Monk by Ivy Black
Chapter Twenty-Two
Monk
My eyes widen in surprise when I open the door and find Kasey standing on my porch. Her arms are folded over her chest defensively, and her eyes are red and puffy. She’s been crying.
“Come in,” I say.
She steps in and as if he can smell her, I hear the tick-tack of Bo’s feet on the hardwood floor, and when he rounds the corner and sees her, he lets out a sharp yelp of joy. Bo turns in a circle then dashes over to her, bumping up against her legs so hard, he throws her off balance.
Kasey laughs and as I shut the door behind her, she drops to her knees and throws her arms around Bo, burying her face in his thick neck. Bo turns his head enough to lick her, but only manages to get her ear, which makes her laugh harder.
Eventually, she stands up and follows me into the living room, Bo staying on her heels. She sits down on the couch and the big dog jumps up and lays his head in her lap, as if sensing she needs some comfort. She idly strokes his head, looking down at him with a small, sad smile on her face.
“He usually doesn’t take to people the way he has with you,” I say.
“He’s a good boy.”
I nod. “He is.”
A moment of silence passes between us and I can see her struggling to keep her emotions in check. She lets out a long breath and looks up at me.
“I’m sorry to bust in on you like this. I just didn’t know where else to go. To be honest, I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Nothing for you to be sorry about. I’m glad you’re here,” I reply.
She gives me a tight smile and nods, an expression of gratitude on her face. Kasey wipes at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Seeing her looking so lost and upset stirs something in me. It’s not just that I feel sorry for her, it’s that I’m enraged at whoever made her feel this way. Part of me wants her to tell me who it is so I can go beat the snot out of them. But I know that won’t help anything right now. On an instinctive level, I know right now, she just needs somebody to listen to her.
“Coffee?” I ask.
“Got anything stiffer?”
I get to my feet and head into the kitchen. Booze is probably the last thing she needs right now, but I’m not going to deny it from her. I grab a bottle of Maker’s Mark and a couple glasses out of the cupboard and head back into the living room.
I take one of the chairs opposite the couch and set the bottle and glasses on the coffee table between us. Bo raises his head and looks at me, so I take one of the biscuits out of the jar on the coffee table and toss it to him. He munches on it happily as I pour out a couple of drinks, then slide one of the glasses over to her. Kasey gives me a thankful smile then takes a long swallow. I watch her face turn a light shade of red as the amber liquid burns its way down her throat.
“So, tell me what’s happening. What’s got you so screwed up right now?” I ask.
She takes another swallow, draining the last of her glass, so I pour her another. Kasey sits back on the couch and Bo drops his head into her lap again. She gives him a soft smile and strokes the fur on his side. She takes a sip of her drink and then launches into her story.
Kasey talks for a solid hour and a couple more glasses of bourbon. She tells me all about her marriage. She tells me all about Spencer. Personally, I think he sounds like a first-grade dick, and if I see him, I’m going to beat him senseless. But when she starts telling me about his ties to the cartel and the events that led her to run back here to Blue Rock, even I’m a bit shocked. She is the last person I will have ever figured to be tangled up with a cartel.
Well, it’s not her. It’s that piece of shit she’s married to, but still. And if I happen to run into him, I am definitely going to knock his dick in the dirt for bringing that kind of shit into her life.
And when she’s done, she looks wrung out. Bo is snoring peacefully in her lap, content and comfortable, but she looks entirely spent. She gives me a watery, wavering smile, but her eyes shimmer with tears I can see she’s fighting to keep from falling.
“So, he’s here? In town?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. All I know is that I need to figure out what I’m going to do by the end of day tomorrow. But if I run, he’s going to turn my dad over to this animal Zavala.”
I’ve had my disagreements with Sheriff Singer over the years, but not even I want to see him turned over to the head of a cartel. I’m not that big of an asshole. And I know enough to know that Kasey’s right, if she runs, her dad is going to pay the price. But I also know that I can’t let her handle this alone. I have to help her.
“We’re going to figure this out, Kasey.”
“I wish I knew how.”
“The first thing you’re going to do is get some rest. You look wrecked.”
“Gee, thanks,” she says, a wry smile on her face.
“You know what I mean.”
A quavering smile touches her lips, and she nods. A moment later, the tears start to fall. She buries her face in her hands and tries to sob quietly, but a choked gasp bursts from her mouth. Bo sits up and whines, leaning his big body against her. Kasey throws her arms around his neck and cries.
I know I have to comfort her, and I want to, but given how things went earlier today, I don’t know that it’s a good idea. It might not be very well received. Instead, I sit here like an idiot, watching my dog giving her the comfort and reassurance she needs. In his defense, he’s pretty good at that. He’s always been a reliable companion and his presence has always brought me some measure of solace. It’s one thing my counselor was right on the money about.
Slowly, Kasey pulls herself together and gives me an awkward laugh. She wipes her eyes and Bo gives her a couple of slobbery kisses that make her laugh even more.
“Sorry,” she says. “It’s been a tough day.”
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.”
“Thank you.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You listened to me. That’s not nothing. You didn’t have to open your door to me.”
I give her a reassuring look. “I’ll always open my door for you, Kasey.”
She looks at me with an expression of sheer gratitude. But there’s something more in her eyes. Prophet’s words echo back into my mind, specifically his mention that Kasey still cares for me. I’d pushed them away and hadn’t believed him then, but as her eyes glisten and she looks at me a lot like she did back in the day, I start to believe him.
Giving my head a shake, I push it all away. This isn’t the time for any of that kind of thing. Right now, the only thing that matters is to get her out of this mess she’s in. Maybe once this is all over, we can explore our feelings for each other, because God knows I have plenty of feelings for her, but until she’s safely extricated from this situation, that’s the only thing we must be focusing on.
“Come on. Let me get you set up in the bedroom. I’d say Bo and I will take the couch, but I have a feeling Bo’s going to want to stay with you tonight. I think he’s coming to like you more than me,” I say as I stand up.
Kasey’s laughter is a little brittle, but it sounds genuine. She gets to her feet and follows me down the hallway. I usher her into the bedroom then go to the closet and pull out a towel, a spare toothbrush, and some other toiletries.
When I walk back into the bedroom, she’s sitting on the edge of the bed, looking like the most lost person in the world. She looks like a woman out in the middle of the ocean, completely adrift, with no land in sight. Kasey quickly snaps out of it.
“Do you always keep spare toothbrushes?” she asks.
I toss the package to her. “It’s helpful. You never know when you’re going to be sheltering a fugitive on the run from a murderous drug cartel. I like to be prepared.”
“That’s not funny,” she says, but laughs anyway.
I shrug. “It’s a little funny.”
After dropping the toiletries in the bathroom, I walk back in and go to the dresser where I fish out a pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt, and then toss them to her.
“They’ll be a little big on you, but they’ll get you through the night,” I say.
“Thank you, Jacob.”
“You know you’re the only person in my life who calls me that? Who’s ever called me that,” I say. “It’s either Monk or Jake. It’s never Jacob… except with you.”
She shrugs. “It just seems to fit you better, I guess.”
I linger in the doorway for a moment, our eyes locked together, the air crackling with tension and a strong sense of anticipation. My desire for her is stirring deep within me, and though I try to push it away, it won’t go. This isn’t the time for it. Not when we have to not only save her life but also sort out what’s happening between us. And seeing the same conflicting emotions on her own face isn’t helping any.
“I should go,” I say.
“Please don’t. Stay with me tonight.”
“Kasey, I’m not sure—”
She’s on her feet and has closed the distance between us before I can even finish my sentence. Kasey slips her hands behind my neck and pulls me down to her, our mouths finding each other. Our kiss is intense, our tongues swirling around one another in a near frenzy. She clutches my t-shirt and pulls me backward, and I follow along like I’m chained to her.
Kasey turns me around and pushes me down on the bed. She quickly takes off my boots and casts them aside, then goes to work on my belt. Her thin, dexterous fingers have it undone and my fly down in the span of a heartbeat. I grab hold of her arms and pull her down on top of me as I scoot back on the bed.
She leans down and kisses me as I slide her sweatshirt up her body. Seemingly frustrated with the tangle of clothing, Kasey quickly jumps off and pulls her sweatshirt off, along with the t-shirt underneath it. As I watch her pull down her yoga pants, I decide this is really happening, and squirm out of the rest of my clothes as well. I’m so caught up in her gravity, I can’t stop it. As my cock twitches and throbs with desire, I realize I don’t want to, either.
When we’re both naked, I take her arms and try to lay her down, but she pulls herself away and pushes me down onto my back. Scooting up again so I’m not hanging over the side, I lick my lips, my body on fire with my lust for her.
Kasey climbs up my body and straddles my lap. She’s looking hard into my eyes and the connection sparking between us is electric. Straddling my lap, she starts to roll her hips, sliding her slick opening along my shaft. She grinds her button against my stalk, a soft whimper issuing from her mouth.
I’m once again overwhelmed by the feeling that this isn’t right. That right now isn’t the time we must be doing this. Not when her very life is hanging in the balance of this mess. Not when there is still so much left unsorted and unsaid still between us.
“Kasey, I—”
She puts her finger to my lips as she continues sliding up and down my cock, my shaft parting her wet, warm lips, drawing a long groan from my throat.
“Shhh,” she says. “Please. I need this. I need to feel something good in my life for a change.”
I am not one to argue with that. I pull her down to me and our mouths crash together. Kasey’s kiss is fiery and passionate. The feel of her smooth, supple skin gliding along mine, and her firm, yet soft and warm body beneath my hands is like a dream.
Kasey raises herself up and slips me into her warm, slick opening. She slides down on me and I groan as she takes me into her inch by inch. When she’s fully seated on top of me, she plants her hands on my chest. Her lips are slightly parted, a breathy moan escaping her mouth as she starts so move on top of me.
Watching her body move so slowly and sinuously is as erotic as the feeling of being buried to the hilt inside of her. I slide my hands up her body, cupping her full breasts, kneading and squeezing her flesh.
She leans down and kisses me again, her long red hair cascading down over me as our tongues twirl in a sensual dance. Kasey gasps as she sits up and throws her head back, her loud moan making the fire burning inside me burn even brighter.
Reaching out, I grab Kasey by the hips and spin her over onto her back. She spreads her legs wide for me and I brace myself on my arms, my face hovering only inches from hers. She slides her hand behind my neck and pulls me down into another long, lingering kiss that’s filled with a fervor that nearly steals the breath from my lungs.
I move within Kasey, my cock sliding along her inner walls and plunging deep into her. She presses her head back against the pillows and her eyes roll up as a long, stuttering moan drifts from her mouth. She grabs hold of my upper arms, her nails leaving half-moon impressions in my skin as she bites her bottom lip.
We move together in unison, our bodies writhing together in a passion-filled rhythm. Kasey’s gaze burns into mine and I feel something shifting within me. The physical connection we’re sharing is somehow magnified and intensified by an emotional connection that’s being made. Or perhaps, remade is the right word.
As she clings to me and I move inside of her, our gazes remain locked together, our connection growing more intense. I roll my hips, driving myself into her, reveling in the sensations of her warmth and wetness. My every nerve ending is on fire and I feel myself hurtling toward that brink of ecstasy with her.
“Cum for me,” she whispers. “I want to feel you cum inside me.”
Our mouths crash together once more, and I feel her body tighten beneath mine. As our tongues swirl around each another and I thrust myself into her, I feel my cock swelling and I know there’s no holding back the tide.
Kasey grips my shaft with her inner muscles, squeezing them as a hard gasp bursts from my throat. Straining and trying to stave off the inevitable, she squeezes me again, trying to milk my seed from me. I drive myself into her one final time and hold myself there, as deep inside of her as I can be. Kasey presses her head back and cries out, calling my name as her entire body spasms beneath me.
Kasey digs her nails into my arms as she cums, her pussy pulsing around my cock, and as I listen to her trembling voice, feel her shaking wildly beneath me, I give myself over to my release. Staring into her eyes, I feel my cock throbbing, and then I explode. I call her name through gritted teeth as I burst, filling her with my cum.
We cling to each other for several long moments, savoring the feel of being so connected both physically and emotionally. It’s a sensation I haven’t felt in a very long time. And judging by what she told me earlier, she hasn’t either. Probably not since the last time we were together for the both of us.
Slowly, the tingling in my body fades and I flop onto my back. Kasey curls up next to me, resting her head in the crook of my arm. I close my eyes and cherish the feeling of her warm, soft body pressed so tightly to mine. Neither of us speaks for a while, each of us lost in our thoughts.
Though there are a thousand questions rifling through my brain right now, I push them all aside. The only certainty seems to be that this isn’t just sex. This isn’t fucking. This is something different and far more personal. For both of us.
I don’t know if “making love”, is the right phrase. It sounds so hokey and ridiculous. But it’s clear that something personal has passed between us tonight. Something deeper, and something much more meaningful than just fucking. Tonight, we’ve shared something special together.
And for the first time since those long-ago days with her, I feel something in me changing. I feel something opening that’s been closed for a very long time.
