Celina (Connelly Cousins #1) (11 page)

Yeah, that’d go over real well.

“I’ll stay if you want me to, Lina.”

“I really don’t care what you do, Kyle.”

She didn’t care? Is that why her voice faltered? Or why her eyes filled with moisture before she could turn away and hide them?

In that moment, he wanted to whip that sheet off her ass and give her a good spanking for lying to him like that. But even more, he wanted to spend the next several hours kissing it until the sting went away.

Lina’s breath hitched suddenly and Tiny mumbled “sorry”, patting a cloth against the rapidly welling blood on her ass. Kyle let his eyes travel down her back to where her entire right flank was now exposed.
Sweet Jesus
. 

Kyle met Tiny’s eyes and gave him a look that could have killed him on the spot. “You’re finished now,” he said, his voice low and deadly.

For several long moments, Kyle was afraid Tiny was going to disagree. They faced off over Lina’s prone body, but Kyle refused to back down. Luckily, Tiny heaved a sigh and said, “Yeah. Yeah, I’m done for today.”

Thank God Lina didn’t argue. Tiny cleaned off her back with soap and water, spread a thin layer of ointment over the new ink, then covered the design with clear plastic wrap.

“Take this off as soon as you get home,” Tiny advised. “Let your skin breathe for a couple of hours. Give it a quick wash with anti-bacterial soap – the unscented kind – and cool or tepid water only.”

Without a word, she eased off the chair and began to get dressed. Kyle refused to look in her direction until she was brushing past him.

Tiny gave her a jar after-care lotion. “Thin coat, three to five times a day. Loose fitting clothes, and no bras for a week, got it?”

Lina nodded in acknowledgement, and Kyle walked her out. Kim told Lina to call for her next appointment, and Lina promised she would.
The hell she would
, Kyle thought. She was not coming back here again if he had anything to say about it, not unless he was right there beside her, holding her hand and keeping the fucking yahoos at bay.

Kyle followed her out of the shop like a two hundred and twenty pound lovesick puppy. The loose-fitting, shapeless dress did nothing to minimize how sexy she was. Even the slightest breeze conspired with her natural, graceful movements to hint at the lush curves beneath the light fabric.
Christ, she’d look hot in a garbage bag.

As much to distract himself than anything else, Kyle plucked the jar from her hand and read the directions, though he was already quite familiar with them. “How are you going to get this on?”

“I’ll manage,” she said without looking at him.

“What about Jamie?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“What about him?” she practically spat back.

“I’m sure he’d like to - ”

“No. Just...no.” She snatched the salve back and hastened her pace, as if she thought to increase the distance between them. His much longer stride made it a futile effort.

What the hell was going on with her and his brother? Were they on the outs? He heard Lina’s voice in his mind, the same echo he’d been hearing as part of a constant loop:
“If I had any sense at all I’d be crazy about him. But it appears that I have no sense whatsoever.”

Those words were the ones that kept him up at night. The ones that kept him from walking away completely. Because if they meant what he thought they did, then there was no reason to keep fighting this insane attraction between them, right?

He wasn’t an idiot. He knew it was just a case of wanting what he couldn’t have, a craving for the forbidden fruit. But if she and Jamie were done – hell, if they were taking a break – then maybe he could finally get his taste, satisfy his craving, and move on.

And until then, if Lina thought for one minute someone else was going to be touching that golden skin, she had another thing coming.

Decision made, Kyle said, “I could help.” Lina stopped walking to give him such a look of utter disbelief that he felt the need to add, “Because you know, it’s not going to be easy to reach back there.”

* * *

“I
’m sure I can find someone to help me if the need arises.”

Kyle’s eyes literally glowed with suppressed... something, and Lina took some pleasure in that. The only person she would allow to rub salve on her back was Amy, with whom she was crashing these days. Her call two weeks earlier had led to meeting for coffee, which led to Lina pouring out her heart and telling her everything. A few hours later, she’d packed a bag and had been working and staying at the book store ever since.

But Kyle probably didn’t know that.

“The fuck you will.” His voice was a low warning, almost a growl. It sent a shiver of desire from the back of her neck straight down to the aching spot between her legs, and
that
pissed her off. She was already angry with her body for its betrayal, firing to life the instant he’d walked into Tiny’s. Thank God for the pain of the needle; it had kept her mind focused. She didn’t want to be attracted to him anymore. She didn’t want to feel like he was the missing part of her soul. The last two weeks had been hard enough.

“Something you want to say to me, Kyle? Did you forget some other totally insulting thing you feel the need to share? Or can you just call me a lying whore now and be done with it?”

He winced. “I never meant it that way, Lina.”

He actually managed to sound sincere when he said it. Calling upon her inner strength, Lina ignored him and crossed the street. Kyle followed. “Please, Lina. Let me do this for you.
Please
.”

Lina knew she had to be out of her mind, because she was actually considering it. Despite what he’d said that night at the lake, the thought of him running his hands over any part of her body was an offer she just could not pass up. If it was anyone else she would have grabbed the nearest piece of jagged rock or glass and shoved it right up his arrogant ass. But this was
Kyle
. And like it or not, she was hopelessly in love with him. If he was here, if he was offering, there was still a chance, right?

Damn
, she hated her own weakness.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Kyle seemed genuinely surprised.

“Yes. I – I would like some help. Can I come over to your place?”

“My place?”

“Yeah.”

She could practically see the wheels turning in his head, trying to reason out her request. Yeah, it had been bold to invite herself over like that, but getting him alone in his own environment might be the only chance she had. He cared for her; he wouldn’t be here, otherwise. She just needed to make him see that, too.

“Johnny doesn’t know, does he?” he finally said.

Lina didn’t answer, willing to let Kyle believe that was the reason she’d suggested his place. It wasn’t completely a lie. Johnny really didn’t know about the tattoos. Apparently every other man in town did, though, given the gawkers who’d started hanging out at Tiny’s. It was only a matter of time. Nobody wanted to be the one to run to her brother and enlighten him; it was a clear case of the messenger not wanting to be shot. No, forget shot. Johnny would rip out the messenger’s still-beating heart right from his chest and feed it to him before he died.

“All right. Want me to pick you up?”

“No. I’m having dinner with my friend Amy tonight. She lives fairly close to you, I’ll just walk.” She wasn’t about to tell him that he was the reason she’d needed to seek out sanctuary at Amy’s; he already had far too much power over her. Besides, it had been a smart decision. Amy needed the help and Lina liked working in the bookstore a lot better than the library.

He nodded, accepting that. Or maybe he realized she wasn’t going to say any more. “Text me when you’re ready to leave, and I’ll come walk you from Amy’s.”

Lina looked at him like he’d grown two heads.

“What?”

She shook her head in disbelief. “How could you be such a gentleman one minute, and a complete tool the next?” He grinned, a boyish, sexy grin that had her clenching her thighs together against the rush of heat that threatened to run down her legs.
Yep, far too much power
.

“It’s part of my dichotomous nature.”

She gaped at him. “Did you just say ‘dichotomous’?”

“Yeah.”

She laughed, in spite of herself. This man had given her a one-way ticket to complete insanity, with no rest stops along the way. “Okay, I’ll text you.”

Kyle turned the corner toward the library, but Lina kept going straight. He jogged a few steps to catch up. “Not going back to the library today?”

“No.”

“Took the day off?”

“I quit.”

“Why?”

“Why do you care?”

Kyle opened his mouth, then wisely closed it again. Maybe there was some hope for him after all.

L
ina’s friend Amy turned out to be the proprietor of Amy’s Book Shoppe, which was only a few blocks from Kyle’s place on the edge of town. A quaint, old-fashioned colonial, white on the outside with glossy black trim and shutters, it had what realtors liked to call curb appeal. Welcoming lanterns gave the outside a nice, cozy feel, and the scent of freshly-brewed gourmet coffee and pastries wafted out from the open windows.

The climate changed when Kyle entered through the coffee shop at the front of the building. Conversations ceased as female heads homed in on him. Within a matter of seconds, one or two women stealthily slid back their chairs, presumably to offer him “assistance”.

“You
have
to be Kyle,” said an attractive brunette with a mischievous grin. Kyle looked down at the woman who had spoken. Her hazel eyes drank him in from head to toe, though not hungrily like those of the other women’s. Her gaze was far more critical. For several long moments, he had the distinct impression he was being inspected.

Kyle kept a safe distance between himself and everyone else, including her. He was only interested in one woman – one who was barely speaking to him – and he had no intentions of getting himself into any more trouble.

“I’m Amy,” she said, grinning up at him. “Lina told me to keep an eye out for you.”

He relaxed slightly. “You’re Lina’s friend.”

“Guilty as charged. Lina’s not quite ready yet,” she said, looping her arm around his. It was a warm, friendly touch, and she gently but insistently pulled him toward the doorway at the far end of the room. “Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.”

Amy’s arm dropped from Kyle’s the moment they were out of sight. She exhaled noticeably. “Does that happen to you all the time?” she asked, shaking her head.

“Thanks for the save.”

“Well, I couldn’t very well leave you to the she-wolves,” she informed him good-naturedly. “It’s the quiet ones you need to be wary of, and honey, you wouldn’t stand a chance. The latest Salienne Dulcette hit the shelves today, and those ladies are fired up, if you know what I mean.”

Kyle had never heard of Salienne Dulcette, but he got the gist. He knew horny women when he saw them.

He followed Amy as she wove her way through the home-turned-business. The place was much bigger than it appeared from the outside. The entire first floor boasted several large rooms, each containing floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with every kind of book imaginable. Laptops sat unobtrusively off to the side upon small desks, readily available but barely noticeable. Overstuffed chairs and sofas were placed throughout, inviting people to take a load off and escape into the printed world of their choosing.

“This is something you will probably appreciate,” Amy told him with a grin. Kyle’s eyes lit up when she showed him to a room with a section devoted entirely to motorcycles and muscle cars. The décor was more masculine here, but no less welcoming. A few undisputed biker types huddled around one of the laptops, intent on an episode of a popular cable Chopper show. They kept pausing the video and pointing out specifics. Kyle recognized them as regulars at Mo’s. Who would have thought they’d be in a place like this?

They worked their way around the first floor. Towards the back of the building, huge French doors opened onto a beautifully landscaped patio, with comfortable-looking wicker seating sets and big fluffy cushions. Colonial style lanterns highlighted a path off into the spacious back yard, where patrons were encouraged to curl up under one of the sprawling maples and lose themselves for a while.

Kyle couldn’t help but imagine how nice it would be to sit under one of those trees, Lina tucked against him, completely absorbed in one of the romance novels she’d shyly admitted she had an addiction to, while he quietly envisioned turning the words on the pages into reality for her.

He quickly turned his mind to something else when he felt himself starting to harden again – a common problem whenever he thought about Lina. He focused on the cobbled walkways and Amy’s cheerful banter instead, until they re-entered the building and Amy ended the tour at the base of a wide, curved staircase tucked away from the public area.

The second floor was Amy’s private living quarters, she informed him. It was from there that Lina appeared with her small pack slung over her left shoulder and smiled down at him, making him forget everything else.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Kyle,” Amy said. “I think it’s wonderful how you are walking Lina back to your place, just like a proper escort.” She sighed. “Most men don’t do romantic things like that anymore.”

Kyle blinked.
Romantic
? He shot a glance at Lina, who was blushing furiously and refusing to meet his eyes.

He felt Amy’s hand skim his bicep. “At least I know she’ll be safe.” Amy’s voice dropped from open and friendly to a deep purr. She was teasing him, he knew, and he watched Lina’s reaction carefully. He was not disappointed.

Lina’s eyes were pinned to Amy’s hand on his arm, and they were full of fire. Amy smiled a brilliant smile and chuckled, patting Kyle’s arm affectionately. “Oh, relax, hon, I’m just having a little fun with you.”

Lina’s face relaxed the moment Amy released him.
Son of a bitch.
Kyle’s chest puffed out just a little.