Full Exposure: A Loveswept Contemporary Erotic Romance (29 page)

*  *  *

Serena came awake slowly, gradually becoming aware that she was alone in bed. It was the only time since they’d first made love that Kevin hadn’t woken her with a long, leisurely session of lovemaking. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his omission. While part of her rejoiced at the distance that would allow her time to think, another part of her wept at the small light that had gone out of their relationship.

She sat up slowly, stretching as questions whirled through her head. Had she completely blown things with Kevin? Or would he be willing to take what she was capable of offering? It was nothing compared to what he wanted from her and she knew he wouldn’t be satisfied forever. But, please God, let him still want her for a little while longer. Let him not be ready to end things right now, today. No matter how selfish it was, she wanted just a little more time with him. She knew she’d pay for it later, but couldn’t bring herself to care. Not when his scent was all around her and the heat from his body still lingered on the sheets.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted slowly into the room. She was dying for a cup, but getting one meant facing Kevin and she didn’t think she was ready for that yet. But she could at least get up and take a shower. Buy herself some time to decide what to do.

Her cell phone rang and she froze in the act of climbing out of bed. Her eyes darted to the nightstand where she’d dumped her purse the previous night and for a second she considered taking the cowardly way out and not answering it. She didn’t think she could take another call from Damien the Deranged.

But in the end she picked it up, because the detectives had put a trace on the
phone and because for her the unknown was rapidly becoming worse than the known. “Unknown number” flashed across the screen and she took a deep breath to steel herself before hitting the accept call button. “Hello?”

“Serena? This is Steve.” At the familiar voice, the tension inside of her dissolved as quickly as it had come. She glanced up to see Kevin in the doorway, a mug of coffee in his hand and a furious scowl on his face as he glared at the phone.

“Oh, hi, Steve,” she said, emphasizing his name as she spoke. Kevin relaxed and walked lazily into the room, extending the cup of coffee to her as he got closer. “Lost another phone, huh?”

She took the mug gratefully and sipped, not caring if she burnt her tongue. She avoided Kevin’s eyes, shocked at how ashamed she felt after last night. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, had only been protecting herself. But as she glanced briefly into his eyes, she couldn’t miss the pained shadows that hadn’t been there the day before.

She listened as Steve outlined the plans for the showing he had gotten her, shocked at how many pieces he needed delivered in a relatively short amount of time.

“Steve,” she protested, when he had finally wound down. “I’m not sure I can handle that many. At least not with my recommendations for matting and framing. Not with the photos of Kevin coming due and the ad campaign you want me to start next week.”

“I’ve got faith in you, luv. You can do anything. Besides, don’t worry about frame and mat recommendations—you know the galleries never like what the artist picks out anyway.”

“But—”

“No time to chat! Say hi to Kevin for me and I’ll call you with the rest of the details next week. Meanwhile, make sure you include some shots of Kevin in what you send. And some from your Gulf of Mexico series as well. Those are fabulous. Gotta go!”

Serena stared at the dead phone in her hand with a combination of shock and chagrin. “You’re right,” she told Kevin, who was still perched next to her on the bed. “He really doesn’t understand the whole nurture-the-client-relationship thing.”

“I told you. The man’s a Nazi.” Kevin’s grin was at half-wattage, but at least the shadows had lifted from his eyes. “I’m making breakfast. If you’re interested.”

She took his hand, aware that it was one of the first times she’d ever reached for him. Maybe she did know what to do after all. “I am interested. Very interested.” She flashed him a smile. “Particularly if there are pancakes involved.”

“Waffles okay?” He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

“Even better.” She leaned forward, kissed him smackingly on his lips even as she avoided his eyes. “I’m starving.”

Kevin watched her go, bemused and more than a little angry. How could she blow so hot and cold? She’d pushed him away so coldly and absolutely last night that he’d been sure she’d try to end things this morning. Not that he’d had any intention of letting her, but he’d prepared for a struggle. He certainly hadn’t planned on lighthearted banter from her.

Eyes narrowed, he headed toward the bathroom door, determined to get an answer for her strange behavior last night and even stranger behavior this morning. He had just crossed the threshold when her cell rang again, and he picked it up, expecting it to be Steve. “What’d you forget this time?” he asked.

The wave of obscenities that answered his casual question was so filthy that it made him ill just thinking of Serena subjected to it. It was a struggle to keep his voice even as he replied, “Damien, I presume?”

His question was answered with threats and more obscenities, followed by an immediate disconnect. He hit a button to get the last incoming number and dialed it, not in the least surprised when it wasn’t answered. Probably another throwaway cell phone.

Fury surged through him, nearly consuming him with its fire. He’d been pissed when he’d heard about the phone calls, shaken after the car accident, and royally ticked after he’d heard about her car. But as he’d listened to the filth spewing through the phone lines, he’d grown frightened for Serena. Really frightened. This guy wasn’t just sociopathic, wasn’t just out for some twisted kind of revenge. He was seriously unhinged, so unhinged that Kevin feared for Serena’s life on a whole new level.

“Who was it?” Serena was standing at the door and he could tell from the look on her face that she knew exactly who had called.

“We need to call Grayson,” he answered. “Let him know you got another call. They need to pick this guy up or I …” He trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence
in front of her.

“Or you’ll what?” Her eyes narrowed as it was his turn to avoid her gaze. “
You’re
not going to do anything. He’s crazy, Kevin. Absolutely around-the-bend crazy.”

“I got that impression. Which is why I can’t just let him keep threatening you, destroying your stuff,
trying to kill you
!”

“Which is why the police are handling it!” She walked to him, pushed against his chest to make sure she had his attention. “Don’t do anything stupid, Kevin! This isn’t your problem.”

“Are we back to that?” He stared at her in disbelief. “Are we seriously back to that again?”

“Yes! No!” He could literally hear her grind her teeth. “I mean, this isn’t either of our fights. Now that we’ve told the police …” Her voice trailed off as if even she knew how lame her excuses sounded.

“What, so now the Baton Rouge police are your best friends?” he sneered “That’s quite a turnaround.”

She turned away, but not before he could see how pale she’d become. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Shit! Shit, shit shit! He was handling this all wrong. Handling her all wrong—again. “Serena—”

“Forget it. I don’t need another apology.”

“Yeah, but maybe I need to apologize.”

She turned back to him and the tears he saw reflected in her eyes made him feel like an even bigger heel. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Kevin.”

“Nothing’s going to happen.”

“You don’t know that!” Her voice rose more with each word. “I don’t want you going after him.”

“I wasn’t planning to.”

“I don’t believe you.” She reached a hand out to him but he shrugged it off.

“Well, that’s your problem then. I said I’d leave the bastard alone and I meant it.”

She came closer, stared into his eyes. Her brown ones were filled with so much confusion and fear that he wanted to relent—to just say fuck it and promise to do
whatever she wanted.

“He’s not worth it.”

“You’re worth it.” The words were out before he could censor them.

“Oh, sweetie—” Her voice broke, but she continued to stare at him with beseeching eyes. Didn’t it just figure that the first time she used an endearment it was when she was asking for something he couldn’t give her.

“
Bebe
, don’t do this. Don’t ask for the only thing I won’t give up. I won’t compromise on keeping you safe.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“Aren’t you?” He eyed her challengingly. “Then what do you call this?”

“Trying to keep you alive!”

“My safety isn’t what’s in jeapordy here.” He shoved a hand through his hair, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “Call Grayson, Serena. Tell him what happened.”

“I will. But I want to hear you say—”

He swooped down and kissed her, hard. “Don’t push me on this.” He tossed her the phone and headed down the hall for the kitchen.

She joined him a few minutes later, just as he slid her waffle onto the table. She looked from him to the food blankly. Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, she said, “He’s got an alibi.”

“For what?”

“For yesterday and for the car accident. He doesn’t remember where he was the day the scorpion showed up.”

“Of course he doesn’t.” Kevin’s voice was viciously sarcastic. “Does Grayson know it’s bullshit?”

She shrugged helplessly. “I think so. There are calls from the prison phone to my home number. We all know it’s him, but any decent lawyer could make a case against circumstantial evidence.” She snorted. “Like I know so many other people at Angola.”

He sank into the chair next to hers. “I won’t let him hurt you, Serena.”

Her smile was strained. “Let’s not start that again. Besides, is it really even the point? I’m tired of this. I need it to be over.”

“Is Grayson at least going to pick him up?”

She shrugged. “Not yet. But he is going to have someone follow him, at least for a few days. Since the calls come almost every day, he figures he can catch him in the act. And he’s going to fingerprint the phone booth Damien just called from—it wasn’t a throwaway phone after all. It’s still circumstantial, but the more nails in his coffin at this point …” Serena’s voice trailed off as she fought tears.

Kevin studied her for a minute before commenting, “You need to get your mind off of this crap.” He gestured to the full plate. “Hurry up and eat,
bebe
. And then I’ll take you on a boat ride, show you the swamps.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“One of the benefits of being self-employed. Besides, I will be working.”

“Oh really? Planning on bringing your blowtorch along?”

He shook his head, a wolfish grin spreading across his face. “Just a sketch pad and a few pencils.”

Serena’s eyebrows rose as he caught her interest. “You’re going to do a swamp piece?” she asked.

“I’ve done lots of swamp pieces. But today, I’ve got something different in mind.”

“Like what?” Was that breathless voice really hers?

“Like sketching you, naked and replete from my lovemaking.”

Her breath lodged in her chest, but she refused to make things easy for him. “I don’t think so. I’ll be eaten alive by mosquitoes.”

“I’ve got insect repellant.”

“Oh really?” Her eyebrows rose. “There are certain, sensitive parts of my anatomy that I refuse to put bug spray on.”

“That’s okay. I’ll be more than happy to take care of those spots for you,
cher
. No sacrifice is too much when it comes to your safety.” He snatched a slice of bacon off her plate before heading down the hall for his own shower, a wicked grin on his lips.

Things were working out exactly as he’d planned. She was back in the bayou with that laborer, cut off from everyone and everything that mattered. There were no police stations nearby and that stupid cop in Baton Rouge was too busy chasing his tail to bother checking in with her every day. That, plus the budget crunches of the last couple of years made it impossible for him to have a tail on her. God bless Katrina.

The path to Serena was clear and soon—very soon—he would make his move
.

He could barely resist doing a little dance of glee right here in the hardware store, something that would look admittedly strange here among the cattle standing in line to check out. They wouldn’t understand his happiness, wouldn’t understand anything that existed outside their narrow scope of existence
.

But they might remember, and though he was disguised, there was no reason to call undo attention to himself
.

The line was moving slowly and the chains he carried were heavy and cumbersome. And he was bored, more than ready to get on with things. Patience, he reminded himself as he smothered his natural impatience by thinking about Serena. About how glad she would be to see him once he’d taken care of that bayou rat. How she would eventually be grateful that he’d saved her from a life of such mundane ordinariness. What he would do to her to teach her to be grateful
.

Restlessness quivered inside of him—like a child before Christmas morning he wanted to rush straight for the prize. But it was a game of skill he was playing and there could be only one victor. One checkmate. He was determined that at the end, his king would not be the one in jeopardy
.

And at the end of the game, only he and his queen would be left standing. Serena. Glancing at his watch—for the tenth time in three minutes—he sighed as the second hand slowly counted down. That bayou rat was already checked, he just didn’t know it yet. And if things kept going his way—again he shifted the heavy chains—Kevin Riley wouldn’t know what had hit him until it was too late to do anything about it
.

Don’t worry, Serena, he told her silently. Your king is coming for you and he’s more than prepared to scale the castle
.

*  *  *

Serena stretched lazily in the shade of the heavy trees. All around her the bayou buzzed with the sounds of wildlife—insects, raccoons, even alligators were out and about. And she was lying here, stark naked, right in the middle of it.