Deciding Love (18 page)

Chloe

I curled into Kyle’s warmth like a child, and I couldn’t have cared less. Was I being a suck? Maybe. I didn’t think so though. I’d been hit, hard, for the first time in my life, right after having to fight that person off of me. I felt like my behavior was justified.

For some reason, I felt cold. That kind of bone deep cold where you feel as if you’ll never get warm again. I remember taking a trip with my parents to Aspen one winter, and I’d had the same feeling. Except this was even deeper, almost right down to my soul.

And Kyle? Kyle was all warmth. It soaked through the blanket I had wrapped around me, and past the flimsy material of my dress, heating me for the first time since everything had happened.

I burrowed in deeper, feeling protected.

The instant I had opened the bathroom door and seen his face, I’d felt safe. Just like I knew I would. Even though his entire body had stiffened and his expression turned angry at my beaten face, I still hadn’t been afraid of him. It felt as though he was my anchor throughout this evening. It had been nice to have my brother there, and the support of his friends, but I had only cared that Kyle was there.

It was why I didn’t want to leave him just yet. As soon as I went inside, alone, it would all come back to me and I would be cold again. I didn’t want to be cold.

Kyle seemed content to just sit there with me in his lap, his chin resting on my head, one hand stroking my back in a slow, comforting rhythm. I tilted my head back and met his eyes, the silence between us thick, but not awkward as it had been in the past.

“I don’t want to be alone tonight,” I whispered before I could think better of it.

His eyes flickered over my face, his eyebrows pulling together as he seemed to argue with himself.

“Please, Kyle. I don’t want to be cold and alone,” I said, lowering my head back to his chest. “And you’re so warm.”

His body had felt tense until those words, his muscles relaxing beneath me again. He sighed, his hand now stroking my hair.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea, Chloe,” he said, his deep voice soft and melodic.

My hands gripped his shirt as I leaned back to meet his gaze again. “Please.” I realized I was practically begging, but I’d do anything at that point to avoid going inside my house.

His mouth pressed into a firm line. I saw the moment he gave in, his lips tipping up on one side.

“Okay, but you’re explaining this to Cat in the morning,” he said.

I smiled, nodding my head. “Ok.”

He shook his head, reaching out a finger to glide across my bottom lip. Every inch he touched tingled as he slowly traced the outline, my smile slipping as my breathing increased.

“You have the most beautiful smile,” he said hoarsely.

“I do?” I breathed.

He nodded, looking away from his attentions to stare into my eyes.

“Everything about you is beautiful.”

Unconsciously my hand started to rise to my swollen face, uncertainty filling me even as happiness at hearing him say I was beautiful did. He stopped it, bringing my hand to his lips, kissing each fingertip in feather light kisses that had my breath catching in my throat.

Lowering my hand, he leaned forward, placing a kiss on my cheek, the heat and softness of his lips against my skin causing my eyes to close in sheer bliss.

I never thought Kyle would allow us to get this close, never mind put his lips on me in any way. Part of me wanted to pinch myself to see if I was really awake.

His mouth moved to my closed eyelids, kissing them each before dropping a kiss to the tip of my nose. I waited for his lips to meet mine but they never came.

“Let’s go,” he said softly against my ear.

My breath whooshed out of me. I opened my eyes to see him giving me a funny look, his mouth pulled up into a small smirk. His hands squeezed my hips.

“As much as I love your pretty ass on my lap, I don’t think law enforcement would appreciate me driving like this.”

“Oh,” I said, heat suddenly blazing across my cheeks. He swept his thumb across it, that smirk pulling up higher. Lifting me easily, he placed me back on the passenger seat as I pulled my legs over, and then backed out of the driveway without another word.

As we drove in silence, I quickly texted my mom to let her know I would be staying at Cat’s house. When I was done, his hand reached over, grabbing mine again, surrounding me with his warmth. Smiling to myself, I sank further into the seat and let the motion of the car lull me into a peaceful doze.

There was the sensation of floating then suddenly I was falling onto a soft cloud. My eyes blinked up to see Kyle’s face fill my vision. What was Kyle doing on my cloud?

“Kyle,” I murmured. I think.

“Shhh,” he said, pulling a blanket over me. I looked around and realized we were in his bedroom. I’d never been in his room before. No lights were on, just the moon shining in, so I couldn’t make out much detail, which bummed me out.

“We’re in my room,” he explained needlessly.

“You’re going to stay with me, right?” I said, realizing my hand was gripping his arm.

He nodded.

Moving over me, he slid under the covers then pulled me back against his chest. His warmth was delicious as I snuggled closer. My eyes dropped. I was out.

20

Kyle

Holding Chloe against me was probably the best feeling ever. It felt like being home, in a place where you knew you were exactly where you should be. And I never wanted to leave.

But I had to. Waiting until her breathing evened out again, I slowly slid out from beneath the covers and stood, keeping my eyes on her to make sure I didn’t wake her up. Pulling on a black hoodie, I left the room, praying she didn’t wake up and find me gone. That was the last thing I wanted, but at the same time, I had to risk it. Rannon and Colt were waiting for me.

When I pulled in front of Colt’s house, both of them stood outside, their bodies visibly teeming with pent up anger and energy.

“Everything okay?” Colt asked as soon as I got out of my car.

I nodded, leaving out that his sister was currently tucked away in my bed, and not at home. That conversation would have to wait for another day, when I figured out just what it was that was happening between us. I had no idea if Colt would approve or not. And if he didn’t?

I wondered if that would make a difference. The image of Chloe in my bed, and the feeling it created, made me think I might be willing to lose his friendship if he didn’t approve. Because I liked it too much. Chloe was special, and now that I’d finally let the idea of having her sink it, I wasn’t sure I could stop it.

“Let’s go before Olivia comes back out,” Colt said, moving to his car.

Rannon and I followed, him taking the back seat while I got into the passenger side.

“Is she mad we’re doing this?” I asked as he started the car.

“Probably,” he muttered.

We drove to the party in a tense silence, three men with anger simmering just beneath the surface and readying for a fight. It was a dangerous thing.

Unsurprisingly, the party was still going strong when we got there. As Colt parked the car, I was practically jumping out of my skin to get in there.

“You two make sure no one interferes,” Colt said darkly as the three of us sat in the car. “I don’t want any of his friends getting in the way.”

It hit me then that Colt was going to get the rights to teaching Jax a lesson. And why wouldn’t he? He was her brother. As far as they knew, I was nothing to Chloe. I couldn’t insist that I be the one to deal with him without it looking strange.

Rannon and I both agreed, me more reluctantly. Getting out of the car, we headed up to the door, our presence instantly causing a stir. I could only imagine what we looked like, three big tattooed, rough looking guys with fury written in our eyes.

We said hi to no one as we entered the house. If people were nervous when Rannon and I had showed up, they were downright scared now that Colt Morgan was there too.

“Hey guys,” Patrick said, walking up to us with a weary expression.

None of us replied, our eyes scanning the crowd for the little shit. Colt finally looked at him, causing Patrick to take an involuntary step back.

“Where is he?” Was all Colt said.

“Look, I don’t want any problems here,” Pat said.

I stepped up to him, bringing my face close to his, getting a sick thrill from the way he flinched. “You don’t want any problems? You already have them, asshole. It happened when your friend hit Colt’s sister. Now, where the fuck is he?”

He audibly swallowed. “He’s in the back, by the fire pit.”

He barely finished getting the words out before Colt was already prowling through the crowd toward the back doors. We’d been here enough when Patrick’s older sister had parties that we knew exactly where to go.

Rannon and I followed and I could hear everyone whispering about the fight they knew was coming. As we made our way across the large backyard, my eyes instantly picked out Jax sitting with his other football friends. He was laughing at something, as though nothing had happened earlier in the night. He even had another girl plastered to his side.

My anger boiled over.

Taking a deep breath, I tried my best to control it before I found myself pushing Colt out of the way, and taking matters into my own hands.

One of Jax’s friends noticed us first, his eyes going comically wide. He slapped Jax’s arms, saying something to him that had Jax’s head snapping up to us. There was nowhere for him to run, but I knew without a doubt that’s exactly what the coward wanted to do.

Colt stopped in front of him. I couldn’t see his face, but from the look on Jax’s I knew it must have been terrifying. A smirk lifted my lips.

“Get up,” Colt said.

Jax raised both hands, as if he could really calm Colt down at this point. “Look, Colt, I’m really sorry. It was an accident.”

“Get. Up.”

Jax was shaking his head now, not moving, proving he was the cowardly piece of shit I knew he was.

“I apologized to her right away. I didn’t mean it.”

Other people around him had started to inch away nervously.

“Get the fuck up, now!” Colt’s bellow rang through the night. Jax’s nervous gaze swung to me.

I let my smirk slowly widen.

It wasn’t until three in the morning that I was finally able to crawl back into bed. Having someone there waiting for me was a strange thing. Having Chloe specifically waiting for me was even stranger. It had a new feeling of happiness settling in my stomach.

I pulled her close to me, breathing in her scent. God she smelled like heaven.

“Kyle?” She murmured in a sleepy voice. The sound had my body instantly reacting. Chloe all soft and sleepy might be the best thing I’ve ever heard.

“I’m here, sweetheart,” I said, burying my face into her thick hair.

She turned, rolling to face me, her warm hand reaching up to touch my face.

“You’re cold,” she whispered.

I didn’t reply. Instead I took her in. She was a mess. Her hair now free and tangled across my pillow, her make-up smudged. Her eyes were puffy from crying, and her cheek was still a bit red and swollen.

She was beautiful.

Her thumb was stroking my cheek slowly as her brows furrowed into an adorable frown.

“What did you do to him?” She asked.

I smiled, loving how quick her mind worked. “Nothing,” I answered honestly. Turning my head slightly, I kissed her palm softly, flicking out my tongue to lick at the pulse at her wrist.

I heard her breath hitch, causing my blood to quicken.

“Kyle?”

“Hmm?” I said, reaching up to trace her collarbone with my index finger.

“Are you going to kiss me?” She asked.

I looked up into her eyes. “Do you want me to kiss you?” I asked, matching her volume.

“Yes,” she said on a breath.

I leaned in slowly, keeping my eyes on hers. Stopping just short of her lips, I paused there, absorbing the delicious tension between us. I wanted her so much it hurt.

Moving, I tilted my head, kissing her lightly on her forehead. “Go back to sleep, Chloe,” I said.

She sighed. I wrapped my arm around her pulled her against my chest, so her head was pillowed against me.

As much as I wanted her, it wouldn’t be tonight. Tonight she would heal. I would keep her safe and comfort her.

Tomorrow would start something new between us. When she was ready. When she was stronger.

“Goodnight, Kyle,” she whispered.

I kissed the top of her head. “Goodnight.”

21