Learning To Fly

by Melissa Snark

  The server returned with their drinks and took their order. Cassie chose pork loin with couscous and summer vegetables, and Kyle the macadamia-encrusted Mahi with braised greens and scalloped potatoes. He selected a local Chardonnay to accompany the meal.

  Cassie took a longer look around, observing the intricate details of the architecture, allowing her awareness of Kyle within the angles and planes of the building to penetrate her being. She sensed him all about her, in every painstaking detail, and the warmth of his hand engulfed hers. She glanced up and her wide green eyes met those tawny eyes.

  “You’re so much more beautiful than anything I’ve ever created,” he said.

  She flushed and dropped her eyes. “Great line,” she said with a small smile.

  His expression remained earnest. “It’s not a line. It’s the truth.”

  She blushed all that much harder. Fortunately, the arrival of a visitor beside their table saved her from having to choose between thanking him or responding to the blatant flattery with another joking remark. She glanced to the woman beside the table.

  “Kyle, I thought I recognized the back of your head.” The petite brunette had a Miss America smile and a figure like the Venus de Milo. Cassie’s vision turned green when she noticed the enthusiasm of Kyle’s welcome.

  He rose and offered the woman a hug. “Tess, it’s good to see you.”

  The brunette returned the embrace, thankfully short, and then the pair separated to a polite distance. “Cassie, this is Tess Sparks,” Kyle said. “Tess, this is Cassandra Claeys.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Tess offered a genuine smile and her hand. The other woman’s warmth made it impossible not to like her, although, Cassie begrudged the sentiment out of envy.

  “Nice to meet you also.” Cassie shook her hand and started to rise, but Tess waved her back into her seat.

  “Don’t let me interrupt.” Tess gestured across the restaurant to where an older couple sat in a booth. “I’m here with my parents. I just wanted to say hi.”

  They said goodbye and parted ways. Tess returned to her table; Kyle sat and picked up his glass of water to take a sip. Over the rim, they traded a long glance. She arched her brow, a gesture of pointed curiosity.

  “She seems really nice,” she said, making light of the matter.

  “She is nice. She’s also seeing Kieran.”

  Her cheeks warmed. Was she that obvious? “Good, because gorgeous and nice are a hard combination to beat.”

  He reached across the table and took her hand. “You should know, seeing as how you’re both.”

  Her blush got worse. “Stop it. You’re an unprincipled flatterer. You really didn’t date her?”

  He hesitated. “Well…”

  Her startled gaze flew to his face. “You dated your brother’s girl?”

  Kyle lifted a staying hand. “Technically, she was my girl at the time, and we only went out twice.”

  Cassie leaned forward, intent because she smelled what had to be a juicy story. Her eyes gleamed bright with avid interest. “Do tell.”

  “All right,” he said with a chuckle. “It happened a couple years ago. I took Tess to a charity masked ball for New Year’s Eve. Gentleman wore tuxes and black masks, ladies white masks.”

  “Sounds interesting. Go on.” She took a sip of her wine, enraptured by the ambiance of the evening. Everything was perfect—the food, the wine, the company.

  “So, halfway through the evening I received an important call. I excused myself, stepped out onto a balcony to take it, and when I got back, Tess was nowhere to be found.”

  Cassie’s eyes rounded. She made the intuitive leap. “Oh no! He didn’t!”

  “He did.” Kyle’s husky laughter rumbled like a cat’s purr. “Kieran wasn’t even supposed to be there, but he returned early from a business trip and stopped at the party. He claimed later he had no idea that Tess was my date.”

  “Oh my, God.” She covered her mouth with her hand, laughing with him even though part of her was horrified. “Do you believe that? That it was an honest mistake?”

  He shook his head. “Not for a second.”

  “Tess must have been furious,” she said, putting herself in the other woman’s shoes.

  “Oh, believe me, she was. She set my brother’s pants on fire and shot the front tire of his SUV with his own gun.”

  “Wow.” Cassie darted a glance toward the petite brunette. She tried and failed to envision Tess possessing such a ferocious temper.

  “She doesn’t look it, does she?” Kyle said.

  “No, not at all, but then, Kieran must have really taken advantage of her to make her so mad. You weren’t upset at all?” Cassie arched a skeptical brow.

  “I knocked him on his ass,” Kyle said. “But I got over it fast, especially once it became clear that the two of them are perfectly suited to one another.”

  “It sounds like love at first sight.” She wasn’t always sure she believed in love. If it existed at all, it was a rare and elusive thing.

  “It was something at first sight.” As if sensing her emotional shift, he reached out and covered her hand with his own. His fingers were long and dexterous, the nimble fingers of a fellow artist. His touch evoked a base physical response. Her pulse raced and butterflies danced a ballet in her stomach, but she didn’t know how to respond. She feared surrendering to the passion only to succumb to panic once again.

  Kyle leaned forward, expression intent. He squeezed her hand. “Red, what’s wrong?”

  Cassie bit her lower lip. “Nothing. I just get…spooked. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize.” There it was again. His patience, his gentleness—a man she could trust with her scars and insecurity.

  A shy smile blossomed on her lips and she glanced at him with hope in her eyes. “I like it when you call me that.”

  A smile tugged at Kyle’s lips. “Not the most original nickname, I suppose.”

  “I still like it.”

  “Good.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. The silky touch of his lips on her skin caused her to ache with need.

  Kyle signaled their server for the check. “Ready to go home?”

  “Sounds great,” she said with a smile.

  ****

  Cassie caught Kyle’s hand before he reached for the front door. He yielded to her touch and turned toward her with tawny brown eyes full of curiosity. So much had changed in the last week. She knew and trusted his gentle spirit and even temper.

  “Cassie, if you’re worried about things getting out of hand again, then don’t. We can take as much time as you need…”

  She shook her head. “It’s not that, not entirely anyway.”

  “What then?”

  She stared into his eyes, trembling with anticipation. She licked her lips, aware of how his gaze followed the tip of her tongue. “We need to talk. Can we go to your office?”

  “Sure.” Kyle took the lead and she followed him to the one place they’d passed so many hours together working that it felt familiar and safe.

  Once they were upstairs, he chose to sit in a rolling chair. He leaned back and waited for her to speak. His unassuming position allowed her to relax, and tension bled out of her shoulders. Marshaling her courage, she sank her teeth into her bottom lip and sucked the flesh, creating the wet hiss of air passing through her upper teeth.

  “When you found out about Lynch, I was relieved, but I was also disappointed,” Cassie said at long last.

  Kyle frowned. “Why disappointed?”

  She plunged into cold water and blurted her fears out. “Because I was worried you wouldn’t find me attractive anymore.”

  His stunned expression left her feeling gratified. “Red, you’re beautiful. Of course I’m attracted to you. More than that, I want to keep you safe.”

  Cassie smiled and his reassurance tipped her forward toward him. Her fingertips settled upon the backs of his hands. Kyle’s nostrils flared and he tilted b
ack his head in order to maintain eye contact. He shifted his weight so the chair squeaked. She felt the tension vibrating through his body, every muscle in his powerful physique primed for action.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” His pupils dilated, the intense desire in his brown eyes burned, but he also regarded her with concern.

  She found that steadiness to be all of the reassurance she needed. This was a man she could trust. She swallowed and nodded. “I’ve spent years making sure that what Lynch did to me wouldn’t control every aspect of my life. I’m ready to be intimate with a man again. I want you, Kyle…”

  She stumbled into a blush. His pleased smile flashed white in the twilight room, but he made no move to rush her to a conclusion. Cassie wet her lips. “I need to be the one to be in control, especially at first. If you’ll let me set the pace…”

  “It sounds tough but I might just be up for it.” His teasing tone lightened the mood, enabling her to find her smile.

  She ran her hands along the length of his arms, stroking the hair across the backs of his forearms and caressing the corded muscles beneath tanned skin. Her weight kept him pinned to the chair’s armrests. Their legs came into contact and her thighs settled atop his knees as she straddled him. The chair protested her weight when she scooted forward to narrow the gap between them.

  “This is very unprofessional.” Cassie exhaled so her breath blew across his mouth. The tip of her tongue touched his lower lip. “I could get fired.”

  Kyle snickered. “Oh, I guarantee, you won’t.”

  Her tongue teased his upper lip. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She closed the small distance between them, sealing the flirtation of lips with a kiss. She lingered over that first delicious contact, savoring his spiciness. She burned in more ways than one, a fire consuming and renewing her hunger.

  Cassie rested more of her weight on him, and the chair tilted back at a precarious angle. She released his arms and slid her hands around the back of his neck. Her fingers tangled in his short hair and stroked the sleek strands. The position left her lying atop his long body, her breasts flattened against that powerful torso, creating a delicious friction that made her nipples hard and erect.

  After a brief battle of entangled legs and awkward shifting, Cassie wound up straddling the armrests of the chair with the skirt of her sundress hiked and bunched about her waist. The position forced her thighs wide apart and left her sex exposed. A delicious heat and wetness stirred within the delicate folds of her pussy.

  A prominent bulge tented the front of his pants and pressed against the moist material of her panties. Two mere layers of fabric separated them, and she ached to feel his bold shaft penetrating deep into her core. A moan tore from the back of her throat. Beneath her, Kyle groaned in response and rolled his hips forward so his cock rubbed against her clit.

  She kissed him full on the lips, savoring his pepper and spice flavor, consuming him as if he were a sumptuous meal. Her insistent lips pressed upon and opened the recesses of his mouth. Tongues touched and then stroked, and she discovered pearly smooth teeth and the roughness of his palate. Kyle moaned but she swallowed the sound.

  Wicked inspiration seized Cassie with an unaccustomed boldness, and her fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. She shoved it from his powerful shoulders and stroked her hands over his defined pectorals. He tilted back his head and a throaty groan of pleasure rumbled in his throat. A light covering of brown hair smattered his chest and tickled her palms. His heart beat strong and steady in his breast, and his abdomen clenched beneath her tentative exploration.

  Following her lead, Kyle’s hands dipped beneath her bunched skirt. His fingers brushed her knees and the delicious sensation caused her to shiver in reaction. He caressed her outer thighs and stroked his hands toward her knees. Mouths melded, they engaged in light petting, explorative and sensuous, as they learned one another’s bodies.

  He broke the kiss and turned his face into the side of her throat. He suckled on her earlobe and then applied a kiss to the sensitive skin just below her ear. His large hands reached the tops of her thighs, encircled her hips, and his fingers splayed across her ass. He urged her lower body forward even as his lips kissed her chest, the breastbone and the V between her breasts. Cassie whimpered and shook with frustration, wanting so much more than the safe caresses.

  “Tell me what you want,” Kyle groaned, voice rough.

  “I want…” She opened her mouth to vocalize her desires but his engorged member, encased in denim, bumped against her core. The sensitive, swollen folds of her pussy wept for him. Desire and doubt clashed. She wasn’t ready to make love with him, but she wanted to explore this amazing chemistry between them. How much play was he willing to endure for the sake of satisfying her curiosity?

  “Cassie, you’re making me crazy.” To make his point, Kyle’s lips brushed the top of her breast. In response, her nipples hardened to perky buds. His hands abandoned her ass and slid along her back until he reached her bra. His clever fingers made quick work of the fastenings in back and freed her heavy breasts. With a decisive tug, he yanked the material of her bodice down and freed one full breast. The pert nipple beckoned to his lips; he went straight to it and captured the bud between his lips. He wasn’t gentle.

  With a stuttering moan, she rocked on his lap and set a rhythm that rubbed her clit against his cock in the most intimate manner possible. Her panties were soaked; her pussy was swollen in anticipation. His shaft pulsed and strained beneath the denim. As she thrust against him again, Kyle’s tortured groan joined her cries of passion. His hips surged up, forcing her needy core harder and faster against his dick.

  Pounding on the office door broke their kiss. They parted gasping, stunned at the rude interruption. The sound of a throat clearing brought them both crashing to reality. Cassie squeaked and scrambled from her precarious perch in surprise. She almost lost her balance and fell off Kyle’s lap, but he managed to steady her.

  She hurried to cover her breasts with the top of the dress even though her bra hung loose. About ready to die of embarrassment, she turned to find Kieran standing in the doorway. The man wore an arrogant smirk on his lips, and he didn’t even have the decency to apologize.

  Cassie suspected she had never been a deeper shade of red.

  “We need to talk,” Kieran said.

  Kyle glared at his twin and stood. “What is it?”

  Kieran flashed an unapologetic grin. “Sorry to interrupt. There’s been a break-in at Cassie’s apartment.”

  “Lynch,” Cassie said with complete certainty. Abruptly, her humiliation was forgotten. Her knees turned to pudding. She staggered a step and would have fallen except for Kyle’s support. She tasted bile in the back of her throat and fought against the gag reflex that made her want to retch. She clutched a hand to her chest and felt her heart racing.

  Kieran tilted his head forward to indicate his agreement. “That’s what I assumed.”

  Kyle stood at her back, and his steady presence helped to calm her frazzled nerves. He rested his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. Without it being said, she knew he would do his best to protect her. She had done what she could to ensure Lynch couldn’t find her. She couldn’t live with herself if Kyle or his family got hurt because of her.

  “Before we leap to conclusions, tell us the specifics,” Kyle said, addressing his twin. His palms rubbed circles over Cassie’s shoulders. She glanced back at him, attempting to make out his expression, but could only view his profile. He didn’t strike her as skeptical, only cautious.

  “Kyle’s right. It could be a coincidence,” she said, though she doubted it. She folded her arms across her chest.

  Kieran settled against the doorframe, lounging with the predatory air of a big cat. “I spoke with the police officer handling the investigation. Your front door was kicked in and your apartment ransacked. The television and other obvious items weren’t taken, so the motivation wasn’t theft.”

  “When did
this happen?” Cassie asked.

  “Yesterday,” Kieran said. “They’ve been trying to reach you but your cell phone is turned off.”

  She returned his stare. “I turned it off. I even took out the battery. I didn’t want anyone using GPS to figure out where I was.”

  Kyle’s grip about her waist tightened. “Smart lady.”

  The purr of approval in his voice brought color to her face. Cassie concealed a smile behind her hand. “Thanks, but it seemed like common sense. That’s what they do in movies when they don’t want to be tracked.”

  “You’d be surprised how many criminals don’t realize that devices like mobile phones and tablet computers have built in GPS technology,” Kieran said.

  “Speaking of tracking…we’re getting off track,” Cassie said. “And I suppose this is a good time to mention that I had a whole bunch of calls from an unknown number before I disabled my phone. Voice messages also.”

  Kieran’s dark brow rose. “Did you listen to them?”

  She gave a sharp shake of her head. In her heart, she had known who the caller was and had taken every precaution available to her. She couldn’t think of anything else she could have done, except maybe to keep on running. Listening to Lynch’s threats would only have exacerbated her nightmares.

  Neither man said anything, making her edgy. She felt as if Kieran sat in judgment of her actions. She didn’t feel at ease with him the way she did with Kyle. “Should I have?” she asked.

  Kieran shifted away from the doorframe. “I’ll need your phone.”

  Cassie straightened. “It’s in my room. I’ll go get it.”

  ****

  Kieran followed her up the staircase. “Cassie, hold up a second.”

  She paused and turned toward him. She regarded Kyle’s twin with trepidation as he approached. “What’s up?”

  “Come downstairs for a second.”

  Suspicious, Cassie followed him to the entryway where two men waited side-by-side in a relaxed military stance. Both were huge and wore a suit and tie. The Caucasian male had sandy brown hair, a nondescript face, dark sunglasses, and thin lips over a square jaw. The Hispanic man had black hair and handsome features, including black eyes and a full mouth. His suit helped hide his lack of neck, emphasizing instead his big barrel torso and heavily muscled limbs.