The Valentine's Arrangement (20 page)

He smiled down at her, his dimple drilling deeply into his scruffy cheek. “Hey, baby.”

Ronnie couldn’t resist an eye roll. “Hey yourself. Took you long enough,” she teased, trying to lighten the situation that crept between them as he was struggling.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” He winked and then lowered his hips until she felt his length press against her sensitive entrance. She pulled her knees up, opening up for him, practically begging for him to enter her.

But instead, he lifted his hips so she could no longer feel him against her there. Her bottom lip involuntarily stuck out in a pout as the cool air stung her in his absence. Kale leaned down, grazing his teeth over her bottom lip. “I can take longer if you like, make you wait it out a little—”

“No!”

Kale just laughed and dove into her. In one swift thrust, he was inside her and all felt right again.

Ronnie lifted her arms, locking them through his arms and around his shoulders, pressing him to her. “Thank you,” she smirked.

“Anytime, Sweetheart.”

Kale’s blue eyes held hers and she watched as the playfulness that wrapped around them faded. Fuck. She didn’t want it to fade; she didn’t think she could handle another whip lash of emotions thrown at her. The last thirty minutes or so was enough. Now she just wanted to get lost in him.

“Hey,” she said, grabbing his face between her hands, careful not to put pressure on his right cheek. “No more serious stuff, okay? Let’s just enjoy each other.”

His forehead dropped to her shoulder, his hands on each side of her head, supporting his weight. “I can’t do that,” he said into the curve of her neck.

“What?”

Kale lifted his head, his eyes sweeping to hers. “Any other time—any other woman, and I would have gladly put the serious stuff away and fucked you till I couldn’t see straight, but you’re not some other woman.” Ronnie didn’t say anything. What could she say?

She tightened her muscles around his hard length that was unmoving inside her, and wiggled her hips. She wanted him—she needed him. “Please, Kale…” she said circling her hips again.

A growl rumbled in his chest and she could physically see his resolve faltering. He slowly, too slowly, pulled his hips back. Just as the last inch of him was about to leave her, he plunged back into her, knocking the air from her chest. He stayed there, rolling his hips, swirling around deep inside her. She was already so sensitive, and every little move he made had her tingling from the inside out.

His mouth found its way to hers again. He kissed her softly, his tongue barely dipping in to her warm mouth. He paid attention to her bottom lip, pulling it gently with his teeth, sweeping his tongue across it. He was tender. His hands, his mouth, his body—he definitely hadn’t put the serious stuff aside, and now Ronnie was glad. Feeling him like this was…healing.

“You have ruined me, Sweetheart,” he said, brushing his thumb over the thin skin at the base of her throat.

His words crumbled around her at the same time they built her up and held her high. Having that power over him was scary yes, but she would be lying to herself if she said that she didn’t like it. Knowing that he felt so strongly for her that he wielded the power of his happiness over to her; that she was the one capable of making or breaking him—it was what she wanted. Isn’t that what most everyone wants? To be loved by someone so fiercely that you hold their world in your hands, that you were the one to keep it safe. It was fucking terrifying.

But she didn’t want to ruin him. Not at all.

Kale’s mouth moved to her neck, right below her ear and all thoughts washed away from her clouded mind. All she could think about now was the way his body felt above hers, they way his mouth heated her skin, and the way his scent encased her. She was lost; she was finally lost in him.

*****

“It could be like this every day, you know. I could do that to you every single day,” Kale said when he finally rolled off Ronnie, pulling her against his chest. He was spent, and he could tell that she was as well. Her body trembled, shaking from the intense aftershocks of her orgasms. She had come around him so hard, her body squeezing every bit of him as he pumped into her. And he savored every last bit of it.

He didn’t want to roll off her. He didn’t want to leave her body; leave the warmth that clung to him—but he had to. With the feeling of this woman no longer squirming beneath him, his screaming leg took up the space of sensation that she previously inhabited.

One of Ronnie’s dark brows lifted. “Cocky much?”

“Baby, I don’t need to be cocky, I’m just telling you how it is.”

“Uh huh, okay.” She rolled her eyes and snuggled in to his chest. He was a little surprised that she was still in his arms, that she was allowing him to hold her. But he would take her anyway he could get her, no way in hell was he complaining. He would hold her until morning if she would let him.

“It could though, Sweetheart. It’s not all that bad.

Her mouth breathed warm breath on his shoulder when she spoke. “How would you know? You’ve never been in a relationship.”

“You got me there. But if being in a relationship means that I get to feel this everyday”—he placed his hand on her side and ran it down the length of her body, then pulled her hand up and placed it over his chest, over his heart—“and feel this every day, then sign me up.

“It’s more than that, Kale”

“And I want more,” he challenged.

Ronnie sighed. “You’re a soldier, Kale.” She turned her face from his neck so she could look at him. Her dark eyes were molten, raw. “You will leave again, I don’t know if I could do it, especially now.” She looked at his face and then ran her thumb across the mangled flesh. Him getting hurt affected her way more than he ever realized, more than he ever expected.

His fingers raked through her hair and she closed her eyes. “It’s my job baby, it’s who I am. It’s my world, a world that I very much want you to be a part of.”

Her eyes blinked open and she stared at him. She held his gaze for seconds, hours, hell, when she looked at him like that—like she was broken and she needed him to fix her—time stood still.

“You do now,” she whispered, exposing her fears to him. It made her vulnerable, and it made her more fucking beautiful. “Until you don’t anymore, then where does that leave me?”

His arms wrapped tightly around her and he buried his face in her hair, kissing the top of her head, wishing like hell that this stubborn woman would hear him. “You don’t get it, Sweetheart. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

She leaned up on her elbow and he followed. “Relationships are hard, Kale. You don’t know what you would be getting yourself into.”

He saw the calm. A smile tugged on his lips…he was almost there. “You will have to walk me through it, but I’m a quick learner. Come on, this hearts and flowers shit won’t be so bad, I promise.”

She smirked.

“What’s so funny?”

Her teeth tugged on her bottom lip, trying and failing to suppress a smile. “I brought you flowers.”

Kale looked over at the bookcase. “Ah, you did, didn’t you? What was that for? Get well sympathy bouquet?”

“No.” She jabbed him in the ribs but she couldn’t help but laugh at his smart ass comment. She got up, pranced her sexy naked body over to the bookcase, and grabbed the flowers.

“Damn sweetheart, are you trying to kill me?” he asked as she walked back to him.

She stopped in front of him and flung a hand up on her hip. “Mind fucking me again?”

“Baby, I don’t need to mind fuck you,” he said, bouncing his eyebrows at her. “But seriously, Sweetheart, my health is questionable right now and you strutting your sexy ass around my living room in nothing but your ‘fuck me’ heels is going to put me in an early grave.”

“Shut the fuck up, Soldier.” She slammed the bouquet against his chest and he laughed.

“I knew I would get you to keep those on for me sometime.”

Ronnie huffed and rolled her eyes, slipping out of her heels and climbing back on the couch next to him.

“Ah, I didn’t mean for you to take them off…” Kale whined. He winked at her then picked the card off the plastic stem and opened it.

I don’t do flowers remember? But I want more too…

*****

Kale looked at her and the smile that spread across his face was panty dropping gorgeous and Ronnie actually blushed. “You want more?

She nodded and inched closer to him so that her body was pressed along his. The smile in his eyes was worth any heartache she was setting herself up for; she just hoped like hell that he was right, that he wouldn’t break her heart.

“And you were going to make me sweat it out this whole time?” Kale asked, his smile still firm in place, dimple and all.

“I didn’t intend to. But then I saw your face and your leg and I just got swept away, I was just so happy that you were okay that—”

He pulled her down on top of him and kissed her. It was deep, his tongue slowly filling her mouth. She wrapped her hands around his neck and deepened the kiss even more, her body jolting back to life as his hands greedily trailed up and down her body.

“So more, huh?” he asked when he finally pulled up for air.

“If you’re up for the challenge.” God, she hoped he was really up for it. She was all-fucking-in now. No turning back.

“Baby, I was up for the challenge months ago,” he whispered against her neck as he dotted quick chaste kisses down the side.

Ronnie tilted her neck to the side, wanting him to reach all the places her body was begging for. “Well, looks like I can tell Harold he won’t be needing that new artist next week.”

He pulled away and looked at her. “What are you talking about?”

“Today was my last day at the shop. I sold the house—”

“You’re moving?” he interrupted.

“I was…”

He shifted slightly beneath her and she tried to adjust her weight so she wasn’t pressing against his thigh but her attempts were short lived as Kale’s arms held her firmly in place. “Where to?”

“I hadn’t figured that out yet.”

“Good, you will move in here,” he said, a sexy lopsided smile breaking out across his scruffy cheeks. She could get used to that smile…but not every damn day, right?

“What? That’s fucking crazy, Kale.”

He shrugged. “Na.”

He was out of his mind. “Are you kidding me? That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard.” Although, she had to admit it was tempting…

Kale laughed, probably because her face was in shock. “Why? I’m sure we could come up with a good arrangement.” He shifted under her again and she could clearly feel his body hardening against her. Her own blood flowed hot in her veins when she felt the tip of him tickling over her pooling warmth.

“Yeah, because the last arrangement turned out so well,” she said sarcastically, trying to catch her breath.

His hand slipped up her bare back to her nape. His fingers toyed gently with the strands of hair, igniting goose bumps down her neck. His head leaned forward, kissing a path to her ear, making her all too sensitive skin tingle all over again. When he reached her ear, he nipped it gently, and then whispered, “I think it turned out great.”

His arms molded around her, her body sinking onto him, fitting together like lock and key. She laughed to herself. She would never give another woman shit about wanting that tattoo ever again.

Ronnie looked into Kale’s clear blue eyes—her very own Captain America—and smiled. “Yeah, I do too.”

Acknowledgements

There are so many I would love to thank. My family, my friends, my salon girls, my clients, my neighbor, my keurig machine…the list goes on and on. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I want to thank my husband, my hero, for supporting me while I chased this dream. I love you always.

I want to thank my mom, who is one of my very best friends, for always being there for me. And I want to thank my dad, who I pray never reads this book because that would just be awkward, for passing the love of reading and writing my way. I love you both.

I’m sending a big thank you to my smut loving salon beauties, Stacey and Heather, for reading chapter by chapter and begging for more. Stacey, you encouraged me when I doubted myself, and you love my characters just as much as I do. Thanks, love. It means more to me than you will know. Heather, my sex scene fiend, thank you for your smutty input and advice. You know I love you girls, now it’s time for some drinks!

I want to thank all the amazing book bloggers and reviewers who took a chance on my book and supported me. Having a community that loves reading as much as I do support me on this crazy journey has been invaluable. You all are the best. Smooches!

And last but most certainly not least, I have to thank our service members and their families. The sacrifice both make for our country, for our freedom, is awe-inspiring. Being an Army wife, I have been fortunate enough to meet some of the best men I have ever known, and women that have become my lifelong friends, even if we don’t talk every day.

About the Author

I am a wife and a mommy to two adorable knuckleheads, a hair stylist by day and a writer by night. My crazy life revolves around my family (to include two dogs and a cat) and most of the time, actually all of the time, it’s a crazy mess—but I love it! Drinking lots of wine and reading lots of books helps, I promise!

My passion is writing. It’s the thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, the thing I think about in between packing lunches and giving baths, and the thing I think about when I close my eyes at night. Ask my friends, family, and clients—I’m sure they are sick to death of hearing me talk about it all the time!

A book can teleport you to another life, to another world. It can sweep you off your feet, make you fall in love, break your heart, and heal your soul. I love reading for those reasons, and I love writing for those reasons.

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or visit my blog at

KLeverich.blogspot.com