Page 36 of His Forbidden Kiss

CHAPTER33

Kim had about had it with all the testosterone. It was bad enough her brother was acting like an idiot. Now her dad was grilling her as well. He’d paused long enough to confirm no one downstairs was missing any limbs, then started in. “Now, finish explaining to me how you and Justin are moving in together.”

“It does seem rather fast, honey.” Her mom didn’t look upset, just concerned.

She understood that to them it might seem that way. “It’s been seventeen years.”

“You haven’t been dating for seventeen years,” her father said.

“No, Dad. But we’ve known each other. It’s not like he’s a stranger.”

Her father stared at her for a long moment. “I still think you should wait.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but her attention was drawn to Justin and Mark coming into the room. Justin’s lip was busted, the area around it already swelling.

Kim narrowed her eyes at her brother and crossed the room to Justin. She skimmed her fingers over his face before turning toward her brother. “Can’t you manage to talk without using your fists?”

Mark didn’t seem overly concerned with her chastisement. “He’s lucky I didn’t do more than that.”

She blew out a frustrated breath. “Unbelievable.”

Justin cupped the side of her face, then rested his hand on her shoulder before addressing her parents. “I know our news caught you all off guard, but it’s not going to change how we feel.”

Her mom walked over to place a hand on Justin’s arm. “It’s not the fact that you’re dating.” Her mom paused. “I mean, we’re a little surprised, but it’s the moving in together. That’s a big step.”

“Yes, it is.”

No one said anything as that hung in the air for several long moments. It was her dad who broke the silence. He looked Kim in the eyes. “I don’t like it. I wish you’d wait. For another year at least. But you’re an adult, and I can’t stop you.”

“Dad, we’ve waited too long already,” Kim said.

Justin gave her shoulders a squeeze, then looked at Davis. “I’ll take care of her. I promise you.”

Her dad lowered himself into his chair, propping his crutches against the wall behind him. “You’d better. I won’t be using these damn things forever.”

“Understood, sir.”

Davis Langley nodded once, then turned to his wife. “Do you have an ice pack or something for Justin’s lip? Looks like a nasty cut he’s got there.” Then he scooped up a heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes and deposited them onto his plate as if they’d been discussing the weather.

Her mom retrieved an ice pack from the freezer and wrapped it in a towel before handing it to Justin. He winced as he pressed it against his face. Kim didn’t miss her brother’s smirk.

Everyone took a seat around the table and for a while, the only sound was the scraping of dishes as food was piled on plates. Justin sat between her and her mom, which was the safest place at the table for him. Kim still didn’t trust the men in her family to behave themselves.

Eventually, her mom approached the elephant in the room again. “I don’t want any more fighting.” She glared at her son and husband. “But when are you two planning to move in together?”

Kim met Justin’s gaze before answering her mother’s question. “I’ve already begun moving some of my things, but there’s not a huge rush. I have the apartment until the end of next month.”

“That’s where you were the night of Dad’s accident,” Mark said. “You two were together.” He paused, seeming to process the information he now knew, then narrowed his eyes at Justin. “She was the woman.”

She knew exactly what was going through her brother’s mind. The discarded dress she’d left on Justin’s living room floor painted a pretty good picture of the situation. Justin answered her brother, but not in the way she’d thought. “Of course she was. I don’t cheat. Kim’s the only woman I’ve dated since we started seeing each other four months ago.”

Kim looked over at him and hoped she didn’t look as surprised as she felt at the news. She hadn’t been with anyone since that first night, but she hadn’t known if he had. Their first night had been a no strings type deal. They’d made no commitments. No promises. But she couldn’t deny she liked this new information.

Mark stabbed a piece of meat on his plate and shoved it into his mouth. She guessed that was better than him leaping over the table to take yet another shot at Justin.

“I’m not going to lie,” her father said. “This is going to take some getting used to.” He looked at Justin. “It’s not that I don’t like you. Hell, you’ve been like a second son to us, but I’ve never gotten a hint from either of you before tonight that you saw each other this way.”

Justin placed a hand on her knee under the table. “We were really good at hiding it.”

Her mom speared a carrot. “What I don’t understand is why.” She waved her fork in the air. “I mean, obviously these two aren’t thrilled about it, but if you both felt this way for so long...”

She let that trail off, obviously expecting an answer. Kim met her mother’s gaze. “I didn’t know he saw me as anything more than Mark’s sister. I thought my feelings were one-sided.” Kim glanced over at Justin. “We both did.”

Belinda shook her head. “You’re not exactly like any of Kim’s previous boyfriends.”

Justin snorted, then winced. He was trying to eat, but she could tell it hurt to chew. He was eating more of the mashed potatoes than anything else.

“No, he’s not, but that’s a good thing. There’s a reason why my other relationships didn’t work out.” She wasn’t going to mention that the main reason they didn’t work out was because she’d realized she was a submissive and she needed a man who could take control in the bedroom. That was the type of information her mother didn’t need.

Conversation was stark for the rest of the meal. Her brother kept sending glares across the table at Justin, while her dad appeared extremely interested in the food on his plate. It was one of the strangest family dinners they’d ever had.

Kim breathed a sigh of relief when her dad asked Mark to help him with something in the garage. Normally, Justin would have gone with them, but he stayed back. She couldn’t blame him. He’d had a rough few days with the men of her family.

“Do you need some help cleaning up?” Justin asked her mother.

“No, but thank you for asking. I’ve got it. There isn’t much to clean up in any case.” She inspected his face. “You should keep putting ice on that throughout the night to keep the swelling down.” She smiled. “Maybe Kim can help you with that.”

“You’re okay with this? Us being together?” Justin asked.

“As long as you make my girl happy, I’m happy.” Belinda took hold of his free hand. “Be good to her.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He tried to smile and winced again.

Kim gave her mom a hug. “Thanks, Mom. For everything.”

“You’re very welcome, honey.” Belinda released her daughter and took a step back. “Now go home and take care of your man. He needs your attention more than I do tonight.”

“Do you think it’s safe to say goodbye to Dad?” Kim asked, eyeing the door that led to the garage.

“I think maybe you should give your dad a day or two to adjust.”

After giving her mom another hug, Kim and Justin retrieved their coats and made their way to the car. “Do you want me to drive?” Kim asked.

He opened the passenger door and motioned for her to get inside. “I’m not hurt that bad.”

Kim shook her head and waited until he got behind the wheel. “You don’t have to be all macho with me. I know it hurts. I saw you wincing at dinner.”

The engine purred to life, and he pulled away from the curb. “I’ve had worse.”

“Still. He shouldn’t have hit you.” She paused. “Again.”

“He’s your brother.” Justin shrugged. “It could have been worse.”

“You keep saying that.”

He glanced over at her, then pulled away from the curb. “Because it’s true.”

She thought about that for a moment. While she hated to admit it, Justin was probably right. “He needs to get over it.”

Justin reached for her hand and tucked it against his thigh. “It doesn’t matter.”

Kim wasn’t sure she agreed with him. If her brother tried to deck Justin every time they saw each other, it would make family gatherings impossible. She didn’t want that. She wanted her family—all her family—to accept her decision. Was that so much to ask?

At least her mom seemed to be in their corner.

The next couple days passed with no word from Mark or Davis. Kim had spoken to her mom, but the two Langley men were staying silent. Justin supposed that was better than the alternative.

The bruising on his face was going down. He still had a busted lip, which meant he’d been unable to really kiss Kim...or suck on her nipples the way he wanted. It was making him cranky.

It was Friday evening, and he was more than ready to head to the club. He needed to put everything else out of his head for a while and be Kim’s Dom.

They were halfway to the vehicle when they noticed Mark’s car parked behind them. Justin blew out a loud breath. “We don’t need this tonight.”

Kim placed her hand on his chest. “Maybe it’s a good thing.”

Mark got out of the car and strode toward them. Justin wrapped his arm around Kim’s waist. Luckily, it wasn’t too cold out. He hadn’t planned for them to be outside for long and the outfit he’d chosen for Kim to wear wasn’t exactly made for warmth.

Stopping a few feet from them, Mark shoved his hands in his pockets. “You’re heading out.”

It wasn’t said as a question, but Justin answered anyway. “We are.”

Mark nodded.

When he didn’t say anything more, Justin grew impatient. “Was there a reason you stopped by?”

“Mom says I need to apologize.” Mark ran a hand over the top of his head, then looked at Kim. “She thinks I was out of line thinking I have a say in who you can date. But she doesn’t understand everything and it’s not the kind of thing I want her to know.”

Justin felt Kim stiffen in his arms. “My relationships are none of your business.”

“You’re not submissive, Kim.” His voice was pleading. “You don’t know some of the things he’d done to women he’s...” Mark paused. “Played with.”

“I don’t need to know what he’s done with other women. All I care about is what’s happening now and what we do together.”

Mark shook his head. “That’s not how it works.”

“What do you mean that’s not how it works?” she asked.

Her brother pulled at his hair, something he only did when he was really frustrated. “He’s the one in control. He gets to decide.”

Justin wanted to step in, but he knew this had to come from Kim. He could talk until he was blue in the face—tell Mark that all play was negotiated ahead of time—but he doubted his friend would believe him.

“No,” she said. “I get to decide.”

Mark shook his head and opened his mouth to argue, but Kim didn’t let him get a word in.

“Justin gets to decide when we do things, but he doesn’t do anything I haven’t said is okay. I’ve talked more about sex with Justin than I have with any other man I’ve dated. He knows what I like, what I don’t like, and what I’d like to try.”

Her brother scrunched up his nose when she mentioned sex, but that was his only reaction to what she’d said.

Kim lowered her voice and looked her brother in the eye. “Justin’s who I want to be with, and you need to respect my decision.”

“And if I can’t?” Mark asked.

“Then you need to at least keep your opinions to yourself.” Kim glanced up at Justin, then back at her brother. “And stop hitting people.”

Mark sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. It’s not my decision. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you. You’re my little sister.”

Kim walked over to her brother, and Justin flexed his fist before dropping it to his side. “While I appreciate that you want to protect me, you don’t have to protect me from Justin.”

He glanced between them. “I’ll try to”—he paused—“keep that in mind.”

Going up on her tiptoes, she circled her arms around her brother’s neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

He returned the embrace. “I still don’t like it, though.”

Kim chuckled. “You don’t have to like it. Just keep your mouth shut about it.”

Mark snorted, then he ran his hands along her back. “Are you wearing anything under that coat?”

She took a step back and raised a sassy eyebrow at him. “You sure you want to know the answer to that question?”

Her brother paled and Justin couldn’t help but grin when Mark threw his hands up in surrender. “No. Definitely not.”

“Good answer,” she said.

Mark looked up at Justin. Their gazes held for a long moment, then Mark nodded. “I’m gonna head out.”

“Good night.” Kim smiled and waved.

Walking up behind her, Justin placed a hand on her hip. “Come on. Let’s get you in the car. I think we’ve tortured your brother enough for one night.”

She giggled but let him lead her to the car. “I couldn’t help it. His holier than thou attitude is getting old.”

“I can’t disagree, but taunting him probably isn’t going to give us the end result we want.”

“True.”

They arrived at the club twenty minutes later, having been waylaid in some lingering downtown traffic. It was a nice night for January, and people were taking advantage. That also meant the club was likely to be busy.

Justin parked the car in the small parking lot next to the club and walked around to the passenger side to help Kim. When she placed her boots on the ground and stood, it was like a wet dream come to life. The black boots came up over her knee, and all he could think about when he saw those four-inch heels were how they tilted her ass into the perfect position for him to pound into her.

Kim took his hand, allowing him to help her to her feet, giving him a knowing smile. She knew exactly what he was thinking. That probably had something to do with the fact that he’d pulled her against his crotch before they left and mentioned how much he liked her new boots.

As he removed his keycard from his pocket, his fingers brushed against the other item he had tucked inside. Kim’s collar. He’d thought about presenting it to her at home, but the club had been where everything started for them. It was where she’d first seen him as a Dom and decided to approach him. And it was where they’d both decided to give a relationship between them a go. It seemed fitting to being the next stage of their D/s relationship there as well.

After leaving their coats with Bridget, they headed into the club. Justin took a quick look around and found Ali exactly where he expected her to be.

He placed his hand on Kim’s lower back and steered her in Ali’s direction. Her friend saw her and smiled. “I wasn’t sure if you two would be here tonight with the moving and all.”

Justin motioned for Kim to take a seat next to her friend. “I’ll leave Kim to fill you in. I’m going to get us some drinks.”

“So?” Ali asked as he turned away and weaved his way to the bar. He figured he’d give them a few minutes alone. Since he and Kim had gotten together, she and Ali hadn’t had much girl time. He was going to have to rectify that.

Brandon greeted him with a smile. “I heard you checked out Garrett’s cabin last weekend.”

“Word travels fast.” Justin chuckled.

“I may have been around when you called Katrina for Garrett’s number.”

Justin raised an eyebrow.

Brandon waved a dismissive hand. “Nothing like that. We were going over ordering. As great as Katrina is, she’s not my type.”

The bartender was a Dominant. Justin had never seen him bottom for anyone. And in the two years he’d been coming to the club, he’d never known Mistress Katrina to bottom for anyone either. The image of the two of them trying to play together was almost comical. All he could picture was each of them trying to top the other.

Justin shook his head and chuckled. “No, she isn’t.”

Brandon grinned. “So what can I get you”—he glanced behind Justin toward the couch where Kim and Ali had their heads together—“and your lady this evening?”

“Two waters for now.”

Within seconds, Brandon placed two bottles of water onto the polished wood.

Justin handed over his membership card, and after a quick swipe, he thanked Brandon and made his way back to Kim. He placed the waters on the table beside the couch, sat down next to Kim, promptly picked her up, and settled her on his lap. “How are you doing tonight, Ali?”

She smiled. “Not as good as you two.”

Reaching for their waters, he handed one to Kim. “No argument there.”

He made himself comfortable and listened while Kim and Ali continued to talk, content to hold her for a while. As the night wore on, however, he couldn’t keep himself from touching her. He ran his hand up her thigh and under the hem of her skirt. It was blue tonight. Midnight blue to match the corset he’d picked out. He wanted to finger her, but he knew she wasn’t ready for that.

Leaning in, he brought his lips to her ear. At the same time, he skimmed his fingers along the inside of her thigh. “Tell Ali you’ll talk to her later.”

Kim’s breath hitched, and then she licked her lips. “I’ll talk to you later, Ali.”

Not waiting, Justin stood, bringing Kim with him. He steadied her on her feet, making sure she was stable, then took hold of her hand as he led her up the stairs to the second floor.

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