Locked Away (Living With Lies Book 2) (11 page)

“Do you really start a job tomorrow?” he asks. I square my shoulders and drop my hand, ready to fight him if he tries to talk me out of working. “Yes. It’s at a bookstore downtown.”

He nods his head and grins. “I’ll drive you to and from. Let me know your work schedule, and if I can’t be there, I’ll check with Kate.”

I tilt his chin down and look into his eyes. “I’ll be fine. I promise.” He starts to open his mouth to argue, but I place my finger over his lips. “I’ll tell you my schedule. I’ll let you know when I need a ride, I promise, but that doesn’t mean you can hover.” Our eyes lock together and the flutters I usually feel when I look at him are at an all-time high. His eyes nervously dart down to my lips. His breathing picks up as he looks back into my eyes. Kiran’s arm slowly wraps around my waist, pulling me even closer to him.

Neither of us does anything for several long moments until Kiran brings his hands up and cups my face. Our eyes remain locked as he brings his mouth down to mine. I feel an unexpected jolt pass through my body when our lips connect.

His lips feel soft and silky, a delicious contradiction to his stubble that rubs against my chin.

His mouth starts moving faster, greedier. His tongue pushes against my lips until I open up and allow him in. Kiran groans into my mouth, sending a wave of lust throughout my body. His tongue continues to move passionately with mine. Seconds later, I feel my towel drop to the floor. Kiran grips my hair in his hand and starts to dominate my mouth. His need for me overrides the self-control he showed moments ago. I whimper into his mouth, wanting to do so much more than just kiss him, but all too soon, Kiran pulls away. Both of our chests heave as we stare into each other’s eyes.

Excluding the other day when my lips barely brushed Jared’s, I’ve never been kissed. I’ve never done a lot of things but not for lack of trying. Between my father and Manuel, no one was brave enough to look at me twice.

Kiran slowly breaks out into a smile. “Go clean up and I’ll take you out to lunch.” His eyes travel down my body.

“You could ask, you know,” I say, faking annoyance.

Kiran sighs and rolls his eyes. “Belle, would you like to go to lunch with me?”

I smile to myself and nod. “Yes, but only if you stop calling me Belle.” Kiran’s eyes flare at my comment.

“My real name is Isabelle. My friends call me Izzy.”

Kiran narrows his eyes and tilts his head before he finally nods in agreement. “Isabelle, would you like to have lunch with me?” Hearing him call me Isabelle affects me more than I was expecting.

“Yes, I would love to have lunch with you.” With another small smile, I turn and walk up the stairs. I take a quick shower, blow dry my hair, and add a little make-up before I go looking for Kiran.

I find him in the kitchen leaning against the cabinet, messing with his cell phone. When he looks up at me, he whistles. “Damn.” I have no idea where we are going, and I only have one suitcase worth of clothing with me, so I find myself wearing a pair of denim shorts and a pink tank top.

“Is this okay?” I nervously ask.

Kiran licks his lips. “Yeah, it’s more than okay.” Kiran is in khaki shorts and a light blue shirt that makes his blue eyes pop. He holds his hand out for me. “Where to?” he asks.

“Wait, you asked me to go with you,” I tell him.

“That’s correct, and I’m going to take the gorgeous lady anywhere she wants.” My cheeks feel flushed. I’m definitely enjoying this sweeter version of Kiran.

“Do you have to work later?” I ask but he immediately shakes his head no. “I took the day off to spend with you,” he proudly states.

“What if I said no?”

He looks at me and shrugs. “I was confident I could win you over.” He smirks and wraps his arm around my waist.

“Okay, if you don’t have to work later then take me somewhere we can have lunch and order a drink. I didn’t get to go out last night to celebrate.” My comment causes his face to fall.

“Isabelle,” he nervously says, “the reason I was a dick about you going out last night was because I panicked. The idea that someone could hurt you...that a man or anyone, for that matter, could put their hands on you is more than I can stomach, and before you ask, I haven’t figured out why that bothers me so damn much.” His eyes soften.

“Is that why you acted like an ass when I went out with Jared?” I question, which causes him to growl.

“I actually punched a hole in my wall—I guess it’s Gavin’s wall—after you left,” he casually says.

My mouth drops open. “But right before I went out, I heard you mention you had a date this weekend.”

Kiran’s face breaks out in a huge smile. “I didn’t know you heard that,” he says with a chuckle.

“Well, I did,” I reply as my heart thumps against my chest as I wait for him to say something. “I was hoping to ask you out. I told you no the night before because Kate had already warned me away. I was hoping I could convince Kate that I wouldn’t be a horrible person for you to spend time with.” He shrugs.

Crap, then I walked out the door acting like a bitch to both Kiran and Kate.

“I’m sorry.” I exhale. “I wanted to go out on a date, and believe it or not, I wanted you to be the person who took me out, but when you told me no, I thought...I thought you didn’t feel the same way.”

He nods his head and narrows his eyes. “And you thought you’d go out with the cell phone guy instead,” he adds.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” I repeat.

Kiran nods his head again. “I don’t have any right to ask this but ...” He takes a deep breath then loudly exhales. “Did he...did that guy—”

“No.” I cut him off, knowing where his thoughts were going. “We had dinner, we went out for a few drinks, we danced, and he acted like a real gentleman by bringing me home afterward.”

Kiran physically relaxes. “I know it’s my own fault for not being honest, but the idea that you were out with him, that he was touching you...then you came home so damn happy ...” His brow scrunches.

I reach out and grab his hand. “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat,” I tell him, wanting to put thoughts of Jared behind us.

Kiran brushes a strand of hair away from my face before nodding his head toward the garage. “Lead the way.”

****

“You were homeschooled and rarely allowed out of the house?” Kiran asks with his nose turned up.

We went out to lunch at a wing shop that has a full bar. After our lunch was over, we decided to stay and have a few drinks.

I shrug. “The list of people who’d love to exact revenge on Damian is endless. As far as he’s concerned, he can never use enough caution when it comes to my safety.”

I stir the ice around in my drink, embarrassed to be talking freely about my life with someone who isn’t involved in my world.

“My parents fought all the time.” My earnest eyes shoot up to his, eager for any information he’s willing to share about his past.

“As a kid, you really don’t care why your parents are fighting...you just want them to stop. Now that I’m older, I know it was mainly because my dad was a cheating bastard who couldn’t hold down a job to save his life.” My chest tightens as I listen to him. I can see the pain in his eyes and hear them in his words. “Still, I think my childhood sounds like a picnic compared to yours.” Kiran tries to laugh off his comment, but we both know what he said was anything but funny.

“Everyone is dealt a hand in life, some more depressing than others, but at the end of the day, what we make out of the life we’re given shows our true character.”

Kiran’s eyes soften and he nods his head. “Look at yourself for an instant. It doesn’t matter that you don’t have a college degree. It doesn’t matter that you struggled to make something of yourself. It doesn’t matter that you work for your friend. What does matter is you’re not a deadbeat like the man that raised you. Even if it’s your best friend that signs your paychecks, you still get up every day and earn one and that’s more than a lot of people can say.”

Kiran’s eyes flash and he holds my stare. “That’s what I told myself growing up. That no matter what happened in life, I’d never be like him.” His face dims even more.

“Which also explains your lack of relationships,” I add with a chuckle. “If you’re not dating someone then you couldn’t possibly cheat on them.”

Kiran’s jaw ticks and his shoulders tense as he looks down at the table. Apparently, talking about his past isn’t something he enjoys, which makes two of us.

“Women came and went with Damian. I only met one woman who was around for a few years, but I don’t think he was faithful to her. She was nice and sweet but for some reason, Damian kept her a safe distance from me.” I sigh. “I think maybe I was hungry for the idea of a mother figure. He probably saw that and knew she wouldn’t be around long.”

Kiran nods his head in understanding. “We’re quite the pair, huh?”

Kiran gives me a shy smile. “I guess we’ve been educated on what not to do,” he adds as the waiter brings the check over. I reach for my purse as Kiran growls. “Don’t you dare. I enjoyed our lunch, but if you even try to pay for it, I’ll ...” he trails off, staring at me.

I nod my head and smile. Kiran places a card on our ticket and the waiter leaves. “Thank you. I had a good time and I hope we can do this again.” I watch him for a sign that this wasn’t our one and only date.

“Isabelle, I don’t know how long you’ll be in town. I don’t know if my fear of relationships will kick in at any moment, but I do know that when I’m around you, I feel different. I feel something I’ve never felt before, and if you’re willing to...then I’d like to explore whatever this is for however long it lasts.”

If I were staying in Kiran’s world, I would be heartbroken listening to his comment. The idea that he thinks whatever we might share already has an expiration date is depressing, but the reality is, it does. I could leave at any moment or I could be here another month, but the one thing I’m positive of is I won’t be here forever.

“Okay. I’d like that.”

“And no more cell phone boy. Not until we both agree that whatever this is over,” he firmly states as his eyes thin.

I nod my head. Kiran finishes paying the bill and we head out to this car. I have no idea where we are or how to get back to Kate’s. Thankfully, Kiran does. However, a few blocks later, I start to question if he’s lost. Every couple of blocks he turns, going in no particular direction. Actually, if I had to guess, I would say we’re going in circles.

I watch as he looks up in his rearview mirror with a frown. “What’s wrong?” I ask. Kiran pushes down on the gas and flies through a light as it’s changing from yellow to red.

“Crap. What’s going on?” I repeat.

Kiran continues to drive faster than necessary as he turns several times before merging onto the interstate. “We were being followed,” he finally adds. I immediately turn my head and look behind us. “I lost them,” he calmly states.

“Are you sure someone was following us?” I question with panic in my voice.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I turned damn near ten times and the bastard made every turn I did.”

Suddenly, a thought pops into my head. “Damian has men in Denver on his payroll. Manuel told me people here in the city would keep an eye on me. It’s possible that’s who you saw.” My heart starts to relax. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I hope that’s all it was.

Kiran exits the interstate and drives around for a while before he finally returns to Kate’s house. When he gets his car into the garage, he finally repeats, “Damian has people here in Denver on his payroll?” His brows bunch as he waits for my answer.

“I don’t know. That’s what Manuel said. Damian...he cares about Kate. He...he loves her. He’s always worried someone might hurt me, and I know he now worries about the same thing happening to Kate. That’s the reason he was hell bent on keeping us separated. Personally, it seems crazy that he’d send me here of all places.” I shrug. “But then again, Damian is the type of man who’d have eyes on Kate at all times. Maybe he felt this city was safe because of the protection he already had in place.”

Without knowing more, that’s the only thought that makes sense. Since I can’t call Manuel again to find out if people still believe I’m in Poza Rica, there’s no way to know for sure. Suddenly, my new job doesn’t seem like a great idea.

“I’m sure you already know this but you need to be careful. Keep your eyes and ears open to people around you, and if you think there’s any sign of trouble, I want you to call me.” He reaches out and squeezes my hand, the exact thing I remember Gavin doing to Kate, which causes another round of flutters in my stomach.

“Promise me. I don’t care how silly it sounds in your head, if it bothers you in the slightest, I want to know about it,” he adds. I nod and smile up at him. His beautiful blue eyes shine down at me as he slowly reaches forward and captures my mouth.

His lips move against mine until his tongue pushes inside. We move together like two people who are comfortable with each other. I place my hands on the side of his face, rubbing them up and down as he slowly pulls back, causing me to whimper from the loss of him.

I smile when I look down and see he’s extremely hard and looks uncomfortable in his shorts. “Soon,” he says, causing my eyes to dart back to his. “Soon, we’ll take this to the next level. If you’re okay with that,” he adds, which only sparks my need for him.

“Yes, I’m very okay with that.” Kiran nods then jerks his head toward the garage door. “You go ahead. I need to relax a second before I’m attacked by a five-year-old. My luck, she’ll knee me in the junk and we won’t explore anything more for days.” He chuckles.

“Okay.” Without another word, I get out of the car. Before I walk through the door, I turn and give him one last smile. One I hope captures exactly how this day has made me feel.