Jayded (21 page)

I laugh.
“
My mother used my middle name. She would yell
‘
Maxine Leigh Daniels
’
when I upset her. I knew at that point I was a goner.
”

“
Will you be going to McGregor
’
s tomorrow evening?
”
Beth asks.

I finish washing my hands, then reach for a paper towel.
“
Um, I
’
m not too sure. I have a lot of work to do. Though, it is nice taking a break and having a drink once in a while. Do you go every Monday and Thursday night?
”

“
Pretty much. I usually go with Kyle, but we
’
re just taking a break for the moment.
”
I have a feeling she purposely brought up his name.

“
Oh, I
’
m sorry to hear that. You
’
re a beautiful girl; I
’
m sure you won
’
t stay single for too long,
”
I say before walking out of the bathroom.

 
Phew! I needed to get away from that conversation. Talking about Kyle is not something I
’
m interested in doing, especially with his ex who just might become one of my team members. I
’
ve got to keep it professional if I
’
m to have dedicated, devoted employees. But the fact that she still believes there
’
s something left between them makes me wonder
—
is she crazy, or is he still stringing her along? Lord knows.

I
get to my hotel room and immediately rip off my shoes. The shoes I had on today were definitely not comfortable, but they sure did look good. My feet can breathe now. They felt suffocated and stuffed like a turkey.

I can
’
t get the situation with Beth out of my head. Once I get an off vibe from someone, it puts me on alert. I am going to dissect every little thing now because she has raised a red flag. I just can
’
t mention it to Kyle yet. I need to form my own opinion about the situation first.

My phone breaks my thoughts. I follow the ringtone, looking for my purse. Found it. It
’
s my brother Luke calling. Shit! I know exactly why he
’
s calling. I
’
m going to
kill
Cody!

“
Hey Luke,
”
I plop my butt down, getting ready for the blows.

“
You
’
re moving to New York, Max? Why is it I have to find out from Cody and not you?
”
he grills me, getting straight to the point as always.

“
I was going to tell you when I came back. My decision wasn
’
t made until yesterday. I
’
m partnering up with a bigger agency in Rochester. It
’
s going to be a great career move for me, and I need you to be happy for me, Luke.
”

I hear him take a deep breath.
“
I
am
happy for you, sis. I just wish I would have heard it from you. So, I
’
m guessing you haven
’
t spoken with Justin either?
”

I flop my back down on the bed.
“
No, I haven
’
t even gotten that far yet. God, Cody is such an asshole!
”
I whine.

“
Yeah, what the heck is going on? He said you told him you needed a break.
”

“
I also told him I wasn
’
t going to marry him. He thinks I
’
m just going through a phase. I don
’
t think he
’
s accepting it very well.
”

“
Well, you need to see it from his point of view. You pretty much ran from him to another state and now another life in a matter of weeks. It might take a while to sink in. He
’
s just in denial. I wouldn
’
t stress it too much, sis.
”

When my brother
’
s not acting like a hothead, he can be really understanding. That
’
s the brother I know. I
’
ve seen him many of times flip his switch on others but never on me. He
’
s always been so gentle and so loving toward Justin and I. This is probably why we didn
’
t turn out as bad as we should have. He took most of the beatings, so to speak, and emotional damage from my parents so we wouldn
’
t have to. He sheltered us as much as possible, and I
’
m forever grateful for that.

Bits and pieces are stuck in my head from childhood, and as I get older I began to understand what was going on. I hate my parents for taking his childhood away from him. They stole his youth. He deserved so much more. Sometimes, I just can
’
t understand why he is still in contact with them. I wiped them clean from my life. They
’
re just selfish, life-sucking vampires.

“
I know. I didn
’
t handle it the best way, but he freaking smothered me,
”
I explain.

He chuckles.
“
You
’
re not a very easy person to try to smother. No wonder why you ran. Just don
’
t make this a habit, Max. I know your career is important to you, but don
’
t let Mom and Dad hold your life hostage still. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be loved and to love back.
”

Tears slide down my cheeks at a rapid pace. He
’
s always been able to see right through me. Every fa
ç
ade I
’
ve built, he was able to knock down.
“
I know, Luke. I
’
m working on it,
”
I admit. I hear a light knock on the door and look over to the clock on the nightstand. It
’
s already six o
’
clock. Shoot!
“
Hey Luke, I gotta call you later. I love you.
”

“
I love you too.
”

I open the door, and Kyle is holding one long-stemmed red rose for me. My heart melts just a little.

“
For you, my lady.
”
He hands me the rose and leans in to give me a soft kiss on the cheek.

I inhale his mouthwatering aroma. He
’
s wearing my favorite scent, and I
’
m sure he did so on purpose. He knows how Versace turns me on. He walks in past me, and I can
’
t help but notice his attire from head to toe. His stonewashed fitted jeans hug his ass just so, showing off his fabulous assets. My mouth waters and my hands itch to touch those tight buns. His blazer is tan and casual over a white V-neck T-shirt, and a thin gold chain hangs from his neck. He is totally GQ
’
ed out, and I am the lucky lady by his side tonight. Of course, we can
’
t have anyone knowing this, but I will enjoy the secret nonetheless.

“
Thanks for the rose. It smells amazing. It
’
s like my own little piece of spring,
”
I say with a smile.

He brings me into his arms and squeezes me tight.
“
You
’
re so cute.
”

I lean back and give him the stank face.
“
Cute? Did you really just call me cute?
”
I inquire, half-offended and half-joking.

He snickers.
“
Yes. You
’
re cute, gorgeous, amazingly sexy, you suck a mean
—”
before he can continue that sentence I elbow him in the gut.
“
Ouch! What, you didn
’
t like those descriptions either?
”
he teases.

I give him the evil eye.
“
Loved them. Now let me go freshen up.
”

He takes a seat at the table and turns on the TV to the sports channel.

I put a brush through my tangled hair and throw it up in a clip, leaving loose strands beside my face. After brushing my teeth, I touch up my makeup.
“
So, Junior will be there, I take it?
”
I yell from the bathroom over the TV.

“
Yup! I can
’
t wait,
”
he grumbles sarcastically.

I already knew why he invited me. He didn
’
t have to tell me, and I
’
m sure Connie knew as well, but if I can help ease the tension, I
’
m willing to be the peacemaker. This will give me a chance to see their interactions firsthand. Maybe if I can figure out the underlying issue, I can help them move past this block that
’
s keeping them from an amazing sibling relationship. If they only knew what they were missing, they would hate themselves for letting so much time go by.

“
Does he know I will be attending as well?
”
I shout from the bathroom.

I hear the channels flip.
“
Yeah, I
’
m pretty sure he does. I
’
m guessing my mom would have told him,
”
he replies.

I come out of the bathroom to look for my brown knee-high flat boots. I figure if he
’
s wearing brown, I should at least match. I feel eyes on my back. When I turn around, he is gaping at me.

“
What?
”
I put my hands on my hips and smile.

“
You never cease to amaze me. It doesn
’
t matter what you wear or how you wear your hair
—
you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,
”
he states so matter-of-factly.

My cheeks blaze with heat. They are not pink but fire engine red.
“
You
’
re not so bad yourself.
”
I try desperately to make a joke out of it. The way he
’
s staring at me says he
’
s not joking. He looks like he could tear me up and eat me alive.  Not only do I see the hunger but I also feel his hunger pouring out of each and every one of his pores. He
’
s ready to devour me. We both look at the clock to see the time, but we don
’
t have time for that, unfortunately. Damn. It
’
s already quarter to seven, and if we don
’
t leave now, we
’
re most definitely going to be late.

I sit on the bed to pull on my boots, but before I can get the first one over my foot, Kyle is ripping them away from me, unbuttoning my pants, and lifting my butt to tear them off of me. I don
’
t even have time to protest.

The next thing I know, he
’
s spreading my thighs apart and rubbing his fingers through my wet silky folds. I immediately suck in my breath and lean my head back, tingling from the sensation. He grazes over my most sensitive spot in gentle slow circles.
Fuck!
That feels
so
good! His fingers are magical. He slips two fingers inside of me, and I can
’
t help but buck up to him, begging for him to go deeper. He pushes my thighs down in place, and then he leans down to blow on my throbbing clit, teasing me and driving me out of this world.

“
Kyle, that feels
—
Mmm.
”
I can
’
t even finish my thought without moaning.

His finger slides in and out as my wetness pours over them with each hit to my G-spot. This volcano is building and dangerously close to eruption. The moment he slides his tongue over my swollen mound, I
’
m a goner. I thrash and scream as the flood rushes in. I quiver uncontrollably while his tongue never leaves my skin.