Page 8 of Rough Start

“Took a good chunk of skin, and there are burn marks,” she noted, and his hand traveled from her shoulder to the side of her neck where his thumb brushed her jawline. “You’re making it hard to focus,” Eliana admitted as she tried to tape the thick bandage over the now cleaned abrasion.

“Am I?” Kye asked just as quietly. When she was finished, she’d paused, still in her kneeling position, until Kye used his hold on her neck to urge her to a stand. Still nestled between his legs, he got an excellent view of her braless chest that was rising and falling with short, rapid breaths. His fingertips trailed the line of her prominent collarbone, and her chills made her pearl-sized nipples perk up.

Eliana could hear the groaning sound from Kye’s throat as he seemed to hesitantly appraise her. Sure, he’d seen her in a tank top before, countless times over the summer. Never so brazenly exposed, and definitely not when he was sitting in front of her with no pants on. Following his lead, she lifted her hand to touch his bicep. His tight grip on the counter made the muscles of his triceps stand out. His skin was warm. The muscles tightened under her touch, and he wrapped his arm around her to pull her against him.

Wordlessly, her eyes lifted to meet his, and the corner of his mouth turned upward as he saw her mercilessly chewing her bottom lip. After a moment of effort, he stood to his feet and used his free hand to take her chin. With a prod from his thumb, her teeth released her now plump lower lip, and he wasted no time taking her mouth with his.

Her soft moan made his grip on her waist tighten, and her arms wrapped around his neck to pull him closer. Though timid at first, Eliana felt her head swim and her toes curl at the sensation of his warm, soft lips that she knew she’d never get enough of. His fingertips were digging into her back, and hers were now raking through his hair. Pulling him closer by the back of the head, he suddenly broke the kiss and held her slightly away from him.

“What’s the matter?” she asked abruptly. Kye pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, and she saw how swollen it had become.

“You bit me,” he replied and laughed at her furious blush. She made to step away from him, but he pulled her back against him. “I don’t mind,” he whispered as he rested his forehead against hers. She smiled and splayed her hands on his chest.

“What took you so long?” she asked, trailing small circles with her fingers. Kye swallowed hard. Of course, he’d wanted to kiss her the moment he saw her. How could he, though? What did he have to offer the girl who was going to take over the world? When they’d met, he’d barely had the clothes on his back. Now, knowing he had a pocket full of cash, albeit bloodstained, thanks to Max there was a promise of a lot more to come. Maybe enough to afford Harvard.

“You know me, I’m a little thick,” he teased, and she scowled at him. “Come here,” he said, kissing her more gently this time. He earned himself another glorious moan, and he had to shift his weight, turning his hips away from her to avoid embarrassment. “I should go,” he claimed as they parted.

“You can stay,” Eliana offered, looking up at him with those wide, brown eyes that made him completely undone.

“Don’t tempt me, Eli,” Kye said, shaking his head and ducking to pull his pants on. Eliana felt the need to turn her back, but as she heard him buckling his belt, she looked back at him again. “It goes without saying, but thank you. I really owe you.”

“Yeah you do,” she agreed with a broad smile. He chuckled again and took a strand of her hair between his thumb and finger, giving it a soft tug. “I couldn’t let you bleed to death, you’re too cute.” They’d moved to the back door, and he paused to brush her lips with his once more. “You’re sure you don’t want to stay? We’ve got a couch…”

“Eli, I’m going to need the walk home to cool off,” he said with high eyebrows. Her bottom lip disappeared again, and he took her hand, kissing the back of it. “I’ll see you, okay?”

“Okay…” He winked at her once before moving into the dark night. She watched him until he was out of sight and couldn’t help but press her fingers to her lips that were still tingling euphorically.

Eliana was lying in bed wide awake when the sun came up. It cast a warm light through the curtains, and though the frigid January air hadn’t relented its chill, Eliana felt impossibly and deliciously warm from head to toe. She’d tossed and turned most of the night, unable to quiet her mind enough to sleep. Her heart was still racing, and her stomach wouldn’t sit still as if it were full of rocks. Kye had kissed her. Finally!

Tossing her blankets aside she rose, her bare feet hitting the cold wooden floors. She stood for a brief moment at the window, staring at the part of the lawn where she’d seen Kye only a few hours before. Her lips curved into a smile. Sitting on the soft chair in front of her vanity, Eliana began combing out her long hair.

Eliana’s only goal in life had been to get out of Pine Hill as fast as possible. The town felt like the gutter drain of a dead-end alley to her. With the exception of a few joys, she’d lived a quiet and lonely life until she’d met Kye. He had blown into Pine Hill like the first warm breeze after a long winter bringing the promise of new life with him. The memory of their first exchange was still fresh in her mind.

“Pencils down,” Mrs. King instructed from behind her desk. The clicking of writing utensils hitting desks mixed with sighs from the thirty students in the SAT Prep Class. Eliana was sitting center desk, front row, and she smiled at Mrs. King as the middle-aged woman with gorgeous red hair began collecting the exams. “Tomorrow we’re going to focus on the essay writing portion for those of you who are in AP classes. For those who aren’t, please be sure to bring your calculators as you’ll be reviewing your math scores from today. Please take these worksheets home.” Mrs. King handed Eliana the pile she knew she was instructed to pass out.

“Here,” Eliana said, standing and turning to face the boy sitting behind her. He smiled up at her as he reached to take one.

‘He has the most incredible blue eyes,’ she mused. ‘Blue like the sky on a summer day. Like ice on the Bering Sea…’

“Going to pass the rest out anytime today?” the sarcastic snap from Missy Deacon, the girl in the row next to her, startled Eliana from her thoughts. Blushing and ducking her head to break eye contact, she moved around the room to pass out the rest of the worksheets. When she was finished and returning to her desk, she passed in front of Missy who thought it hilarious to stick one perfectly manicured foot out and trip her. The gaggle of girls burst into laughter, and Eliana tumbled into her desk and nearly onto the floor.

“Missy, that’s enough!” Mrs. King snapped as she placed a hand on Eliana’s arm. “Are you alright?” Eliana only nodded as she slid into her desk and adamantly avoided the look the boy behind her was casting her way. She was beyond embarrassed. Nervously fiddling with her braid, the one she was sure to weave her hair into since the first day of Prep, she waited for the teacher to hand her quiz back from the day before. “Good job, Eliana,” Mrs. King said, setting the paper in front of her.

“Thank you,” Eliana said and managed a smile. She’d gotten a perfect score on her grammar and writing! A cough that sounded suspiciously like ‘teacher’s pet’ caused another round of giggles from the girls to her right. “What’s your problem, Missy?” Eliana asked the blonde who was glaring at her.

“I don’t have a problem,” she cooed with a brief glance at the dark-haired boy, “but now that you mention it…”— she made an exaggerated sniffing noise as she leaned toward Eliana— “do you smell alcohol?” The girls laughed mercilessly, and Eliana felt angry tears well up.

“What did you get on your exam, Missy?” the bold voice of the boy behind her cut through the laughter. Without waiting for a response, he grabbed the paper off Missy’s desk and looked it over. “Wow, Missy…” He sighed. “At least you spelled your name correctly. Oh, wait, no… you spelled ‘Bitch’ wrong.” The entire class, including Eliana, erupted in laughter, and the blonde turned beet red.

“That’s enough, that’s enough!” Mrs. King called over the raucous. “You have your tests and your homework, I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Students began filing from the room, and Missy made a point of shoving Eliana’s backpack off her desk as she left.

“Classy,” Eliana muttered as she knelt to gather the books and papers that had scattered to the floor.

“Ignore her,” the boy said as he helped gather her things.

“I’ve been ignoring her since second grade,” Eliana replied with a bitter chuckle. “Thanks,” she said, standing and taking the book he was handing her. “Thanks for what you said. I’ve never been the best at confrontation,” Eliana admitted.

“You? I can’t imagine!” His exaggerated tone was teasing, and she couldn’t help grinning. “I’m Kye.”