A Major Attraction (11 page)

“Good. Because my rent is paid through the end of this month.” She stared at him, wondering who the real Kyle Waters was. The gorgeous, wonderful man she’d fallen in love with? The womanizing jerk she’d confronted earlier? Or this wounded man who stared at her as if he regretted what he’d said?

“I didn’t want to keep you away any longer if that’s why you haven’t been to the house since Sunday.” He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “I’m so sorry about Sunday. You just don’t understand…” He paused and moved out of the way of new customers, muttering something under his breath. “Like I said, the house will be empty tonight if you wanted to pack the rest of your things. I’m going out of town until tomorrow. But I’ll be back, so if you need help moving them, I could—”

“Don’t bother,” she interrupted. Then she turned her back on him and smiled at the people waiting to be served.

****

Kyle watched her interact with the customers. Despite her pleasant voice, her smile looked brittle, her eyes both angry and miserable.

He wanted to kick himself for being such an ass and decided then and there to make things right, regardless of Olivia’s present feelings.

He stared at her a moment longer then left the shop, praying she’d take him up on his offer. If she showed tonight, he could put part two of his plan in action. He only hoped part three would bring him to the end state he desperately desired.

Later that night, Olivia entered the house and stood quietly, making sure she was alone. The house creaked from the sudden wind, but other than that, nothing stirred.

Glad yet heartsick, she tried to ignore the signs of him all over the place and moved straight to her room. She looked around, seeing the remaining items she would need to pack.

She’d thought about bringing Maria to help but needed the time to herself, to come to some closure about her failed relationship with Kyle. She intended to stay the night and had told Maria she’d call tomorrow for help moving the last of her things.

So now she had time. Olivia stared morosely at her bed. Instead of packing her remaining books, knickknacks, and linens, she sat on the edge of the bed and gazed unseeingly at the floor. Her chest hurt, an ache brought on by misery.

She still wanted to know why everything had gone so wrong. “Just what did I do?” she asked aloud, not expecting an answer.

“Nothing,” Kyle answered softly from the doorway.

She gasped and stood abruptly. “You said you wouldn’t be here!”

“I lied.” He shrugged and leaned against the doorframe. His green eyes looked hazy, both with satisfaction and another, murkier emotion. “Now why don’t you let me explain?”

She stiffened, the rage she’d only begun to feel earlier consuming her like wildfire. She cursed him from here to hell and back, vile words she’d heard over the years, mostly from her father and brothers.

Throughout it all, Kyle remained silent. He stared at her, his eyes curiously solemn. Almost…contrite?

“Well?” she asked on a breath, her chest heaving. “What are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you be down the street screwing your precious redhead?” To her dismay, her eyes filled. “You and Becca Morris deserved each other.”

The moment that first tear slipped down her cheek, Kyle’s expression changed. “Olivia, no baby, don’t cry.” He looked horrified and rushed to her side.

“Just go away.” She tried to push him back and found herself in his warm embrace.

He held her tenderly, rubbing her back while he continuously apologized. “Olivia, I’m so sorry. I’m such an ass. I didn’t mean it, any of it. Please, honey, let me explain.”

Olivia’s sniffles turned into a full-fledged crying jag that made her furious with him. That she wanted to bask in his warmth made her that much madder. She struggled for freedom, glaring at him through watery eyes when he finally released her and backed toward the door.

“There was no other woman,” he said bluntly.

“Sure.”

“Lisa doesn’t exist. I made up the name. There’s no one else. It’s only been you, Olivia, since the moment I ended my last relationship nearly a year ago.”

“The redhead? Throwing me out of the house? What was that all about then?” Her heart pounded, demanding the answers he apparently had finally decided to give her.

Kyle sighed and pointed toward the bed. “Can you sit down? Please? Just let me explain, and if you still want to pack up and leave, I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

Olivia stared at him, suspicious, but decided to hear him out. Why not? Let him tell her whatever he wanted to salve his conscience. Then she’d leave him with as big a hole in his heart as she had. She grabbed a box of tissues off a side table and cleaned up her tears.

“Good,” he said with a breath when she sat. “You probably won’t believe me now, but I love you.” He stared at her, but she kept her emotions tightly bound. He sighed again and continued. “I love you so much it hurts. That’s why, when I saw you kissing a strange man outside your coffee shop, I lost it.”

Olivia was shocked. “Strange man? What are you talking about?”

“Brad, your
brother
.” He sounded disgusted. “I jumped to the wrong conclusion. When Maria told me your brothers were the men helping you pack, I was floored. You told me Brad was out of the country for the next few months. So when I saw you kissing some stranger... You told him I was no one important, and then you two talked about celebrating his return and sleeping over. I didn’t know what the hell to think. I assumed he was the man you really wanted all along.”

She remembered the joy filling her at Brad’s return. “But he’s my brother!”

“I know that. Now. I ran so hard that night I think I gave myself shin splints.” His lips twisted. “I was so hurt, so angry, and my mind kept reminding me what Becca had done. You and she did make a deal for the house.”

“Yes, but that was when she tricked me.”

Kyle grimaced. “I know. You don’t know how sorry I am about this mess. If I had just asked you about Brad, you could have explained everything. But my pride got in the way.” He swallowed hard. “I didn’t want you to know how much you hurt me. Hell, Olivia. It felt like you’d skewered me right through the heart.”

His eyes looked shiny, and he blinked several times before he continued. Olivia could only stare at him, absorbing his words, his pain a revelation of feeling.

“I was stupid, I know,” he admitted. “But I thought if I could make you think I didn’t care, I could somehow make the hurt less for me. Instead, I made you feel like shit and made myself feel worse.”

He took a few tentative steps closer, halting on one knee before her. Wiping a tear from her cheek, he stared deeply into her eyes. “Olivia, can you ever forgive me? I love you so damn much I ache. I can’t stop thinking about you. I’m so sorry. You don’t know how sorry. I should never have doubted you.

“I have no excuse for the cruel things I said. I’ve never been so in love before, and I didn’t handle you well. There is no Lisa, and there never will be. Hell, you know all the neighbors around here. If need be, we’ll go door to door, and I’ll prove to you there’s no one else. There never could be. You are everything to me, Livie.
Everything.
If you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

Olivia studied his green eyes, so full of honest emotion, wet and full of love. She couldn’t believe Kyle was tearing up for her. “You should have trusted me.”

He nodded, caressing her cheek. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, but he didn’t look away.

“You should have simply asked me about Brad. God, Kyle. I kissed my brother. A quick little kiss on the mouth. That was it. How could you think...
ew.
You know, your communication skills need a lot of work.”

“A lot of work,” he repeated gravely.

“Don’t think I’ll let this slide just because you’re trying to make me feel sorry for you.”

“I won’t.”

“Because all this really is all your fault.”

He nodded.

She huffed. “Are you going to agree with everything I say?”

He nodded again, a spark lighting his eyes. “If that’s what it takes to make you forgive me. Baby, I’ll do
anything
for you.”

“I’m a career woman, you know. I’m not good at blindly following anyone, not even a man I might love.”

Hope blazed in his face, but he said nothing, merely waited.

“If you think that sorry apology you just gave me is enough, think again.” She tried to look serious, but couldn’t help the elation filling her. There was no other woman. He’d explained, begged an apology, and he
loved
her.

“Please forgive me, Olivia,” he begged again on his knees. “I swear I’ll work on my jealousy. Hell, I’ll go to counseling if you want me to. Whatever it takes to have you in my life. I love you, Livie.”

You couldn’t get much better than that
. “I might be able to forgive you,” she said with a sexy grin, “if you make it worth my while. Kiss me.”

Kyle didn’t wait. He pressed his lips to hers with so much passion and emotion Olivia’s heart felt as though it would explode. He caressed her, teased her, and filled her with love, leaving nothing in check.

“Olivia,” he uttered hoarsely when he paused for breath. “I love you so much. I’m empty when you’re not with me. God, I’m so sorry for hurting you. I’m going to show you all night long how much you mean to me.”

He kissed the tear stains from her cheeks with a gentleness that made her want to cry all over again. With slow hands, he undressed her, kissing every inch of skin he exposed.

When he’d bared her breasts, he lingered over them, sucking her nipples and teasing the full globes. She felt close to orgasm, so stimulated by his touch.

He continued to suck while he slowly lowered her jeans. He peeled them down her legs, pausing over her underwear. Pressing his nose against her mound, he inhaled deeply, murmuring words of love as he stripped her completely naked.

“Now you,” she ordered, staring up at the man she loved.

He undressed slowly, and she savored every moment. His biceps curled, his chest flexed, and his abdomen clenched under her gaze. He removed his clothes quickly, his breathing rapid under her stare.

His erection jutted, bobbing with need while he gazed at her, and Olivia wanted nothing more than to take him to new heights.

“Come here.” She rose to her knees.

He did so, his eyes narrowed to slits when he saw the intent in her gaze. “Olivia, this is for you,” he tried to object.

She took the whole of him in her mouth, and he groaned, clenching his hands in her hair. “Olivia, no.” He gasped. “I’m so hard it won’t take me long to come. I want this to be for you, baby.” He moaned again when she drew him deep, running her tongue over his length.

She cupped his sac and teased his cock, sucking all of him before releasing the head of his penis, then starting over again. She continued her torment while his balls drew tight, and she tasted the dewy seed that beaded at his tip.

“You’ve got me so hard,” he said thickly, staring down at her.

She looked up as she caressed him, so wet with her own arousal and feeling the same need she could see in his jade-green gaze.

“Let’s do this together.” He removed himself from her lips. “Lie back.”

She laid back, anticipation licking like fire, and waited while he turned around, positioning his head between her legs, his cock near her mouth.

Then he kissed her, sucking her clit, and she saw stars.

“
Kyle
.” She reached for his erection and took him in her mouth. She stroked him with lips and tongue, her movements in tandem with his.

The pleasure built until he thrust a finger inside her. His teeth nipped her clit, and she heard him groan when she took him deeper between her lips, the crown of his shaft pressing the back of her throat.

“Yes, Livie, yes,” he urged against her pussy as he lightly thrust in and out of her mouth. She could tell he tried to be gentle, but desire rode them both hard.

He consumed her with an intensity that clearly showed him nearing his end. She swallowed him as fully, taking him deep, stroking him with pleasure as the ecstasy built. While she teetered on the brink. When he sucked hard on her clit and thrust another finger into her, she convulsed and drew hard on his cock as she came. He continued to lick her as he moaned and filled her mouth with seed, shuddering in orgasm.

She swallowed the creamy spill that flooded her mouth. He tasted sweet, spicy, and male—like the man she loved.

They clung to each other, not wanting to let go but knowing this intimate interlude had finally ended.

Kyle shivered as he slowly withdrew from her mouth. Leaning down, he gave her clit one final kiss then turned to face her.

“You taste so good,” he whispered in awe. “You have a magical tongue.” He hugged and kissed her, and she tasted herself on his lips. “Now don’t go to sleep,” he chided when her lids closed. “I’ve got a lot of groveling left to do.”

“Mmm,” she agreed, content to be in his arms forever, her body sated, her heart and mind fixed on the man at her side.

“It’s going to be a very long night.” He smiled against her cheek.

Olivia Waters smiled at her husband and son playing in her parents’ backyard, thinking about the changes her life had taken since marrying Kyle five years ago.

Maria and Mike had moved to New Bern with Mike’s new assignment at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina, some forty-five minutes away. And now Maria oversaw the second Cava’s Java, which had been a success soon after its opening.

Olivia patted her swollen belly and grinned. Well, she’d been planning an expansion. The third Cava’s Java would have to wait another few years, but the Waters household had definitely seen its share of change.

Pulling in a few favors, Kyle had been able to stay at Camp Lejeune for his next tour. In just a year he would retire, with plans to open a restaurant in downtown Swansboro. Though he would always love history, his passion for cooking had grown into a project he planned to pursue. She knew he would make his restaurant a success, having been the beneficiary of his cuisine for the last several years.