fascination. " You ' re beautiful. I ' m keeping those pictures forever. I ' ll always have you in my pocket. "
She savored his words in her heart for a moment. " Kyle, I --"
" Thanks for sending them. I needed them. I need you. I ' ve had a bad day. All I want is for this shit to be over, the fire to be under control. I want to come home. I want to finally sink in to you. It would have happened the other night, you know? "
She didn ' t try to deny it. " I know. "
" I wanted it to. "
" Me, too. "
" You be careful, babe. Keep yourself safe ' til I can get there. Okay? "
" Okay. You, too. "
" Night. "
" Good night. "
Monica laid her phone down, pulled down her shirt and curled into a ball on her side. This could be all of her dreams come true. If he felt the same way about her as she felt about him. If it was more than just passion and desire he felt.
She could only wait and see.
****
Kyle leaned back on the hotel room bed and transferred the pictures of Monica from his phone to his laptop. When it was done, he flipped through the four pictures quickly, and then again more slowly.
Hit guts clenched in violent need.
No doubt she was beautiful. He ' d always known that. She was tall and lean and she had a gorgeous face with dramatic coloring.
She should have been his long ago .
As he skimmed through the pictures, he looked over every inch of her body. Every inch that she had allowed him, anyway. His eyes moved over her silky legs, up her thighs and down again to her soft little feet. His gaze narrowed on a slight imperfection on her right thigh and he studied it quizzically for a moment until a memory from long ago seared him in the heart.
She had just turned fifteen. Her father worked shift work at a chemical plant and was usually asleep all day. Her mother was a trauma nurse at a local hospital. Monica was an only child and spent a lot of time at his house with Ashley. On this particular day, his own father was at work and his mother had just left for the grocery store.
Monica and Ashley spent long hours that summer riding bikes, swimming at the neighborhood pool and roaming the suburban neighborhood where both families lived.
His mind sharpened on the memory.
Ashley had run into the house screaming for their mother. He had been home that day from his summer job and tried to calm his sister down. She began pulling on his hand and telling him that Monica had been hurt.
He still remembered the cold grip of fear that slid down his spine.
He ran down the street with her, maybe six or seven houses away, and found Monica lying on the green grass, blood running too damn quickly down her leg.
His heart had almost stopped beating.
It was the middle of the day, and the neighborhood was deserted. Most of the adults were at work and the kids were in day care.
He came down on his knees beside her, and Monica ' s eyes lifted to his. He could still see the searing pain in her eyes, as well as the trust she had, in him , trust that he would know what to do. That he could handle the situation.
Her voice shook. " I think it ' s b-bad. It hurts. I ' m s-scared to look. "
He took a deep breath and ran his hand over her cheek, lifting her chin up and looking deep in her eyes. " It ' s okay, Monica. You don ' t have to look. I ' ll look. Just keep your eyes on me, okay? "
At her nod, her eyes fixed intently on his face, he lowered his hands to her leg and carefully slid her fingers away from where she protected the damage.
He was hoping to see a really bad abrasion, but it was more than that. She was badly cut. Not only was it a puncture wound, it was deep and jagged. And long. Blood flowed freely from it, but it wasn ' t close to an artery, so it wasn ' t life-threatening. But the blood flow needed to be stopped, and he could tell at a glance it was going to need stitches. There was no question about that.
He didn ' t see the need to tell her any of that yet. It was obvious she couldn ' t walk, her bike was still on
She savored his words in her heart for a moment. " Kyle, I --"
" Thanks for sending them. I needed them. I need you. I ' ve had a bad day. All I want is for this shit to be over, the fire to be under control. I want to come home. I want to finally sink in to you. It would have happened the other night, you know? "
She didn ' t try to deny it. " I know. "
" I wanted it to. "
" Me, too. "
" You be careful, babe. Keep yourself safe ' til I can get there. Okay? "
" Okay. You, too. "
" Night. "
" Good night. "
Monica laid her phone down, pulled down her shirt and curled into a ball on her side. This could be all of her dreams come true. If he felt the same way about her as she felt about him. If it was more than just passion and desire he felt.
She could only wait and see.
****
Kyle leaned back on the hotel room bed and transferred the pictures of Monica from his phone to his laptop. When it was done, he flipped through the four pictures quickly, and then again more slowly.
Hit guts clenched in violent need.
No doubt she was beautiful. He ' d always known that. She was tall and lean and she had a gorgeous face with dramatic coloring.
She should have been his long ago .
As he skimmed through the pictures, he looked over every inch of her body. Every inch that she had allowed him, anyway. His eyes moved over her silky legs, up her thighs and down again to her soft little feet. His gaze narrowed on a slight imperfection on her right thigh and he studied it quizzically for a moment until a memory from long ago seared him in the heart.
She had just turned fifteen. Her father worked shift work at a chemical plant and was usually asleep all day. Her mother was a trauma nurse at a local hospital. Monica was an only child and spent a lot of time at his house with Ashley. On this particular day, his own father was at work and his mother had just left for the grocery store.
Monica and Ashley spent long hours that summer riding bikes, swimming at the neighborhood pool and roaming the suburban neighborhood where both families lived.
His mind sharpened on the memory.
Ashley had run into the house screaming for their mother. He had been home that day from his summer job and tried to calm his sister down. She began pulling on his hand and telling him that Monica had been hurt.
He still remembered the cold grip of fear that slid down his spine.
He ran down the street with her, maybe six or seven houses away, and found Monica lying on the green grass, blood running too damn quickly down her leg.
His heart had almost stopped beating.
It was the middle of the day, and the neighborhood was deserted. Most of the adults were at work and the kids were in day care.
He came down on his knees beside her, and Monica ' s eyes lifted to his. He could still see the searing pain in her eyes, as well as the trust she had, in him , trust that he would know what to do. That he could handle the situation.
Her voice shook. " I think it ' s b-bad. It hurts. I ' m s-scared to look. "
He took a deep breath and ran his hand over her cheek, lifting her chin up and looking deep in her eyes. " It ' s okay, Monica. You don ' t have to look. I ' ll look. Just keep your eyes on me, okay? "
At her nod, her eyes fixed intently on his face, he lowered his hands to her leg and carefully slid her fingers away from where she protected the damage.
He was hoping to see a really bad abrasion, but it was more than that. She was badly cut. Not only was it a puncture wound, it was deep and jagged. And long. Blood flowed freely from it, but it wasn ' t close to an artery, so it wasn ' t life-threatening. But the blood flow needed to be stopped, and he could tell at a glance it was going to need stitches. There was no question about that.
He didn ' t see the need to tell her any of that yet. It was obvious she couldn ' t walk, her bike was still on
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