Kale (The Fire Inside #1) Read online

  “Come on, Pipe, tell me what’s up. I need to know,” the last part comes out in a harsh whisper, as if I don’t want to say it out loud, and my heart seems to beat a little faster as she nods.

  “You remember her college boyfriend? Brian…whatever-the-fuck-his-last-name-was?” Her eyes rolls as she says it and I nod my head, remembering the freckle faced dork that I saw Paige with once or twice when they came home with Piper. “Well, he was her first and, well…” she stops, giving me one of the saddest, most pain filled looks I have seen from my little sister in ages; maybe even since our dad died.

  She sighs heavily again, sniffling loudly and continues, “It was a frat party, and I told her not to go up to his room because I had heard him talkin’ with my boyfriend at the time that he was gonna ‘tap that’ even if it only lasted three seconds cuz he was drunker than a skunk; but Paige didn’t listen to me. She came to my room early that mornin’, crying and thinking there was somethin’ wrong with her because he had shoved it in, not caring that he was hurting her, and finished; rolling off to pass out.”

  Piper is shaking her head and wiping at her eyes as the anger is still building within me. A woman’s virginity is something that should be treasured and that asshole just ripped it from her. She no doubt sees the rage in my expression and places her manicured hand on my arm, bringing my attention back to her face.

  “She stayed with him, thinking maybe it would get better, but then it only got worse. He used to hold her head as she went down on him, waitin’ till she gagged and was basically crying to let her up. He pulled some of her hair out one time.” She rubs the side of her head, scratching at her blonde hair as if it had been her hair. “He never…took care of her…she never…” she’s trying to find the words and I raise my eyebrows at her, egging her to continue and spit it out. “She never experienced an orgasm,” she shouts out and it shocks the hell out of me. “She broke up with him after, like, only the third or fourth time of having sex with him when it lasted a whole two minutes and he left her trembling and sore in her dorm room.”

  “Wait,” I start, trying to put it all together. “First off, why didn’t she, or you for that matter, tell me about this prick? I woulda kicked his ass nine ways to Sunday.” She shrugs it off and I know she probably suggested it at the time, but Paige begged her not to. “Second; Paige has to own some toys, but you’re tellin’ me she’s never had an orgasm?”

  I don’t believe this part. From what I experienced last night with her, the girl knows what she likes. And as much as I don’t want to talk about sex with my sister, I do want to know more about Paige because the little vixen she was with me is not what’s being described here and now.

  “Paige Lockley doesn’t own one toy! As far as I know, she’s never even used one! She doesn’t have a clue what she’s missing!” Piper kind of laughs, making me smile for the first time since she walked through the door. Then the seriousness kicks in all over again and she pokes me in the chest again, pointing her finger in my face. “Don’t you dare tell anyone what I just told you, or may God have mercy on your soul Kale Matthew!”

  I would never tell anyone about things such as these and I nod my head, crossing an X over my heart like I used to when we were little and my sister giggles.

  This pain in my chest, it won’t go away, and I can’t stop thinking about Paige. The way her body melted to mine, the way she showed a little resistance but listened to me after stern instruction, which is indication for a natural submissive woman. I know she can have a wildcat side, but hell, that’s what I like in a woman. I need to talk to her, so getting up, I almost forget Piper is even there until her fingers wrap around my arm as I am throwing a light shirt on.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re goin’?” she gives me the cocked eyebrow I get from my mom and her when I know I’m in trouble, but I nod to the door anyways.

  “I’m goin’ to talk to Paige,” I say honestly, trying to shrug her off but her little finger only dig deeper as she shakes her head furiously.

  “I don’t fuckin’ think so,” she huffs, letting go to only run to block the door. Before I can get to her, she fishes my Jeep keys from the bowl next to the door and shoves them down her pants. My jaw goes slack and I can’t believe she just fucking did that. “She threw me out, what do you think she’s gonna do to you? Plus, she’s broken Kale. She’s probably drowning in half a bottle of wine by now and not in any shape to talk to anyone.”

  “Why the hell wouldn’t she want to talk to me? I want to….apologize and talk to her,” I swallow hard and my sister knows now that I have a storm brewing within me, fueled by my commitment issues and these strange feeling I have for Paige that have surfaced in less than twenty four hours.

  “Just give her some time,” Pipe sighs, nodding for me to park it back on the couch. “Paige kinda, well….has liked you for a while so the whole ‘mistake’ thing, well she took that extra hard.”

  She has liked me for a while? Why have I never noticed this? This is all making my head swim, or maybe it’s the whiskey after all, and I sink back against the couch, rubbing my hands over my face.

  “Just wait till it all blows over, bro,” Piper says, opening my front door and winking at me as she slowly stands in the doorway on her way to exit. “Things might get better with time, you never know.” One last wink and my little sister is gone leaving me alone once more.

  To hell with waiting. She knows I am not one to let things blow over, so I jump up and pull my door open. Reaching for my keys in their normal spot, my hand swims around the bowl feeling only the miscellaneous keys I leave in there. “She took my keys with her. She didn’t put them back,” I swear to myself and rush to the railing, swearing as I watch Piper drive away and honk her horn obnoxiously; waving up at me as she squeals her tires.

  “Oh, little sister. You’ll get yours, just wait!” I shout, no doubt disturbing my neighbors as I slam my hands down on the iron railing and kick my door open. Most likely, I would have gotten down there and resigned to the fact that I am too drunk to drive, but to have her take my keys? That is a low blow.

  I need to talk to Paige, especially to apologize for being such an ass. But then what? What would I say to her to maybe make this better and to make this vice like grip over my heart disappear?

  Maybe little sister is right. Maybe the time will help; or at least, help me get my shit together.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Tonight is the night. Tonight is my date with Rolando, and I still can’t get Kale off of my mind so I’m already two glasses of red wine in. Checking the clock on my night table for the tenth time in the last five minutes, I see I still have a good twenty minutes till Lando is supposed to pick me up and I sigh heavily.

  Running my hand over the sexy black lace of my skin tight dress, I still feel insecure. I picked this dress out with Piper’s help because it fit me perfectly and I do look good in it, but the butterflies won’t leave me alone. I don’t want to be going on a date with Rolando; I want to be going out on the town with Kale. But to him, I’m just a mistake, a one night stand that he has probably laughed with the guys about over and over again already. Guess tonight Lando will find out what a mistake I am too.

  My phone dings and I swipe the screen to see a message from Lando, telling me that he is leaving the station house now, so that means he will be picking me up in about ten minutes. I let out a frustrated sigh and start pacing, my nerves on end and my hand shaking, wanting to text him back and tell him to never mind; that I cancel. But I can’t do that too him, he has been texting me since Monday when I agreed to this date sounding so excited that I don’t want to disappoint him.

  ‘But you’ll always disappoint the good ones, my little Paige.’ My mother’s voice breaks into my once over in the mirror again and I feel like ripping my hair out. I am bound and determined to make her wrong. Lando is a nice guy and if he likes me, well then why not date him? Sure, he’s not Kale, but hell, Kale doesn’t want me so why waste my time any longer?<
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  I force her voice from my thoughts and put one more bobby pin into my hair, pinning back the unruly curls that took me three hours to create from my wavy hair. I settled for a half up half down kind of thing, and pinned it to the side, getting the approval from Piper when she stopped by real quick to give me some heels to wear. The sad look in her eyes as she gazed at me confused me, and she didn’t think that I saw it, but I did. My doorbell chimes so I push the thought aside and hurry to the door.

  “Pai…..ge,” Rolando greets me, drawing it out and obviously shocked by the change in my appearance as his gaze rolls over my body unashamedly, making me blush. “Wow,” he more mouths than says as his chocolate eyes glide over me again and I signal for him to come into my little apartment. His jaw is a little slack as he holds out some red roses to me without saying a word and I start to feel a tad uncomfortable under his scrutiny so I clear my throat loudly.

  “Paige, I’m sorry. I just…you just….Wow.” he says again, rubbing his hand back through his short, jet black hair; finally meeting my eyes with his stare. “You look great…beautiful. Very beautiful.”

  “Thank you, Lando,” I smile genuinely. Having someone call me beautiful is weird to my ears, but I let it sink in as I set the roses in a vase. Putting them in the center of the island, I grab my clutch and turn to face him, shocking him from his state of staring at my butt and his tanned skin rims with pink. “I’m thinkin’ I need to go change,” I laugh and he pulls at his collar, laughing slightly.

  “No, no,” he smiles, placing his hand on the small of my back as we head for the door. “I’ll try and contain myself. I’ve already been warned.”

  “Warned?” I ask on a laugh as I lock the door behind me, feeling his hand on my back again as we go down to the stairs to the parking lot.

  I am disappointed that at his touch I don’t feel anything like I did with Kale; no spark or butterflies. Just a hand on my back, nothing else. And who would have warned him? And about what? My mind starts to race.

  “Yeah,” he chuckles, unlocking and opening the car door for me, waiting till my legs are in then racing to the drivers’ side after he shuts my side. Sliding in and starting his Dodge Charger up, he winks at me as he starts to pull out. “Kale gave me what I’m takin’ as the big brother warnin’. Ya know, ‘Don’t hurt her or I’ll hurt you,’ that kinda stuff.” He laughs it off and I fake a giggle, but what the hell?

  Why would Kale even care? He’s such a fucking asshole and I feel like punching him in the face. What I do is none of his business!

  I ride in silence for a few minutes, stewing about my situation with Kale, before Rolando swears under his breath; searching the center console for something. “Shit,” he says louder, looking to me with an apology in his eyes. “I forgot my wallet. Do you mind if we swing by the station so I can get it?”

  I see the sincerity in his dark stare and I shake my head, smiling at him as he swears at himself again. He’s a good looking guy. He cleans up nice. His white dress shirt being just tight enough to let me know that he’s ripped under there, as if I had to wonder. All these guys stay in shape.

  He whips a U-turn in the middle of Main Street, making more than a few horns honk at us, and as I grip the sides of my leather seat, he shifts down and squeals his tires, giving me a wink when I can’t help but giggle from the adrenaline rushing through me. I’m not a fast driver but I can’t deny the wild feeling of being in a fast vehicle.

  We are pulling into the fire station parking lot within a few minutes and after throwing it in park, Rolando turns to me, covering my hand that’s on my knee. “You wanna stay here or come in? Doesn’t matter to me.” He gives me a wink and I can’t stop the blush that fills my face and neck. Having his attention isn’t like having Kale’s but it still makes me feel good.

  I am about to say that I will stay here when I spot Kale’s Jeep. I don’t know what comes over me, but I get this overwhelming need to strut into that station house and flaunt this tight lace dress all over the place. It might be the wine giving me liquid courage, but I give Lando a slight smile. It’s all the encouragement he needs to get out and round the car. Opening my door, I accept the hand he holds out to me as I shimmy to stand from the Charger, no need to show the goods off.

  He is talking about where we are going for dinner, but I am not listening. All I am thinking is to keep my shoulders back so that I don’t slouch. Concentrate on walking so I don’t trip and most of all, try not to look Kale in the face if I do come into contact with him. Lando says something about hoping I like Italian food and I give him the sexiest wink I can muster as he pulls the door open for me.

  The guys inside see Lando first, and start ragging him since they all know we have plans tonight. I am bombarded by shouts and yells as I cross the threshold, then it all stops. I’m faced with a room full of fire fighters, most I have known my whole life, and they are all staring at me. At first, all I can think is, “Is there something on my clothes?”, but then I remember what those clothes are and I smooth out the material over my hips in nervous habit. More than one throat clears in the room. There is one guy, Frankie Gallano, who just keeps staring until Lando speaks up.

  “You all act like you’ve never seen a pretty lady before!” he shouts and the guys seem to snap out of it; one even throwing a pillow from their couch at him but he dodges it.

  It is then that I notice his direction and the members of Jump Team Tango just sitting around a table looking like they are playing poker and their stares are still locked on me. Especially those hazel eyes.

  I don’t have to look right at him to know he’s watching me, but as I follow Rolando I feel Kale’s stare on my face and my body, seeming to scrutinize everything. I want to squirm under his intense gaze as Lando talks to his teammates. Grabbing his wallet from his backpack slung over the chair, I am trying to keep it together. I don’t look at him; if I do I will be reminded once again why I am a mistake to him.

  Another throat clearing comes over the voices at the table and I raise my gaze from the table legs to see Mason with a wide smile on his face. “I don’t know if this asshole has tol’ you,” he elbows Rolando and they both laugh, “but you look really fantastic, Paige. I mean…”he pauses, taking an obvious one over and I can’t keep the blush from my skin any longer. “Dang,” he says under his breath, then meets my eyes again. “You look great.”

  “Thank you,” I smile, trying not to let him see that I am shaking from the still unrelenting stare in my direction from Kale. It seems to be burning a path across me and I sneak a peek from the corner of my eye, seeing that his brow is furrowed. Is he mad? Hell, why would he be? Why does he care and why the hell is he still staring at me?

  “Alright Paige, ready to get goin’?” Rolando snaps my attention back and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as his dark eyes meet mine, giving me a wink. He holds his elbow out and I slip my hand through, grasping his bicep and giving it a little squeeze with a smile. I don’t miss the flex and chuckle as he says goodbye to the guys, leading us towards the door.

  It feels like a weight is lifted off of my shoulders. I didn’t waste my time trying to talk to him and I didn’t hide. Yes, I was nervous, but I stood my ground. When Rolando’s hand meets the small of my back through the threshold, I hear what sounds like a chair falling in the room and a groan of pain, followed by uncontrolled laughter, but I don’t turn around.

  I’m going to focus on this date. That’s all I can do and maybe, just maybe it will go better than I ever thought. Maybe I can change from Paige the normal boring caterpillar to Paige the wanted and beautiful butterfly.

  She really came in here…with him…dressed like that. I knew they were going out tonight; Lando wouldn’t shut up about it, always yapping away about how he couldn’t wait and that he wondered if she wears lace under her plain clothes. That was when I had to step in and warn his ass, he needs to keep his hands off of her. He just laughed me off until I put his back up against the wall.


  Playing cards with the guys, I never thought I would look up to see the little minx in front of me. The lace of that dress hugging every delectable inch of her body. Every single inch of her toned body accentuated in that little black dress, no wonder every woman considers that a staple to her closet. She walks away on his arm with those heels on her precious feet adding a sway to the hips that I want nothing more than to feel under my fingertips once again. Before I can stop myself, the chair under me is tipping back as I’m watching her walk away from me. BOOM…my ass is on the floor.

  “She’s not your baby sister’s best friend tonight, huh, Benson?” Mason goads, laughing at me. The guys all join in and laugh at me, letting out the cat calls and inappropriate comments they held at bay when Paige was within ear shot.

  “Fuck, I don’t know who that was, but it’s not the Paige I know.” I get up, righting the chair but remaining standing. “He better keep his hands to himself tonight. I don’t give a shit what that dress screams, she’s off limits.” I point angrily at the door as if Rolando is still standing there, and my hand quickly turns into a fist thinking about Paige with Lando’s hands all over her.

  Feeling my frustration building, I walk away. The guys will continue to make jokes of this without knowing what’s really going on. Making my way to the workout room, I start punching the speed bag. The steady thumping of my fists against the leather as I make the rounds matches the sound of my heart beat, a rapid boom, boom, boom.

  The more I think of her, the more I can hear the rage inside of me. The sounds inside of my head are deafening as I’m helpless to stop her from giving to Lando what she gave to me just nights ago. It’s my fault too. Everything is rapidly spinning out of control ever since I gave in and lost control with her that night.

  Mason walks in, phone in his hand. “Piper’s trying to reach you.” He says, handing me the phone.