REBORN (Metamorphosis Book 1) (6 page)

When the doorbell rang my nerves started getting the best of me; my face was flushed, my hands shaking, and my stomach acting up.  I was so glad I'd had lunch; I didn’t think I would be able to eat a bite. 

When I opened the door, Kayden took my breath away.  He looked so amazingly handsome in his black suit, white shirt open at the top, no tie.  And when he saw me, he just breathed in deeply and said, "Wow, you look stunning."  Then he gave me a gentle kiss.  He had flowers in his hands.  "These are for you."

"Thank you, do I have time to put then in water?"  I asked as I turned my back to him, heading for the kitchen.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay in tonight?  Because with that dress you might just give me a heart attack."

I just turned around and smiled coquettishly.  I was flirting with him without shame, something I had not done in ages, and I was enjoying myself doing it.   

"We need to go soon otherwise I am going to do something stupid like rip that dress off and spend the night taking you in a hundred different ways."

I smiled. "A hundred, that’s it?" and picked up my wrap and clutch from the table.

"Stop that game or I am not going to be responsible for what I do."

"Promises, promises."

He grabbed me by the arm, and said, "Don't tempt me, I don't like games."

I looked at him, straight in the eyes and knew what he meant.  Then he took me by the shoulders and kissed me hard, until my lips were bruised.  No more games for me, Kayden had a dark side and I could see it in his eyes.

The ride to the restaurant was mostly silent.  Kayden held my hand and looked out the window.  When we got to the restaurant we sat at the bar until our table was ready.  I ordered a pomegranate martini and he had a double scotch.  Our table was ready in less than five minutes and Kayden finally spoke.

"Stop sending me conflicting messages. If you are not interested just say so and stay away from me, but don't say no and then play these ridiculous games that are more appropriate for a teen."

"I am sorry Kayden, my intention was not to confuse you or play games with you; well, maybe a little.  I do want you, but I know you are not for me.  I'm afraid that you will overpower me in so many ways that I'll never find out who I am or what I can do on my own."  

The waiter came and our conversation stopped.  He explained the menu for that evening and asked if we had any food allergies.  It was a prefixed tasting menu, so there were no choices to be made. 

"Can we hold on this conversation for later?" he asked.  "This is supposed to be our first official date and here we are fighting like an old couple.  Let's pretend we are on a blind date and then go from there."

"I thought you didn’t like games," I said with an attitude.

"Ellie," he admonished.

"Okay, okay. Ellie McCabe, nice to meet you," I responded sardonically.

"So much better. Kayden Hale, the pleasure is all mine," he said with a snicker.  I had to laugh at his expression; it was truly hilarious.

From that moment on, we were able to laugh and enjoy each other's company as well as the superb food.  Alinea was truly a gastronomical experience that engaged your senses, body and soul.  And I allowed the magic of the place and the moment to carry me away.

We arrived at the apartment close to midnight.  Kayden walked me to my door, and then asked if he could come in.  I was hesitant for a moment but then signaled him in.

"Would you like a drink?"

"Sure, scotch if you have it."

I went to the kitchen to serve the drinks, scotch for him and a Baileys for me.  He seemed serious and quite annoyed, not the mood I was hoping for.

"Ellie, I don’t know where your head is tonight.  I like you because you are real; not an illusion created by the media.  You are the first woman I've wanted with this intensity since I met Megan, and I was a kid then with all the time in the world; I'm not a kid anymore.  I am a man who knows what he wants and usually gets it.  But I am not a patient man, I will not wait around forever."

I took a sip of my Baileys then said, "I understand your sense of urgency, I feel it too.  I have spent most of my life being something for somebody else.  I was someone's daughter, granddaughter, girlfriend, wife, and mother.  Throughout those years I was addressed by those titles, rarely by my name and my identity was always connected to them.  For once I want to create my own identity and see how it fits."

"Do you want me?"  Kayden asked.

"You know I do," I responded honestly, no need to pretend.

"I am not asking you to marry me, to take my name or identity; that might happen in the future but not now.  I am asking you to trust your instincts and give us a chance to get to know each other."

"Kayden…"

"But not tonight, we are both tired and need a clear head."

Then he came to me and kissed me goodnight.  I stood there in silence watching him walk out the door.  "How stupid can you be?  How many times are you going to let a man go because you don't want to complicate your life?  How many men like Kayden will you meet in a lifetime?"

I did not have to think about it twice, I ran out the door and saw Kayden before the elevator door closed.  He stopped it, came out and this time it was me who grabbed him by the neck and kissed him as if my life depended on it.  And then he said "tomorrow," one word, so many promises.  I simply nodded and he was gone. 

Chapter Five

I did not sleep that night; a combination of jet lag and my own body's treacherous desire kept me awake.  Around four o'clock I finally drifted into sleep; unfortunately by seven the doorbell was ringing.  "I'm going to kill my kids," this was it, privilege over, no more unrestricted access to my place.  I stumbled to the door and found Kayden standing there.  His hair was wet; he was wearing sweat-pants and a T-shirt, and as usual looked amazing.  I, on the other hand, looked like crap.  I just stood there, with the front door open, wearing only silk black pajama pants and a cream camisole.

He merely said, "It's tomorrow."  And I knew what he was talking about, knew it in every cell of my body. He took my face in both his strong hands and kissed me passionately then scooped me up in his arms and carried me through the apartment and into my bedroom.  There was no turning around; no more excuses.   

I felt a little hesitant.  It had been so long since I'd been with a man; over three years, and before that it was so random and unfulfilling that it hardly counted.  As I stood before the bed, Kayden stood behind me.  Breathing hard on my skin, he asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"  I hesitated for a minute, and then responded, "Yes, I want this more than anything."

"I'm glad." His voice was low, and so seductive.

Kayden kissed my shoulders and my body trembled.  He pushed one strap of my camisole off my shoulders and caressed the area with his tongue.  I gasped…He lifted my arms and pulled the camisole off me oh so slowly; I was naked under my nightclothes. I couldn't move; my head simply fell back to rest on his chest.  His arms surrounded my waist; he trailed soft kisses along my neck, my shoulders, my arms.  Suddenly his hands were on my breasts, caressing them, squeezing, his touch becoming increasingly more desperate, more urgent.  My nipples hardened under his touch.  His hands moved from my breasts to my stomach, caressing my belly, moving lower ever so slowly.  I couldn't take it anymore; I turned in the circle of his embrace and kissed him.  Kayden lifted me as if I were a feather and placed me on the bed.  He took off his T-shirt and threw it on the chair followed by his sweat-pants and shoes.  When his naked body came into full view I gasped at the sight of him; he was even more beautiful without clothes than with them on, if that was possible.

Kayden lowered himself on top of me, his hand gliding slowly over my side, his eyes fixed on mine. Desire was growing in my body like a wildfire, the anticipation so unbearable that I had to beg.

"Please take me, Kayden."

"All in due time baby, there is no rush, we have all day."

His mouth began a torturous trajectory of soft kisses and small bites along my neck, as his hand pushed my pants down and found my sex.

"You are so wet," he said.  He pushed my pants off completely and carefully slid a finger inside me, moving it leisurely in and out.  I trembled at the feel of the delicious invasion.  He took his finger out and put it in his mouth, sucking it slowly. "Mmm…delicious, as I knew it would be."  My hands went in awkwardness to cover my eyes.  He moved them away and held them to my side. "Don’t be embarrassed," he said, and then kissed me, my mouth tasting what he had tasted before.

His mouth trailed a path from my lips to my stomach, doting my body with more small kisses along the way; continuing his eternal pursuit of new territory to explore his mouth found my sex.  He knelt before me and assessed my body.

"Open your eyes, I want you to see what I’m doing to you.  I want you to see my face as I devour you. 

No hiding."  And I opened my eyes and saw the hunger in his eyes and then all I could see was his sable dark hair as he set himself between my legs and sucked, licked, bit me until my body began to tremble and the explosive orgasm threw any last remnants of resistance away.  I came long and hard, like never before.  Kayden held me with both hands but did not stop the torture as wave after wave of trembling passed through my body.

"Stop, please stop, I can't," my voice was breathless.

"Baby, we just began."

And I knew it was going to be a long day; he had not been inside me and I had already had at least two mind-blowing orgasms.  I don’t know when or how he found a condom, but here he was, hovering above me, looking at me with hooded eyes as if asking for permission to enter.  I did not say a word, simply took my hand and found him, then pressed him inside me.  As he entered my body the feeling was so complete, so extraordinary that I almost cried.  Kayden entered me with the care and patience one gives to a cherished one.  He moved slowly at the beginning, feeling his way inside me, moving deeper and deeper until he was fully inside.  He took a second to absorb the feeling and said "I knew it would be like this" and started increasing the pace until he was pounding harder, deeper in what seemed like hours, taking me to another orgasm just as he reached his own.

We lay there, panting, holding each other, waiting to come down from the amazing feeling of euphoria that had overtaken us both.  Kayden got off me, still hard, and disposed of the condom.  He then pulled me to him, his front to my back as he held me tight, kissing my hair softly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm more than okay," I responded with a smile. But I knew that I was anything but okay.  I had just had mind-blowing sex with a man who for all intents and purposes was a stranger.  And yet I wasn’t sorry about having had sex with him, I was worried about what might come after.  I knew that things with us were going to change forever now.  It had been too intense.  The reality was that I had never had casual sex before.  I dated Julian while in college and then married him right after graduation.  Julian had been my first and only sexual partner, and it had never been like this with him.

"A penny for your thoughts," he said.

"I was thinking about how little we know each other," I responded.

"Any regrets?" he asked in a worried tone.

"None about being with you; some about what might come after," I responded honestly.

He turned me around to face him, and then said, "We can't predict where this is going to take us.  I'm just asking you to give us a chance."  I nodded in agreement.

Our eyes met and then our lips followed.  Kissing with Kayden was never simple.  His kisses were all consuming.  They stirred in me a longing, a desire to be closer.  And today, if only for today, I allowed myself to be consumed by his kisses.  His tongue was everywhere in my mouth, stroking, feeling, teasing me, possessing me.  I met every stroke of his tongue in my mouth.  His hands were on my ass pressing me to his body, his swelling cock against my side.  I wanted him with every fiber of my body.  I could not believe that after all those orgasms I could still be aroused.  His hands went to my sex.

"Oh, you are so ready," he growled.

And with those words he thrust into me once again. 

I don’t know how many times he was inside me that day or how many orgasms I had; what I do know is that when we woke up at seven that evening all the condoms he had brought with him were gone.

"You know, we are going to have to do something about the condom situation, but in the meantime, let's take a shower, go to dinner, and stop at the store on the way back," he said in a resigned voice as he got up.

"Well, I'm taking a low-dose birth control pill to prevent cramps, I'll call my doctor Monday morning to find out if I need something more effective …" I stopped myself; the statement presumed that we would have an ongoing relationship, not a one-night stand.  I did not want to assume that was the case. 

Kayden did not respond, just took my hand and dragged me to the bathroom.  Then said, "Stop what you are thinking.  I don’t like that line of thought."  He didn't let me answer, didn’t let me explain, he kissed me and into the shower we went.