Kissing Fire Read online

  Oh hell. I’m in trouble now.

  “Avery, let me get you something to help clean that up.” Was that an appropriate thing to say? Should I have offered her my tongue?

  “Avery,” Caroline said as she jumped to her feet, “let me get you some club soda. Miles, get her some paper towels to pick up the lasagna with.”

  “Right on it.”

  I went to hand her the paper towels and I saw tears in her eyes. Now I felt horribly for having all those lewd thoughts.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get you tidied up in a second here,” I said as I went to make a grab for the lasagna. Then she cringed. I mean really cringed. Like she thought I was going to attack her or something. Her hands came up in front of her face and she sort of tucked into herself. I looked up to see if Caroline was around but she wasn’t anywhere in sight. So I whispered, “Hey, Avery, I won’t hurt you. Ever. I promise.” She lowered her hands and that lip of hers was trembling. I don’t know what happened to her in her past, but something had to make her act this way. And it was a something that I didn’t like. “You okay here?” I asked.

  “Yeah, thanks.” She sort of did this thing to wipe her eyes a bit and then she gave me a half assed smile. “Not too cool...the lasagna bite, huh?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. As far as misses go, it was pretty spectacular.” I gestured with my hand to indicate the trail it left behind.

  She laughed really hard and it made me feel all nice and warm inside.

  Chapter 7

  Avery

  Could this day possibly get any worse? It was bad enough when Just Miles saw my super duper vibrator and all its attachments, but there I sat, in all my glory, with a ginormous hunk of lasagna wedged in my crotch. Oh, did I mention that it had first ricocheted off my boobs before it finally came to rest there? And that I was wearing solid white. Lovely. I was a vision in white, splattered in lasagna.

  Then, when Just Miles tried to help and went to wipe the lasagna from my crotch, I had this vision of Little Dickie when he attacked me and I cowered. I slunk into my chair, from him. He noticed it too. Oh God, I was so lame. Way to make an impression on the only man I’d been attracted to in years...yes years, damn it!

  Well, it didn’t matter anyway. Just Miles cleared that all up for me later on that night. I’d sort of thought that maybe he was a little attracted to me too. I mean, he’d been kind of looking at me and all, but now, thinking back, maybe I just had something stuck in my tooth. I don’t know. But when we were cleaning up the kitchen, I accidentally touched his arm, and he acted like I burned him or something. Then he gave me a look like I disgusted him. Caroline was brewing a pot of coffee, but after that, I really didn’t want to hang around anymore. I made my excuses about being tired and headed up to my room. I wanted to be alone and collect my thoughts. This whole day had done a number on me. It seemed like it was one thing after another. It was only nine thirty, but I got ready for bed anyway. I pulled out my iPad and decided I would read for a while.

  That romance I was reading must’ve taken a turn for the worse because I was being pushed and shoved and someone was really hurting me. I tried to cry out for help, but my voice got jammed in my throat or something. The harder I tried, the worst it got stuck. He started to tear my shirt off and his hands were hurting my arms as they clenched mine so tightly.

  “Ouch! Stop!” I tried to scream over and over. I couldn’t see him but I knew he was ugly.

  Then someone was calling my name.

  “Avery! Wake up! Avery!”

  I opened my eyes and Just Miles was standing over me. I was in bed in my room at Justin’s and all the covers were messed up. A feeling of disorientation fell over me and I shook my head.

  “What’s going on?”

  “You were screaming so loud I thought something had happened to you. So I came in here to check on things.”

  I rubbed my face as awareness crashed into me. Embarrassment quickly followed. I put a pillow over my head. He pulled it off.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” I groaned. “It was just a stupid dream.”

  “It didn’t sound so stupid to me.”

  “It’s fine. I’m sorry I disturbed you.” I pulled the covers over my half naked body. I was really uncomfortable now. If I wasn’t covered in that extra twenty five pounds (okay, it was more like thirty), I might have been okay, but thunder thighs and jelly belly were not very excited about being exposed here.

  He scratched his head and nodded. Then he was gone, leaving behind a whisper of his scent. I decided my best bet was to try to avoid that man as best as I could.

  ********

  The next day, Caroline dragged me all over that damn town. Admittedly, Seattle had a lot to offer. It was beautiful, clean and filled with all sorts of delectable food and coffee...there was a coffee shop on every corner. I loved coffee, especially lattes and cappuccinos. So we had plenty that day. But my favorite place we visited was Pike Place Market. I had been there before, as I had visited Seattle when Justin did his residency here, but I was younger and less interested in this type of shopping. I discovered it all over again and fell in love. It had everything from fresh fish off the boat to arts and crafts and hundreds of shops. We spent hours there and brought home fresh halibut to cook for dinner.

  Caroline and I were going to cook, but when we walked in the door with the food, Just Miles took over so I went up to my room and huddled there to stay clear of him. I was glad the next day was a work day so I wouldn’t have to be around him all day.

  We all were wowed by his meal. He prepared the halibut on the grill with lemons and herbs. Then he served it with grilled vegetables, roasted potatoes and salad. I was impressed with Just Miles’ cooking talents.

  “So Just Miles, do you do desserts too?”

  He laughed. “No, I’m not very good with sweets. I’m only good on the main course.”

  “Well, that’s okay, because you’ve done a fine job on the main course. And anyone can pick up dessert.”

  He raised his eyebrows at that and Justin laughed.

  “What?”

  The two men just gave me a look and then I finally got it.

  “Oh! I didn’t mean that.”

  “We know,” Justin said. “That’s was why it was funny.”

  It was so obvious to see how in love Justin was with Caroline. When I watched the two of them, they would sometimes be oblivious to everything but themselves. I was a bit surprised because that’s how he’d felt about Terri, his fiancé that died. I never thought he’d find someone else, but I was glad he did.

  I sat back and observed the three of them and sometimes I felt like the odd man out. It was hard to explain. Well, maybe not. It was like they all shared an inside joke and I wasn’t a part of it. It’s not that they were mean or rude, but there were other things that would happen. Looks, innuendos, things such as that. It would become quite uncomfortable and I often wondered if I had been rash in agreeing to live here with them. There was something odd here, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what.

  Strangely enough, I was happy that Monday was almost here. It would take me away from here and perhaps I would make some new friends.

  “So tomorrow for work, can I just call a cab to pick me up here?”

  They all looked like deer in the head lights.

  “I forgotten about that. I have to be at the hospital at six thirty so I can’t take you,” Justin said.

  “Oh, no that’s not what I was asking at all.” I shook my head. I didn’t want them to think I was begging for rides everywhere. “I just need to get a taxi to pick me up and was wondering if I should order one tonight from a car service or something.”

  “Gee Avery, I would take you too, but I’ve got an appointment in the morning. You can take one of the cars if you’d like.”

  “No, but thanks anyway. I’m supposed to be getting my rental car tomorrow, so then I’d have to figure out how to get yours back here. I can just call a taxi.”

&
nbsp; “I can take you.” Just Miles looked at me and smiled.

  “Seriously, you all, I don’t want to be an imposition. I can get a car service or something. Really.”

  “I’m taking you.” Just Mike’s voice was firm.

  “O-Okay. If you insist.”

  “I do.”

  “Well, since I’m supposed to get my car tomorrow I won’t be a pain in your butts anymore.” I giggled.

  “Stop saying that!” Justin said, his voice had edge to it.

  “Well, I’m sorry Justin. I barge in here after not seeing you in over a year. I didn’t intend to move in here and now I feel like, I don’t know. You all look at each other like...well, oh never mind.” I stood and said in a quieter voice, “I think I’ll just go to my room now.”

  I started walking toward the main staircase and I heard Justin’s voice behind me say, “Ava, wait. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. I want you here. I do, but you keep making those little comments. You’re not imposing at all.”

  “Okay, and thanks Justin.” I didn’t want to look at him because for some odd reason I didn’t really believe him. Something wasn’t right here but I couldn’t put my finger on it. He was happy. Caroline was happy. Whatever it was, Just Miles was in on it. I could tell the way the three of the shared those secretive looks. I marched up the stairs to my room.

  Chapter 8

  Just Miles

  It was becoming rather clear to me that I needed to get out of here. Avery was on to us. She knew something was up. I dropped her off at work and her conversation with me was stilted at best.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “Fine.”

  She was always so talkative that I was truly surprised at her lack of dialogue. When we arrived at SoftwarePlus, she hopped out and said a quick, “Thanks for the lift.”

  I sat there and stared after her as she scurried into the office building. A traffic cop tapped on my window and told me to move my car. That’s how long I sat there and stared after her.

  On the drive home, my decision was made. I would leave on Wednesday and head back to Montana. It would be gorgeous now since it was summer and the solitude would do me some good.

  Caroline was pouring herself a cup of coffee when I walked in the kitchen. I threw the keys on the counter and announced, “I’m leaving on Wednesday.”

  “Oh Preston. Do you have to?”

  “You know I do. She suspects something’s up. She barely spoke on the way to work and that’s not like her at all.”

  “I know. Justin said as much last night. I don’t want you to leave though.”

  “Well, one of us has to and it’s not gonna be her. Something’s going on with her, Sis.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The other night I heard all this screaming and it was coming from her room. I woke her up from this nightmare she was having. I know what PTSD is. I have it myself.”

  “What are you talking about? What’s PTSD?”

  “Post traumatic stress disorder.”

  “Oh no! Not Ava.”

  “And another thing. You know the other night when she dumped her lasagna?”

  “Yeah,” Caroline laughed.

  “When I went to help her, I reached down, sort of fast, and she cowered.”

  “Oh hell. I wonder what happened.”

  “I don’t know but my guess is it has to do with a man and she won’t talk about it. Don’t bug her or ask her. If she wants to talk, she’ll talk.”

  “Okay.”

  “But she sees us looking at each other. I’ve caught her. She suspects something so that’s why I think I need to get out of here. You two will be better off without me.”

  “Damn. I was just getting used to having you around.”

  I hugged her. What a great sister I had. I did my best to avoid Avery until my departure day.

  Chapter 9

  Avery

  I couldn’t hide my disappointment when I heard that Just Miles was leaving. Caroline didn’t tell me until that morning. She said he was leaving on Wednesday. It was Tuesday night. Justin was working and Caroline had gone to her yoga class and wouldn’t be back until eight thirty. Just Miles and I were on our own for dinner. I’d gotten home and took a long hot bath to get the tension out of my body. Just Miles had gone out for a run and was in the shower. I was in my room, wearing nothing but my cutesy red and black polka dotted robe, when I heard the door bell ring.

  Great! My hair was still wet from my bath and I didn’t have time to put on any clothes. I tugged my little robe as tight as it would go and went downstairs to the intercom.

  “May I help you?”

  “I have a letter for a Preston care of Justin Middleton. I need a signature for it.”

  “Okay, just a minute.”

  I pressed the button to open the gate and waited for the courier to get to the porch.

  When he got there I opened the door, took the letter and signed for it.

  I noticed something strange about him. He was wearing a navy blue suit. I’d never seen a courier wear a suit before. I smiled and closed the door, keeping my eye on him until he was off the property. Then I watched the gate close.

  I looked at the letter and wondered who Preston was. Maybe Just Miles would know, I wondered as I headed back to my room. When I got to there, on the spur of the moment, I decided to check with Just Miles about this letter. I knocked on his door but didn’t get an answer. I knocked again and when I still didn’t get an answer I opened the door and laid the letter on his bed. I was turning to leave when Just Miles walked out of his bathroom wearing nothing but a towel wrapped low around his hips.

  My eyes did a quick scan from top to bottom and then repeated the motion, only this time I took my sweet time and enjoyed the hell out of the view.

  His hair was spiked with water dripping off it. The droplets were landing on his chest and, oh dear God help me, he had pierced nipples. His luscious body was dotted with ink...simple tats and intricate ones. They were scattered everywhere and they were amazing. My eyes dipped lower to his hips and I could see another beauty winking at me. Unfortunately, that damn towel was covering most of it up. I was gonna have to do something about that. I let my eyes drift back up to his face...his beautiful face and I noticed that his lips were parted. His eyes were partly closed and for a brief moment it looked as though he might be in pain.

  Something stirred in me then. My blood heated and coursed through my veins. I tried to rein myself in, but I no longer had any self control. It was gone. And then to my horror, something foreign took over my body and mind. I started purring. I think I even meowed. Not a quiet one, but a long, drawn out one. My feet began to move of their own accord. Just Miles’ eyes widened right before I pounced. Since I was quite large, that extra twenty five or thirty pounds on top of my five foot ten inch frame, had us both flying onto the floor. Just Miles tried to back away, but no, not a chance that was going to happen. Every time he moved, I moved right along with him, inch by inch, until I had him pressed up against the wall.

  By now, I was out of control with lust. I tugged off my polka dotted robe that I was so proud of, tossed back my tangled, wet hair and flexed my fingers. The anticipation of touching Just Miles was almost more than I could bear.

  I moved into a crouched position and continued to purr. And then I began rubbing my body against his...all over. Oh my God, I felt like I had rolled and OD’d in catnip. I went batshit crazy on the man. I rubbed my face all over his body, purring like Puss ‘N Boots. I don’t know what the hell had gotten into me. I didn’t even like cats.

  Well, if the rubbing wasn’t bad enough, you should’ve seen the licking. Yep, you guessed it. Just like a kitty cat. All over. I couldn’t stop. I was in a frenzy of pussy licking only I was the one doing the licking. I’ve never made cat noises like that in my life. I sounded like a tom cat going after a female in heat. By the time I made it to poor Just Miles’ mouth, I think he was in shock.

&nbs
p; It didn’t last long because I dug my little kitty claws into his back and started sinking my little kitty teeth into his lips and, oh my God, the noises he was making in return. When I moved my hands to those pierced nipples and started playing around with them, I almost came on the spot.

  Spontaneous combustion. Now I knew the true meaning of that. I moved my mouth back down Just Miles’ abs and his towel had parted. Good heavens, I now felt like Moses did at the Red Sea. I started purring to the tune of “Hallelujah.” There had never been a more awesome sight in my mind. Just Miles was well endowed indeed. And Miss Kitty was going to get her little mouth on him.

  Right before my mouth could wrap itself around its precious destination, I heard something that made me pause.

  For a moment my purring ceased.

  “Avery, stop.”

  What? I thought he said stop. He didn’t like Miss Kitty?

  I looked up and his eyes told me everything his mouth didn’t. That pained expression was there, along with something else. He didn’t want me. I’d assumed he did. And you know what they always say about that...ass...you...me. Well, I was the ass for sure.

  I looked away and saw myself for what I was...an overweight girl that had gone bonkers on a guy that wasn’t the least bit interested in her.

  Oh fuck! I’ve really done it this time.

  I had just hit a new all time low. You know the bad part about being overweight is that you just can’t pop up gracefully. What I would’ve loved to have done was hop up and said something really biting and clever. But no, I floundered around on the floor, butt ass naked, looking for my cutesy robe to cover myself with. Then I bit my lip trying my best to hide my humiliation.

  Then the second worst thing I’d ever heard came out of his mouth. “It’s not what you think.”