Thoughtless (39 page)

No longer thirsty, I turned around and went back to bed.

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16

Chapter

Rain

I heard Kellan’s car in the driveway around lunchtime. It didn’t turn off, and after a door opening and closing, he sped off again. A few moments later, Anna entered through the front door, dressed in her clothes from last night, looking happy and extremely satisfied.

I bit back my anger as she sat down on the couch beside me. It wasn’t her fault that she had fallen for Kellan’s allure. No, all of my anger was reserved for him…he had promised. “Good night last night?” I asked flatly.

She flopped back on the couch and smiling widely, laid her head back on the cushions. “Oh…god, you have no idea.” Actually, I did.

“Kellan took us to Matt and Griffin’s place and-” I really didn’t want to hear about it. “Ugh, please don’t tell me.” She frowned and looked over at me; she did enjoy a good sex story.

“Fine.” She grinned again and leaned over at me. “You and Denny took off in a hurry.” She raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Kellan said you guys needed alone time.” She giggled. “How was your night?” Guilt, anger and embarrassment coursed through me. Kellan told her we needed ‘alone time’? “I don’t want to talk about that either, Anna,” I said quietly.

She flopped back on the couch and sulked. “Fine.” She looked over at me. “Can I just tell you this one thing-”

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“No!”

She sighed loudly. “Fine.” We were both silent for awhile. “You okay, sis?” She frowned at me.

I laid my head back on the cushion and tried to ease my expression.

“Yeah…just tired, didn’t sleep much.” I instantly regretted saying that.

She grinned knowingly. “Ahhh yeah! That’s my girl!” Denny made the three of us lunch, and Anna looked at him approvingly. I guess being handy in the kitchen bought Denny bonus points with her. She bit her lip several times during our meal, and I knew she was holding back her little story that she was dying to tell me. I prayed she would keep her mouth firmly shut – I didn’t want to hear it. I was pretty positive it would kill me if I did hear about it. The mental play-by-play that I had supplied myself with was bad enough.

I kept my eyes on Denny instead as I ate the cashew chicken salad he’d made for us. It was incredibly good; he really was quite handy in the kitchen. He smiled warmly at me, his deep brown eyes calm and peaceful.

Last night had been…intense between us. I cringed mentally, knowing that it was a different memory for me than for him. For him, it had probably just been us reconnecting after a too-long separation. For me, it was…not that simple.

Anna and Denny supplied ninety percent of the conversation as I quietly watched them. My own thoughts were too conflicted to speak in coherent sentences. After a long afternoon of watching the two of them have the breezy conversations that I wished I could have with my charming sister, it was time to pack up her things and get her to the airport.

Anna gave me a warm goodbye hug. “Thanks for letting me finally visit.” She smiled coyly. “It was…fun.” I cringed mentally, but out-wardly smiled. “Next time we’ll do more together, just the two of us…okay?” She smiled sweetly at me and I hugged her again.

“Yeah, okay, Anna.”

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She pulled back and looked at me intently. Speaking quickly, she added, “Please tell Kellan thank you for me.” She grabbed my arm and still speaking fast, so that I wouldn’t stop her, she excitedly said, “I know you don’t want to hear about it, but, god, last night was so unexpectedly amazing! Like, the best night of my life amazing.” She smiled brilliantly.

“Oh,” was all I could squeak out.

“Oh…yeah.” She giggled and bit her lip. “The best…multiples…if you know what I mean.”

I did…and I really wished I didn’t.

She sighed. “Oh god, I wish I could stay…”

God, I wished she would hurry and leave.

They announced that her flight was boarding and she looked over at the gate, then back to me. “I’ll miss you.” She hugged me again then pulled back, smiling. “I’ll come back soon.” She kissed my cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you too…”

She walked over to Denny, who was standing a little ways away from us, giving us space, and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. “I’ll miss you too.” She grabbed his bottom before she walked away. “Stud,” she muttered, making Denny…and me, blush.

Then my crazy, impulsive sister boarded her plane and went back home to Ohio, unknowingly leaving my world a little more tangled than she had found it.

Kellan still wasn’t home when we got back from the airport. In fact, I didn’t see Kellan at all that night. I didn’t see him until late in the evening the following night, when he and the D-Bags strolled into Pete’s while I was working. I glanced over at him cautiously as he entered. I had no idea what to expect from him. He was wearing different clothes than the night of the club, a thin, gray t-shirt that hugged his muscles
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distractingly under his black leather jacket, and his favorite faded jeans.

He looked freshly showered, his chunky, alluring spikes gone, so he had gone home at some point. He looked over my way and gave me a tiny smile and a nod. Well, he wasn’t ignoring me then.

I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t ignoring
him
however - the jerk had promised!

The more I thought about that, and the more vivid the horrid pictures became in my mind, the more I ignored him. I rarely went to the guys table. Evan eventually flagged me down and without asking what they wanted, I just brought them beers - it was all they ever ordered anyway.

I said nothing as I set the beers down. I listened to nothing as I set the beers down. I did my best to mentally escape my body. I didn’t want to deal with him.

He apparently, did not feel the same. Awhile after my silent waitressing, he cornered me in the hallway when I was coming back from the bathrooms. Seeing him at the end of the hall, I considered hiding out in the backroom. I quickly dismissed that thought though, since the lock on the door was broken and if he really wanted to talk to me, and he appeared to want to do just that, then he would simply follow me. And being alone in a room with him was something I wanted to avoid. I tried to brush past him, but he roughly grabbed my elbow as I walked by.

“Kiera…”

With narrowed eyes, I looked up at his handsome face. That made my eyes narrow even more. That stupidly perfect face, with those startlingly-inhuman, deep blue eyes, that dropped panties everywhere… including mine. It pissed me off! I jerked my arm away from him and said nothing.

“We should talk…”

“Nothing to talk about, Kellan!” I snipped.

“I disagree,” he said quietly, a slight frown on his lips.

“Well…you can apparently
do
whatever you want.” I didn’t even try to keep the sneer from my voice.

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“What’s that supposed to mean?” His eyes narrowed as his tone sharpened.

“It means, we have nothing to talk about,” I said, finally brushing past him and storming off.

I ended up working later than I had expected to, and with my head in an angry, distracted fog all night, I hadn’t bothered to line up a ride home. In fact, by the time I started thinking about it, almost everyone was already gone. Jenny had the night off. Kate got a ride with her boyfriend. Sam and Rita left not long after her, while I was distracted with calling a taxi for a drunken customer. Evan was currently strolling out with a cute blonde. Matt had left hours ago. And Kellan, not that I would allow him to be an option, was leaning against a table with an amused grin on his face, watching me look for a ride home. I could see the light rain splashing on the sidewalk when Evan walked out the door. This was not good. Maybe I should call Denny. It was so late though. Maybe one of the regulars?

I noticed Griffin was still here, and happened to be alone tonight.

Maybe…ugh, that option really wasn’t great either…but he was better than Kellan, and better than walking in the rain. Hopeful, I approached him. I could see Kellan’s grin widen at my choice.

“Hi, Griffin,” I tried casually.

He was suspicious. I usually was not nice or casual with him. “Yeah?

What do you want?” Getting an idea that I probably didn’t want to hear, he raised a pale eyebrow at me and smiled in a way that made my skin crawl.

Ignoring my instincts, I nicely said, “I was hoping, maybe you could give me a ride home.”

He grinned. “Well, Kiera…I’d never thought you’d ask.” He eyed me up and down. “I’d love to give you a ride…all the way home.” Smirking, I flatly said, “I literally meant a car ride to my house, Griffin.”

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He frowned. “No sex?”

Shaking my head vigorously, I said, “No.”

He sniffed. “Well then…no. Get your no-sex ride with Kyle.” And with that, he turned and left. Kellan was laughing softly now. I looked around, but everyone else had gone. Pete was still in his office, maybe he would…

“Would you like me to give you a ride?” Kellan asked softly.

Angrily shaking my head at his perfect face, I hurried to the front doors. I crossed my arms over my chest, bracing myself for the rain, and walked outside. He didn’t follow me, which gave me an odd sort of angry-sad-relieved feeling. The rain wasn’t heavy, but it was cold. In my hurry to get away from Kellan, I had forgotten to grab my bag and my jacket. I regretted that haste now, as a few steps through the empty parking lot found me shivering, droplets running down my face. I sighed and considered going back for my stuff, but then stubbornly decided I did not want to see Kellan anymore tonight. I was achingly furious over him and my sister - the bastard had promised!

I made it one block from the bar when mentally I was done with the rain that was starting to take a turn for the worst. I started wondering just how many blocks away our house was? It wasn’t long in the car…but walking? Shivering uncontrollably, I thought maybe I should find a phone and call Denny. I was looking around for a phone booth or an open store, when I noticed a slow moving car approaching me. Panic flared slightly. This really wasn’t the greatest neighborhood. Being alone out here in the middle of the night, getting soaked, I suddenly felt very vulnerable.

The car pulled up beside where I was walking on the sidewalk and matched my pace. I suddenly felt even more vulnerable, staring over at the familiar black Chevelle. Of course he would come find me. He leaned across his seat and rolled down the window. Looking at me incredulously, he shook his head.

“Get in the car, Kiera.”

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I glared over at him. “No, Kellan.” Being alone in a small space was not a good idea after our intense moment at the club, especially with how angry I currently was with him.

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling of his car. Bringing his eyes to mine again, he said with forced patience, “It’s pouring, get in the car.” Feeling stubborn, I glared at him again. “No.”

“I’m just going to follow you like this all the way home.” He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me.

I stopped walking. “Go home, Kellan. I’ll be fine.” He stopped the car too. “You’re not walking all the way home by yourself. It’s not safe.”

It’s safer than a car ride with you, I thought irritably. “I’ll be fine.” I started walking again.

With an exasperated sigh, he took off and peeled around the corner. I thought that was the end of it, but he stopped right around the corner and I saw him getting out of the car. I stopped walking again. Damn it…why doesn’t he just leave me alone?

He had his leather jacket on, but by the time he made it over to where I was still standing, he was quite wet. The rain was dripping through his hair, hanging down over his face and around his eyes, darkening the exposed portion of his light shirt. It suddenly reminded me of the fully clothed shower he had taken so long ago. My breath quickened at his attractiveness. This was definitely not good. My irritation grew. I did not need this right now.

“Get in the damn car, Kiera.” He was getting irritated too.

“No!” I pushed him back, away from me.

He grabbed my arm and started dragging me to the car. “No, Kellan…stop it!” I tried to pull my arm free, but he was stronger. He pulled me over to the passenger’s side. Watching the rain running down the
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back of his neck made me shiver more than the cold…which made me mad. I did not need this – I did not
want
to want him! Becoming enraged, I yanked my arm away, right as he opened the door. I started to walk off, but he reached around behind me and picked me up. I tried kicking and squirming, but he had me tight. He set me next to the opened door, trapping me there with his body.

“Stop it, Kiera – just get in the God damn car!” His body, wet and pressing against mine, drove me over the edge. I was so angry at him for the club, for my sister, for Denny, for everything he made me feel - for simply existing at all. However, I was also more turned on than I had ever been in my life. I angrily threw both my hands into his wet hair and yanked him close to me, my lips stopping a hairs-breadth from his. My eyes glared daggers, my breath came in angry pants as I held our faces close together. Hungrily, I pressed against his lips, cool from the rain. Then angrily…I slapped him.

He roughly pushed me back onto the cold car; I barely felt the chill in my rage. Shock passed over his face for a second, then he matched my glare with his own. Good, he was mad too. I could hear the rain pound around us, splashing on the metal roof, the leather seats. I could feel him grab my waist and bending, force me into the seat. But all I could see were his angry, passionate eyes, so dark blue, they were almost black.

I felt the edge of the seat beneath me, but he scooted me up towards the middle, getting in behind me. He released his grip on my waist so he could turn around and slam the door. Freed from his intense glare, I started to scoot up the bench seat away from him, thinking I could get out the other side, wanting to flee again. He turned back around to me and pulling my legs, dragged me closer. Then he moved over me, forcing me to lie down on the seat. Angrily, I pushed against his chest, but he didn’t move away.