“Come back here, Aislinn. I’m not finished with you yet,” he murmured.
“Should I…touch—”
“No,” he growled, yanking her back to his chest. “You touch me now and we’ll never make it to dinner.”
He pinched her nipple again and she arched into his callus-roughened fingertips.
She wanted to explore, but held back, unsure of how he’d react. David hadn’t ever allowed her to touch him except when and where he wanted her to. Were all men the same?
Kyle pulled her close and resumed their kiss. Lord he made her forget everything. She could no longer help herself. She wanted to touch him so badly.
Before she could, his hand wandered south, pressing along her stomach, and he let his finger dip into her navel. She laughed into his mouth and felt his smile.
“Ticklish?”
“Guess so.”
He fumbled at the button of her slacks. Aislinn held her breath and closed her eyes. Do or die time. If she couldn’t come, he’d know the truth and she could leave. Get on with her life by putting aside men for the rest of it.
Long fingers pushed through the curls shielding her entrance.
“Breathe, sweetheart.”
Oh, God, she wasn’t. In fact, she was rigid against him, her fists gripping his shirt.
She took a conscious breath, filling her lungs, and let it out slowly. A fingertip grazed over her clit, making it pulse in awareness. Without pausing, Kyle slid between her folds. Aislinn shifted and spread her thighs wider. He traced her entrance, spreading the moisture gathered there.
Her face heated.
“You’re hot, Aislinn.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “Hot and wet.” His palm pressed into her clit, sparking off a burst of energy.
She couldn’t stand it. The touch was intense, but not enough. Aislinn lifted her hips.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Move on me.”
When she dropped down, a lean finger penetrated her and she gasped, waiting for the inevitable pain. There was none and she stared into Kyle’s eyes.
“Keep going, baby. Let me see you come.”
He slid in and out of her sheath and worked the tiny bundle of nerves with his thumb. The sensations spun tighter and tighter until she thought she’d literally explode.
Her orgasm rippled through her entire body. Aislinn bowed in his lap, throwing her head back with a moan while her womb clenched in an unending riot of pleasure. White lights sprang in her vision. Her clit spasmed on and on, and all the while the magical thumb never quit.
When it finally subsided, Aislinn’s head was on the pillow behind her and she was draped across Kyle’s lap. With his hand still firmly against her pussy, he played with her, lightly caressing her sopping wet lips.
Lungs heaving, Aislinn went limp and closed her eyes.
David had been wrong. She wasn’t frigid. Not with Kyle. The man had played her body and made it sing with slow and steady fingers. Not an ounce of pressure, no forcing her to do something she didn’t want. And she wanted. Oh my God, did she want.
Kyle leaned over and kissed her lips softly, no trace of the smugness she expected to see. Only tender emotion held her captive and made her tumble just a little bit further for him. Not in love. She could not be in love with Kyle Turner III.
“You’re beautiful, Aislinn.” Kyle stabbed a forkful of salad and smiled over the way her cheeks reddened at his compliment. He meant beautiful in every sense of the word. When he’d made her come with his fingers, her cheeks had flushed, sweat had beaded on her forehead, plastering her bangs to the soft skin there. She had given herself to him wholeheartedly and been absolutely gorgeous in the throes of passion. And he’d only given her a small taste of how things could be between them.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
“David’s an ass.”
“You don’t have to tell me that.” Aislinn laid her soup spoon down and picked the napkin up off her lap. “Does it make you feel like a big man to know you can do that to me?”
He snorted at the attitude. It was a defense mechanism for her.
“Nope.” He sipped his wine. “But it makes me feel like King of the World to know I was the first.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out that way.” She cocked her head. “Does it…happen like…well what you made happen”—she twisted her hand in the air—“every time?”
Kyle shrugged. “Probably not. It’s something I work for though.”
“With all your women?”
“I won’t back off, sweetheart. No matter what you say. And I already told you, there hasn’t been anyone since you came to work for me.”
“Why?”
He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “There’s something about you, I guess.” There was more to it than that, but he didn’t know how to put into words what he felt. Protector, lover, cherisher, friend, anything she wanted him to be, he was ready.
“So who’s Crystal if you haven’t been with anyone, ’cause she sure calls a lot to not be in your life.”
“Sweetheart, I do believe you’re jealous.”
She pulled her hand away and shook her head. “Am not.”
He laughed. “You are.” Might as well put her out of her misery. “Crystal is my sister. She’s fifteen. Lives with our parents in Ohio.”
Aislinn choked on the water she’d started drinking. When she could breathe again, she stared at him, obviously at a loss for words. He guessed it would throw anyone for a loop to know he had a fifteen-year-old sister. Because of his past, most of which was spent taking out some really bad people, Kyle kept his family life quiet.
Now he did so for a different reason, same end result. He didn’t want anyone trying to get to him through his family. His parents were older, getting on in their years. Crystal had been more than a blessed surprise, to say the least.
“Fifteen?” she sputtered. “How old are you?”
“Thirty-two. My mom was in her forties when Crystal came along. And just so you know, I don’t talk about Crystal to anyone.”
Aislinn narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“I’ve done a lot in my life, made a ton of money. There are any number of factions out there willing to use any means necessary to get to me. Any means now includes you too. I’ll do anything in my power to keep the people closest to me from becoming a target for one of my enemies.” He wasn’t extraordinarily happy about the fact, but to have her in his life he’d make the changes to keep her safe. Hell the security was already in place and had been since he’d learned of Tarkell.
“I thought you were out of the Special Forces.”
“I am,” he acknowledged, “but I more than pissed off a lot of ugly people during my time in. And a good majority of those people would probably love to get their payback anyway they can. Taking out a family member or loved one is an easy way to do it. An eye for an eye.”
“Is that why TJ and Jonathan are always around you?”
What? He had to laugh silently. “Is that what they say about us at work?”
“Well it’s obvious they work for you. Some kind of bodyguards or something. You said yourself you’d pissed off a lot of people, and we all know you’re worth a ton of money.”
This time he threw his head back and laughed out loud. He couldn’t wait to tell his two best friends what everyone thought of them. Kyle took a long swallow of his water and smiled.
“No, they’re not my bodyguards, although I’m sure they’d get a kick out of people thinking they were. TJ was our team leader. If any one of us were to be a bodyguard it would probably be me. Maybe Toad or Lazlow. But not TJ or Jonathan.”
Aislinn gave him a curious look. “Then what do they do all day?”
“They’re part owners of Turner Industries.”
Her eyes bugged out.
“Silent owners,” he stressed firmly, waiting for her to understand. Neither man wanted other people to know their
exact involvement in the company, nor how much they were worth. They liked their lives simple. Adding money-hungry females into the equation only made things awkward. They may love women in every way possible but they wanted to find their third on their terms, not because a female was greedy. “TJ and Jon are the inventors I guess you’d say. Testers, too. They make sure the products are sound and work when they’re supposed to. As for why they hang around the office so much?” He shrugged. “I think they have a vested interest in a certain female.”
The mouthful of drink Aislinn had just sipped flew across the table at him.
Kyle calmly wiped the icy water from his face.
“Oh crap. I’m so sorry.” Aislinn yanked her napkin from beneath her silverware and blotted everywhere the water spewed from her mouth had landed.
He chuckled. “Something I said?”
She nodded vigorously and changed the subject. He wondered if she knew the object of TJ and Jon’s desire was Christina.
“So all this time you’ve been watching me or having me watched—”
“I did a background check. An extensive one, yes, and I’ve had someone looking in on you now and then. Not watching. Making sure you were safe, more like,” he said returning to their original subject. “Of course there really hasn’t been a reason for any of my enemies to look at you until now because I haven’t gotten close to you before today.” He smiled, thinking about how close he’d actually gotten. It wouldn’t be long before his cock replaced his fingers in her tight, slick, little pussy. Before he tasted the sweet heaven between her legs. Kyle shifted in his seat hoping to ease the pressure building in his groin.
“So why spend the money and time on me?”
Kyle straightened in his chair and cleared his throat. “You have one bastard of an ex. I saw what he did to you. I’ve heard the threats, talked to the police, and I know that he’s found you in every new city you’ve gone to. Maybe I just wanted you to be able to relax here.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re not mad?”
“I was. At first, in your office earlier.” Aislinn rubbed at the goose bumps Kyle saw on her arms from across the table.
“Cold?”
Her long hair swayed in its ponytail when she shook her head, and she busied herself with straightening her place setting. “But then I thought why should I be mad when this man has gone out of his way to see to my safety? Now I’m grateful, because I think, in the back of my mind, I must have felt comfortable all this time. I no longer think of David every minute of every day, and I haven’t been looking over my shoulder constantly which is something I’ve pretty much done nonstop since I started running.” Her eyes were glistening when she looked up at him.
“A perfect segue.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s talk about your mind, sweetheart. What exactly is it you can do with that beautiful brain of yours.”
Aislinn fidgeted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Right.” He leaned forward so the other patrons couldn’t hear them. “I wasn’t lying when I said I know about everything, and you can’t tell me you weren’t surprised by my comment about the kitchen earlier today. I mean, it is why we’re here tonight in the first place.”
She gulped down the remainder of her water and searched for the waiter.
“I’ve talked to your mother, Aislinn.”
Aislinn’s gaze zeroed in on Kyle and her face paled. “You what?”
“I contacted her some time ago. She wasn’t hard to find. Got the entire story from her. She’s very happy to keep in touch so she knows you’re safe.”
“God. Do you know how big of a bastard you sound like right now?”
Their waiter arrived and placed the entrées they’d ordered, then asked them if they cared for anything else. Kyle ordered another bottle of wine knowing he’d opened an ugly can of worms. Keeping her from speaking to her mother had been a bastard of a thing to do, but he had his reasons.
Aislinn shook off the waiter. He promised to return to refill her water and took his leave. “Your mother asked me not to tell you, Aislinn.”
“Mama wouldn’t do that.”
“She did.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Darla Campbell’s number. It was past time for mother and daughter to talk.
“You talk to her so much you know her phone number?” she hissed.
“Photographic memory,” he said, listening to the phone ring on the other end.
“Hello?”
“Darla, it’s Kyle Turner.” He gazed across the table at Aislinn. Her whole body was a mass of vibrating nerves. Her nostrils flared with every inhalation and her eyes were as wide as the saucers on the table.
“Mr. Turner. What is it? Has something happened?”
“Actually, something has happened, but I think I’ll let you talk to Aislinn herself.”
“Oh my God,” Darla breathed, a hitch catching the “God” in her throat.
Kyle held the phone out to Aislinn. For long seconds she stared at the phone as if it might come to life and bite her. Then with tentative fingers she reached out and took it from his fingers. He heard Darla on the other end, “Aislinn? Baby? Hello?”
“Mama?” she whispered and covered the sob that tore from her throat with her hand.
Chapter Four
Her mama was on the phone. She was talking to her mother. For the first time in so long.
“Oh Lord, girl, it’s so good to hear your voice, baby.”
“Mama.” Aislinn swallowed past the lump in her throat. Kyle stabbed into the humongous steak he’d ordered like nothing was out of the ordinary. She eyed her own bowl of Pasta con Broccoli and decided she would be happy never seeing food again. Her stomach dipped and her heart clenched.
“Oh, baby, I miss you so much.”
“Me too,” she mouthed, unable to speak the words out loud. A tear slipped down her cheek. Kyle handed her a napkin. She took it and wiped her face and nose which had started to run.
“You’re safe, Aislinn? Nothing’s happened, has it? I told Mr. Turner not to tell you we’d been talking, honey. I didn’t want you to think I was putting you in jeopardy again. He assured me that whenever he called we were on a secure line and that no one could trace it. God, no one did, did they? He hasn’t found you again, has he? Please tell me you aren’t having to move again.”
“Mama,” Aislinn laughed, “no, I’m still here, he hasn’t been seen.” She sought Kyle’s eyes and held his gaze. “I had a vision, Mama, and Kyle seems to know all about it.”
His cheeks and jaw worked as he chewed, sending an odd little shiver deep into her belly. Sensation started to return, taking over the numbness that had formed the second she’d heard her mother’s voice. Kyle nodded. Yep. He knew all right. Everything. Something very few people knew about.
David had known. It was one of the reasons he’d been so intent on keeping her. To use her as his own little sideshow.
“I told him,” her mother admitted without an ounce of remorse. She must have trusted Kyle implicitly to share their generations-old secret with him. The fact eased Aislinn’s mind more than anything Kyle could have said. Her mother had the same gift, as did her grandmother and great-grandmother and all the women before her.
The second sight passed down through the first daughter of the first daughter. Along with the flaming red hair and green eyes. Lucky Aislinn.
“He had to know if he was going to protect you at all, Aislinn. He’s a man of honor and of his word. I believe he will do anything to keep you safe.”
The same man devouring his still mooing Porterhouse like he’d never eaten before would do anything. Aislinn believed this also. Like she’d told him minutes ago, if she hadn’t felt safe in his vicinity, she probably wouldn’t have stayed so long here, nor would she be relaxing her position of no more men.
She thought back to when they were in her house, with her stretched out over his lap, his fingers deep inside her pussy
and the resulting explosive climax. Her first. She suddenly wanted to feel it again. Her cheeks flamed and one of his eyebrows rose. Aislinn dipped her head but felt that his gaze didn’t leave her.
“Besides, I’ve seen him, baby. I know he’s the man you need.”
She snorted. “The man I need, Mama? Seeing him in a vision isn’t the same as meeting him in person. What if I’m not ready for another man?” A lightning bolt was surely going to strike her dead any second. Kyle’s fork landed loudly against his plate and she jerked her head up. His eyes were narrowed into deadly slits, making her nipples harden and ache. She hadn’t really meant for him to hear that. Hell, she hadn’t meant to say it. So why had she?
“You’re a liar, Aislinn Campbell,” her mother scoffed. “Listen to your heart, it will tell you where you need to go.”
“Like it did with David?” she cried.
“Oh, honey. No part of your heart was involved with that rat bastard. I’m not sure what attracted you to him but it most definitely was not your heart.”
“Maybe I just have horrible taste in men.”
Now Kyle slammed the napkin from his lap onto the table. Cutlery jumped, clanging against the china. He licked his teeth and she wondered if it was her he’d rather be eating than the steak he’d already worked halfway through. The thought was a little more appealing than it should be.
“No, you don’t. David had some kind of pull over you, Aislinn. But he’s good and gone now and you need to get on with your life. Speaking of which, where are you two that you’re together so late in the evening?”
“We’re”—she cleared her throat—“at dinner.”
“Ooh, dinner. As in on a date?”
She glanced at Kyle again. He was still glaring at her, fisting the napkin in one hand and the wicked-looking knife in the other.
“Not a date. We’re discussing—”
“We are on a date, Aislinn. Gimme that phone, woman.” Kyle reached out and snatched the phone from her hand.
“Hey,” Aislinn squeaked, but she couldn’t hold back the smile. It felt…nice, she guessed, to get that kind of reaction from Kyle.
Two Sighted Page 4
