Second Snowfall (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 2) Page 8

  “Geez, I’m such an idiot. Let me take you back to your room before you freeze.”

  “I have some hot chocolate in my room, want to come up?” I asked, knowing the double meaning behind my words.

  Kingsley looked me deep in the eyes for a moment, as if he were trying to decipher if I really meant what he hoped I did. He leaned down and gave me another deep kiss. “I’d love to come up.”

  Hand in hand, we walked up to my dorm room and I paused a second before opening the door. “Would it be terrible if I asked you to wait outside for a minute? I wasn’t expecting this, so my room is a little messy.”

  “Sure, I’ll just run to the bathroom real quick and then knock on the door. How’s that?”

  “Do you want me to take your bag with me? You don’t need to take it with you to the bathroom.”

  He pulled the bag a little higher on his shoulder and gripped the handle tighter. “Not that I don’t trust you, because I do, but…” He stopped for a minute and looked up at the ceiling, shifting his weight back and forth. “I don’t know. It’s this weird thing. I just like having my bag with me.”

  “That’s fine,” I said, and pulled him to me, placing a big kiss on his lips.

  When I let go, Kingsley walked off to the bathroom and I rushed into my room. Truth be told, I wasn’t a messy person. I had some dirty clothes next to the hamper that I quickly tossed away, and I made the bed. Yeah, it was probably going to get all mussed in a minute but it would look nice when he walked in.

  As I took my coat off and hung it up on the back of the door, I quickly scanned the room for any embarrassing items. My eyes quickly fell on my duck collection. I liked to buy little duck statues whenever I went to a new city or state. I had quite the collection. Basically, I kept mom-and-pop tourist and knickknack shops in business.

  Unfortunately, my mother had taken the duck collection to a whole new level. Whenever she went to a new city or state, she bought me a stuffed duck. I grabbed the stuffed animals and tossed them in the closet, cursing myself for not tossing them in my trunk. I was eighteen, why were there stuffed animals in my room? Probably because there was no man taking up that side of the bed, I thought to myself.

  Then I checked my panties. No, I wasn’t planning to have sex but I wanted to see which ones I was wearing. Just because I wasn’t ready to go all the way didn’t mean there wasn’t a chance he’d see them. Besides, Violet always told me to work my best asset, and she definitely meant asset.

  The yellow and black polka dot hipsters were cute but definitely not sexy. I almost changed, but then decided to keep them on. It wasn’t like I had any sexy lingerie. They would have to do. Then I checked what bra I had on. It was just a plain black one. He was almost definitely going to see that, and when I thought about it, I didn’t mind. Black was supposed to be a sexy color, right?

  I decided to stop second guessing everything before Kingsley came back and I was doing something embarrassing like falling over as I tried to pull my skinny jeans back up.

  Instead, I turned to start mixing the hot chocolate when I heard a knock on the door. With my heart trying to pound out of my chest, I opened the door to see the best-looking man I had ever laid eyes on giving me bedroom eyes. “Can I come in?”

  Chapter 7

  I thought for a second. Did I really want him to come in? There was no telling what would happen if he did, and I wasn’t sure what that would mean for me or for us. Ignoring the bad feeling he’d given me earlier, I nodded and he walked in.

  “I can’t believe how much stuff you managed to fit in this room. It all looks great,” Kingsley complimented as he looked around.

  “Thanks, I had to take a bunch of it to my car because I was out of floor space.”

  “Well, if you ever need to move anything, I’d be happy to help. I’ve got the muscle you need.” He flexed and I realized his coat was still on.

  “Oh, can I take you coat?” I asked, sticking my hand out.

  “Sure. I’m glad you decided to let me stay. I saw the wheels turning in your head when you opened the door. You have this adorable look on your face whenever you seem to be considering something.” He handed his coat to me and I quickly hung it up next to mine.

  But now I had to turn around and face him. I looked down, embarrassed that he seemed to be able to read me so easily and I still questioned him. “I’m sorry, I just—”

  “No.” He put a finger on my lips to silence me. “Don’t apologize. I’m glad you’re taking this seriously. It’s not just hooking up for me. If I wanted that, it would only be too easy, and I definitely wouldn’t have to wine and dine her. I save that for girls I could be serious about.”

  I smiled up at him and bit my lip slightly.

  “You look so sexy when you do that,” he whispered as he placed a hand gently on my cheek. “That insecure lip biting thing. It drives me crazy.” He placed his thumb on my bottom lip and grazed it softly. “It reminds me of when you nibbled on my lip last night.”

  I took a deep breath and stepped forward, meeting him the rest of the way. I remembered my plan to be a bit bolder and looked up at him. “I feel like you need another memory.”

  We kissed, and Kingsley ran his fingers through my hair and massaged my scalp. I melted into him as I wrapped my arms around his neck. The kiss deepened as I opened my mouth and he dove in. He placed his hand on my lower back and pushed me closer to him, eliminating any remaining space between us.

  He broke the kiss and pulled my hair, forcing my head up so I was now looking at the ceiling and he had full access to my neck. Kingsley placed a trail of kisses from my earlobe down to my neck. He shifted the hand on my back to my side and slowly started inching it up toward my breasts. But he was moving painfully slow.

  I pushed my chest out, hoping he’d take the hint, I needed to have him feel me. However, he didn’t touch me where I was begging him to. Instead, he leaned down slightly and picked me up. In three short steps, he was at the bed and placing me down gently.

  “I think we’ll be more comfortable here, don’t you? I plan on doing this for a lot longer and I’d hate for you to get tired.” He nuzzled my neck and I tried to remember how to talk.

  My pulse was racing and my hands were shaking a little as I reached out to hold the back of his neck. I pulled him into a kiss before I could change my mind. Following my lead, Kingsley kissed me hard and brought his hand, almost immediately, to my breast. He groped lightly and then reached for my nipple.

  His fingers squeezed gently and I broke the kiss to let out a moan.

  “If you like that, I think you’ll like this even better.” He slid his hand under my shirt, but still over my bra, and lightly traced the skin right above the lace fabric.

  His fingers were warm and their heat, like earlier, seemed to flow through me, heating up body parts I didn’t know were cold in the first place. I broke the kiss and tried to breathe as he slightly tugged on my nipple. But my breaths came out ragged and quickly turned to a moan as Kingsley took this opportunity to suckle at my collarbone. My head fell back and a loud purr came out before I could stop it. I shut my mouth quickly, embarrassed at the sounds coming out of me.

  But then Kingsley looked at me and the fire in his eyes was real. He sat up, quickly yanking his sweater and then t-shirt off, giving me the perfect view of his six-pack abs, broad shoulders, muscular pecs, and the light trail of hair that went down to the band of his jeans.

  I reached up and felt his taut muscles. Before I realized what was happening, I leaned forward and licked between his pecs. Then I reached out and traced the ripples of muscles roughly with my nails. They felt amazing and I was even more turned on. The skin to skin contact wasn’t enough. I sat up on my knees and slowly eased my shirt off. However, I left my camisole on. I didn’t feel confident enough for him to see me shirtless. Earlier, I thought I’d be okay with it, but in the moment, it was intimidating.

  “Don’t feel you need to cover up for me. I already think you’re the sex
iest girl I’ve ever kissed.” He reached out and slowly touched the bottom of my shirt.

  I stopped him. It was a reflex, and he jerked his hand away. “Relax, Annabelle,” he murmured in my ear before kissing just below my earlobe.

  I closed my eyes tight and took a deep breath, waiting for him to try again. I felt a chill as he raised the hem over my stomach and then my chest.

  “Put your hands up, babe,” he whispered eagerly.

  I squeezed my eyes even tighter but did as he asked. The shirt gradually slid up my arms until I felt it pass over my fingertips. I hadn’t opened my eyes, so it was a surprise when Kingsley kissed my lips.

  “See? You’re even more beautiful now.”

  I bit my lip again, knowing he liked it, and slid my hands up his torso and around his neck. “I feel the same way about you.”

  We kissed and he pushed me forward lightly so that he was laying on top of me. It was exhilarating as his hands slid up my naked torso and onto my breasts again. He kissed my neck, but this time he didn’t stop at my collarbone. Kingsley continued kissing down my chest and stopped at the top of my bra, where he placed soft kisses along the curve.

  I ran my fingers through his hair and pulled gently. Kingsley froze and then looked up at me. “Careful with the hair pulling, it turns me into a beast and I can’t control what happens. Are you prepared for that?”

  My eyes grew wide and my mouth went completely dry. I was kind of intrigued to see what he meant by a beast. For a second, I listened to his warning. Kingsley resumed kissing my breast. It felt amazing and empowered me. I tugged on his hair again, harder this time.

  “You asked for it.” He grabbed me, pulling me into a seated position. Then he reached behind my back and unhooked the bra on his first try. I was impressed—I couldn’t even do that. But then all breath left my body as he grabbed one boob and began sucking on the nipple of the other one.

  I forced my breathing to come in short bursts as I was growing lightheaded. Though it didn’t seem to get any better as he started to twist my nipple slightly between two fingers. I grew more and more aroused, loving this side of him.

  “Kingsley,” I whimpered as I lifted my hips up to meet his.

  He reached his free hand down to the one spot that, so far, I was the only one to explore. He began to rub the inside of my thigh and progressively inched higher. Suddenly, he was rubbing at my center and I was trying to shift my legs to get some kind of release but it wasn’t coming.

  Kinsley moved to unbutton my pants and I instinctively swatted his hand away. I smiled meekly up at him and tried not to let my embarrassment show. But I felt the blush creep up my neck and settle into my cheeks. I hid my face behind my hands, completely humiliated at my reaction.

  “I’m just not ready for that quite yet,” I replied meekly, hoping he wouldn’t be upset. He was probably used to a whole lot more with a girl. After all, I had invited him up to my room. What girl brought a guy to her room and then swatted his hand away when he tried to please her?

  But Kingsley didn’t jump off the bed in a huff. He reached for my chin and tilted my head up so I was looking in his eyes. “I’ll be here when you’re ready. I’m in no rush.”

  I grinned at him and gave him a light kiss. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Of course, but I’m not quite ready to leave yet. Can I just stay here and hold you for a bit? Maybe we can watch a movie or something?

  “Yes, I’d really like that. Um, do you still want that hot chocolate? I actually made some that I can put back in my microwave.” I pointed to my desk where the mugs were sitting.

  “Sounds good. Why don’t you handle the drinks, and I’ll find a movie. There’s gotta be something on that I like.”

  We fell asleep not long into the action movie Kingsley swore I’d love. I didn’t really like it, but it was worth it to be lying in his arms. Kingsley had fallen asleep first and I thought about waking him. But it was so warm and cozy lying against him that I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I skipped my nightly skin care routine and closed my eyes. The rhythm of his breathing soon lulled me into a deep sleep.

  It was a good thing my alarm was programmed to wake me up at seven every day, because I would have completely forgotten to set it. As the annoying blaring woke the two of us up, I reached over Kingsley to my nightstand and quickly turned it off.

  I looked at him and smiled. “Good morning, sunshine,” I whispered, and gave him a kiss.

  “Mhmm, that’s a nice way to wake up.” He brushed his fingers against my face and then kissed the tip of my nose. “All right, I have to head back to my dorm to get ready for my first class, but will I see you later?”

  “Of course.”

  Kingsley put his shirt back on and I walked him to the door. “Bye, babe,” he said, and gave me another kiss.

  “Bye.” I waved as he walked down the hall.

  “You little hussy.”

  I whipped around and saw Violet walking out of the bathroom. “Oh my god! You had to be coming back from Berneli’s now?” I groaned and gave her a big embarrassed smile. “Come in, I’ll let you know what happened. I know you’re dying to know.”

  She nodded and followed me in. I started to pick my clothes out and she sat at the desk chair. “So, what happened?”

  “Okay, he kissed me goodbye and it was cold. So I just invited him up to my room for hot chocolate. But that got cold when we were making out on my bed.”

  “Good thing I sat in the chair and not your bed.”

  “Oh, stop, nothing happened. I did take my shirt off, but that’s it.”

  “How was Kingsley with going slow? He kind of strikes me as someone who likes to get a little action.”

  “That’s what I thought too, but he was great. He said he’d be ready whenever I was. Then he asked if we could watch a movie and cuddle.”

  “Seriously? He did not strike me as a cuddler.” She chuckled.

  “Well, he is a great cuddler. I think it’s the muscles.” I posed like he had earlier, making her laugh.

  “Yeah, he is pretty jacked. I’m happy for you. I’ll leave you alone so you can get ready for class,” she said, standing up and heading to the door.

  ***

  I walked around on a cloud the rest of that day. It didn’t matter that my face was a little dried out since I missed my moisturizing routine, or that I was a few minutes late to class. Nothing could take the smile off my face, especially when Kingsley showed up at my door that night with Chinese food and another movie.

  He stayed the night again, and I slept soundly. We kissed but it didn’t go any further than that. Kingsley insisted he just wanted to be with me at whatever level I was comfortable with. And as he fell asleep, Kingsley pulled me against his chest and didn’t let me go until we woke up the next morning. That was definitely something I wanted to get used to.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” Kingsley whispered, nuzzling against my hair. He gave me a little kiss and then crawled out of bed.

  “I need to run and get ready for class. Maybe next time I’ll pack a bag so we can spend a little more time together in the morning.” He tossed his shirt back on and then his coat.

  “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  “Great. Will I see you later?”

  “No, I’m going over to Christie’s tonight to bake for the fundraiser.”

  “That’s all right. I’ll probably check and see if the station needs me to pick up another shift. Are you sure we can’t hang out before you go? I’d love to have dinner or something.” He sat back down on the bed and gave me a kiss.

  “I want to, but I just don’t think I have time today. My last class is at four, but they’re calling for snow, so I want to try to leave as early as possible. I can drive in snow but I’d prefer not to.”

  He quickly got up, grabbed his jacket, and walked to the door. Before leaving, he turned to look at me. “Don’t worry about it. I probably have things I need to do too. Talk to you later.”

&n
bsp; I swallowed hard, feeling guilty. I didn’t mean to reject him. Throwing my robe on, I ran after him, just catching him before he went outside. “Kingsley, maybe if you aren’t at a fire, you could come over when we get back?” I looked at him hopefully, placing a hand on his chest.

  His heart rate slowed as he looked down at me. “Actually, that sounds great. Let me know when you guys get back to campus and I’ll make sure I’m here.” Then he grabbed my ass through my robe, pulling me toward him. “I definitely want to see you in these little shorts again.”

  I pushed at his chest, trying to get out of his grasp, but he held me tight. Kingsley raised his eyebrows at me suggestively and kissed me. I held onto his jacket, using it to keep me upright as his hand slid under my robe and connected with the bare cheek hanging out of my short shorts.

  “All right,” Kingsley said, finally pulling away from me. “Another minute and I won’t leave. I’ll see you later.” He tapped my nose and headed out the door.

  Grinning from ear to ear, I walked to Violet’s door. Since she’d been threatened, she hadn’t been staying with Berneli. At first, I was a little worried I’d hear her screaming, but so far, it all seemed good. Lola and her boyfriend were apparently on the outs again so she’d been spending most nights in her bed

  “Why are you looking so chipper?” She rubbed her eyes when she opened her door.

  “It’s a nice day out, why not enjoy it?”

  “Kingsley stayed over last night, right?”

  “Obviously. So when do you want to head over to Christie’s? I want to try to go right after class.”

  “Yeah, yeah, works for me. I’ll see you later.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll meet you at my car at around four fifteen.”

  I beelined it to the bathroom for a shower, a little sad I wouldn’t smell like Kingsley anymore.

  ***

  My last class ended early so I texted Violet and Christie to see if they were both ready. Christie said she had just gotten back from the store with the baking supplies so she was free whenever. Violet said she would be at my car in a few.