Dangerous Beauty: Part Four: Beautifully Broken (22 page)

With that she turned away from him to complete her task. One slice of cake, one glass of milk, and one fork. After gathering the items, she took them to where Kyle sat.

“I know how much you and Sofia love my chocolate cake,” she chattered mindlessly. She was making small talk; it was a desperate move, but she wanted to keep the conversation light and friendly. Walking up beside him, she set the items down on the counter in front of him. “It never fails,” she remarked, smiling. “Every time I feed you two cake and warm milk, you both sleep like babies.” And that was what Kyle needed. To sleep. Once she sat his cake on the table, she sighed, wiping her hand down the front of her clothes. “Soo … you go ahead and enjoy this, and I’ll head to the back and change.”

She’d stepped away from him, but paused when his hand gripped onto her arm.

“Reanna,” he spoke low, pulling her back in his direction.

Reanna’s breath caught in her throat, and her heart began to speed up once again. Closing her eyes, she bit down on her bottom lip as she stumbled back until she stood between his long legs.

Shit.

“Don’t go,” he said softly, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. “Stay. Spend time with me.”

Spend time with me,
he says. Well that couldn’t happen. Reanna didn’t know how to spend time with Kyle without wanting him. And it was inappropriate to want him. He was Aniyah’s.

Pushing past her nerves, Reanna laughed softly, feigning nonchalance as she kept her eyes lowered to his chest. “I should change, Kyle.” She motioned toward her clothes. “My outfit is a bit too … revealing.”

“You’re perfect, baby.”

Perfect?
Reanna frowned. Not even close. She was far from perfect.

“I’d just … feel more comfortable if I—”

“Why do I feel like you’re trying to avoid me, Reanna?”

The question caught her off guard, and she had no choice but to look in his eyes. Unable to answer him with words, she shook her head. It was a lie; she actually was trying to avoid him, but she didn’t feel the need to tell him so.

For a second, Kyle’s disappointment was more than evident on his face. He seemed upset with her, like he wanted to say something, but as suddenly as the emotions had come, they vanished, and his expression softened once again.

Releasing her arm, he took hold of her hand, then brought it up and placed her palm flat against his chest. “Reanna,” he sighed, and hesitated for a mere moment before continuing, “I just … I want tonight, okay?”

When she looked away from him this time, he gripped her chin with his free hand, and turned her back to face him.

“Please,” he whispered, leaning closer to her face.

And there went her heart, speeding up again.
Oh God …

Kyle placed his forehead against hers as he released a tired breath. “I haven’t seen you in weeks, baby. I wasn’t lying when I said that I missed you.”

“I know you weren’t,” Reanna whispered, trying her best not to sound too breathless.

He was too close.

“Then what about you?” he asked, moving back a bit. His brow furrowed slightly in question. “We’ve barely spoken, not even on the phone.”

“And I’ve missed you every second,” she confessed. Only because she had to. She couldn’t bear the thought of him believing she no longer cared about him. She would always care, she just couldn’t … go back to the way things were with him. “I want to spend time with you, too, Kyle. But it doesn’t mean I should.”

“And why shouldn’t you?” A deep frown appeared on his face as he searched her eyes. “Why would you think you and I should stay apart from each other,
colomba
?”

Reanna shook her head, unwilling to answer that question. Such a conversation was better had between two rested individuals. It was late, and she was too tired to deal with all of that heavy stuff tonight.

He wanted her to stay, he wanted to spend time with her, and honestly, Reanna wanted the same things as well. So if tonight—just tonight—was all he was asking her for … then she’d give it to him. Not just for him, but for herself, too.

Sighing deeply, she relaxed herself. And allowed herself to remember just who Kyle was to her. He was her best friend. Her silly, complex, scary yet wonderful best friend, and she missed what they had. So tonight, instead of continuing her quest to sever their bond, she would allow herself to become lost.

Tonight it’d be just like old times between them, and Reanna couldn’t be more pleased with her decision to let go …

“Okay,” she murmured, allowing her hand to slide up his chest, then his neck, then his cheek, and finally into his hair.

She smiled when his eyes closed and he leaned into her touch. She loved when he did that.

Kyle was not the
touchy
type. He found discomfort in familiarity, and had never been a fan of intimacy … except with her. Sometimes, on a good day, he’d actually take Reanna’s hand and place it on his gorgeous chest, and just lay back while she gently ran her fingers over his scars. He said it gave him comfort … and honestly, it kind of gave Reanna comfort, too.

“God, I missed you,
bella colomba.
I missed you so much …”

Reanna laughed softly. “That must be the fatigue talking,” she teased. “How long has it been since you last slept?”

When he opened his eyes, she smiled wider; that famous wicked smile of his made his eyes shine bright.

“It depends,” he answered, a devious grin pulling at his lips. “How long has it been since I last had you in my arms?”

Giving him her slyest smile, Reanna bit her bottom lip, then gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. “Can’t remember,” she lied, and laughed inwardly at the slight widening of his eyes. She loved teasing him. “But I do remember the last time I had you snoring in my ear, soo—”

Her words cut off with a surprised squeal of laughter when Kyle abruptly turned her away from him, wrapped his arms around her waist, then held her tightly against his body.

“Kyle,” she laughed, giving his side a light nudge with her elbow, “let go!” She was full of it. She didn’t want him to let go. “Stop your flirting, you monster.”

He laughed softly. “Am I supposed to believe that you really want me to stop?”

Though she just wanted to roll her eyes at the shameless arrogance in his tone, she couldn’t—she was far too busy attempting to fight against the chills shooting down her spine.

Oh dear Lord help me; this is so wrong.

So wrong, but so very freaking right at the same time. Reanna was in heaven, wrapped in Kyle’s arms. For far too often she’d dreamt of being in this position with him again, to feel him so close.

“I
do
want you to stop,” she lied, rather weakly. “You have not earned the right to hold me like this, Kyle Valente.”

“Mmm,” he moaned, his arms tightening around her … and Reanna may or may not have allowed herself to wrap her arms over his. “How then?” he asked, leaning closer to her ear.

Reanna fought off a shiver as her eyes fluttered shut. “How what?” she asked, her voice now a bit breathless.

Kyle leaned in even closer until she swore she felt his lips against her ear.

Oh God …

“How can I earn the right to hold you as often as I like,
la mia dolce colomba?”

Never …
never
, underestimate the pure sensual power of a
beyond
gorgeous man speaking an insanely sexy foreign language directly against your ear. Such an act will drive a woman wild …
did
drive a woman wild.

And that woman was Reanna.

Dear God
. There was no fighting the shiver that shook her body this time, try as she might have to resist it. It hit her with a vengeance as if it were angry at her for resisting it the first time around, shaking her to her core, and setting off a chain reaction in her body. And
heaven
, did it feel so good. Her body warmed, her nipples hardened, and she had the most overwhelming urge to turn in his arms and slam her mouth against his in a desperate kiss, but …
Dammit!
The little sanity she had left whispered in her ear, alerting her of every single thing she was doing wrong at this moment. The biggest thing was she was in his arms. Not just in his arms, either; she was actually allowing him to hold her, very close, while his perfectly soft lips were grazing over her ear … in the most satisfying of ways might she add, but that wasn’t the point. The point was it was happening. It was happening while she wasn’t only nearly naked, but she was also incredibly horny, which meant they were not safe!

This was a danger zone, right now, in this position. It would be very easy for her to lose herself in this moment and do something extremely stupid.

That couldn’t happen.

So though it pained her more than anything at this moment, Reanna quickly turned in Kyle’s arms, then pushed out of his embrace.

Gazing up at him, she pasted on a friendly smile, ignoring the confused look on his face. “There’s nothing you can do to earn that right, Kyle Valente,” she answered, wagging her finger in perfect, friendly, playfulness. “You have a girlfriend. My friend Aniyah,” she whispered, lifting herself on to the seat next to him. Turning to the side, she faced him, then crossed her legs, placing her hands in the safety of her lap.
No touching the man, Reanna. He is not yours
, she reminded herself. “Plus,” she added, forcing a smile. “I’m sure you get plenty of hugs from her.”

It pained her so freaking much to say those simple, stupid words, but she had to remind herself that Kyle Valente was in a relationship with her friend. It was for the best.

Keeping her forced smile in place, she watched Kyle’s unexpected reaction to her resistance. It was interesting to say the least. He looked annoyed at her, a bit frustrated even. The muscles in his chiseled jaw ticked as he sat back in his seat, dropping his arms in his lap.

“Really, Reanna?” he asked, lifting a brow in question. “Is that how we’re doing this?”

Reanna wasn’t going to lie, she had no idea what he was talking about. She also had no intention of asking him about it. She needed to keep this simple tonight. They could have a good time together, catching up and whatnot, without touching.

So instead of asking what he meant by his question, she just nodded her head. “Yes,” she answered, then smiled again, motioning toward his cake. “Now, eat your cake.”

That, she knew he’d enjoy. Reanna had never been one to toot her own horn, but she made bomb ass chocolate cake. There was no denying that.

Kyle looked over at the cake, then back to her. “You want me,” he pointed to himself, “to eat that cake,” he pointed to his cake, “by myself?”

Reanna frowned. “Yes,” she answered slowly.

Why wouldn’t he?

Kyle nodded, then looked to the cake again, then back to her. “So you want me to eat that cake,” he pointed to the cake, “alone, without you,” he pointed to her, “feeding it to me,” he pointed to himself, “even if you know it means, you will not be getting a bite of my cake, woman? I will literally make you get up and get your own piece.”

Reanna blinked, staring at him blankly. What in Sam Hell was this man talking about?

Smacking her lips, rolling her eyes, and sighing exaggeratedly, Reanna stared at the crazy man. “Kyle …” However, her words trailed off as her eyes drifted over to the piece of cake sitting on the island.

It was the craziest thing, but all of a sudden, Reanna wanted cake. And not just any cake, either. No, she didn’t want some stupid piece of cake that she had to cut for herself and put on her own plate. That didn’t sound satisfying at all. She wanted … Kyle’s cake.

Glaring at Kyle, a sudden irrational aggravation swept over her. Damn him! And damn her insatiable sweet tooth. She snatched up the fork, and huffed at the smile that spread across his face.

“That’s what I thought,” he gloated.

“You’re a savage,” she hissed, digging the fork into the cake, ignoring his arrogant laughter.

Shamelessly, she scooped up a nice big bite and ate it, making a huge production out of how satisfying the chocolate cake was. She moaned as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

“So good,” she sighed. “Mmm …” Opening her eyes, she smiled slyly. “I bet you want some, don’tcha?” she taunted, licking a small amount of icing from her lips. She scooped up another nice-sized bite, and angled it toward her mouth. She was being horrible, she knew that, but being around Kyle always awakened her playfully, evil side. He brought out the tease in her. She couldn’t help herself. “Too bad you couldn’t feed yourself, huh?” She shrugged, her evil smile widening. “Now you just have to watch me— Ahh!”

Reanna screamed, as Kyle reached for her, and snatched her chair forward until she was directly in front of her. She gasped when he leaned close, his face only an inch away from hers.

“You better give me my share of that cake, woman, or my flirting will be the least of your worries tonight …”

Her mouth dropped at the threat. He
was
a savage.