Beneath the Surface (27 page)

Kyran’s talk with Trace made the pounding headache worse, but he was pretty sure they had reached an agreement. But only if Dale forgave him. A small part of him knew where she would run to, and Trace’s revelation had confirmed that. Dale’s brother had interrogated him, asking and probing until Kyran had no choice but to be honest and declare his feelings for Dale. The words sounded foreign on his tongue, so strange that he repeated them to Trace over and over. Uncertain whether or not Trace believed the confession, Kyran had continued his discussion for some time.

Kyran had walked out of Trace’s apartment feeling like they had reached a precarious agreement: to bring Dale home. He’d explained far more to Trace than he intended, some of those points entering his head and being verbalized for the first time. He had been so very blind, so locked in his control that the obvious passed him by. For him, there was now one option, and that was to right a terrible wrong.

Kyran had slept on the couch last night, hugging a pillow close and fooling himself that he could still smell Dale. He’d hated vanilla before her, still hated it on anything
but
her. He felt the same when it came to Dale’s need for a label. He’d fought it and battled to make sure they remained on a sex-only basis. By doing that, Kyran was the one to give them a label. It was the wrong one, and he’d known it for some time. He’d been fighting almost every aspect of his life for so long that when the one person he should have welcomed with open arms arrived, he’d done everything within his power to push her away.

No more.

It had taken her departure, and a few sharp punches to the face, for him to open his eyes. Now Kyran had to do something about it. He had to bring her home, and if he had to, he would drag her kicking and screaming.

Switching the windshield wipers on, Kyran drove to the harbor. The onset of rain had darkened the landscape. There were very few boats moored, and the few that were had begun to toss in the turbulent water.

“Great. Just fucking great.”

He turned off the radio and checked his face again in the rearview mirror, hoping the swelling had gone down. No such luck. He would have to face Dale and explain exactly how messed up he’d been since she walked away from him.

Climbing out of the car, Kyran tugged his coat on and pulled it tight across his body. The wind had picked up, sending cold splashes of sea water into the air. It slapped his cheeks, chilling his bones and leaving a salty taste in his mouth. There was, however, a large plus to the frigid air: it numbed his bruises.

Kyran hadn’t thought this plan through at all; the drive to get to Dale had been too urgent to pause and plot. Trace had told him more about their childhood home and the small island where they had been raised. Going to Dale could have waited—after all, he knew where she was—but the urgency to get to her increased by the minute. Nevertheless, looking out |

across the sea now made him question his decision. The water was rough,, and he needed to figure out how he would get across to Barren Island.

Kyran had intended to pay someone to ferry him across, but after glancing around, he noticed the dock was deserted.

He checked his watch, confirming that it wasn’t too late. There had to be someone hanging around. Impatient and needing to feel her again, Kyran acted without over-analyzing. He just needed to be with her. It was that simple.

Walking along the dock, he ignored the cold and shouted for attention.

“Hello? Anyone here?” He checked the boats, hoping to see even the smallest flicker of light. Kyran would not be defeated, even if he had to swim the damn sea to reach her.

“You okay there?”

Kyran squinted toward the sound of the voice and saw a head pop up above the deck of a small speedboat. A man walked up the steps and over to the edge of his boat so that Kyran could see him more clearly. The boat tilted in the water but the man stood his ground, not needing to shift his weight at all.

“Um, I need to get across to Barren Island.”

“Tonight?”

Kyran nodded, watching the frown lines appear on the man’s forehead.

He wiped his hands on a cloth, his gaze drifting down Kyran’s body. “Not going to happen, buddy. The taxi runs five times a day. Last one was about an hour ago.”

“Anyone here that would take me? I’d make it worth their while.”

The man looked intrigued. “How so?”

“I’d pay.” Kyran moved closer to the boat, hoping it would buffer some of the wind. “A lot.”

“Really? Because you don’t seem like the kind of person with cash to splash.” He pointed to Kyran’s face.

“Trust me, I’ll pay. The bruises are evidence of a miscalculation on my behalf. So would you?”

“Seems kinda important for you to get there, huh?”

Kyran was dying to say something sarcastic, but he knew this man could be his ticket to Dale. He gritted his teeth and responded, “Not that it’s any of your business, but I messed up with my girlfriend. She left, and now that I’ve come to my senses, I think she’d appreciate the grand gesture of me coming to haul her ass back home.”

The guy smiled and beckoned for Kyran to climb aboard. “Must have been some argument if she left you.”

“I was an ass. According to her, I usually am.”

“Well, I guess I can’t refuse the great grand gesture, right?”

“I hope not.”

The man tossed the cloth down the ladder and closed the doors to his personal quarters. He pointed at a space for Kyran to sit and began preparing the boat. “You’re lucky,” he said. “I was just getting ready to leave for the island anyway. Another ten minutes and you would have been on the dock until dawn.”

“Then I suppose fate is on my side for once.”

“Always possible, buddy. Always possible.”

Kyran stayed silent while the man started the boat and began to ride the choppy waves toward the small spot of land he could just make out.

“I’m Kyran, by the way.”

“Dale.”

Kyran blinked and snorted loud enough that the man looked back at him. “What?”

“My girl? Her name is Dale, too.”

He grinned at Kyran, flashing a set of the whitest teeth he had ever seen. “Then it really is fate.”

Curious why this Dale was heading to the same island, he shouted, “Do you live over there?”

Nodding, he shot Kyran a quick glance. “Sure do. Bought a house over there about a year ago. I’ve got a girl over there, too. Difference between us is that my girl doesn’t want a gesture of any kind. Doesn’t stop me trying, though.”

Kyran looked over to the land that approached. The splash of the waves and the rev of the engine were the only sounds to break the silence between them, though it wasn’t long before Kyran felt the need to speak.

“Maybe she would change her mind if you bombarded her enough.”

Chuckling, Dale shook his head. “She’s strong willed, and once she sets her mind on something, there’s no changing her.”

“Sounds familiar.”

“Ah, your lady a stubborn one, too?”

“Aren’t they all?”

They rode the rest of the way without speaking, each of them locked in their own thoughts. As they neared the dock, Kyran’s heart began to speed up. He couldn’t control the escalating excitement. He was on his way to get the girl and give her the label she wanted.

The banging on the front door woke Dale from her fitful slumber. She had fallen asleep on the couch, and now she had a stiff neck. She squinted at her watch, trying to see the time. The television illuminated the room and the rain tapped against the window pane. It wasn’t late but the heavy weather made it appear much darker.

Dale rubbed her eyes and rearranged her oversized sweater as the banging continued.

“All right already! I’m coming.”

The knocking ceased, though she doubted whoever it was would stop for long. Still blurry from sleep, she shuffled toward the hall. The light on the small porch needed a new bulb. The dimness made it impossible to see her visitor. It appeared her father was still out at the bar, otherwise he would be cursing, too.

“Seriously!” She pulled the door open. “What is your problem? One knock would . . .” The rest of her tirade died on her tongue when she saw who stood outside. At first her head told her she knew who it was, even though she couldn’t quite believe the man was really standing out on her porch. The T-shirt he wore was soaked through, clinging to every contour of his body. His tattoos were visible underneath the long, wet sleeves.

Bruises marred his face, and his lip displayed a rather gruesome cut.

“You’ve been fighting? Or should I say, you’ve been losing?” Dale asked, placing her hand on her hip and telling her heart there was no need to leap with excitement.

Kyran shrugged. He dropped his backpack onto the floor and scrubbed the rain from his face. “You weren’t around to save me from myself.”

Dale bristled. “No, Kyran. You will not fucking blame me for your behavior—for your need to feel everything in excess.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. The women you sleep with, your work, the boxing.

You need the volume increased on everything. We could never be
just sex
.

You can’t do
just
anything.”

“That’s why I’m here.” He took a step closer to her. “Please, baby, let me in.”

Her heart leapt again at the sound of his endearment. Stiffening her spine, Dale tried to stand her ground. She wouldn’t melt at his feet because he’d followed her there. No matter how much she wanted to. “Why are you here?”

“Let me in and I’ll explain.”

Dale wavered, more than a little concerned about how wet he was.

He’d come a long way, and she suspected it wasn’t for a booty call.

Kyran stretched his arm out, minimizing the space between them. He cupped her face and brought his other hand up to mirror the first when she didn’t protest. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach. Seeing him there made her a little lightheaded, his touch made her weak-kneed, and the longer he stayed, the more her will crumbled.

Kyran caressed her cheekbones, focused on her. When she didn’t protest, he removed the space between them and backed her into the house.

The door slammed behind them. Dale gasped as he spun her around and pressed her body against the door as his cool, wet one pushed against her front.

“Christ, baby, I missed you. I didn’t know that. I didn’t know anything.”

Confused, she opened her mouth but never got the chance to speak.

Kyran’s mouth met hers in a hungry, somewhat brutal kiss. For a short while, Dale got carried away in the moment. She allowed the kiss, fooling herself into thinking he had followed her because he cared, but it was all in her head.

On that thought, she shoved his chest as hard as she could and attempted to put some distance between them. “Don’t. I’m not your latest fixation, Kyran. You don’t have to force things with me just because of my feelings for you. I’m a big girl now. I can cope with rejection.”

Scowling, Kyran fumbled with the hem of her sweater, and for a moment, she fooled herself into believing he just
had
to touch her.

“Why would you want to deal with it if I’m not rejecting you?”

“You’re confusing me, Ky. I don’t understand what you’re saying. I don’t understand why you are here. And how did you know where I was?”

Kyran lowered his head, rubbing the back of his neck as he muttered, “Trace.”

“Should have known. The snitch.”

“It’s irrelevant, Dale.” He pulled on the hem of her sweater. “And as for not understanding, if you allow me to talk, I’ll make everything clear.”

Her throat tightened, the butterflies suddenly going crazy. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear whatever he had to say. She doubted her heart could take it.

“I don’t know where to begin with this, so I may ramble a little.” He took a deep breath and linked his fingers with hers. “From the start—from that very moment you walked into my office, wobbling on those heels and leaving a trail of vanilla-scented air—I began to drown. Every time I took a breath, the air was filled with you. I fought it, determined to ignore your siren call.” Lifting their entwined hands, Kyran placed her palm over his heart. It was out of control, pulsing as fast as hers. “But you kept dragging me under, and beneath my controlled surface, something was happening to me.”

Lightheaded, Dale made herself ask, “What? What was happening?”

She felt his heart speed up as he lowered his face to hers.

“I was falling in love with you. Hook. Line. And fucking sinker. You took the ground from under my feet and left me with nothing to cling to but you.”

Dale melted against him. His lips met hers, but where before it had been heated and intense, this time it was slow, soft, and sensual. Her world spun, and in an attempt to stop it, she held his head in place, grazing her nails along his scalp. “Oh God.” She whimpered as tears burst free.

“I mean every word,” he whispered, delivering little pecks to her bottom lip. “Let me show you, baby.”

Dale couldn’t have said no even if she wanted to. The ability to speak seemed to have disappeared around the same time he’d told her he loved her. It had to be a dream. Maybe she was still sleeping on the couch.

If it was, she didn’t want to burst the bubble, so she allowed herself to be carried away on Kyran’s brand of intoxicating lust.

Dale rolled her hips shamelessly against him, showing him just what she needed. Kyran rocked his hard thigh against the seam of her shorts and whispered once again how he felt. Her ears started to buzz, along with the heavy rush of hot, desire-laced blood as it pumped through her veins.

Kyran deepened the kiss and pressed Dale forcefully against the door. He smoothed his hand up under her sweater, caressing her side, and she gasped at his touch. Clutching at his biceps, she felt the muscle tense under her fingers. Her sex throbbed in response. This was going to spiral out of control—the need to rediscover each other, to affirm their feelings, drove them forward.

Kyran kissed down her neck, pushing the sweater off her shoulder and nibbling on the delicate skin. His stubble rasped along her collarbone, causing her knees to buckle. He chuckled and turned them around, trying to back her toward the stairs. When she stumbled, he lifted her up and nuzzled her chest.