Page 18 of Stalked By the Assistant Coach
Fuck all that. She wants to be bred, you idiot! a feral voice shouted inside my head. I needed to claim her so badly I felt it in my goddamn teeth. The need to bite her. Mark her. Breed her.
“I usually clean up when you cook,” she said, and I didn’t have to have my eyes on her to know she was smiling. I could hear it in her voice. God, why did everything she did make me ache with need?
“You need to reserve your energy.” I had no idea how the hell I said the words so damn calmly. When the sink was clear, I switched the faucet off and turned to look at my sweet ladybug.
“Reserve my energy?” Her face was almost beet red. We both knew she was full of it. Kait knew exactly what I meant. Her dark eyes were almost all black, fully dilated as she stared back at me.
I wiped my hands with a kitchen towel before tossing it next to me and leaning against the kitchen counter. I kicked one foot over the other, feigning an air of calmness I didn’t feel. But I knew I would once my hands were on her body.
None of this was unfolding the way I had wanted.
Not even close.
In a perfect world, I would have a bed covered in rose petals and a room filled with candles. All ready to make her scream my name while I worshipped at the altar of her body. It would have been perfect and passionate for the first time we made love. But I had fucked up. I’d waited too long. That illusive perfect moment where everything would be aligned never materialized, but I would be fucking crazy if I let Kait slip through my fingers.
“Stand up, ladybug,” I ordered, my voice almost unrecognizable to my own ears. When she hesitated, my head tilted slightly. “You heard me, bug. Stand up,” I repeated firmly, fully expecting her to run away from me. In the back of my mind, I was worried that at any moment, she would stand and rush out, maybe slap me before she left. But fuck me, I would chase her, and I wouldn’t stop until I caught her.
“Ladybug?” she repeated, and for some reason, she was looking at me in a whole new way.
“It’s your name.”
“No.” She might have shaken her head, but my sweet little bug stood up, doing as I’d asked. My brows bunched as I watched her walk toward me. My hands gripped the counter because if they didn’t, I would be liable to do something crazy like grab her and toss her over my shoulder.
Thankfully, she stopped about five feet from me.
“You don’t call me ladybug. You always just call me bug.” I ran my tongue over my teeth and shook my head. I pulled my sweater over my head and with it my T-shirt.
“Red, what are you—" she gasped, and I knew when her eyes dropped to my chest. I’d never gone shirtless around her, and it was for a reason.
Not when the summer heat was so damn unbearable or in the goddamn pool and the fucking beach when we went on vacation one summer to Puerto Rico. No matter what, I’d always worn a shirt around her.
Right over my heart was a tiny ladybug with cute glasses tatted on my skin, surrounded by roses because she always smelled so damn sweet.
“When did you…” Her voice drifted off to nothing when her eyes locked with mine.
“About a month after we started to work at the high school.”
“What?”
“Come here, Kaitlyn,” I ordered. She licked her lips, leaving the puffy flesh all glossy and tempting. But she didn’t move. She had no idea how her small act of defiance was straining my patience. “You’ve known me for a long time, but we’re about to get to know one another in a whole new way. Just a heads-up and something for you to learn quickly, I don’t like to repeat myself,” I shared in a low tone. When our eyes met, she swallowed hard, but the fear I had expected to stare back at me wasn’t there. If anything, there were a whole lot of curiosity and intrigue there. She took a step forward and then three more. She didn’t stop until she was right in front of me.
If I let go of my hold of the counter, I could have reached out and touched her.
But I didn’t.
Not yet.
As she stared up at me, I felt like a weak man. All I wanted to do was cup her face with my hand and brush my nose against hers while we shared the same air.
“Good girl,” I whispered roughly. I took her hand in mine and brought it up to my lips. With our eyes locked, I kissed the tips before bringing them to my chest. You’ve always been my ladybug, Kait. You’ve always been mine,” I hoarsely muttered. The sound of her breath hitching shot through me.
“I… I always thought…" Her eyes dipped down to the artwork on my chest for a moment before they returned to mine. Her big brown eyes stared at me like she was looking at me for the first time. “I always thought you called me that because I was a bookworm.”
“I call you that because you’re tiny and beautiful and so damn resilient you shock the hell out of me, baby," I didn’t hesitate to lay out for her. “You’re freaking adorable, too." My free hand moved to cup her face before the thick tips of my fingers brushed the bridge of her nose. “And your cute little freckles remind me of the dots on a ladybug.”
“I don’t have freckles.” She giggled softly, but she didn’t pull away. If anything, she leaned into my touch. That small little movement made me feel like a goddamn king.
“You do. Especially in the summer.” I swallowed. "You try to cover them with makeup.” Her lips parted with surprise, and I knew I was walking a dangerous line. Sharing just how much I had noticed about her. Giving in and telling her how closely I watched her. Her hands stroked my chest, and when I lost her gaze, I could feel it like a touch against my skin as she traced the little ladybug on my chest.