CHAPTER EIGHT
KYLE
The Man For The Job
†
MY MIND WAS ON ERIS as I laid back on the couch. I found myself smiling at the thought of her now probably asleep in the other room… my room. She’s sure as hell not a little kid anymore, that’s for damn certain.
I turned to get more comfortable, propping a pillow up under my head, yawning. God, I was dog-tired. The ‘quick’ dinner turned into a three-hour encounter and I had to call it a night, not being able to ignore her clear exhaustion. I insisted on her spending the night as it was after midnight already and no time for her to be traipsing back to the dorm. I just ignored her fervent protest, but she yielded once she realized I was not going to back down.
I wondered if she had any idea how fucking sexy she was when she protested so passionately, making me wonder what fire lay beneath that small exterior. God, what I can do to that tight little body of hers would make the devil blush. It took all I had not to go into my own bedroom and ravish her right there and then.
“Snap out of it Kyle,” I said aloud, needing to bring myself back to reality.
Don’t even go there. After all, she’s Alex’s sister and she needs your help right now, not your damn unwelcome advances.
Besides, I knew Alex would have my balls if he knew where my thoughts were right now, and he would be in his right doing so.
Strange, there was still something so innocent about her… even sulking like a child when she didn’t get her way. Fuck she was stubborn. Hadn’t she heard a word I said earlier about her being out at night alone? I’d to literally take her by her shoulders and insist that there was no way in hell that she was leaving here tonight, and that if she didn’t get her ass into that bedroom, God help me, I’d pick her up and carry here there myself.
That’s when she pouted…
I groaned out loud.
Sleep eluded me. My thoughts on my unwilling guest.
Why did I feel such relief when she told me she was not involved with someone? The thought of her in someone else’s arms, naked and moaning, was more disturbing than I’d care to admit.
Eventually, exhaustion took over as I drifted off to sleep, my traitorous mind lingering on the thought of what her mouth would taste like…
†
Eris surprised and delighted me. There was no question as to why she had this scholarship. Her questions were not only well thought through but also clinically relevant.
“Although total revenue of the world’s fifty largest book publishers topped fifty billion dollars last year, less than half of those publishers posted revenue gains, the balance reporting sales declines. One of the companies that had the toughest year was Pearson, which had a fifteen percent decline in sales. Yet Hampton Publishing showed a gain, although small…”
I caught that…
“…in such a tough economic market. What would you say were the main two contributing factors to the growth?” she asked, her expression serious.
“It would be mainly due to the acquisition of two smaller magazines, which had a growing online fan base. They just lacked the experience, expertise and leadership to grow. It’s not about marketing as much as identifying the right market. If you have a market, you create the product that they crave and cater to that… exactly what we did.”
“And the second factor?” she prompted, looking up from her notepad.
“You have to stay curious… don’t be afraid to explore new options.”
I knew as I was making the statement, that I was thinking about her more than I’d care to admit, my gaze now grazing over her body. Her breasts were full and perky underneath the tight white T-shirts she was wearing, slightly covered by an emerald-colored cardigan that made her eyes a deeper shade of green. Her faded jeans stretched tight around her legs as she tugged one underneath her, her feet bare.
My attention was drawn to the pencil she kept pressing between her teeth… biting it softly…
“Want some water?” I jumped up.
Fuck.
I needed to take control of my mind… and my own goddamn libido.
“Yeah, thanks. I need to get going anyway as I have a class in thirty minutes,” she said, looking at her watch.
“Fine. When do you want to continue the interview?” I asked as I handed her the glass of water, our fingers touching briefly.
Her eyes downcast, she mumbled a quick thank you and gulped the contents down without taking a breath, avoiding eye contact. Clearly, I should’ve offered earlier as she seemed parched.
I could swear our touching had something to do with it, but at that point, I couldn’t trust my own judgment so I pushed the thought aside as quickly as it came.
After she left, I mused over the time we had spent together these last two days, and truth be told, I really enjoyed it. She was intelligent, well read and clued up with current affairs. But even so, there remained a vulnerability… an innocence about her… adding to my growing attraction.
I brushed the thought aside, convincing myself that the protective instinct I felt towards her was nothing more than a residual effect of us being old friends and a loyalty I had towards her family and especially towards Alex. He wasn’t around so I could just step-in and fill the role of big-brother for now.
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I had a realization. I understood why Eris would have a problem with speaking in front of people. She was never allowed to do just that.
Not to judge my best friend too harshly. He was just a good a friend to me as he was an older brother to Eris, but he used to step in more times than I could remember, talking on her behalf and fighting her fights for her, not allowing her to stand up for herself. Being small in stature and so damn innocent looking, it was natural for Alex’s protective instinct to kick in, and over-protect his little sister. She seemed to have that effect on most people around her. Even her own parents played a part in this. I knew they meant well, loving their kids dearly, but they didn’t do her any favors sheltering her like that.
Fuck, she just seemed to have that effect on everyone around her. Even me.
Now it made sense why Eris was such a good writer. Writing gave her a voice.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that her accepting a scholarship so far from home, might have been her subconscious need to become independent. She wanted and needed to find her own path… find her own voice.
She didn’t need another older brother… she needed a damn mentor. Someone to guide her to realize her own strength, help her voice her truth and support her in reaching her full potential. Get her to the place where she could recognize what an incredible woman she was.
And I was just the man for the job.