When Angels Cry (9 page)

“Why not?”  Kaylee’s breath caught
.  H
e sat close enough so their arms touched, and she felt the warmth of his skin through his shirt.

“There isn’t anything magical about words.  It’s what we do or don’t do that counts.” 
Bastian shrugged.
  “For example, I could say that you
’re
beautiful
,
but it wouldn’t mean much.
”  Bastian looked into the depths of her eyes.

“Why do you say that?” 

Bastian smiled.  “Okay, it wouldn’t mean half as much as if I said you were beautiful and then did this.”  He leaned over and caressed her lips with his.  As they yielded to him, parting slightly, he slipped his tongue into her mouth. 
A
fter a moment, Bastian pulled away and
re-
memorized her features: lips still slightly parted, her head tilted slightly, and her eyes closed as though she were dreaming.  Bastian savored the beauty of her face.

E
yes still closed, she
whispered
, “Tell me I’m beautiful again.”

“Why?” 
Grinning, Bastian stroked her hair.  He caressed the hollow of her throat, and the soft rosy scent of her perfume filled him.

“Being the gentleman you are, once you tell me something you’ll back it up with actions.”
  Kaylee’s eyelids fluttered open.

Bastian chuckled softly.  “Damn straight.”  He leaned
in
close, touched his lips to her ear, and said, “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”   He nibbled her earlobe
, and s
he whimpered.   He touched her throat, traced his fingertips over the soft skin.    He kissed her cheek
.  H
is lips found hers
again
, and
found
a warmth he’d never expected
amid
such a winter.

Chapter Six

Bastian slipped his arms beneath Kaylee’s slight frame and lifted her.  Although his hold was sure, her body stiffened.

“You don’t have to carry me,” she said.  “I can walk, you know
.
”

Bastian smiled.  “Oh, is that what your legs are for?  Silly me.”  His body pitched forward as though he’d stumbled, but then he righted himself.  Kaylee’s fingers dug into his shoulder, and he laughed.  “That’s quite a grip you’ve got for someone planning on walking.”

Kaylee cleared her throat.  “I thought you were going to drop me.”

“Would I do that?” 
Bastian carried her out of the living
room.  

“You might,”
Kaylee nodded and squirm
ed
a little. 

“Yeah, well, quit squirming
,
or I won’t have a choice.
  Is your room up there?
”
Bastian tightened his grip as h
e looked up the stairs.

“Yes.  Now put me down.” 
Kaylee followed his gaze.  She tried to free her legs, but he cinched his fingers more tightly.

“I will…eventually.  Which room is yours?” 
Bastian ascended the first step.  He kept at it, step by step until
he’d
reach
ed
the landing, where the upstairs hallway began and followed the corridor to the left. 

“The third on the left.”

Bastian stepped to the doorway and crossed the threshold.  A thin mosquito net cascaded down around all sides of the bed except one
,
where it had been clipped back.  Bastian set Kaylee on the bed
and
lay  beside her, propping his body sideways on one elbow.

“See
—I
told you I’d put you down.  I always keep my word.”   As he stared into her eyes, he stroked the bangs from her face
and
brushed his lips across hers.  He touched his mouth to her cheek, her ear, her neck before returning to her lips.

Kaylee tried to decipher the panic in her heart as it raced.  Her fingers wound themselves in the soft white comforter pressed against her body.

  “What would you like for lunch?  I’ll make it.  You just lie here and relax, and I’ll take care of everything.”
  Bastian gentle kissed her on the cheek, looked at his watch, and rose
,
stepp
ing
away from the bed.

“I knew it,” she said, biting her words. 
The color drained from Kaylee’s face.   Although she’d rested her hand on the blanket, now she squeezed her hand into a fist before finally releasing it. 

“What?” 
Bastian blinked.

“Nothing.  Don’t worry about it.  I can make lunch just fine.”  She got up.

“You must’ve heard about that case of food poisoning last week.  Well, I had nothing to do with it,” he joked
.  “Despite being male, I’m not that bad of a cook, you know
.
”  Frowning, he stared in puzzlement
as Kaylee brushed past, her back rigid. 

“Despite the fact that I’m female, neither am I.”  Kaylee folded her arms across her chest and walked to the doorway.

“It was a joke, Kaylee.  I was joking.” 
Bastian grabbed her arm.   He expected her to acknowledge him, but she didn’t.   

“I wasn’t
.  I can make my own lunch.  Now let go
,” Kaylee
seethed
, trying, to no avail, to free her arm.  She looked at his fingers. 

“Not until we talk about this.” 
Frowning, Bastian maintained his grip. 

“There’s nothing to talk about.” 
Kaylee tried to pry his fingers free with her other hand.  She thought of him lying next to her, remember
ing
the feel of his lips on her skin, yet the last thing she wanted was someone to take care of her.  A chill swept down her back, and she shivered.

“The hell there’s not.  You’re upset.” 
Bastian pulled her to him, despite her reluctance.  He turned her to face him and placed his fingers under her chin, trying to force eye contact with her, but she refused to meet his gaze.

“Damned if you’re going to let me in, right?
  I don’t even know what I did wrong.  You
’re
gracious enough to let me stay here, but you won’t let me show my gratitude by fixing lunch.
”  He moved his hand, and she quickly lowered her chin, focusing on the carpet, the bed
—anything
but him.   

Outside the wind whipped up, driving the snow into miniature cyclones before the flakes dropped again.  Leaks of cool air seeped
in
around the windows, and Kaylee shivered. 
Bastian
moved to the window and peered out into the incessant snow.  Would this storm never break?  The cold wind had frosted the lower portion of the window pane.

“Have I made the mistake of thinking there
’s
something between us?
” he asked quietly.  “
Did I make a mistake in trying to show that I care about you?  That’s not pity, not even close.  It’s a gesture of love and faith and
….
”
  His voice faltered.  He turned, folded his arms across his chest, and leveled his gaze at her.  He thought of his fathe
r, of all the empty “I love you
s” and “I’m only doing this because I care” incidents and how he’d never meant any of it.  For his father, it had always seemed those were just things to say, things to move them from point “
A
” to point “
B
.”

Kaylee cringed. 
“
I can take care of myself.  I don’t want you to fix anything for me.”
 

“I know you can.  It was meant as a kindness, not an assumption,
l
ady.
 
I
honestly
don’t have a clue what's going on.”
Bastian sat back, half-leaning against the sill, his hands on either side for balance.

“Then why don’t you leave?  You don’t have to stay on my account.”

Bastian gritted his teeth and leaned forward, away from the damp window.  She was trying to drive him to that, and he wasn’t going to be driven.
  His heart pounded in his chest, and he wondered how things could feel so wonderful one moment and
so irritating
the
n
ext.

“I could do that
,
I guess, if my truck would start, but would it matter?  I’d be back.  Leaving starts as a desire, and if that desire is strong enough, it turns to action.  I don’t have that desire.  There’s something between us I can’t explain
, s
omething maybe I don’t want to feel and maybe you don’t
,
either, but something that’s here whether we want to deal with it or not.  I’d have to be blind not to know we’re both scared.  Terrified.  Half of you wants to get close to me, the other half wants me out the door.  The question is, which is winning?”

“You don’t understand.
  It
can’t work, Bastian.  There’s no…time.
”  Kaylee’s expression softened
,
and tears crept into her eyes.  She blinked rapidly, trying to drive them away. 

“Maybe not, but then again, maybe we exist apart from time.”

He stepped toward her-–tentative, uncertain–and placed his finger over her mouth.  He pulled her to him, leaned toward her, and filled her mouth with his.  He kissed her lips and throat, reveling in the perfumed aura of her soft skin.  He could feel her throat vibrate softly as a moan escaped, and he pulled away just long enough to see her eyes
close
and
lips
part.  Slipping one arm
beneath
the bend of her knees and the other around her back, he lifted her into his arms. 
Sh
e was so unimaginably light.

“Don’t fall in love with me because you feel sorry for me,” she whispered.  “I couldn’t bear that.”
  Kaylee’s eyes fluttered open
,
and she leaned against his chest.

“I didn’t.  I fell in love because I couldn’t help myself.  I know that sounds corny, but that doesn’t make it less true.” 
Bastian
lowered her to the bed and lay next to her, kissing her forehead.
  “You’re breathing fast,” he whispered.
 

“Your fault.” 
She looked at him,
offering a gentle
smile. 

He stroked her neck, tracing the hollow
of her throat
.
  “I know CPR.  Am I going to have to use it?”

  “Definitely.”  Kaylee pulled him to her.                    

Hours later, they lay naked beneath the comforter.  Snow still spilled from a grey sky, and the cold had frosted over the remainder of the window panes.  Late afternoon shadows
lay pooled
at the corners
of the room and had begun
their trek across the
floor
.

The room was quiet save for Kaylee’s slow, steady breathing.  Her head and right arm lay upon Bastian’s chest, and with his arm curled around her, he held her, liking the warmth of her.  He closed his eyes and tried to remember the last time he’d held a woman, but his mind drew
a
blank, as if Kaylee had erased the past and had start
ed
re-writing the future.  At one time, he might have minded that
,
even
hated it, but now it really didn’t matter.  Besides, making love to her had only confirmed what he’d guessed
: n
o one could make him feel like she did.

Her dark hair spilled over her face
like silk
, and with his free hand, he carefully brushed it away so he could see her
face
.  Before
,
he’d never understood how a man could watch a woman sleep, but there was something peaceful and reassuring about the way Kaylee’s chest rose and fell against him.  He ran his fingertips over her shoulders, between her shoulder blades
,
and down to the small of her back.  As his fingers traced the
B
raille of her body, he found two dimples above her buttocks, and his fingers traced the contours.

Kaylee stretched her legs, squirming slightly.  He brushed his fingertips lightly from her shoulder blades to her buttocks and back again.

“Hey there,
s
leepyhead,” he whispered, kissing her temple.

“What time is it?”  Kaylee tried to read the clock beside the bed.

“Time to lie back down.
  I like you where you are.
”  Bastian pressed his palm against her chest. 

“How long have I been asleep?” she asked, closing her eyes again.

“About five hours.
  The sun is going down.
”  He pointed at the window.  

Kaylee nestled closer.  “I can’t believe I slept that long.”

“I think you might still be recovering from the swim you took the other day.”

Kaylee opened her eyes and smiled
,
strok
ing
his cheek and chin.
  “Do you seduce every girl you save?”

“Just a few.” 
Bastian tilted his face toward her hand and kissed her finger.  He kissed her hand again and growled, pretending to bite her.

Kaylee yelped and withdrew her hand. 
“Have you had your shots?”

Bastian grinned wickedly.  “I’ll never tell.”

“I have a confession to make.” 
Kaylee stared at his face, memorizing the way the waning light of the afternoon cast an aura about his face, illuminating his dark hair,
and
setting the deep auburn highlights ablaze with russet.

“What, that you aren’t a mermaid?  I knew that already.  Mermaids can swim.” 
Bastian arched his eyebrows. 
They both laughed.

“Do you remember the mystery man you overheard Rosie and me talking about?”

Bastian stiffened, wondering where this was leading. 
“Yeah.  You didn’t seem interested in talking about him.”
   

“We were talking about you.”
  Kaylee smiled.

“I don’t get it.  We just met.”
  Bastian sat up.

Kaylee nodded and
squirmed to be closer to him.
  “Yeah, we did just meet
, but
I’ve seen you around.  I volunteer at St. Andrew’s soup kitchen once a week
.  T
hat’s how I first met Rosie.”