Strong Reflection: Book 2 of the Dark Series Trilogy (19 page)

Kyle laughed.  “Oh, I see why you’re such a success at your job.”  Sobering, he asked Catlyn seriously, “How can I get her to see that I am here for her, will do anything for her to help?”

Catlyn became serious, “Kyle, I think the best thing you can do for her right now is to be there, not push her and definitely not go to another bedroom because she has managed to push one of your buttons.”

Kyle narrowed his eyes at the slight censor from Catlyn but then acknowledged his mistake, “You’re right Catlyn.  I let her push me into defensive anger when she obviously needed me.”

Touching his shoulder in a reassuring manner, Catlyn gave him the only guarantee she could. “Mackenzie loves you and wants to be with you.  Use your usual ability to assess a situation and see what she needs and then give it to her.”

“Yeah, easier said than done.”

“But, Mackenzie is worth it.”

Kyle’s somber expression fled and was replaced with genuine happiness, “No truer words were ever spoken.”

****  

Bunny sat in the woods cursing the ‘help’ for getting arrested before she could get that black bitch taken care of permanently.
 That stupid bungling fool Buzz was no help to her now.  Bunny shrugged.  She guessed you really do get what you pay for, which was half-ass when dealing with Buzz.  

Incensed that she now had to leave her little camping post in the woods rimming the Chief of Detectives very large backyard to enlist new help, Bunny sat on the camping chair looking through the binoculars at all the people currently in the yard.  There was some kind of party going on.

She had glimpsed her prey a few times.  When Kyle took a turn at the grill the black bitch had brought him a beer.  They had stood gazing adoringly into one another eyes, smiling secret loving smiles, sneaking loving kisses, sipping at each other’s lips periodically.  Kyle kept his arm around her waist as he flipped burgers.

Urrr! Kyle had never done any of those things with her.
 He went on and on about how he had a public image as the Assistant Director of the FBI/HCD.  He never laughed so much with her either.  You’d think the black bitch was a comedian the way Kyle threw his head back and laughed deeply at whatever it was the stupid bitch said.

Bunny adjusted her focus on the black bitch.  What was so special?  Nothing Bunny could see.  If she were being honest with herself, Bunny knew she had to admit, at the very least, to the black bitch being pretty and having a decent body now that she could see the curves she hidden.

Bunny had been thrown the first time she looked through binoculars to get a look at Kyle with his nigger whore.  She had been livid when she thought he was kissing on and playing with an entirely different nigger than the black bitch.  It took Bunny almost a full day of blinding rage to realize that she was indeed looking at the black bitch, Ashley Mackenzie.  The black bitch just wore more form fitting clothes, wore her hair loose and didn’t carry her weapon and wasn’t constantly standing at attention like a damn sentry.  

It boggled Bunny’s mind that the sneaky little bitch had all those hidden looks to compete with her, after all the black bitch needed all the help she could get, but never once showed them.  It burned Bunny but good to know that she had been beaten by an inferior woman.  Inferior in looks, status, sheer pedigree alone should have made it impossible for the black bitch to even be in the same realm of competition.

She brushed the leaves from her lap as she continued to plan and plot the black bitch’s downfall.  No one took what was Bunny Bencroft’s and not feel the sting of revenge.  Oh her enemy’s world was about to be changed forever.  Bunny gave an evil grin as she watched her targets once again embrace in full view of the guests.

****  

Catlyn watched Kyle and Mackenzie tear up the temporary dance floor they had put in for the party. She leaned back against Jack’s chest, his arms encircling her from behind as they shared a lounge chair and cheered on their friends.

“Hot damn, look at the director go.  I knew that boy could dance.”  Jack laughed, giving his voice a country twang.

“Looks like the director was hiding his talent.  Now, I’ve seen him move that fast when capturing a suspect but look at those feet go and, oh-em-gee, look at the way he’s just throwing Mackenzie around like a doll.”  Catlyn laughed, indicating the fast and furious country line dancing the other couple were currently engaged.

Jack placed his hands gently on Catlyn’s abdomen, kissing the side of her neck, “I guess he got tired of all these guys asking Mackenzie to dance.  He wanted to stake his claim.”

Catlyn clapped and raised her eyebrows at the director’s smooth move of gripping Mackenzie one-handed around the waist, spinning her into a quick dip and hoisting her up into his arms while her legs wrapped around his waist.  His hands filled with Mackenzie’s ass and his lips attacking hers he finished the dance off with a spin.  “I guess he showed them.  Yee Hah!”

****

“I thought you said you couldn’t dance.”  Ashley breathing heavy laughingly accepted the bottle of water Kyle was holding out to her.

Kyle took a quick drink from his own bottle and wiped sweat from his forehead.  “No, I said, I didn’t hip hop.  I never said I couldn’t dance.”  He bent over and kissed Ashley’s lips before she could drink again. “There is more than one kind of dancing.”  Kyle winked at her.

“Oooh, director, you’re making me horny.”  Ashley whispered up at him.

Kyle choked on his water.  Taking a quick look around, no one was paying them any attention.  He put his hand at her waist and pulled her against him.  “Well, Babydoll, I will just have to do something about that, won’t I?”

“Ooo la, la, promises, promises.”  Ashley whispered back, taking a lick at his ear.

Kyle groaned before pulling Ashley tight to his chest and kissing her senseless.  As they pulled apart, Kyle caught her gaze with his intense blue hue and said in a very serious tone, “Ashley, I always keep my promises.”

Ashley held his gaze for a long lingering moment, understanding he meant more than the topic at hand. She nodded before smiling.  “Good to know director.”

****  

Kyle was exiting one of the downstairs bathrooms when he noticed a hallway off to his left.  About midway down, Catlyn, Jack and Tasha seemed to be transfixed in the middle of the hall.  Kyle made his way quietly to them.  The closer he got the louder the music.  Then he heard the incredible voice singing.  Noiselessly he stood next to the rest and looked into the room.  

Ashley was seated at a shiny black piano.
 She played expertly an old love song.  She sang about finding love at last.  Her pitch perfect tone was wonderfully rich and clear.  She reached incredibly high notes, holding them beautifully and long.  She was incredible.

Her beauty was ethereal.  Her eyes were closed and her body moved subtly as she played.  Her tears slipped down her cheeks adding to her loveliness.  It was obvious she felt the words and was happy even though she cried.  Anyone watching her felt her joy and her astonishment at finding 
‘a dream that I can call my own’.  
Kyle felt his heart stop and then slam inside his chest as he realized Ashley was referring to him.

He fell even more in love with her as he watched her pour her heart out in song to what she thought was an empty room.  She did amazing runs and add-libs, one being:  
'And here we are Kyle in Heaven’.  

As she finished the song, Tasha, Jack and
 Catlyn moved silently away.  Kyle moved further into the room until he was sitting beside Ashley for the final note.

“That is exactly how I feel too, Babydoll.”  Even though Kyle whispered he still startled her.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were there.”  Ashley took the hand he offered, smiling when he brought it to his lips before holding it against his chest.

“It’s a shame the entire party didn’t hear that, Ashley, you are truly amazing.”

With a smile she kissed his cheek.  “Thank you for loving me, Kyle.  I love you.”

Kyle frowned, “Babydoll, you make it sound like a hardship, my loving you.”

Ashley bowed her head, “I-I know I am not the easiest person to--”

“Ashley, shush,” Kyle placed a finger against her lips.  Gazing deeply into her almost-black depths he explained, “Loving you isn’t hard.  In fact, it is very, very easy.  You stole my heart, loyalty, body and soul without even trying, even when I tried so hard to keep it professional between us, even when I tried to concentrate on Bunny, you still effortlessly gained my love.”

Ashley sat stunned, wondering what she had finally done right to get someone as good and wonderful as Kyle.  “When Director Mackenzie introduced us that first day when I first joined the team, I nearly fainted.”

Kyle laughed, pulling her more fully in his arms.  “Really?”

“Oh, yeah, I couldn’t believe my boss was so yummy looking and when he said your name and I realized you were Nancy’s brother, woo boy!”
 Ashley fanned her face with a hand as though she were overheated.  “Director Strong, you’re hot!”

Kyle threw his head back and laughed.  “Well, I think 
you’re
 hot, sexy, gorgeous and all those other adjectives that describe an extremely desirable woman.”

Ashley laughed softly and then gave a grimace, “You didn’t always like me though.  I know you absolutely hated me when I first started.”

Kyle emphatically shook his head.  “No!  I have never disliked you Ashley, ever!”  He tilted her chin, capturing her gaze, holding it, trying to convey his feelings with his look as well as his words.  “I admit it took me a while to notice you as a woman but no one could not notice the incredible skills you have as an agent.  You may have thought me yummy looking but, my goodness,” Kyle, imitating her earlier gesture, fanned his face, “The first time I saw you take down a suspect, wow!”  

Ashley laughed as he continued.  “And that time you pushed me to the ground, because you saw the shooter way before anyone else did, saving my life without hesitation, covering me with your body, protecting me.”  Kyle stroked her cheek, “Oh, Babydoll, you earned my respect, honor, allegiance and admiration almost immediately.”  He kissed her lips, “And, all I was to you was eye-candy!”

Ashley chuckled and kissed him back.  When they parted she whispered, “Oh, but, such great eye-candy!”

Smiling Kyle asked, “Catlyn says you ran an errand earlier.  What errand did you need to get done?”

Ashley decided to come clean.  “I am having trouble with nightmares.  Catlyn gave me contact information of a colleague.  She explained that I am on vacation and may need someone to talk to other than her because we are so close.  I went to see Dr. Aho  and she was able to fit me in her schedule.  She helped me to deal with some things and gave me some tips to help me sleep better.  She also had me sign a waiver to have my medical and therapy files e-mailed/faxed to her.”

Kyle was happy she was getting the help she needed.  But, he felt that Ashley should view him as a person who can help as well.  “You know, Ashley, I am a great listener and I’ve been told a fantastic problem solver.”

Choosing her words very carefully, Ashley explained her hesitation in using Kyle as a sounding board.  “Kyle, I’ve seen you in protect mode with the ones you love.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you get all He-Man and I’ll-kick-your-ass-if-you-so-much-as-frown-at-me-and-mine.”

He laughed.
 “I am not that bad.”

“I should have taken a picture of your face when you were looking at that girl who stole Drew’s routine.
 The only thing that saved that girl was her gender.”

“That bad, huh?”

She cupped his cheek, “That good, Director.”

He accepted her take on the situation, reiterating his willingness to help her.  “Fine, but remember, I am here for you and I 
will 
kick anyone’s ass who dares to mess with you.  I will protect you, hold you, listen to you, whatever you need.”