by Keta Kendric
When it appeared she wouldn’t stop until she was plugged deeper into her connection with nature, I rushed ahead and slid the door open for her.
What are you doing, Khane? It was my conscience shooting me a warning question that I ignored.
“Thank you,” she mouthed before she stepped past the door and out onto the patio. The wind whipped at our clothes and skin before it settled and welcomed us.
“This is the most beautiful view I have ever seen.” Confirmation of her words rested in the smile on her lips and in her eyes. She reached out her arm and closed her left eye before tracing the lines of the tallest mountain peak in the distance.
The sleeve of my shirt covered most of her hand, the tails of it flapping below her enticing hips. My smile deepened at the sight of her in my shirt. These moments with her were surreal, making me cherish the reality of every second as she, for me, had always been an unattainable dream.
You are watching her for protection purposes, not pleasure. The voice in my head reminded.
Her eyes fluttered shut in contentment, and she clasped her hands together in front of her lips like she was praying to the view. She walked ahead, not stopping until she had reached the balcony’s edge and placed her hand atop the thick stone-crafted railing. The steep drop-off drew her gaze downward.
She released a giddy little jump and a squeak of excitement the moment she discovered that we were nestled atop one of the mountain peaks. She proved she wasn’t afraid of heights as she bent over the rail for a better view.
Below, the tops of trees flashed a rolling plain of rocks and vegetation that made up the downslope of the mountain we sat above.
“It’s like living art. So deep and rich with life. So vivid and free, and untouched,” she stated, her tone low, but filled with wonder. I had taken the spot next to her, but not too close as I fed on the energy of her excitement.
“If you don’t mind me asking, and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but what happened to your eye?” She had quickly turned her attention to me like I was an extension of the view.
My gaze locked with hers, staring deep into the fiery brown depth of her eyes. Her beautiful lashes beckoned like the prominent wings of a hummingbird, assisting in pulling in more than my gaze.
The notion that she was not the least bit turned off by my appearance resonated. It appeared my mismatched eyes intrigued her, causing her to study me as one would a piece of art.
“It was from an unfortunate incident when I was younger,” I finally answered. “I’m legally blind in it. Can only see blurred shadows and some movements.”
She nodded. No pity or telling me how sorry she was for me. I could tell she wanted to know more, but she left it up to me to share. She accepted my answer before turning back to the view, leaving me with another smile.
She was going to make my job of protecting her much more difficult than it should have been because standing near her was a chore. Her scent had been shipped straight from heaven: hints of night-blooming jasmine entwined with the insatiable scent she created, a fusion of fresh rain and alluring lotus flower.
Her eyes once again closed as she lifted her head and breathed in the atmosphere. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her. When she finally opened her eyes, she turned her gaze back on me.
“I’ve seen many beautiful places in my life, but this has become my favorite,” she stated before turning back to the view.
It wasn’t until the chill in the air started her limbs and lips to shiver, that I suggested we return to the inside. Even with the chill nipping at her, she was hesitant to leave as she had become married to the view.
“Why don’t you put on some warmer clothes, and I’ll light the fire pit so you can sit out?” She gripped my forearm, causing my heart to tremble in my chest.
“Thank you. I almost can’t bear to walk away,” she stated, her deep smile and jittery excitement drew another smile from me. At this rate, she was going to turn me into her puppet if I didn’t get a grip on my interactions with her.
It had taken her less than three minutes to return, wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a sweater. The part of the outfit that had me fighting a grin was that she had pulled my shirt on over her sweater.
She may not have meant the gesture the way I perceived it, but the notion that she wanted to keep something that belonged to me with her, enticed a dam of emotions I had never experienced before to break free.
We sat, and I listened to her talk about art and some of the places that had inspired some of her designs. She asked if she could paint my house against the landscape, and I took the request as a compliment.
The temperature kept dropping, hinting at dusk settling, and I noticed the chilly bite had her drawing closer to me on the patio sofa. When she grew close enough to drop her head against the side of my shoulder, I went still, not sure how to react.
Once I decided we weren’t crossing the line, the tight pull in my muscles eased. She could have talked about paint drying, and I would have listened, unwilling to miss a word. I soaked in her sweet voice until she drifted off to sleep, her head falling heavy against my shoulder. The notion that she was this comfortable around me floored me as much as it pleased me.
Protection, not pleasure, kept repeating in my head. Why was I allowing myself to indulge in Desiree’s company, when my intention was to stay as far away from her as possible while she was under my roof?
8
Desiree
For the next few days, Khane didn’t join me for breakfast, but he had left me enough food to get me through the day. His freezer was stocked with pre-packaged gourmet meals that I took from the containers and warmed in the oven. He had shown me where everything was the first day, after the darkness had taken the view, and the cold had forced us to reenter the house.
Khane had sat with me through some of the most peaceful hours of my life. He didn’t voice one complaint and listened as I talked nonstop about art and design. He claimed he’d never studied design, but his house highlighted that he might have had more than a fleeting interest. He was maybe being nice, but I never got the sense that my conversation bored him.
I had been unable to sit still, standing and drooling over the view one moment and sitting way too close to him the next. Twice, he had politely stood to put space between us, and I would drift right back into his space. The kicker was that I wasn’t doing it on purpose.
For reasons I had yet to understand, I was comfortable with him. It was a natural comfort that I didn’t usually experience with someone until I had known them for a while.
He had allowed me the luxury of his shoulder as I soaked in the living portrait laid out before me. His warmth and the beauty of the view had seduced me into such a peaceful place that I had fallen asleep. I had woken to him shaking me awake. I had been pressed into his side like I belonged there.
However, I think I may have been a bit much for him as he was now choosing to stay away. He claimed he had business to attend to, but I knew when I was being avoided. He assured me that Sam, along with another guard name Mack, was near and would be protecting me while he was away.
On my third day at Khane’s, I was determined to see him when he returned home. However, I found myself covered on the couch the next morning after he had cooked and left me breakfast. Why was he avoiding me?
By day four, I stayed in bed and slept past noon to make sure I would be awake when he returned home. I kept glaring at the clock as the minutes ticked by 12:10, 12:15…When was this man sleeping?
When the door finally swung open at 1:25 a.m., I sprang up on his living room couch. His lookout area provided a level of peace I had never gotten anywhere else, but I needed someone to talk to while I was out there, to hear someone’s voice, and have a human connection. Truth be told, it just didn’t seem as magical a view without him.
“Are you avoiding me?” I questioned, not at all what I intended my first words to be to him after not seeing him for three days. I tossed my leg
s over the couch and stood to my feet, not caring that I didn’t have a robe on this time.
His eyes matched, letting me know that he was wearing an eye contact. It blended well, matching his natural eye color perfectly. If I had met him wearing the contact, I would never have known that he was nearly blind in one eye.
He dropped his gaze, contemplating his answer. When his eyes lifted to meet mine, his expression was filled with something unreadable.
“Yes,” he answered before turning and walking away. I slid my feet into my slippers and followed, my mouth shooting off before I started to move.
“Why would you want to avoid me? Do I talk too much? I can be quiet if that’s what you prefer.” I continued to follow him.
His abrupt stop and turn towards me, caused my house slippers to scrape across the floor, searching for grip to stop my movement. Too late, I collided into the solid slab of male thickness that was his chest. He was so warm, and he felt so strong.
There was no point in attempting to shake off the effect he had on me because I was enamored the moment I felt his hands on me from the collision. His big strong hands were at my waist now, the heat searing me down to my bones.
“No. You don’t talk too much.” As if just noticing he was touching me, he snatched his hands away like I had burned him.
“Why else would you be avoiding me?” I questioned, wanting to know. “I need to know why you don’t want to be around me.” Why did I need to know so badly, questioning this man in his own house? I was desperate to know why he was avoiding me. Why?
“I enjoy your company.” His face scrunched, like the idea irritated him. “I’m not supposed to be enjoying anything. I’m supposed to be keeping you safe until my brother returns. But…” He swallowed.
Was he choosing his words wisely, or was he having trouble expressing them? Now that I was face to face with him again, I immediately recognized what I had been missing for the last three days. For some, it was a stiff drink or prescription drugs, but for me, it was Khane. He gave off something that comforted and relaxed me.
“I never connect with people. I don’t even like people. You, you’re not like them. I like being around you. But, you’re a distraction. It takes a lot not to let you in, to not rest in your presence, to not soak in the good vibes you give off.”
His raspy voice was a thick smoky blend of vibrations that tickled my insides, and his beautiful words about me left me stunned. I stood gaping at him with my lips parted, swallowing nothing, and awed by all that he had revealed, but also relieved that he had admitted sharing the instant connection I couldn’t shake.
We stared, eyes searching, bodies suspended in place. The silence that swarmed between us was a riot of pulse-racing energy, turning the space around us into a vicious storm of swirling hot need and raging want. I could tell by his heavy-lidded eyes that I wasn’t the only one caught in the storm.
He backed farther away, taking all that masculine warmth with him, but he hadn’t turned away yet.
“This shouldn’t be an enjoyable experience. I’m what stands between you, danger, and death. I’m your protection. It’s all we are to each other, and all we should be to each other.” His voiced lowered to a breeze, a sound above a whisper. “Instead, I become flooded with chaos every time I’m around you.”
Chaos? What was he talking about?
“We’re not doing anything wrong. What’s so wrong with enjoying someone’s company? I enjoy yours. It’s why I’ve been waiting up for you every night for the last three nights, trying to figure out what’s wrong.”
The statement caused his gaze to widen in surprise, but he stamped it down quickly. He turned away without replying, turning into the hall that led to our bedrooms. I followed, wanting my damn questions answered.
Used to walking on carpet and not hard floors, my stupid slippers slapped the floor as I struggled to keep up with his long-legged stride. “I thought we were getting along. What’s wrong with my company? Did I do something wrong?” I was firing off question after question, wanting an answer to a least one of them. I was never this needy with anyone. Khane had given me an answer, a good one, but I greedily wanted more.
We had made it half-way down the hall before my steps fell in sync with his quick stride and allowed me to catch up with him.
A stomp-clap sound came from my rapidly moving feet against the floor as I started tapping him on his hard shoulder blade, pecking at him like a determined woodpecker. “What’s wrong with my company, Khane?” I was playing with the pin of a live grenade, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.
One of my slippers went one way, and my feet went another when I was snatched up and pinned against the wall. The force of the swift movement was enough to jolt my insides as my feet were no longer on the floor.
Warm, hard, masculine strength pressed into me, sending a maddening rush of lust to every hot spot on my sex-deprived body. My splayed legs rested over the hard waves of powerful thigh muscles, my fingertips sank into the rippling hard flesh of his abs, and my other hand gripped a solid bicep as I struggled to breathe.
His stare touched me before it delved deeper, stroking my most intimate desires. We were so close that his intoxicating scent had me struggling to breathe, but it didn’t matter because we were stuck, possessed by the need of our raging passion.
“This is what’s wrong with your company. This is what it will lead to.” His words were deeply dipped in lust. His warm breath kissed my lips, making them tingle. His eyes remained on mine, sealing our gazes as he tugged on one of my locks, his fingers sliding down it until it sprang free.
I shifted my gaze to his sexy lips and the desire to kiss him grew so strong, I forced it down with a hard swallow. I was too overwhelmed for speech, so badly turned on by his closeness that I was left in a mindless trance and drenched in body buzzing hunger.
The heavy silence restricting my vocal cords, and I was certain my awed expression, snapped him back into the present state of our reality. He had allowed a small glimpse of the animal to peek out: the beast he was capable of becoming.
He eased me down, allowing me to see how high up the wall he had me. My shaky feet brushed the floor, and I was sluggish with my movements, but it wasn’t because I was hurt. I was aroused, insanely aroused.
His eyes crinkled at the corners and his face flooded with regret. “Please forgive me, Desiree. That should have never happened.” When he turned to walk away, I caught his arm, slapping my hand against his forearm to stop him. He froze, his eyes aimed at my firm grip on his arm before he cast a warning gaze up to meet mine.
“There is nothing to forgive. I asked, and you answered my question,” I stated, my breaths continuing to fly away in a mad rush. I kept the grip I had on him, but words escaped me. I was lost in the thick cloud of excitement we’d created.
Lifting my chin, I wanted him to see my eyes, hoping he saw all the desire and longing he’d put in them. After a long stare off, I finally released his arm and let him go.
Why did I have these confusing feelings for a man I wasn’t supposed to have any feelings for?
9
Desiree
Being an Evans had taught me to be tough. It taught me to be secure in my decisions and to be willing to accept the consequences of the choices I made. I wanted Khane Vallin even when I knew the consequences were likely to be hazardous to my health. I was likely flirting with death, but I accepted that I had been one reach out of death’s grip since the day I was born.
The man lit ambers in me that had been stoked countless times but had never been fully ignited. I had to know if the fire blazing between us would burn as hot as it had in that hall.
Khane had come in at a decent hour last night. I hadn’t waited on the couch like I usually did, but I waited up for him just the same. Other than exchanging pleasant greetings, we hadn’t said much to each other at dinner, but there was no denying the chemistry that we had allowed to break free.
The aroma of bacon had woken me tod
ay, and now I was rushing to the bathroom to pee and freshen up so I could make my way to the kitchen.
Anxious energy bounced through me, causing me to clench my hands together as I stepped into the kitchen. He stood at the stove tending to pots and pans, and upon my entry, his posture stiffened before he greeted, “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” I replied before I strolled up to him at the stove. “Can I help? I can’t cook for shit, but it’s never too late to learn, right?”
My comments caused him to smile, although he had yet to glance in my direction. He pointed. “You can crack those eggs into a bowl and grab the milk from the fridge.” Smiling from ear to ear at the invite, I grabbed the milk and took a bowl down from the cabinet.
He had finished his task on the stove, so he edged closer and gave instructions on the proper way to crack eggs. This was news to me as I didn’t know there was a specific way. He proceeded to instruct me on the ingredients that would make the eggs fluffy and tasty, how hot to heat the skillet, and how to scramble them. A wide grin sat on my face the entire time. Not only was I learning how to cook, but I was learning from the most unlikely source.
Based on his reputation, and the update that Mecca had given me over the phone last night, it was like getting lessons in domestication from a feral animal you were taught never to approach. One of those animals you rarely saw and were too afraid to meet because that introduction would mean your imminent death.
If that were the case, death was at my side, and he was teaching me how to cook. And dammit if I didn’t like this version of death. I had always had a thing for the bad boys but had avoided them because of the trouble I knew they stirred.
Why did the idea of flirting with someone so dangerous send a thrill of excitement through me? Why did the fact that I was engaged to his brother get shoved so far to the back of my mind, it barely registered as a reality?
