressed to my head when he got up to cook us breakfast. Once we finished eating, we showered together where he had dessert. Sleepy and sated I was rushed out the door so he could stop by my apartment and drop me off before he headed to work. So far it made the top of my most favorite mornings ever list.
“Brenda, if I tell you something, do you promise not to repeat a word to anyone or judge me?”
“Okay, first of all who am I going to tell, and second, ME judge YOU. You’re kidding, right? You and I both know I am the last person who should be judging anyone on the face of this planet.”
She had a point. Some of the things she had confessed to over the years made parts of my body, that shouldn’t be capable of blushing, blush.
“Kean and I are kind of doing more than just asking and answering questions.”
“Kean? Oh shit. You just called Dr. Bennett, Kean. Is that who sent the roses? Oh My God, are you fucking him?” she hissed.
“Actually, it’s the other way around but trust me when I say I am a more-than-willing participant.”
In all the years I’ve known Brenda, it was the first time I’d seen her at a loss for words. It only lasted a minute.
“Holy fuck! You. Lucky. Slut! Wait, is that whose fancy apartment building you were crying in front of when I picked you up the other week? Did he make you cry? I’ll kick his ass.”
I nodded and then vigorously shook my head. “No, no, it wasn’t like that. I mean, yes, that is where he lives. We sort of had a spat but you don’t need to kick his ass. It worked out fine. I ran into him at the bar after Stuart went to find you at the table. Kean was having drinks with some colleagues at the restaurant and saw me with Stuart. He got kind of jealous.”
Brenda was quiet again as she looked thoughtful. I briefly wondered if she could tell I was leaving out half of what had really happened.
“Ciaran, I hate to be a Debbie Downer and all but Kean Bennett isn’t exactly the type of man you want to hitch your horses to. Not only has he slept with enough women to populate an entire nation, he is definitely not the type of nice guy you settle down with. You know, like the one you have been wishing for your entire life.”
And just like that, I floundered. She was right. Kean was not a safe choice and I knew it. It didn’t matter how badly I wanted to ignore his playboy ways. I recalled all the pictures of beautiful women draped over him that would forever be floating across the internet.
Shit, that hurt.
I wadded up the napkin in my hand and played it off. “I know. It’s not serious for either one of us.”