Billionaire Bachelors 10 ; Holiday Treasure(49)

Of course, he'd never done that to a woman, and he didn't want to be the kind of man who did. Kyla wasn't some cheap hooker, and he wasn't a complete bastard. Or at least he hoped he wasn't.

Even just thinking about bailing out on her like that turned his stomach. When the officers left and he shut and locked the door right behind them, he found himself wandering back to his bedroom, just standing there in the doorway and watching the rise and fall of her beautifully bare chest as she breathed evenly in her sleep.

She was stunning both inside and out. It was depressing to think that he'd never really looked beyond the externals with any other woman he'd been with. He'd really only cared that they looked good on his arm and satisfied his needs in the bedroom.

Kyla had seemed like a completely new woman last night, much different than the shy woman he'd been with a week earlier. Her confidence with him and with her own body had made her bold and daring, and she'd taken his breath away more than once. She'd teased him once again about leaving his socks on, but he'd found a satisfying way of distracting her when she'd told him she was going to pull them off. The last thing he'd wanted was for her to find the monitor. But that was a nightmare in his life that was now over and done with.

As she began to stir, he left his position in the doorway and went to start a pot of coffee. When it had just brewed, she walked into the kitchen, her hair tumbled and his shirt the only thing covering her, offering him a tasty view of her honey-toned thighs.

"I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your shirt," she said, shifting nervously on her feet.

"You look far better in that shirt than I ever have," he said with a smile before he walked over and leaned down to join their lips for a brief kiss.

"I have to agree. I prefer you without any shirt at all."

"Merry Christmas, Kyla," he whispered, his throat uncomfortably tight.

"Merry Christmas, Tanner. I … uh … have a favor to ask of you." Her voice was wobbly.

He was ready to say that he had to get going, but that's not what came out.

"Anything."

"I want to go home - where I lived with my parents, I mean - just to see the place, just for a few minutes," she said, choking on the last part of her sentence.

"I think that's a great idea," he told her, though he really didn't understand why she'd want to do something like that.

"I know we don't know each other that well, but I don't want to go there alone."

Ah, no wonder she was having a difficult time asking him. Did he really want to go along with this? It seemed too intimate, too personal - more so even than making love. He was walking away from this woman today. He started to tell her no, but once again, the wrong words came out of his mouth.

"Of course I'll go with you." What was with his brain these days?

But her sweet smile made it all worth it.

"I'm going to get changed; would it be OK if we went in half an hour?"

When he nodded, she ran back to his room, gathered her clothes, and then opened his front door, peeking out into the hall before crossing over while still wearing only his shirt. He wouldn't mind if that was all she wore the entire day.




 

 

Shaking his head, he went and grabbed a change of clothes, then jumped into the shower. She would return within minutes and he was glad, because if he had too much time to think about this, he would find a way not to go with her, and though their time together was over, he needed to grant her this one final request.

Tanner didn't know why it mattered, but he wanted her last memory of him to bring a smile to her face. If she were to hate him, he didn't think he could bear it. He was going to leave her, though, so why should her feelings matter at all?

By the time he climbed from the shower, he still didn't have any answers.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kyla trembled as they stood on the front porch of her family's home. The dried out and browned Christmas wreath still hung in the center of the door, testifying that this home had been a tomb for the past two years. She was so afraid to walk inside - terrified of what would be on the other side of the heavy wooden door.

"Take all the time you need."

Kyla jumped at the sound of Tanner's quiet voice. They hadn't said much at all since she'd returned to his apartment to find him ready to go. And now she'd been so lost in her thoughts that she'd forgotten his very existence.

Was this a mistake, she wondered, coming here on Christmas morning? If so, when would be the right time? If she was going to do this, now was as good a time as any.

Because her fingers were shaking too badly to insert the house key in the lock, Tanner gently took it from her hand, set it in the keyhole, and turned. The sound of the long-unused lock clicking open seemed louder to Kyla than a rifle shot. He didn't touch the knob, just waited to see what she would do next.