Exes and Exorcisms by Keira Blackwood (uplifting book club books .txt) 📗

like it? I’d love to say it was just for you, but I didn’t know you were coming. If I had, I would have made a grander gesture.”

“Turned him upside down, ass up?”

“You’re twisted. Really,” she said. “Where do you come up with this depravity?”

“You inspire me.”

She chortled. “Uh huh.”

I smiled, but I didn’t laugh, because it was true. She brought out all kinds of parts of me that didn’t exist until she was there.

“Remember that thing you said about Snowball?” Kelly asked.

“What thing?”

“About how she’s cruel, and enjoys antagonizing His Lordship?”

“And how he wants her more because of it,” I said.

“What if they bring out the worst in each other?”

“What if they bring out the best, and they need to realize how much they mean to each other before it’s too late?” We were moving far from discussing cats, and the vulnerability of the truth made my throat tight.

“It was always the worst,” she said with a sigh. “I was going to leave. In Cincinnati, when we were supposed to meet. I couldn’t do it anymore.”

“I know.”

“But you didn’t make it easy on me,” she said. “You always made it hard. You were so pushy and overbearing. I couldn’t stand how you always had to control everything.”

I did it because with her, I felt so out of control. She made me crazy. I’d only tried to hold on, and it had pushed her away.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I guess I did leave in a way, huh?” She laughed off my apology. “Got myself grabbed by a vampire. Murdered. Thrown in a dungeon in McMansion hell.”

“I’m so sorry. If I’d have known you were out there—”

She held out a hand. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to find me. Even there. Hell, I didn’t want to see your face again. And then, here you are, arriving on my doorstep and threatening to stake me.”

“I can’t even say how sorry I am for that,” I said.

She shrugged. “It happened, and I understand your great mission, or whatever.”

“You’ve changed,” I said. “And I’ve changed.”

“It’s not enough,” she said, but I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. She took a step closer, then another.

“What if it is enough?” I whispered, brushing a finger over her cheek.

She closed her eyes and parted her lips. “Smother me again, and I’ll stab you in your perfect arse with your own stakes.”

“Fair enough.” I captured her mouth with mine, and I kissed the woman I loved. It was soft and sweet, then hard and forceful, as Kelly showed me in one kiss all the frustration she’d felt for me over the years.

8

KELLY

I had forgotten what an amazing kisser Xavier was.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I’d struggled for five years to put it out of my mind. He had this way of gently moving my lips with his, leading without overwhelming, that revved up my figurative engine and left me panting.

I didn’t even need to breathe anymore, and yet I was panting for this man.

It was true. When we had dated before, he had bossed me around in his alpha protector way—always with my safety in mind, of course, but still, on the invasive side. What time will you be back? I’ll come pick you up so you aren’t walking at night. He’d been a controlling jerk. That the reasoning behind his behavior was the need to protect wasn’t enough of an excuse. Nor was his apology, not entirely. He’d never been the apologizing type. He’d thought it was his right, because I was his. Still, the apology wasn’t enough to absolve him.

This kiss, however...this kiss just might absolve him.

He pulled away to trail kisses down my neck. I approved. At the same time, he led me to a corner of the parlor that was out of view of the window. Forbidden residents on their late morning strolls didn’t need to see the wicked skill of Xavier Breene—his skills were only for me.

“Kelly,” he said, his voice guttural. “I missed you so fucking much.”

I didn’t want to admit it—not even to myself—but I’d missed him, too. As hard as it had been dealing with his alpha BS when we were together, he had a way of melting my heart, making me feel like the center of his world. Not wanting to talk, I pulled his head to my chest.

I could hear his smile as he said, “One of my favorite places in the world.”

His lips were warm through my shirt, and he lifted one of his hands to cup my breast. I didn’t quite have the boobage Marla had—I couldn’t store my phone in my cleavage like she did—but in Xavier’s palms and under his admiring gaze, my girls felt like plenty.

“Can I?” he asked, tugging at the top of my blouse.

“Yes, please do.”

He yanked down the top of my shirt, revealing my demi-cup bra, which he yanked down, too. Then his lips were on one of my nipples, sucking and licking and driving me absolutely mad.

“Xavier,” I gasped.

“I know,” he said between kisses. Then, “I wonder if you can still come, just from me playing with your tits?”

“I can think of one way to find out,” I said.

“For the sake of science.” He pulled away just long enough to lift my shirt over my head. When I reached back to unsnap my bra, he shook his head. “Leave it on. I like how it pushes your tits up so I can lick them.”

He crowded against me, and I stepped with him until my back hit the wall. He placed my hands on his shoulders, gave me a blistering kiss on the mouth, and returned his attention to my breasts.

Currents of desire flowed through my body, concentrating at my clit. Each sharp pulse tugged me closer to the edge of a climax. He was a master, playing me like an instrument, and he was going to make me sing. I moaned and whimpered, holding onto his shoulders for dear life.

“Kelly?” a nasal voice asked.