For once, Kyle wasn’t in the middle of masturbating when I threw open his bedroom door.
“Kyle?”
He was lying on his stomach, still fully-dressed. The room stank of alcohol.
“Kyle?” I dropped my planner in the armchair and carefully crossed the room. “Are you all right?”
“No,” he mumbled into the pillow. “My head feels like there’s a Frenchman living in it.”
I stifled a laugh. “Too much to drink, huh?”
He groaned. “Maybe.” I could barely hear him past the pillow.
I gently rubbed his back, and he groaned again. “Maybe I should have gone with you last night, if only to keep you out of trouble,” I said drily. He muttered something I couldn’t hear. “What was that?”
He lifted his head a scant inch. “Just let me die,” he said, dropping his head again.
I smiled down at him, although he couldn’t see it. “I have news.” He grunted. “Do you want to hear it, or are you too busy feeling sorry for yourself?”
He rolled over and looked at me through slitted eyes. “News?”
I nodded and folded my hands in my lap. “I got to thinking last night about what you wanted for Wendy.” He raised his eyebrows. “If I were trying to avoid an abusive partner, I’d want security. So I did some research last night and found your sister a one-bedroom condo in a place with ’round the clock guards.” He was struggling to sit up now, his eyes open a little more. “Thought you might want to go check it out with me this morning. But if you’re too hung over...” I let the words trail off and gave him a mischievous smile.
“Seriously?”
I nodded.
“What about the apartment in your building?”
I shrugged. “If the condo looks good, we can stop off at my place and tell the manager we’ve changed our minds. I haven’t signed off on anything yet.”
Kyle studied me for a minute, then nodded slowly.
“Come on,” I said, standing. “Let’s get you up. You need coffee and a shower.” I wrinkled my nose against the smell of alcohol. “Not necessarily in that order.”
He dropped back onto the bed as I headed into the en suite and turned on the shower, testing the water. I wasn’t sure how hot he liked it, but the steam would help get some of the alcohol out of his pores, at least.
Back in the bedroom, Kyle had buried his head in the pillow again.
“Come on, Kyle,” I said, tugging at his arm. “Get up.” He groaned once more. “Don’t fight me on this,” I said softly, and he raised his head to look at me.
“Fine.” He rolled out of bed and slouched into the bathroom. I picked up my planner from the chair and flipped to the day’s schedule, settling in to wait for him to finish his shower.
It was taking him an awfully long time.
“Kyle?” I got up and poked my head into the bathroom. His clothes were in a heap on the floor, and I could just make out his form through the frosted shower door. “Are you all right?”
“No,” he grunted. “I’m still drunk.” It was difficult to hear him over the running water.
I couldn’t suppress my giggle. “Do you want me to get you a glass of water?” I folded my arms and leaned in the doorway.
“I had something stronger in mind,” he said.
“Coffee it is, then.” I giggled again.
“Funny girl.” There was a pause. “You could join me in here,” he suggested.
My cheeks felt hot. “No,” I said flatly. “No, I couldn’t.” No matter how much I might want to.
I heard his low, deep chuckle. “But what if I fall down in my drunken state?”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Are you that drunk?”
“As far as you know? Yes.”
I laughed, and heard him chuckle again. The idea of joining him in the shower was becoming more tempting by the second.
“Do you need help?” I asked playfully.
He groaned softly. “I definitely need something.”
“Oh? What?”
He pressed a palm against the inside of the shower door. I could see it clearly through the frosted glass.
“Keep talking,” he said. “I’ll tell you when to say my name.”
My blush deepened; I could see myself in the mirror over the sink. Part of me wanted to strip off my skirt and blouse and step into the shower with him. To see what his hard, muscular body looked like when it was dripping with water. To feel his strong hands on me as we kissed in an artificial rain. To know what it felt like to have him bend me over, my hands against the glass door, as he –
“Charlie? You still there?”
I swallowed nervously, feeling my own wetness starting.
“Yes, Kyle.” He groaned again, and I laughed weakly. “I’m surprised you can manage that in your drunken state,” I teased.
“Trust me; it’s hard,” he admitted.
I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle my laugh. “Maybe it’s not hard enough,” I said, my words muffled. There was a beat, and he laughed loudly.
“Difficult,” he amended, and I giggled behind my hand. “It would be a lot easier with you in here, though. With your body against mine.” My laughter died, and I dropped my hand. My heart was pounding in my chest. “With your mouth on me,” he continued. His voice was soft. “Mine on you.”
I forced a light note into my voice.
“Is that all I am to you? Just a warm body?”
There was a bang as he shut off the water. He threw the shower door open, and I stepped back, my eyes wide. He stared intently at me.
“No,” he said. The hunger in his gaze was enough to make my pulse race. “Don’t ever think that.”
His skin glistened, and despite what he’d claimed, he didn’t seem to have had any trouble making himself hard. His cock was as stiff and as impressive as it had ever been, and I honestly don’t know how I found the strength not to kneel at his feet and take him in my mouth. I bit my lip, feeling the ache between my legs grow stronger and more insistent.
I looked away. “I’ll go get you some coffee,” I said, turning to the door. “Finish up and get dressed.” I ducked out of the room before he could say anything.
I took my time getting him coffee. When I got back up to the bedroom, he was dressed, in jeans and a black t-shirt, and sitting on the end of the bed, his head in his hands. The bandage on his left hand was almost soaked through, and I could see a black mark under it.
I held out the mug. “Take this.” He did, both hands closing around it. “Drink,” I said, and he did, then wrinkled his nose.
“Priscilla made this, didn’t she?”
I laughed. “What makes you say?”
“Tastes like her mood.” He drank again, taking half the cup in one swallow. I sat next to him and watched him. “Tell me more about this new place,” he said, glancing at me.
“The building was designed with security and privacy in mind.” I lifted my hand and ran my nails over his back. Whenever Samantha and I were sad, this was something that soothed us. I didn’t know if Kyle was unhappy or just hung over, but I wanted to do whatever I could to help him feel better. “The condos are pricey,” I admitted, but he shook his head.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “No price is too high.” He lifted his head from his mug. “And that feels really nice.” He gave me a wan smile.
“Here.” I kicked off my heels and settled on the bed behind him, on my knees. I scratched my nails gently up and down his back, drawing random patterns on his shirt, the way Samantha and I had done for each other as girls. “Visitors to the building have to go through a locked gate and two security checks in the lobby, and there’s a guard on each floor.” I thought for a minute, idly tracing the muscles in his back. He sighed softly, and I stopped using my nails on him.
“Don’t,” he whispered. “Please. Don’t stop.”
I smiled and went back to what I’d been doing. “Better?” I asked. He nodded and finished his coffee. We sat there for a long while, and I started wondering if it would be a good time to ask him how he felt. Samantha couldn’t be all wrong. “Kyle,” I began, but he suddenly stood up, crossing the room and setting his mug on one of the dressers. “Kyle? Are you all right?”
“Fine,” he said shortly, glancing back at me over his shoulder. “When can we see this place?”
I slid off the bed and slipped into my shoes, then eyed him warily. “Right now, if you like. The office is open all morning.”
He turned to me and nodded curtly. “Good.” I tilted my head at him, trying to see his eyes, but he avoided my gaze. “Let’s do this, before she changes her mind.”
We took my car. I didn’t trust him to drive in his condition. Of course, we argued about it the whole way. Well, he argued. I just listened to him complain that I didn’t drive fast enough. Or that my little Camry was an automatic – his Jaguar was a standard, apparently – and automatics didn’t offer enough control. Or that I took side streets instead of opening her up on the highway.
By the time we’d reached the condo’s office, I was ready to kick him out of my car while it was still moving.
He was pleasant enough when we spoke to the condo manager though, and when we inspected the grounds and the lobby, Kyle was actually starting to cheer up. When we stepped into the suite, his eyes widened, and I smiled quietly. I’d seen pictures, so I knew what to expect.
“This is fucking perfect,” he said softly. He wandered around the condo while I spoke with the manager in the beautiful, fully-outfitted kitchen. When Kyle came back, he slapped a hand down on the marble counter. “Sold.” He looked at me. “I’ll go pick her up tomorrow. No,” he amended. “This afternoon. She can stay at the house tonight.”
I laughed, pleased that he was so happy with the place. I wrote out a cheque, the manager and I shook hands, and Kyle and I were on our way to my own building before the clock had even struck twelve.
We drove in silence for a long time. Finally, Kyle sat back in his seat and folded his arms behind his head. “Fucking fantastic,” he murmured at last. “You’re an angel, you know that, Charlie?”
I smiled. “I’m glad I could –” I wrinkled my nose. There was a weird smell in the air. “Kyle, do you sme–” I stared into the distance, slowing down the car.
Oh. Oh, no. It couldn’t be.
“What?” He followed my gaze, and his mouth dropped open. “Oh, fuck, Charlie.”
We pulled up to my building and stared. The whole thing was ablaze.