Free Kayla's Gift by Jayne Rylon Page A

for one of her fiancé’s best friends. “I’m sure he won’t screw up again.
    “I can’t promise that.” Dave’s baritone lacked its usual luster. He climbed the stairs slowly, giving her the chance to throw him out. She didn’t. “But I’ll try my best to make you happy.”
    His nostrils flared when he spotted the three women sitting together.
    The gaze scanning her form made her feel vulnerable in the nude for the first time in her life. Another thing he’d promised to understand then ruined.
    “We’ll wait outside.” Kate and Morgan inched toward the stairs. “No matter what, we’d like to hear from you. Maybe we can have lunch sometime soon?”
    “I’d like that.” Kayla realized her polite response held more than a kernel of truth. “Thank you.”
    Dave waited until they shut the door behind them. “Kay, I’m so sorry.”
    “For what?” If he really had been in the dark about Neil’s plotting, why hadn’t he said so?
    “For ignoring the facts. For letting myself go along with something I knew was wrong even if I didn’t figure out all the details. For backing down without a fight. For leaving you to suffer last night. For hurting you.” He deflated, sinking to the edge of her mattress. “Kate and Morgan informed me I fucked up at every turn.”
     
     
    45
     
     
    Kayla couldn’t help it. She laughed through the tears stinging her eyes.
    “Truly, I’m so very sorry.” He reached out and touched her hand. “If nothing else, for ruining the brief time we did have together. I’ll never forget that.”
    Instant sparks arced from the point of contact throughout her body. “I forgive you. And Neil. Thanks for coming in to straighten things out. At least now I won’t feel so awkward when you come to work.”
    He stared at her so long she thought she might have misunderstood.
    “Unless you don’t plan to finish the job. If you give me recommendations—”
    “We always finish the job.” Dave leaned closer, treating her to the spice of his skin blended with her shower gel. “Don’t you want anything more from me, Kay? Or did I ruin what I thought we had?”
    “Me? You’re the one who backed away. Even before the…incident. You didn’t touch me at all after yesterday morning.”
    “I saw you wince when I pulled out.” He closed his eyes and breathed deep for a minute. “You were tender. We didn’t want to hurt you.”
    “I thought…”
    “Oh, crap.” He stared at her with dilated pupils. “You thought what? That I’d taken my fill? That I’d gotten what I came for?”
    She bit her lip and nodded.
    Dave shot to his feet and opened the window. He shouted out to his friends. “Go ahead without me.
    I’m staying.”
    A round of cheers, hoots and claps had a blush rising to her cheeks.
    “Tell Kay I’m sorry.” Neil’s shout rose above the crew’s celebration.
    “See you tomorrow,” Joe called up a moment before engines, with fully functional spark plugs, hummed once more.
    “Baby.” Dave took a deep breath as he climbed into her bed and lay down beside her. “I haven’t given you a reason to trust me yet. I’ll prove myself to you however it takes. Yeah, you’re sexy as sin and I love watching you come apart. I admire your adventurous side in and out of bed and hope to indulge it.
    Regularly. More than that, I adore your spirit, your laughter and your all-around brightness. I’d love to have you as part of my life. For the long run. Above all, I’m praying right now that your soul is as attracted to mine as mine is to yours. That you want to join my family, the crew, and make me the happiest guy in a two state radius. The king of this mountain.”
    “Only if I can be your queen.”
    “I never considered you a plaything.” He nibbled her knuckles as if paying homage. “I’ll kick Neil’s scrawny ass for making you doubt my commitment for even an instant.”
    “Can we take things slow?” She admitted part of her reluctance stemmed from her own actions.