My Beautiful (The Beautiful Series) Read online

  Kyle squeezed my shoulders as I stood in the middle of the kitchen.

  “Damon told me yesterday that he’d bought a few groceries before we arrived. Some are in the fridge, and he put the rest away in the pantry. He wasn’t sure if you would come here or not, but he wanted you to have a place to go,” Kyle said thoughtfully.

  Wanted me to have a place to go? They must have tried to prepare for when I learned about Annie’s pregnancy. I was grateful they were giving me space. I was not ready to face my Aunt Lucie yet. I needed more time to think.

  Kyle walked over to the pantry and came back with a loaf of bread. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed eggs and jelly. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Want some scrambled eggs and toast?”

  “Sure.” I went over to the cabinet and pulled out a pan for the eggs, and then I got the toaster out of a different cabinet. I found everything was still in its original place.

  Kyle grabbed a whisk from the white utensil jar next to the oven. He cracked open the eggs into a bowl, whisked them, and then poured them into the pan. While he was cooking, I pulled out plates and silverware to set the table.

  I was very thankful that Damon had thought to stock the kitchen for my arrival. He was such a considerate, kindhearted man, and I missed his friendship dearly. I truly missed all of them.

  Kyle served our food along with a couple of glasses of milk, and we sat down next to each other at the kitchen table.

  He swallowed a bite of his eggs and looked up at me. “So, how are you doing?”

  “Good. Better than I expected.” I let out all the air in my lungs that I felt like I had been holding since I crossed the threshold of the kitchen. “It still feels awkward. Being here makes me miss them even more.”

  “That’s understandable. What do you think you’ll do with this house?” Kyle began finishing his toast.

  I had thought about that many times. “I’ve considered selling it. I wasn’t ready before, but I feel like I’m getting closer to that point.”

  “That sounds like the right thing to do. It would be a shame to let such a beautiful house sit empty.”

  I nodded. “It feels wrong to let it stay vacant when I have no intentions of moving back to Colorado, and it’s not fair for my cousins to have to take time out of their busy schedules to maintain it. They all have lives of their own. This house sheltered a very happy family before, and I hope it can do it again someday soon. Guess I’ll need to find a good realtor. Know any?”

  “Not around here, but I’ll check into it for you.”

  “Okay, maybe we can meet with some tomorrow morning?” I took a bite of my eggs.

  “Sure. I’ll make some calls.”

  Talking about a realtor made me feel a change of heart toward this house. Soon, it wouldn’t be mine anymore, and it felt right to let it go. My mood was instantly lighter at my decision. Maybe I can do this…one step at a time.

  “So, what do you want to do today? Maybe we could hang out here? Or do you want to go out and show me the town?”

  I shook my head. “No, I have another idea,” I said, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Oh yeah?” Kyle smiled. “What’s that?”

  “It’s time for me to show you Colorado…and how we roll,” I said playfully.

  Kyle raised his eyebrows and laughed. “And how do you roll?” His voice was laced with pure amusement.

  “With my boys and toys,” I said in my most serious tone.

  Kyle turned to face me and grabbed the bottom of my chair. He opened his legs wide and pulled my chair across the tile, making a loud noise along the way.

  I bit my lip, trying to hold back my laugh. Jeez.

  When he glared at me, I could not help but giggle. It was too damn funny. I half-choked and half-snorted as I tried not to look at his face. Such a possessive alpha. I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. What am I going to do with him?

  “You think it’s funny?” he asked in a low voice, but I noted the underlying amusement he was trying to hide.

  “I should make you wait just to torture you.” I laughed. “We’ll have to work on the caveman skills you’ve got going on.”

  “I have great people skills, except where you’re concerned…especially with other boys.” He gave me the look. “Who are the boys, Lily?”

  I shook my head, exasperated. Okay, enough teasing him for one day. “Jason and Damon. Maybe they’ll want to go with us or meet us there. I’ll call them.”

  The tension immediately left his body, and the corner of his mouth rose in good humor. “Go where?” he asked, his voice curious.

  “You’ll see.” I winked at Kyle and stood to my feet. I picked up our plates to take them to the sink as Kyle grabbed the milk and glasses.

  After he shut the fridge, he spun to face me and stalked closer with each step. His eyes were teasing and challenging at the same time. “Care to enlighten me on where we’re going, beautiful?”

  I shook my head. “Nope.” I smiled. “Let’s clean up and head out. You’re just going to get dirty,” I said, grinning, “so we can shower when we get back.”

  Kyle cocked his head to the side and lifted the corner of his mouth, revealing his dimple. “Dirty? How dirty?”

  I smirked at him. “Very dirty…and you can wash me off later.”

  The kitchen was easy to clean with minimal dishes to wash, dry, and put away. Kyle quickly caught on to where everything belonged. I was amazed at how effortlessly I remembered myself.

  When we finished, I walked up behind Kyle, wrapped my arms around him, and hugged him. He turned in my arms, tilted my chin up, and kissed me. Bending at his knees, Kyle gripped my behind and hoisted me up, and I hooked my legs around his waist. He backed up and leaned against the kitchen counter as he held me. All the while, he never broke contact with my lips.

  My fingers dug into his hair, and brought his lips closer. His mouth was warm and soft and inviting. Deepening the kiss, one of his hands held my behind easily while the other was placed around my neck.

  I moaned into his mouth as he kissed with crazy fervor. Sparks ignited deep in my belly from simply touching him. He pulled back, breaking our kiss. His eyes were dark with need, and our breathing was completely erratic.

  “Jesus, Lily.” His tone was husky as he tried to steady his voice. “Just kissing you makes me want to strip you naked and make love to you again.”

  “Ditto,” I murmured shyly, feeling a blush warm my cheeks.

  Our chemistry was always there, it was untamable.

  He raised his hand to brush the backs of his fingers along my cheek. “Damn, it has only been a couple of days since I last saw that blush, and I fucking missed it.”

  I put my hands on his shoulders and kissed his lips softly.

  “So, how are we getting dirty today?” Kyle asked, elated.

  I pointed in the direction of the mudroom. “You’ll have to go see.”

  He pushed off the counter, and I expected him to put me down, but he carried me in the direction of the back door. He eyed me questioningly as we stopped in the middle of the room. Then, he realized there was another door in the mudroom. Kyle opened the door and then stared in complete disbelief. His eyes filled with boyish excitement. He set me down and took a few measured steps into the five-car garage.

  The first two car spaces no longer had vehicles in them. The third car spot had six Polaris four-wheelers—a pink one, a blue one, two black ones, and two white ones with blue stripes—parked in two perfectly aligned rows. Three of them were clean with only dust on them, and the other three looked as if they had been ridden fairly recently. The fourth and fifth car spaces each had a trailer that held four snowmobiles. Three dirt bikes were carefully placed along the front wall with just enough walking room around them.

  “Wow.” Kyle drooled like a teenage boy as he stared at all the toys.

  I chuckled at his amazement.

  He turned to face me. “You’ve been holding out on me, beautiful girl.”
>
  I shrugged. “I’m a tomboy at heart.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “I guess so. Though, I need a bit more proof,” he challenged.

  “You’re on.” I grinned. “Do you want it to be just us? Or should we invite Jason and Damon to come along, too? Some of those are theirs.” I gestured toward all the toys.

  “Sure, you can invite them.” Kyle glanced back at all the four-wheelers. “Why do they store them here?”

  “My dad had a bigger garage, so they kept them here. Our parents’ properties back up to each other along with a few other neighbors’ properties. You could say, we’re country block neighbors.” I laughed. “Anyway, all of us kids are close in age, so we made paths through the trees to get to each other’s houses. It’s actually a pretty short drive.”

  “Do the snowmobiles go on those paths, too?”

  I couldn’t help but grin again. Showing him this part of my childhood was going to be so much fun. “Depends on how good your driving skills are.”

  He laughed. “Do we need to go to town and get gas or anything?”

  “If Damon stocked the fridge, then I’m sure these are ready to go.” I pulled out my phone and called Damon.

  “Hey, Lil. How are you doing?” Damon answered.

  “Hi, Damon. Thanks for stocking the fridge and pantry.”

  I must have stunned him into silence because he didn’t reply. “Damon?”

  “Yeah, I’m still here.” He paused. “You…went inside?”

  I walked over to my four-wheeler and sat down. The wicked fast four-wheeler had been so much fun in previous years. I couldn’t wait to get it outside.

  “I did. We ate breakfast in the kitchen.”

  Damon released a breath. “That’s good, Lil. I’m glad you stayed. So, what’s up?” he asked, sounding relieved.

  “I was wondering if you and Jason wanted to go four-wheeling. I showed Kyle the garage today.”

  “Count us in. Jason is finishing up changing his oil, and then we’ll be on our way.”

  I listened to Damon as I watched Kyle walk around and inspect each four-wheeler in detail. He was smiling in pure male appreciation.

  “Okay. Oh, do the four-wheelers need anything before we go out?”

  “No. I had tuned them all up the month before last, and after I went grocery shopping yesterday, I filled them up with gas. The three gas cans are full, too, so we are good to go.” Damon chuckled.

  I turned and placed my legs on each side of my sexy black four-wheeler. “You’re the best.” I grinned. “You better hurry though. I’m already sitting on mine.”

  I could practically see him beaming through the phone.

  “You know it, and you better wait!” Damon said excitedly.

  My other line beeped, and I looked to see Jeanine’s name flashing on the screen. A small smile spread across my face. I had thought about calling her more than once during my trip.

  “We will,” I said to Damon. “But I gotta run. My other line is beeping in. See you soon!”

  Damon quickly said good-bye, and I clicked over to answer Jeanine’s call.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Hi, Lily. It’s Jeanine. How are you?” She sounded as though she were walking in a tunnel.

  “Hi, Jeanine. I’m doing well. How are you?”

  Kyle’s head turned in my direction when he heard Jeanine’s name. He eyed me apprehensively as he sat down on my cousin Blake’s blue four-wheeler. He probably wanted me to stay levelheaded today since yesterday had been an emotional train wreck.

  I had no intentions of letting anything sour my mood today. After all, I was sitting on my sexy black four-wheeler. What more could a girl ask for?

  “I’m glad to hear that. Listen, I don’t want to bother you, but I wanted to make sure you were okay. I gave you a lot to consider during our last session, and I didn’t want to go too long without speaking. I was wondering if you went to visit your family in Colorado like we talked about?”

  “I’m here now.”

  “Oh, that’s great news, Lily!”

  “Thank you,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.

  “I’m here to support you in any way that I can. Would you like to talk a bit more this evening or tomorrow?”

  I felt relieved and thankful that Jeanine had called. So many feelings had arisen already, and I had only been here for three days. Her thoughtfulness also made me feel like she cared about me on a personal level as well.

  “That would be great, Jeanine. Maybe we could Skype tomorrow around lunchtime?”

  “Perfect. I’m so happy and proud of you for taking such a huge step. I knew you could do it.”

  “Thank you for that and for calling, too. It was just what I needed.” I smiled hopefully.

  “You’re welcome, Lily. Anytime. Well, my lunch is over, but we will talk more tomorrow. Take care.”

  “You, too.” After hanging up, I put my phone back into my pocket. I felt a bit better, knowing I would be speaking to Jeanine tomorrow instead of waiting until next week.

  I stood and walked over to Kyle to see he had been watching me. He was facing forward with a leg on either side of Blake’s four-wheeler. I gripped his shoulder for balance, and then I lifted my leg over the seat and sat on his lap, keeping eye contact with him.

  He scooted back on the four-wheeler to make room for both of us, and then he grabbed my waist, bringing me closer against his body. His eyes had a warm glow to them.

  “So…” I took a deep breath. “Jason and Damon will be here soon, and Jeanine and I will be talking tomorrow around lunchtime on Skype.”

  He nodded in understanding. “I think Jeanine had perfect timing.”

  I exhaled deeply. “I think so, too,” I said softly, leaning into Kyle’s touch. “I have so many thoughts and feelings overwhelming me. I’m really glad she called.”

  “Me, too.” He kissed my forehead. “I think her insight helps you see things in a different light.”

  I cocked my head to the side and pondered his words. “I think you’re right.” I kissed him quickly and pulled back. “Ready to ride?” My tone was eager.

  He grinned. “Hell yeah.”

  I stood to my feet. He slightly tipped his head up to look into my eyes. I could not help but run my fingers through his tousled hair. His sexy lips were begging to be kissed, or maybe my lips were begging to kiss him. I grinned to myself. Tomato, tamato.

  I leaned forward and took his mouth against mine. Feeling his warm lips gave me a familiar pull, forcing me to gravitate closer to him. That electricity was always there. My hands roamed over his shoulders and chest. I wanted to feel his body against me.

  Kyle’s hands tightened on my waist, followed by a deep moan that vibrated his chest. My pulse kicked up a notch as it pumped through my veins while he ravished my mouth. I clung to him, trying to keep my unsteady legs beneath me.

  A door slammed, and then I heard chuckling. Startled by the noise, I practically jumped into Kyle’s lap.

  “Get a fucking room,” Jason grunted, half-teasing, walking right up to us.

  Following behind Jason, Damon shook his head, laughing. He stopped beside Jason.

  Kyle stood, taking me with him, and then he carefully put me down on my feet.

  He outstretched his hand to Jason. “Hey, man, how’s it going?” He shook Jason’s hand.

  “Good. Ready to ride?” Jason asked, stepping back.

  Kyle nodded. “Lily said you guys have a lot of trails back here.” He turned to Damon. “Thanks for getting everything ready.”

  “Glad to help. Let’s ride,” Damon replied.

  “There are tons of paths around here. Growing up, many of the kids in town used them. They still do. We’re all pretty friendly around here as long as they don’t mess shit up,” Jason added.

  Damon glanced at me, taking in my clothing. “And here I thought you’d be dressed and ready to go,” he teased, shaking his head.

  “Dressed?” Kyle
questioned while looking at me.

  “We have a bunch of gear in the closet, like jackets, pants, boots, and goggles. Whatever you need should be back there.” I pointed to a corner in the garage.

  All of the gear was stored in a closet my dad had built in the tiny extended room at the far side of the garage. We had a lot of toys, so we had lots of gear that needed to be cared for.

  Kyle glanced at his clothing. His jeans were okay, but I doubted he’d want to ruin his shirt or nice shoes. I wasn’t wearing the appropriate clothes or shoes for riding either.

  I grabbed Kyle’s hand. “Let’s go get ready.”

  Damon chuckled as we walked away. “Don’t get lost in the closet,” he teased.

  I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as I glanced up at Kyle. He was trying to hold back his own laughter.

  Damon yelped as I heard a thump in what I assumed was Jason hitting him on the shoulder.

  “I don’t want to hear about that shit. She’s like our sister,” Jason said.

  I turned my head and rolled my eyes at Jason and Damon. Someday, they’ll have to accept that I’m not a fragile young girl anymore.

  Kyle merely laughed under his breath as I spun around to continue walking toward the gear room.

  After stepping inside the room, Kyle whistled. “Wow.” He grinned. “This is every man’s dream in here.” His eyes roamed the room, taking it all in.

  I chuckled. “My dad might have gone a bit overboard in here.”

  Three large cabinets were placed along each wall. The last wall was filled with racks and hooks for helmets, chest protectors, and boots.

  I went to the farthest cabinet and pulled out pants that I was hoping would fit Kyle. My father, Henry, had been almost as tall and broad as Kyle. I also quickly found him a riding shirt to replace the one he was wearing.

  He got rid of his shirt and then swiftly dropped his pants. He was standing before me in only a pair of black briefs. They looked delicious up against his golden California tan.

  His gaze darkened with lust as he took in my stare. “Care to undress me the rest of the way, beautiful?”