Thoughtful(84)

Setting down my coffee, I started to leave, but Kiera reached out and grabbed my arm. Feeling sad and defeated, I looked her way. You should just let me go. Staring intently into my eyes, she said into the phone, “Everything is fine.” I knew by her tone she wasn’t just answering some random question her sister had asked, she was letting me know that she hadn’t meant what she’d said.

She pulled my arm around her waist, and I needed her too much to resist her. Even if she thought I was a hideous beast, it didn’t change the fact that I needed the connection I felt when I was with her.

Relaxing, I smiled and held her tight against me as we both leaned against the counter. A bright red stain highlighted her cheeks while she stared at me. I wanted to know why, but didn’t ask her since she was on the phone. I’d like to think that she’d thought something about me though, something good.

I tried not to listen as Kiera finished up her phone call, but from what I did catch, the sisters were making plans to meet up. And Kiera wasn’t entirely thrilled about it. She cursed when she finally hung up the phone.

When she asked me not to share her swear with Griffin, I shrugged. I never actually told Griffin things about Kiera anyway. “What’s wrong?” I asked, smiling.

In a forlorn voice, she told me, “My sister. She wants to visit.”

I scrunched my brows. I’d pieced that together, but not the reason for her reluctance. “Okay…and, you don’t like her?”

Rubbing my arms, she shook her head. “No, no I do. I love her, dearly, but…”

She averted her eyes and I tried to regain contact with her. “But what?”

With a defeated expression, she looked at me again. “You’re kind of man-flavored candy to my sister.”

I laughed. Guess her sister was interested. And by Kiera’s description, her sister was far more aggressive than she was. Well, it didn’t matter much to me. Kiera was the only woman around in my eyes. “Ahhh…so I’m pretty much going to be attacked, right?” I laughed again, picturing having to keep Kiera’s sister at bay. This would be interesting.

Kiera wasn’t as amused as I was. “It’s not funny, Kellan.”

I gave her a warm smile. “It kind of is, Kiera.” The sister I wanted couldn’t give all of herself to me, but the one I wasn’t interested in was already willing to rip her panties off. I found that highly amusing, in a twisted way.

Kiera seemed to sadden more and more. Even though she looked away, I saw tears forming in her eyes. I still had no idea why she was so upset. What did it matter if her sister came out here? What did it matter if she was all over me? My heart was Kiera’s alone. Fully and completely.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, I murmured, “Hey…” Gently grabbing her chin, I made her look at me. “What do you want me to do?” I’ll do whatever you want. Just ask.

She looked like she was fighting with herself, wrestling with whether or not to be honest with me. I wanted her to. I wanted to understand the problem here. I couldn’t do the right thing in her eyes if I didn’t know what it was. “I want you to not ‘do’ her. I don’t want you to even touch her.”

She glared at me, and I began to understand. She was jealous. She thought I’d sleep with her sister, since I couldn’t sleep with her. As if I would want a pale imitation of the real thing. As if I could stomach being with anyone else, when Kiera was all that existed to me. I wasn’t sure how long I could go without sex…but I knew how long I could go without Kiera. And it wasn’t very long. I wasn’t going to do anything that might push her away. Touching her sister…wasn’t even a thought in my brain.

“Okay, Kiera,” I said, brushing her cheek.

Not understanding the depth of my agreement, her eyes filled with tears. “Promise me, Kellan.”

I gave her as reassuring a smile as I could. “I promise, Kiera. I won’t sleep with her, okay?” You’re the only one I want. It took her a moment, but she finally nodded and let me pull her in for a hug.

You’re the only one I’ll ever want.





Chapter 15





Heaven and Hell




The last several days with Kiera had been amazing. It was just like it had been before, but different. Before, we’d flirted, but we’d never acknowledged the flirting. We’d never even talked about it. Now though, there was innuendo in the air, and I was able to hold her, flirt with her, and tease her about it. It changed things, amplified our relationship. There was nothing innocent about our flirting now, but Kiera seemed comfortable with it, so I didn’t point out to her that there was enough sexual tension between us to power a small city. She had to know anyway, she just didn’t want to admit it.