Her Kind of Man (18 page)

T
he sound of the front door slamming brought Allina out of the kitchen. Kent had told her he'd be working late, so she hadn't expected him this early. Glancing down at her attire, she cringed. She'd just finished showering, her hair was in twists, and she was in a huge pair of his sweats and a thin camisole. Quickly, she untwisted her hair and shook it out. Picking up a towel, she scrubbed the blemish cream off her face and smoothed a hand over her clothes.

When she walked out into the living room, Kent was standing at the door, skimming through his mail, a frown on his face.

She smiled. “Hey, I wasn't expecting you.”

Grunting, he said, “I left work a little early because I had to stop at the bar. I have some…” He glanced over at her and paused.

Suddenly, Allina was nervous. Fidgeting, she tugged at the shirt and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Is everything…okay?”

He didn't respond, only continued to stare at her.

Swallowing, she inched closer to him. “Kent? Are you okay? Did something happen at the club? Or with Den?” Allina knew that Kent had been preoccupied with his brother's troubles. She wondered if he'd heard from Den.

Is he upset with me?
Allina had to admit that dropping that bombshell on him about going back to Cleveland might have seemed a little out of the blue, but she felt she needed to do it.

After he'd left for work, she'd pondered their conversation about Cleveland and dealing with Isaac. While she still felt she couldn't hide forever, she wondered what it would accomplish if she went to see him anytime soon.

More than that, how could she embrace the potential of a relationship with Kent if she hadn't disclosed everything to him? He still didn't know the whole truth about her aunt's death. She didn't know what to do. One minute, she wanted to put a halt to their budding relationship, the next she wanted to be with him. Her feelings were growing every minute, every hour she stayed with him.

Spending the short time with him in his bed that morning had been a dream come true. He was a total and complete gentleman, which made her feel some kind of way. She found herself wishing he weren't such a gentleman, that he'd make a move on her. Yes, she'd made a promise to herself to never have sex outside of marriage. She'd also never felt the way she felt for Kent about anybody else.

Kent finally eased closer to her, still not speaking, his gaze still intense. She wondered what he was thinking. Normally, she'd want to retreat, back away. But she remained rooted to the spot.

When he was standing directly in front of her, he reached out and brushed his thumb across her cheek. She bit down on her lip, then released it. She decided to forge ahead, to continue talking and hope he'd respond soon. “Kent, I just finished dinner. Do you want to eat?”

His gaze dropped down to her lips, then back up to her eyes. “You.”

Allina gasped. A response might have been appropriate, and she tried her best to formulate the right one. But before she could, his lips came down on hers. Raising a hand, he cupped her face and slid his other one around her neck.

She clung to him desperately and kissed him back as hard as she could. Swept away by his roaming hands, his expert tongue, and his smooth lips, she nearly stumbled backward. But instead of falling, she felt his strong arm wrap around her waist. Lifting her up against him, he walked her back toward his bedroom.

Kent pushed the door open and hurried inside, kicking it closed with his foot. He lowered her down on the mattress and broke the kiss, his lips traveling down her neck and over to her ear.

“Tell me now if you want me to stop, before we go any further.”

Her eyes fluttered opened. “No.” Shocked by the desperation in her voice, she swallowed roughly. “I mean…don't stop.”

His breath fanned across her ear and her nails dug into his arm.

“I want you,” he admitted against her ear. “So badly, Allina. I want this. I don't think you know how much.”

Hooking his thumb under one strap of her tank, he eased it down, placing a wet kiss on her shoulder before he did the same with the other one. Slowly, he lowered the straps even further. She purred in contentment when he cupped a breast and took her nipple into his mouth, circling the tip with his tongue.

His hands traveled down her sides to the waistband of her sweatpants. When his knuckles brushed against her stomach, she shivered. Once he untied the drawstring, she lifted her bottom so he could tug them off.

Allina had never been so ready, so willing, to let a man have his way with her. The fact that she was practically naked seemed like an afterthought. She didn't want Kent to stop what he was doing; she wanted him to keep going.

He traced invisible circles on her skin with his thumb and brushed his lips against her belly button, snaking his tongue around it before dipping it inside. He kissed his way back up to her mouth and touched his lips to hers again. Once, twice, and again. The soft, sweet kisses only increased her need for him. She wanted more. Sweeping her tongue in his mouth, she moaned when it melded with his in a duel for control.

She groaned when he pulled away, placed short kisses against her jawline. “Please tell me,” he murmured against her skin. “Can I have you? All of you?”

The word “yes” came out of Allina's mouth on a breathless whisper. “Please,” she begged.

She had no idea what she was actually pleading for, but she needed something. And only he could give it to her at that point. Her body buzzed like electricity was flowing through her veins; her heart was racing in her chest.

His hand gripped her thigh, then inched up closer to her core. She exhaled slowly, anticipating his next move, wondering how she'd be able to handle the rest of the dance. She already felt out of her element, but it was so good to her, she was willing to fumble through it just to keep him near her.

Rubbing his nose under her ear, he whispered, “I want to make love to you all night.” He kissed her chin, then captured her bottom lip with his.

When he pulled back and peered down at her with those sexy hooded eyes, she felt a flood of warmth take over her body. Kent's eyes bored into her like pools of fire.

Placing a gentle kiss on the corner of her mouth, he said, “I want to feel you under me, and around me. Tell me you want that, too.”

Allina couldn't think straight, let alone form a coherent sentence. Instead, she nodded her response.

“Tell me, Allina,” he urged, slipping his thumb into her panties. “Tell me you want that, too.”

Oh. My. God.
She wanted to tell him that she wanted to feel him over her and inside her. It was the truth, after all. Her heart was racing and she wanted the feeling to last. The only word she could get out at that point was “yes.” Again.

Bracing himself on his forearms, he looked down at her again. “I want to make sure you're ready. I don't want to take this too fast.”

“I'm ready,” she whispered, even though she was pretty sure she couldn't fathom the concept of “ready” with her mind in a fog.

“We'll see,” he said in a husky voice. Lowering his head, he took her mouth in another scorching kiss. When he pulled away, his lips lingered on hers, deliberately drawing out the kiss. With a sexy smirk he started his descent, leaving a trail of toe-curling kisses down her neck, over her breasts and her stomach.

Allina's back arched off the bed as his mouth conquered her quaking skin, lower—and lower. Pleasure washed over and through her and settled low in her belly. Slowly, he eased her panties down. When she felt his breath on her core, she tensed. But then his tongue was on her, and she practically leaped off the bed.

Her first instinct was to push him away, but it was too hot, too good, to tell him to stop. Allina couldn't catch her breath as he feasted on her, sucking her into his mouth, taking her higher. The feeling in her gut seemed to unravel; time seemed to slow as she trembled beneath him. He was winding her up, taking her higher with every flick of his tongue against her. Then she shattered.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she screamed as it overtook her. Her body was moving of its own accord and she couldn't make it stop even if she tried. She gripped his shoulders and closed her legs tightly. Fortunately for him he'd already pulled back, because she probably would have hurt him if he was still down there.

Finally, she relaxed against the mattress and tried to catch her breath. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and found him watching her, a small smile on his face.

“Okay?” he asked.

Nodding, she placed her hands over her cheeks. “That was…intense.”

He gave her a quick kiss and settled in next to her, pulling a blanket over her body. “You're beautiful when you come,” he told her, kissing her brow.

“Am I?” she asked, rolling onto her side.

“Yes, you are.”

“I don't want to sound too naïve, and I'm not even sure why I'm admitting this to you, but I had no idea it felt like that.”

He smirked, squeezing her hip. “I don't think anybody could describe the feeling accurately. There's no one word for it.”

“That is definitely the truth.”

“Any regrets?” he asked.

She frowned. “Why? I mean, do you have any regrets?”

He shook his head. “No, but you did have some concerns about…sex.”

Allina thought about that for a minute. Technically, what he'd just done was a form of sex. But it didn't feel wrong to her. It felt liberating.

“Honestly?” she asked.

“Always.”

“I know we didn't go all the way, but I feel like we still shared something significant. And it felt right.”

He leaned in, placing a soft kiss on her mouth. “It did, didn't it?”

They lay like that, facing each other, taking one another in. It wasn't awkward like she'd imagined. It was comfortable. Then her mind started spinning, thinking about everything that had just happened. He'd taken her to a new level. But what about him?

“Kent?” she asked.

He brushed his fingers over her shoulder, gazed at her. “Yes.”

“What about you?”

Frowning, he said, “What about me?”

Allina hadn't been around the block, of course. But she did know about the things a woman could do for a man. “Don't you want me to—?”

“Stop,” he said, placing a finger over her mouth. “We can get to that later.”

“But I—”

“Baby, we have time. I just…I couldn't help myself today.”

Allina searched his eyes. “I can't imagine not feeling the way I feel about you. The way I've felt for so long. That's why I thought I should go to Cleveland, put an end to this Isaac thing once and for all. I want this to work. I'm ready to be with you—in every way.”

Perhaps it was the fact that he'd made her see stars that she felt the need to reveal how much he meant to her. But she didn't regret it. She needed him to know. Allina braced herself. After everything they'd shared, she hoped he didn't still want to slow things down between them. She didn't think she could bear for him push her away.

“Despite what we've both said, this thing between us wants to move forward. I told you that I wanted you. I do. Don't you feel that?”

She nodded. That much was obvious. He'd just…

“But I agree with you. As much as I want to make love to you”—he rubbed her earlobe, then slid his thumb down her neck—“it's better if we don't right now. There's still so much that needs to be resolved. I want your first time to be special. We don't have to rush it.”

He wrapped his arms around her and she rested against him. Allina didn't think she could love Kent more than she already did. But the fact that he was so concerned about her first time, about her feelings, made her heart open up even more.

Kent woke up the next morning with Allina in his arms. Even now, he still couldn't believe what he'd done. He didn't know what had come over him. When he got home, saw her standing there in those too big sweatpants and little tank, her curls all over her head, he couldn't help himself. His talk with Syd had put things in perspective. It wasn't hard to admit that he wanted Allina. She
was
beautiful. But admitting there was more than simple lust was what propelled him forward.

He hadn't expected to go
that
far, though. Before he could stop himself, he'd turned his seduction up a notch, whispered things to her that he knew she'd never heard from another man. He'd admitted how much he wanted her, and begged her to tell him that she wanted him, too. Then she did. And he let himself go there, tasting her like she was his last meal.

It had been hard to pull away from her before they went too far. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to do that. But he did it—for her and for him. They'd spent the rest of the evening eating, talking, and kissing. Nothing else. The level of intimacy he'd shared with Allina was something he'd never had. He was determined to do this the right way.

He'd even gone so far as to suggest she sleep in the other room. That conversation didn't go over quite like he'd expected. They actually had an argument about it. He finally gave in and now, in the light of a new day, he was faced with another dilemma. Allina was tucked into his side, her leg hooked over his and her head against his chest. And he was hard as hell.

Gently, without waking her, he tried to slide out from under her. Instead of moving, she wrapped an arm around his waist and inched her leg up higher, brushing against him. Grunting, he closed his eyes.

How the hell did I get myself into this?
He guessed the better question would be
How do I get myself out of this?

Sighing, he tried again, lifting her arm up and trying to roll away from her. Except she stretched and he felt her breasts against his side. Groaning, he closed his eyes. It would be so easy to wake her up and take her right then and there. But he'd meant what he said. She needed to be sure she was ready.