Walk with Me (BookStrand Publishing Mainstream) (20 page)

“How do you deal with people being so angry and mean toward you?”

“I don’t take it personally.” Donovan strokes my arm. “When I stop people or arrest them for breaking the law, it’s what I represent that they are angry with, not
me
personally. They don’t know me as a person like you do. They just see the uniform and badge and react to that. I have a job to do. My job is to enforce the laws set by the government. Whether I agree with them or not, that is my job.”

“But how can you tolerate the attitude and comments without it bothering you? Like that guy tonight. He was terrible. I thought you would get angry and go off on him with what he was saying to you and then with what he was saying to me, but you said nothing.”

Donovan exhales sharply. “This may sound very childish or overly simple, Kenna, but that’s because it is. It goes back to the old saying, ‘Sticks and stones…’ They’re just words. They aren’t going to hurt me or you. I wish you weren’t there to hear that and have those profane words hurled at you, but they are harmless. And it’s not worth losing my job over or destroying my career, especially for a piece-of-trash drug dealer who is just calling me some bad names. Now. If he were a physical threat to you or me, that is a different story.

“Look at me for a sec,” Donovan commands.

I lift my head to meet his eyes. He speaks slowly, carefully. “I would fight to the death to protect you, me, or anyone else being attacked. I’m trained to read and observe people’s actions and this guy tonight was no fighter. He chose to run and when he got caught, he was all bark and no bite. You were in no real danger. I would not allow that. Do you understand?”

I nod and exhale to his reassuring words and sink back down to my cozy little spot under his protective wing. I chuckle lightly. “It was kind of funny, though, when you broke real fast and his face went slamming into the glass. I have to admit, it made me feel a little better, like you were sticking up for my honor or something like that.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Donovan says with feigned sincerity in his voice. “I told him to sit back in the seat. That was just an unfortunate consequence of him sitting too close to the glass.”

“Okay.” He won’t admit doing it. “That may have been just an accident, but I still liked it.” Deep down, I like the fact he stood up for me. For once in my life I feel venerated.

“You know what I liked?”

“Besides me?” I play back.

“Yes. Actually, that’s exactly what I was going to say. I liked having you there with me tonight, sharing my passion with you, letting you into my world. It was very liberating. And I thought we made a pretty good team—
Pardner
,” he says with a slight Western accent.

“I thought we made a pretty good team, too.” I lift my head up to meet Donovan’s mouth, giving him a quick kiss. I don’t linger long because I like the conversation we’re having and if we start kissing and touching we will be done talking for the night. These intimate talks reveal our true feelings, uninhibited and unbidden from outside influence or pressure, and helps me understand Donovan more, pulling me closer to him. At this moment Donovan and I are walking hand-in-hand toward the pure white light of truth.

“Do you want to know something?” Donovan asks.

“Of course.”

“You have seen every side of me now. You’ve seen me with my friends, my family, and at my work. This is who I truly am and you have brought that out in me—the ability to just be
me
around you. That’s what you do to me. So I guess now it’s up to you to decide if you like what you see and if you want to stick around for me. All of me.”

I sit up on my knees and face Donovan. He rests his arm on my folded legs and waits for my answer. “I think the fact that I’m here right now kind of speaks for itself. You have gotten under my skin, Mr. Alexander.” I pause with a smile. “And you are wedging your way into my heart, which I have to admit is a little terrifying to me, but also new and exciting. No one has ever done that to me. No one has ever made me feel the things that you make me feel.”

A slow, wicked smile spreads across Donovan’s face as he walks his fingers up my thigh, starting at my knee. “There are definitely things that I can make you feel, that I guarantee you’ve never felt before.” I grab his hand and stop it in its place.

“Not tonight,” I say. Although, his statement and finger play arouse naughty thoughts and desires in me.

“I know.” Donovan changes his playful tone to one of seriousness, stilling his hand and squeezing my thigh. “I’m just playing. Anyway, I don’t want our first time to be on the heels of a traumatic event for you.” I release his hand and he rubs my thigh. “Are you getting tired? Are you ready to go home? I can pick you up in the morning and we can go for breakfast before we get your car back at the station.”

I shake my head, watching the expression on his face. “I am tired but I don’t want to go home tonight. Can I stay with you?” We’ve made out in his room before, but I may be asking too much of him with spending the entire night in his bed and not having sex.

Donovan freezes and his eyes widen at first before relaxing into a smug smile. “Ms. Kenna Sloane, you are really testing my self-control. But I would love to have you sleep in my bed next to me tonight. You can borrow a T-shirt and a pair of my boxer briefs.” Before I can say anything, he gets up from the bed, breaking our intimate moment, and pulls a set out of the dresser, throwing them on the bed for me. “Do you want to go change first? Or should I?”

“I’ll go first.”

I scoop up the T-shirt and boxer briefs and walk into the bathroom. The T-shirt is a plain white T, oversized, falling at my hips. The briefs are a little snugger but they’re a dark blue. They look like something I would wear to a kickboxing class. I look at myself in the mirror. Eyes too keyed up, but not hiding the late hour. Pulling my hair down, I comb my fingers through the tangles, trying to smooth it out a little. I open the medicine cabinet and find his toothpaste. Squeezing a small dab on my finger, I use my pad like a toothbrush over my teeth and tongue, swishing and rinsing three times.

When I come out Donovan is already changed into his pajama bottoms and a fitted coordinated tee. I love how the soft cotton nightshirts cling to him, outlining all his chest and arm muscles. He’s folding the bedsheets down and turns to me, frozen in place, when I walk out of the bathroom.

“Now, that’s not fair. How can someone look so unbelievably hot in just my T-shirt and boxer briefs?” He makes me blush, which is not easy to do. He saunters over to me and wraps his arms around my waist, letting his hands wander down the back of the boxers. Grazing my backside with both hands, Donovan gently grabs a handful. “These look so damn sexy on you. Forget about Victoria’s Secret.”

“I may have to steal these to wear at home,” I say. “I like the way the shirt smells of you.” I lift the collar, taking a whiff.

“Really? They’re clean.”

“I know I can smell the laundry soap, but I can also smell your scent on it.”

“Hmm. Something about that is sexy, too. Okay, you can take the shirt home, but we’ll keep these boxers here for you when you sleep over. Deal?” Donovan asks, squeezing my bottom. “Now let’s get this cute little ass of yours into my bed.”

I giggle and pause at the foot of the bed. “Wait. What side do you sleep on?”

He points to the right side, furthest from the door. “I sleep on that side.” Which makes sense since the alarm clock is over there. So I walk over to the left side and slide in under the covers. Donovan takes a quick trip to the bathroom and when he comes out he turns the lights off, checks the locks on the door, and comes over to his side of the bed, slipping under the covers.

“Can I kiss you good night?” he asks, shifting on his side to face me.

“I would love that,” I say.

The room is almost pitch-black except for the faint blue glow of the clock radio, but I can make out Donovan is leaning in for a kiss. When our lips connect a warm glow spreads from my face to my neck and down my body. The slow, gentle movements of our lips awakens all the sexual desires suppressed throughout the night, during our no-touching ride-along. Donovan lifts his hand to stroke the side of my face and cradles my head, deepening the kiss. His tongue is cool and tastes of toothpaste and Diet Coke. Our breaths mingle and come at a more rapid rate. With every exhale Donovan absorbs the earlier tension allowing me to relax and succumb to him. We continue to kiss—lips, tongue, lips and tongue, making love with our mouths.

Donovan’s hand leaves my face and, starting at my waist, inches up to my right breast. Skimming the pad of his thumb along my erect nipple, he sends a shockwave of passion right between my thighs and I arc into his hand. His kissing becomes more urgent and our breaths come in quick short bursts forcing us to break. Moving his lips along my jawline to my neck and over to the sensitive spot below my ear, he continues kissing, licking and sucking on my neck and fondling my right breast over the T-shirt.

Moving his hand back down to my waist, he slips his hand under the shirt, stroking my bare skin and making me shudder. A small whimper seeps from my mouth, and like a beacon, the sound brings Donovan’s lips back to mine. With each stroke he moves his hand higher up my shirt. The anticipation of his hand touching my breast is almost agonizing, and I suck and bite at his lower lip, teasing his mouth with my tongue. I want him to touch me so badly, but he’s taking his time.

I pull my hand from his hair and reach down to lift the shirt above my breasts. This quick movement stills his hand, but he starts back up with the slow stroking when I bring my hand back to his hair. When he finally reaches my breast he turns his hand over and skims the outside edge with the back of his fingers. “So soft,” he breathes between kisses. Palming my breast he skims his thumb over my nipple, surging an electric charge through my body, right to my groin, tightening all my muscles. A loud whimper escapes from my lips this time, which seems to feed his actions, prompting his hand to move all over my breast, kneading and squeezing the flesh and nipple.

Donovan abruptly stops and leans over to the end table to turn on the light. “I need to see these,” he says, “because they feel amazing.” Shifting back over me, he smiles and directs his attention back to my breasts. “These are so amazing, so perfect,” he says while squeezing them and skimming his thumb over each nipple, making them peak higher. He pulls at my T-shirt. “Take this off,” he commands.

I do as I’m directed and pull the T-shirt off, throwing it on the ground next to the bed. I don’t get the fascination men have with breasts. They’re two round mounds on a woman’s chest, and having big breasts can be such a pain at times. Bathing suit tops are hard to find and you always look like a hooker when you wear a tank top.

Donovan brings his face down to my chest and rubs his nose along my cleavage, and he kisses and licks the sensitive flesh all around my nipple. His mouth is no longer cool from the soda and his hot breath on my skin gives me goose bumps, fueling the heat and moisture growing between my legs.
Oh my God.
I arch my back toward his tongue and shift my breast closer to his lips. Taking my invitation, he flicks my nipple with his tongue and I moan softly.
More, I want more
. Flicking one, two, three more times, he engulfs my full nipple in his mouth, sucking, licking, and nibbling. My moans increase in volume and frequency and my hips move when I rub my thighs together. Donovan leaves my right breast and explores my left breast with the same fervor, savoring the experience like my body is some delicacy he may never sample again.

Leaving me panting for more, Donovan sits up and, with half-lidded eyes and a wicked smile, warns me to put my shirt back on. “You have no idea the crude thoughts I’m having right now and what I want to do with these two beautiful breasts. You better put your shirt back on. It’s starting to become too much temptation for me.”

I reach down and, after turning the right side out, I slip the T-shirt over my naked chest, putting an end to our erotic breast-capade.

“Now that’s better. I can focus on
you
again.” Donovan breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you chose to stay with me tonight. Should we try to get some sleep?”

I smile and nod in agreement. “Yeah. I guess so.” Although I’m disappointed at the quick ending to our make-out session. I was just getting going and I didn’t get a chance to explore more of
his
muscular chest.

With only sincerity in his tone and eyes, Donovan leans down to kiss me. “You are so beautiful, Kenna. I can’t wait to experience all of you because I know how amazing it’s going to be.”

Oh. My. God.
With a tightening in my chest and in my already hot, moist groin, this man could charm the boxer briefs right off me with his smooth words. And silly me, I’m under his spell and would do whatever he asks.

I think he wants to take things slowly because, like me, he recognizes we are developing something deeper and stronger than two young people having fun and a physical connection. We are two old souls connecting and growing together, two young adults bonding emotionally, and two beautiful bodies igniting in passion. When all three come together at once, the experience is going to be amazing and worth the wait.

* * * *