I close the doors and get started. It doesn’t actually take too long to get everything in order, though I suspect it’s because I’m racing through things. My pulse just won’t slow down, and I feel positively charged with excitement and anxiety. I take the luggage up and stack it in the hall, putting away what I can, trying to make the place more homey. Then I text Amara and let her know to come by with Lionel whenever she can, probably in the afternoon since she’ll be at the shelter for most of the day. After that, I clean up Emily’s crate and take her outside, doing a loop around Circus Place until she seems a bit more comfortable with me again.
Though it’s still quite early, a few neighbors are out and about. They raise their hand in greeting when they see me but they don’t approach me, asking where I’ve been, why I haven’t been around. They know enough by now that I’m not the talkative type, and while I’ve always been cordial, I don’t care to get close to them. That said, you need your neighbors on your side when you own a pit bull or any kind of bully breed in the U.K. If you piss off the wrong person, they could try and get your dog taken away from you. It’s happened before, and Lionel would be killed if it happened again.
Emily looks up at me with knowing eyes, as if she can sense what I’m thinking. I give her a quick smile. “S’all right,” I tell her. “You’re safe. And we’ll find you someone worthy of Miss Emily, yeah?”
I go around the building, hooking left on Circus Lane to check on my Range Rover. The Freelander is still sitting there, looking no worse for wear other than rain spots on the black finish. If it wasn’t for rugby practice tomorrow I’d pile Kayla and the dogs into it and take us far away from the city, out to Dunnottar Castle, maybe even to the start of the Highlands. But I’m already missing today’s practice, the first of the season as it is.
The thought of it makes knots twist in my stomach. I know that I should be there, especially after missing so much at the end of last season, but I’m not about to leave Kayla to her own devices on her first day here. The poor girl is jetlagged and in a city where she doesn’t know anyone. Besides, I’m truly selfish. Even though we’d just landed, I can feel time sliding past us, and sooner rather than later, she’ll be gone. I need to spend as much time with her as possible, like soaking up the sun after an everlasting winter.
With that thought, I head back into the flat. I let Emily off the leash and keep all the doors open so she can explore the flat in its entirety. She seems to take her time in each spot, and I know she can smell Lionel. Hopefully when he comes back later today, the two of them will hit it off okay. I’ve had some dogs not get along with him, but as long as I kept them in separate parts of the house, we’ve been able to make it work.
While she’s busy sniffing the couch, I go into the bedroom, shutting myself inside.
The sight of Kayla on my bed is a hit to the gut. I have to just stand there and take her in. She’s taken off her shoes, socks, and jeans, and is just lying there on her back in a white t-shirt and a pair of knickers. Lacey. Hot pink.
Fucking hell.
The sun is streaming in through the window, bathing her skin in a diffused glow, and her face is absolutely gorgeous. Peaceful and vibrant all at the same time. She’s unreal, and just staring at her in my own bloody bed makes me feel crazy. She moves something deep inside of me, something I don’t think I can ever move back.
“Kayla,” I whisper to her, and she stirs slightly, letting out a soft moan from her lips that makes me unbelievably hard. I want to bring out deeper, hungrier noises from her. I want to make her come in my home. I’ve never brought a woman here before; in the past we had always gone to her place.
I’m not normally such a wishful thinker, but still, I take off my clothes, casually discarding them on the floor and hope that Kayla is up for some jetlagged sex.
I slowly climb onto the bed, the mattress moving beneath my weight. She stirs again as I straddle her, my thighs on either side of hers, my erection thick and hard, bobbing above her stomach. I lean down, bracketing her shoulders between my arms, and slowly run my lips down her forehead, over her nose, until I place them flush on her mouth.
“Mmm,” she says softly. “Where am I?”
“With me,” I murmur, nibbling on her bottom lip before leaving a trail of kisses from the corner of her mouth to her jaw.