Breaking Her Bad by Michelle Mankin

 

 

 

 

 

Kyle

“I have to go back to work, Claire,” I said over the closing credits on Uncle Bob’s laptop.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She blinked at me, her eyes dazed behind her lenses. “I got absorbed in the program.”

And in my uncle too, apparently, which made me feel warm and settled inside. I’d never felt those two emotions in conjunction before. If those feelings didn’t involve Claire, who was as transparent with her emotions as she was beautiful, I wouldn’t have trusted them.

“I need to go.” She squeezed Bob’s hand. She’d held it the entire forty-minute show.

“Kyle works at night.” Bob glanced up at me. “Can you bring Claire to see me tomorrow?”

I planned to. It was what Missy and I had been discussing while Claire and Bob were occupied. But a plan was just a proposal for achieving what I wanted. To put my plan into action, I had to secure her agreement.

“I hope so, bud,” I told him. “I’ll talk to her and get back to you on that in the morning.” I shifted, catching her gaze again and holding it.

Claire smiled at me. “I’d like to come back. It’s nice here. Safe. No prying eyes.” She glanced at Bob, then over to the stand in the corner. “Your uncle is here, and there’s also a lovely-looking guitar.”

“Do you like music?” Bob asked, his gray eyes brightening with interest.

“I love it,” she said meaningfully. “What else has the power to penetrate your heart and settle your mind?”

What else but her?

“It does.” Bob gave her a serious nod. “It did that for my brother before he started doing drugs. It used to settle Kyle too, though until recently he only played his music alone. Now he plays his dad’s guitar here where I can listen. And he even sings sometimes too.”

Claire gave me a speculative glance. “I didn’t know your father played the guitar, just like my mom. Why didn’t you tell me?”

I shrugged. “I guess since he stopped playing before I was born, it didn’t really factor for me. Growing up and dealing with my old man wasn’t about being settled by music. It was about surviving his drug abuse, dodging his dangerous mood swings, and trying to find money for food because he spent everything on his habit.”

Thinking back on it, I realized my mother had suffered from depression because of that. But I didn’t want to delve into all that right now. I’d given Claire enough of my sad backstory to digest. We could talk later about the connection between our parents. Right now, I had something more important I wanted to focus on.

Us.

“Well, that sounds terrible. I’m sorry it was that way.” Claire’s gaze was steady on mine, warm and sunshiny, not judgmental or cold. “I’d love to hear you play the guitar again.”

“Then you will,” I said to confirm. If I could frame the world the way I wanted to, she would always be inside that frame with me. “But we really should leave now.”

I crossed to Bob.

“I’ll put the alarm back on when I go.” I leaned down to hug him, and he wrapped his around me. “Call me or—”

“—Addy if I have any problems.” He cut me off, reciting what I’d told him many, many times and would continue to. “I know, Kyle.” His protruding lip jutted further out. “I’m older than you.”

“Right.” I released him and took Claire’s hand.

Though I really wanted to keep her with me, it was late. She needed to get home, and I had to return to my shit-realm and redirect any speculation about us. Randy was a worry. Skellin was a constant threat. But I wasn’t letting Claire go. We would just have to keep our relationship secret. Would she accept that?

“I’m ready.” Missy stood and jangled her keys. “Let’s roll.”

I led the way back through the quiet building. Fluorescent beer signs that always remained on glowed low, but the darkness remained. In Southside, it was there twenty-four seven.

Before we stepped outside, I reenabled the alarm. Glancing at the camera, I lifted a hand in the air for Bob, who most certainly was watching us on the monitor. Not just to see me. He was as taken with Claire as she was with him.

After Missy unlocked the passenger door with her key, I opened it for Claire and skimmed my hands over her as she got in. She turned her head to look at me. The flare of her eyes, a whiff of her flowery scent, the lingering burn in my palms from that briefest of touches—all of it heated my blood and hardened my cock.

Carefully, given the tight situation inside my jeans, I climbed into the vehicle. I fastened my seat belt as she did hers. It was going to be a long night thinking of her, and an even longer day seeing her at school and not touching her.

Missy chatted about this and that with Claire on the short drive to Addy’s apartment, obviously trying to distract Claire. I’d heard the cell notification pings and seen Claire’s brow crease as she’d read the text messages from her mom. Her late-night outing wasn’t endorsed by her mother.

“I’ll just stay here in the car while you two say good-bye,” Missy said when we arrived.

She turned the key to cut the old engine. Without the strain of it sputtering, silence settled over us, broken only by a few distant pops of gunfire.

“See you in the morning.” Claire shifted in her middle seat and gave Missy a one-arm hug.

“Yeah. But call me anytime if you need me.” Missy lifted her chin. ““I’ll be up for a while. Okay?”

“Okay,” Claire said.

As I opened the passenger door, it creaked, and I helped Claire slide out. I pulled her into a darkened spot under the stairs and then tugged her close. Lowering my head, I took her mouth, kissing her long, hard, and thoroughly as my hands shaped her sexy curves. She kissed me back with passion that made my already hard cock throb. I forced myself to end the kiss, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time I had the privilege.

“Claire?” Peering down at her, I smoothed wispy strands of her hair back from her pretty face.

“Huh?” Clinging to my arms, she looked dazed. Her pink tongue darted out to wet her tempting lips.

“Focus, babe,” I said gently, my voice low. My mouth curved as I watched a shiver roll through her. We were equally matched in our effect on each other.

“I find it difficult to concentrate when you kiss me, then lower your voice like that.” She dragged her gaze up from my lips to my eyes. “Can’t we kiss some more before I need to focus?”

“We can, and I hope we do soon.” I skimmed my knuckles over the soft round of her cheek. “But not tonight. I’ve seen the texts you’ve been getting from your mom.”

“Oh.” The haze in her eyes instantly cleared.

“And we need to figure out together how to make this work.”

“This?” she asked. A hopeful light brightened her eyes.

“Us, babe. You and me.” The debate about that was over.

“Oh, Kyle.”

Her lids fluttered, and I knew more certainly than ever that I was gone for her. It wasn’t wise the way I felt, but it was undeniable.

“It’s what I want. I think it’s what you want too. But there’s dangers that you need to be aware of.” Ones I hadn’t had time to fully get into tonight. She was entirely too distracting.

Claire bit down on her lip. “Martin Skellin, you mean.”

“Yes, he’s the worst one. But there’s also La Rasa to consider.” Skellin had agreements with them, but agreements could break without warning. “Doing what I do, with the amount of money that’s involved, I have enemies in lots of places, some known and some unknown.”

“Enemies who might hurt me if they knew what I meant to you,” she said softly. “Or hurt you to hurt me.”

“Yeah.” Claire had an enemy too. Belinda was unpredictable, and unlikely to set aside her grudge against Claire.

Reaching the same conclusion Missy and I had, Claire nodded. “So, we just have to keep us secret at school.”

“Yeah, babe,” I said. “And you can’t come by the apartment again. That’s way too dangerous.”

“So, where can we be together?”

“Footit’s. Most days, I have free time after school. I don’t have to start work at the apartment until nine or ten at night.”

It was the perfect solution. For some reason, that was a place Martin never went. Unless there was a concert, it was unlikely that Randy or anyone else from school would go there.

“So, the afternoons and evenings we can be together?” she asked. “Like a couple?”

“Yes, like a couple.” Looking at her, I felt my cock twitch as I imagined free time alone with her. We’d set fire to those hours. Make them ours. “If you agree.”

A shadow crossed her eyes. “I’ll have to clear it with Addy and my mom. No way around that. But I agree.”

Claire nodded, and I exhaled in relief.

“So, until tomorrow.” I brushed my mouth across hers.

“Tomorrow,” she said softly, her fingers flexing on my forearms.

“Then head upstairs, little sparrow.”

Turning her in that direction, I slapped her delectable ass. She gave me a hot look over her shoulder, and I almost pulled her back.

“Go, babe.” I gave her a firm look. “Text Missy if there’s a problem or you need me. Then she’ll text me.” I didn’t want texts to or from Claire on my burner phone that Skellin paid for.

She pouted. “I need you now.”

I growled, wanting to kiss that pout from her sweet mouth.

“Claire, don’t. This is hard enough for me.” Damn, I was hard. Fucking uncomfortable as hell. It was insane what she did to me. “I wanna see you safely inside before I leave.”

I gestured to the stairs. Claire gave me one last longing look, then she was gone. Flitting up the concrete steps one by one, she was light on her feet, just like a sparrow hopping from branch to branch. Watching her made me smile, but I didn’t move from where I stood until I saw her enter the apartment.

“Let’s hit it, Kyle,” Missy called out, beckoning from her car.

“Right.”

My mind back on earth, I moved. It wasn’t right, this with Claire. But I was determined to make it as right as I could.

Claire was worth it.