Inked on Paper (39 page)

Seven

AFTER HANGING UP ON Donovan, Kora stared around her house, wondering what she needed to do. He obviously wasn’t going to listen to reason, which meant he was probably already on his way, so she felt as though she should be doing something other than standing there.

Unfortunately for her, the house was clean, so she had nothing to do there. Which left her to look at herself, and that was when she realized she was still wearing a towel.

“Lovely,” she muttered, making her way to her bedroom.

She didn’t want to get dressed up, but only because she was too lazy to do so. When she’d showered, she had washed off all her makeup, and without it, she looked like a twelve-year-old kid, not a twenty-six-year-old woman, so maybe he wouldn’t be interested. Not that she gave a shit. She really didn’t want Donovan coming over. For some inexplicable reason, Kora knew she would be weak when it came to him. After only an hour in his company, she was craving him in a way she’d never experienced before.

She definitely needed to get her shit together. Her emotions were out of whack, and she knew he somehow played a role in that, even if he didn’t realize it.

She glanced back at her phone, tempted to call him back and give him some lame excuse. Only he’d used Sam’s phone to call her, and she definitely wasn’t going to risk having to talk to that asshole, so it looked as though she was shit out of luck.

Fine. She would get dressed, but she definitely wasn’t putting on makeup. Feeling remotely better, she stomped toward her closet. Maybe she should find something that would cover her from head to toe. That wouldn’t be all that appealing, right?

Since she’d spent the past two years in a relationship with Sam, Kora had grown accustomed to not caring what she looked like. In the beginning, their relationship had been all sparks and flames, and she’d spent more than her fair share of time trying to make herself look good for the man, but that had fizzled out after only three months.

“Look where that got you,” she said as she opened her closet door.

She’d tried to tell herself that was the way relationships worked, only she knew deep down that wasn’t the case. Sam had never fanned the flames hot enough to ensure they wouldn’t burn out. Nor had she, so she couldn’t put all the blame on him. Maybe she had known all along that Sam wasn’t the right guy for her. It made sense in a warped sort of way. She had certainly never felt the sort of heat she’d felt with Donovan.

When it came to Donovan, there was a banked fire deep inside her, one that he could stoke to a conflagration with a simple look. The proof was in the fact that she’d fucked him in a storage room after knowing him for only five minutes. However, she didn’t have any regrets and that worried her.

Was she losing her mind? Or was Donovan just that good?

For some reason, she didn’t think that flame would be all that easy to blow out, even if things progressed between them.

Only they wouldn’t.

This was the end of the line for them. There was no other option.

After grabbing panties and a bra out of her drawer and yanking them on, Kora snagged a long-sleeved button-up shirt from her closet, a pair of leggings, and dressed in minutes. She ran a comb through her hair, brushed her teeth, and stared at herself in the mirror for longer than was necessary.

She looked tired.

Then again, she was.

Today, though she thought she’d done a damn good job of hiding it, had been emotionally draining. Being at the baby shower, watching Trina and Sam as they greeted their friends and family, celebrating the life they were bringing into the world, Kora had felt the ache of loneliness and resentment settle in her gut.

She didn’t hate her sister, wasn’t sure she ever could, but she didn’t particularly like her. As for Sam the Prick—oh, she hated him, all right. With a passion. The mere thought of him pissed her off.

A knock sounded on her door, pulling her from her thoughts.

She slowly crossed the living room, then stepped into the foyer. Although she knew who was there, she still checked the security hole, using that as more of a stalling tactic than anything else.

Her hand shook as she turned the knob and opened the door, her eyes slamming into the sexy man darkening her doorstep.

The first thing she noticed about Donovan was that he’d changed. Gone was the suit, and in its place a forest-green Henley that made his eyes glow, along with a pair of dark, well-worn jeans, boots, and a black Stetson. He’d gone from executive to cowboy in a matter of minutes.

“You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of the boy,” she muttered, taking a step back.

“You don’t know how true that is,” Donovan said, his eyes slowly raking over her as he stepped inside.

Kora closed the door, took a deep breath, and prayed like hell she would not do something stupid. Like take this sexy man to bed.

Because, heaven help her, she already wanted to, and he hadn’t been there ten seconds.

FROM THE MOMENT THE door opened and those wary gray eyes stared back at him, Donovan knew tonight wasn’t going to go as well as today had. Then again, he’d spent several hours at a baby shower, so he wasn’t sure he could call it a good day.

Except for the part when he’d been buried balls deep inside of Kora. That had been fucking spectacular.

Remembering where he was and who was standing in front of him, Donovan took a quick look around. Kora’s house was nice. Clean. But something just didn’t fit. There were no pictures on the wall, no knickknacks on the shelves, nothing to show that she actually occupied the space. “How long have you lived here?”

“Six weeks.”

Then he remembered, Kora had lived with Sam before they’d broken up, and from what Sam had said, she’d moved in with her parents for a short time just to get away from him.

“You okay?” he asked, following Kora when she swept past him into a sparsely furnished living room.

“Perfect.” Kora’s clipped tone told him that she was anything but. “Want a drink?”

“Yes,” he said, keeping his voice even, firm.

Kora spun around so fast her hair flew around and brushed over her face.

“That was blunt,” she stated, her forehead creased.

“You asked. I answered. That’s the way it works, right?”

“What happened to polite?” she snapped.

“I tend to tell it like it is, Kora. I’m not the man who talks just to hear himself talk.”

Donovan could feel her tension and he knew it didn’t have anything to do with him. But he knew he needed to defuse it if at all possible. Closing the gap between them in a matter of seconds, he came to stand directly in front of her, his hands going to her hips as he pulled her up against his body.

She was warm and she smelled good. Something light and floral. Since her hair was wet, he assumed it was her shampoo.

“I know you’re not pissed at me,” Donovan told her. “If you were, you wouldn’t have given me your address. So what’s the problem?”

“You. You’re my problem.” she retorted. “You just bulldoze your way in here like I’m supposed to welcome you with open arms.”

“I’m not the problem, Kora.”

Her mouth pursed and her eyes lit with her anger. “And how can you be so sure of that?”

“Because…” Donovan leaned down, his mouth dangerously close to hers. “You wouldn’t let me do this if I were.”

He swallowed her sharp exhale when he slanted his mouth over hers, his tongue slowly sliding past her lips. He kept it gentle, simple. Nothing like the inferno that had consumed them in that storage closet, but this was nice, too.

Kora’s hands were on his chest, but she wasn’t pushing him away, and Donovan took that as a good sign. He pulled back, then curled his hand around the nape of her neck as he locked his eyes with hers. “Today must’ve been hard.”

Another spark of anger ignited in her gaze and he knew he’d hit a nerve. Only he didn’t feel bad about it because he’d done it on purpose. The last thing he wanted was Kora feeling sorry for herself. He doubted she wanted that, either.

Sure, she’d been burned by Sam, but that didn’t mean she had to wallow in it. As far as Donovan was concerned, she was better off without a guy who would cheat on her. She deserved a hell of a lot better than that.

“You don’t know the first thing about me,” Kora hissed, jerking away from him.

He smiled when she gave him her back. “You’d be surprised what I know.”

“Whatever.”

Donovan followed her into the kitchen and watched as she pulled out a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses.

He had no intention of indulging in liquor. That wasn’t the reason he was there.

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently kneaded the muscles, feeling the knots against his fingers.

God, she was tense.

No wonder she was in a foul mood.

“No vodka, Kora.”

She tried to shrug him off, but he didn’t budge, keeping her trapped between his body and the counter, her back to his chest. She could’ve easily slipped away if she truly wanted to, but she stopped moving, which Donovan took to mean she didn’t have a whole lot of fight left in her.

“I need something to take the edge off,” she said, but there was no conviction in her tone.

“No alcohol,” he said, his mouth close to her ear.

“Why not?”

“Because tonight, when I take you to your bed, I want you completely coherent.”

“What makes you think that’s gonna happen?” she countered.

“Honey, you wouldn’t have let me in if that wasn’t what you wanted.”

When he didn’t get a response, he knew he’d nailed it.

But what Kora didn’t know was that if he was going to take her to bed, he damn sure wasn’t thinking of just one night.

Eight

KORA WASN’T SURE WHAT to think about Donovan.

His arrogance pissed her off but also turned her on.

The way he seemed to know what she was thinking made her want to smack him, but it also made her feel safe. Even though that made absolutely no sense.

But he was right about one thing. She wouldn’t have given him her address or even opened the door for him if she didn’t want him there. Clearly her subconscious was making her decisions for her today, and she didn’t know quite what to think about that.

Maybe she was using him as a distraction, or maybe she was crazy. Either way, he was there and she’d already set the dominos in motion.

The best outcome for her would be to give in, because that seemed like the fastest route to getting him out of her house. Since she definitely couldn’t complain about another orgasm, she didn’t figure it could hurt. First and foremost, she was attracted to him. And maybe she didn’t know him, but she knew of him. Everything she’d ever heard Sam say about Donovan had been good. So, she didn’t fear him, which was probably part of the problem.

“Not happening, Kora,” Donovan whispered, his hands stilling on her shoulders. “I can see your mind’s working, and I know what you’re thinking.”

“You don’t know shit,” she retorted, jerking away from him. The last thing she needed was Donovan Brashwood reading her thoughts.

Donovan caught her before she could leave the kitchen, his arm banding around her waist, pulling her against him once again. She could feel the hard ridge of his erection against her ass, and she knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him. This back-and-forth thing they had going on was kind of hot.

She planted her hands on the wall when it appeared he had no intention of letting her go. But she refused to turn around and look at him.

“I’m all for giving you what you need,” he said, his words a rough whisper against her ear, the deep rumble of his voice making her pussy clench. “All night long if that’s what’s required, but in return, you’re going to give me something.”

“What?” she asked, trying to pull free from his embrace.

He wasn’t hurting her, but his touch was crumbling the walls of her resolve, and that wasn’t conducive to how she saw this playing out. Less talk, more action, that’s the way she wanted it.

“All of you.”

Okay, so that wasn’t what she was thinking at all. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“It means, you can use me all you want, but you’ll be right there in the moment with me, Kora. I won’t have it any other way.”

“That didn’t stop you in the closet,” she snapped, her anger fueling her.

“Legs, you were right there with me then, too. Don’t deny it. We both know better.”

Fine. She had been. But she damn sure wasn’t going to tell him that. She also wasn’t going to tell him that casual sex wasn’t her thing. She didn’t know how to deal with it. No matter what her body wanted, she couldn’t shut her emotions down, and she feared she had already latched on to Donovan.

Which was stupid.

She’d already given her heart to one man; she definitely didn’t intend to give it to another. Sam had taken it and shattered it, leaving her brittle and broken.

“Stop thinking about him,” Donovan growled. “He’s not here with us.”

How the hell did he know what she was thinking? It made no sense.

Donovan’s arms fell from around her and she suddenly felt cold.

“Turn around.”

Hating that she was so quick to do as he instructed, Kora let her anger register on her face as she turned to face him, her back against the wall.

“I told you before, once I was inside your body, I wouldn’t be able to stop.”

Exactly her point. Moving the topic to sex seemed safe. “Sex? Is that what this is about?”

Donovan’s head cocked to the side and she saw the exasperation on his handsome face.

Okay, so she knew it wasn’t, but she needed it to be. Donovan was trying to tell her different, but Kora didn’t want anything more. She couldn’t handle anything more. Especially not with a man she hadn’t even known for one day. A man who would be going back to where he’d come from, and she’d be a mere speed bump in his path that he wouldn’t even think about tomorrow.

The next thing she knew, Donovan had taken her hand and was pulling her into the living room. He sat on the couch and tugged her arm until she fell down on top of him.

“Don’t move,” he ordered when she started to get up.

Her traitorous body relaxed.

But her anger reignited and this time … this time the tears followed.

DONOVAN HAD KNOWN FROM the second he’d set eyes on this woman that she had a shitload of emotions bottled up inside. That was evident in the way she walked, the way she held herself, even the way she talked. She didn’t take shit from anyone, but she hadn’t yet figured out how to let it all go.

And he’d also known when she’d propositioned him that she had intended to use him. Only Kora wasn’t the type. When they’d been in that storage closet, she’d given in to him completely and not just for the pleasure he could bring her. She had needed something more, someone who would prove to her that she was the most important thing.

Now, as she wept in his arms, her face buried in his neck, Donovan sensed those walls she’d erected around her heart were beginning to crumble. She had no excuses anymore. She’d made it through the hard part, and it was time she took control once again, without all the animosity. Without the lies.

This woman intrigued him in a way he hadn’t experienced before. She wasn’t the type who needed a man to coddle her, dote on her. Because of the status of his bank account, Donovan had met plenty of those. The ones who expected him to put them on a pedestal, to spend money hand over fist. And in those cases, he’d found them bitter and shallow—traits he didn’t find appealing.

But not Kora. She needed a man who would stand beside her when times got tough, one who would be there for her when she fell, one who would show her she deserved to be the center of his world. Donovan wanted to be that man, and he knew without a doubt a shrink would have a field day with that, but he didn’t much care.

For a while, Donovan just held her, his arms around her, his hand gliding up and down her back. He didn’t move, didn’t try to get her to talk until she’d cried herself out.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

“For what?”

“For blubbering on your shoulder. It’s not pretty.”

Donovan smiled. “When’s the last time you cried?”

Kora shrugged and he knew that was the truth.

“Why did you let Sam off the hook?”

She sat up, and he noticed the spark of anger was back.

“What makes you think that I did?”

“Because he cheated on you, not the other way around.”

“How do you know that?”

It was obvious she didn’t think anyone knew the truth.

“Because he told me.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”

He couldn’t keep from smiling. “Fine. Because I know my brother. He’s an idiot.”

“He is that,” she said, relaxing once again.

“You let everyone believe that you were the one who cheated. Why?”

“What difference does it make?”

“Because Sam needs to be held accountable for his actions,” he told her, a thread of anger weaving its way through him. Sam had done the unthinkable, sleeping with Kora’s sister and then letting her take the fall for it all. The man deserved to be dressed down in front of his family and friends.

“And that would help the situation how?”

And now she was beating him at his own game. She was using logic. And fine, she had a point. He didn’t like it, but she had one.

Kora shifted, her ass grinding against his cock, making him come to life once again. He didn’t want her to think this was about sex, but there was nothing he could do to hide it, so he pretended it didn’t matter.

“Sam cheated,” Kora explained. “Trina cheated. Neither of them are innocent in all of this. But as far as I’m concerned, they’re both going to pay the ultimate price. If they don’t love each other—and I suspect they don’t—life isn’t going to be roses and rainbows. They’ll have a child to raise, yes. And I know Sam; he’ll stay with Trina until he’s old and gray and hating himself for what he did. That, for me, is punishment enough.”

“What about the others? The ones who think you’re to blame?”

“I don’t give a fuck what they think.” Her forehead knitted. “Sure, it hurts that they’d immediately blame me, but that’s on them. Not me. I was given a reputation a long time ago of being the rebel, not conforming. I argued with my parents more than most kids, defied them every chance that I got. But I never cheated, never did something that would intentionally hurt another person. That doesn’t mean I can change the way they see me. Nor does it mean that I want to.”

Donovan continued to stare at her. He realized that she had been bottling up her emotions, but she hadn’t simply brushed it all under the rug. Kora Madison was confident and smart, and above all else, she knew who she was.

And that was a fucking characteristic that a lot of people didn’t have.

“You’re stronger than they realize,” he told her.

“Yes, I am. And I’m not broken, no matter what you might think.”

“Oh, Legs, I definitely don’t think you’re broken,” he told her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. “I think you’re smart and sexy as fuck. I think you know what you want and you go after it.”

Kora moved and Donovan let her go, but she didn’t go far. Then she surprised him when she turned to face him, straddling his legs, grinding against his aching dick.

“And what do you want, Mr. Brashwood?”

He didn’t even have to think on that one. “You.”

“What if I don’t want you?”

Donovan smiled. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t.”

He knew she couldn’t do it.

Cupping her face, he brushed his thumb over her cheek. “One night won’t be enough for me, Kora.”

“What if that’s all I’m willing to give?”

He did have to consider that for a moment, but he wasn’t going to tell her what she wanted to hear, he was sure of that.

“I’m not looking for more,” Kora said, her eyes searching his.

“Then we’ll just have to figure out a way to compromise, now won’t we?”