The Valentine's Arrangement (9 page)

Chapter 6

Kale hadn’t had a meal like that for an extremely long and overdue amount of time. He had sat at the bar and watched Ronnie gracefully prance around the kitchen, preparing dinner and cooking with ease. He listened to her talk about her love for art and about her job, which of course went hand in hand. She talked about her friends, which he learned were all men except for the small blonde he met yesterday, and for some reason that little fact didn’t sit too well with him.

The easy way she held a conversation with him while she was cooking was new. It was refreshing to see her less tense—her guard slightly down. He was still sailing through choppy waters, but he could see the calm up ahead, and he was getting closer to reaching it.

“Where in the world did you learn to cook like that?” Kale asked, loading their dishes into the dishwasher.

It was Ronnie’s turn to sit at the bar, and she was drinking a beer watching him. “I’ve been cooking since I was old enough to reach the dial on the oven with a step stool. Thanks to my alcoholic mother who was never sober enough to stand, I’ve had lots of practice. You should try my mac and cheese.” She fiddled with her hands that were resting on top of the bar. Her eyes were fixed downward, focusing on her hands like she was lost in her own head.

Kale didn’t know what it was like to have a mother, but he had a damn good grandmother. She took such good care of him and enjoyed doing it that he never had to want for anything, especially a meal. He had no idea what it was like to grow up without someone to take care of you in the way family does. It may have just been him and his grandmother, but she was enough.

“What about your dad?” The second the words trickled out of his mouth he could feel acid rolling off her in thick deadly sheets and he immediately regretted asking.

“Don’t fucking know, don’t fucking care.”

Kale turned around. He knew he had struck a nerve, and he cursed to himself when he saw the way Ronnie’s shoulders seemed to slump over, her brown eyes sad. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“No,” Ronnie interrupted before he could finish his apology. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, so don’t. I never knew the man, hell I’m not even sure if my mom even knew who my father was.”

“Do you ever see her?”

Ronnie shook her head and took a long pull from her beer. “I haven’t seen nor have I talked to her since I left that fucking place, six years ago. I don’t intend to either.”

Damn. He was beginning to see that this woman had a lot more buried under the surface than her tough, tattooed skin allowed to show through.

“So where to next?” Kale wanted to change the subject, stir her thoughts in a different direction than painful ones that filled the current space of her mind. More than that, he wanted to try to sneak back into the tight placid bubble of ease that Ronnie was in only moments ago.

She lifted her eyes to him and blinked. “What?”

Kale dried his hands on the dishtowel and took the few steps to the bar, leaning his elbows down on the cool grey granite.

“You mentioned that you were planning on selling your house and moving. Where to?”

She sighed. “Hell, anywhere but here. I don’t want to be in the same town with my ex for any longer than I have to. Take my advice, never put your name on a mortgage with someone. I’m not even married to Brandon and I feel like we’re going through a damn divorce. Once his sorry ass gets back here we can officially put the house up for sale and hopefully I’ll be long gone before he gets home for good.”

Okay, an indirect answer, and it definitely didn’t stir her thoughts to a more pleasant direction. Plan B.

“So, I brought you something.”

“What do you mean you brought me something?” She looked genuinely pissed, fuck he couldn’t catch a damn break.

Kale held up his hands as if surrendering to the lashing that he was all to certain Ronnie was perfectly capable of dealing out.

“Damn it, Soldier. I don’t want any gifts.”

“It’s not a gift.” He walked out of the kitchen and into the entryway where his blazer lay disheveled on the floor. He pulled out a small slender rectangle from the inside pocket and carried it back into the kitchen, hiding it in his hands behind his back.

Kale stood next to Ronnie and attempted like hell not to burst out in a laugh at the way she was sending him a death look with her mouth pursed together and her arms crossed over her chest. He pulled his hands around front, holding his non-gift out for her to see.

He wanted to sigh in relief when Ronnie smiled wide, unable to hide her amusement from him even if she wanted to. “Are you fucking serious right now?” she laughed.

“Serious as a heart attack. Figured I might as well see what all the hype is about this sparkling vampire stuff.”

“You want to watch Twilight?” She wasn’t buying his attempt at honesty, and she was hitting the nail on the head.

“No,” he admitted. “But I remember you saying you liked it, and I thought I could win you over with this if you didn’t let me through the front door. But obviously it was unnecessary.” He winked at her and watched as she hopped off her bar stool and stood agonizingly close to him. Her body just being in the same sliver of space as him had his body rising.

Ronnie took the movie from him. “Smart thinking there, Soldier.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled. “Shit, I’m just thankful you didn’t say you were a secret fan of The Notebook. I’ve always pitied my buddies who got suckered into that one.”

Ronnie turned her head around to look at him, a small smile tugged at her mouth as she bit the corner of her bottom lip. How could one small little movement cause such a strong reaction from him? The way her eyes looked up from her lashes, the way her long hair fell over her shoulder as she looked at him, the way her teeth pulled on her lip, it all circulated a throb—one that sent all his blood to his groin.

“Oh please tell me you’re not.”

She laughed. “Sorry, no can do.”

Kale followed her to the living room, sat down on the overstuffed couch, and stretched his arms out. He watched as Ronnie bent over to put the DVD in. Her overly large sweats that swallowed her were hung low on her hips and her shirt was so tight that it pulled up slightly as she leaned down. He noticed another tattoo peeking out from the top of her pants just below the bottom of the dream catcher tattoo and he made a mental note to explore every inch of her body so he could find every last trace of art on her skin.

Kale had never been a huge fan of tattoos on women. The occasional so-called tramp stamp or ankle tattoo was okay. He was even used to seeing small tattoos on the inside of women’s wrists, but for the most part, he preferred their skin to be smooth and clear and supple. But Ronnie on the other hand, she was breaking all of his ‘typical type’ ideals. He found himself wanting to study her body, to trace his finger over every line of every tattoo that covered her. From the one on her right shoulder that traveled all the way down her arm, to the large one covering the span of her back, to the one on her left side that continued down her hip and onto her thigh, and to the one placed dangerously low right above her ass. They were beautiful and they were even more beautiful on her body.

“Hello?” Ronnie said, staring at him from across the room next to the TV.

“Sorry, what?” Kale blinked to pull the image of Ronnie’s naked body from his ruttish mind so he could focus on Ronnie who was in front of him.

“I asked if you wanted another beer. Fuck, I don’t offer to serve people often and you’ve had sex and dinner already, you’re pushing your luck.”

“Well in that case, I better take you up on your offer while it’s still in good standing.”

When Ronnie came back in the room, she handed him a beer and then sat down at the other end of the couch, as far away from Kale as she possibly could be without sitting on the floor.

The movie was actually pretty good, although Kale would never admit it. Apparently he had purchased the third movie in the series, which he didn’t even realize there was more than one, so Ronnie had to spend a good portion of the beginning of the movie to catch him up to speed.

Somewhere in the middle, Ronnie curled her legs up to the side of her as she was leaning into the armrest. Her delicate feet were in arms reach of Kale and he was itching to touch her. He bit the bullet and grabbed Ronnie’s ankle pulling her closer to him. Her head whipped around to look at him, but she didn’t say anything, which shocked the hell out of him. He was fully expecting an ass chewing.

“I can’t be this close to you and not touch you,” he said. He wasn’t going to apologize, he wanted her and he was going to get her while he could, any part of her that he could. He pulled her legs onto his lap and she silently and carefully watched him as he picked up her foot and started rubbing her instep.

“Mmm, keep doing that and you can touch me all you want,” she said with a moan as she shut her eyes and leaned the side of her head against the back of the couch.

Kale slowly rubbed the soles of her feet, finding all the spots that made her sigh, and the spots that made her giggle. He worked one and then the other, watching as her breaths got short and even the more and more relaxed she got.

“This isn’t some ploy to get me back in the bedroom is it?” Her eyes were still shut and her voice was soft and raspy.

“That wasn’t my intention but I’d be happy to oblige,” Kale said, working his way slowly up her calf.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to move my body. This feels so good.” Her words slowly slurred together as sleep was stretching out to her.

Making her succumb to sleep by the touch of his fingers gave Kale a pleasure that ran hot in his bones. He continued to massage her for just a few more minutes, and then he gently lowered her feet to the floor and slipped a hand around her waist.

Her eyes popped open when he started pulling her to him.

“Come here,” he said, tucking her under his arm. Her body was suddenly rigid like she wasn’t quite sure of the idea.

“Let me hold you.” He buried his nose in her hair and took a deep breath in. The smell of vanilla and coconut with a little bit of citrus filled his lungs.

A long moment passed that Ronnie didn’t say anything. She was frozen solid, her eyes never moving from his, but gradually her body relaxed and she allowed Kale to pull her the rest of the way to him. The second her body collided with his, she wedged herself in close to his side and nuzzled his chest. She fit next to him perfectly, and he held her to him like that until he heard soft feminine snores coming from her.

Kale debated whether or not to lean back and spend the night with this woman wrapped in his arms. Having a soft warm body next to him while he slept was something he always loved, even if he always wanted that body to leave first thing in the morning. But he knew Ronnie wouldn’t want that. Even if it was just a physical need, something his body craved, it wouldn’t be that way for her. Everything seemed to register differently for women, hell every man knew that. But where some women would love to spend the night curled up next to a man, even when they knew it was nothing more than two bodies touching, he knew Ronnie wouldn’t see it that way. Kale was pretty sure cuddling was on the ‘can’t do’ list for their little arrangement.

Kale lifted her easily in his arms, pressing her against his chest as he carried her to her bedroom. She didn’t stir until her laid her down in the bed.

He ran his knuckles down the side of her cheek. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Ronnie said, her voice was raspy from being asleep and it was sexy. She smiled at him, a real one, one that he hadn’t seen since last night when she appraised the tattoo on his back. He liked it. It worked well for her. Kale smiled back and turned to walk out of the bedroom door.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he whispered as he walked out the door and he was almost positive he heard her say it back.

Chapter 7

Two more to go.

Ronnie’s feet pounded one after the other. She felt the pleasing pull in her thighs, that subtle hurts-so-good kind of burn and she pushed the button on the treadmill increasing the incline. She had to hit four miles today, she finished off a six pack of beer yesterday and damn near destroyed the entire bag of Reece’s; four miles was the bare minimum.

Running was Ronnie’s way of kicking her own ass. It was also a way to get out of her head. She knew most people ran to think, to hear nothing but the voice in their head, but the last fucking thing Ronnie wanted to hear was her own voice bitching inside her head. No, running was Ronnie’s escape, her solitude. When she ran she shut off, the only thing switched on was her legs. She would push herself until the muscles in her legs could no longer support her weight, or until her lungs screamed out in agony—whichever came first. The only noise she heard was from the sound of her feet pounding the pavement—or the belt of the treadmill in this case—and the sound of the instrumental piano playing on the Pandora station on her iPhone, lulling her mind into oblivion.

A heavy coating of sweat covered Ronnie’s face and chest by the time she slowed the speed of the treadmill at four and a half miles. She much preferred to run outdoors but the cold, winter New York weather could kiss her ass. No way in hell was she going outside longer than necessary.

She walked another half mile then stepped off and headed for the gym’s classroom. Yoga was her second sanctuary of solitude and she taught a class at the gym on post every Monday at 6:30 a.m. She wasn’t a morning person. She actually hated waking up early, but the 6:30 morning class had the smallest turn out and the most dedicated women. Some of them were soldiers but the majority of them were Army wives. The other classes were later in the day and completely filled with chatty, gossip-thriving women who would rather stick their noses up at Ronnie and her cleavage showing tank top and the full sleeve on her arm, than do the class.

Contrary to her feelings about the majority of the female species, she actually liked the women in a.m. her class. Hell, she had the utmost respect for military spouses (even the ones who were complete bitches to her), knowing good and well the shit these women had to go through for their families. Don’t get the wrong idea, she wasn’t running off to FRG meetings and wine Wednesdays with these women but she liked them nonetheless.