Free Web NovelChapter 20: WHO YOUR BODY KNOWS
KEISHA’S POV Without thinking, I shoved him. Both hands flat against his chest, pushing him back enough to get air between us because I couldn’t think straight with him that close and I needed to think straight right now. He barely moved, just looked at me with this steady expression that only served to make me even more angry. "What is wrong with you?" My voice came out sharper than I intended and I didn’t care. "You break into my house, corner me in my kitchen and then just— stare at me? What does that even mean?!" He said nothing. "Callum." I stared at him, my eyes blown wide. "Say something. Anything." Still nothing. He just stood there looking at me with that expression and I felt my frustration get even worse, because this was the thing about him that drove me completely insane— the way he could just stand in a room and be so unbothered while I was coming apart at the seams. "You disappeared." I jabbed a finger at him. "You and Dane both. Four days, nothing, not a word and I’m just supposed to sit here and be fine about it?" I crossed my arms. "And now you show up in my kitchen in the dark like that’s normal? Like you didn’t just—" "And that’s why you walked home with him?" He cut me off. I blinked. "That’s what you’re focused on right now?" "You went to dinner with him." He said it again, his gaze still steady. "Oh my god." I let out a disbelieving sound. "Are you serious? That’s— Orin is a nice person, Callum. He brought me lunch, he walks me home, he’s kind and he’s uncomplicated and he doesn’t disappear for days without—" "Kind." He repeated. "Yes, kind. You remember what that looks like?" Something moved across his face and his jaw tightened. "He’s not going to hurt me." I pressed on because some part of me wanted to see what he would do and the smarter part of me was losing the argument. "He’s thoughtful and he actually shows up and he doesn’t make me feel like I’m some kind of secret that needs to be managed and—" His hand found my waist and suddenly, the words died in my mouth. He pulled me forward in one smooth motion and my hands came up to his chest automatically. Shit. His other hand came up to my jaw, tilting my face up, his thumb pressing lightly against my chin. "Callum—" His name came out as barely anything. "Quiet." He said it softly. His lips found my neck and I felt my eyes close against my will, my fingers curling into the fabric of his coat. He pressed his mouth slowly up the side of my throat and I was already trembling and hating myself for it because two minutes ago I was making a very good argument and now I couldn’t remember a single word of it. How could he... be so good at this? "This is not fair." I breathed out. He didn’t respond to that. His hand slid from my waist to the small of my back, pulling me flush against him. I felt the hard planes of his chest and my knees did something embarrassing. "Callum—" "Tell me his name." He said quietly against my neck. I frowned. "What?" "Tell me his name right now." His lips moved to my jaw, biting the skin there and my mind went completely blank. Oh my god... "I thought so." He murmured. I wanted to be angry about that. I genuinely did. His hand moved from the small of my back and slipped under the hem of my shirt, fingers pressing warm against my skin as they travelled slowly downward and I grabbed the counter behind me with both hands because I needed something solid to hold on to. "Callum." His name came out wrecked. "Mm." He pressed his lips to the corner of my mouth. His fingers found the waistband of my shorts and slipped past it. I made a sound that I immediately tried to swallow as his fingers slid through my folds and found exactly how embarrassingly wet I already was. "Oh god—" My head fell back against the cabinet. "Look at me." He whispered quietly. I looked at him. His eyes were dark and completely focused on my face and there was something in them that made my chest ache at the same time my body was doing things I had zero control over. His fingers moved slowly, deliberately and I gripped the counter harder and bit down on my lip trying to keep quiet because the walls in this house were not thick enough for the sounds I was trying to hold back. "Who does your body know?" He muttered against my temple. I didn’t answer. His fingers curled and I gasped sharply, my hips rolling forward without my permission. "Keisha." His voice was quiet and deliberate. "Who does your body know?" "You." It came out in a breath. "You and Dane—" "Not Orin." He reminded. "Not Orin." I agreed. I would have agreed to almost anything right now. He pressed his lips to my forehead and worked me slowly and thoroughly while I held onto the counter and his coat sleeve alternately and shook apart quietly in my own kitchen with my face pressed against his shoulder and his mouth against my hair. When it was over, my legs quaked as I stood there breathing against him for a moment, completely undone. He pressed his lips to my temple softly. Then he stepped back, straightened his coat and looked at me with a calm look. I stared at him, my chest heaving. "That’s it?" "Get some sleep." He said quietly. "You cannot be serious—" "Keisha." I closed my mouth. He held my gaze for a long moment. Then he turned, walked out through the back and I heard the latch click behind him. A deep breath left me as I stood in my kitchen alone. Diane was absolutely beside herself, saying something gleeful about how I made the right choice tonight. Ignoring her, I put my hands over my face and stood there for a while. "Fuck." My voice was low as I looked around. After a bit, I went to bed. **************** I woke up the next morning and went about my day like a normal person who had not been fingered in their kitchen the night before. I was very committed to this performance. Matter of fact, I was getting used to it. Work was the same as it always was. I filed, I reviewed, I reorganized two things that didn’t need reorganizing because my hands needed something to do. Nadia appeared at my office door at half past twelve with food and bright eyes. "So." She settled herself across from me and pushed a container in my direction. "How was your walk with Orin? I spotted you two yesterday." Of course she had. I looked at her. "It was fine. He invited me for his birthday." "Fine." She repeated like the word had personally offended her. "Keisha. The man invited you to dinner on his birthday." I sighed, exasperated. "It’s just dinner, Nadia." "I know but—" She leaned forward. "Does it feel like just dinner? He seems very deliberate." I opened my container. "He’s just nice. He’s good company." She was quiet for a second, watching me. "Do you think you’ll go out again after it?" "It’s not like that." "Why not?" I looked at her. There were approximately forty seven reasons why not and I could give her zero of them. "I just don’t think of him that way." She made a sound that sounded like a snort. "You don’t think of anyone that way, that’s the problem." She pointed her fork at me. "You need to let someone in at some point, Keisha. Not everyone is Riven." That made me pause, suddenly reminded of everything that had happened just a while back. Riven. My old pack. My mouth turned bitter. "I know that." "Do you though?" "Nadia." I gave her a look. She raised her hands in surrender and we moved on and talked about other things. The rest of the day moved with the usual activities and meetings, and by evening I was back at my desk finishing the last of my reports when my phone buzzed. Orin. "Hey. Details for tomorrow— it’s the apartment complex on the east side, just past the packhouse boundary. Building C, third floor. Seven o’clock. Looking forward to it." I stared at the message. East side. Past the packhouse boundary. His apartment wasn’t inside the pack grounds at all. I read the address again, frowning slightly. Sighing, I typed back a simple okay and set my phone face down on the desk. Outside the packhouse boundary. I sat there for a moment, thinking about it more than I should have. Why did that feel like it mattered?
