Being the Girl Next Door
Copyright© 2026 by Evie Olivia Niven
Chapter 6: A Stranger on the Docks
It was another beautiful day. Too bad Kaia was far from in the mood to enjoy it. She’d been having trouble sleeping, after what happened with Xadrian. Despite Carlos’ laid-back reaction, she still felt guilty about it. All those times, she thought, and I didn’t feel a drop of guilt. So why now? She’d left the private beach to wander around for the day. Kaia had ended up on the docks, which had always been one of her favorite places, and she made her way along them, studying the ships.
She was currently in a section meant for small, private boats. Kaia made her way past yachts and sailboats, to the docks where the little speedboats were kept. I’d love to go out in one of them, she thought, as she sat down near the empty end of the dock and dangled her feet over the edge. Maybe I could convince everyone to go ... although having Parker, Carlos, and Xadrian all on the same boat might not be a good idea. Kaia sighed and swung her legs back and forth, wondering what she was going to do about this.
“Watch out. Something might jump up and bite off your toes.”
The voice startled her so much that she nearly fell off the end of the pier. Annoyed, Kaia twisted around to glare at whoever had decided to bother her. A strange man stared back at her, grinning the same way a cat did when it had just snatched a birdy off its perch. His hair was a light, ashy brown, almost blonde in the sunlight, and it hung in his eyes and curled teasingly beneath his ears and at the base of his neck. Although his nose was a little long for good looks in the classic sense of the word, he had an amazing smile and crystalline blue eyes that twinkled with mischief.
“Cat got your tongue, sweetheart?” he asked, winking at her playfully.
Kaia felt her cheeks heating, although she wasn’t quite certain why. “N-no...” she stammered, wide-eyed. “I just ... who are you?”
He laughed, and the sound sent heat zinging straight down to her toes. What the hell? Kaia thought, turning her head to hide her surprise. Does this guy have some serious pheromones or what? Now she knew what romance novels meant by a man who radiated sex. There was something about the way he sat, lounging on the bench at the front of a little speedboat, that was heart-poundingly sexual. Kaia tucked her legs up onto the pier behind her and tried to look like she was annoyed at him, even though his laughter sent a thrill through her.
“All right, then,” he said, when he had sobered up. “But fair’s fair. You gotta tell me who you are, too.”
“Kaia,” she said, without really thinking. She blushed as he laughed. “Kaia Smith...”
“Well, now, isn’t that cute?” he drawled, grinning. “Kaia Smith, my name is Kail Sullivan.”
Kaia’s eyebrows rose. Now that is beyond weird, she thought, frowning. That verges on creepy. Kail hardly seemed bothered by it, though. He stretched luxuriantly, like a cat beneath the sun, and pointed to the bench across from him. She carefully stepped off the side of the dock and into the boat, flailing a little as it swayed beneath her feet. Kaia dropped abruptly onto the bench, ignoring Kail’s laughter. Oh, ick, plastic, she thought, wrinkling her nose. I’m gonna stick.
He was watching her, she realized. Not just looking, but watching intently, as if she was the most fascinating creature he’d seen all day. Well, Kaia thought, how many tall, somewhat gawky blondes do you see in a day? Sometimes she felt like the only blonde in the world who wasn’t petite and curvy was her. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Kaia, she thought, biting her lip. God, what’s gotten into me anyway?
“So, you’re gonna talk to me, Kaia Smith?” Kail asked, giving her one of the sexiest smiles she’d ever seen.
Kaia frowned. “Are you going to stop calling me by my full name?”
His laughter was beyond irritating, in part because the sound was impossibly sexy. “Forgive me, Kaia,” he teased. “I’ll behave.”
“I bet you haven’t behaved a day in your life,” Kaia muttered, rolling her eyes.
That set him off laughing again. Good thing I like the sound of it, she thought, or I’d been ready to scream. The thing was, she didn’t get the feeling that he meant anything rude by his laughter. He seems like someone who’s ... happy, Kaia thought, smiling. That’s kind of nice ... There was something about Kail that made it very easy to relax. He didn’t seem like he was uninterested—quite the opposite, in fact—so maybe it was because he wasn’t someone she’d known all her life.
“So, where are you from?” Kail asked, straightening up on the bench. “You look like ... a nice girl from the ‘burbs ... right?”
Kaia sighed. “What is it about me that screams ‘Suburban Girl’?” she wanted to know.
“Your eyes,” Kail replied, grinning. “I can see everything you’re thinking in your eyes.”
“You cannot!” Kaia exclaimed, looking away. “Stop teasing me, or I’m going to leave!”
Damnit, he makes me feel like such a ... child, she thought, pushing to her feet. Why? The boat rocked beneath her feet, making her sway. Kaia waved her arms desperately as the boat lurched, but she felt herself falling. Kail caught her, dragging her down into his lap. Whoa! she thought, her eyes widening. He had a pretty secure grip on her. I am such a klutz, Kaia thought, lifting her head to gaze up at him. So ... why is he smiling at me like that?
“You know, you’re awfully damn cute,” Kail told her. “You got yourself a boyfriend who’ll mind if I kiss you?”
“W-what?” Kaia stammered, her eyes widening.
“Well, I’ll just take that as a ‘no’, then,” Kail said.
And he did. Kail lowered his mouth to hers. It wasn’t a sweet, gentle kiss, but it wasn’t too demanding, either. His hand cradled the back of her head, his fingers tunneling through her hair. Kaia forgot to protest as his tongue eased between her lips and slid inside her mouth. She grabbed hold of him, her fingers digging into his shoulders. Even Carlos hadn’t kissed her like this.
Kail shifted beneath her, forcing her to straddle his hips to stay balanced. For a moment, she forgot that they were out in public, where people could easily see them. Kaia slid her hands beneath his shirt and felt him shiver as she ran her fingertips along his skin. He pulled back then, his eyes slightly wide, that composure that seemed to come naturally to him disappearing briefly. Then it was back in place, and Kail smiled, a lazy, sexy smile that made her stomach tighten.
“Well, now that was unexpected,” he drawled, grinning. “Guess I might have gotten a wee carried away there...”
Kaia couldn’t speak. She struggled out of his lap, nearly falling again, and sat down hard on the other bench. Not that I haven’t succumbed to lust a few times, she thought, but I was trying to be a good, wholesome girl these days. As attracted as she had been to some other men, it had never been like this. Kail woke something in her that was almost ... primal. Love at first sight is a romance novel contrivance, Kaia thought, but lust at first sight is very, very real.
“Guess it’s been a while for me,” Kail said, leaning back casually on the bench. “Odd, though. I’m not usually into younger women.”
Kaia’s eyebrows rose. “Younger women? What, you sleep with middle-aged women or something?”
“Woman,” Kail corrected, glancing sidelong at her. “And she wasn’t middle-aged when I met her ... more like thirty-five. That’s pretty young. And we were together for a good five years, you know.”
“So what happened?” Kaia asked, leaning forward. She wasn’t usually so nosy, but Kail intrigued her. Besides which, it took her mind off that kiss.
“Her husband found out,” Kail replied, grinning that cat-snatched-a-bird-off-the-perch grin.
Kaia just stared at him, blinking in surprise. This guy is totally insane, she decided, and I’m insane for talking to him. A part of her, though, was enjoying herself. If she didn’t pay attention to her attraction to him, she found she was relieved to be talking to someone else. Someone who didn’t want to date her—although maybe sleep with her—and didn’t think of her as the girl next door. Kaia tucked her legs up to her chest, rested her head on her knees, and smiled at him.
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked. “I mean ... a married woman? You wouldn’t!”
“Yeah,” Kail said. “I’m kidding.”