Chapter 24
CALLUM
I’m not sure that Kyra realized what was happening next week, but I didn’t want to take her out on actual Valentine’s Day. She would definitely be suspicious of that. But it’s the tenth, completely inconspicuous, right?
I have reservations at the best Italian restaurant in town. A little birdy, aka Nyx, told me that she absolutely loves all things Italian. She has dreams of seeing things like the Colosseum and the Pantheon. Maybe one day I’ll be the one to take her there.
Running a quick hand down the front of my slacks, I smooth out any wrinkles.
I have black dress pants and a bright blue button-down on.
Sleeves rolled up to my elbows, so you can see my Marine Corps logo on my forearm.
Standing in front of my full-length mirror, I pick apart my entire look. Am I trying too damn hard?
Nah.
Closing the bedroom door behind me, I head down the stairs.
Dee, my brother, and Nyx are all cuddled up on the living room couch.
Nyx has her head in Demitri’s lap, he is absentmindedly running his fingers through her dark hair, while Graham is massaging her calves.
The sight is utterly domestic of the three of them. It’s adorable.
“Hey, Little Bro.” Graham looks my way, taking his eyes off the movie they are watching. “Looking good!”
Nyx looks up from the movie. “Fuck ya, Cal. You look hot!”
Demitri growls low in his chest while grasping her hair tightly in his fist, forcing her to look at him. “What the fuck do you mean, Little Fox?”
“Calm down, caveman.” Nyx laughs at him. “First of all, he looks so much like Graham that, of course, I am going to find him hot. Second of all, he’s Kyra’s, therefore, way off limits. Sooooo I can appreciate his attractiveness for her. Not for me.”
Graham just laughs because he is not as possessive as his best friend. Demitri grabs Nyx’s face before lowering his down to take her lips in an all-consuming kiss. Grabbing my dark charcoal pea coat out of the coat closet, I say my goodbyes and open the door.
Stopping at my truck, I lean in to start it, making sure to switch on Kyra’s seat heat.
It’s the little things. I can’t have my girl getting in my truck and being cold.
Walking around the side of the garage and heading over to the front door of the guest house.
Taking just a moment to take a deep breath, I straighten my coat before knocking three times.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
“Come in.” I hear Kyra call from the other side of the door.
Giving the security system my fingerprint, I allow the door to unlock before stepping inside the warmth.
Kyra has taken the time to put a few little touches of herself in the space.
A large blue blanket is draped over the back of the couch.
It appears that one side of the blanket is a super-soft, white, sherpa material, while the blue side includes a large Lion’s logo.
She has candles littered throughout the space.
None of them is currently lit since she was getting ready to leave, but I can imagine how cozy the space would feel with them burning.
“Hey, sorry, just finishing up,” Kyra calls from the bathroom.
I walk over to the door to see her putting on just a dab of pink gloss on her plush lips.
Her beauty takes my breath away on a normal day, even when I see her sweaty from a workout with Aly, but right now, I am pretty sure if I tried to breathe, I couldn’t.
“Holy Fuck.” These are the only words my brain can come up with at the moment.
“What? You don’t like it?” The panic is written all over her beautiful face.
I sweep her into my arms and plant a huge kiss on her lips, not caring that I will leave the house with her gloss on my face. Putting every ounce of awe I am feeling into this kiss in hopes of making her brain short-circuit just like mine just did.
“Hey.” She pulls away from my kiss with an awe-struck look on her face. “You are going to mess up my make-up, and we haven’t even left yet.” She laughs while turning to look in the mirror. Needing to dab the corners of her mouth where I smeared her gloss.
“Oh, we don’t need to leave. We can stay right here, Sunflower.” Leaning down to nuzzle into her neck, peppering the space between her ear and shoulder with kisses.
Her black dress hangs off the sides of her shoulders, allowing just her collar bones to peek out.
I can see all the workouts she has been doing with Aly have been helping not only her mental health.
The dress comes down between her luscious breasts with what appears to be lace, but with a flesh-toned material under the lace, so nothing is actually showing.
Well, other than the cleavage, I would love nothing more than to bury my face in.
“Nope, no way, big guy.” She smiles at me in the mirror. “You promised me a date. I want to see what the great Callum Hutchinson has to offer a girl.”
Kyra pulls out of my grasp and walks towards her bedroom to grab her jacket.
She walks out of the room, buttoning her black dress coat, and wraps a brightly colored scarf around her neck.
Thank goodness she had covered up some of her skin, not because I think a woman should cover up, but because there was a good chance I wasn’t letting us leave this house if she hadn’t.
She leans over to zip up her black boots.
The material comes up to just below her knee, helping to shelter some of her legs from the cold.
Under the dress Kyra has on what look to be cable-knit tights in a dark grey material.
Hopefully, she will be warm enough in this outfit.
I send up a quick thank you to myself for warming the truck up for her before we left.
We walk out of the guest house, and Kyra turns around to secure the door.
When she turns back around, she finds me with my arm sticking out slightly, offering it to her.
Looping her arm through mine, I escort her to my truck.
Standing outside the door, I open her door and help her climb in.
After closing her door, I turn around and take a deep breath before I walk to the driver's side.
Let’s do this, Cal.