His Unexpected Lover (The Thorpe Brothers) (6 page)

“The garden is over here,” he said, smiling because he’d been thinking of her reading in a big, comfortable chair underneath that wisteria.  Take it slow, he told himself.  They’d probably taken things too quickly the last time and he’d blown it.  Now that she was here, he suddenly knew how much he wanted her to stay. 

He led her through more bushes that grew up high, forming a wall
where he’d set up a stone pathway.  At the end of the path, there was an open area with raised beds filled with plants that looked pretty rough except for the deep red tomatoes, the dangling cucumbers that seemed to be greener than normal.  In fact, all the vegetables in his garden looked to be much more vibrant and colorful than what she normally saw in the grocery store. 

She stared, still not believing that he actually did all this but she could easily tell that this was not a professional garden.  It wasn’t messy so much as just…well used. 

“Okay, I’m convinced,” she laughed. 

“So next time I tell you something, you’re going
to believe it, right?”

Kiera looked up and realized that he was closer than she’d thought.  Her breath caught in her throat and she tried to take a step backwards, but the garden fence was behind her.  “I think…”
  She felt trapped but didn’t really want to remove herself from the trap.  For so long, she’d remembered the strength and power of Axel’s body, the way his arms would wrap around her or the way his hands would touch her, as if she were his woman and she’d never wanted any other man to touch her like that. 

“I think you should come back up to the house and let me make love to you.”  He stared at her, his ice blue eyes demanding that she follow through with his suggestion. 

She thought about it long and hard.  There was no question that that intense chemistry was still there between them.  Her body wouldn’t mind experiencing the mind-blowing release that only Axel could give her. 

But
in the end, she simply couldn’t risk it.  She’d been so hurt the last time and she’d trusted him completely six years ago only to have him turn around and break her heart because he hadn’t been willing to make any sacrifices for their relationship.  He’d wanted her to do it all.  In her mind, that only proved that she’d been more invested in their love than he had been.  Or maybe not, because she hadn’t been willing to drop everything and follow him.  Or maybe he hadn’t loved her enough to sacrifice.  Maybe they had both been too young and stubborn. 

Either way, she’d been too hurt and she couldn’t go through it again. 

“I need to go home,” she said softly and looked away.  She didn’t bother to wait for him but trudged through the yard back to his house.  Inside his mudroom, she took off the boots and placed them carefully to the side while she slipped her own feet inside her shoes. 

“I’ll call a cab,” she said.

Axel was furious at the suggestion.  It was just like it had been that last time, both of them angry and hurt and all she wanted to do was run away.  Not this time.  “I’ll drive you,” he snapped at her.

Slow down, he told himself.  He had to be practical about this.  Kiera was here, he had to show her that they could work together.  He had to show her that they could build upon their past and make this time work
out. 

Unfortunately,
he didn’t want to be practical and he was having a damn hard time slowing down.  He had been watching her walk through his garden, enjoying her being there but also knowing what was underneath that dress.  His mind could vividly picture her body in that black lace and he wanted to strip off the clothes and show her exactly what they could be like together. 

Instead, he grabbed his keys and headed out the door to his garage.  He wouldn’t let her even turn towards the front door and slammed the passenger seat closed
once she was seated inside. 

When he was sitting in the driver’s seat, he took a deep breath and calmed down.  “I’m sorry, Kiera.  I know that was out of line.  But I remember what it was like with you, how
good we were be together.”  He turned to look at her, his blue eyes intense and unrelenting.  “We will be together again, Kiera.  Count on it,” he said. 

Without another word, he started up the car and backed out of his garage.  It took
barely twenty minutes to reach her apartment building and the only words spoken between the two of them were her directions.  When she reached her building, she jumped out but just before she was about to slam the door and race inside, she bent down and stopped.  “Thank you for your help last night.  I appreciate the breakfast too.  And the tour of your garden.”

With that, she closed the door and walked into her building with as much dignity as possible even though she knew that he was staring at her the whole time. 

“Are you ready?” Autumn asked, popping into Kiera’s office just before five o’clock. 

Kiera looked up, then quickly back at her computer.  “Just one more thing,” she said and typed in several more words to the brief she was working on.  “Okay,” and she pressed the save button.  “Let’s go!”  She grabbed her duffel bag and followed Autumn into the ladies’ room.  “So who else is on the team?” she asked as she dove into one of the stalls to change from her business suit to shorts and her newly minted softball shirt Autumn had given her just that morning. 

“There are ten of us.  You’ll replace Samantha who left for her honeymoon last week.  We’re in first place so far, but Ash’s team is not far behind us.”  Kiera was putting her jacket on the hook of the bathroom stall when she heard the next few words.  “Axel is pretty good at keeping everyone motivated but we’re all competitive.”

“Axel?” Kiera squeaked out, her heart racing just at the man’s name. 
She’d impulsively agreed to be on the law firm’s softball team yesterday, simply as a way to get more involved socially with her co-workers as well as to stop thinking about Axel.  She held her breath as she silently prayed that her plan hadn’t just backfired on her. 

“Sure.  He’s the
captain,” Autumn explained, although her voice was muffled as she pulled a shirt over her head.  “But don’t worry.  He’s a great coach and will help you through your turn up to bat.”

Kiera leaned her forehead against the cool metal of the bathroom stall, closing her eyes and trying to figure out a way to get out of this game.  For all of her efforts at staying away from the man, she was failing miserably. 
After seeing his home last weekend and knowing that he still wanted her, the man was constantly on her mind.  She’d tried to be strong, but every time she saw him in the hallway or if he happened to walk by a conference room when she was inside, her mind was devoid of focus for several minutes.  And those were the good moments because she was sitting down in the conference meetings.  When she passed him in the hallway, her balance was actually affected because she wanted him so badly.  When was his impact on her going to dull? 

She stared at her softball
outfit, wishing she’d brought something else to wear.  Unfortunately, she hadn’t completely unpacked so she’d just reached into the box of clothes that contained her summer outfits and grabbed a pair of shorts, knowing it was going to be one of those hot, fall days.  Since the shorts were all she had, she pulled them on, then the softball shirt and hat, making sure her hair was tucked up and tied back so it wouldn’t get in her eyes.  Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the bathroom stall, mentally giving herself a pep talk.

She could deal with this, she told herself as she turned on the cold water and ran it over her wrists.  She just had to be casual about this, show him that she could handle the two of them working together and playing together on the
firm’s softball team.  She was a lawyer in his firm now which meant there would be other social situations in which they would need to interact with each other.  She’d have to figure out a way to handle them better.  So far, no one had picked up on her blank moments, or if they had, they hadn’t made any connection with Axel’s presence.  She’d hate to think her co-workers might know about how she felt about the man. 

Well, to be perfectly honest, Axel was a big topic of conversation in the kitchens
so a lot of women were pretty obsessed with him.  All four of the Thorpe brothers were subjects of conversations.  The ladies in the office were constantly talking, speculating, eyeing their bosses whenever possible.  Who wouldn’t?  The Thorpe brothers as a group were gorgeous and sexy, charming and brilliant.  There really wasn’t a better catch for a single woman.  But there was a down side to all of this speculation, she knew.  Xander’s dating habits were legendary, apparently.  There were bets going about how long his current lady love would last.   The record was four weeks so word was out that Xander Thorpe was a player.  A charming and very sweet player, but his reputation was cause for a betting pool to be constantly be under way. 

Ash was the one brother Kiera didn’t hear much about, exce
pt when she was out with Mia lately.  After their drinking-fest last week, the four of them had gotten together for dinner on Sunday night.  It was interesting how cute Mia was now that it was out that she was engaged to Ash Thorpe.  She was even sporting a huge diamond ring that was definitely drool worthy. 

Ryker Thorpe was the only one that no one speculated about
in the office.  Oh, the women definitely had the hots for him.  Kiera didn’t understand that because she thought Axel was the most handsome of the four brothers.  Ryker was more intimidating than anything else.  As the oldest, he also appeared to be the most stern which basically translated into terrifying.  Generally, he always had a scowl on his handsome features. 

“Ready?” Autumn asked, stepping out in a pair of cute shorts which made her long legs appear a mile l
ong.  “You look great!” she exclaimed. 

Kiera looked at her own shorts, thinking they
hadn’t been this short the previous summer.  She peered at her bottom as inconspicuously as possible and cringed.  Nope, these definitely had not been this short last year.  They covered her bottom but only about an inch below that. 

“Come
on, let’s go kick some Thorpe butt!” Autumn called out and grabbed her duffel bag. 

Kiera followed reluctantly, wishing she could go back to her office and hide out for a while longer.  Her breakfast last weekend with Axel was sticking in her mind though. 
He’d been so clear about his desire, she was nervous about being around him again. 

And then there were the few times recently he’d walked by her office and caught her at odd hours.  He’d walked by just last night around ten o’clock and paused in his stunning tuxedo, the bow tie hanging down around his neck as if he’d just come from some glamorous function near the office, which was probably the case since the Thorpe brothers worked the social circuit just like any other business owner would.  But that day he’d shaken his head when he’d seen her.  He’d also caught her here early in the morning and several more times late at night.  His expression indicated that he thought
she didn’t do anything other than work.  As she remembered his disapproving face that night, she squared her shoulders and followed Autumn.  She’d show him! 

Fifteen minutes later, the sun was beating down on her hat and the two teams were trash talking as Axel and Ash flipped a coin to see who would be up to bat first.  Unfortunately, Axel lost the coin toss.  He came over to the team and started calling out field assignments.  When he was done, she stood alone while everyone else ran out to their positions. 

“What about me?” she asked, standing up to Axel as her anger increased. 

Axel looked out at the field and she couldn’t see his eyes at all because of his dark sunglasses. 
“Why don’t you sit this inning out?” he suggested.  “I’ll get you out there soon.”  He watched her pale skin suffuse with pink which he knew wasn’t a blush but a sure sign that she was angry with him.  Unfortunately, he was thinking about how cute she looked in those short shorts and the way her freckles stood out a bit more when she was angry.  He also didn’t want her pale skin to get burned out here in the abnormally hot sun.  It might be fall here and the weather cooling down, but skin like hers would probably burn at the first touch of sunshine. 

Besides, he didn’t want the other guys on the team, or the men in the stands, to see her butt in those shorts.  They were too short, he thought.  His imagination was going wild, wondering what kind of underwear she was wearing underneath those shorts.  He never should have taken off that dress
last weekend, he told himself.  He wouldn’t be able to handle her bending over when she was up to bat.  Nor would he be able to tear his eyes away from her if she were out on the field. 

There was also the possibility that she would embarrass herself by missing the ball or striking out.  He liked playing ball, but Kiera probably didn’t even know how to hold the bat much less hit or catch the ball when it came at her. 

Kiera thought about arguing with him, but he obviously knew the other players, their strengths and weaknesses better so she walked stiffly over to the bench and sat down with a thunk.  If they’d had a few practices, she might have been able to show him that she wasn’t a novice at softball.  She loved the sport and had played in high school.  Admittedly, she hadn’t done much in the past few years but she’d caught a few games with friends in San Francisco.  Crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back against the dugout wall, she watched through her own sunglasses, feeling smug since she got to watch Axel as he walked around, coaching the other players. It gave her a nice view of his very tempting butt and deliciously broad shoulders. 

After the first inning, she had to accept that he was a pretty good coach.  He didn’t step in when he wasn’t needed a
nd he simply laughed when someone got out.  He recognized that this was a competition, but not a win or die game.  It was just a fun, social game that everyone pushed to win, but they weren’t going to lose anything if they lost. 

The only thing that really infuriated her was that he didn’t put her in any of the field positions and he didn’t let her
go up to bat.  She kept telling herself to be patient, that he didn’t know she could actually play softball.  It had never come up in their conversations all those years ago, so he had no clue that she was actually a pretty good hitter. 

When the
sixth inning arrived and left, she’d had enough.  “Put me up to bat, Axel,” she demanded, glaring up at him through her sunglasses.  He didn’t need to see her eyes to know she was angry. 

Axel stared down at her, worried about embarrassing her. 
He mentally debated back and forth with himself.  All of her co-workers were out there and if she messed up or struck out, she’d be hearing about it for the next week.  He’d known she was on the team and he should have brought her out here to the park earlier in the week to see what she could do, but he’d been tied up in court.  And he hadn’t been sure he could keep his hands off of her, to be perfectly honest.  Even now, looking at her long, sexy legs in those shorts was driving him more than a little nuts.  She might be wearing a sports bra under the softball shirt, but that didn’t help him a lot in dealing with the need to pull that shirt up over her head and free her perfect breasts from the confines of the merciless bra. 

Focus, man!  He’d told himself that over and over this
past week.  He’d seen her so often in the office and he’d been trying to figure out a reason to get her alone, but she was always working. 

He sighed and looked around at the other players.  Some were watching him, wondering what he was going to do.  He had
to put her in or everyone would be talking about her lack of game time tomorrow as well.  He was dammed if he did and dammed if he didn’t.  “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked gently. 

Kiera refrained from rolling her eyes.  Instead, she just stood there, staring at him and waiting for him to come to his senses.

Axel sighed, pushed his hat back on his head and shook his head. “Look Kiera, I know Autumn roped you into joining the team while you were out to dinner with the ladies last weekend.  You don’t have to do this,” he said calmly. 

Again, she didn’t say a word, just waited angrily for him to agree to her demand. 

“Fine!” he relented, recognizing the stubbornness that made her such a good lawyer.  He bent down and picked up a bat.  “Stand with your feet apart, bracing just so.  Don’t choke the bat.  Keep your hands like this,” he said and showed her how to hold the aluminum bat. 

Kiera’s irritation grew exponentially as he patronized her.  Grabbing the bat, she flipped it around easily so she was holding it at the grip end.  Then she poked him in the middle of the chest with the other end.  “Back off, buddy!” she snapped.  “Just stand there and watch.”

There were several yelps from the other team and from the rest of the crowd who had shown up to watch.  She didn’t look back to gauge Axel’s reaction to her prodding but took up her position at home base and signaled to the pitcher that she was ready. 

The pitcher, another lawyer in
Ryker’s group, nodded his head and smiled, thinking this was going to be an easy out.  Kiera didn’t mind.  Let them assume the worst.  It would just lower their guard and she’d be able to show them more easily that she wasn’t some hothouse flower that needed to be coddled.  She hadn’t joined the team just to show up and warm the bench.  She was a good player, darn him! 

She watched carefully, painfully aware of Axel
standing right behind her and the length of her shorts.  She was pretty sure he was watching her butt instead of her stance, but she pushed that thought out of her mind. She was on a mission and she wasn’t going to let his lascivious thoughts impair her….

“Strike one!” the referee called out behind her.

Kiera blinked and looked around.  When had the pitcher thrown the ball?

Shoot!  Focus girl, she told herself firmly. 

She was just about to take up her position again but Axel called a time out. 

She turned around and looked at him, silently questioning why he’d stopped the game.