Longing for Love Read online

  “Here’s to relationships.” We both take a drink and laugh at each other. Yes, I really like Irish and Taren too. Maybe we can become really good friends. I know I could sure use some.

  After that beer, I bid my farewells, drive home to my quiet house and I park in the garage. I open the door leading into a small hallway and close it behind me as I place my keys in the silver dish setting on the small wood table next to it. As I lock the door, I lean my back against the thick wood, closing my eyes as I lay my head back.

  One night.

  One night of his magnificent strong body pressing mine into the mattress.

  One night of feeling every inch of his hard muscles with my fingers, treading down the plains of his tight abs.

  One night of feeling him inside me, making me come undone beneath him, taking me where no man has ever taken me before.

  One night....

  Meow.

  My eyes snap open and I look down. “Smoky.” I smile as I bend over and pick her up. I lift her up so I can look into her green eyes. “I guess tonight, it’s you and me.” I kiss her nose and pull her to me, feeling the vibrations of her purring. Other than Charles, Smoky has been my other best friend. It’s a little bit of a one sided conversation but at least she snuggles with me. After taking her upstairs, brushing my teeth and my hair, and putting on my sleeping attire, I crawl into bed. Smoky nestles into my stomach and I place one hand under my pillow, laying my head onto the softness. I really am exhausted. I close my eyes and try to fall asleep but all I see is tattoos, muscles, scruff, and that damn cocky smile.

  Chapter Three

  Kane

  “You’re sure chipper this morning, son. Guess you got a little something last night?”

  I look up at Pop as he peers at me over his newspaper, smiling at me like he knows. We’ve always been close but I know he doesn’t like my lifestyle. He’s excited that Taren and Brock are making him a grandpop and has been hinting at me to settle down ever since they announced she is pregnant. Then again, sometimes I think he lives vicariously through me. He and Mom have been married for over twenty-five years and she was the first girl he ever dated. It was love at first sight, he told me. He said there never could be another he’d love any more than her. I’m glad that they found each other and that their love had held firm. I guess without them, I wouldn’t be here. I shovel some eggs in my pie hole and try to avoid his statement.

  “Who got what last night?” Ma asks.

  My face scrunches as I give Pop a look. He just smiles at me and rustles the paper, clearing his throat. “Oh, some movie star got some award last night. It’s no big deal.” He looks at me and winks and I let out the breath I’d been holding. “So, Kane. How’d the job start out?”

  I take the last bite of my toast and wipe my mouth with my napkin as I stand. “It was good. The cleaning crew left a small piece to deal with but I got it.” I walk over to Ma at the counter and kiss her cheek. “Gotta run.” I give Pop’s shoulder a light smack as I walk by and get outta there as fast as I can. Ma is oblivious to my lifestyle and I want to keep it that way and Pop is no help. He’ll end up spilling the beans and not even realize it. I’m heading over to the site wondering if Miss Fancy Pants will show up. When she’s around all I can think about is fisting some locks of her long hair and pulling her head back while I suck on her luscious neck. The things I could do to her. I rub my hand down my face. “Stop thinking about her,” I breathe out in frustration. I’ve never had an issue getting a woman. Why does this one bother me so much? She’s classy and way out of my league.

  I.

  Must.

  Have.

  Her.

  No! I refuse to let this happen to me. I am not going to fall for someone. Not now. Maybe not ever. I don’t even know her! Maybe she’s lousy in bed or maybe underneath that cool exterior is really a frightened kitten. Maybe she isn’t the Goddess that she seems. Yes. She is. “Fuck!” I slam my hand down on the steering wheel. I need to get my head in my work and get her out of it.

  Pulling onto the site, I hear the gravel crunching underneath my tires. It’s hot and humid today. I’m relieved when there’s no sign of her sports car on the lot. Thank fuck! I need to concentrate today. She’s definitely getting under my skin and I can’t let that happen. The guys are already working. Good thing. The mood I’m in, I’d hate to kick someone’s ass so early. After parking near the trailer, I step down onto the gravel and look up at the sky. Help me have patience today. I need something to get me outta this funk. I head to the trailer and open the door. The smell of perfume invades my senses immediately. Must be left over from yesterday. I walk in and stop in my tracks, seeing Bria sitting behind the desk, her brown eyes solely on the computer screen. Where the hell did she come from? Her car wasn’t in the lot. I’d say I was losing my mind and my sight but I can definitely see her but that doesn’t say anything about my mind. She looks up, her eyes scanning my body and turning darker as they roam back up and into my eyes.

  “Nice of you to show up,” she says then looks back at the screen.

  Crossing my arms, I get a better look at her. Why she’s wearing a gorgeous red fuck hot dress to a construction site, I’ll never know. Damn she looks sexy as shit. I lean back against the door frame and grin. “I’m here on time.” Her eyes shift to mine then back to what she’s doing. “Didn’t see your fancy car out there.” I raise an eyebrow but she doesn’t look up.

  “My car is in the shop. I heard some rattles last night on the way home and thought my mechanic should take a look at it. My brother dropped me off.” She looks up at me, a faint smile on those luscious lips of hers. “Not that it’s any of your business.” Her brows raise as the corner of that hot mouth rises slightly. “Not like being caught off guard by the boss, huh?” She smiles at me smugly. God, if that didn’t make my already hardened cock strain against my jeans even more than it already is.

  I walk over to the desk, lean my hands down on the top, and glare into her eyes. “I’m my own boss,” I whisper then lean in closer. We’re only but a breath away now and I watch as a faint rose color spreads across her porcelain skin. “Kitten, nothing you could do would catch me off guard.” I watch as she swallows, my eyes following the movement of her long beautiful throat. I’d love to grasp that as I’m thrusting in and out of her. Fast. Hard. Damn, this isn’t helping my problem. My cock stiffens more and pushes against my jeans again, twitching to get out. I need to adjust myself but it would be too obvious. Her tongue peeks out of those mouthwatering lips and I watch as she runs it across her lower lip. Her eyes widen and I catch myself mimicking her movements. Fuck, she’s killing me.

  She leans back into her chair, moving away from me. “Actually, I’m your boss for this project and I’ll thank you to remember that.” She stands and walks past me, over to the cabinet, opening it and pulling out a pad of paper. I stand and turn, leaning against the desk as she walks back. Her movements are elegant, graceful. Shit! What am I thinking? She’s classy and I’m…. Well, I’m me. “But you’re correct.” She sits back down in the chair, one magnificent long leg crossing over the other. Her dress rides up, exposing her beautiful skin. Unblemished, porcelain. Perfect. “You weren’t really late. I guess your crew just got here early. I like that.” Thank fuck my crew got here early. I might have to do something special for them. Normally some of them are doing good to get to a job on time.

  I turn around and give her a smile. “Of course they were early. Pretty normal for them.” I scratch my arm, like I’m feigning indifference but in reality all I want to do is pick her up and lay her out on the desk. Shaking my head, I back up, trying to rid her from my mind – and all the things I’d like to do to her. “Well, I guess I’d better….” I’m about to turn to walk out the door when Brock runs up to the doorway, holding onto the frame, and out of breath.

  “Kane. A guy on one of the other crews screwed up the crane and dropped a steel beam onto one section of the frame. It’s all down.” Fuck me.


  I turn my head at Kitten and wink. “Guess I’d better get out there.” I get to the doorway as Brock runs out to help. “You, uh, might want to go talk to that crew chief. Since you’re the boss you might want to find out what happened.” I turn with a grin plastered on my mouth, whispering low but loud enough she can hear. “Guess money can’t buy everything. Definitely can’t buy a good crew.” I leave her with those words but I hear her high heels walking towards the door. Point for me!

  I walk quickly over to the damaged area and survey how much time it’ll take to get it all repaired. Pushing my hand up underneath my hard hat, I rub my head. “Damn. That’s a hell of a mess.”

  “I’ll get my crew right on it! We’ll get it back good as new.”

  The crew chief of the crew whose man did the damage stands next to me. I turn and look at him, catching Bria from the corner of my eye. “No. We’ll all help then you will fire that asshole and get a new man. He’s costing us a whole day and then some.” I look at him as Bria stops behind us. He looks at me and nods, nervousness overtaking him. He walks off and I nod at my crew. They all walk over somberly and begin to clear the wreckage.

  “What in the hell, Kane? You can’t do that!” Her voice is filled with anger, demanding.

  I turn and look at her. God, she’s magnificent. Hearing my name come outta that hot mouth of hers makes my cock strain again. “I just did.”

  I turn back and walk to help my guys. I hear her huff behind me. It’s gonna be a long day and probably well into the evening. We need to get back on track.

  It’s seven fifteen by the time we get the debris cleaned up and some of the framing put back in place. It’s been a hard day’s work but I’m proud of the guys for doing such a great job. That crew chief, Dave, fired the asswipe who did the damage and said he’d have a new guy there in the morning. I’m covered in sweat and am glad that Bria left hours ago. No one needs to smell this.

  I head home and take a quick shower, thinking a beer sounds mighty good ‘bout now, along with a plate of Mimi’s cooking. It won’t be a late night. I’m fucking exhausted. It’s one thing to work out in a gym but there’s nothing like working hard on a site to really pump me up even more. When I get to Pops bar, I see it’s crowded again. I’m glad to see it doing so well. Pop keeps saying he’s leaving it to Brock and me when he goes but I’ve always told him he’s too stubborn to die. I refuse to think about that. As I get closer to the porch, the beat of music abounds from inside, traveling into the night’s warm air. I open the door and walk into the room full of laughter, a pinball game making its loud noises, pool balls hitting across velvet padding, and the bustle of people’s chatter. I almost feel bad seeing my stool vacant with a reserved sign but as I come closer, trying to get through the crowd of people, I see Brock’s chair is not empty. Long black hair curling down her back and to her waist. The slim figure of Bria sits there and I’m taken aback as I see a beer bottle sitting in front of her. I’m also amazed she’s not dressed to the hilt, instead her feet are covered in black high heeled boots. My eyes scan her tight skinny jeans, hugging her in all the right places, and silky red top, leaving her porcelain skin in view from her shoulders down her arms. I keep walking until I’m finally there, throw my leg over the stool and push the reserved sign away. My heart beats a mile a minute as I take in her amazing smell.

  “Didn’t figure you for a beer girl,” I lean in, whispering in her perfect ear. Her head turns slightly, her body shivers when she feels my warm breath. I lean back and nod at Irish, whom I’m surprised is working tonight. I look back at Bria and grin. “I’d taken you for a martini or wine kind of girl.” A bottle of beer is slammed down on the wooden counter before me. I look at Irish and give her a wink as I pick it up, the suds overflowing over the rim and onto my hand. “What?” Irish’s mouth opens but Bria leans up against me, her words but a whisper in my ear stopping Irish from her onslaught. My cock hardens more than it already was, if that’s possible. She’s killing me. Slowly.

  “Actually,” she breaths, her warmth invading me. Killing me. “I love a good cold beer.”

  She leans back and my cock twitches. Damn she smells good. I wonder what she’d taste like. I notice her smug smile and roam down her long neck and onto her ample cleavage that shows plainly from her low cut top. Another slam on the counter in front of me makes me turn my gaze from Kitten. Irish is scowling at me and I see the huge plate of food before me. “What’s with the attitude, Irish?” I pick up the top bun of the burger and look around, not seeing any ketchup. “Where’s the ketchup?” I watch her walk over to the end of the counter, pick up the yummy bottle with my favorite substance, and walk back over, slamming it down and hitting my plate. Luckily the sounds of the bar sustained the loud sound. I pick it up and start pouring it on my burger when she leans up on the counter, her face close to mine.

  “Leave her alone, Kane. She’s a good person and doesn’t deserve your womanizing ways. She has enough shit to deal with,” she growls.

  I look into her eyes and grin. “I’m not doing anything. What in the hell would someone like her, with all her wealth, have to deal with? Besides, I think she can handle her own shit.” My grin leaves and I give her a stern look.

  She leans even closer and sneers. “You have no idea what all she has to deal with, prick.

  “Back off, Irish,” I whisper, almost too loudly. If not for the noise in the room, everyone would have heard me. I can’t imagine coming from a wealthy family. What would they have to worry about? They oughta try being in my family’s and my shoes sometime. Nah, they couldn’t hack it. I watch Irish turn and storm away. Probably better off as I’m about to lose my cool. I just hope Kitten didn’t hear our little argument. My eyes shift her way and see she’s talking to some guy standing at the end of the counter. Her head falls back as she laughs at something that idiot said, making her long hair reach down to her fine ass, and another strange feeling overcomes me. Jealousy. What the fuck? That can’t be right. I don’t want that, don’t need that.

  She flips her hair over her shoulder, a man’s telltale that she’s flirting. With that idiot? She could do so much better. In fact, she could do a lot better. With me. I bite down on my burger, hard, like I’m ripping off that asswipes head.

  “So. How about we take a drive? I’d love to get to know you better,” the idiot says as he leans his arm on the counter, trying to give her a seductive look. As if he could.

  Her face falls, slightly, the smile that’s been plastered on her mouth droops just a bit, but the air of elegance reappears. “That’s so kind but I must be getting home soon. I have an early work day tomorrow and need to get my beauty sleep.” She doesn’t need sleep to get her beauty.

  He reaches out, touches her cheek, and is pulling her closer to him as he leans in. I’m about to come outta my stool. “Ah, but someone as beautiful as yourself needs no sleep to magnify what is already evident.” She blushes as his mouth connects with hers. Her hands push against his chest, fingers diggin’ in. Just like a frightened kitten. I’m about to go postal on his ass. What a crock of shit he’s feeding her. I hope she’s not buying into that.

  She grabs his hand, removing it from her face as she leans back, and his face morphs into something else. Fear? Pain? Red blotches start scattering all over his skin as his face scrunches up. Yep, pain. She releases his hand and slaps his face. Damn, I wish I could hear that better. The surprise look on his face is priceless. “It’s not nice to kiss a lady without asking her permission.” He nods, his hand covering where she hit him. He backs up until he bumps into someone, then turns and runs away. Literally. I start to chuckle as I take the last bite of my burger and dip some fries in the ketchup that had dripped on my plate. I stick a bunch of fries in my mouth and bite down on my fingers when I’m pushed hard.

  “Ow!” I yell over a mouth full of aching fingers. “What the…?” I’m thinking some drunk rammed into me until I turn my head and look into the brown eyes of Bria. She’s angry. Her beauty hol
ds no bounds even when she’s upset.

  “That was not funny!” She’s standing behind her stool and takes the last drink of her beer, setting the empty bottle on the counter. She turns to leave when I stand and gently grab her upper arm. Her head turns and those eyes are filled with sadness yet her body shivers with my touch.

  “I’m sorry. He deserved that though. Good thing you did that or….”

  She turns fully, my hand still pressing against her soft skin. Her facial features soften and she whispers, “Or what?” She leans in closer. My grasp tightens for a split second, my eyes scanning into the depths of hers. Her full lips part as her mouth opens to speak yet no sounds are heard. My body fills with her heat, wanting to cover that tantalizing mouth with mine. Her eyes smolder and my cock twitches, feeling the warmth in them, the fire.

  The want.

  She shivers. Know she feels it too. Something about her. Can’t put my finger on it but I know I’m in trouble. Can feel it in my bones. I don’t need that.

  Can’t.

  Won’t.

  She won’t get to me.

  I release her arm, taking a step back. The wood rim of the counter bites into my back. “No woman deserves to be treated that way.” My voice comes out in a growl as her eyes widen. We stare at each other, neither of us knowing what to do. What to say.

  Her stance changes, her chin lifting up at me.

  Proud.

  Stubborn.

  Classy.

  “Well, thank you. I need to….” She turns but looks at me over her shoulder. Those eyes. So brown. Informative. Seductive. I watch as she turns back, walking through the crowd, through the door, her movements graceful. Elegant. Lady.

  Turning around I spot Tim, Pops other bartender and longtime friend of our family. “One more!” He winks at me and grabs a cold one from the iced bin below the counter, popping off the cap and setting it down in front of me. “Thanks, man.” I pull the bottle to my mouth, guzzling it down, letting the liquid burn through me. Trying to quench the flames burning deep inside me only add to the heat, knowing there’s only one thing that could help with that now. Giggles interrupt the bar’s noises. Like a beacon I turn my head, eyeing a group of women standing by the small dance floor, staring at me. I raise my chin, giving them a grin, and their giggles can be heard over here above the crowds chatter. Raising the bottle to my mouth, I drain the last swallows and set the empty on the counter. I start walking towards the group, ready to release some tension.