ON THE WAY home, I couldn’t wait to call Kyle. I didn’t want Tyler to know I was calling him so I waited until I pulled out of the parking lot to dial his number. He picked up on the second ring.
“How did your date go?” he asked.
“It went great and ended with a little tongue. Thanks for asking.”
He chuckled. “I bet.”
“Nic even got an interview with Kacey and said it went terrific. I’m hoping she gets hired.”
“I’m sure she will. You on your way home?”
Actually, I had a better idea. “Nope. I’m on my way to you. What’s your address? I’m coming over.”
“The only way I’m going to let you come over is if you tell me you missed me this week.”
“Really?” I shrieked.
“Yep, now say the words, love.”
“No. That’s ridiculous. I’m not gonna lie.”
He snorted. “But you just did.”
I opened my mouth to say something and then stopped; he got me with that one. And judging by the satisfied chuckle he tried to contain, he knew it too. “Fine. You want to play games? Then it looks like you won’t be hearing what I have to say. Bye-bye, French fry.”
“Megan, wait—”
Taking the upper hand, I hung up the phone. He was going to drive me insane. I had to hand it to him, he could definitely get my blood pumping. I did miss him, but I wasn’t about to give in to his antics. If anyone was going to submit first, I wanted it to be him. I got my wish when my phone started to ring. Deliberately, I refused to answer it, hoping it’d make him feel the restlessness I felt inside.
With a smirk on my face, I pulled into my neighborhood. He was just going to have to sweat a bit longer.
To my surprise, that wasn’t going to be very long. Because in my driveway, there Kyle stood, beside a sleek, black motorcycle. I hit the button to my garage and pulled past him. He walked up to my door and opened it with a smirk on his face. “You are one stubborn woman, you know that?”
I got out and bumped him in the arm when I passed. “Look who’s talking. I was trying to come over to your house to give you some good news, but you decided to be a pain.”
Chuckling, he followed behind me. I was tempted to slam the door in his face, but who was I kidding . . . I wanted him there. He shut the door and joined me in the kitchen. Opening the freezer, I grabbed the bottle of vodka and a shot glass out of the cabinet.
“Want one?” I asked, holding up the bottle.
“Only if I’m staying, however, I have a strange feeling you’ll be kicking me out.”
I snorted. “Good point.” Pouring a shot, I tossed it back. It burned going down, but it felt good.
“Have I driven you to drinking?” he asked with a chuckle.
I poured another one. “Actually, this is me celebrating. This whole week I’ve been on edge, trying to keep everything hidden, but now I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Putting his hand on my shoulder, he turned me around. I finally got a good look at him. His whitish blond hair was in disarray from his helmet and the way he stared at me with his mismatched eyes made me tremble. With my shot in one hand and the vodka bottle in the other, Kyle took the bottle and set it down on the counter.
“What happened with Rushing?” he asked.
Smiling, I drank the shot and then grabbed his hands; they felt good in mine. “Guess who gets to officially start working with me next Monday? You need to get some more moves ready.”
His brows furrowed. “You can’t be serious. Tyler agreed to this?”
“Yep, and he’s even thinking about paying you. Isn’t this awesome? You’re one step closer to getting your sister back.” He beamed and I wished Tyler and Kacey could see how genuine his smile was. One day soon they would see it, I was positive.
“Does Kacey know?”
Sighing, I pulled him into the living room and we sat down on the couch. “Not yet. Tyler’s not exactly ready to tell her.” Nodding, he turned his head, trying to hide his disappointment. Taking his chin, I turned him to face me, the stubble on his face tickling my fingers. “Don’t worry. She’ll come around. You just need to be patient a little while longer. Oh, and I also took off a couple of days after the honeymoon so I can go with you to California. We’ll get Paxton to fix your truck.”
“You’re really going to go with me?”
“It’s a win-win. I hitch a ride with you and I get to see my friends.”
The vodka in my stomach made everything feel warm. Or maybe it was the heat from Kyle’s body. I liked it, whatever it was. He put his arm around me, pulling me into his side and I went willingly. “From the first moment I met you, I thought you’d be the last person to give me a chance.”
I shrugged. “What can I say, you’re growing on me. It’ll be nice to get away for a few days. I just have to wait until after the honeymoon. Can you wait that long?” When he didn’t answer, I sat up. He was looking down at the ground with a sly smile spreading across his face. “Do I even need to ask what you’re thinking about?”
His eyes met mine. “You just gave me the perfect idea.”
“About what? All I talked about was California, your truck, and the wedding.” As soon as I said the last word, his face lit up. “Kyle, no,” I exclaimed, knowing he was up to no good. “Please tell me you’re not going to crash it.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it crashing. I’ll simply be attending a wedding to watch my sister get married.”
“But you weren’t invited. Do you realize what you’ll be walking into? Everyone you ever fucked over will be there.”
“Which makes it the perfect chance to do what I have to do,” he added.
Eyes wide, I turned my body to face him. “Are you insane? You’ll ruin their wedding. I know you want to be there, but it’s not the right time or place.”
Smile gone, he grabbed my shoulders. “You couldn’t be more wrong, love. Kacey wanted me to get forgiveness from the people I’ve hurt. What better way to do it than with her right there to witness it?”
“And what is my part in all of this?” He bit his lip and smiled sheepishly. Groaning, I shook my head. “I can’t believe you want me to do this. I already put my neck and possibly my job on the line for you today.”
Taking my hands, he lifted them to his chest and held them at his heart. “I know and you have no idea how much your faith in me means. It’s all that’s keeping me here.” He leaned over and pressed his forehead to mine. “Please do this for me, Megan.”
“Fuck me,” I grumbled. “I’ll do it but I really, really don’t want to. You’re gonna owe me for this.” His smile made me melt.
“Thank you,” he murmured. “I won’t ever ask anything else of you.”
I snorted. “Why do I not believe that?”
Sitting back, he looked down at my lips and grinned. “Because it’s a lie. I want to ask something else of you.”
“What is it?” I whispered.
Letting my hands go, he reached around my waist and pulled me into his lap. “Kiss me. And not because I asked you to, but because you want to.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Then I would say you’re a liar. Your mind may say no, but your body tells me otherwise. I’d rather you listen to your body.”
I got up and straddled his lap, using the back of the couch, I boxed him in with my arms, leaning in until I could feel his hot breath on my lips. I felt his body flex in anticipation and the movement made my insides twinge. He wanted me and I held the upper hand. It was a rush of adrenaline. He leaned in, trying to make the connection, but I sat back and smirked, maintaining my space. I thought he’d laugh at my power move, but his eyes turned dark with need.
Leaning in again, I pressed my lips to his, softly at first, but then I bit his lip and sucked on it, rocking my hips into his arousal. His grip lowered and tightened on my ass as he deepened the kiss, groaning into my mouth. I wanted to rip his clothes off right there and knew this was moving too fast. He hadn’t proven enough yet, I’d be stupid to give in now. Breathing hard, I broke away and sat up. “The answer, by the way, is yes.”
“What’s the question?” His half-lidded gaze caught mine as he pushed up into me a few times, his body less willing to stop than his mind.
“The one you incessantly asked me every day this week, if I missed you. And the answer is yes, I have. Just don’t make me regret it.”
The door opened behind us. “For Christ sake!” Nic whined as she barged into the living room and caught us grinding on the couch. “Have you never heard of a bedroom? My eyes may be permanently damaged now. Do they have Lasik for this type of shit?”
After she dramatically made her way to her bedroom with one hand over her eyes and the other out in front of her, the moment between us had cooled. At that point, we decided it was best for him to head home before things went any further.
It was a good thing Nic had such bad timing, otherwise who knows what we would’ve ended up doing.