"I really didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry." He said gently.
"It's okay." Kylie answered but was still hesitant.
"I made Italian. Is that okay?"
Max walked over to the table and poured her a glass of wine. His shirt was opened and the top button of his jeans was undone. Kylie tried not to stare.
"That's fine." She said then paused. "Oh no, I mean, I planned on going out for dinner."
"Well now you won't have to." Max handed her the glass.
He was standing so close to her now that she could smell him; fresh shower and light cologne. She knew she should leave, but was too busy noticing how tanned he was, how his eyes sparkled green, and how truly handsome he was when he smiled. This is not good she thought to herself and accepted the wine graciously.
Max was hoping on gaining a smile, but Kylie leaned up against the back of the sofa putting some distance between them. Then she gave him a suspicious look.
"I've forgotten my manners." She apologized. "I should thank you." She lifted her glass to his.
"You can thank me after the meals over. Actually, I’m really not a very good cook, I lied." He confessed, and Kylie was forced to smile a little of her nervousness away.
Kylie and Max made small talk over dinner. She was getting used to him, and his teasing, and realized she hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time. He really was, too charming for words. But then again, that was his kind, and she wouldn’t let herself forget it.
“The food wasn’t so bad.” She teased. “Where did you learn to cook?”
“My dad taught me.”
“Oh.” She scrunched up her brows. “So he’s the chef.”
“No, he’s just a regular dad.”
“What about your mom, did she cook, or was she working?”
“She died when I was nine. My dad took over the cooking and eventually got pretty good. My brother Ray and I had no choice but to help out around the kitchen, so we learned.”
“I’m sorry.” Kylie shifted in her seat. “Where’s your brother now?”
“Somewhere in Japan contracting for a company called Evron, they’re a satellite company. He’s doing R & D work.”
“Impressive. Does he have a family?”
“No, he’s on his own, but never lonely.” He smiled.
Kylie looked Max over and bet that was true, if his brother had Max’s genes, he probably had his hands full.
“So what about your dad, where’s he?”
“He had a house on the lake but he moved back to town last year.”
“On this lake?” Kylie was surprised and curious.
“Yeah, that’s right, on the north side where the road forks.”
“So, you must know this area pretty well.”
“No, not really, I didn’t come up very often. He was only here for about a year before he moved back to the city. But when I did come up, I loved it.” He nodded his head thoughtfully. “So when I got the job at the center, I came to the lake to see if there was anything available. That’s when I found this place.”
“Why did your dad leave?”
“I think he found it lonely.” He lifted his glass and took her in. “It’s no fun living alone.”
“There’s no chance of that now is there.” Kylie had to laugh, the wine loosening her tongue.
She told him all about her parents, their vacation condo in Florida, and their four dogs. She had just finished telling him how she thought they were happy that she had finally moved out, when he smiled.
"You've never lived alone?"
"No never." Kylie replied.
“Why is that?”
“I guess I…I’ve been very busy.” She stammered.
"Have you ever been in a relationship?" He smiled again.
"That’s a very personal question. What are you implying?"
"Why not just answer the question?" Max laughed smoothly.
"Because I’m not exactly sure why you’re asking," she admitted.
“I was just wondering if you’ve ever dated, that’s all.”
“Of course I’ve dated!” Kylie’s eyes widened. She knew he was going to ask something stupid like that.
Max relaxed back in his seat and stretched his legs. They brushed gently by her naked ankles and she felt a shiver run up her spine. It was just an automatic response, she told herself.
"Well, you've answered my question then." Max grinned.
"What question?" She raised her brows.
"The one that was too personnel to answer," he laughed again.
She narrowed her eyes. "I do believe you’re baiting me." She said wistfully, while stirring in her seat.
“Maybe I am.” Max smiled.
“Well I don’t bite.” Kylie watched him intently. Did she imagine it, or were his eyes now telling her how lovely he found her. She took him in for a moment, imagining each brush stroke and color she would use to paint his portrait. His face was masculine, but soft. His jaw was cut just right, and his hair was always tousled. His eyes sparkled like emeralds and his lips were almost too beautiful to belong to a man.
"So, do you have a girlfriend?" She blurted out, and then felt like an idiot schoolgirl. Oh Lord, too much wine! She almost shook her head.
Max looked unfazed. "No." He said quickly. Then he suddenly got up from the table and took her hand. Kylie caught her breath when he pulled her gently to her feet, while slowly stroking her palm with his thumb.
“Let's go look at the stars," he whispered, and led her towards the stairs.
Kylie felt light headed. She had definitely drunk too much, and couldn't quite think of how to react. So she followed him upstairs. When his fingers entwined in hers, she felt her face flush, and thanked God that he couldn't see her.
Once they reached the terrace, Kylie was astonished to see a blanket on the ground and a telescope, all set up and waiting for them.
"Here I'll show you what to do." Max let go of her hand and sat down on the blanket. He moved in close to the telescope, adjusting it to eye level. "Sit down," he coaxed.
Kylie thought it was great. She always loved to look at the stars and never had the chance to look through a telescope before. Besides, it was a hot balmy night and it felt great to be outdoors. They sat close together while he gave her coordinates on which stars to find, then he explained their names and where they were located. She saw him looking at her as she scanned the night sky, his eyes lingered on her each time. When he moved over to adjust the telescope, he brushed up against her and her body responded. Her breath quickened, and she felt that lovely tingle of intimacy. The realization that she was enjoying it so much was almost disconcerting.
"You see, there's the Andromeda Galaxy, it's the closest galaxy to our own. It contains approximately a billion stars."
"That's amazing!" Kylie said in awe, as she peered through the lens.
“Here,” he adjusted the telescope. “If you look over there you’ll see Jupiter.”
"What's that red spot?"
"There's huge swirling tornados and dust storms raging on that planet. They show up as red spots sometimes. "Max answered.
“Wow, that’s so cool!”
“You know what’s cool? Jupiter has seventeen moons.”
“No way!’ Kylie looked over at him quickly. “Can we see any of them?”
“Only four of them are visible, but sometimes they get lost in Jupiter’s glare. I’d have to bring you to work so you could take a look through Stella.”
Kylie laughed. “I hope she’s a telescope.”
Max leaned back and smiled.
Kylie pushed the telescope away from her and leaned back too. "Wow,” she said softly.
“Wait. In a couple of months we’ll be able to see Saturn. Now that’s something. The first time I saw it, boom! Love at first sight.”
Kylie couldn’t help but smile. “Is it that beautiful?”
“Oh yeah.” Max looked serious. “The first time you see it you’ll understand. This small pale o
rb, encircled with these delicate rings, just floating there, nearly a billion miles away. It’s stunning.”
“It sounds like it.” She tilted her head, and allowed his love for the cosmos to flow though her. It was suddenly amazing how relaxed she felt.
“I know that’s the Milky Way up there.” She pointed to the star clustered milky trail in the sky.
“Yeah, but that’s only part of it.”
“What do you mean, part of it?”
“Well, that’s the Sagittarius arm that you see. Beyond that is the galaxy’s center which is 27,000 light years away. We’re down here in the Orion Spur.”
“Pardon me?” She said quizzically.
“Our sun is in the Milky Way galaxy. You know that right?”
“Okay.” Kylie concentrated.
“Have you ever seen an artists rendering of it?”
“No.”
“Well it’s like this.” He put his hand down on the blanket. “Think of an octopus lying there with its legs straight out. Then you take the body only, and you turn it, slightly to the right. The legs start to spiral. Well that’s what our galaxy looks like, but each spiraled leg is actually a billion stars, following each other on what we call arms that come out from a bar at the center. That starlit trail you see at night, like a river of stars stretched across the sky is only one arm.”
“And the billions of stars, are they all suns?”
“Some are.”
“And do they have planets circling them?”
“Aside from our sun, there’s been over 300 stars that have been found with one or more planets circling them. Astrophysicists are working to find more everyday.”
“Wow.” Kylie sighed. “All of a sudden I feel so small." She said softly, looking up into the heavens.
Max moved over, and let his shoulder touch hers. "You are and you're not.” He said. "Remember that you’re part of all this. I had the same feeling the first time I spent hours star gazing. Then each time I came out, and opened myself up to the universe, I felt as though I began to evolve, too change." He admitted. “Not to take anything for granted anymore. It’s amazing to think about how much energy is out there and you’ve been given a fraction of that energy to affect the universe in some way.”
Kylie smiled at him. "That's true." She hummed sincerely.
"It is. Just don’t over analyze it because you’ll give yourself a headache." They laughed together.
The moon was coming up behind the mountains, which made the lake glitter like diamonds. Kylie got up, moved to the edge of the terrace, and Max followed her. Each house around the lake was in darkness.
"It's so beautiful here." Kylie purred, looking up at Max who was staring at her instead of the view. He rumbled a low "ah uh," in a very sexy, husky voice. He was beautiful in the moonlight too, she thought. Her tongue brushed lightly over her lips. But when she realized what she was doing, she turned away.
A light went on across the lake, then off again, then on again.
"They can't make up their minds." Kylie grinned at Max then shivered noticeably.
"What's wrong? Are you cold?" Max asked.
"No, I'm sorry I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"About these crazy murders." She looked up at him and wrapped her arms around herself. "Are the doors locked downstairs?" She asked.
"Yeah, I think so. Do you want me to go and check?"
Kylie felt foolish, but she had the spooks and needed to put her mind at ease. "If you don't mind?"
It was a long time before Max came back, and Kylie spent it thinking about her luck. She almost laughed, at the irony of buying a house in a good neighborhood to be safe. A wind came up and began to rustle through the trees. Branches cast strange shadows on the lawn. Kylie couldn't stand waiting any longer and turned to go back in the house. Just then, Max came through the door.
"All clear!" He said
"Good. All the doors were locked then." She added trying to shake off the bad feeling.
“Well not exactly.” Max didn't want her to worry, but figured he'd better tell her the truth before she remembered.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
In an extra calm voice, he answered her. "We left the French doors open to the deck, but I locked them. I checked the rest of the house and everything is fine."
"Did you check my room?" Kylie looked anxious.
"No I didn't. Come on, we’ll go check."
She got to her door and turned the knob. Then she remembered that she locked it before going down stairs.
"Did you lock the patio doors too?" Max asked
Kylie looked startled. Could she have been so careless as to leave it opened? She unlocked her door then walked over to the patio door and tried it, it slid opened easily.
"Oh my God! I can't believe it. All the while we were downstairs eating, it was opened." Her eyes widened, she covered her mouth with her hand and glanced around the room.
Max chuckled softly. "You know, I think your making way too much out of this. The guy would have to scale up the wall to get in here. But I'll help you look around to be on the safe side.”
They searched her room from top to bottom. Kylie even looked under the bed. When she was sure there wasn't anyone hiding anywhere, she let out a long sigh of relief.
Max walked over to the window and looked out.. "He wouldn't come tonight anyway, he would watch us first." He said in a whisper that Kylie could barely hear.
She turned on the TV and sat on the bed. She was hoping Max would stay awhile and not run off right away. It was crazy, but she was kind of glad she wasn’t living alone after all.
He looked at her sitting there and felt his blood begin to race. Whatever it was he was feeling for her, it had hit him really hard, and he knew that there was no way that she felt the same thing he did.
"I'll let you get some sleep," he said.
"No....I mean…Are you tired?" She didn't know what she was doing but she didn't want him to go just yet.
"No, I'm not tired." Max answered with a slow shake of his head and a look of mischief in his eyes.
Kylie was partially relieved until she took in the length of his tall muscular body standing before her and felt the sexual tension in the air. She knew she should kick him out; after all, he was the enemy in a sense. But the creepy feeling was niggling at the back of her neck.
"Do you want to make some popcorn and watch TV?” she asked
"Up here?"
"No! Not up here." She looked shocked.
“No, of course not.” He grinned. "I'll go make some popcorn and wait for you downstairs."
Kylie was happy he understood and slid off the bed. "I'll be down in a minute. I just want to change.”
"Good idea." He answered truthfully, I hope she puts on some flannel pajamas, he thought.
Kylie was busy changing. It was still hot out so she put on a cropped off tank top and white cotton shorts. She went to remove her bra then thought twice. It wouldn't be decent if she took it off. But her top was black and she had the right to be comfortable in her own house, so she slipped it off without thinking twice. With her long hair brushed out and her sandals off, she raced downstairs. She could hear the popcorn popping and smell its aroma.
"Smells good," she said innocently as she rounded the corner.
Max nearly dropped the popcorn when he saw her. The sight of her was enough to send him running for the shower.
"Hi," he finally answered, forcing himself to concentrate on what he was doing.
The leather couch was cold and slippery so Kylie looked for a blanket in one of her boxes. Max watched her cross the room. She was too sexy for words, he thought, and so innocent. She probably knew that she was beautiful to a certain extent, but did she really know the effect she had on him. He was sure she didn’t.
"That's better," she said as she placed the blanket down gently. Max now had a full view of her breasts as she bent over and let out a loud sigh. His jeans were becoming tight and
uncomfortable.
Kylie heard the sigh and turned to ask if anything was wrong. She was looking him straight in the eyes now and could see the desire within them.
Max took a nervous breath. "I have a better idea. It’s a pretty warm night, why don’t we go for a swim instead?"
Kylie would have done anything to change the air but there was no way she was going out in the middle of the night with a killer on the loose.
"What about the popcorn?" She asked, making small talk.
"We'll bring it and feed it to the fish."
"Well I’m sure they’d enjoy it, but I don't know where my bathing suits are, tagging system. You know?"
"You don’t need a bathing suit." Max replied and that got them both giggling.
Kylie arched her back and lifted her chin. "You must be crazy Max Shepherd, number one, there's no way I'm going out there with a killer on the loose. And number two, I would never go skinny dipping with you. I don’t even know you." She pretended to be shocked.
His eyes filled with amusement. "I think it would be good for you to let loose, you've had a hell of a day, and I don't believe your half as prudish as you pretend to be." He informed her.
God she hated that word. “So you keep saying. And just why do you say that anyway?" Kylie asked pointedly.
“Because you're way too sexy and beautiful." He said with ease. "Now what are you going to say. How dare I notice or it's not my fault?"
Her blue eyes widened in disbelief. If he was trying to be funny, he wasn’t. He was just pissing her off. She sprang up from the couch and walked over to the window.
"And the murderer out there, that doesn't bother you?"
Max got up from the couch and stood behind her, so close she could feel his warm breath on her shoulders.
"We can’t stop living because of him." He turned her to face him. “Besides, I promise I'll protect you."
Kylie grinned. He was a smooth one, wasn't he? She moved away from him and opened the lock on the French doors. She pushed the doors wide opened and breathed in the night air. It was such a warm night, she thought. Wouldn't it be great to just jump in the lake with no clothes on? It made her feel wicked and wild to think it. She turned back to Max who was staring at her intently. "I think I should be going."
A Familiar Star (Romance Mystery) Page 3
