Jolted (Conflicted Encounters #1) (22 page)

I would have imagined she was stronger than that. The girl I had come to know was too strong to let someone break her heart permanently. Her ex must have been a complete idiot. No bigger of an idiot than I was, I guess.
 

Scarlett later found us on the couch still. Instead of the scolding glare I expected, I saw concern. She came over and inspected the red skin that was starting to blister. She went and got the aloe, gently smearing some thickly over the blisters. Kallie barely stirred.

"She must have been completely wiped out. With work and all the sun, she was running on empty," my sister guessed, watching the small girl sleep. "She been out long?"

"Since you left," I told her. She sat in the recliner and looked at Kallie with worry. "She's already broken."

Scarlett knew what I meant. We rarely had to voice complete thoughts around each other. "I think so. I don't know her whole story, but from what I gather from bits and pieces that she lets slip, I think that she was with someone for a very long time. The only person she had ever been with. Something happened and she snapped. She couldn't handle the change, I guess, and the pressure from her life,” Scarlett said in a whisper.
 

We stayed quiet for the rest of night to let her sleep. Any move Kallie made, she would wince and whimper in pain. I eventually lifted her head and went to my own bed. I laid awake and stared at the dark ceiling.
 

I could still smell her on me. Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured her lips on mine. Now that I knew what she tasted like, I only wanted more. All day I itched to touch her, to hold her. I was tying to behave, looking out for myself more than her. I knew with any more tasting or touching, I would never be able to get her out of my mind.
 

I could hear her soft sighs from the living room with every one of her tosses and turns. The sounds were driving me crazy, so I got of the bed. I stood in my doorway and watched her flip on her back on the couch, then quickly push back to her stomach. Against my own good judgment, I went to her and gently lifted her into my arms.
 

She stirred when I picked her up and I whispered for her to go back to sleep. Her head rested on my shoulder and I took her to my room. I laid her down on my bed and gently coaxed her to roll over, onto her stomach. She sighed as she sprawled out on the bed. Here, she would have room to sleep better.
 

I crawled back into my bed and laid as far away from her as I could. I was aware of her body next to mine even in my sleep. When I woke the next morning, she was gone. I hated how that upset me. Coffee was already made, and I realized she would have already left for work.

"That motor should be arriving today," Travis hollered to me as I walked in the shop.
 

I nodded and headed to the office to get the orders for the day. I busied myself with pulling in Kallie's car to prep it for the repair. Once the car was pulled into an empty bay and on the lift, I went to pop the hood. I opened the car door and was assaulted with her scent. I closed my eyes and pictured her laying in my bed last night.
 

I shook my head to clear the image. I would soon have her precious car fixed and ready for her to drive away and out of town. Eventually, I wouldn't think about her lips anymore. I wouldn't remember the way she moaned in my ear. If I could keep away until then, then I would be fine.
 

I reached for the hood latch and pulled it. I heard the click of the hood release and went to prop it open. I got back into the driver's seat to note the mileage and other info we needed for the paperwork. A photo was stuck in the center counsel, covered with loose change and sunglasses.
 

You can tell a lot about a person by the inside of their car. How clean they keep it, the radio station dialed in, the stuff laying in the cup-holder. They all gave hints about the driver. This car held little hints about the Kallie we didn't know.

My curiosity got the best of me and I pulled the photo out. Kallie stood wearing a black formal dress. Her hair was pulled into a clean bun and she wore a pearl necklace. She was on the arm of a man in a tailored tux. He was tall with blonde hair and blue eyes. The couple looked perfect for each other.
 

I couldn't stop staring at her face. She wore a perfect smile, to match her boyfriend's. She looked poised and elegant on his arm. What had me entranced was the look in her eyes. They were blank, not matching with her happy face. I didn't see the fire that I saw in her eyes. She was a different person in this photo.

I quickly shoved it back and went to work on removing the busted engine. The work went slow and I berated myself for not starting the removal days before. Travis didn't want the car taking up a bay when it wasn't necessary. By the time the truck showed up with the delivery, I was nowhere close to being ready for it.
 

We unloaded the large crate and pushed it in the back for storage. I cursed at the foreign vintage car and finished the day trying to remove the engine.
 

"Having issues, dude?" I heard. I looked up to find Caleb watching me in amusement.

"This thing is a pain in my ass," I grumbled. I wiped off the grease on my hands and went to shake his hand.
 

I had no hard feelings toward my friend. Kallie was beautiful and new in the town. I've seen the way every guy in town looks at her. I know the effect she has on them, me included. I couldn't lay claim to something that wasn't mine, no matter how much I wanted to.
 

Caleb and I go back to grade school. I knew if I told him to back off, he would, and I would do the same for him. I also suspected he was moving in on Kallie just to piss me off. But I wasn’t going to admit to him that it was working.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him while I glared at the demon car.

"Had lunch at Minnie's and thought I'd swing in here to say hey," he said, looking under the hood as well. "Kallie's?"

"Yeah, replacement came today," I explained. He just nodded. "What time is it anyway? I was gonna try to catch her and give her a ride home."

"I already took her home," he told me.

"What? Why? She's not off for a few more hours," I said, looking at my phone.
 

"They sent her home early," he explained. "She burned her hand on the grill."

"Shit. Bad?" I asked.
 

"Not bad, but it was making serving a little rough, so Minnie gave her the rest of the day off."

I shook my head. She was already burnt from the sun, and now her hand. She was going to need to be wrapped in gauze from head to toe soon if she kept this up.
 

When I walked in the apartment that evening, I found Kallie standing at the sink with her hand under the running water. She gave me a sheepish look when I snickered at her.
 

"Let me see," I urged, taking her hand from the water. The skin was red and blistered.
 

"I found the one spot not already burnt, and you know, I just wanted to make sure I was consistent," she joked.

I laughed at her as I grabbed the tube of burn cream on the counter. "You're just too hot for your own good, Princess." I rubbed some cream on the burn and covered it with the large band-aid she had laying out. When I was done, I looked up to find her staring at me.

"Where's Scarlett?" I choked out. We shouldn't be alone.
 

"Going out after work, again. She texted me," she said, looking back down at her hand.
 

I looked over and saw her phone laying on the counter. It was turned on for once and notifications kept popping up on the screen. She sighed and switched a button to stop the vibrating. She laid it back down and opened the freezer. She grabbed an ice pack and held it to her hand.

"How's the sunburn?" I asked.

"Not as bad as this," she said, lifting the hand. "Jewelry is less dangerous," she mumbled as she went to the living room.
 

I made us dinner that night as I listened to the storm rolling in. I could smell the rain as the air became cool and damp. We didn't speak much as the thunder and lightning raged outside. Scarlett eventually burst through the door, soaking wet.
 

"It's really coming down out there," she gasped as she shook her wet hair.
 

"Sounds like it," Kallie agreed, staring out the window.
 

Scarlett ushered Kallie into her room, talking about a drawing she did for her. I relaxed on the couch, glad to be alone. The soft voices from the bedroom, mixed with the chaos outside, was calming. When my eyes started to drift close, I made my way to my own bed. I didn't want to take over Kallie's area.

I woke in the middle of the night from my dreams of her. Kallie's body was beneath me and squirming with need as I teased her with my mouth. In my dream, she whispered my name over and over in my ears. I sat up and took ragged breaths. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, along with the rain on the roof.
 

I buried my palms in my eyes and sighed. I swear, I could still taste her skin on my lips and smell her in my sheets. It took days to rid the room of her smell the first night she stayed in my bed. I needed a beer, I decided, throwing the covers off and leaving my torturous room. A shadow jumped by the window when I threw open the doors. When my eyes adjusted, I could make out Kallie, sitting on the floor by the window.

"What the hell are you doing up?" I rasped out.

"Watching the rain," she answered quietly. "I used to love storms."

I grabbed a beer from the fridge and stood behind her. The rain was coming down in sheets and pounding on the street below. Kallie stood quickly and strode over to the door. She pulled it open without hesitation and took off down the stairs.
 

It took my brain a few seconds to catch up. I set the beer on the counter and pulled some shoes on before I headed down to see what she was up to. When I opened the door, I found Kallie standing in the middle of the alley.

She was standing with her arms out and her hands catching the water pouring down. Her face was tilted up to the sky and water splattered on her cheeks and eyelids. Her lips were pulled into the slightest smile. I took a step to pull her back inside, but stopped.
 

The calm and serenity on her face was captivating. She opened her mouth to catch raindrops. I smiled as I watched her twirl in the rain. Her clothes were wet and plastered to her body. Her bare feet splashed in the water pooled under her.
 

She pulled her head back down and her eyes found me instantly, like she could feel me watching her. I could make out the wide smile and light in her eyes, even through the sheets of water coming down between us.
 

Kallie

I could feel his eyes the moment they rested on me. I let the rain pour down over me. The cold drops of water hit my skin. I closed my eyes and inhaled the wet air. I could feel the charge of electricity all around me.

I opened my eyes and saw Ryder leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed. His dark eyes were on mine, and I could feel them burning through me. He stalked over to me, water splashing under his shoes. I gulped as he quickly closed the distance between us.
 

His hands grabbed the sides of my face and tilted my head up to look at him. Water dripped from his hair and onto my face before his mouth covered mine. I inhaled him in and let my body sink into his. His hands held my face as he kissed all the thoughts from my head.

He kissed me like it was his last wish. His lips and tongue claimed me, and I put it all out for him to claim. I kissed him back, savoring the taste of him mixed with the summer rain. The rain was washing away the fear and guilt that I felt every time Ryder affected me in ways I never had been before.

I ran my fingers through his wet hair and pulled him into me even more. He growled into my mouth as I tugged lightly. His hands came to the back of my legs and he lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, never breaking our kiss. He turned and splashed through the water, back to the building.
 

He pinned me to the wall while he fumbled for the door knob. When he finally got it open, he broke our kiss to step inside. I took the opportunity to attack his neck, nipping and kissing the skin. He growled and I felt his knees hit the steps before he slowly lowered me down to the stairs.
 

He hovered above me and looked down at my face. His eyes were dark and water dripped from his face and hair. His chest was rising and falling quickly, and his breath tickled on my face. He placed his hand on my chest, over my pounding heart, and stared into my eyes.

His lips crashed back down to mine and I arched my body into him. His large body pinned me to the steps as he breathed life and fire into my entire body. I moaned as he trailed his lips over my jaw line and to the sensitive spot behind my ear. He kissed and licked away the water on my neck.

When I thought I was going to scream, he lifted me up and stumbled the rest of the way up the stairs. He didn't break the contact as he reached behind me and opened the door. He walked with me to his bedroom, tossed me on his bed, and closed the door behind him. My breath caught at the sight of him. He was powerful, demanding, and sexy as he looked at me like I was his last meal.
 

With determination, he walked to the edge of the bed and climbed over me. He ran his thumb gently across my swollen lips. I could barely breath with his eyes looking down on me. I felt like they could see right through me. They could see through the shell on the outside and into the deepest depths of my soul.
 

He sat up and peeled off his wet shirt. He grabbed my hands and pulled me up, taking off my wet shirt as well. His eyes roamed my chest and his hands skimmed from my stomach to my back. His fingers unclasped my bra and I gasped when the cold air hit my bare skin.