Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2) (15 page)

   “I love you,” I whispered.  He didn’t answer me, just leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a soft, lingering kiss.

Chapter Eleven

I’m Asking to Come Home

Riot

   The rest of the day passed uneventfully.  I never let Kalli out of my sight, always keeping a hand on her in some way or another.  The words we’d exchanged on the rocks by the ocean were real to me; they meant something.  I could tell they meant a lot to her as well, but I wasn’t ready to let her go yet, wasn’t ready to be away from her where I couldn’t read her face, or see in her eyes how she was feeling.  I suppose a part of me was afraid if I wasn’t there to remind her of how much I loved her and wanted to support her, she’d disappear on me again.  Maybe not physically, but emotionally.  And that would be just as devastating. 

   After the sun had set and a lot of the family had left for the evening, Halah, Ma, Pops, Kalli, and I were sitting on the deck around the fire pit.  My aunt and uncle had turned in for the evening.

   “Did you have a good birthday, sis?”  A smile spread across Halah’s face, but her eyes never left the fire.

   “Yeah, I did.”

   “It was good to finally have you home,” Ma said.  “You don’t come home often enough.”

   I watched as Halah resisted the urge to roll her eyes at our mother.  I could see both of their points.  Ma missed Halah.  Halah wanted to be independent.  It was every mother-daughter relationship I’d ever witnessed. 

  Ma must have picked up on the tension and didn’t want to upset Halah any more than she already had.  “Kalli, would you like to go inside with me and look at some baby pictures of Riot?”

   Kalli’s eyes lit up like my mother had offered her a diamond-encrusted tiara.  “That would be incredible.”

   My mother gave a small clap and then stood up and walked toward the house.  Kalli stood too, but before she made it too far, I tugged on her hand and pulled her toward me, then tugged again, bringing her face down to mine.

   “Don’t be gone too long,” I said, just before I captured her mouth with mine.

   “Okay,” she breathed.  I was satisfied I’d made her breath falter, so I let her go, watching her disappear into the house with my mother.

   “I’m going to make sure the front of the house is all closed down.  You never know which windows and doors have come unlocked with all our crazy family members visiting,” Pops announced as he stood and headed for the house.

   We were alone for just a moment before Halah broke the silence.

   “So spill, Riot.  Is it serious with her?”

   Halah had never been one to beat around the bush, so I wasn’t really surprised by her question.

   “I don’t ever plan on being with anyone else.”

   Halah was quiet for a moment, but then her eyes met mine over the fire. “Good.  I like her.”

   It had never occurred to me that one of my family members might not like Kalli; there was absolutely nothing to dislike about her as far as I was concerned.  So I wasn’t expecting the wave of relief that washed over me when my baby sister gave her approval.

   “What about you?  Why haven’t you been home in so long?  Ma and Pops worry about you.”

   She shrugged.  “It’s a different life out there, Ri.  Your boat docks in the most amazing places and when you get some time off you have to choose between going home or, I don’t know, spending a week in Italy.  I’m never going to be young and carefree again.  I was just trying to take advantage of the perks of the job.”

   “What do you mean you’re never going to be young or carefree again?  Halah, you’re just twenty-five.  You’ve got plenty of time to figure life out.”

   “I’ve got thirty more weeks to figure life out.”

   Her tone was despondent and she was suddenly morose.  “What happens in thirty weeks?”

   “Never mind, Riot.  It’s not important.”

   “Of course it’s important.  You brought it up, now explain it.”

   “Really, big brother, it’s nothing.”  She gave me the weakest smile I’d ever seen grace her face, but I could tell she really didn’t want to talk about it.

   “Okay, well, I’m here if you ever need to talk.  When do you have to be back to work?”

   “I have a lot of vacation time saved up, so I’m not sure yet.”

   “Kal and I are going to go down to the pier tomorrow before we head back to LA.  Want to come with us?”

   Finally, a genuine smile crossed her face when she said, “That sounds like fun.”

   “I’m gonna head inside and make sure Ma isn’t embarrassing me.”

   “I can guarantee Ma is embarrassing you,” she said with a laugh.

   “Well, I’m heading in to do damage control then.  You coming?”

   “Nah, I’m gonna sit out here and stare at the fire for a while still.”

   “Okay, sis.”  I stood up and walked toward the door, but turned before I went in.  “Halah?”

   “Yeah?”

   “I can tell you’re going through something, but I just want you to know that you can count on me.  If you ever need anything….” I trailed off because I wasn’t sure how to put into words how much my little sister’s welfare meant to me.  I wanted her to be happy, and if I could help in any way, I wanted her to let me.

   “You’re a good big brother,” she said softly.  “If I need anything, I’ll let you know.”

   I nodded.  There wasn’t much else to do.  I couldn’t hold her down like I had when we were kids and force her to tell me by threatening to spit on her.  We were adults.  She had to deal with her own issues and I had to hope she’d let me in if there was something I could do to help.  Being an adult really sucked sometimes.  I gave her one last smile and then opened the door to head back into the house.

   I found Ma and Kalli sitting at the kitchen table, a giant photo album open between them.  Ma was pointing out pictures of me when I was younger, and I could visualize the picture by just her description.

   “And this is when Riot won first place in his youth bowling tournament.”  I groaned.  I’d been nine years old, I was wearing tube socks, and I had braces.  It was, quite nearly, the worst photo she could have showed her. 

   Kalli saw me walk in and her eyes turned to me.  They were sparkling with amusement.

   “You were a bowler?”  She could hardly make it through the question without choking on laughter.

   “I was nine.  Bowling is cool when you’re nine.”

   Smart as always, she didn’t say anything in response, just smiled wider and returned her gaze to the album.

   “This is when he came in third for the county spelling bee.”

   “I see you were still a fan of the tube socks during the spelling bee years.”  The giddiness in Kalli’s voice was almost cute enough that I didn’t care she was making fun of me.

   “Perhaps we should look at some photos of you when you were nine years old and see how fashion forward you were.”

   Kalli didn’t raise her eyes from the photo album when she muttered, “My mom worked two jobs when I was nine and I let myself in the house after school with a key that hung around my neck.  There are probably only a few pictures of me when I was nine.”

   “Babe,” I said, mentally punching myself in the face for shoving my foot in my mouth.

   “You must have been really brave to stay alone every day after school by yourself,” Ma said, coming to my rescue.

   Kalli just shrugged.  “I did get really good at cooking in the years between my dad leaving and my mom remarrying.  I tried to make my mom dinner every night so she wouldn’t have to when she came home.”

   “Well, I’m sure Riot could benefit from some cooking lessons.  Getting him to cook anything when he was younger was like pulling teeth.  I think he burned things on purpose so I’d stop asking.”

   “No, Ma, I’m just that bad at it.”  I was hoping my attempt at humor would make a smile appear on Kal’s face.

   “I’d be happy to teach him a thing or two,” she finally said, her eyes meeting mine, a small, shy smile on her face.  I wanted to walk to her, take her chin in my hand and apologize, then kiss her.  But I knew she wouldn’t appreciate that with my mom right next to her.  So I settled for mouthing, “Sorry,” at her, and let out a sigh of relief when she winked back at me.

   An hour later we were back at the hotel.  Kalli had been quiet on the ride there, and even though I wanted to know what was running through her mind, I settled for keeping my hand on her thigh and letting my thumb trail light circles there.  I held her hand the entire way up to our room and she was still silent.

   “Are you all right?” I finally asked as she walked to her side of the bed and flipped on her lamp.  “You’ve been really quiet.” 

   A weak smile crossed her face as she shrugged off her jacket, laying it over the chair next to the bed.  “Just thinking a lot.”

   I sat down at the foot of the bed as she walked toward me.  “Care to tell me what’s going on in there?”  She stopped just in front of me and leaned down, pressing a small kiss against my lips.  It was fast and sweet.

   “I think I’m going to change into my pajamas real quick.  I’ll be right back.”  I watched as she rummaged through the small closet that held our bags, then disappeared into the bathroom with a bundle of clothes in her arms.

   I let out a loud breath, scrubbing my hands up and down my face.  I knew Kalli’s home life hadn’t been great growing up; she’d told me all about her dad leaving, on her birthday no less, and how her mom had to do the job of two parents.  If I could have taken back my stupid comment, I would.  I felt like a complete jackass for even bringing it up.

   I stripped my clothes off and pulled on a pair of flannel lounge pants, then lay down on the bed, waiting for Kalli to come out.  I listened as the water ran, imagining her brushing her teeth and doing all the other routine things women did to ready themselves for bed.  A few minutes later the door opened.

   All I could see was the outline of her body, her hair piled on top of her head, a large t-shirt hanging from one shoulder.  She took a step into the bedroom and flipped off the bathroom light, allowing my eyes to adjust and see all of her.  My chest tightened when I realized she was wearing one of my t-shirts, one shoulder peeking out of the neck as it draped over her body.  My eyes traveled downward, taking her in.

   The tightness in my chest eased a little, but the sight of her did all sorts of things to my body.  My hands ached to touch her, my eyes roamed her body, wanting to see all of her, and my dick began to swell, filling with need.  My eyes made their way down her body and my breath halted when they landed on her calves. 

   Fuck.

   My girl was standing at the foot of the bed in my t-shirt and a pair of tube socks. 

   “Christ, Kalli,” I groaned.  A flirty smile played on her lips and I watched, trying to remain calm and not simply devour her, as she climbed onto the bed and began to seductively crawl toward me.

   “I brought the tube socks because I was worried my feet would get cold.  But now I think they’re keeping you warmer than me.”  Her hands and knees straddled my legs, and damn if my eyes didn’t peek down the neck of her shirt, taking in the sway of her naked breasts beneath the fabric. 

   When she sat up, she was straddling my hips, my erection fitting snugly between her legs.  I knew she had to feel it, I was raging with need, but all she did was continue to smile.  My hands automatically came to her bare thighs, squeezing them and pulling down, forcing her body to press against my dick more firmly.

   “I wanted to talk to you,” I growled, my hands itching to roam, to feel all of her.

   “No, you want to apologize, but it’s unnecessary.  My childhood sucked a little.  It’s not your problem or your fault.  I shouldn’t have said what I did.  I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad.”  Her hands came to rest on my lower stomach, just above the waistband of my lounge pants.  Her hands started slowly sliding up my abs and her eyes followed her fingertips.  “All I want, for the rest of the night, is for us both to feel good.”

   Her hands slid all the way up to my shoulders and she bent down to lean against me.  Her breasts pressed against my chest and I wanted to rip the shirt from her body and feel her flesh against mine.  My hands slid to the back of her thighs and then up to round over her perfect ass, pressing her against my cock with even more pressure.  I slid my fingers under the edge of her panties, gripping her ass and feeling her there.  She let out a soft gasp and my dick hardened even more.

   She sat up, gripping the bottom of her shirt, and slowly pulled it over her head, the smile never leaving her face.  My hands found her waist, but then slid up, watching as goose bumps formed along her skin, until my hands covered her perfect breasts.  I palmed her, but it wasn’t enough, not even close.  I knifed up, quickly wrapping one arm around her waist to keep her center right where I wanted it: against my cock.  Then I scooted backward on the bed until I came to rest against the headboard.

   “I want nothing more than to sink into you right now,” I said, one hand coming to grip the back of her neck, pulling her face to just within a hair’s breadth of mine.  “Every part of me is throbbing, aching to be inside of you, to feel you all around me.  But I want you to know, it’s not the sex, Kal.  I’m not just asking for sex.  I’m asking to come home.  You’re home to me.  All of you.  I want back in to the place where I belong, the place I want to be forever.”  I pressed a kiss just above her left breast and felt her breath tremble with my touch.  “I want back in here, baby.”  I continued to lave kisses just where her heart was pounding through her skin.

   “You’ve been there all along,” she whispered, her words laced with a combination of pleasure and pain.  “Please,” she begged.  “Make love to me.”

   That was all the invitation I needed.

   I brought my lips to her breast, sucking her nipple into my mouth, taking her deep.  She mewled and I knew her nerves were just as frayed as mine.  Like me, she was balancing between needing the buildup and release, and wanting the connection.  It would be easy enough to bring her to orgasm so quickly her head would spin, but I wanted more than that, more than just coming for the sake of coming.  I wanted to make love to her, reconnect with her, for hours.  I wanted to make up for all the time we’d already spent apart.