Yours Book 2: Gaining Experience (Yours Series) (2 page)

S
ephora

T
wenty-one hours
after the hotel incident….

Seattle

“You’re laying on my weave, Soph,” Kimmie grumbles into the pillow.

“Get your hand off my ass, you freak,” I reply groggily.

Kimmie giggles and slaps my behind, “but it’s so big and warm. My hands and feet are cold all the time now,” Kimmie whines.

“Why are your hands and feet always cold? Did you move here because you turned into a vampire,” I tease. I pop up into a sitting position with wide eyes. “That’s it, isn’t it. You turned into a vampire and moved here to find a clan to join,” I say as seriously as I can muster.

Kimmie picks up her pillow and hits me with it. “You’re so stupid,” she laughs. Then she turns somber. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Are you going to tell me what is going on? Why are you here,” I ask cautiously.

“I’ll tell you on two conditions,” Kimmie says with a small smile. “First, I need some ice cream. I haven’t been out of the apartment in days and I really want some ice cream,” Kimmie pouts.

“Okay, we can go get ice cream,” I laugh.

“I can’t,” she says nervously. I just haven’t been feeling too great,” Kimmie says and looks away from me.

“O-kay… I’ll go. What’s the other condition,” I ask.

“You have to tell me why you are here,” Kimmie says and presses her lips. “Last I heard, things were going great for you. Why are you here?”

“Last you heard from who,” I ask with a pout and cross my arms over my chest. She never answered my calls or my text. Who has she been talking to?

“I talk to Craig a lot and um… Ettie,” she murmurs.

“You have been talking to Ettie and not me? Seriously,” I hiss. I frown some more and wrinkle my nose. “And Craig? Craig Hilton?”

“Yeah, Craig Hilton, it’s a long story. If you get me ice cream I’ll tell you,” Kimmie says with a cheesy grin. Her big brown eyes gleam at me and I know I won’t tell her no.”

“Fine, I’ll get you some darn ice cream, but I want to know everything when I get back,” I grumble.

Kimmie’s smile falls. “You may be sorry you asked,” she replies wrapping her arms around herself protectively.

I don’t pry. I just get up and head for her bathroom to relieve my bladder and freshen up some. When I come back out of the bathroom Kimmie watches me cautiously as I slip my boots back on as I sit on the end of her bed. I chide myself for running off without my luggage. Kimmie is a lot smaller in the waist and hips than I am. There is no way I can fit into any of her clothes.

I make a mental note to see if I can find some place to find a change of clothes as well as ice cream. I hug Kimmie before I head out. I don’t miss that she seems to have lost some weight.

I pull my phone from my bag to text Luke as I step out of Kimmie’s front door. I yelp as I run right into a hard chest. My phone flies out of my hands crashing to the floor before I can catch it. It is like it all happened in slow motion.

“
No, no, no, no,”
I groan. Everything is on that phone. All my contacts, my work files, everything. I watch in horror as the screen shatters.

“Crap, I’m so sorry,” a masculine voice says from above me. My eyes are still glued to my shattered phone. It looks so much like my life right now. The stranger bends to pick the phone up from the floor as I stand there frozen.

He turns his head up to look into my face as I push a hand into the front of my hair in frustration. His blue eyes are the first thing that I notice. They are so clear and warm. His dark hair falls slightly onto his forehead. He looks up at me in awe, then his breath whooshes out from between his full lips.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” he breathes and stands back to his full height. He blushes and shakes his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Okay, wait, let me start again.”

I blink up at him a few times. He is very handsome, but I frown at him. I am not looking to go swooning over the next good looking guy that walks into my life. He notices my frown and winces.

“I’m so sorry about your phone. I’ll replace it. I can take you right now to get a new one. No trouble at all,” he says with a smile.

It’s not a creepy smile. Okay, honestly, it is a hot and sinful smile. His straight white teeth could give Nick a run for his money. I shake that thought off and hold my hand out for my broken phone.

“No thank you, I can take care of it,” I say politely.

“You have to at least let me pay for it,” he tries once more.

“No, really, that will be fine,” I place the phone in my bag. “I should have been watching where I was going.”

“I was the one not looking where I was going. I’m sorry. Did you just move in?” he asks looking at the door behind me and furrowing his brows.

“No, I’m visiting a friend. Listen, I need to go. Have a good day,” I say and push pass him to head for the elevator.

“Rick,” he calls from behind me.

I look over my shoulder and wrinkle my brows. “Excuse me,” I say in confusion.

“Rick, my name is Rick,” he says with that smile in place again.

“Oh, okay, nice to meet you Rick,” I call back.

“Nice to meet you too,” he pauses, waiting for me to give him my name.

I just nod and turn to be on my way.
Not today Rick, not today.
I step onto the elevator and groan to myself as I think of my broken phone. I’m going to have to do something about that. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a good idea after all.

N
ick

T
wenty-one hours
after the hotel incident…

California

“She’s not answering her fucking phone,” Luke snaps and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to kill Jillian myself if something happens to my sister.

We have been taking turns calling Sephora’s phone since Luke found out she never arrived in New York. I have been trying to reel in my temper. I need to find her and hold her in my arms before I put her over my knee for doubting me.

In the back of my mind I am plotting my course of action for Jillian. She must think she is untouchable because of who her father is. I don’t need her old man as much as he needs me, so she is sadly mistaken with her false sense of security in her actions.

None of us have left my home, all hoping we find Sephora and get confirmation that she is safe. But this waiting is killing me. I keep thinking that we need to start from the beginning. I should never have left Seattle. I only left because I thought Sephora was on her way to New York.

I figured coming here would bring Lucian to me and he would tell me where in New York she is hiding. I curse myself for not thinking of the fact that Luke would know I would try to find her and would try to throw my team off her trail. My only thought was finding Sephora and understanding what had happened.

Luke arrived just as I thought he would, but neither of us factored in Sephora making a change in the plans. It is so unlike my little butterfly. I try not to believe that someone else caused her change in plans. I force myself to believe that she is not lying somewhere hurt because of me.

“Not if I get to Jillian first,” Mariah hisses from her perch on the loveseat as she rocks the baby. “She is such a psycho.”

“We have to find Sephora,” I say absently as I am pulled from my wandering thoughts. “I can’t lose her. This can’t be happening again.”

The whole room falls silent. I have a feeling Kevin has shared some of my past with Mariah. I don’t mind, she has become like family to me. I know she protects me as much as her husband does.

I feel like I am drowning. All of the memories I try so hard to escape start to come to the surface. The gruesome scene, the betrayal of it all. It is all consuming and I feel myself recede into the depths of the darkness Sephora once led me out of.

“Don’t go there, Nick. We are going to find her,” Luke says through clinched teeth.

“I have something; it isn’t much, but it’s a start. My team was able to get into the airport surveillance. The flight you booked her on left without her. We have Sephora at the gate up until about five minutes before boarding time. She took off. We have her on another camera getting into a cab,” Kevin says as he enters the room.

“So she’s in Seattle?” I say as I shoot out of my seat. Pushing my fingers in my hair. “
Fuck
, I should have never left.”

“I’ll call for the jet,” Mariah says pulling out her phone.

“I think I know where she is,” I mutter in frustration.

Luke is not going to like this. He isn’t supposed to know where Kimmie is, but I know that is where I will find Sephora. I also know that Luke is not letting me go alone.

“She’s with Kimmie,” I say as I watch Lucian’s face.

For about the third time today, I watch as the blood drains from his face. He nods somberly and runs a hand down his face. I watch as he rocks back and forth in his seat as his eyes become distant. He doesn’t say a word. He just nods again, but I need no words to understand my friend. I already know the hell he is in.

* * *

S
ephora

“I tried to call you, but your phone has been going to voicemail,” Kimmie pouts.

“Yeah, I ran into your neighbor, literally. My phone became a casualty,” I huff.

“You mean 6G. Oh, he is so fine,” Kimmie grins.

I roll my eyes and laugh. “Whatever,” I snort.

“Seriously, have you seen those eyes. He brought over some mail that belong to me one day. God, he is sexy and smells so good,” Kimmie gushes.

“So what were you calling for?” I ask to change the subject.

“I realized that we need food. I’m all out,” Kimmie pouts.

“Really, how do you not have food,” I ask placing my hands on my hips.

“I got spoiled living with you. Someone was always feeding us or stocking the groceries. I have been busy with work and other things. I forgot to order groceries.”

I burst into laughter. “You only had to order them. Not go out and get them and you still didn’t manage that,” I tease.

“Look, my parents are middle class. They do well enough, but your family takes things to the next level. I can’t help it that our friendship has spoiled me a bit,” Kimmie rolls her eyes and flips her pin straight brown and red weave over her shoulder.

“Whatever,” I roll my eyes and shake my head.

I hand her the pint of chocolate chip ice cream I bought for her and a spoon. I also start in on my own pint of vanilla bean. It almost feels like back in our dorm before life got complicated.

“Oh my God, this ice cream is so good,” Kimmie smirks around her spoon.

“Yup, it is. Now, are we going to keep this up or are we going to start being straight with each other,” I say as I watch Kimmie devour her ice cream.

Her smile falls as she starts to stir the ice cream around with her spoon. She looks at it with disgust, then looks up at me with tears in her eyes. I feel bad now and wish that I at least let her finish her ice cream before I started to dive in.

Kimmie looks up to the ceiling and blows out a breath as the tears start to spill over. I knew things were bad when I first got here and she hugged me extra tight as we sobbed against each other.

Kimmie has always been my rock. The one to slap me out of my funks. I have never seen her like this. Okay, maybe that one time when her mom called to say the family dog died, but even then it wasn’t this bad.

“I love your brother so much,” Kimmie starts through a lump in her throat. “I don’t blame him. I knew better. I think I know Lucian better than anyone else, so what I did was so wrong on so many levels.

“I spent a lot of time on being trained in the life. I have been to all types of meetings and seminars. I have spent money I shouldn’t have on my curiosity. So I know very well how this life works and my role when acting as a sub as well as when I’m a domme.

“It is all about trust. Luke trusted me and I broke that trust,” she pauses and swallows hard. “There are things about your brother that he has never told you or Ettie. Things he has shared with only me and the crew. I told you before we are all alike. It was why Luke gave in and took a chance on us.

“I can read Luke like the back of my hand. I know him inside and out. It’s the reason I knew he was in that dark place that day. It was the anniversary of your father’s death. Lucian was more brooding than usual.

“I thought…I thought if I could distract him, I could make it better. Any normal woman would have just tried to make love to her man, but I know that wouldn’t be enough for Luke. He wouldn’t be able to shut his mind down with just love making.

“Luke thrives on the act of dominance; on the control it provides him in his life. The more out of control things seem to him the more in depth our play used to get. God, he took me places that night he finally confronted you and Nick,” Kimmie tries to joke with a wobbly smile.

She wipes at her eyes before absently shoving a spoon of ice cream in her mouth. A few seconds go by as if she is trying to gain courage for her next words. I just wait, giving her the time she needs.

“He told me no, but I pushed him. I saw it in his eyes, he didn’t trust himself, but I ignored it. When he caved, he only wanted to do something light, but I knew he would need more to free himself so I insisted on the whip…” Kimmie breaks off when I gasp.

Nick and I have never used a whip. I am wary of anything that will cause me any type of pain and Nick has respected that much. I’ve often eyed them with curiosity but not enough to push to use them. I look at Kimmie as if she has lost her mind.

Kimmie shakes her head. “When done right a whip can be used to bring so much pleasure. You can’t knock it until you try it,” Kimmie says with a weak smile as she absently rubs her arm, as if trying to console herself. She continues. “Everything was fine at first. Luke restrained me on the suspension bar in the same position we’d used dozens of times. Luke has mirrors in his playroom. He likes to watch.”

I groan. Kimmie is always much too detailed with telling stories of her exploits. I want to know what happened, but not to the point that I want to hear so much detail. I frown and Kimmie smirks at me.

She shrugs, “It’s important to the story. The mirrors provided me with a view of Luke’s face. I saw the moment he lost it. The moment he became lost in the past. I should have safe worded right then and there.

“I didn’t. I saw the danger in his eyes. I saw he wasn’t seeing me anymore. I…I thought…I thought that I could handle it. I thought I could take it,” She shakes her head and wipes at her tears. “By the time I come to my senses and whimpered our safe word it was too late.

“Luke was stunned when he came to. I watched his face in the mirror as he looked at my body in horror of what he’d done. I could see he was disgusted with himself. He couldn’t even look at me. He wouldn’t touch me. He called Craig and Nick to help him. Luke knew I’d played with Craig once before, before I knew about him or the guys.

“Craig came and cared for me. Nick arranged the move here and everything with the job,” Kimmie says and looks at me sadly. The tears start to fall again. “He is blaming himself. He sent me away to keep me from himself. I went willingly because I was hurt and broken, but I know it was my mistake. I knew when I reached my limit. I knew how bad it could be.

“Now things are so messed up. I…I,” Kimmie wipes at her nose. Her next words break into the room as a sob. “I’m pregnant. I fucked up so bad Soph.”

My eyes widen and bulge out of my head, my mouth drops open. That is the last thing I thought Kimmie was going to tell me. My eyes drop to her belly and I try to see if I can see the difference.

Kimmie has only been gone for two months. My brain starts to wonder how Lucian is going to feel when he finds out that Kimmie is pregnant. Surely he will want her to come back home. Whatever his demons are he’ll just have to suck it up and deal with his mess.

I shake my head to clear it. My problems seem so small now. I lick my lips as if I can taste the words I am about to say next. This is going to take some finesse.

“Does anyone else know,” I prod.

“No, you are the first person that I’m telling,” she whispers.

“How far along are you?” I ask gently.

“Three months, when Luke finds out that I was already pregnant that night it is only going to make things worse,” Kimmie says on a shaky breath.

“Kim, I understand that things got out of hand that night, but you can’t hide something like this. Lucian deserves to know,” I reply.

“I know. I’m not hiding it from him. He needs time and so did I. I…I want to go home. I’m so lonely here. I’ve only stayed away because I know Luke is not ready to face us, but we don’t know how to stay away from each other. He doesn’t even know where I am.

“The crew has a pack for things like this. They take care of each other and each other’s interests, you can say. Luke asked them to keep me away from him and I agreed to stay away,” she says with a weak shrug.

“Well, I think it is time that an agreement is made null and void. We have to stop running from our problems, Kimmie. We’re going home and we will do this together. If Luke can’t get his shit together, you and I will raise my niece or nephew together,” I say with a sage nod.

Kimmie gives me a watery smile. “I’d like that.”

“Fine, it’s settled. I’ll book us a flight out,” I say and then frown as I remember my broken phone.

“No worries, I’ll call in a favor,” Kimmie sighs heavily and rolls her eyes. “God, the morning sickness is the worst. This is the longest I have gone without my face in the toilet in weeks,” she huffs. “There is no way I’m getting on a commercial flight.”

I laugh. “You think Craig can get us on a flight,” I ask assuming that is who she plans to call.

“Probably, but he said something about flying to Belize this week. I was planning on calling in a favor from Braxton Black,” she shrugs.

“Oh my God, you still talk to Brax and Ry,” I laugh. “You talked about those two for at least three months straight after we ran into them that one time.”

“Soph, when you know guys that hot you never lose contact. Besides, their firm uses some high tech equipment. I was going to apply for a job there before Nick offered me a job at FLI,” Kimmie replies.

At the mention of Nick’s name and work, my heart sinks and my mood turns somber. “So are you going to tell me why you are here,” Kimmie asks as she picks up on my change in mood.

“We’ll have plenty of time on the flight. Let’s go home,” I sigh.