Chasing Air Page 4

  “You weren’t rude, Mak. I had no right to grab you.”

  “Please forgive me. It’s the New Yorker attitude in me. You have to be tough to live in New York by yourself. If it’s okay with you, can we start over? I’ll stay for dinner, but only if you let me help cook. I promise not to slip poison in your food or destroy your kitchen.”

  “You got it.” He stepped aside and let her enter. He took note of her mercurial mood. He wasn’t certain what was behind it, but he had picked up on a dark cloud of some kind.

  Instantly regretting her conduct, Makenzie knew she needed to get it together before she drew unnecessary attention to her past.

  She followed him into the kitchen. His home was of very masculine decor. With leather furniture, animal hide rugs, stained concrete mixed with hardwood floors and the ostentatious big television mounted above the fireplace, it was a true man cave in every sense of the word.

  He pulled out the bar stool for her to sit, “Can I get you some wine or a beer?”

  “I’d love some wine. What can I do to help?” She didn’t want to sit and watch him, it made her nervous. She could control her nerves if she busied her hands.

  “The grill is heating up and I’m about to make the salsa. It’s killing you to watch me do the cooking, isn’t it?” he teased as he poured more wine.

  “It’s a habit, doctors are always trying to be in control,” she said with a quiet laugh.

  “So are detectives,” he said with a big grin.

  She downed the first glass of wine quickly while they made small talk. Eventually, she booted him out of the way and went over to his side of the bar where she helped prepare the mango salsa, while he took the cedar planks loaded with salmon out to the grill.

  Both relaxed, they really began to enjoy each other’s company. Once, he even put his hand on the small of her back as he scooted past her to get something out of the fridge. This time she didn’t mind his touch and she gave him a quick smile and a wink to let him know it was okay. While he was outside grilling the fish, she walked out to chat with him and handed him another beer.

  “Ryler, this backyard is nothing short of amazing. Did you do all of this yourself?”

  His backyard was an oasis to die for in the midst of the big city. She walked around admiring the beautiful pool with multiple rock waterfalls surrounded by lush landscaping. As if that wasn’t enough, it was accented with butterflies and birds fluttering through the yard and lots of beautiful, colorful flowers.

  “Well, I can’t take credit for the pool. My ex-wife designed it and all the landscaping. But I dug all the holes. I enjoy being out here, but would like it better if I had someone to enjoy it with me. Chris, Brody, and some of the guys from the department come over with their girlfriends and families from time-to-time, but mostly, it’s just me.”

  “I met Chris at the hospital, right?”

  “Yes, he’s my partner. Brody and I’ve been best friends since going to high school together. He also works on the force.”

  Just then, Makenzie’s phone rang. Looking at the caller-ID, it was Jonathan. Un-perfect timing. She ignored the ringing.

  “Feel free to answer that. If it’s like mine, they’ll keep calling.”

  “Sure. Excuse me just a moment, Ryler. Be right back.”

  Makenzie escaped to the living room to talk to Jonathan. “Hey there, how are you?” Why did chatting on the phone for the first time always have to feel so weird?

  “Sorry, Makenzie. I was out at the park with Trippe. We were trying to fly some kites, but it wasn’t a very successful day without much wind. I apologize for being late getting back to you. Are you in the middle of something or can you chat now?” His voice was smooth and calming, very polished. He instantly put her at ease.

  “Actually, I only have a minute, but I wanted to say thank you for last night. I enjoyed myself.” She was smiling way too big. What she didn’t know was that Ryler had come back into the kitchen and could easily overhear her conversation.

  “I had a great time. The best in a while and I’m looking forward to Thursday, if we’re still on?” His voice was full of anticipation.

  Her anticipation met his. “Yes, that would be lovely. What time should I be ready?”

  “I’ve made reservations for seven-thirty at a really quaint place that I think you’ll love. I’ll pick you up about seven in the lobby if that works for you.” He sounded sweetly excited to see her again.

  “Sure, that works for me. I’m looking forward to it. See you soon Jonathan.” She quickly hung the phone and tried to contain her smile.

  When Makenzie turned to make her way back outside, she saw Ryler standing in the kitchen looking at her.

  Makenzie was certain that he could read her like the back of his hand. After all, reading people is what he did for a living. The air became instantly thick. Neither of them addressed the call, but from the way he looked at her, she sensed that he knew she’d just made a date.

  From what he had discovered from David and Veronica at the hospital, Mak wasn’t married, nor did she have a boyfriend since moving here. He also knew that to win her he had to be the best, and the last man standing. Mentally, he started devising a plan. Unbeknownst to Makenzie, she was in for a very different and romantic ride.

  “Dinner’s almost ready. Would you like some more wine or can I get you something else?” He was already reaching for the bottle of wine.

  “Wine would be great,” she said, handing him her empty glass. She needed liquid courage to spend time with him and still not get too attached. There was a pull between them that she couldn’t quite understand. Close quarters with him was risky, yet she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to be near him.

  The hardest part would be making sure that she didn’t create any future plans with Detective Buchanan. To keep him off the topic of herself, she began to roll out twenty questions on him.

  “Are you originally from here?” she asked him before he could interrogate her.

  “Yes, born and raised here and my parents are still close by. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” He began plating up their dinner, waiting on her to wear herself out asking questions.

  As they ate, he humored her and answered all of her questions on why he chose the police academy and tidbits about his family. He waited for the divorce question, but it never came.

  “My dad wanted me to go into our family’s financial business that was started by my great-grandparents. I went to SMU and got my MBA, but crunching numbers wasn’t my style. I needed more excitement than that. My parents were not happy when I left the company and went to the police academy. My second year, I made detective. I wasn’t certain about the detective work, but once I got into the role, I loved it and can’t imagine any other job. Problem was, Cindy, my ex, couldn’t handle all the long hours and countless nights away from home. We met in college and became inseparable, but she thought that I was unfaithful to her and our marriage. I wasn’t and the truth eventually came out, but by then, her tolerance had spread thin. She ended our marriage and moved to the Seattle area to be closer to her family. We haven’t spoken since. She left with her things and never looked back.” He paused and extended his hand toward the room. “I hired an interior decorator and ripped every girlie detail from this house that I could. The only reminder, which is a constant one, is the back yard. It’s a beautiful reminder of something that wasn’t so beautiful. The signs of her co-dependency on me were there, I just didn’t see them until it was too late.” His face showed the years of pain that he had struggled with.

  “Ryler, you have to forgive yourself for her leaving. It was her choice not to stay and work through things. You can’t make someone stay if they don’t want to.”

  “True. Is that what happened to you? You chose to leave?” His question was direct and punctuated with a quizzical look in his eyes. He’d seen right through her.

  “Yes, I left. But not like you think. My family was too controlling. They wanted to pick eve
rything that my sister and I took part in. True Italians.” She laughed and picked up the plates to do the dishes. He tried to stop her, but she persisted.

  He agreed to let her help with the dishes and they did them together. There was some hip music playing on the iPod dock and he twirled her in the kitchen, which caught her by surprise. She lost her balance and fell into him, dropping her wine glass on the floor where it shattered. Embarrassed, she tried to collect all the pieces as he tried to stop her. In the process, she cut a gash on her finger.

  “Makenzie, see what you did? Now, my insurance will go up and I will have a no-dating rider added to my insurance policy.” They both laughed out loud.

  She followed him to the bathroom for the first aid kit and he helped bandage her up, under her direction of course. When he was all done, he kissed her finger like a parent would kiss a child’s boo-boo. When he looked up to her, their eyes met, lingering in silence for several moments.

  “I will have to charge you a hazard fee for the glass,” he quipped.

  She laughed. “Okay, what are the charges, Officer?”

  Great, she’s playing along, he thought. He studied her for a moment, rubbing his chin. At first, his reaction was to ask for another date, but that was pushing his luck. “Share a piece of pie with me.” It really wasn’t a question.

  “Hmm, pie. Pies are my favorite dessert, or did you know that already?”

  He shook his head from side to side, but inside, he knew the truth was really yes, because he’d overheard Veronica threatening to blackmail David for eating the piece that she’d stashed for Makenzie.

  “Well, that depends on what kind you have. I love coconut cream pie, it’s the best if it’s homemade.”

  Ryler started laughing, he couldn’t contain himself. He knew she must have seen the coconut pie in the refrigerator and yes, it was homemade. He had called his mother and asked her to make a pie as soon as he’d left the market because he knew from visiting with Veronica and David that her favorite dessert was coconut cream pie. He was certain that they would get in trouble if he ever confessed the truth.

  “You saw the pie in the fridge, didn’t you?” He laughed at her.

  “Yes, and I’m getting the first piece,” she belted out as she jumped off the bathroom counter and ran into the kitchen. Ryler was close on her heels as they ran into the kitchen and grabbed plates, forks, and the pie. He cut them both a piece, ribbing her that she wasn’t allowed to use sharp objects in his house anymore. They took their pie out to the patio to listen to the waterfalls and soft music that he had playing both inside and out.

  Makenzie finished her piece first and commented on the delicious flavor. “Compliments to the chef, but you didn’t make that pie, did you?” She alluded to him buying it, teasing him.

  “No, my mom did. So if you want more where that came from, you have to be nicer to me.” He winked and moved his arms over, trying to hide his piece from her. She was sitting rather close to him on the sofa outside. He calculated his move and held a bite in front of her, quickly eating it himself.

  “That was just wrong, Mr. Buchanan, that was my bite,” she said with a light-hearted laugh. He loved the sound of her laughter, the walls around his heart crumbled a bit each time her heard her.

  She was leaning in close to him, her head almost on his shoulder. He took a forkful and fed it to her. In fact, he fed her the rest of his piece. On the last bite, she had a bit of cream on her lip. He leaned in slowly, stopping to gain permission from her eyes, and kissed her, licking the rest of the cream from her lips. She responded to his kiss, wanting more. Neither was aware of how long their kiss lasted.

  It took Makenzie some time to regain her faculties, but she realized that she felt comfortable in Ryler’s arms. His kiss was soft and sincere, not the demanding, take charge attitude that he usually had. Against the backdrop of music and water, Makenzie remained in his arms for a long time, listening to the beautiful sounds of the outdoors and enjoying her time there.

  “I’m really sorry about earlier, when I first arrived. You were right, I was going to leave. I’ve sort of shut myself off from having any kind of personal life, just throwing myself into my career.” She snuggled into his neck, reassuring him that she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

  He ran his finger up and down her arm. “I’m attracted to you. I have been since the moment we met, even when you were chewing my ass out. I want more, I can’t lie and I won’t try to hide it. I’m patient though. I’ll wait on you.”

  She rested in his arms, fully content by his side. She didn’t know how long they had been there, but awakening, she realized that she’d fallen asleep, still held tightly by him. As she stirred, his kissed the top of her head. She abruptly sat upright, moving from his grasp. “It’s late, I should go. I have to go in to work tomorrow earlier than my normal shift to set up my new office.” She stood and lost her balance, a bit wobbly from just awakening.

  “You aren’t driving home. You had just shy of a bottle of wine by yourself. I’ll call you a cab, or you’re welcome to stay in my guest suite upstairs, it’s your choice. Unfortunately, I’ve had a few too many beers, so I can’t drive you. Do you want the cab?”

  She didn’t. She didn’t want to leave him. She couldn’t explain the attraction to him, but Ryler Buchanan was a drug to her and she couldn’t say no to it. “If you’re sure that my staying here won’t be a problem, I’ll crash here and drive home in the morning.” She was all smiles. Her date wasn’t ending and she could spend more time with him. And to think, she was originally going to stand him up. She was in too deep with him already and that meant trouble. She knew it, but it was a train in motion that she couldn’t stop.

  Showing her to the room upstairs, he pointed to the bathroom and indicated she would find toiletries and a new toothbrush in there for her use. “Make yourself at home, Makenzie. I’ll be downstairs watching TV if you want to join me.” He didn’t try to make contact with her. He wanted the next move to be her call. He hoped that the evening wasn’t over and she would come downstairs and continue to get closer to him.

  Makenzie helped herself to the things he had stored in the guest room and found one of Ryler’s t-shirts in the drawer. She removed her bra and put on the big t-shirt. It felt like his arms were wrapped around her. The thought sent tingles down her arms and over her body. She found a hairbrush in the drawer and took off her ball cap and removed her ponytail. She brushed her hair and surprisingly, it flowed lovely down her back and shoulders without much taming needed.

  Suddenly wide awake, she wasn’t ready to go to bed. She took a closer look at the room. It was very inviting and beautifully decorated with a king-sized bed, embellished in shades of red and steel grey. Pictures of stallions adorned the walls. Her mind was in the gutter, since the only stallion she wanted to give her company to was Ryler.

  She slowly descended the stairs and peeked around to see him laying back on the sofa with his feet propped on the ottoman, watching a movie. He seemed fully engaged. She stood there a moment and was just about to go back upstairs to put on some chap stick when he saw her. “Running away again, Makenzie?”

  “I. WAS. NOT. If you must know, I forgot something. I‘ll be right back down.”

  She returned, slipping beside him on the comfortable sofa. He grabbed a throw from his corner of the sofa and put it over her as she laid her head over on a pillow in his lap. Wow, it must be the wine, she thought. All of her inhibitions seemed to be hiding in a closet somewhere.

  After a few minutes of watching the movie without talking, he started stroking her hair. “You have the most luxurious hair.” He leaned down and kissed her temple area. “Hey, that’s my t-shirt,” he commented with a low, sexy growl while pulling on the sleeve.

  “Yes, I hope that you don’t mind.” She shifted her eyes up to his and gave him a wanting look. He knew that look, he had seen it when they were outside earlier. He decided he would tease her for a while. He wanted the next move to be hers,
or better yet, have her beg him for more.

  Shifting her so that he could get up, he said, “Since someone else rudely ate my dessert, I believe I’m going to help myself to another piece. Care to join me?” His mind ventured back to the tasty kisses they shared earlier.

  “Ughh, I’m still full from that wonderful dinner. You’re quite the chef. However, I’ll join you in some more wine if there’s any left in that bottle?”

  He laughed as he pulled the pie and wine from the fridge. “You’ve almost killed the bottle. I’ll grab you some ibuprofen, I think you may need it in the morning.”

  She poked her finger into his ribcage. “Sure thing, Dr. Buchanan. Two aspirin and call you in the morning, right?”

  Ryler enjoyed each bite of the pie, moaning in appreciation. She watched him eat each spoonful and finally caved.

  “Not fair, you’re daring me. Okay fine, I’ll have a piece. That means more miles on my run in the morning.” She helped herself to a plate and spoon, but when she took hold of the knife, Ryler closed his hand around hers.

  “Let me help you with this.” He took the knife from her and began to spoon feed her bites instead.

  In between the bites, he waited. Finally, he took a bite for himself, slowly licking his lips afterwards. He managed to leave some cream on the corner of his mouth. Makenzie couldn’t hold back any longer, she wanted to taste those lips and feel his mouth on hers. Reaching up, she wrapped her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him closer to her face. She took her finger and wiped the cream, then licked her finger. She gave him those wanting eyes again. He instantly felt his desire pulse through his body. The response left him painfully hard.

  The gaze, accelerated heartbeats, and quickening breaths put him on sensory overload. The anticipation was hovering heavily for both of them. She caved first. Standing on her tiptoes, she quickly kissed him. He responded with need and desire of his own. He shoved the items on the counter aside and lifted her up to sit on the bar. With her arms wrapped tightly around him, he moved so that he was standing between her legs. She didn’t need a medical degree to know that he was just as aroused as she was.