Summer Fire
Page 12
Totally sinful, totally wrong for me, and yet totally alluring in a way that made me ache between the legs. Sadly, I loved the wicked thoughts. I loved remembering him unbuttoned, pants open, and the slight reveal of his chest tattoo. I loved seeing those intense blue eyes looking into mine.
They’ve looked into mine before.
Christ.
What the hell had gotten into me?
*
It was six days after, on a Saturday, when I received a call early in the morning. My cell phone’s setting was on vibrate and yet it felt like a thousand drums in my ear the way it shuddered against the night table. I silently cursed myself for being a light sleeper and groggily grabbed the phone.
Without looking at the display screen I picked up. “Hello…” My voice was tiny and barely audible. I was practically still half-asleep.
“Hi Krisa, it’s Kale.” That voice.
My eyes immediately leaped open and I sat up, stiffly resting my back against the headboard. I let the silence take over.
“Are you there?”
“Yeah.”
“So, my house is getting really filthy again.” The way he said it made me smile so big. Oh, my goodness, he is clearly making excuses. He must totally dig me like Courtney said. Must.
When I didn’t respond, he continued, “And, well, I’m going to have some company tomorrow and was wondering if it was possible you could swing by today and give the house a bit of TLC.”
My smile lost intensity. He was going to have company over tomorrow. Nothing at all to do with me.
My obsession was getting out of hand.
“I’m a little busy today, Kale,” I told him flatly.
“Really?” He seemed… disappointed? “There’s no way you could come around?”
“Uh…” I paused, persuaded by my want to tell him I would come but then remembered Courtney telling me to stay away. “I’m all booked for the day. Sorry.”
Good job, Krisa.
“Even in the evening?”
Jeez, he was really trying, wasn’t he?
“I don’t work in the evenings, Kale.” And I doubted Paul and Marie would be fine with me just up and leaving to clean Brenner’s house at night. I couldn’t jeopardize all the hard work in gaining their trust through the years for some guy I barely knew. “Find someone else,” I added. “I can even recommend someone for you –”
“I’ll pay you double your hourly rate if you could come around at noon,” he interrupted.
I cringed inwardly. He wasn’t going to give up.
“Well…” I sighed and thought hard once more. “Let me just check my schedule.”
I didn’t check my schedule.
My schedule was actually in my goddamn phone I was using to talk. I really just wanted a moment to think this through because all the warning bells were sounding loud and clear to me right now. That and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of thinking I would just give up my time for him in the blink of an eye.
“Twelve thirty,” I finally said, shaking my head because I knew just how stupid this was. “I can make it around then. If that suits you.” I sounded cheeky using his line.
“It suits me,” he hastily replied.
After I hung up I stared at the phone, and it suddenly dawned on me what I agreed to do. Why couldn’t I stay away from this guy?
I jumped out of bed with an extra spring in my step. I was well aware that the excitement I felt by knowing I would see him was probably comparable to a junkie about to get some crack in their system. Well, that was a dumb comparison actually, but it still stood.
I opened my closet and sorted through my summer clothes, completely disregarding the pile of my work clothes sitting on my dresser all folded and ready to be put on. I didn’t want to look so mundane again. Plus it was getting really hot out. Yeah, that was mostly the reason I pulled out my yellow tank top and tight white capris. Surely it was unhealthy of me to think that working in a long sleeved top and pants would be wise in this kind of heat. People of all ages do succumb to the occasional heat stroke. Ahem…
I did my make-up the same as last time, this time applying a little mascara too.
While I piled a new supply of cleaning products in the back of my car, I avoided Paul’s intense stare as he dragged the mower to the front lawn. Marie was planting an eclectic variety of flowers when she stopped to smile at me. “What’s the plan today, sunshine?”
“Just a house to get around to,” I answered easily. That was the truth.
“On a Saturday?” Paul intervened, eyeing my outfit with more scrutiny than before. “You never work weekends.”
“Client’s paying me double,” I told him, turning away from his gaze to stuff some more supplies in the trunk. “Has company over tomorrow and the house is in desperate need of a good tidy up.” Oh, goodness, it was great to stick to the truth!
“What client?”
My eyes froze on a spot in the trunk, but I kept my body moving with ease. If he knew…
“Mrs Tetley,” I found myself saying, and then gulped at the lie, but my mouth kept moving. “She seemed really desperate. I tried to put her through to someone else, but she was keen for me and I’m not entirely sure why.” That…was true, somewhat, if you knew to insert Kale into sweet old Mrs Tetley’s face.
“She obviously wants just you, dear,” Marie said with a chuckle.
“Yeah,” I half heartily agreed, finding double meaning in her words in ways I ought not to have.
Paul didn’t say anything after that, but I could feel his heated stare as I got into my car. He even followed it until I was all the way down the suburban street. I felt huge relief when I could no longer see him in my rear-view.
*
Kale looked me up and down the second he opened the door to let me in. He seemed to appreciate what he saw because his eyes wouldn’t stop ogling me.
“I’m going to work out upstairs for an hour,” he told me, and it was then I noticed he was wearing a loose fitted grey top and sweatpants. His shoes looked a bit worn out – a black Adidas pair that I knew retailed for well over two hundred dollars. “I like my privacy,” he added, looking away from my eyes. “I, uh, would like if you could stay down here until I’m done. And then you could head up and do your thing.”
Though I found it odd that a hot muscular man would feel mindful of working out around anyone, I nodded and told him that I would stay on the bottom floor.
“Alright. If you need anything, just call me and I’ll come right down.”
“Okay.”
He stared at me for a moment, his eyes deepening into my own. Then he turned. I watched him leave, feeling heat in my cheeks at the way he moved. God, this had to be just a shallow attraction. Nothing more.
I’d made good progress after that long, gruelling hour was up. I’d moved onto the kitchen and was scrubbing away the grease from Monday’s bacon disaster. The guy really did never clean up, so it was extra hard cleaning away at the bits of oil that had gone everywhere. Even the cabinets above the counter beside the stove top had suffered his cooking wrath.
I was scrubbing them when I heard, “Do you need help with anything?”
I jumped at the sound of his voice and turned around. He was leaning against the entrance wall, shirtless, sweaty, shirtless… His hair looked drenched, and his face was dripping, but it could have been from water instead of sweat because he held a water bottle that was half full in one hand. I tried so damn hard to just look at his face and nothing more, but my eyes shot down randomly, taking in the sight of his large tattoo that completely covered his chest and went up both shoulders. In fact, it seemed to carry on to his back. From where I stood, I could make out all kinds of random designs, but they were so well and intricately done, they seemed to flow into each other, as if it was one giant piece of art. He was a big, solid man; abs so pronounced they were like speed bumps on silky smooth skin. I couldn’t imagine how hard and long he worked out to achieve that kind of look. It
would have taken years!
“No, no help,” I told him, willing my eyes to keep level with his. “You’re not paying me so you could help, remember? I’m the cleaner here.”
He chuckled and started walking towards me. “Yeah, but you’re only small, and I don’t see a step ladder anywhere around here. In case the mess gets too high, I’m here.” He stopped suddenly in front of me, and I backed away to give each other some space, but my back hit the counter. He was such a big wall of a man, I felt like I was a cornered prey. And then he continued moving even closer, so close I could smell his sweat and that unique man scent I’d gone gaga about before. All the while he looked down at me, lips formed into a small smile, leaning down and pressing himself closer, until I felt the slight feel of his pants against my own, and the heat of his skin. Oh my God, he’s going to kiss me. He’s actually going to—
I heard a clink from behind me, and he stepped back, holding a glass that he’d grabbed from the cabinet. Taking in my expression, he smiled wider and moved away to the stainless steel fridge, leaving me to fend off the cardiac arrest that was threatening its way out.
It felt like someone had put a torch against both of my cheeks and I’d exploded in flames. My body was tense and trying to calm the quickening of my heart. I turned away, facing the cabinet and started scrubbing again, sneaking in glimpses at him. He poured some orange juice into his glass – the same glass that I’d been in the way of, the same damn glass that had me thinking he was going to kiss me!
I felt a little angry and foolish, and so dumb. I must have looked like such a moron, all wide-eyed, open-mouthed… I shuddered at my weakness for being unable to subdue the desire I felt for this guy, and I especially shuddered at the look of amusement he had on when he saw me staring at him like he knew I thought he was coming in for a kiss.
Always winding me up, and whether this was intentional or not didn’t matter. The point was he affected me, and I hated it.
Absolutely.Hated.It.
I watched Kale down the orange juice in under a second and then plopped the glass down loudly. “Nothing like a work out, I tell you,” he declared. Then he leaned back against the counter, folded his arms and looked at me. “Do you work out at all?”
“No,” I answered. “The job keeps me moving, though.”
There he went again with those eyes, lapping me up from top to bottom. I think he liked what he saw, but I couldn’t be so sure. “So the house-keeping thing, is that all you do?”
“For now.”
“How long have you been at it?”
“Over a year.”
He nodded, looking more interested than I’d have expected. “So, what do you for fun outside of work?”
I shrugged. “Not much, really. I don’t have enough money to do a whole lot, unfortunately.”
He crossed his arms, considering my words. “Well, I mean, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’ll be having people over tomorrow night. You’re more than welcome to come. No cost on your behalf, either. Just a bunch of good buds of mine, easy-going people, some drinks. You can bring a friend over too.”
I didn’t respond for a moment. Had he just invited me to his house as a guest?
“It’ll be good fun,” he added, as if trying to convince me. “I won’t leave you alone, either, or put you in any awkward situations. Truthfully, I’m not sure I’d leave your side at all.”
Heat rose to my cheeks, especially as he eyed me with a heart stopping gaze.
“Why?” I found myself asking, my brows coming together. “You don’t know me.”
“I do,” he replied with conviction. “Not by much, but enough. You’re the kind of girl who likes fun. The kind who wants to forget the bad for a while. I can do that for you, kitten.”
Kitten.
Another strange feeling in my chest.
How come I couldn’t place it?
“I’ll see,” I forced out after a while.
Kale’s lips twisted up into a hopeful smile. “Good.”
He left me to work after that.
Chapter Twelve
Kale
I thought about Krisa a lot since that night. She was a fond memory I revisited, and when I saw her again, in my own house no less, I was gobsmacked. For a pleasing moment, I thought maybe she’d found me. Even though that entailed being a stalker bitch.
I was wrong.
I’d always wondered if she thought about me too. Turned out, she didn’t even remember me. She was different now. Still with that feisty temper below the surface, but unsure of herself as a whole. The confidence she’d had at that club was gone. Maybe it had been as a result of alcohol, or maybe she’d changed.
Judging by her clothes, the cross on her necklace, the fact Sheryl had contacted some church to get through to house cleaners, I figured she’d changed.
I didn’t know the girl at all. Maybe I never did. Reality was funny like that. I’d grasped the belief I’d met a girl who was similar to me, shared moments with her that affected me emotionally, and she turned out to be completely different. What we had shared was actually nothing short of a drunk forgettable fuck, and my ego was none too pleased.
Still.
She was sexy. Her eyes called out to me, and I wanted another taste of her. I wanted to feel that connection again. Just like before, I was curious to know more about her. One doesn’t go from crazy to restrained without reason. What was her reason? I needed to know because…
I liked her.
A lot.
I wanted her again.
Badly.
Chapter Thirteen
Krisa
I had a lot to think about.
There was no way I could actually get away for the night. Marie and Paul wouldn’t allow it, and that thought pissed me off like nothing before.
I was twenty one years old, for crying out loud. I shouldn’t have to seek permission to go out for some fun. I knew Marie was doing it from a good place, trying to keep me on the straight and narrow, but the truth was, I was better than I’d ever been before. I’d moved on from the past. I didn’t need to be locked away, isolated during my youthful years I would never get back.
So did I want to go?
I paced my room relentlessly, wearing out the hardwood floors as I went.
To go meant sneaking out.
And god, I wanted to sneak out.
After many wasted minutes wondering what to do, I took a seat on my bed and tried to be rational. Sneaking out would jeopardize everything I’d worked hard for. If I didn’t get away with it, Marie would be devastated and Paul would never forgive me.
Not that the asshole ever forgave me anyway.
But staying meant being the good girl I’d forced myself to be. It meant not living. It meant being something everyone else wanted me to be.
Two years I’d been on the straight and narrow, and Christ, I needed a break. I needed to feel something inside of me. I was tired of being numb, of letting the days go by without any shred of excitement or purpose. What if going out quenched that for at least another while?
Maybe it was good for me.
With a trembling hand, I grabbed my phone and called Courtney.
“What’s up?” she said on the other end, no doubt surprised by my abrupt call.
Seeing nothing but Kale’s gorgeous face in my thoughts, I closed my eyes and forced the next words out. “I need your help.”
End of Part One
Summer Storm
A Satan’s Fury MC Romance Series
L Wilder
Summer Storm
A Satan’s Fury MC Romance Series
Copyright © 2015 L Wilder
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication or any part of this series may be reproduced without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This book is a work of fiction. Some of the places named in the book are actual places found
in Paris, TN. The names, characters, brands, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and owners of various products and locations referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication or use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Warning: This book is intended for readers 18 years or older due to bad language, violence, and explicit sex scenes.
Cover by: Carrie at cheekycovers.com
Warning: This book is intended for readers 18 years or older due to bad language, violence, and explicit sex scenes
Maverick
There are things that happen in our lives that mark us forever. That change us in ways that we don’t even understand. One chance meeting and fate casts her irrevocable spell. They say what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, and that God doesn’t give you more than you can handle. Unfortunately, those are just words, and they don’t change shit.
I thought I had a good life, one I could be proud to call my own. My club meant the world to me, and I was proud to have them as my family. I knew I could depend on my brothers, and honestly they were really all I’d ever needed…. until I met Hailey. She was beautiful, smart, and sexy as hell. The woman captivated me…. Then she ripped my beating heart from my chest.
The hurt she caused cut me to the core. Her web of lies had had a catastrophic effect on my life and everyone else’s she had come in contact with, but she wasn’t around to see it. She wasn’t around to see how her choices had affected so many people. No… she was gone. Gone from all of our lives forever, leaving me and mine and everyone that loved her in her wake, picking up the pieces of her betrayal.