“Don’t lose that look,” he orders as he quickly twists his upper body away from mine before turning back over, holding his phone in his hand. His eyebrows go together and he shakes his head, sliding his finger across the screen. “This better be fucking good,” he growls, looking at me. His eyes narrow on me when I hear Justin’s voice say something about pulling the stick out of his ass, making me smile. “Do not fucking encourage him,” he says, shaking his head when I laugh harder after hearing Justin yell through the speaker that Kenton stole me away from him and he’s going to find a way to win me back.
“Did you call for a fucking reason, or are you just callin’ to piss me off?”
I can’t hear Justin’s response, but I can tell that Kenton doesn’t like it by the look that comes over his face as he listens.
“Fuck,” he clips, dropping his head. “Yeah, I’ll be there soon.” He pulls the phone away from his ear before dropping it to the bed next to my head. “I gotta head out.”
“Okay.” I bite my lip, wondering what I’m supposed to do. This whole thing feels surreal to me. I don’t know if I want to kiss him again or run away and pretend like nothing happened.
“You gonna be okay?”
His question hits my chest and I feel my face go soft at his concern for me. “I’ll be okay,” I assure him quietly.
“You workin’ tonight?”
“Yeah. I feel bad about what happened last night and leaving early. I don’t want them to think I’m flighty. I really like working there,” I say, absently rubbing the sheet between my fingers.
“Did you talk to Tara last night?” I nod yes and his fingers run over my cheek. “You’re good then. That bitch is crazy. She would never let them think less of you.”
“Don’t call her a bitch,” I say defensively.
“I mean ‘bitch’ in the nicest way possible.” He smiles, dropping his face towards mine.
As soon as our lips touch, his hand goes to the back of my head, holding me to him while controlling the kiss. When he pulls his mouth from mine, I can’t help the whimper that escapes.
“When’s your next day off?” he asks through heavily panted breaths.
“The day after tomorrow,” I reply just as breathlessly.
“I’m taking you out.”
“Like a date?”
“Exactly like a date.”
“Um…” I say, not knowing how to respond.
“It’s not up for debate. We’re going out.”
“Excuse me?” I narrow my eyes. “You need to ask me if I would like to go out with you.” No way am I going to let him boss me around.
He rolls until I’m on my back and one of his legs is between mine. His hands capture mine, bringing them above my head. Then he bends his head and whispers into my ear, “Autumn, will you have dinner with me?”
“Maybe.” I smile when he growls against the skin of my neck.
“Please?” he asks, his tongue snaking out to touch my sensitive flesh.
My body arches back. Having him cover me is doing crazy things to my body. I don’t know if I want to pull him closer or push him away only to climb on top of him. My hands run down his back, feeling his smooth skin under my fingers.
“So, what do you say?” he asks, his hand running down my bare thigh.
“What?”
I feel the vibration of his laughter before he pulls away so I can see his face. “What’s your answer? Am I taking you willingly, or do I need to force you?”
My eyes drop to his mouth and he smiles. “I guess I could suffer through a date with you. Who am I to pass up free food?” I ask with a straight face.
His hands go to my sides and he starts to tickle me. I have never been tickled before and it catches me off guard, making me scream in horror.
When he realizes that I’m not shrieking playfully, his body stills and he looks down at me in question. Tears fill my eyes again and I don’t even know what to say.
“It’s okay,” he says gently, removing his hands from my sides and sliding them into my hair. “We can talk about what just happened another time.”
No way am I going to tell him about my childhood. Instead of saying that, I just nod. His eyes search my face, and I know he doesn’t like what he sees when his jaw starts ticking.
“I gotta go or I would make you talk to me.”
“Go. It’s not a big deal.” I push his chest and he shakes his head.
“Fuck me.” He drops his head before lifting it again, his eyes looking me over. “Just like that, you replace those fucking barriers.”
“You need to go,” I say, really wanting to be away from him and how exposed I feel.
“Swear to Christ, if I didn’t know that the reward would be worth it, I wouldn’t waste my fucking time with this bullshit.”
His words are like a slap in the face and I flinch, closing my eyes for a second before opening them back up. “Get off me,” I say softly, and he presses me harder into the bed.
“Shit, I di—”
I cut him off, shoving at his chest and yelling at the top of my lungs, “Get the fuck off me right now!” I wiggle around, trying to break free. Not being strong enough to get him off me has tears of frustration forming in my eyes. “Please get off me,” I whisper, closing my eyes. My body loses its fight, knowing that it’s pointless; he has all the power.
“This isn’t over,” he says quietly, kissing my forehead.
I don’t say anything; I just wait until I feel him get up. As soon as his weight is off me, I jump out of bed and look around for my stuff from the night before. I quickly grab it and open his bedroom door. Then I shut it behind me and run down the hall to my room, slamming and locking my door behind me.