Otherwise he would combust.
He shook his head, riding over to the diner to see her Thursday night. Kaylie might be the innocent one, but she had more power than she knew.
One pretty little girl had brought him to his knees without even trying. If he had to beg when the time came, he would. He grinned, thinking that the view from down there would be epic.
Kaylie already had the power to destroy him.
She just didn’t know it yet.
Chapter 17
Kaylie
The first flush of love went by in a dream.
And she was falling in love with Devlin. Of that she had no doubt. She’d never felt anything like it. Trust and desire and the feeling of being protected… it was irresistible.
Even if she had been more experienced, she knew she’d never be able to resist him. As it was, she was putty in his hands.
Devlin came to see her every night that week, even on the nights she worked at Mae's. He'd come in for an ice cream sundae, just like Johnny used to like.
Only now, Kaylie made sure to give him an extra scoop as a sign of her affection. She’d add the extra scoop with a flourish and add whipped cream and a cherry.
The way he slowly ate the cherry, sliding it into his lips with a hot look… it made her blush. When he saw her cheeks get pink, it made him grin. He seemed to enjoy introducing her to his naughty games. He didn’t mind that she was as innocent as a schoolgirl.
It was a good thing too, because she was always blushing around Devlin McRae.
Each time it was the same. He’d come strolling into Mae's towards the end of her shift, looking like a hawk in a dove cote. He'd sit and wait until she was ready to go home.
They would ride around and find a quiet spot to talk and fool around for a couple of hours. Her mother was always up reading when she got home, with no recriminations about coming home after midnight.
Even she trusted Dev with her daughter. If only she knew that it was Kaylie who was starting to get impatient. The endless nights of kissing and touching were making her feel wild and reckless.
She wanted the real thing. She was ready.
But each night he would walk her to the front stoop and leave her with a soft kiss.
When she said goodnight to Devlin on Thursday he was quiet, grim even. She felt a strange sense of unease, worry that she had done something wrong.
They'd gone further than ever before. She'd even touched him there- through his pants this time. He'd felt so big and hot- dangerously powerful. But also tempting and exciting.
She kissed his cheek while he stared at her, his jaw ticking. He hadn’t told her he would see her tomorrow this time. He’d just left, biking off as soon as the front door was open, without the final wave that he usually gave her.
Little did she know, that was the last she would see of him for 48 hours. He didn't visit her the next night at Mae's during her shift, or call. There was a bike parked outside the whole night though. She was protected. But she knew it wasn't his.
When she finally closed up it was Jack who followed her home while she walked through the quiet town. He didn't offer her a ride or an explanation. As usual, all he did was nod.
Kaylie wasn't sure why Devlin was staying away from her, but she felt awful about it. Her insides felt like they were hollow, empty. It was like he had filled a part of her that she hadn’t even known was missing. And now that it was, it felt like she was slowly disappearing.
Maybe she should have let him do more. He hadn't pushed her to… but maybe she had missed something or made a mistake. Maybe it was because of her lack of experience.
He must be bored with a virgin. Maybe he didn't want her anymore… Maybe it was already over.
She cried into her pillow for hours, tossing and turning. She made sure her light was out so when her mother came in to say goodnight, she wouldn't notice her red eyes or tear stained cheeks. It was near dawn by the time Kaylie fell into a fitful sleep.
It was the longest night of her life.
Chapter 18
Devlin
Devlin was in hell. It was ironic that someone with the nickname of 'Devil' would end up in hell. Even more surprising was that he was loving every minute of it.
Well, not every minute. Not the past two days. Those had been the worst of all.
Kaylie was driving him insane. He'd seen her every night this week and every night he'd dared to go a little further with her. Just grazing the edges, making her want him as badly as he wanted her.