“Yeah?” Disbelief lined his voice. “And what are you gonna do? Sew my heart back together?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t plan to sew your heart back together, but I have every intention of stitching your broken pieces to my tattered ones. That way we can both be whole again.”
As broken as he may have been, Kyle wasn’t the only one.
He said nothing as he dropped his arm from around my back and placed his hands on each side of my neck. Pressing his thumbs into the bottom of my chin, he tilted my head back. “If you stitch our hearts together, Princess, you can’t ever tear them apart. If you do, it’ll be the end of us both. You realize that, yeah?”
“It’s a good thing I don’t plan on tearing them apart then,” I whispered, setting the raw vulnerability filling my chest free. “This may come as a surprise to you, but I’m counting on me and you becoming a forever kind of thing.”
Hope burned in his pupils.
Eyes locked on mine, he softly pressed his lips to mine in a chaste kiss.
Once again, I melted.
“Want to know a secret?” he asked, his lips hovering over mine.
I nodded. “Always.”
“As messed up as I am and as dark as my soul may be, every bit of good that remains in me is falling head over heels in love with you, Carissa.”
My heart fluttered; my soul stirred.
“And no matter what happens from this day forward,” he continued, “you will always own every piece of my jacked-up heart. That’s a fact. Only thing I ask for in return is for you to take care of it. The poor bastard has been broken enough. It can’t take much more.”
My shoulders jerked as a sob followed by laughter climbed my throat and slipped past my lips. “You have an uncanny ability to say the sweetest things while using the filthiest language.”
He smirked. “It’s a gift.”
I hummed. “One of the many you possess.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Is that right?”
I shrugged, remaining mute.
“Well, Princess,” he said, removing his hold on me. “Guess it’s time to remind you how gifted my mouth is.” Before I could process his meaning, he bent at the waist and tossed me over his shoulder.
I squealed as he carried me down the hall, through his bedroom, and into the adjoining master bath.
It was there, beneath the steamy showerhead, with my back pressed to the tiled wall, that Kyle reminded me exactly what he could do to my body with a simple flick of his tongue.
Twice.
Twenty
Carissa
It was a quarter to nine when Kyle parked his truck next to my car at the back of the shelter’s gravel-covered lot. Dressed in a fresh change of clothes, I sat next to him, my head resting against his arm.
Earlier, after showering together—among other things—Kyle had driven me home long enough for me to fill a duffle bag with clothes. Determined to keep me from staying at the house by myself while he was on shift, he’d made me grab everything I would need for the rest of the week.
Since Heidi was already planning on staying with Ashley at Anthony and Shelby’s for the next few days, I hadn’t argued nor put up a fight. For one, I didn’t want to, and for two, it would have been pointless.
Ornery and hardheaded as he was, Kyle would’ve gotten his way.
I sat straight when he turned off the ignition, killing the engine. After unbuckling his seatbelt, he turned to face me, his intense eyes boring into my own. “What time do you get off tonight?”
“Nine.”
He nodded. “What time do you have to be back tomorrow?”
“I don’t. I’m off.”
Lifting a hand, he caressed my jaw with his thumb. “Good. I’ll be on shift for the next twenty-four, but after I get off, you and I are spending the day together.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “And what are we going to do?”
“I’m taking you to the beach,” he replied, dropping his hand to his lap.
“So that’s why you told me to pack a bathing suit.”
He smirked. “That and I wanted to see—”
Kyle snapped his mouth shut when someone tapped on the driver’s side window three times.
Tap, tap, tap.
Swiveling his head around, Kyle glared at the smiling face peering through the tinted glass. “What the hell do you want?” he asked one of his two best friends. “I’ve got fifteen minutes left before I have to start putting up with your shit for the next twenty-four hours.”
Hendrix, goofball that he was, smiled. “Ah, come on, sweetheart,” he teased. “You know you missed me.” His amused eyes found mine. “Morning, C.”
I offered a polite wave.
“Maddie is waiting for you,” he said, nodding toward the shelter. “Had a couple of intakes come in last night and Hope called in sick, so she’s running around like a chicken with her head cut off. I tried to help her, but I ended up pissing her off, and she kicked me out.”
“How surprising,” Kyle mumbled.
Panic assailed me. “Crap, I need to go.” I turned and grabbed the truck’s door handle, pushed open the door and jumped out, dragging my purse and duffle bag out behind me. “Kyle, I—” I snapped my mouth shut when I glimpsed the expression on his face.
Uh-oh…
He looked pissed as he popped open his own door, hitting Hendrix. “Move, dipshit,” he growled, before slamming it shut and rounding the front of the truck to reach me.
I set the duffle, along with my purse on the ground.
“Carissa, babydoll, do me a favor.” Hendrix glared at Kyle’s back as he rubbed his arm where the door hit him. “Teach this asshole some manners.”
I didn’t reply.
Upon reaching me, Kyle grabbed my waist and pushed me against the bed of the truck. My eyes bulged as my tank top covered back met the cool metal. “Baby,” he said, his eyes locked on mine, “don’t you ever run away from me like that again. Not unless you want me to chase you, yeah?”
I ignored the excitement that danced in my belly at his words.
I stood tall, my chin in the air. “Maddie needs my help.”
Placing his palms flat on the truck, he caged me in with his arms. He leaned forward, pressing his chest and abs against me. My belly flipped as his warmth combined with the smell of his cologne bled into me. “I need you a hell of a lot more than Maddie Cole ever will, Carissa.”
Driven by the need to touch him, I slid my hands up the front of his shirt, resting my palms on his granite abs. “I need you too,” I replied, digging my nails into his skin.
His face moved toward mine, and I readied myself for the kiss he was about to—
“Come on, y’all, damn!” Hendrix hollered, interrupting the moment. “It’s broad daylight and we’re fifteen feet from a busy road.”
Kyle froze. “Swear to Christ, I’m about to kill him.”
“No,” I interrupted him, “you aren’t. He may be a pain in the rear end, but if you kill him, Maddie will kill you.”
Shaking his head, Kyle stood straight, dropping his hands from the truck. He looked over at Hendrix, a scowl on his face. “Speaking of Maddie, I don’t know what she sees in you.”
I turned in time to see Hendrix tap his chest with a fisted hand, a cocky grin in place. “Want me to take off my pants and show you?” He waggled his eyebrows, and I didn’t know whether to gag or laugh.
Kyle looked a heartbeat away from coming unhinged. He pointed toward Hendrix’s truck. “Last chance, Cole. If you don’t leave now, my fist will be in your face in the next five seconds.”
Hendrix’s smile grew. “Love you too, sugar tits.” He looked from Kyle to me and winked. “Take care of my wife, C. Make sure she doesn’t work too hard.”
I nodded. “I will. Promise.” Hendrix turned to walk off, but I wasn’t done with him yet. “Hendrix, wait!” When he looked back at me, I rushed to continue. “I need y
ou to do something for me.”
“Name it.”
“I need you to keep Kyle safe for me. I’m sort of planning on keeping him around, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let anything happen to him.”
Kyle stiffened and an emotion I couldn’t read flashed in Hendrix’s eyes. “Don’t worry, C, I’ve got his back,” he replied. “Always.”
Without saying another word, he walked off and climbed into his truck. Seconds later, he started the engine and pulled out of the lot, disappearing down the road.
I looked up at Kyle and slid my arms around his lower back. “What are you thinking about?”
“You,” he whispered in reply. “Always you.”
“What about me?”
He shook his head. “Not now, baby. If we start this conversation here, neither of us will make it to work today.”
My curiosity was piqued.
“Promise to tell me later?”
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “I do.”
I glanced back at the shelter. Images of a stressed-out Maddie running around the building flashed in my mind. Turning back to Kyle, I pressed my body against his, hugging him tightly. “I’ve got to go, Hulk,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Maddie needs me.”
Kyle didn’t want to let me go.
That much was obvious.
Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead against mine, remaining silent.
“Kyle,” I whispered, my skin tingling.
“What is it, Princess?”
“Are you going to kiss me goodbye or not?”
His eyes opened; his dark irises homed in on me. “Just try to leave without giving me your lips first.”
I quirked a brow. “What if I do?”
There was no hesitation on his part. “You do, and I’ll put you over my knee and spank your ass raw.”
I dropped my arms from around him and covered my mouth to silence the sounds of my ragged breaths brought on by the excitement that coursed through me. Never in my life would I have thought the threat of being spanked would turn me on, but when it came from Kyle’s mouth it sure as heck did. “You can’t say stuff like that,” I mumbled from behind my palm. “That’s just…just….”
One corner of Kyle’s lips turned up. “Just what?”
“It’s just—”
The ringing of my cell phone cut through the morning air, interrupting me. Without having to look at the caller ID, I knew who was calling.
Maddie.
“Oh fuck this.” Agitated, Kyle grabbed my hips and yanked me into him. His hands found their way to my neck, and before I could take a single breath, his lips slammed down on mine. Holding me tight, he slipped his tongue into my mouth where it sparred with my own, fighting for dominance.
I moaned, clenching the front of his Toluca FD shirt in my fingers.
Gasping, he ripped his lips from mine and lifted me into his arms, burying his face against the side of my neck. My legs wrapped around his waist. In return, he leaned my back against the truck. “This is bullshit,” he growled against my skin. “I shouldn’t have to leave you here.”
Eyes closed, I dropped my head back, tilting my face toward the sky. “We both have to work.”
He growled, and the sound reverberated down my spine. “It’s still bullshit.”
“Carissa!” Maddie’s voice ripped through the air, grabbing my attention. I looked toward the shelter; my eyes found her immediately. Hands on her hips, she glared at me first, then Kyle. “I know he’s cute and all, but do you think you could detach yourself from Kyle and come inside? I’m the only one here, and, well, I’m about to rip my hair out.”
“Coming!” I unwound my legs from Kyle’s waist and slid down his front. “I need to go.”
He nodded. “Yeah, baby, I’d say you do.”
I bent over and picked up my worn duffle, followed by my purse. Then, I started to walk. Glancing over my shoulder, I looked back at Kyle. “Call me tonight?”
Sliding his hands into his pockets, he stared at me, a look of apprehension on his face. “I will.” He lifted his chin into the air. “You still have the key to my apartment that I gave you?”
“I do.”
“Good. Use it tonight.” His jaw clenched. “I mean it, Carissa. You better not go back home.”
I rolled my eyes and tossed a handful of sass his way. “I’ll think about it.”
Instead of getting angry at my response, Kyle smirked. “You keep running that mouth, baby, and I‘ll fill it.”
Maddie gagged, and I laughed.
Coming to a stop next to Maddie, I winked in his direction. “That’s what I’m counting on.”
Without saying another word, I pulled open the heavy door and disappeared inside.
Maddie followed. “Well,” she said, amusement lacing her tone. “If that didn’t leave the man with blue balls then I don’t know what will.”
Still laughing, I headed for the office. “Come on, Mad,” I said. “I need you to keep me busy, so the day goes by fast.”
That’s precisely what she did.
Twenty-One
Kyle
Twelve hours and thirty-two minutes…
Standing in the bay next to one of Station 24’s two ladder trucks, I stared down at my watch, my eyes glued to the countdown timer looking back at me. With each second that ticked by, I grew antsier, more eager for my shift to be over.
It had been over thirteen hours since I last saw my girl.
I was about to come out of my skin.
Without her, everything felt wrong.
My gut was unsettled, my chest empty.
I couldn’t stand it.
More than anything, I wanted to pull out my phone and call her, but I couldn’t. She’d clocked out minutes before; therefore, she was likely driving to my apartment. Answering the phone when she was behind the wheel wasn’t something I wanted her doing.
If she gets in an accident, I’ll lose what is left of my mind.
“If you mess this up you know I‘ll beat your ass, right?” Ty’s hard voice jerked me from my thoughts.
Eyes narrowed, I looked up, meeting his gaze.
Seated on a metal bench across the bay, he glared at me, his arms crossed over his chest. “Seriously, Tucker, I don’t care how far back we go, if you hurt Carissa, I swear—”
“I won‘t hurt her,” I snapped, interrupting him. “Ever. So take your bullshit threats somewhere else.”
I sounded like an asshole, but I didn’t care. I was sick and tired of people assuming that hurting Carissa was even an option for me.
It wasn’t.
Besides, Ty had no reason to say anything to begin with. He didn’t know Carissa. Not really. He may have harbored some misguided protectiveness toward her because of his feelings for Heidi, but it needed to stop.
Carissa was mine to protect, not his.
“You sure?”
“What did I just say?” My temper flared. “Christ, Ty, you of all people should know I’d stab myself in the balls with a dull icepick before I did something to hurt Carissa. That girl is my entire life!”
He continued to stare at me, an assessing look on his face. “That mean you’re going to finally let it all go?”
Pissed at the words he’d already spoken, I didn’t catch where our conversation was headed until it was too late. “Let all of what go?”
He stood and slid his hands into his pockets. “Lily.”
One word, one name.
That’s all it took for my already on-edge mood to plummet into the pits of hell. “Don’t talk to me about my sister.”
Ty’s face hardened the slightest bit. Shaking his head, he sneered at me. “You selfish bastard.” He chuckled in a mixture of irritation and disbelief. “What’s it going to take for you to pull your head out of your ass?”
Hendrix chose that moment to walk into the bay.
Right away he knew stuff was about to escalate.
He looked from Ty to me, then back to me again. “I do
n’t know what’s going on but Kyle, dude, you need to stay calm.”
Ignoring him, I lifted my chin in the air, my gaze focused on Ty. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said,” Ty replied, the picture of arrogance. “You use what happened to Lily as a weapon, and it’s got to end, man. If it doesn’t, you’ll fuck up the one good thing you have without even realizing it.”
My eyes narrowed. “A weapon? Explain that.” I was hurtling toward the point of no return. If Ty didn’t watch his words my fist would be in his face before he could blink. “And don’t talk to me about fucking up with Carissa. At least I have the woman I want”—I pointed at him—“unlike your coward ass.”
A sinister smile crossed his face. “You want to see a coward, Kyle? Go take a long look in the nearest mirror.”
“Alright, that’s enough.” Hendrix stormed forward, grabbed a fistful of my shirt, and attempted—keyword, attempted—to push me through the open bay door.
I stood my ground, refusing to budge. “Nah, I want to hear what he has to say. Come on, Ty,” I urged. “Keep talking. Unless you’re too much of a pussy to even do that.”
Ty's infamous temper appeared, and he exploded.
Red-faced and madder than I’d seen him since we were kids, he charged me. He fisted his hand in preparation of throwing a punch—or two—but at the last moment stopped, seeming to gain a thread of control. “You spineless bastard!” he yelled. “I am sick and tired of you using what happened to Lily as an excuse for being such a miserable piece of shit! You want to mope around, mad at the world for something that happened two decades ago? Be my guest. But the minute you drag Carissa, and by extension, Heidi, into the cesspool you swim in daily, we’ve got one hell of a problem.”
“Who the fuck do you—”
“I heard you,” he interrupted, a malicious smile tugging at his lips. “Early this morning, in your apartment, I heard you,” he repeated. “It might surprise you, but that happens between next-door neighbors sometimes,” he goaded. “The walls in our apartments are paper thin, the vents perfect conductors for sound.”
Every Time We Touch: A Redeeming Love Novel (Book 5) Page 16
