A Familiar Star (Romance Mystery) (4 page)

BOOK: A Familiar Star (Romance Mystery)
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It was a long time before Max came back
, and Kylie spent it thinking about her luck.  She almost laughed, at the irony of buying a house in a good neighborhood to be safe.  A wind came up and began to rustle through the trees.  Branches cast strange shadows on the lawn.  Kylie couldn't stand waiting any longer and turned to go back in the house.  Just then, Max came through the door.

"All clear!"  He said

"Good. All the doors were locked then." She added trying to shake off the bad feeling.

“Well not exactly.”
Max didn't want her to worry, but figured he'd better tell her the truth before she remembered.

"What do you mean?"  She asked.

In an extra calm voice, he answered her. "We left the French doors open to the deck, but I locked them. I checked the rest of the house and everything is fine."

"Did you check my
room?"  Kylie looked anxious.

"No I didn't.
Come on, we’ll go check."

She got to her door and turned the knob.
Then she remembered that she locked it before going down stairs.

"Did you lock the patio doors too?"  Max asked

Kylie looked startled.  Could she have been so careless as to leave it opened? She unlocked her door then walked over to the patio door and tried it, it slid opened easily.

"Oh my God!
I can't believe it. All the while we were downstairs eating, it was opened."  Her eyes widened, she covered her mouth with her hand and glanced around the room.

Max chuckled softly.
"You know, I think your making way too much out of this.  The guy would have to scale up the wall to get in here. But I'll help you look around to be on the safe side.”

They searched her room from top to bottom.  Kylie even looked under the bed.  Whe
n she was sure there wasn't anyone hiding anywhere, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Max walked over to the window and looked out.
. "He wouldn't come tonight anyway, he would watch us first."  He said in a whisper that Kylie could barely hear.

She turned on the TV and sat on the bed.  She was hoping Max would stay awhile and not run off right away.
It was crazy, but she was kind of glad she wasn’t living alone after all.

He looked at her sitting there and felt his blood begin to race.
Whatever it was he was feeling for her, it had hit him really hard, and he knew that there was no way that she felt the same thing he did.

"I'll let you get some sleep," he said.

"No....I mean…Are you tired?" She didn't know what she was doing but she didn't want him to go just yet.

"No, I'm not tired.
" Max answered with a slow shake of his head and a look of mischief in his eyes.

Kylie
was partially relieved until she took in the length of his tall muscular body standing before her and felt the sexual tension in the air. She knew she should kick him out; after all, he was the enemy in a sense. But the creepy feeling was niggling at the back of her neck.

"Do you want to make some popcorn and watch TV?” she asked

"Up here?"

"No!  N
ot up here." She looked shocked.

“No, o
f course not.” He grinned.  "I'll go make some popcorn and wait for you downstairs."

Kylie was happy he understood and slid off the bed.
"I'll be down in a minute.  I just want to change.”

"Good idea." 
He answered truthfully, I hope she puts on some flannel pajamas, he thought.

Kylie was busy changing.  It was still hot out so she put on a cropped off tank top and white cotton shorts.  She went to remove her bra then thought twice.
It wouldn't be decent if she took it off.  But her top was black and she had the right to be comfortable in her own house, so she slipped it off without thinking twice. With her long hair brushed out and her sandals off, she raced downstairs. She could hear the popcorn popping and smell its aroma.

"Smells good," she said innocently as she rounded the corner.

Max nearly dropped the popcorn when he saw her. The sight of her was enough to send him running for the shower.

"Hi," he finally answered, forcing himself to concentrate on what he was doing.

The leather couch was cold and slippery so Kylie looked for a blanket in one of her boxes.  Max watched her cross the room.  She was too sexy for words, he thought, and so innocent. She probably knew that she was beautiful to a certain extent, but did she really know the effect she had on him. He was sure she didn’t.

"That's better," she said as she placed the blanket down gently.  Max now had a full view of her breasts as she bent over and let out
a loud sigh. His jeans were becoming tight and uncomfortable.

Kylie heard the sigh and turned to ask if anything was wrong.
She was looking him straight in the eyes now and could see the desire within them.

Max took a nervous breath
. "I have a better idea.  It’s a pretty warm night, why don’t we go for a swim instead?"

Kylie would have done anything to change the air but there was no way she was going out in the middle of the night with a killer on the loose.

"What about the popcorn?" She asked, making small talk.

"We'll bring it and feed it to the fish."

"Well I’m sure they’d enjoy it, but I don't know where my bathing suits are, tagging system.  You know?"

"You don’t need a bathing suit.
" Max replied and that got them both giggling.

Kylie arched her back and lifted her chin.
"You must be crazy Max Shepherd, number one, there's no way I'm going out there with a killer on the loose.  And number two, I would never go skinny dipping with you.  I don’t even know you."  She pretended to be shocked.

His eyes filled with amusement.
"I think it would be good for you to let loose, you've had a hell of a day, and I don't believe your half as prudish as you pretend to be." He informed her.

God she hated that word.
“So you keep saying. And just why do you say that anyway?" Kylie asked pointedly.

“Because y
ou're way too sexy and beautiful."  He said with ease. "Now what are you going to say.  How dare I notice or it's not my fault?"

Her blu
e eyes widened in disbelief.  If he was trying to be funny, he wasn’t.  He was just pissing her off. She sprang up from the couch and walked over to the window.

"And the murderer out there, that doesn't bother you?"

Max got up from the couch and stood behind her, so close she could feel his warm breath on her shoulders.

"We can’
t stop living because of him."  He turned her to face him. “Besides, I promise I'll protect you."

Kylie grinned.  He was a smooth one
, wasn't he?  She moved away from him and opened the lock on the French doors.  She pushed the doors wide opened and breathed in the night air.  It was such a warm night, she thought.  Wouldn't it be great to just jump in the lake with no clothes on?  It made her feel wicked and wild to think it. She turned back to Max who was staring at her intently. "I think I should be going."

"To bed?"

"Yes."

"Well.”  He stretched.  “I
t’s a beautiful night, I guess I'll have to go for a swim all by myself then," he said positively.

Kylie frowned at him
. "Are you serious?"

"Of course," he laughed.
"Why not?"

"Well there’s a,"
but before she could finish, he ended her sentence, “killer on the loose."

"Well you know what Kylie,
I don't believe that's the reason you won't go out there with me.  I think you’re afraid you might do something in the moonlight that will make you forget how lady like you actually are.” He teased.

Kylie's blue eyes met his.  H
er back was ramrod straight as she dug her fists into her hips. "I am a lady, and you may look sir, but you'll never touch.  Now if you'll go and get some towels, I’d appreciate it."

Max looked surprise.
Was she serious?

Kylie stepped out onto the patio and headed towards the lake
.  She was determined, walking as fast as her feet would take her so she didn’t change her mind.

The air was glorious; it wa
s so warm and sweet smelling and the dewy grass glistened like slivers of glass.

There on the dock she stood, feeling oddly liberated.  Was she really going to strip naked and dive into the dark water?  Why not, she giggled,
it was exactly what she needed; to be wicked and wild and free.  He would feel as if he’d won of course.  But then something inside her, told her that tonight she didn't care.  It must be all the wine, she giggled to herself again.

The exhilaration of what she was about to do was too much to contain.
She knew Max was watching and that made it all the more exciting.  Her top came off first, then her shorts, and then her underwear.  This is craziness!  She dipped her toes into the water then pulled them back quickly.  The water certainly wasn't as warm as the air.

The moon
came out from behind a cloud, and she prayed that Max was the only voyeur.  Still, if she didn't jump in soon, he would get to see more than she wanted him to.

Out of nowhere
, she heard someone come up behind her.  She held her breath.  What if it wasn't Max, what if he was still in the house and it was...Oh my God!

She dove off the dock and swam
as fast and as furious as she could until she was some ways out, then she turned and squinted hard into the shadows. The dock was empty. She thought she saw something move nearby and choked back a scream.  Panic grabbed hold of her. Her heart raced frantically as she treaded the water.  She didn't know what to do.  Then suddenly she felt hands on her body, slinking up her thighs, then over her waist, towards her breasts. She let out a high pitched, piercing scream, a second before her mind registered that the killer would have grabbed her and pulled her under.  The only one who would have caressed her body that way was..."Max!"  She screamed again on the top of her lungs, laughing wildly in a fit of nerves, as his head popped out of the water.

Kylie
swam back to where she could feel something solid under her feet, letting the buoyancy of the water hold her up, for fear her knees would give way beneath her.

“My God, you almost scared me to death!”
She was still tipsy from the wine, so she closed her eyes and tried to stop giggling.

Max swam up close,
apologized for scaring her, but couldn’t contain his amusement.

"I hope no one called police that's all.  I think I woke up the whole neighborhood as well as the dead."  Kylie laughed
, watching the lights go on around lake and listening to the sound of dogs barking in the distance.

After a few minutes the lights went out and all was quiet again.  Kylie's breathing came back to nor
mal.  She looked over at Max.  He was swimming around her, playing in the water.

"Hey you, Fraidy cat,”
he said.  "Are you going to swim around or are you going to stand there all night?"

He swam up to her
and her nipples touched his chest.  She went to take a step back when he caught hold of her.  He slipped his arms around her and planted a soft wet kiss on her lips.  Her silky naked body pressed against his, and she could feel his underwear floating in the water just below her.  Relief and fury grabbed hold of her at the same time as she pushed him away.

"Are you crazy? W
hat are you doing?” She shrieked.

Max just smiled and bobbed around in the water.

“And why the hell are you wearing underwear?"  She felt like a fool asking and couldn’t help but laugh at the same time.

“Why?
Do you want me to take them off?”

“No!”
She shouted.

“Ok.”
He teased. “But you didn’t think I was going to go swimming naked with a perfect stranger, did you?”

Kylie’s mouth flew opened, she started splashing and spraying water towards him
, but he grabbed a hold of her again and pulled her off of her feet. She let out a sound of shock, but it got diffused when her breasts rubbed on his chest and sent waves of pleasure down her spine.  He stroked her back lightly, moving lower, until she felt his soft hands gently caress her behind.  She felt paralyzed and couldn’t move. Oh dear Lord, this was so wrong. What was she doing?  She didn't even know him, yet still, she wanted him to do more.

Instinctively her lips rose to meet his
, and the water in his hair sent droplets rolling down her face. He kissed her softly then assessed her expression. There was no mistaking the longing in her eyes. So he pulled her in closer and kissed her again, this time his tongue slid inside her mouth, playing with her own.  He took his time, softening the kiss until she responded completely.

BOOK: A Familiar Star (Romance Mystery)
10.43Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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