“Jess, considering I backed out of a play last season at the last minute, it’s understandable that they want me to come in. It’s more of a mental marbles evaluation than a real audition.”
She huffed and squinted her eyes, as if she were going to place some ancient voodoo curse on anyone who would dare cross her big sister. She’d done the same thing when she was five, and, as you can tell, not much had changed in that regard.
“Fine. But you let them know it’s the last time you’re ‘auditioning’. Okay?”
Just then I felt so grateful. Thank God I had my sister. I still missed my parents every single day, but without Jessica, I wouldn’t have made it. I threw my arms around her, squeezed her as hard as I could, and whispered in her ear, “Okay Jess-Jess. I’ll tell both Kyle and the entire theater community, don’t mess with a Lockhart girl.”
“Jess? Yeah, it’s me. Don’t you ever check the caller ID before you pick up the phone?”
It was seven thirty p.m. and I was coming out of the audition room at the Woolly Mammoth Theater, not even waiting ’til I got outside to call her.
“Yes, I know. Why do you think I’m calling you before getting home… It went really well… Good enough that they gave me a part in their upcoming production… I know! I know! I’m totally psyched! I’ll tell you all about it when I get—”
I stopped talking because standing outside the theater was Kyle Masterson, wearing a trench coat over a black Armani suit and a gold tie that matched his eyes. He was leaning against one of the theater posters with his hands in his pockets, as if he casually hung out in that spot all the time.
Those golden-bourbon eyes of his were fixed on mine like a bull’s-eye on a moving target. My breath hitched, and I held on to the door handle as if it were a shield to block the instant pull he had on me.
“Samantha? What’s wrong? Sam?”
I brought the phone back to my ear, my eyes still locked with his. “Jess, I’m…I’ll call you back.”
“Everything okay?” She sounded anxious, a slight trill shaking her voice. Ever since our parents were killed, the one noticeable change in Jessica was her constant need to check on me if I wasn’t at home. It broke my heart to hear the fear in her voice.
Even though his eyes were still laser-focused on me, Jessica’s nervousness broke the spell I had been under. I looked down at my shoes and turned slightly away from him.
“Kyle Masterson is in front of my theater,” I whispered, which was ridiculous because he was barely five feet away from me. “Did you tell him I’d be here?”
“Um…well…”
“Hang up the phone, Samantha,” Kyle commanded while striding over to me. He took the phone right out of my hand and I was too stunned to react quickly enough. “Jess? Yeah, it’s Kyle. I’ve got her… Thanks.” Then he hung up my phone and handed it back to me.
Now he was only a few inches away, which meant I felt his body’s heat warm me as we stood outside in the cold. A frigid breeze whipped around the building and I shivered, catching his delectable masculine scent with a hint of something stronger. Whisky? Scotch? I didn’t drink enough to be able to tell, but regardless, the biker guy I met last weekend was replaced by someone right off of K Street. Slick, controlled, his power radiating off of him like a force of nature. Damn, he was completely gorgeous, and I was still riding the high from getting the lead so I was filled with—what my mom used to call—vim and vigor. In other words, I was in the mood to dish some sass.
“Well, color me startled. Didn’t expect you to be here.”
“No, I’m sure you didn’t. Thought my special Cupid delivery would’ve warranted more of a response than a perfunctory text.”
I studied him for a moment to determine how aggravated he was, but he had obviously learned to school his reactions because Kyle seemed impassive and calm.
“I thanked you and told you I had an audition.” I walked away from the door and spun around on the sidewalk. “In fact, you are looking at the newly cast Nina in Woolly Mammoth’s adaptation of The Seagull!”
Kyle’s face broke out in a beautiful, beaming, wide grin, so bright you’d think he had just gotten the part. “Proud of you. Means we need to celebrate.”
Maybe it was getting the part. Perhaps it was him standing there smelling delicious and looking even better, but at that moment I felt so good, so alive, I didn’t have the willpower to say no to him.
“Well, the audition finished much earlier than I expected and you are looking quite handsome this evening.” Yep, I was in full flirty mode. I cocked my head to the side, waiting to see how he’d play it with me.
“Glad you like what you see,” he said in that low, liquid sex voice of his as he came into my space again. “Did you park nearby?”
“No, I took the Metro into the city.”
With that little piece of info, Kyle’s eyes turned wicked and the boyish smile was replaced by a smoldering, wolfish smirk, like a wild thing closing in for the kill. Just from the look on his face, my panties were suddenly wet, my breath shallow and erratic. I caught him staring at my mouth, the pulse point thrumming on my neck and then my eyes. He raised an eyebrow, as if surprised by something.
“Gotta say, Samantha. Never met someone with lavender-colored eyes before.”
Yep, should have expected that one. It’s true. My eyes are a light purple hue and, no, they’re not contacts. No one else in my family had this eye color and the only one whose eyes were close was Elizabeth Taylor. That said, I still got tired of hearing about them.
“Gotta say, Kyle. Not the first time I’ve heard that. I expect better material from you.”
“Well then—” his gaze returned to my mouth while he gently bit his bottom lip, “—better not disappoint you now.” His warm, strong hand came up to cradle the curve of my neck, resting there for a beat and then making its way down the length of me to my hand. Just like the first time I met him, he threaded his fingers with mine.
Then he came closer to me, our mouths mere inches away from each other. I licked my lips, thinking he might kiss me any second. Instead, he moved his mouth by my ear.
“Let me take you somewhere new, Samantha,” he rumbled. I nodded, then sucked in a cold breath, shivering from standing in the cold, even with a coat on. But then my teeth started chattering and he furrowed his brow.
“You’re freezing. My car’s right here. Let’s get you inside and warm you up.” Then he took off his own coat and draped it over my shoulders, drew my body to his and immediately started directing us forward.
“Kyle! I can’t take your coat. You’ll freeze!”
He obviously wasn’t allowing no for an answer and also wasn’t slowing us down. “Don’t worry about me. The car’s right here. I can’t let you shiver like that.”
It was sweet, the kind of thoughtful gesture a woman could take for something more. So as we got into his car and he drove us to this very off-the-beaten-path restaurant out of DC, I kept Jackson’s words running in a loop in my head:
Kyle’s a player.
He’s a great friend but “fucked in the head when it comes to women”.
He’s the last guy to want to build forever on.
And then, it hit me: did I want a forever? I never had before. In fact, I ran from it like an infectious disease. What had changed for me so suddenly?
I didn’t have time to analyze it because we were out of the car and inside what he called “my favorite place for comfort food and good company”. The restaurant only had about ten or so tables and most of them were two-seaters. We were immediately directed to the back and, because the room only had low lighting, we were mostly ensconced in shadows. In fact, the brightest spot around us came from a tiny candle in a Depression-era piece of bubble glass in the center of our table. The place was designed with romance in mind, so it wasn’t surprising that it was packed for Valentine’s Day.
That said, we had the best seat in the house, sequestered in a concave alcove.
“You were quiet in the car. Everything okay?”
Sure, Kyle. Except for the fact that you’re totally gorgeous, successful, smart and yet have a reputation for affairs with the same shelf life as a carton of milk, I’m just dandy.
“Everything’s fine. Just a long day.” Mentally, I scavenged through my bag of tricks to find my game face. The old Samantha. The one who played and toyed with men like this for sport. Where was she when I needed her? Why couldn’t I do this like I used to?
“Glad I ran into you so we could celebrate your new role properly.” He scooted his chair closer to me so we were now sitting more side by side. Even more surprising was that menus weren’t brought and the waiter poured wine we didn’t order. Kyle gave him a nod before he walked away. Something was up, that I knew for sure.
I raised an eyebrow and leaned my body back from his so I could have some space. “I’d hardly call you coaxing my sister to share my whereabouts and then waiting for me outside my audition a chance encounter. I also find it beyond a coincidence or luck that in spite of me saying no to dinner with you yesterday, somehow here we are, a table for two reserved and everything preordered.”
He mimicked my body language, intentional or not, I didn’t know. He leaned back in his chair and was having some difficulty keeping an amused smirk off his face.
“Everything you said is true. I did have the reservation and meal for this evening laid out in advance. When you texted me a ‘no’ to going out, I called your sister and convinced her to tell me where you’d be this evening.”
“I don’t know how you managed that. Jessica and I are fiercely protective of one another.”
“I caught on to that when she said—and I quote—‘You hurt my sister and I will come after you with all the vengeance and rancor of a thousand angry demons.’”
I practically choked on the wine, laughing over that line. “She’s totally serious about that too, Kyle. You’re a brave, brave man. Jessica may look all sweetness and light, but she doesn’t play when it comes to family.”
Kyle threw his head back and laughed, the first time I ever heard him let go of his tightly reined-in controls. I liked it, a lot.
“I’m a divorce lawyer, Samantha. If I were to run with my tail between my legs every time I had someone threaten me, I’d be out of work.” His expression darkened, his mind going somewhere else for a flash. But just as quickly, he found his game face and the means to redirect the conversation. He picked up his wine glass. “Enough about me. Time to toast the latest Nina to grace the stage.”
I lifted my glass and clinked it with his. “Thanks.” I didn’t know much about wine, but I could tell the one he ordered was a good one. Delicious. Subtle. My cheeks warmed as it glided down my throat. “I’m excited about the role, especially since it’s an adaptation of The Seagull. I’m really curious to see what Aaron has done with it. It’s going to be something interesting for sure. He titled it Stupid Fucking Bird.”
He laughed again, shaking his head slightly. “That’s going to grab some attention. By Aaron, do you mean Aaron Posner?”
My mouth fell slightly open. Game face completely lost. “Um, yeah, I did.” I took another sip of wine, followed by a deep breath. “Do you know Aaron?”
Kyle leaned forward and tucked some stray hairs behind my ear before resting his arm on the back of my chair. He was now only inches away from me, the warmth of him surrounding me.
“No, I don’t. I keep up with the theater scene here, though. Lord knows I’ve represented plenty of its benefactors. Are you a big fan of Chekhov?”
“I am. Have you ever seen any of his plays?”
I watched his face as the candlelight danced its flame and shadow around him. The soft light accentuated the golden hue of his skin, the molten amber of his eyes. He lifted his hand to play with my hair.
“I’ve seen a few,” he answered, all the while wrapping my hair first around his fingers, then his fist. He stopped talking and just stared at me. I got so lost, transfixed, in his gaze. He swallowed, and there was a slight tic in his jaw, as if he was fighting the overwhelming urge to pull me back by my hair and take my mouth the way he wanted.
Fuck, I wanted him to do that. I wanted him to plunder and devour me whole. I closed my eyes, attempting to break the sexual tension he was weaving in our air, but then he gave a short, sharp pull. My eyes opened, blinking a couple of times, startled.
“Samantha, don’t hide from me. I want you to look at me.” He practically growled the command, his usually velvet-smooth voice becoming rough around the edges. Like he was losing hold of his control.
I inhaled a shaky breath and did what he demanded. He let go of the back of my hair only to shove both of his hands through my hair by my temples, and, in a firm hold, he brought his mouth down onto mine. Holy shit, he was even more delectable than I remembered. He tasted like wine and cinnamon and I couldn’t help but be greedy. I grabbed him by his gorgeous golden-brown hair and pulled him deep into me. The tip of my tongue teased the tip of his and then I sucked his tongue the way I would like to suck his cock. He gasped, his grip on me tightening, causing a delicious bite of pain. He moaned low into my mouth, the vibration shooting desire straight to my core. Then I heard someone clearing his throat, obviously trying to get our attention. I broke away, letting go of his hair while he still kept a hold of me by mine.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr. Masterson, but I have your entrées.”
Sure enough, there was our waiter standing there with two plates, trying not to appear nonplussed about our very public display. Kyle reluctantly dropped his hands, and I wiped my mouth with my napkin before sneaking a glance at him. He was still staring at me, a mixture of arousal and awe on his handsome face. Without looking away from me he said, “Do us a favor and wrap those to go. And I’ll take the check.”
In a flash we were out of the restaurant, in his car and driving back to my place. At every red light, he’d put the car in park and reach over for me, taking my mouth and exploring my neck. I was so turned on by him, I could smell my own arousal in the tight confines of his car.
“Holy hell, I can’t wait to sink deep into you,” he growled. My own response was to moan loudly as he bit my bottom lip then soothed the sting with his tongue. I was this close to telling him to pull over and fuck me in the car.
He slowed into my driveway and made his way to my side. He pulled me out, slammed the door and pressed himself into me, the cold of the metal on my back and the warmth of him making me sweat and shiver all at once. His mouth dove onto mine like a kamikaze, making me breathless. My teeth started chattering.
“You’re cold. Let’s go inside and I promise to warm you up right.”
All I could whisper was a breathy “okay” while I fished for my keys in my purse, making sure not to trip over my feet going up the walkway. As I got to the door, he pressed his front to my back and I could feel his long, hard cock against me. Just then, the door was flung open and Jessica was standing there in Hello Kitty pajamas. She looked up at Kyle and her eyes got wide as saucers, her mouth forming a perfect O.
“Oh wow! I didn’t think…uh, hi, Kyle.”
For someone who reads a shitload of romance novels, my sister has an alarming lack of sense when it comes to her timing. I can’t even recall how many occasions she would walk in on me making out with a high school boyfriend or not taking the hint to scram when I wanted a date to sleep over once we lived on our own. Like right now. She knew Kyle had met me at the theater. Common sense would have told her to hide out in her room until she knew the coast was clear.
Not run to the front door like a hyperactive puppy and stand there gobsmacked. I let out a sexually frustrated sigh, but also a bit of relief sneaking in there too.
“Hey, Jess. Give me a minute, okay?”
She lo
oked from Kyle to me then back to him again. “Okay, Sam. I’ll be… Um, nice to see you again, Kyle.”
She closed the door and I turned around. He immediately cupped my face in his hands and gently rubbed his lips against mine before kissing me.
“I’m not ready to say goodnight to you yet.”
I kissed him back, softer this time than I had before. I still wanted him, badly, but I had to admit that seeing Jessica, being back on the front step of the house I grew up in had cooled me down some. Enough to think more clearly now.
“I had an amazing night tonight.”
He gave me a small smile, keeping his palm resting on my neck. “Guess that means I’m not coming in?”
I gazed up at him, knowing how easy it would be to have him take me right now, wanting to feel him move in me. I couldn’t remember the last time I craved someone so much.
I placed my hand on top of his, the one resting between my neck and shoulder. He was so warm, so masculine. I had missed these things.
“I should thank you, Kyle.”
His head jerked back. “What are you thanking me for? For dinner? We never even got to eat our food.”
I gave a silent chuckle and shook my head slightly. I took a second to drink him in, standing on the doorstep of my house, where so many boys stood before to take me out to the movies, to a school dance.
“I remember, I must have been five, maybe six years old when my dad built this porch. My mom had been raised in one of those Southern plantation homes and she always wanted a wraparound porch like what she had growing up. I came out here with him, with my plastic toolbox and wooden hammer, and he was sweet enough to let me think I was really helping him. I thought I’d grow up and watch my parents sit right here, growing old together, just like they planned. I never even considered another possible scenario.”
Heart Breaker (Break on Through) Page 4
