One Up: Up Series Book 4 Read online

  I took a deep breath and continued. “It should be enough punishment to lose this magnificent man. The one who made me swoon today talking about how he planned to propose. The one who made me relax and feel safe when I was sure the plane was going to fall from the sky. The one with whom I have a lot in common. The one I’m so fucking attracted to, I could combust when I look at him. The one I almost kissed not even an hour ago, and I’m sorry, but only because it didn’t happen.”

  My little tirade made me breathless, so I tried hard to get it under control.

  “He’s a nice guy who doesn’t deserve to be cheated on. He is perfect, and you are a fool. So… You two need to talk,” I took his shirt off my shoulders and motioned to both of them, “and I just need to go.”

  I shoved his shirt into his chest and stormed over to Ruby, whose mouth gaped open.

  “C’mon,” I whispered to her, grabbing her forearm.

  She nodded and followed as best she could since I had a hold of her arm, and I power-walked out of The Lit Pub like my ass was on fire.

  I stormed outside and around the corner.

  “Damn it, Kaelyn, I think you’re ripping my skin off.” Ruby pulled me to a stop.

  “C’mon. We need to get out of here.”

  I tried to keep walking away from the area, but her hand on my shoulder stopped me.

  “Okay, but if you’ll give me a second, I can order an Uber.”

  I shook off her hand. “Just do it while we’re walking.”

  “I can’t,” she whined. “You know it makes me sick to look at my screen while I walk.”

  “God, you’re such an amateur.” I pulled out my phone and hit my Uber app.

  Out of nowhere, my legs were swept out from under me, causing me to gasp in surprise. My self-defense training wanted to kick in, but that chin dimple saved his life. Instead, I wrapped my hands around his neck.

  “I was serious,” Brody said through his teeth. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  He carried me through the doorway to the landing of the stairs leading to his apartment. He set me down gently and cupped my cheeks again.

  Running my hands down his chest, I stared in his green eyes. “You’re lucky I recognized you. I almost employed my secret-ninja skills.”

  The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. “Did you mean all that stuff you said in there?”

  “I did.”

  “Well, then I am a lucky man,” he breathlessly uttered, running his nose along mine. “Lucky because I met you. Lucky because I caught my girlfriend cheating. Lucky because I ran into you again today.” He pulled back and looked into my eyes. “Lucky because you are looking at me like you are right now.” He leaned forward and nuzzled my neck, inhaling. “I gotta say, I am nowhere near perfect, Kaelyn.”

  He ran his hands down my neck and body, just barely grazing the sides of my breasts.

  “But you are.”

  My nipples tingled, wishing he had been bolder and touched them. I arched my back, and I know my eyes pleaded for more. The intensity of his gaze told me to be patient.

  He held my hips and guided me gently one step to the wall behind me. His right palm barely skimmed down my thigh to my knee. He lifted my leg with his right, grabbed the back of my neck with his left, and pulled me toward him, aligning his very thick bulge with my center.

  “You and I are going to have a discussion,” he whispered, running his lips up the column of my neck. “But first,” he skimmed my cheek with his nose, “I’m gonna kiss you.” He grasped my hair in his fist and tilted my head back. “Okay?”

  “Plea –”

  His lips were on mine before I finished the word. Soft, but demanding. His tongue licked my bottom lip, requesting permission for entry. I granted it access, and it gently caressed mine.

  I needed more.

  My hips moved against his on their own, rubbing along his bulge, building pressure in my core.

  I whimpered, and that noise prompted him to move his hand up my thigh to my ass. He pulled me to him, taking over the movements, thrusting against me slowly.

  I was drowning in the kiss and the thrusting and loving every second.

  That is until I realized I had shoved my tongue down his throat and was dry humping him, kind of in public.

  I tore my mouth from his.

  “Upstairs,” I breathlessly uttered. “Now.”

  His lips found mine again as he lifted me, moving to the stairs.

  “I can walk,” I got out between kisses.

  “I know. I’ve got you,” he assured me, effortlessly carrying me up to his apartment. He fumbled for a moment with the doorknob, but once it opened, he made it to the couch and sat with me in his arms without breaking the kiss.

  I sat up, lips glued to his, and straddled his lap, pulling my skirt up to heighten the friction against him. I moaned when I made contact. My hands drifted up his shoulders to his neck, grabbing the strands of his hair and pulling slightly.

  His hands traveled everywhere he could touch, up and down my back and arms, my shoulders, my collarbones… everywhere except where I wanted them.

  “Fucking touch me, Brody,” I pleaded eagerly. “Please.”

  He pulled back from the kiss and searched my face, running his fingertips down my cheek.

  I grunted. “Fine, I’ll touch you then.”

  I ran my hands down his chest to the waistband of his jeans, but he stopped me by wrapping his long fingers around my wrists.

  “If you do that, this will be over way too soon.”

  I smirked, moving my center along his length, closing my eyes and dropping my head back. The sighed moan came out before I could stop it. Leaning forward, he pulled me closer and sucked gently on my neck right by my ear.

  “Do you need me to make you come, Kaelyn?”

  “God, yes,” I hissed.

  He lifted me off his lap, turned sideways on the couch, and laid me down in front of him. His hands ran up the insides of my thighs, gently spreading them as his hands moved. My back came off the couch when he ran his thumb gently along my center over my underwear.

  “That was good?” he asked, stopping his hand and raising his eyebrows.

  “Let’s just say it won’t take long.”

  “I want to learn your body… what you like.”

  “I’d like for you to touch me and mean it.”

  His devious smirk should have given his intent away, but in one quick second, he had my underwear pulled to the side and plunged his two long fingers inside me.

  I hissed, but once the thumb of his free hand found my clit, I rolled my hips in rhythm with his hand. His fingers crooked inside me, finding a place I don’t think had ever been touched, and I felt the orgasm approaching with such speed, I didn’t know if I could handle it.

  “Brody. I… ”

  And I came harder than I have in a long time. It was like my pussy wanted to squeeze his fingers off so they could stay inside me forever.

  I might have lost consciousness for a microsecond or two. When I opened my eyes, I saw Brody pulling his fingers out of his mouth.

  Holy fucking shit, he licked his fingers clean.

  I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him on top of me, fumbling to get his jeans open.

  “God, I need you inside me.”

  “Wait –”

  “No waiting, now.” I finally got his button opened and zipper down, and I reached in to wrap my hand tightly around his cock. He threw his head back and grunted.

  “Kaelyn, I need to find a condom.”

  “I’m on the pill. We don’t need one.”

  “Yes,” he pulled back, looking into my face. “We do. Before today, I would have said okay. I’ve always been safe, but I just found out that the girlfriend, who I would have sworn on my mother’s grave was faithful, cheated on me with my best friend.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t do that to you.”

  I tightened my grip on him and ran my hand the entire length of his cock.
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br />   “Then let me do this,” I whispered in his ear, pulling him closer with my free hand.

  “If you insist, but can we switch positions?”

  I pulled both hands away, and he stood, pulling his shirt over his head before he pulled his jeans down below his ass and sat down. I took a minute to stare and the beautiful sight before me. His hard cock jutted upward, almost to his navel, and when he watched me looking at him, his cock jumped in response, beckoning me to him.

  “Keep looking at me like that and I’ll do this myself.”

  God, I really wanted to watch that.

  But not tonight.

  I sat up to unbutton my shirt and scooted closer to him. I wanted to feel his skin on mine.

  “Next time,” I whispered, pressing my lips against his and wrapping my hand around his cock.

  His hand finally found my breast, pulling the cup of my bra down and thumbing my nipple. My hand tightened around him in response, moving faster. His tongue found mine, dueling for dominance. I gave in, letting him take the lead. It took too much restraint to not straddle him stick him inside me. The thought made my clit pulse, and I whimpered.

  I felt his breath hitch, and he pulled away from the kiss, moaning deliciously.

  “Fuck,” he thrust into my hand, and threw his head back, his moans intensifying. I was torn where to keep my eyes… on his face or on his cock coming all over my hand. Both were so fucking hot to watch.

  He kept his head back and eyes closed, but he smiled. “I guess I didn’t take long either.”

  I giggled. “No. We both were a little eager.”

  He raised his head, looking at me with what could only be described as awe. Cupping my cheek and running his thumb back and forth, he pulled me to him and kissed me languidly.

  “God, I can’t wait to be inside you,” he whispered against my lips. He hauled me back into a kiss, more urgent than the other kiss.

  “Babe,” I said between kisses, “I really want to explore you, but we kinda have a mess here.”

  “Oh.” He handed me his shirt. “Use this, and I’ll show you to the bathroom.”

  I wiped and stood, handing him the shirt so he could clean up himself.

  We walked to a small bathroom in a short hallway.

  “I’m going to be in the bedroom around the corner packing some stuff when you are done. We’ll leave together.”

  I smiled. “Okay.”

  Once the door closed, I washed my hands and looked in the mirror. I wasn’t too mussed, but I definitely looked… relaxed.

  Well, that is until I had the realization that I’d just let a guy I met twelve hours ago finger me on the couch he shared with his girlfriend, a girl I happen to kinda like, who was one day away from becoming his fiancée, all the while wearing the ring that was meant for her.

  Oh yeah, and I begged him to fuck me without a condom, which is not at all embarrassing, and instead, gave him an impromptu birthday hand job.

  And my underwear needed to be changed.

  Nice.

  Right this second, I wondered if the media was right.

  Am I a little slutty?

  Twelve

  Brody

  Fuck.

  Not giving into her was probably the hardest choice I’ve ever made in my life. The right choices are rarely the easiest ones.

  I wanted her so God damn bad, to just slide inside her and fuck her, more than I wanted my next breath. I didn’t want to take my time. I wanted to fuck her hard, claim her as mine.

  That’s so unlike me.

  Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how I looked at it, my rational side prevailed once again. I’d really feel awful if I ever hurt her.

  Ugh. One more reason to hate that Heather fucked Kyle… beyond the obvious one.

  I felt myself getting angry again, especially when I walked into my room.

  Them.

  I could see them… against the wall, right over there. The memory flashed in my brain like a strobe light.

  I started throwing clothes into my backpack, not really paying attention to what I was grabbing. I just wanted to stuff as much as I could into the tiny space. I didn’t want to have to come back.

  The zipper got stuck, so I tugged. It gave under the stress of the clothes, splitting open, breaking the plastic teeth that held it together.

  So I simply had to throw it against the wall where they had been, kicking it for good measure, and I heard Kaelyn’s gasp, which of course meant she witnessed my tantrum. I froze, unable to turn around and face her.

  Her small hands rubbed up and down my back, and I instantly calmed, slowing my breathing almost immediately. It was weird how these hands ignited me not fifteen minutes ago and were now calming me.

  “It was obviously a faulty pack. It deserved to be punished,” she teased, wrapping her arms around my waist.

  I laid my hands over hers, interlocking our fingers. “I just need to get out of here.”

  I pulled her hand to my mouth and kissed her fingers one by one.

  She inhaled deeply before asking, “Where are you planning to go?”

  “I have to go to Jacoby’s to get my suitcase.” I pulled her around in front of me and looked into her beautiful, chocolaty eyes. “Beyond that… I haven’t really thought about it. I have another flight to catch tomorrow afternoon, so I guess I’ll find a hotel.”

  When she looked down at our joined hands, I could almost swear she was disappointed.

  After kissing her temple, I whispered in her ear, “You could come with me,” nudging her chin, I searched her eyes. “Please. Stay with me tonight.” Her panicked look surprised me, so I added, “I just don’t want to leave you yet. I want to spend more time with you, getting to know you. That’s all it has to be.” I kissed her forehead. “That’s all I want.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  I smiled. “Well, I certainly won’t turn you down if you feel the need to seduce me, but I promise to be an absolute gentleman.” I raised my hand, switching to my awful Australian accent. “‘On my honor, or may I be chopped up and made into soup.’”

  She giggled. “Now you’re quoting Nemo?”

  “No, I quoted Bruce from Finding Nemo, not Nemo himself. Did you even pay attention to the movie?”

  “I watched that movie every day for two years. I could probably act out the entire thing for you.”

  “That sounds quite entertaining. But no. When I stayed with my aunt and uncle for a month the summer after my mom died, that movie was the only thing my baby cousin wanted to watch.”

  There it was… that look again, like I was her hero. I took the opportunity to bend down and drag my lips across hers. She was the one to deepen the kiss, but I pulled away before it got too… intense.

  “You’re not going to make this ‘absolute gentleman’ thing easy, are you?”

  Reaching around to grab my ass, she smiled. “Now where’s the fun in that?”

  ***

  The quarter she bounced plinked into the hotel’s glass.

  “No fair. You have to be cheating. How did you get so good at this?”

  She rolled her eyes. “When you make one, you can ask, so don’t call cheating just because I’m good and you’re losing. You were the one who suggested we play this game of question quarters.”

  “Yeah, but it would be different if I could make one.” I ran my hand over my head and fought a smile. “You’ve been asking all the questions.”

  “It’s not my fault you suck at it.” She took a bite of the pizza we ordered. “Just be glad this isn’t strip quarters. By my calculations, I’d have you pretty much naked by now.”

  I lost the battle and smiled. “Fine, sassy pants, ask your next question.”

  Her expression changed to one of apprehension. “Okay,” she took a deep breath, “you might not remember, but you said something earlier in the bar about growing up on a farm.”

  I didn’t remember that, but I don’t doubt my drunken rambling included t
hat detail.

  Fluttering her eyelashes, her innocent eyes pleaded, “Will you tell me about it?”

  I grinned at her. “Why do you seem so nervous to ask me about that?”

  “Well, I didn’t want to get too personal.” She looked down. “Pasts are personal.”

  Reaching across the small table, I touched her chin, tilting her head up to meet my eyes.

  “When you get to know someone, personal questions are kind of a requirement.”

  I ignored the flash of panic in her eyes and began my answer.

  “The farm is about fifteen miles north of Lafayette, close to Opelousas, and has been in my Dad’s family for almost eighty years. We grow fruit, mostly strawberries, and five different kinds of peppers that we supply to restaurants all across the country. Momma started her prized garden before I was born. She planted fragrant flowers. In the spring time, it smelled amazing, but my dad didn’t have the heart to keep it going. Only the honeysuckle still grows wild. As a child, the farm was my absolute favorite smell in the world.”

  She looked down and blushed. “I think you mentioned that.”

  The blush reminded me of how she looked right after I made her come. I had to change the subject, or I’d have to forgo the absolute-gentleman promise.

  “When my dad was little, my Mamere created a pepper sauce from the ones we grow. My dad still has it made. It’s mostly sold on our farm, but if you really look hard, it’s hidden on the shelves of a couple of markets around the Quarter.”

  She jumped up from her chair and moved across the room to her bag. After digging through it, she produced a very familiar bottle.

  “Is this it?”

  “Holy shit, Kaelyn, how the hell did you discover it?”

  “Funny story. Back in college, Drunk Kaelyn was in a store one night, saw Adele’s Sauce, and, I assume, she thought it meant it would make her sing like Adele.”

  “Drunk Kaelyn sounds like fun and has good taste. I would have loved to see how you tested your hypothesis.”