Page 26 of Abigail's King
Chapter Eleven
Abigail
We had been in Madeira for two days and were staying at Kye’s beachfront house. I say house in the loosest sense of the word. It was like his apartment back in London. A mansion. It even had a separate house on the grounds where a housekeeper or staff could live. Whatever possessed him to buy a house this big, I had no idea. Perhaps he one day hoped to bring up a family here, or just somewhere that his family could come and stay. Either way, I hoped it happened for him. Secretly, I hoped when it did happen for him, it would be with me.
The more time I spent with this loving and caring guy, the more I found I was falling in love with him. In fact, I was past the point of falling. I was in love with him. My heart wouldn’t stop beating when he was around and his constant sexual innuendos had me wet at the mere sound of his voice.
We had done a couple of small shoots with two different photographers, and so far, everything had been quiet. We had grown into a comfortable routine: Kye would cook every evening and then we would sit down outside and watch the sun go down together, chatting about nothing in particular. I could tell that something was worrying Kye, though. He had been very subdued since we had arrived, but wouldn’t open up to me about it. With Mateus arriving tomorrow, I guessed that things would only get worse. I needed to try to get him to talk this evening, even if it was just about his feelings towards his brother arriving.
I was currently sunbathing outside while Kye was getting dinner ready. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity of topping up my tan with some real sun and getting my fix of vitamin D in the process. We didn’t have any shoots for a couple of days, so our time was our own and I was hoping to convince Kye to take me on a tour of the island. I was desperate to go back to Porta Moniz and spend some time in the amazing pools they had there. I just needed to get Kye on board as well. I had managed to get a glimpse of him walking around the house after his run minus his shirt and it was a sight to behold. If the rest of him was as good as that, then I couldn’t imagine how he didn’t have the women fawning over him.
I must have drifted off while I was lying outside because I woke up with a start and immediately worried about how long I had been out in the sun. Looking up, I found a parasol covering my whole body with shade and a cool glass of orange juice next to me. Pulling myself up, I sat on the side of the lounger and enjoyed the cool drink that Kye had obviously brought out to me. Yet again, there was my caring gentleman. Getting up, I headed inside to find Kye in the kitchen, just about to start dinner.
“I could get used to this pampering, you know.”
“I’m here to serve you, Bonita. I also didn’t want you to get burned out there, so I thought it best to put the parasol up.”
Walking over to him, I decided I would get bolder with my actions. I placed my hands on his chest and could feel the hard muscles beneath his shirt. He took in a sharp breath and closed his eyes; I knew then that I did have an effect on him. I just needed him to give in to what was growing between us, even though he would never admit it.
Leaning in, I softly kissed him on his lips. I had wanted this since I first saw him and Sienna and Jayden’s wedding, but it wasn’t enough. I felt Kye’s hands glide up my hips and as I pulled away our eyes met. I could see the lust in them and hoped that I had finally broken down the wall he had built between us. Seeing his eyes glance down at my lips again, I thought I had finally won. But then the old Kye came back with his walls back in place as he gently pushed me away from him. For those brief moments when I felt myself in his arms, I dared to hope. Now, though, I had to start all over again. I realised that we were both just standing there, and I decided to break the silence.
“Thanks for looking after me, Kye.”
“As I said, anything for you, Bonita.”
He took his hands from my side, and I immediately felt the chill of the air on my burning skin. I gave him a smile and stepped away to give him more space. I could tell he was uncomfortable being so close to me.
“What can I help with?”
“Absolutely nothing. Just sit there and make my humble house look beautiful. There is wine in the fridge if you want some.”
I got up from my seat, walked over to the fridge, and pulled out a bottle of rosé wine, and then over to the cupboard, where I got out two glasses. If I was going to have a drink, then so could Kye. He had refused the past two nights, but one drink wouldn’t harm him. I poured myself a large glass, and filling his halfway up, I passed it over to him.
“I know you always refuse, which is why I only poured you half a glass. I’m sure you can join me, though. Just this once.”
He didn’t reply, just gave me a slight smile and took a sip. Another small win. I sat there and watched him expertly cook. It amazed me how well he could cook. Nothing he had made for us had gone wrong. If I’d tried to cook half the things he had over the past few weeks, we would have been eating takeaways nearly every night.
“I guess I should change. Sitting around a kitchen in a swimsuit probably isn’t the safest thing to do.”
I saw Kye smirk and bite his lips, holding back his comment. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be sarcastic or one of his trademark sexual innuendos, but I decided not to wait around to find out and headed off to my bedroom to shower and change into something more comfortable.
We were sitting outside as usual, watching the sun go down after enjoying another one of Kye’s amazing meals. I was starting to worry that if he carried on cooking, I would put on weight. I was just lucky that he valued healthy food and steered clear of lots of carbs and creamy sauces. I wanted to try to get him to open up to me more about his family, especially his brother, seeing as he was arriving tomorrow. There was only one thing to do, and that was to ask.
“So, tell me about Mateus, then. I guess I need to know a bit about him, as he will be arriving tomorrow.”
I saw him visibly stiffen next to me again. He really hated talking about himself and his family. But he needed to open up. He had managed it once with his mini breakdown before we came out here, and I hoped that I could do it again.
“There isn’t much to tell, really. He is two years older than me and is a superintendent in the Portuguese police force. He is married to Sofia and has been for about twelve years and has a son, Joaquim, who must be coming up ten now. I don’t really know, as I have never met him.”
I was amazed he had never met his own nephew, especially knowing how close Portuguese families usually were.
“You have never met your nephew? Have you ever met your sister-in-law?”
At the mention of his sister-in-law, his demeanour immediately changed. I started to think that perhaps Sofia had something to do with him not being willing to open up to people. Possibly the reason why he wouldn’t open up his heart. Could it be that he was either in love with or had loved Sofia? I guessed this was a question that he would never willingly answer.
“I have met Sofia. We met when I was seventeen years old. She is a few months younger than me. We became good friends. She met my brother, and they got engaged.”
I saw him look down at his hands with that sober look on his face, which confirmed to me that there was a story behind this. I thought I was starting to figure things out. He had left Madeira eighteen years ago. Guessing he was around thirty-six, which meant he had left not long after Mateus and Sofia got engaged. It was making more and more sense that Sofia was behind Kye’s pain.
