Freed (Bad Boy Hitman Romance) (9 page)

“It’s a matter of courtesy.”

“Courtesy?” He cocked a brow up at me, and his grin widened.

“Yes, courtesy. If I’m a booty call then so be it, but we should make sure that is clear here and now so we know where things stand.” Damn, I cringed inwardly, I was sounding like a teenage girl with a crush.

“Uh-huh.” He nodded. He was humoring me. “So, you want to define what we have going on here?”

“Ye- Umm. No. What I’m saying is that I want transparency.”

“Okay. How about this? How about you get your shoes on, and we go for a walk? We can chat and see where we stand, for the sake of transparency.”

Kyle was trouble. Big trouble. I knew it. The sirens were going off in my head, and one thing my father drilled into me was
 
you always listen to your intuition. But, at the same time, I felt some sort of connection that ran deeper than the physical. Like this man might have insight into who and what I was.

Another thing… How in the hell did he get here so quickly? I only sent the message maybe 5 minutes prior?

Something just wasn’t sitting right with me. Tilting my head to the side, I eyed him, hoping to get the answers just from staring at him. I couldn’t.

After a moment’s hesitation, I agreed.

Chapter 9

Grabbing a pair of sneakers, I slipped them on. As I walked past the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, I cringed. In a pair of jogging pants and sweatshirt two sizes too big for me – something I borrowed and never returned from a previous boyfriend – and my hair in a ponytail, I looked like I’d just crawled out of bed after a weekend bender. Okay, perhaps not that bad, but there certainly was plenty of room for improvement.

“You look amazing.”

Huh?
I shifted my focus to Kyle, and my cheeks grew warm at being caught checking myself out. “I’m not exactly dressed to be out.” I motioned towards him. He was wearing a black, v-neck knit shirt, jeans and a black leather jacket. He looked hot. “Especially compared to you.” Men were so damned lucky. A pair of jeans and a form fitting t-shirt over a decent body was all they needed. Women, on the other hand, had to fuss with make-up, ill-fitted dresses, and heels to achieve the same height of sexiness.

He chuckled. “Hardly. Come on.”

Grabbing my keys and not bothering with my purse, I exited the room with him, closing the door behind me.

“So, what would you like to talk about?” I asked as we walked down the corridor.

“How about family?”

“Family?” I sighed. It was the last topic I wanted to discuss, but I could lie to him just as well as anyone.

“Yeah, our chat at the restaurant was a little hectic, and I thought we could just have a nice conversation. Get to know each other. If we’re going to pursue a relationship beyond something physical, then we should know about those things, right?”
 

 
“Well, how about you start then? Tell me about home?” I said, buying myself some time to formulate exactly what I wanted to tell him.

“There’s not much to say.” He shrugged.

“I’m sure there is. You wanted to discuss family,” I reminded wagging my index finger at him.

Kyle laughed. “Okay. Yeah, you’re right.” He took a deep breath in and slowly released it. “As you already know I’m from the UK, London to be exact. Before that, Belgium.”

“Yup.” I nodded. “I remember that part.”
 

“Well, my father is an intense guy. He has a number of businesses on the go, and he’s usually busy. Been like that all my life. He has a priority order: business, me and then my mother.”

I scrunched my nose up at him. “That’s sounds like a pretty tragic situation. What about your siblings?”

“No siblings. Just me. To be honest, he is so focused on his pursuits and ambitions, that no one in his life has ever or will ever get a fair shake. So it was for the best.”

“That must be hard on your mother. Is the priority list as clear to her as it is to you?”

He clucked his tongue off of the roof of his mouth, as he appeared to consider his response. “Well, not to talk badly of my mother, but somewhere along the line, she’s grown to accept she’ll never be number one. Or maybe in her head, she hopes one day she will be. Though on the flip side, as you may have already guessed, we’re not exactly poor. I think she’s become accustomed to a certain lifestyle and leaving my father means she loses all of the perks that comes with being with him. I honestly can’t speak for her. It’s only my amateur evaluation of the situation. I’ve never been all that close to my mother, if I were to be honest.”

“The same.” It seemed we had similar types of childhood relationships. I too had been closer to my father than mother. I too saw where my father’s priorities lay, and they’d never really been with my mother. She failed to see it, but the fact was not lost on me growing up.

“Perhaps when I was young, but it’s been like that for a very long time.”

“I see.” We exited the building and began walking down the sidewalk, towards the park. “That sounds like a rather cold and lonely environment to grow up in.” I stared up at his profile. His jaw clenched as he finished speaking, and instead of looking at me, he stared straight ahead. There was more to the situation than he was letting on. I was tempted to press it but suspected it wouldn’t do any good. I doubted he was the type of guy who would fall for me batting my eyelashes and getting my way.

He smiled and looked down at me. “It wasn’t that bad. My father is driven. He has shown me that drive and a willingness to do what’s necessary equates success in life.”

“Hmm. But isn’t there limits? Morally speaking. Do whatever it takes is a pretty broad statement.”

Kyle’s smile widened, and his gaze took on a look that I couldn’t quite place. The look he gave me made my “Spidey Senses” tingle. But just as quickly as that feeling came, it left me again, and I wondered if I imaged it.

Maybe I was being silly. Life for me growing up wasn’t what you’d call ‘normal’. My father was a preacher, and he was like a superstar in the community. He was highly charismatic and ran his family like he ran his church, with an iron fist.

But the person he portrayed himself to be wasn’t the person he truly was. His mind was filled with darkness. I knew this for a fact. I was the only one in the family that realized that, however. I’d seen it with my own eyes, well, sort of. My sister and mother fell for his act. So, I had to wonder if growing up with my father and the craziness of my family had jaded me.

“Limits? Hmm.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, so question for you.”

“All right…”

“What are your religious beliefs?”

I hesitated a moment before I answered. For some reason, I didn’t want him to know my father was a preacher. “Atheist.”

“Okay, so am I. But why are you atheist?”

“Reason and science. It seems harder to believe there is a God than there isn’t.”

“Then you feel humans are the same as other animals, just more advanced.”

“Hmm. I suppose that would be accurate.”

“Then let’s talk morality. What do you base your sense of right or wrong on?”

I shrugged. “Society. Society would help to develop a sense of morality.”

“So you let other people judge for you what is right and wrong, even if it goes against your instincts? Your sense of morality has been built on the expectations of others.”

This conversation was making me uncomfortable. Many of the emotions normal people felt, I didn’t seem to be able to feel. Was there something wrong with me mentally? I didn’t know. I didn’t want to think so. Not everyone had to be a slave to their emotions like Vanessa, or my mother, or sister, did they? Regardless, I was done with this topic of conversation.

“You’re getting kinda heavy for a third date,” I said lightly, with a little laugh. “God, morality, and such.”

He eyed me, staring at me so hard it felt like his eyes were piercing into me and spearing my soul. It was as though he knew every single thought and emotion I have ever had, and I didn’t like it. It was completely irrational of me to think such things, but I couldn’t help it.

Pulling his stare from mine, he laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry. Perhaps I should have taken philosophy instead.”

“Double major, philosophy and Psychology,” I suggested.

“Yeah.” He laughed again and gave me a wink. “Smart girl. Maybe I’ll consider it.”

We entered the park and headed towards the large cement fountain in the middle of it. Once there, we both took a seat on the edge of the base which doubled as a bench.

“So you haven’t told me about your family yet.” He draped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me tight to his side.

“Hmm.” I shrugged. “Not much to say.”

“Your sister must really miss you. Where’s she at?”

I opened my mouth to speak and then snapped it shut. My eyes narrowed as I stared at him. He was smiling down at me, patiently waiting for my reply. I never told him I had a sister. I knew for a fact because I never told anyone about Emily. The moment I left home and arrived in California, she’d been X’d from my life and good riddance. How did he know then?

After a moment’s hesitation, I replied. “I don’t have a sister.” I forced a smile onto my lips and gave his shoulder a playful swat. “Must be the other girl your dating.”

Laughing, he shook his head, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement. “Nope. I’m sure you told me you did. Emma. Or…”

My entire body stiffened. I hadn’t told him. I was sure of it. My hackles were rising and I eyed him with open suspicion. Who in the fuck was he that he knew about Emily?

“Okay busted…” he said suddenly, giving a nervous little laugh.

“Huh?” I was preparing myself to bolt, my muscles becoming even more tense. Something wasn’t right. Who was this man? I didn’t even have my Taser with me. I was completely unarmed if worse came to worst.

“Okay, I have a confession to make.”

My eyes narrowed at him, my guard not dropping. “What kind of confession?”

“Before I met you, I was dating a girl, and I think I just got the backstories confused. I’m so sorry. It’s been a taxing week.” He frowned. “I’m really am sorry. I broke it off with her after our second date. If I’ve been acting weird, that may have had something to do with it. I was feeling guilty.” Raking the fingers of his free hand through his hair, he let out a loud huff of air. “I hope this doesn’t affect what we have, or what’s developing between us.”

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding until that very moment and relaxed back against him. I must have had some serious issues to think there was anything suspicious going on with Kyle. He was a cocky player, and that was the worst of it. A voice in the back of my mind screamed for me to not let it go, but I chose to ignore it.

Looking back up at him, I smiled, a wide genuine smile. “I think I can get over it.”

“Good.” He leaned down and captured my lips with his. My entire body seemed to sigh as I placed my hand on his chest, and turning more directly towards him, I slipped my hand up and over his shoulder, leaning into the kiss.

He pulled my lower lip into his mouth and sucked lightly before releasing it and deepening the kiss. I moaned against his lips, and all fears, worries and concerns were gone. A heat began to form between my legs, and the all too familiar need for him ignited.