Well Built
Page 36
“Ella?”
Kyle recognized Claire’s concerned voice, and he glanced across the bed of his truck to see the other woman walking in Ella’s direction from the main parking lot, with Nolan accompanying her.
“Is everything okay?” Claire asked as she reached Ella. The other woman’s gaze lifted to where Kyle was standing on the other side of his truck, then returned to her friend. “I was worried when I couldn’t find you inside.”
“Everything is fine,” Ella assured her, though she didn’t sound fine. “I need you to take me home.”
“Sure thing,” her friend said as the two of them headed toward Claire’s car.
“Ella, dammit, wait!” Kyle tried again, hating the desperation in his voice.
Of course, she didn’t so much as slow her steps or give any indication that she heard him. Frustration shortened his temper, and he yanked hard enough to rip fabric out of the zipper, but by then it was too late. The two of them were in Claire’s car and she was already backing out of the spot.
And to further his humiliation, Nolan was now standing in front of him, chuckling as he realized why the fly of Kyle’s pants was still wide-open.
“At least it wasn’t your dick that got caught in your zipper,” Nolan said humorously.
Kyle wasn’t in the mood. “Shut the fuck up and get in the truck. I’m taking you home.”
And then he was going to go and find out what the hell had just happened with Ella.
Chapter Ten
Ella quietly unlocked the front door to the house she’d grown up in and stepped inside the living room, where Betsy was reading a book on the couch. Since the older woman was alone and it was after ten, Ella assumed that her father had already turned in for the night.
Betsy closed her book and Ella smiled at the other woman. “Thanks for staying with my dad again. It was nice to get out for a while.” And it had been nice and fun and relaxing, until Kyle had shown up and not only tried to start a pissing contest with Tucker, but then he’d provoked her into breaking her own damn rules about them being friends.
God, she was so weak when it came to him.
“Anytime, dear. You know that.” Betsy stood and gathered her purse and the knitting bag she always brought with her. “But your father is more than capable of taking care of himself and really doesn’t need me here all the time. You do realize that, right?”
Ella blinked at her, surprised by the comment. “He has a hard time getting around, and I want to make sure that he has help nearby when I’m not here.” She’d never forgive herself if her father slipped and fell or had some kind of accident because of his lack of motor skills and ended up hurting himself.
Betsy shook her head, though she was smiling. “He gets around just fine. Quite honestly, for a long time now I’ve suspected that he acts frail and incapable because you’ve always catered to him. He won’t wither away if you go out and live your life, and that’s what you should be doing. You’re a young woman. You need to find yourself a man, get married, and have your own family.”
Ella wasn’t sure what had brought on this conversation, but it caused an odd tightness in her chest. She’d tried to find a man, had nearly gotten married, only to realize how unfair it would all be to Tucker, to tie him to her burdens and her schedule. Not that she considered her father a burden, but still. And to be honest, she’d never felt about him the way she felt about . . . No. She wasn’t going there. But she hadn’t loved Tucker the way they both deserved if she were going to marry him.
As for her father . . . she knew there was truth to what Betsy was saying, but her own guilty conscience and that sense of responsibility she’d carried since her mother’s death and then her father’s stroke was hard to let go. She couldn’t let something happen to him if she could avoid it by having Betsy around. And her father depended on her to keep the store running, to keep the mortgage paid, and unfortunately, there was no one else around to share the burden that had, over the years, become hers and hers alone.
She walked Betsy out to her car, and once the other woman was gone, Ella headed back into the house and locked the door. She took a hot shower, changed into one of the soft, comfy tank-top-and-short sets she slept in, then climbed into bed after turning off all the lights. The house was quiet, and since she was wide-awake, her mind insisted on replaying everything that had happened with Kyle tonight.
She’d never intended for anything to happen between them, but the chemistry and attraction between them was impossible to resist. And God, that show of dominance of his that she’d glimpsed had excited and thrilled her, and because she’d still been annoyed with him after his cool attitude toward her that afternoon, it had been so easy to engage him, to let all that sexual tension turn all that frustration into something hot and steamy and physical.
Except it hadn’t stayed all about the physical pleasure and release. Not for her. No, her stupid emotions had wheedled their way into where they didn’t belong.
She’d walked away after his orgasm not to prove the point that she could, but because she’d felt too much in that moment. She’d been overwhelmed by the intensity of their encounter and addicted to how amazing it felt to give him that ultimate pleasure. She’d walked away because she was terrified that she was falling in love with Kyle again, and that was a dangerous thing for her heart to do.
A soft tap, tap, tap at her window startled her out of her thoughts and also made her traitorous heart flutter, because she knew what that tap, tap, tap meant. And who was making the noise, despite the fact that the curtains were drawn and she couldn’t see outside. It took her back to when she and Kyle were dating in high school, and he’d sneak into her bedroom at night exactly like this, and with the house being a one-story, getting in and out had been ridiculously easy for him to do.
Tap, tap, tap. She wanted to ignore him, but the sound was a little louder this time, definitely more impatient, and after the way she’d walked away from him without a word or explanation back at the Roadhouse, she knew he wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.
Tossing off the covers, she padded over to the window and pushed aside the curtain. Sure enough, Kyle was standing on the other side of the glass, and he’d already removed the screen from the frame. Yeah, just like old times.
Kyle recognized Claire’s concerned voice, and he glanced across the bed of his truck to see the other woman walking in Ella’s direction from the main parking lot, with Nolan accompanying her.
“Is everything okay?” Claire asked as she reached Ella. The other woman’s gaze lifted to where Kyle was standing on the other side of his truck, then returned to her friend. “I was worried when I couldn’t find you inside.”
“Everything is fine,” Ella assured her, though she didn’t sound fine. “I need you to take me home.”
“Sure thing,” her friend said as the two of them headed toward Claire’s car.
“Ella, dammit, wait!” Kyle tried again, hating the desperation in his voice.
Of course, she didn’t so much as slow her steps or give any indication that she heard him. Frustration shortened his temper, and he yanked hard enough to rip fabric out of the zipper, but by then it was too late. The two of them were in Claire’s car and she was already backing out of the spot.
And to further his humiliation, Nolan was now standing in front of him, chuckling as he realized why the fly of Kyle’s pants was still wide-open.
“At least it wasn’t your dick that got caught in your zipper,” Nolan said humorously.
Kyle wasn’t in the mood. “Shut the fuck up and get in the truck. I’m taking you home.”
And then he was going to go and find out what the hell had just happened with Ella.
Chapter Ten
Ella quietly unlocked the front door to the house she’d grown up in and stepped inside the living room, where Betsy was reading a book on the couch. Since the older woman was alone and it was after ten, Ella assumed that her father had already turned in for the night.
Betsy closed her book and Ella smiled at the other woman. “Thanks for staying with my dad again. It was nice to get out for a while.” And it had been nice and fun and relaxing, until Kyle had shown up and not only tried to start a pissing contest with Tucker, but then he’d provoked her into breaking her own damn rules about them being friends.
God, she was so weak when it came to him.
“Anytime, dear. You know that.” Betsy stood and gathered her purse and the knitting bag she always brought with her. “But your father is more than capable of taking care of himself and really doesn’t need me here all the time. You do realize that, right?”
Ella blinked at her, surprised by the comment. “He has a hard time getting around, and I want to make sure that he has help nearby when I’m not here.” She’d never forgive herself if her father slipped and fell or had some kind of accident because of his lack of motor skills and ended up hurting himself.
Betsy shook her head, though she was smiling. “He gets around just fine. Quite honestly, for a long time now I’ve suspected that he acts frail and incapable because you’ve always catered to him. He won’t wither away if you go out and live your life, and that’s what you should be doing. You’re a young woman. You need to find yourself a man, get married, and have your own family.”
Ella wasn’t sure what had brought on this conversation, but it caused an odd tightness in her chest. She’d tried to find a man, had nearly gotten married, only to realize how unfair it would all be to Tucker, to tie him to her burdens and her schedule. Not that she considered her father a burden, but still. And to be honest, she’d never felt about him the way she felt about . . . No. She wasn’t going there. But she hadn’t loved Tucker the way they both deserved if she were going to marry him.
As for her father . . . she knew there was truth to what Betsy was saying, but her own guilty conscience and that sense of responsibility she’d carried since her mother’s death and then her father’s stroke was hard to let go. She couldn’t let something happen to him if she could avoid it by having Betsy around. And her father depended on her to keep the store running, to keep the mortgage paid, and unfortunately, there was no one else around to share the burden that had, over the years, become hers and hers alone.
She walked Betsy out to her car, and once the other woman was gone, Ella headed back into the house and locked the door. She took a hot shower, changed into one of the soft, comfy tank-top-and-short sets she slept in, then climbed into bed after turning off all the lights. The house was quiet, and since she was wide-awake, her mind insisted on replaying everything that had happened with Kyle tonight.
She’d never intended for anything to happen between them, but the chemistry and attraction between them was impossible to resist. And God, that show of dominance of his that she’d glimpsed had excited and thrilled her, and because she’d still been annoyed with him after his cool attitude toward her that afternoon, it had been so easy to engage him, to let all that sexual tension turn all that frustration into something hot and steamy and physical.
Except it hadn’t stayed all about the physical pleasure and release. Not for her. No, her stupid emotions had wheedled their way into where they didn’t belong.
She’d walked away after his orgasm not to prove the point that she could, but because she’d felt too much in that moment. She’d been overwhelmed by the intensity of their encounter and addicted to how amazing it felt to give him that ultimate pleasure. She’d walked away because she was terrified that she was falling in love with Kyle again, and that was a dangerous thing for her heart to do.
A soft tap, tap, tap at her window startled her out of her thoughts and also made her traitorous heart flutter, because she knew what that tap, tap, tap meant. And who was making the noise, despite the fact that the curtains were drawn and she couldn’t see outside. It took her back to when she and Kyle were dating in high school, and he’d sneak into her bedroom at night exactly like this, and with the house being a one-story, getting in and out had been ridiculously easy for him to do.
Tap, tap, tap. She wanted to ignore him, but the sound was a little louder this time, definitely more impatient, and after the way she’d walked away from him without a word or explanation back at the Roadhouse, she knew he wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.
Tossing off the covers, she padded over to the window and pushed aside the curtain. Sure enough, Kyle was standing on the other side of the glass, and he’d already removed the screen from the frame. Yeah, just like old times.
