Becoming a Legend Read online

  “It’s really not that funny anymore, jerk,” she mumbled, hoping he wouldn’t hear her, but wanting to say it anyway.

  “What’s not funny?” He appeared around the corner, an onion in one hand and a bottle of ketchup in the other. “Your refrigerator? How are these the only two things you have to eat in your kitchen?”

  The bewildered look on his face made her laugh as she raised her hands in defense. “I normally eat at the restaurant. Haven’t had a lot of time to go grocery shopping recently.”

  “Calling that place a restaurant is a bit of a stretch, kitty.” He shook his head at her in mock disapproval before heading back to the kitchen. “Luckily, I found a bunch of delivery menus. What do you want me to order?”

  “Nothing,” she called back, definite sarcasm in her voice as she leaned into the couch and swung her feet up on it. “I want you to leave.”

  Kane laughed from the other room. “Pizza it is, then!”

  Nora’s stomach let out a long, slow growl. “Pizza does sound really good right now.”

  “What do you want on yours?” he asked, walking back into the living room with his cellphone in one hand and the delivery menu in the other. He lifted her legs up off the couch enough to slide under them, then rested her legs across his thighs.

  It was intimate and sweet, and she didn’t know what to make of it.

  “Extra cheese, pepperoni, and sausage.”

  Kane raised his brows. “Damn, kitty. I like your taste.”

  Heat bloomed in Nora’s cheeks. She was actually starving, and she’d never been one of those girls to order a salad and then barely pick at it in front of a man. Kane placed the order and then grabbed the television remote off the coffee table in front of them.

  “You know what? I take that back,” Kane said.

  “What?” She looked up at the TV screen to see scrolling in front of her the list of shows saved on her DVR.

  “Your taste is very questionable. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? Really, Nora? And Atlanta? And New York? How many real housewives in how many cities do you need?”

  She laughed and settled farther into the couch. “I can’t help it—they’re so funny! The drama makes me laugh.”

  “You don’t think your life has enough drama in it?” He pretended to hit the Delete button, and she nearly fell off the couch trying to grab the remote from him, but the pain in her hand quickly brought her back down.

  “You wouldn’t dare!”

  “I should, though,” he teased. “At least you’ve got a couple of good shows on here. What about Law and Order? I could watch marathons of that show forever.”

  Nora put her good hand up, raising her index finger. “Hold the phone. You have time to watch television? Aren’t you too busy training and dating skanks?”

  “First of all, I don’t date skanks. Second of all, there is no better television than that show.”

  Nora tapped her finger to her lips and squinted her eyes at him. “Okay, okay, but everyone loves that show. Here’s the real question for you.”

  “Lay it on me, kitty.”

  Her face totally deadpan, and in the most serious, dignified tone she could muster, she asked, “Which Law and Order?” There was only one right answer to that question.

  He threw up both hands. “What, are you crazy? How is that even a question? SVU. Benson is badass.”

  “Yes!” She offered her one good hand, and he high-fived her. “You know Taylor Swift named her cat ‘Olivia Benson.’ She’s in Taylor’s ‘Squad.’ ”

  Kane groaned and rolled his eyes. “And I was just about to give the Real Housewives fiasco a pass…”

  Nora threw up a peace sign and winked at him. “Swiftie for life.”

  “Let’s just watch this show before I can’t talk to you anymore.” They were both laughing as they settled in to watch the latest episode. The iconic opening credits began to roll, and Nora loved how quickly he became absorbed in the plotline.

  Her feet were still splayed across his lap. His one hand rested on the knee closest to him, as his other caressed her ankle slowly. She wasn’t even sure he realized he was doing it. It was so nurturing, and, to be honest, she was glad he hadn’t just said good-bye and dropped her off.

  Despite her heart’s warning for her to be cautious, this man was making his way into her life and seemed to have no plans to leave. And she didn’t want him to.

  —

  Two devoured pizzas and three episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit later, Kane glanced over at the beautiful blonde next to him and realized she was fast asleep. He hadn’t meant to stay at her apartment so late. He’d only wanted to ensure she ate some dinner and began to feel better.

  “Nora,” he said softly, pushing several locks of her hair off her peaceful face. “Let’s get you into bed.”

  She stretched and yawned, her hazel eyes blinking open slowly. He slid out from under her legs, where he’d been all evening, except for when he’d gotten the pizza delivery. She murmured something incoherent as he pushed to his feet and then offered her a hand. Cradling her injured hand against her chest, she accepted his offer of assistance with her good hand.

  “Does it still hurt? You can take more medicine before bed,” he said.

  Nora shook her head, sending blond curls bobbing in every direction. “I’ll be fine. Just protective of it, I guess. Faces are hard.”

  Kane laughed. “Tell me about it.”

  “I don’t know how you do this for a living,” she continued, yawning again as she walked to the bedroom. “It freaking hurts.”

  “I don’t usually punch people without protection on my hands,” he reminded her.

  She nodded as if she was contemplating it. “Next time, I’ll remember that.”

  “Next time?” Kane rolled his eyes. “There’s not going to be a next time if I have any say in it, kitty.”

  Nora stopped at her bedroom door, turned to him, and she shrugged. “Good thing you don’t, then.”

  Standing a few feet from her in the hallway, Kane said nothing. He was halfway between the front door and her bedroom door, and honestly, the choice was hard. Despite her sleepy expression and bandaged hand, or maybe because of them, Nora was breathtaking.

  He was already at half-mast from their cuddling on the sofa. It wouldn’t take much to tip him over the edge. Memories of their one night together played in his head, and his heart began an erratic pounding.

  No. It would be wrong. She was injured, vulnerable. Maybe even still under the influence of the painkiller. He sighed and headed for the front door. “Be careful with that hand, okay? Come lock the door behind me when I leave.”

  She nodded and followed him. “Thanks for today, Kane. I really appreciate your being there for me. Not a lot of people would have done something like that.”

  Kane touched her jaw lightly before pushing curls behind her ear. “For you, anyone would.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and he worried he’d said something wrong.

  She shook her head. “I wish that were true.”

  “Well, it will always be true for me. Have a good night, kitty.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek softly…innocently even. It was out of character for him, and yet it felt right. He wanted her physically, but right now, he wanted even more for her to be happy. He wanted the tears gone. When he stood back, he saw that they were. “Lock the door behind me.”

  “You could stay.”

  Kane looked back at her, but her gaze was glued to the floor and her cheeks were flushed red. If she was the one making a move, all bets were off. He’d never be able to say no to her.

  “I mean, you did button me into these jeans. What if I can’t take them off by myself?”

  As she lifted her chin, he saw her tears had been replaced with a smile, and her eyes sparkled with a mischievousness he’d never seen before.

  “Your hand is a lot better than it was earlier,” he countered, letting go of the doorknob he’d been about to turn. “You don
’t really need me for anything.”

  Faking an overly obvious cringe, she lifted her injured hand. “I don’t know…it hurts worse suddenly.”

  “Is that so?” He raised one brow and stepped closer to her, his voice turning husky and rough.

  “Yep,” she confirmed in a chipper, nonchalant tone, before turning slow and seductive. “Plus, I can think of something I definitely need you for.”

  “Don’t keep me guessing, kitty.” He grabbed her hips with both hands and pulled her against him. “Spell it out for me.”

  Staying maddeningly coy and elusive, she placed both hands carefully on his chest. “Just the pants button. That’s it.”

  Instead of responding, Kane moved his hands to the front of her jeans. Undoing the button and zipper, he let his fingers wander under the waistband of her jeans, then circle around her body till one was on either hip. Suddenly, he grasped the material and quickly pulled downward. The jeans crumpled to her feet, but he didn’t look down. He was focused on the fire behind her hazel eyes and the quickening of her breath as her chest rose and fell faster with every passing second.

  “Is that all?” he asked again.

  Nora’s tongue slipped out slowly, sliding across her bottom lip and wetting it. She didn’t answer, just lifted both her arms in the air. Grabbing the hem of her shirt, he slowly pulled it up, letting his fingers glide across her smooth skin the entire way. He carefully brought it over her injured hand, making sure not to snag it on the bandages, then he tossed it on the floor next to her jeans.

  This time, he couldn’t refrain from looking down, but the moment he did, Nora started laughing. She was still wearing her red-and-green Tacos & Ta-Tas uniform underneath her clothes.

  “Not the uniform!” Kane started laughing, too. Turning back to the front door, he locked it and slid the chain across. Nora was already walking toward the bedroom, her hands covering herself.

  “I totally forgot I was still wearing this thing,” she joked as they entered the bedroom. “I completely killed the moment.”

  Only a step behind her, Kane reached forward and pulled the strings on the back of the bikini top. “Only if you keep this thing on.”

  Nora held her arms over her chest, trying to keep the fabric covering her breasts, despite the fact that it was now untied. “Kane, I know I just did a whole semi-sexy, lead-you-into-the-bedroom kind of thing, but I just realized I’ve been working in this thing all day. I could really use a shower.”

  Kane pushed her hair behind her shoulder, then lowered his mouth to her neck as her head fell back and she let him in. Trailing soft kisses from her collarbone up to her jaw, he whispered into her ear. “There’s nothing semi-sexy about you, Nora. Don’t you know that?”

  She shivered, and her breathing became more shallow.

  “I could use a shower, too,” he told her.

  Her eyes flashed to his, widening as she picked up his not-so-subtle hint. She nodded. Her smile grew slowly, and she led him to the bathroom. Watching her lean into the shower stall to turn on the water, then test the temperature with her hand, he enjoyed the view of her backside. The small shower would be a tight squeeze for the two of them, but they’d make do.

  He didn’t mind at all.

  “You’re still wearing all your clothes.” She pointed to his shirt after she’d determined the water was ready. “That doesn’t really seem fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair, kitty,” he teased. He obligingly pulled his shirt up over his head. Her eyes were on his chest and abs, and he couldn’t help but flex slightly to show off. The blush spreading in her cheeks told him she liked what she saw.

  Next, he slowly slid his pants down his legs, dropping them at his ankles and stepping out of them. He hadn’t been wearing anything under his pants, so he was now completely naked in front of her. He was already hard; he had been pretty much since Nora had asked him to stay. Her wide eyes were pointed south as she gulped, then looked up at him. She seemed nervous, which he found funny since this wasn’t their first time.

  He’d ease her fears, because tonight would be about her.

  Kane walked over to Nora and grabbed the top of her green short-shorts, which were honestly more like bikini bottoms than shorts. He pushed them down her legs, lowering his body to move down with them. Leaning in, he lightly trailed kisses down her abdomen, over her hips, and then down the inside of her thighs. She swayed slightly, so he gripped the outside of her thighs with his hands to keep her from falling over.

  When her shorts hit the floor, he helped her step out of them and made his way back up, his hands touching everything in between until he held the back of her neck and pulled her face to his. After what seemed like way too long, their lips touched or, more accurately, crashed together.

  He kissed her like he missed her…missed her lips, her touch, her tongue.

  Because he did.

  She wrapped her arms around his torso, holding tightly as she kissed him back with just as much fervor. Kane moved his hands from her face to her neck and down to her waist. Scooping beneath her bottom, he lifted her against him, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  “Wait, wait,” she breathed. “I’ve never done it in, um, water. What about protection?”

  “I just got tested for the championships. I’m a hundred percent clean,” Kane told her. “Are you on birth control?”

  Nora nodded. “Yeah, and I was tested a few months ago. I’m clean. You’re the only one I’ve been with since.”

  He really liked that answer. Something about the way she said it made him feel possessive, like she was his. Her body. Her sex. His.

  “Then we could go without, if you want,” Kane said, trying to sound as unbiased as possible, even though he definitely wanted to feel her on him in every possible way.

  Nora nodded again. “I definitely want that.”

  Excitement rushing through him at both the prospect of being with her and at how eager she was to be with him, Kane kissed her…hard. He stepped into the shower and under the warm water with her legs still wrapped around him. He took care to keep her injured arm out of the way of the water, even though she was, technically, wearing a waterproof brace. She slid down, her feet finding the tile beneath them as he grabbed a pink bottle of shampoo from a small corner shelf.

  Nora’s smile was small, timid, as she dipped her head back into the stream of water, soaking her curls. The water trailed down the rest of her body, and Kane took a second just to watch. Her body was amazing—tiny in some places, large in others. It was curvy and small, swollen and sweet. He’d never met a woman who could so effortlessly look as lovely as Nora did.

  Squeezing a dollop of shampoo into his hand, he motioned for her to turn around so her back was facing him and the water was hitting her chest. He rubbed his hands together to create a thick lather, then carefully slid them through her blond curls, which were straightening with the weight of the water. Nora moaned as he gently massaged her scalp and worked the fragrant shampoo into her hair. Once he was done, he reached around her to rinse his hands in the shower spray.

  She slipped her head under the stream, rinsing the shampoo away as he grabbed a bottle of shower gel from the shelf. Nora held out her hand, and he pumped a dollop into her palm, then did the same to himself. Instead of washing herself, she spread the gel on his chest and worked her hands over his skin. He watched her for a moment, then did the same, his fingers splayed over her shoulders, then traveling south. They lathered and rinsed every inch of each other, and her skin felt like it was on fire as his fingertips slid over the most sensitive parts of her.

  Stepping back under the water, she let the stream remove all the soap from her body while he did the same behind her. She leaned back against his chest, and his soap-free hands trailed down her stomach to between her legs.

  When he pushed one knee between her thighs, Nora spread her legs farther apart; he soon found the sensitive bundle of nerves he was looking for. The water slammed onto her chest, splashing l
ightly over her shoulder and against his face. Her injured hand rested up and away from the water as her other hand clutched his forearm, as if unsure whether to stop his hand or urge it to keep going. She panted as his fingers teased her.

  He rubbed small circles, alternating between soft and firm pressure as she allowed some of her weight to rest against his leg, which was still between her thighs. She couldn’t help but move her hips, and he loved the feeling of her rocking back and forth against his member, which stood firm against her bottom. Her neck was an invitation to him, and he kissed, sucked, and nibbled from her shoulder to her ear, until she began shaking against him. Moving his hand farther south, he pressed his palm against her clit in a fast, pulsing motion as one finger slipped inside her.

  Nora moaned and pushed her head back into his chest as she shuddered and came around his hand, tightening her thighs around his leg as the rest of her throbbed and trembled.

  When she began to calm down from her orgasm, Kane grabbed her by the waist. As they were chest to chest in the small shower stall, he rotated them so the water was pelting against his back and her back was pressed against the tile wall.

  Still panting, she wore an expression of pure bliss. He wanted more.

  Reaching for one of her legs, he hooked her knee and lifted it around his waist. She was weak and spent, but eagerly clung to him as she stood on one foot and wrapped her other leg around him. Lowering himself just enough to find her entrance, he pressed against her core. She gasped, and, with every inch, her eyes went from half closed and content to wide and excited.

  Holding her hips tightly, he reveled at how complete he felt inside her.

  She kissed him, their tongues tangling as he thrust in and out of her with long, powerful strokes. Nora clung to his shoulders, holding herself up. He could feel her entire body shake when he filled her. Something about this woman drove him wild with need, and he didn’t want it ever to end.