My Beautiful (The Beautiful Series) (28 page)

“Only seeing half of these was such a tease.” He grinned.

Before I could respond, his lips sealed over my nipple, and I gasped. His tongue whirled around the outer edge before pulling back and sucking on it with enough force to make me groan out loud.

A deep tingle spread from my breast and shot straight to my groin. Needing to feel his mouth against mine, I tugged him up and kissed him feverishly. I could taste myself on his tongue as he deepened the kiss, lengthening his strokes and then sucking on my tongue.

He was powerful and dominant in his lovemaking. I felt the need to rise to the challenge and be his equally strong partner. As he released my tongue, I dipped it underneath and hollowed my cheeks to suck his tongue into my mouth. My fingers ran through the locks of his ruffled hair as I pulled him closer.

Kyle growled into my mouth, and his chest expanded for air. I let go of his tongue and bit his bottom lip with the tip of my teeth before drawing on it gently. With uneven and erratic breathing, our tongues continued an erotic dance together.

Never breaking our kiss, Kyle shifted his pelvis to rub his erection along my sex while his thumb ran small circles over my clit. My hips had a mind of their own as they swayed brazenly against his. He teased me over and over, penetrating one inch at a time before pulling back. My muscles contracted against him, and Kyle’s jaw clenched with each contraction that I had no control over. Wanting to take him deep within my body made me damn near delirious.

Without warning, he gripped my hips and seated himself fully inside me, stretching me wide, and I clenched around him in response. Our groans blended together in the quietness of the room.

A deep yearning inside my chest tightened as it did every time we made love. His eyes were filled with so much love and passion. It was as if he could see into the depths of my heart, healing it, giving it a sense of belonging and making me whole again.

We moved together, each pulling our bodies back only to unite again as one. I tightened my arms around his broad shoulders and let my feelings take over. My release climbed and climbed that invisible wall, and I turned my eyes to see Kyle gritting his teeth as he tried to keep his impending orgasm at bay.

I came first, letting out a soft cry. Kyle bent his head down to take my mouth against his. He swallowed each sound that escaped my lips as his body shuddered with release.

Lying there, we panted as we tried to steady our own breathing. My fingers stroked through his hair. It was getting much longer now, and it was starting to curl at the ends.

Kyle lifted his head, bracing most of his weight on his limbs, while we lay tangled in the sheets. He smiled, and I reciprocated, loving his soft, tender smile.

“You need to get a haircut while we’re on our road trip.” I ran my fingers in between the waves of his hair again, embracing the close, intimate contact.

“I’ll be right back.” He kissed me and rose to his feet.

I blinked, wondering what he could possibly be doing. He returned with his toiletry bag. A mischievous smile spread across his handsome features.

“Ever given a haircut?” Kyle asked.

“Uh…” My eyes widened.
He can’t be serious.
“No.”

“There’s always time to learn.” He gave me a carefree, live-in-the-moment type of grin.

Oh crap. He is serious.
“What if I ruin it?” I asked, horrified. My pulse accelerated at the thought of messing up his hair that I loved so much.

“Not possible,” Kyle answered easily as he pulled me to my feet. “If you do, I’ll just shave it.” He shrugged as if it weren’t a big deal.

My mouth gaped open. I could not picture him with a buzz cut. I loved that damn hair.

“I used to shave it all the time when I was in the Army.”

“But I love running my fingers through it,” I protested.

Kyle got dressed and made his way to the bathroom. I tried to process why on earth he would let me cut his hair. I put on an old tank top and shorts and quickened my steps to follow him into the bathroom.

I would definitely be annoyed if I botched his gorgeous hair. That would mean a long few weeks of missing its silkiness while it grew back.

“Then, I guess you better not mess it up.” Kyle smirked at me in the mirror as he sat on a stool.

“Jeez…” I shakily picked up the scissors from his bag. “No pressure or anything.”

He chuckled. “Think of it as another memorable road trip memory.” His eyes met mine in the mirror. “But don’t cut me.”

My eyes bulged in fear, and he laughed.

“You’ll do fine,” he reassured way too comfortably.

“Um…” I tried to think of what to do first. “To the sink. Let’s get it wet.”

Kyle bent backward, maneuvering his head above the sink, as I turned on the faucet. I checked the water temperature as my heart hammered in my chest. I did not want to screw up his beautiful hair.

It was silly to be nervous about it. His hair would grow back, and men’s hair always seemed to grow quickly. I still had this image running through my mind of cutting it too short on one side or another. Then, Kyle would have no choice but to buzz it.
Hmm, what would he look like with short hair?

I used my fingers to run the water through his hair. Kyle sat perfectly still with his eyes closed. Even sitting before me, his frame was so broad.

I grabbed a towel from the rack and went to hand it to him as he sat upright on his stool. Instead of taking the towel from me, he bent forward in my direction and shook his head from side to side, spraying me with water.

“Kyle!” I squealed. “What are you…” My voice carried off as I laughed hard.

I tried to dodge him by taking a step backward, but he was much faster than me. I shrieked as he pulled me into his arms. He rubbed his wet hair against my neck and chest, tickling my skin, before his lips moved to kiss the side of my neck playfully. As he lifted his head, tiny droplets were dripping from his defined cheekbones all the way down to his chin. His big brownish-green eyes met mine, and my breath caught in my throat before he closed in for a sweet, passionate kiss.

Kyle tilted his head with a grin. “Alright, beautiful…” he said, wrapping the towel around his shoulders. “Let’s see how much damage you can do.”

“No distracting me.” I spread my palms wide on his chest and pushed. “I need to concentrate.”

He sat back down on the stool, and smirked. “I’ll try to behave.”

I began to run the comb through his hair while trying to think of how a stylist would do it. I was hoping I could make it straight and even. I was just going to have to wing it.

Through his reflection in the mirror, I could see Kyle’s eyes dancing with amusement. I bit my lip nervously and looked back at his hair. As I ran my fingers along his scalp, he closed his eyes and groaned his approval. He seemed to love when I massaged my fingers anywhere along his skin.

I lifted my fingers and decided to trim about three-quarters of an inch in length. I held the scissors in what I hoped was a straight line. Squinting, I cut it.

“Don’t close your eyes!” Kyle screeched, partly laughing. “You might cut yourself or
me
!”

I jumped and met his gaze. “Sorry!” Looking down at his hair, I beamed. It was damn near a straight line.

Growing more confident, I kept going all the way down the back of his head, making straight rows. I wet his hair here and there as needed while threading my fingers through it. Aiming for a less choppy look, I then made the same cuts from side to side.

Kyle stayed quiet while keeping his eyes closed. When needed, he leaned into my touch. A few times, he watched me, and I felt as though I was stripped naked before his eyes.

Cutting his hair was such a simple but intimate task.

Once I was finished, I stood back and admired my work.
It looks pretty darn good. Hopefully, it will still look like that once it dries.
Hair covered the counter, floor, and our clothes.

Kyle stood and turned to face me. “See? You did great.” He kissed my cheek tenderly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I smiled. “Now, it’s time for a shower before we get on the road.”

He cleaned up all the hair off the floor using a wet hand towel while I wiped the counter and the sink. After working together, the area was clean in minutes. We showered quickly and repacked our toiletries in our suitcases. We got dressed, both of us wearing a T-shirt and shorts to be comfy during our long hours of traveling in the car.

I was excited to see what stops he had planned for our road trip back to Colorado.

***

I rolled down the car windows and opened the sunroof to enjoy the clear sunny morning. It was already quite hot as we made our way down the highway with the music pouring out of the speakers. I loved car drives. They were peaceful, and it was a good time to let my mind flow freely as the car ate up the miles along the way.

Before I forgot, I pulled out my phone to text Damon and let him know we were driving back. I didn’t want to leave everyone in the dark.

Hey, Damon. Wanted to let you know we are on our way back to Colorado. Driving this time, so should be there in about three days.

Damon responded right away.

Awesome! Can’t wait to see you guys!

I replied.

See you then. ☺

I closed my phone. Thoughts of Colorado plagued my mind as the reality of our final destination set in. I had made this drive once before, but I had a feeling this trip would pass by all too quickly.

Annie’s room was my main concern. I feared crossing the threshold and experiencing the pain and loss. It broke my heart to know that I had to go through her belongings that she hadn’t touched in so long, that she would never touch again.

Would I want to keep many of her things? How could I possibly want to get rid of them?
My heart and mind seemed to be at war. From the moment I left, deep down, I always knew that I still had my home to return to if I desired. It was a sense of security, a reminder of what had once been. To pick and choose what stayed with me and what was of no emotional value to me seemed heartless. At the same time, keeping all of their possessions would only be a constant reminder of what I once had and lost.

I contradicted my thoughts and feelings as we covered mile after mile. I didn’t even pay much attention to the view before me until Kyle stopped the car.

I looked up to see a pancake house on the beach. A colorful large sign read,
Welcome to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
. I turned my questioning stare toward Kyle although I would never argue about going to the beach.

“We didn’t eat much for breakfast, except for bagels and muffins from the lobby on the way out. You must be hungry.” He caressed my cheek and smiled. “And our first detour is to visit one of your favorite places…the beach.” He grinned lovingly.

“Pancakes sound great.” I said happily. “But a beach sounds even better.”

“Thought you’d agree.”

He held my hand as we made our way inside the small restaurant. After being seated in a booth, he ordered a breakfast deluxe, and I ordered pancakes.

The beach was visible from the bay window. A sidewalk ran straight down the middle of the beach with a little outdoor shop off to one side. On the other side, kids were playing in the sand with buckets and shovels.

Kyle’s eyes were fixated on mine. He didn’t speak until the waitress left us to ourselves. “Talk to me, Lily,” he said quietly. “You have been drowning in your thoughts for hours now. That can’t be good.”

I ran my napkin in between my fingers, back and forth and back again. “It’s just the thought of going back.” I sighed, not liking my negativity. “A small part of me wants to visit and see my family again. The other part wants to run far away because I know I have to go through Annie’s room.” My voice was full of vulnerability, a feeling I didn’t like. It made me feel weak and defeated.

Kyle’s reached across the table, taking my smaller hand in his. “Just think of how relieved you’ll be to finally finish it…to close that chapter and start a new one.”

“That’s the only thing that keeps me from running the opposite direction.” I hesitated briefly. “I didn’t even pack up her belongings from her college dorm. Jason is the one who went and boxed everything for me. I can’t stand thinking there is so much about her life that I didn’t even know about.” My eyebrows tightened with sadness. “A baby…she was pregnant, and she never even told me. It makes me wonder what other secrets she had.”

Kyle took in my words carefully. “Your relationship with her didn’t seem like the type where she would keep secrets from you. Maybe she just didn’t get the chance to tell you,” he suggested sincerely.

“I hope that she would have known she could have confided in me.”

“I’m sure she did. She was your sister, Lily. She loved you.”

Tears filled my eyes, and I blinked them back quickly. “I loved her so much. I miss her. There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t think of her or wish she were here to talk to,” I whispered before taking a deep breath. “I don’t know if I have the strength to sort through her belongings,” I admitted.

“You’ll find a way, Lily, and I hope that it will give you the closure you need.” Kyle’s thumb caressed mine in slow, steady circles. “You deserve to be happy. Your family would want you to be happy.”

I nodded thoughtfully. I wanted it all to be true.

The waitress appeared with our food, effectively ending our conversation. I tried to view Colorado as a mountain with a victory flag at the top. It would be difficult to get there, but I needed to stand successfully at the top and not tumble down the side.

I promised myself that I would enjoy the rest of the day. Kyle had, after all, brought me to a beach. My sun-starved body was ready to soak up some vitamin D.

After finishing our meals, we walked hand in hand down the walkway leading to the beach. Kyle led me to the gift shop and told me to pick out a bathing suit while he looked on the men’s rack for a suitable pair of trunks.

I found a cute white bikini. I was a butt-and-thighs kind of girl, so I always had to try on fifty different swimsuits before finding one that fit right. This time, I somehow got lucky and found the perfect match on my first try. The bikini was sexy while still covering my curves. Surfing the clearance rack, I found a matching cover-up, a pair of flip-flops with white flowers on them, two extra-large beach towels, and sunglasses to top it off, and I did this all in less than five minutes. I smiled to myself.
Brooke would be so proud.