Losing You (Finding You Series Book 2) (22 page)

He was led to a spare room with a single bed, white dresser, and fluffy rug on the floor. I was surprised that the bed was actually made up. Maybe Kyle kept it that way in case friends decided to crash for the night.

Daniel took off his formal clothing and slid into bed in the boxers Ramah had bought.

Kyle and I kissed him goodnight and left the door slightly ajar to help make him comfortable on his first night.

Once we were in the lounge room, Kyle strode up to me and whispered in my ear, “You can tell me the story about Daniel later, right now all I can focus on is how your ass looks in my mother’s dress. I want to rip it off and finish what we started.”

He threw the crutches on the sofa after picking me up and marching the shortest distance to his room, easing me onto the king sized bed.

“My sweet Dakota. I need you unbearably,” he urged, barely audible as he unzipped the dress, drinking in my thinner curves for the first time. I let him look, nipples erect, comfortable under his scrutiny. He unzipped the fly on his trousers, pushing them to his ankles, showing me what I’d been missing for so long. My hands groped him over his underwear before reaching in and releasing what I craved.

He ran his tongue over those perfect lips that I’d kissed in my mind’s eye at my darkest hour and then gloriously lowered them onto my impatient breasts. He was a part of me in so many ways. Tonight had returned me to the missing link. I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else in such a show of wanton craving.

“I need you so much.” It was more begging than a statement.

I turned onto my stomach as he covered all of me gently like a sheet, softly kissing every square inch of skin. I panted, unable to move. Not wanting to. He pulled my hair away from my neck and groaned at the feel of me.

“You are so soft.”

His kisses were driving me crazy but his body on top kept me pinned down. There was nothing to do but enjoy it.

When he was finished kissing all over my back, he gently turned me over so he could start on the front, beginning with my feet and working his way up.

The outskirts of heaven hadn’t been this good. As our skin touched, it was as if we were one being.

I was gone. Lost over the edge. I tried to muffle my enjoyment as Kyle kissed between my legs. It was too much to bear, so I pulled him up forcefully so he could enter me before I hyperventilated.

“I can’t believe you’re here with me. I never in a million years thought that I’d be with you tonight.” His sentence was strung together in between kisses.

“Neither did I! You’re all that I want. Nothing else matters when I’m with you.”

Each touch, each kiss was more precious than the last. Two bodies woven together in harmony.

“I love you.” It was all I needed to say.

“I love you more.”

It didn’t take long for desire to push us both to the brink. A place beyond time and space.

We’d just climbed a mountain with the highest peak and were now plummeting back to earth, clutching onto each other, our exhilaration evenly matched.

I loved the sounds of his release, knowing I had brought him over the edge. His moans and whimpers vibrating against my skin.

Our unified pants abated, his half-open mouth rested on my neck, my fingers wove through his, which is how we fell asleep, dreaming of our own eternal heaven.

Epilogue

John

Two months later

I simply couldn’t hide my smugness as I walked into the apartment complex in downtown Hollywood. How simple it had been to flee Australia, even with a warrant for my arrest issued by the State Police.

Those stupid morons! I can’t believe how easy it was. Now I can finish what I started. There’s no escaping, Dakota. Not even your father can save you now.

I should have finished off her old man while I had the chance. The pending assault charges were a hiccup I didn’t need. Still, no one knew of my whereabouts. The fake passport and disguise my mate had jacked up for me had done the trick. I was here to take what was rightfully mine.

Tracking Dakota down had been easy with the help of the media. Admittedly when I’d heard about the plane crash in the papers with her photo on the front telling everyone she had died, I had been extremely disappointed that I wouldn’t get to finish my plan. But then somehow she’d risen like a phoenix from the dead a second time as if being handed to me from God Almighty himself. It was a sign.

“I’m coming for you, baby. Won’t be long now and I’ll take you away from this make-believe life that you’re living. We’ll go where no one will find us. It’ll be like old times.”

I strode through the foyer towards the elevators in my fake security outfit, keycard in hand to allow access to the penthouse, thanks to a friend that owed me a favor.

I let out a deep, raucous laugh as I climbed into the elevator and started my ascent to the penthouse floor.

*Sneak Peek*

Coming Soon

Chapter One

Dakota

In Kyle’s Hollywood penthouse, he stirred next to me as the hazy morning sun snaked through the white, half closed Venetian blinds in the king size bedroom which we now shared. The weak rays, painted the enormous bed with solar stripes, taking the edge off the unusually cool morning. Los Angeles weather in fall was usually mild but on this particular morning not even the sun could overpower the chilly, easterly gusts blowing in off the ocean.

A milky, smooth hand brushed the hair from my brow as he kissed my closed eyes. His lips were feathery soft and luscious. His hot breath warmed me to the core. Even in the Arctic I would never freeze. My eyes remained closed as he found a weak spot just below my ear and nibbled, gently with his lips and teeth.

“Mmmm. Morning beautiful girl.”

“Morning yourself, Mr. Rutherford.” A languid smile eased across my face as my eyes opened to find Kyle hovering above. Hair wildly messy. Eyes dreamy. Those sultry oceans of blue that stopped my breathing whenever they burned into me. I couldn’t look away. I didn’t want to. I wanted to surrender to him. I was complete when he touched me. Kissed me. When he spoke quietly in my ear, just in our little world. My hand crept up to caress his sharp jaw, angled perfectly to frame those succulent, ripe lips. Energy flooded through me, a powerhouse of need and want.

“I still can’t believe you’re here with me to stay. I keep thinking when I wake up you’ll be gone again, just an illusion.” A hint of sorrow clouded Kyle’s words in such a way, it prompted me to frame his face with both hands, searching his now regretful eyes that still held grievances for letting me go the first time.

After surviving an abusive marriage and a plane crash I was exactly where I needed to be.

“I’ll never leave you, I promise. I’m here to stay. The accident wasn’t your fault. You weren’t to know the plane would crash. How could you? Please stop blaming yourself.”

Would his regret ever ease? Would he ever see that fate could not have been prevented?I
t
wa
s
what it was. He’d taken it upon himself to shoulder the guilt over the accident. In his eyes he’d let me go when he shouldn’t have. But he couldn’t have changed a thing. I had been called to return to Australia after learning my father had been admitted to hospital because of my ex-husband, John. It wouldn’t have mattered what he’d said and done. I would have gone anyway.

As if on cue, Kyle spoke the words I’d just been thinking.

“I know. It’s just, look at what you went through to get back to me? I feel guilty. No one should ever have suffered the way you did. If only, I’d insisted you stay with me.”

“Shhh. Let’s put it in the past. No one is to blame. It was just one of those horrible events in life that makes us stronger. I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere.” It was an event in my life that I could have done without that was for certain but it was over now and I was home.

I silenced him with a long, deep kiss unable to be near that mouth without taking it. I knew how to change the subject and take his mind off matters that didn’t need discussing. He was impartial to my kisses too so as long as I had a trusted deterrent I would use it. His lips were fit for human consumption so why waste them? Marshmallow soft, full enough to get lost in. And lose myself, I did.

I inhaled Kyle’s smell. This morning it was a combination of yesterday’s aftershave, soap from a late night shower with a hint of something enticingly masculine.

“Well, now that you put it that way,” he murmured, turning his head to deepen the kiss. Our tongues found their own rhythm as I rolled onto my back pulling Kyle on top so my hands could find his taut buttocks. A place they were most comfortable. How could one person be so perfect from the tip of his head down to his faultlessly, aligned toes? There were no blemishes, scars or imperfections of any kind. Unlike my own tarnished skin that bore a constant reminder of how far I had come.

The low growl in Kyle’s throat heightened my own desire and I was a goner. The room faded to nothing I became part of him, unconscious of anything other than the feel of him. The taste of him and his power to take me to a place that was beyond Earth. 

I arched my back, pushing into him, ready for anything. His hand moved lower to just above the crease at the back of my knee, bringing my leg up higher around him. His left hand was holding my hand back on the pillow, our fingers interlaced, his eyes momentarily spearing mine, intense to the point of spontaneous combustion.

I’d come a long way from the frightened, timid woman of a few months ago. Never would I have imagined experiencing such joy. Such love for another human being. Surrendering fully to someone. Trusting again. Kyle was helping keep all the monsters away. Demons that had threatened to pull me to a dark place. While I was with Kyle, he kept those demons from getting their claws into me. There were so many. His love shone light where there was darkness. He helped me to forget. As long as he stayed by my side the monsters were safely hidden.

A faint knock at the door had Kyle lift his head, the first time he’d looked away. 

“Hmm?” His glazed eyes glanced at the door, expectantly.

Knock. Knock.

There was only one other person it could be.

“Come in Daniel,” Kyle urged as he rolled over and composed himself, covering up his excitement under a meager sheet. He mumbled something under his breath that I couldn’t understand.

Slowly the door opened to reveal the other light of my life. A young man whom had climbed his own mountain: A hero in my eyes. His dark, corkscrew curls hung low over his ebony eyes that were heavily lashed and almond-shaped. He was dressed in nothing but satin boxers, having risen from bed to eat breakfast and get ready for school. His eyes flicked warily from Kyle and then to me as if realizing that he’d probably interrupted something.

“Morning Daniel. How are you?” Kyle offered, urging the boy in to sit on the edge of the bed. We’d both agreed to raise Daniel as our own and make him the center of our world. A world that up until recently had been in pieces. It held many dark secrets we were both trying to move away from, although the biggest classified skeleton in the closet was so massive that it would never be spoken of again. Murder. Nothing more, nothing less! A shocking event to have to live with. Daniel had taken a life and I had been his accomplice. I wasn’t proud of it. It killed me to think of it but we’d had no choice. We’d done it to protect ourselves. Not even Kyle new of the shameful secret. There had been so many times I had wanted to unload the heavy burden and share with him that part of me that I fought so hard to keep off limits but for Daniels sake, I held my tongue. I’d given the boy my word that it would remain hush-hush and I planned on honoring that pledge.

Daniel shuffled over to the bed and handed me an envelope.

“Dakota, I found this inside the front door on the floor when I woke up this morning. It’s got your name on it.”

I glanced to Kyle hoping for a reaction that would give away the surprise. Every week there was a note or gift placed throughout the apartment for me to stumble upon. A token of his devotion. Whisperings of his profound love and commitment. Today was no different as I reached for the envelope and didn’t bother looking at the scrawled name on the front. I ripped it open, my heart exploding with joy at the heartfelt sentiment. 

Kyle’s face remained stoic and if anything, his eyebrows knitted together slightly. I figured he was playing the surprised, innocent party to the hilt.

As I reached in and clasped the dried flower, revealing it to Kyle and Daniel, my lungs nearly malfunctioned. 

The rose fell to the bed as I wheezed, struggling for breath, clutching at the sheet that barely covered my breasts. My eyes closed firmly as I fought a scream. The oxygen in the room evaporated along with my earlier, jubilant mood.

“Dakota, what is it?” Kyle had me in his arms in a heartbeat. His warm, strong body provided little comfort as my chest heaved.

I couldn’t speak. Only
I
knew the momentous symbolism the rose had. How something so shriveled and lifeless could impart such a reaction.

“A…monster!” My voice was barely a whisper. There was nothing as true as those words in that moment.

“It’s okay. It’s just a rose. Shhh. Calm down. I’m here. I won’t let anything bad happen.” 

The words failed to appease me as I was lost to the widening chasm, swallowing the room up. 

Kyle pulled my head further into his chest as he folded himself around me. I could hear his swift heartbeat that seemed to motor along in tempo with mine.

“What’s got you so upset?”

“The…rose! Why did…you…give me…a dried rose?” I said under an obstructed breath. 

I’d told him never to give me roses. They were a symbol from my past that invoked bitter memories. Had he forgotten? Was this just a silly joke? Was I overreacting? 

My ex-husband John’s face almost became visible, grotesque and menacing, scowling up from the pale red, flower bud, lying dead on the contrasting black sheet.

“I didn’t. I haven’t forgotten. I wouldn’t do anything so stupid, I promise.” 

The sincerity in his voice had me shaking over the alternative. There shouldn’t have been an alternative. I hated to think of it. Jesus! Could it be? I felt faint. Pins and needles stabbed at my extremities. I fought for a logical explanation. There had to be one. My head swooned.

Don’t faint! Don’t faint! Keep it together. Breathe.

“Dakota, are you okay?” A meek voice, bordering on manhood broke the quiet.

Daniel had witnessed my meltdown and was probably struggling to understand.

Kyle’s embrace was rigid as he uttered the words I couldn’t. “Oh Daniel! It’s okay. Just a memory, that’s all. She’ll be fine, I promise. Why don’t you go get ready for school? She’ll be out soon.”

Daniel eyeballed me suspiciously as I peeked over at him, his eyebrows a long slash across his forehead. But he didn’t argue. He, if anyone knew what it was like to remember things. Nightmares we had tried in vain to lock away. Nightmares he still struggled with every day.

“Well, if you’re sure she’s okay.” His voice cracked as he slowly pivoted and walked to the door, turning once to look over his shoulder. He fastened his eyes on me and I tried to comfort him with a smile but he was too smart for that. He could read my pain better than anyone, sometimes even better than myself. 

When we were on our own and my breathing had returned to some semblance of normal, Kyle spoke, “Talk to me, angel. What is it? What’s got you so spooked?”

The thought of even saying the words aloud caused my pulse to accelerate again.

“He’s been here.”

“Who? Who’s been here?”

“John!”

“Come again?”

“I know it sounds crazy.” My knuckles were white as I balled my hands into fists, thumbs locked tightly under my fingers. “John used to give me a single red rose every anniversary. Even…” 

The memory shattered me. Giant cracks jagged and sharp. “Even the last year I was with him. He still gave me that stupid, red rose like some sick reminder that I belonged to him and always would.” It was the first time I’d given Kyle a reason behind my hatred of roses. I’d kept my explanation vague last time but this was now serious.

Acid rose into my throat bringing with it an intense urge to throw up. I retched, trying desperately to not let that happen. Tears sprinkled onto my cheeks like fresh rain. 

Kyle’s formerly rigid body now tightened further to rock hard granite. The hand cradling my head squeezed a wad of hair. 

“What day is it?”

I was confused. “Friday.”

“No, I mean what is the date today?”

“November fifth.”

With a sudden realization came a thumping in my head that threatened to explode my skull. Of course! How could I forget? I squashed on my bottom lip with my teeth, alarm bells ringing. This was bad. Very bad! Today was my anniversary!

I fumbled for the envelope, pressing it out flat so I could read the writing on the front. Black pen had scribbled a name with an exclamation mark after it and underlined.

Dakota
!

I crumpled under Kyle’s hold. 

“Noooo! Please no!” It was more of a whisper than a wail. My legs curled up towards my torso into the comfortable, safe fetal position. I knew the implications of the hand delivered message with the familiar handwriting. He had found me. He’d been to the front door. He knew where I lived! He’d come to take me home. It was all over. He’d stop at nothing! This was a man who had traveled thousands of miles to hand deliver a rose! He meant business. My two worlds had finally collided.