Beneath the Surface

by M.A. Stacie

  “Wow.”

  Kyran nodded. He had never told anyone that story before, and yet telling her felt natural, as though she should know about his past. This thing with her was growing cloudy. At the start of their agreement, the line had been clear, but it had faded, blurring in front of his eyes. “Yeah, ‘wow’ is the best reaction anyone can give to the pile of shit that went down that day.”

  “What made you fight?” She shuddered.

  Kyran adjusted the sides of his coat, making sure he covered as much of her torso as he could. The waves were no longer lapping at the sand.

  They were rolling in thick and fast.

  “I don’t know. I saw the elation on the guy’s face when he won. Being so pissed and . . . well, hurt, I desperately wanted to feel that, too.” Kyran took a deep breath. “After I won, my adrenaline doubled, and I began to thirst for a fight.”

  “You still need that rush.” She made it a statement, not a question.

  Kyran nodded. “It’s about control. In that chalk ring, I have it.”

  “You have it at work. You’re the boss.”

  “No. I share control with Taylor and my father,” he said, sneering with distaste. “The trust my father has in me is limited. I think that comes from the fact that he doesn’t know me. The man hasn’t known me since I was five years old. I’ve tried, but he shut down where Taylor and I were concerned. At this point, I think my father would take Clara’s opinion over mine any day.”

  “He’s with her?”

  Kyran understood the surprise. He experienced it whenever he saw the two of them together. It continually made him nauseous.

  “Another story. Another day.” With a shake of his head he changed the subject. “I came looking for you yesterday. I thought we could sneak out for lunch.”

  “Oh, really?”

  Kyran nodded. “Taylor’s receptionist, Grace, said you and Taylor had just left the office. Go anywhere nice?”

  Dale snorted and shoved at his chest. “Curb your jealousy. We just walked out of the building together. I don’t know where he went after that.”

  “I’m not jealous.”

  “Liar.” She read him too well. “So how’s your day so far?”

  He ground his hips against hers. “It started off hot, but after talking about my father and his young wife, it’s fizzling out fast.”

  Her cheeks flushed and another shiver racked her body. “Maybe we should change that.” Dale kissed him with passion. Kyran moved his hand underneath her sweater, her warmth easing his frayed nerves. He nibbled on her bottom lip and groaned when she ran her tongue across his in retaliation. He couldn’t allow her to get away with that, so he tickled her ribs. She jumped away from him and squealed in amusement, her shiny curls whipping around her face in the wind.

  She looked beautiful.

  Kyran stalked after her across the sand as she laughed, warning him all along to stay away from her. She hated being tickled, but he found he liked her response when he did it. She would pant and writhe, making him hard and horny for her.

  “Dale, you’re getting closer to the water.” He reached for her.

  “I’m not letting you any closer to me. Those fingers of yours are dangerous.” She tried to step backward, but Kyran got hold of her waist and spun her around. He held her tight, pressing his front to her back. He knew Dale would feel his erection, feel how much he wanted her. The yearning was constant, one he couldn’t get used to—even weeks later. “You weren’t complaining about my fingers this morning. In fact, I recall you begging for them.”

  Moaning, Dale pressed herself closer to him.

  “We’re going to get arrested for lewd acts on the beach.”

  “Let’s go to my car, then.” He entwined his fingers with hers. Kyran intended to drag her to his car if he had to, but the woman had other ideas.

  She tugged hard on his arm, causing him to stumble. He didn’t let go of her hand, and as he fell to the wet sand, he pulled her with him.

  Air rushed out of his lungs as his back slapped the sand. Dale landed on top of him, cursing when her jaw hit his collarbone. Waves of cold, salty water splashed against his head, sluicing down until it seeped through his clothes. The sand had no doubt caked his clothes. He hated the stuff. No matter how many showers he took, the grains would never completely wash |

  away, and days later he’d find them in his shoes or socks. Now it would be everywhere.

  “Are you okay?” Dale asked. She attempted to push herself off him, but Kyran banded his arms tighter.

  “I’m just peachy.” His response came out far more sarcastic then he'd intended.

  “I’m sorry. I never meant to drag you down. I was just going to get you a bit wet.”

  “Well, you managed to do that and more because I’m covered in it.”

  Kyran secretly grabbed a handful of wet sand. “The problem is I hate doing anything alone, so . . .” Kyran slapped the sand against her chest.

  The clump of sand exploded, hitting him in the face along with Dale. It was worth it. The horror on her face had him bellowing with laughter.

  “Feeling playful, are we?” Dale crawled off him and spat out a mouthful of sand.

  She didn’t give him time to respond before she pelted him with two handfuls.

  The war was on.

  Getting to his feet as fast as he could, Kyran sank his fingers into the sand and began his assault. Dale’s sand balls were flying thick and fast, though she only hit him about forty percent of the time. The woman must have forgotten the amount of dodging he did in a fight. Granted, sand balls were not as predictable as a fist, but he still got out of the way of the larger ones she threw.

  An old couple walking their dogs stopped and watched them race around the beach, laughing along with Dale when she hit him square in the face.

  “You’ll pay for that.” He stalked toward her.

  Her sandy, wet hair clung to her cheeks, and her chest heaved from the exertion. “You’re not playing fair,” she said, stepping backward. “I said I was sorry.”

  Kyran shook his head, rolling the sand in his hands. “I think that was damage control. You knew I would retaliate.”

  “Totally not how it was.” She smiled, unable to keep the laughter from her tone.

  “We may not know too much about each another, Dale, but I can read you better than you give me credit for.”

  She stalled her retreat, hand on her hip. “How so?”

  Kyran moved to stand in front of her and raised his hand. She didn’t flinch as he thought she would. “I can see you’re happy right now.”

  “Too easy.”

  He turned the sand ball and brought his lips closer to hers. “I can tell you’re turned on.” He spoke so low his words were almost lost in the wind.

  “That’s obvious, I’m around you. I’m horny whenever you’re near.”

  He swallowed, his throat tight with an odd sensation he refused to address. Pushing it aside, he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her long and slow. Dale lifted her arm, folding it around his neck and her body met his. The couple who were watching clapped, and he felt Dale smile against his lips.

  She caressed his bottom lip with her tongue, eliciting a groan from him as his balls tightened. He lost his mind when she scraped his scalp with her nails.

  Kyran still clutched the sand ball, intending to hit her with it when she was sufficiently distracted, but when she slid her tongue into his mouth, he dropped it. He pushed both hands into her hair, grasping the wet strands while he sucked her tongue into his mouth.

  Dale’s knees buckled. She tore her lips from his and smiled as her eyes traveled the length of him. “Seems I’m not the only one aroused.”

  Kyran winked. “Correct. And we have the whole day to do something about it.”

  “After.” She grinned.

  He eyed her with caution. She was plotting something. “After what?”

  “This,” she shouted, tossing a pile of sand at him. The grains hi
t him square in the chest, the force of them stinging the skin underneath his T-shirt. How had he not seen that coming?

  “Dale?”

  She began to walk away, but she turned and asked, “What?”

  “Run!”

  Dale squealed like a little girl. She raced along the sand as fast as she could in an attempt to get away from him. Kyran jogged after her. He could catch her if he wanted to, but right now, he was enjoying her excitement.

  For the first time in his life he was enjoying the chase.

  Chapter 15

  Dale stared at the blinking cursor on her computer screen. Today had been a complete waste. There hadn’t been a single second she’d been able to concentrate. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the beach, to their afternoon spent writhing in his large bed, and to the night she’d dozed, curled around his warm body. It had been bliss, and she hadn’t wanted to spoil it by uttering the words that danced on the tip of her tongue.

  Kyran had left the morning after on a business trip to Seattle. That meant she’d spent the last week pining for him. He’d called her most nights, but those calls hadn’t alleviated the longing she felt deep inside.

  Dale missed him terribly.

  At one point she even wished Kyran had a cat or plants. At least then she’d have an excuse for going to his apartment. He’d never been to her place, so nothing she had bore his scent. She felt ridiculous for even searching for something.

  Her e-mail pinged, the noise snapping her out of her daze. Flicking to her in-box, she scanned the list of names to find out who the sender was.

  Kyran Reese.

  The fluttering in her stomach started as soon as she saw his name. Her heart skipped a beat as though he were in the room alongside her. It would |

  have been nice to make him wait, to leave the e-mail unread for a while and let him sweat, but her fingers clicked it open anyway.

  Ms. Porter,

  Approaching the office as I type this. I will require your presence in my office.

  Mr. Reese.

  Her skin flamed, the memory of what they’d done in that room slamming into her consciousness. The ache for him hadn’t eased in the week he’d been gone, and she’d longed for his return. Her yearning had increased each day and transformed into something far more intense than she would have ever thought possible.

  At night she lay in her empty bed and recalled how good they were together. How they’d spent hours arousing each other, tumbling around the bed, and twisting in the crisp white sheets. When she closed her eyes, sleep would elude her. She replayed their every interaction instead.

  It had been a long seven days.

  However, her excitement was tinged with apprehension. Their sex only relationship was altering and morphing into something else. Dale wondered if Kyran saw that, too. Of course, she’d questioned him about what was going on between them, but the man was as evasive as ever. He would give it a name when he wanted to, not anyone else. Either that or it would end, and they wouldn’t even have a relationship built on sex.

  With a sigh, Dale locked her computer and pulled her purse from underneath her desk. For a moment she debated calling into Taylor’s office to let him know Kyran was on his way, but she stopped. Taylor had been worse while Kyran was away. Clearly, he’d used his brother’s absence as an open invitation to do as he chose, and he’d excelled.

  Dale’s concern had escalated each morning. Taylor was always late; on some days he wouldn’t turn up until after lunch. On Thursday, Taylor hadn’t turned up at all. With each passing day he looked worse than the day before. His eyes were ringed red, his skin sallow and grey, and the twinkle that she’d seen in his eyes on her first day had faded. His decline was swift, and she had started to wonder why. Having told Kyran his brother needed help, she now wondered if Taylor needed far more than she’d first assumed.

  She buried her concern for now and rushed toward Kyran’s office.

  Luckily, his assistant, Lucy, was away from her desk, allowing her to slip into the room without question. It still smelled of him, musky and rich but with the hint of pine polish the janitor used. Dale walked to the window and stared out across the city as she’d often seen Kyran do.

  She checked her makeup for the twelfth time in the tinted glass window and fluffed her hair with her sweaty palms.

  The door opened, and Dale checked her appearance one more time before turning around. She smiled and her entire body came alive. She was in deep with this man. So deep she couldn’t see a way out even if she wanted one.

  Kyran grinned right back.

  His large overnight bag hit the floor with a thud, and he kicked the door shut with his foot. She drank him in from head to toe. He wore a simple navy polo shirt and dark jeans. His hair seemed a little longer than normal, but then a week was all it took for it to appear that way. It was usually very short.

  “Hey,” he said, stepping closer to her.

  “Hey, yourself.”

  “Why are you in here?” Kyran cupped her face in his warm hands. “I asked you to wait in my quarters.”

  “I just got here. If you’d been another minute, I’d be where you asked me to be. I missed you.” Dale spoke before she had a chance to filter her words.

  Kyran’s smile grew wider before he lowered his lips to kiss her. It was slow and gentle but swiftly spun out of control. He thrust his tongue into her mouth at the same time he tipped her head to the side to deepen the kiss. She licked his top lip then slid her tongue against his. It was a kiss of dominance; they both fought to reclaim the strength they’d lost by being apart.

  Dale’s arousal had been on a simmer while waiting for Kyran’s arrival; however, it soon began to boil over. She needed his body in hers, hungered to feel the completeness she felt when Kyran filled her.

  “I missed this.” Kyran tugged on the hem of her blouse. The jolts tickled her stomach, the ones she got when he touched her skin. Dale wanted to drown in him, to give herself up to his every ministration.

  Kyran moved his hand to her ass and gave it a light squeeze before fisting the fabric of her skirt. He devoured her neck with ferocity. Dale’s body flamed, every cell tuned into Kyran’s frequency. She had so much to say to him, so many questions to ask, and yet she let him carry her away.

  She allowed every touch, kiss, and lick to tumble her into the heady void of arousal. And she enjoyed every second of it.

  Dale bit his earlobe, making him hiss. He gripped her ass cheeks and pulled her closer to his body. She felt his erection press against her through the thick denim of his jeans. It was a silent demand. Hearing it loud and clear, she struggled with the button fly of his jeans, and fumbled when her nerves got the best of her. It wasn’t like in the movies where they popped open. No, she struggled to get the damn buttons through the holes.

  Kyran chuckled and pulled away from her neck. He frowned when he saw the look in her eyes. When she didn’t respond, he squeezed her ass.

  “It’s nothing,” she said, desperate for him to continue his seduction.

  “If it’s nothing, you’ll have no problem telling me. Will you?” Kyran’s voice was clipped but soft. Dale surmised that she hadn’t pissed him off totally . . . not yet, anyway.

  Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “I said I missed you. You said you missed this.” She motioned between them. “The sex.”

  A smirk played across his swollen lips and his eyes glistened. “I won’t lie to make you feel better. No matter how much I missed you.”

  Elated, Dale widened her eyes. “You did?”

  Kyran nodded and kissed the tip of her nose. “It was rather ridiculous to be honest. I longed for you almost as much as I longed for the club.”

  “You needing a fight?”

  He almost groaned. “Dear Lord, yes.”

  “Then I’ll tell you what I need to now, so that you can bottle it and use it to drive you in the ring.”

  He quirked a solitary brow. “Should I panic?”

  She took his hand and led him
toward the couch. “I think I need to tell you about Taylor.”

  His teeth snapped together and he placed some distance between them.

  “Go ahead.”

  Dale began to explain, wringing her hands in her lap.

  “I’m not sure where to start.” She paused. “He’s a mess. Most days he’s only in the office for a couple of hours. Your dad has called the office looking for him. I didn’t have a clue where he was, so I lied and covered for him. There’s a stack of files on his desk that I need him to check urgently.

  I’ve told him and he says he’ll do it, but I’m still waiting. They’re important, Ky. I even had to call the Dolteen lawyers yesterday. I told them we hadn’t received their contract and I needed them to send it over quickly.

  They apologized, but it wasn’t really their problem because we already have the contract. It’s on the pile. It needs to be signed—like yesterday.

  Losing that account could cost us thousands, not to mention the hit on our reputation.”

  She couldn’t reveal everything, like the day he hadn’t turned up for an important client meeting or the fact that he couldn’t do something as simple as signing off the staff expense reports. She had some kind of loyalty toward the man who was technically her boss. Nevertheless, Dale gave Kyran enough so that he wouldn’t think she’d been hiding what had gone on.

  “Was he in today?” Kyran tightened his fist in his lap.

  “For about an hour. He looked horrendous. I mean it. I’ve never seen anyone look so bad. I’m worried about him.”

  “You should be!” Kyran punched the side of the couch. “Because I’m going to fucking kill him when I get hold of him. I trusted him with this place for a week—just seven days—and he fucks up. I thought I would give him the benefit of the doubt and let him prove to me that he wasn’t a mess, and he fucking blew it. He never learns. Every damn time he fails.” He took a breath. “And he does it in spectacular style.”

  “Kyran, please. I think you need to dig a little deeper. There’s more to this than him coming into work drunk or having a hangover.”