I'm Yours

I’m Yours

Erin Randall

Copyright 2013

Smashwords Edition

That’s it! Kara told herself as she drove to
Ian’s. She was fed up with Ian Blake and the women who distracted
him from their business. They had been business partners for a year
now. Kara had expected it to work beautifully as long as she could
keep herself from fantasizing about him but Ian kept throwing other
women in her face.

Kara had been able to handle that for the
three years they’d known each other, but it had never affected
their work. She drew the line when his womanizing ways affected her
bottom line. Today, he simply hadn’t shown up for a meeting with a
potentially lucrative client. And when she’d called to see if he
was sick, a woman had answered his cell phone. The phone their
company footed the bill for. Kara hadn’t even spoken once she’d
heard a woman’s voice, she had simply gone through with the
meeting.

This time when his green eyes gave her that
pleading look, she was going to stand her ground. She wouldn’t even
be swayed by the faint Irish lilt that was still apparent in his
speech after 20 years of living in America. She’d scrimped and
saved and if she took out a small business loan, she could buy him
out of their company. That’s the only option at this point, Kara
huffed as she pulled into Ian’s driveway.

Before Kara could stop herself, she lowered
her visor to check her appearance. Quickly, she re-applied the
bronze eyeliner and shadow that highlighted her blue eyes. Once her
makeup was refreshed, Kara finger-combed her auburn curls into some
semblance of order. She’d worn a blue silk blouse that matched her
eyes and a black pencil skirt that showed off her long legs.

She didn’t know why her appearance mattered.
No, that was a lie, with Ian her appearance always seemed to
matter. She wasn’t sure if it was because, despite her
admonishments to herself, she was unbearably attracted to him or if
it was because he was always talking about other women and making
Kara feel nonexistent. This particular time, it probably had
something to do with her facing one of those other women when she
walked into Ian’s house.

Kara avoided Ian outside the office for this
reason. He was good looking, no Ian was gorgeous, but from what
she’d seen, she wasn’t really his type. Ian liked tall women and
Kara was tall at over 5’8”, but he liked women who looked like
stick figures and that was not Kara. She got out of the car,
grabbed her purse, and smoothed her skirt over her generous hips.
Her body was something she couldn’t change, not that she would even
if she could. Kara had no problem finding dates. She would never
admit this to anyone other than herself, but the real issue was
that she didn’t find herself as attracted to other men as she was
to Ian. This was exactly why they couldn’t work together.

Once she made her way up Ian’s walkway, Kara
paused at the front door. She took a deep breath hung her purse
strap on her shoulder and prepared herself for some wannabe model
to open the door. Deciding she didn’t care, she pounded on the
front door and waited for it to open. Nothing happened, so she
pounded again and began ringing the doorbell. When the door finally
opened, she put her hands on her hips ready to explode in righteous
indignation. She opened her mouth and prepared her arguments, but
before the words could make it out of her lungs, she took in the
sight of Ian.

“What happened,” she demanded as she pushed
her way past him, into his house, and closed the door.

Ian’s left eye was slightly swollen and
bruised. She was trying not to notice that he was shirtless and
wore only a pair of old sweatpants. There were more bruises on his
chest and ribs. Kara needed for him to cover himself up and fast,
but he just stood there rubbing his temples. Looking around, she
tried to spot the woman who had answered his phone. Kara didn’t see
anyone, but the house was big and the woman could be in the
bedroom. That thought was the only thing that helped Kara hang on
to a little of her anger.

His eyes remained closed and she knew he was
thinking of the fastest way to get rid of her. She looked him over.
His brother, Ronan, kept super fit with bulging muscles, which was
attractive. Ian was lower key. He obviously worked out, but he
wasn’t as bulky and hard as his brother. Ian actually had a layer
of cushion over his muscle that Kara found sexy even if she tried
not to. He had a day’s growth of beard that almost reminded Kara of
a pirate. His dark brown hair was sticking up all over from sleep
and yet he still looked gorgeous. His full lips were pursed in
thought as he continued to try to rub away the headache she knew
was forming. He wanted her gone and she knew it, but she wasn’t
leaving without an explanation.

“What happened Ian,” she asked again, a
little quieter.

Damn it! The last thing Ian needed right now
was Kara in his house. It was enough he had to face her at the
office each and every day, but having her in his house when his
defenses were down would be his undoing. He was also afraid she’d
put herself right into the middle of a sticky situation. He was
pretty damn sure he’d been jumped the night before because someone
thought he was his brother. The two brothers didn’t exactly look
like twins, but there was a strong resemblance and Ronan was only
about an inch or so shorter than Ian’s 6’2”.

“Are you OK, Ian?”

Kara reached out ran her fingertips along his
swollen eye and he wanted to groan. He took special care to avoid
any touching where Kara was concerned, especially when all he was
wearing were the loose sweats he’d pulled on when the banging on
his front door had roused him out of bed.

“I’m fine Kara,” he said placing his hand
over hers for a moment before resolving to take her hand off his
bare skin.

“Were you in an accident? What happened? How
did you get all these bruises? And who answered your phone?”

Ian’s mouth quirked up. Kara always had to
know everything that was going on. She also tried to control
everything. In fact, they both liked control. Maybe that was why
they locked horns so often, or then again maybe it was because he
wanted something he couldn’t have and that always made him a little
irritated when she was around.

Her tone of voice on her last question almost
made her sound like a jealous wife, but that couldn’t be right. She
had no interest in his personal life. Ian had tried often enough to
make her a little jealous, tried to show her plenty of women found
him sexy and laid back. Not once had he gotten a rise of jealousy
out of her. If he had, Ian would have asked her out again. His
pounding head was making him loopy, or maybe it was having Kara in
his house. Suddenly, he got past the tone of her last sentence and
let the words sink in.

“Who’s answering my phone then?” He
demanded.

“That’s my question Ian! We had the meeting
with Langford today and we were both supposed to be there.”

“Shit! Kara, I’m sorry. I didn’t even wake up
till you banged on my door. I must have slept through my alarm. Did
you postpone?”

“No, I met with them. I think it went well,
but they said they haven’t made a definite decision yet. I told
them you were sick, I’m glad I wasn’t really lying. You still
haven’t told me what is going on.”

He couldn’t help but smile. She could be very
demanding. He liked that about her, it made their marketing firm
very successful. She had a great mind for detail. She kept things
running smooth and helped him expand on the marketing ideas and
campaigns that came more easily to him than they did to her. Ian
knew that’s why she had offered for him to partner with her rather
than any of their other former co-workers. Originally he’d said yes
simply because it was Kara asking, but he had never regretted it.
She might appear prickly on the outside, but she really had a sweet
nature. Hell, her sweet nature played a role in some of his most
vivid fantasies.

“I don’t know who’s answering my phone. I was
out last night and when I was walking to my car, someone jumped me
from behind. “

“Out?” she pouted as her brows drew together.
“Where were you out that you got jumped?”

Ian never thought last night that he’d be
smiling this morning, but he’d be damned if she didn’t seem a
little jealous or at least concerned. He’d take either one. Now
that she might be actually showing signs of jealousy, he wasn’t
100% certain what to do with that. Ian knew he’d better tread
lightly. He wanted to re-assure her if she was jealous, but he also
thought it might be best if she wasn’t seen with him until he got a
hold of his brother.

Kara was being caring and she was in his
house, if he pissed her off it could be months or years before she
softened up again and he wanted her. Ian had wanted Kara since the
minute he’s laid eyes on her. But he also wanted her safe, which
meant that she could not get mixed up in one of his brother’s crazy
schemes. Just about ready to piss Kara off enough, she silenced him
when she took his hand and led him to the kitchen. Leading him to
the table, Kara pulled out a chair before walking to the
fridge.

“Sit,” she commanded as she took out eggs,
cheese, and some vegetables.

Kara relaxed a little when he did what she
said and sat at the table as she put her purse on the counter along
with all the items she’d taken out of his refrigerator. Taking a
pan off the rack hanging from the ceiling, Kara set it on the stove
and turned on the burner before starting on some coffee. She had to
do something. She couldn’t sit around looking at Ian’s body anymore
so she set about making him some food. It was after noon but he
obviously hadn’t eaten breakfast. Though she wasn’t familiar with
his kitchen, she’d make do. Kara knew Ian well enough to know that
once he had coffee, his mind would come out of its morning fog.
He’d also feel better once he ate. Then she’d demand he tell her
what the hell was going on.

As the pan heated, Kara used a fork to beat
the eggs for an omelet then chopped some veggies. She put a little
cream but no sugar in his coffee then put sugar and cream in hers.
When she walked over to him and handed him a mug he looked up at
her like she was a puzzle he couldn’t figure out. She figured that
he expected her to be mad, and she was still a little mad. But he
had a good excuse for missing the meeting. Though she still didn’t
know who had answered his phone, at least he didn’t seem to know
either.

Once his breakfast was done cooking, Kara
placed the omelet on a plate and carried it to the table with a
fork and her mug of coffee. When she set the plate and fork in
front of him, Ian leaned over and breathed in the scents of the
food.

“Thanks,” he said simply as he took the fork
and started to dig in.

Well, at least he was hungry. That meant he
probably hadn’t gone out and gotten drunk the night before their
big meeting. Watching him eat what she’d made, Kara tried not to
let the pleasure surge through her that he liked her cooking. She
knew he enjoyed her cooking and baking. Working in the kitchen
relaxed her and sometimes she brought leftovers to the office for
Ian or Nancy, their administrative assistant. Ian rarely passed up
on any food Kara brought to the office.

“I don’t know how you can take the stuff from
my fridge and make something like this,” he moaned in
appreciation.

“Well, it was pretty meager pickings. You
should probably go shopping.”

“Doesn’t taste meager to me.”

“While you’re enjoying the fruits of my
labor, why don’t you explain to me what happened in a little more
detail? And try to remember who has the cell phone, the one our
company is paying for.” She saw him wince a little but he kept
eating.

“Like I said, I was on my way to my car…”

“And where exactly was your car, Ian?”

“Look Kara, I don’t want you mixed up in
anything.”

“Oh no! Does this have to do with Ronan? Oh
God Ian, if he’s roped you into something again…”

“He didn’t rope me into anything. I was just
checking on his place because he’s…” He stopped because that was
already more than he wanted to admit.

“He’s what?”

“He’s out of town, I was just checking on his
place, that’s all.”

“And someone jumped you from behind? So, you
beat them off?”

“No, one of his neighbors must have called
the cops when they saw the fight. As soon as I could hear sirens,
they ran off.”

“They? As in more than one?”

“There were two.”

Kara started playing with her left earlobe
like she did whenever he exasperated her. He didn’t know any woman
as well as he knew Kara, and he didn’t want any woman as much as he
wanted Kara. Ian had a strong suspicion they would be amazing
together, but she’d never let him test his theory. They worked well
together. Sometimes they were together 18 hours a day for weeks
straight working on a campaign and yet he still looked forward to
seeing her every day. He also wanted into her panties in a bad
way.