Dangerous Beauty: Part Four: Beautifully Broken (5 page)

“You’re right, Kyle,” she sighed, looking back up at him. She walked across the office until she stood directly in front of him. “I’m being ridiculous.” Smiling, she reached up, and ran her slim fingers through his hair.

Kyle tensed under her touch.

“We’re taking it slow,” she whispered, sliding her hand down his face, to his neck in a slow journey to a place where Kyle really didn’t want them.

Relax
, he chanted to himself.
It’s just a touch. No different from the way she touched you only a few minutes ago
. Only it
was
different, at least to him it was. She was touching him … intimately, with a familiarity that he did not feel with her. Yes, Kyle was trying to do this relationship thing, but this was too much. This he didn’t want with her—real intimacy.

Gripping her hand and removing it from him, Kyle stood from the desk quickly. “We need to leave.” He was ready to get this over with, go home, then take a few days off of this ‘relationship’ shit. It was just too much today, too complicated, and Aniyah was getting a little too serious for him.

“Kyle, I—”

Kyle cut off whatever it was that she was about to say by opening up the door. “Dinner?” he asked her, effortlessly smoothing his features. He gave her no clue to what he was feeling inside. “I made reservations at three different places because I know how picky you are.”

That made her forget whatever she’d been about to say.

“Wha— I’m not picky,” she pouted defensively, walking across the room to grab her coat and exit.

Kyle chuckled as he followed behind her. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“I’m not picky, Kyle. Eeeee!” she squealed when Kyle passed by her, giving her behind a sharp smack.

“Will you just give it a rest and move your ass? My babysitter told me I can’t be late again tonight.” He pressed the button for the elevator, happy when it immediately opened.

Aniyah laughed as she stepped onto the car. “She’s going to kick you one day, you know that, right?”

Kyle snorted. No she wouldn’t. That woman adored him …

“She hates when you call her your babysitter, Kyle.”

Kyle didn’t respond, he just boarded the elevator and took Aniyah’s hand in his, knowing she’d like the show of affection. Talking about his babysitter with Aniyah never felt right to him, so he didn’t. Instead, he changed the subject once again

“Happy Anniversary, Aniyah.”

Leaning over to her, he kissed her lips, smiling when she let out an exaggerated moan.

“Happy Anniversary,” she said brightly. “We’re gonna have so much fun tonight, I promise.”

Kyle smiled. He wasn’t concerned about his own enjoyment, just hers. His only goal was to get through the evening, go home, and spend the rest of the week just him and his little girl. And if he was lucky, his beloved babysitter would join them sometime during the week as well.

The room was dim and the light flickered on and off, but Kyle still had a clear view of the horror that was playing out right before his eyes.

A knife. A large, sharp knife, and so much blood …

“Papa! Papa! Help me, please!”

“Punishment, Kyle. You must learn …”

“Papa! I’m sorry, please don’t let her hurt me. Papa!”

“Sofia!”

Kyle shot up into sitting position with a shout, his eyes darting to every area of his bedroom. Bringing his hand to his face, he felt the massive amount of sweat seeping from his pores, as his heart continuously beat at a pace too rapid to be considered medically healthy.

“Fuck!” he shouted in frustration, slamming his fist against the bed.

He threw his comforter from his body and placed his feet to the floor, immediately feeling the cool air hit his damp skin, then he leaned forward, burying his face in his hands. The dreams were getting worse. More vivid, real, and he swore he could feel the pain,
hear
the agonizing screams as if Sofia were right next to him screaming
‘Papa!’
with an intense devastation that tore his heart apart. And even though he was always in the dream with her, always right next to her … he was never able to save her from being hurt by the woman that he loathed more than anything.

Abrielle. His birth mother.

The woman that supposedly nearly killed him, beat him until he was nearly unrecognizable, and left him to die on a curb in front of a hospital in Italy.

The dream was always the same every time he had it. Sofia would be running frantically through a small home that Kyle couldn’t recall ever seeing before, and while she ran, she’d be begging, pleading for mercy right before she was caught and dragged off to a tiny, filthy looking kitchen by none other than Kyle’s birth mother. The woman’s actions in this kitchen were the same every time Kyle had the dream; it was sort of ritualistic. She’d be forced to lie on an old table in the middle of the floor, while Sofia fought her frantically and screamed for him. And Kyle would be there, too. He’d scream, reach out for his daughter and want to save her, but every single time, it was like there was this invisible force keeping his feet rooted to the floor, rendering him immobile. He’d be forced to stand there and watch, as this woman that he hated, this woman that he loathed with every fiber of his being held his child against the table, cut off her shirt, and using a large, sharpened knife, cut her from chest to back while she screamed in utter agony.

The eeriest part of the whole dream was once she finished, and Sofia would pass out, she’d turn to face him, tears of blood pouring down her face, and say,
‘Punishment, Kyle. You must learn,
mio figlio.”

Standing up from his bed, Kyle walked to the bathroom, feeling far too tired to think over his nightmare any longer. After all, it was his fault he’d dreamt that particular dream again anyway. He should have known not to drink right before bed, but last night he’d done something he hadn’t done since he became a single father four and a half years ago … he partied. A little too fucking hard. He and Aniyah had gone to an old spot he used to frequent, only because he’d known she would love it. Turned out to be a bust for him, though. He’d out grown that scene years ago. But Aniyah had had fun, and that was all that mattered. She was satisfied now, which meant she’d leave him the fuck alone about spending more time than he had being her boyfriend.

After relieving himself, he made his way to the sink to wash his hands, then his sweat-drenched face. He needed to check on Sofia, just to see with his own eyes that she was sleeping soundly and safely in her bed.

It was sort of his ritual every time he had the dream. He’d wash his face, dry off, then go check on his little girl.

Once he dried, he grabbed the blue silk nightshirt that paired with his pants from his dresser and quickly put it on, buttoning it up as he made his way out of his bedroom and down the hallway. As per his ritual, he decided to go to the living room first, checking his front door, then the large sliding glass door that led out to his patio. He may have been on the eighteenth floor of the building, but there was still a chance that someone could … climb the building or something.

Okay, maybe he was being ridiculous, but nightmares like the one he’d just had always shook him up. Just the thought of seeing Sofia hurt, crying for him, and him being unable to protect her … frightened him. That was his worse fear. Not being able to protect his little girl, like his father hadn’t been able to protect him.

The door to Sofia’s bedroom was cracked open once he made it to her room, making the pink shapes from her rotating nightlight spill into the hallway. As silently as he could, Kyle pushed the door open slowly and entered.

She was sleeping.

Perfectly fine, and sleeping soundly in her bed. Her long, black hair was splayed out both above and behind her, and she was curled into a ball, her knees to her chest as she sucked her little thumb.

Walking the short distance to her bed, Kyle squatted down in front of her, leaned forward, and gently kissed his precious bambina’s forehead. She stirred immediately, her eyes peeking open then brightening at the sight of him.

“Papa?” she said, her voice small and a little hoarse from sleeping. “Time to go to school?”

Shaking his head, Kyle gently wiped the sleep from the corner of her eyes. “Not yet, ladybug. Go back to sleep.” He hadn’t meant to wake her. He just couldn’t imagine leaving her room without giving her one more kiss goodnight. “You have a few more hours before it’s time to wake up.”

She yawned, nodding her head. “Are you okay?” she asked, reaching her little hand up to sleepily grab his nose. It was her usual move when she was too tired to get up and give him one of her famous hugs.

Capturing her hand, Kyle gave her palm a quick kiss. “I’m just fine, bambina.”

“Did you have another bad dream?” she whispered.

Kyle nodded in response.

Sofia only knew about his night terrors because she’d heard him wake one night after he’d stupidly fallen asleep with his door open. She’d been so terrified when she’d ran to his room, that Kyle had no choice but to put his little bambina at ease. He told her that
‘Papa sometimes has scary dreams that someone is hurting you,’
and how upsetting it was because he loved her so much, then he’d explained that they were just dreams. Normal fears that came along with being a ‘papa’ to such a perfect little ladybug. She’d smiled, and been understanding and sweet as usual, even hugged him close, and insisted on sleeping in his bed for the remainder of the night. He’d let her stay until she’d fallen asleep, but hadn’t trusted himself to fall asleep with her so close. It had been around the time when the dreams had begun to worsen, become a little too vivid. He woke up in a panic every time, and the last thing he wanted to do was terrify his daughter, or worse, hurt her. It just wasn’t a risk he would ever be willing to take.

“I just wanted to come and see you. That’s all,” he explained.

“I’m just fine, Papa.” She smiled. “Okay?”

Kyle nodded. “Okay, love.” He glance around her room. “Did your sitter go home?” he asked, noticing for the first time that she wasn’t sleeping next to Sofia, as she had been when he’d silently snuck his tipsy ass to bed upon arriving home. Normally he would notice her absence right away, but his mission to see if Sofia was safe had taken up all of his attention.

Sofia giggled softly and shook her head. “She hates when you call her that, Papa.”

Kyle nodded. He knew she hated it, but he loved ruffling the woman’s feathers. She had the cutest scowl he’d ever seen, one that he really couldn’t go a day without seeing.

“She’s in the guest room. She says I’m a wild sleeper,” Sofia shrugged, “whatever that means.”

Kyle chuckled softly. “It means you’re like your papa.” He pinched her nose. “You like your space.”

Giggling, she squirmed until he released her. “She promised me she’d stay ’til tomorrow, so she isn’t leaving tonight.” She yawned, stretching her arms, and snuggling back under her comforter. Once settled, she gazed up at Kyle with a sleepy smile. “You can sleep in my bed,” she murmured as her eyes slowly began to close again. “So you won’t be scared no more.”

Amused by her offer, and the adorable way she dozed off while she made it, Kyle smiled, leaning down to give her one last kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams, Sofia.” His heart, his beautiful, perfect little girl.

The moment he knew she’d fallen asleep, Kyle stood from the floor and quietly exited Sofia’s bedroom. Briefly he thought on maybe sneaking to the guest room to check in on the sexy little babysitter, but then quickly decided against it. She was most likely pissed that he had come home late once again when he’d promised her he wouldn’t. If he woke her up now, she’d surely smack him across the head a few times, and he really couldn’t deal with the pain of her slaps on top of the headache he already had.

Deciding to forgo the visit, he instead journeyed down the hall to the kitchen, feeling that the chance at getting any sleep before morning had come and gone completely. He was wide-awake, and his thoughts were pretty much everywhere he didn’t want them to be.

Once in the kitchen, he made his way to the refrigerator hoping there’d be food leftover from dinner. He knew there had to be
something
left, the woman cooked like an Italian. Every time she cooked for them, they’d have enough food left over for days after she left, which he and Sofia were admittedly okay with. On top of her food being mouthwateringly tasty, it was nice to have something that was …
her
in the apartment whenever she wasn’t. Much like his daughter, Kyle didn’t like it when the babysitter went home after spending time with them either. Her presence had the most intoxicating, calming effect. Yet another thing about her that Kyle couldn’t get enough of.

When he opened the refrigerator he found what he wanted almost immediately. A big container and a little container; one marked ‘Papa’s dinner’ and the other ‘Papa’s dessert’. He licked his lips as he pulled the containers from the refrigerator, knowing that they’d made both of his favorites tonight.

“Lasagna, and Reanna’s famous peach cobbler.”

“Oh, so you do remember my name.”

Kyle stood up quickly when her soft voice hit his ears, startled by her abrupt appearance behind him. “What the hell, Reanna?” he laughed. He would never understand how she did that to him all of the time. He once prided himself on his exceptional perception, but then he’d met this woman.