Kiss Me Crazy (9 page)

He’d take charge of her body, every breath she took, and every move she made just as he did everything else in his life. Her last serious boyfriend had put her off domineering men. But instead of feeling repulsed by Baron’s proposal, a flush of heat skidded under her skin, making her nipples tighten and her stomach clench with need. What did that say about her?

“Look at me, Kara.”

She didn’t want to, sure he’d see her needs written al over her face. Too bad she couldn’t stop herself. When their eyes connected, the unbridled hunger in his eyes shocked her.

“I’l let you cal the shots,” he said.

Erotic images of Baron tied to a bed, totaly under her control flashed in her head. Now that was something she would love to see. Kara licked her lips, which had gone dry at her wanton thoughts.

“Meaning?” she asked in a squeaky voice.

“You decide when it ends.”

“What you’re saying is that if I decide to cal things off after a night together, you’l respect my decision?”

“Absolutely.”

“You won’t try to make me change my mind?”

“No.” He straightened, picked up his laptop in its case, and walked around the counter. “I’l just make damn sure I don’t give you a reason to kick me out of
our
bed.” Our bed? Panic set in at his assured tone. “I can’t.” He reached out to push a lock of hair behind her ear. His hand lingered on the sensitive skin. “Don’t make up your mind yet.

Think about it.”

Kara opened her mouth to tel him there was nothing to think about and stopped when he closed the gap between their lips and pressed a soft kiss on her mouth.

“I want you, Kara, and you want me. We’re both consenting adults. In a month’s time, you’l be gone. Is it asking too much to make the remaining weeks memorable?” His hand fel away. “We’l leave on Wednesday. Don’t give me your answer until we’re in Idaho.”

“Why?”

“So you know that working on the VanderMarck colection has nothing to do with my proposition. I’l let myself out.

Goodnight.”

She watched him walk away then flopped on the nearest chair. For the past five years, she’d wanted this man with every cel in her body, and now he was offering himself to her, no strings attached. And she was hesitating? Of course she must hesitate, reject his proposal. No one roomed with a timber wolf and came out unscathed. She couldn’t do it. Come Wednesday, her answer would stil be the same, a big fat no.

Decisions, decisions,
Kara chanted to herself as she tossed and turned, eyes closed tight as though to force sleep through sheer wil. It didn’t work. She threw the floral comforter aside and swung her feet off the bed. Tessie, curled up at the foot of her bed lifted her head, meowed, and sunk back into la-la land.

Lucky girl,
Kara thought with envy.

Her toes sunk into the thick carpet as she reached for her terry robe on the bedpost. The single night light in the halway filtered into her room and helped her eyes adjust to the dimness.

Two days and she stil couldn’t make up her mind about Baron.

How crazy was that? Kara shrugged on the robe, padded into the kitchen to get water.

Why can’t I live dangerously for once like a normal,
healthy woman? Renee did. Chloe used to. My baby sister was
the queen bee of perilous living before her marriage. Why am I
always so uptight about sex?

Kara retrieved bottled water from the fridge, twisted off the cap and took a long sip. When the two guys she dated in colege ditched her for Briana, she’d blamed her sister. Briana was gorgeous, outgoing, and had no problem going the whole nine yards after a few weeks of dating. Kara, on the other hand, tended to drag her feet for months, fretting about where the relationship was headed before committing to intimacy. Could that be the reason the men dumped her? Was she short-changing herself by being too cautious?

Sighing, Kara pushed the fridge door shut, and once again, enveloped herself in darkness. She finished the water, placed the empty bottle on the counter, and shuffled back to her bedroom.

Tessie whined again when Kara crawled back in bed and her foot came close to where the tabby slept. She ignored the cat and harangued the ceiling.

I can’t do this.
Baron might be food for fantasy and sex with him was sure to be a mind-blowing experience, but was she so desperate to have him on any terms? What if she wanted more?

What if she lost her heart?

What makes you think you haven’t already?
No, she wasn’t in love with Baron. He had haunted her dreams for years and her lustful feelings toward him made it almost impossible to be happy with another man, but that was it. In the last five years, she’d dated good men with likeable qualities, financial stability, and some, not al of the men, had bods any woman would die to sink their teeth in. Yet after a few weeks, just before things went beyond kissing, she’d find faults with them and cal it quits. The two she thought had potential turned out to be too possessive. Crazy about her, she could handle, jealousy was too juvenile.

But Baron wasn’t the type to get gung-ho over a woman.

She could be eating her heart out while he breezed in and out of her life. Kara groaned and puled the covers over her head. Why did it always come back to her and her feelings? Just once, she needed to let herself be swept away with lust without thoughts of tomorrow.

Easier said than done.

Kara punched the pilow to get more comfortable. Fretting about Baron’s proposal and guarding her heart wasn’t going to make her go to sleep, or solve her other problem—her sister.

Her cals to Briana had gone unanswered, which wouldn’t have bothered her if her sister wasn’t expecting. Saturday night, Kara had caled twice and left messages. Today, she’d even texted her in between doing chores, rushing to and back from the gym, and eating dinner. No answer. Finaly, she’d caled her mother.

“I’ve tried everything, Mom, but no one is picking up the phone.”

“Maybe Jim took her out somewhere special. He has a game somewhere back east this coming week.”

Kara did an online check on the schedule of the Padres.

For the first half of May, the team had a lot of away games. Her mother got it right—the Padres had a game in Atlanta tomorrow evening. Briana often traveled with her husband, so maybe she was with him.

Sleep finaly claimed Kara after midnight.

***

The next morning, she studied herself in the mirror and groaned. She had bags under her eyes. Her mind sorted through remedies Chloe’s Spa recommended for puffy eyes as she hurried to the kitchen. Grated or sliced potatoes. She didn’t have time or potatoes, for that matter. Neither did she have cucumber or rose water. That left tea bags.

Kara boiled water while she made breakfast—toasted slices of whole wheat bread and coffee—and checked her messages. Nothing from Briana. Oh wel, she was probably stressing over nothing. But she needed a caffeine fix so badly she didn’t bother with a creamer when the brew was finaly ready.

Next, she steeped two tea bags, left them to cool and headed to shower while munching on a toast.

She thought she heard her phone ring, but when she angled her head to listen, al she heard was silence.
Not only am I tired;
I’m imagining things now.
When it happened again, she turned off the water, grabbed a robe and ran to the bedroom. The phone stopped ringing before she could grab it.

Why hadn’t she invested in caler I.D.? She picked up the phone and dialed Briana’s number, just in case her sister was the caler. When the phone went unanswered, Kara slammed the phone down and went to get the cold, soaked tea bags.
Now I’m really
in a shitty mood.
She flopped on the bed and placed the bags on her eyelids.

Instead of the usual fifteen minutes, she yanked the bags off her face after seven, saw how late she was, and swore under her breath.
Baron Fitzgerald, this is your fault.
She usualy took responsibility for her actions, but not this time. If Mr. Hunk-a-luscious hadn’t screwed with her head, she wouldn’t have overslept or woken up with bag-lady eyes. Her mood shifted from shitty to don’t-mess-with-me-today as she got dressed and hurried out the door, a coffee mug in one hand and keys in the other, a bag under her armpit and a piece of toast between her teeth.

Someone up there had it in for her because as she stepped out of her car outside the galery, Baron’s SUV puled up. Their eyes met. He flashed his pearly whites and waved. Why did he have to be in such a happy mood? She gave him a brief nod and hurried into the building.

He caught up with her before she entered the halway leading to her workroom. “Morning, Kara.”

Why can’t you just let me be?
She took a deep breath and turned to face him. He looked glorious in a thin striped charcoal power suit, a white shirt, and a maroon tie. From the twinkle in his eyes, he must not have lost sleep over her decision. He probably thought he had everything figured out, including her.

“Morning.” Her eyes narrowed when he continued to study her. “What?”

“Are you okay?”

“Just great. How about you? You look a picture of health.” He ignored the bite in her voice, his eyes softening and inviting. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Kara blinked. The ache in his voice, the need in his eyes took her breath away. The anger that had made her floor the gas pedal on her way to work slowly ebbed. It was as though he’d hit an off-button somewhere in her emotion center or something. How was she supposed to respond?

The musical tune of her cel phone came to her rescue.

“Excuse me,” she said and fished inside her bag for her phone. She brought it to her ear, too aware Baron hadn’t moved an inch and totaly baffled by this new effect he had on her. She gave him her back. “Yes,” she said on the phone.

“Kara, it’s me.”

Briana’s husband? Kara frowned. “Jim, I’ve been caling your place for days, but no one is returning my cals. What’s going on? Is Briana okay?”

“That’s why I’m caling. I don’t know what to do. Your sister’s acting crazy.” He sounded panicky and pissed at the same time. “She’s barricaded herself in the bathroom and won’t come out. I want to break down the damn door, but she’s leaning against it, crying. I have a game today and should be on my way to the airport with the team, but I’m scared of leaving—”

“Whoa, slow down. Did she lose…is the baby okay?”

“Ah, so you know.”

“Mom gave me the news Saturday. What’s wrong with her?”

“The baby is okay, for now,” he snarled.

Kara frowned. “What do you mean ‘for now’?”

“Because of al the crap she’s been mouthing. I’ve given her everything she’s ever wanted but is she ever satisfied? Now she’s talking about not keeping the baby. My baby, Kara,” he shouted.

“What kind of crazy shit is that?”

Briana had finaly lost it. If it were possible to slap someone over the phone, Kara would whop her sister, pregnancy or not.

“Let me talk to her.”

“Haven’t you heard anything I said? She’s locked herself in the bathroom. I love your sister, Kara, but if she hurts our child, I’m through with her and this marriage.”

The man was abusing her eardrum. “Don’t say or do anything rash, Jim. Not to her, not now.” She strived for a calm voice, which was hard under the circumstances. “Pregnant women can be very emotional. Briana probably feels vulnerable, maybe even scared so anything she says or threatens to do shouldn’t be taken seriously. Instead of anger, reassure her that everything wil be okay.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?” His sigh came down the line. “That’s exactly what I’ve been doing the past two hours.

She won’t listen to me.” He sounded defeated.

“Did you two have a fight?”

“Not realy. She wants to come with me to Atlanta but her doctor said she shouldn’t. No unnecessary traveling. I don’t understand her. She stil wants to do everything she did before she got pregnant…clubbing, partying, jetting here and there. Did she tel you she already lost two babies?”

Kara closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the wal. “I didn’t know. Mom told me, and she only learned from Briana earlier on Saturday. Have you tried to contact Mom?”

“I couldn’t reach her. I left a message with the nurses’

station. Fiona, Briana’s best friend is already on her way to Atlanta, her husband plays with me. My mother is on her way though.” Kara sighed. Why was it every time Briana’s drama got out of control she dropped everything and ran to the rescue? When was her knucklehead sister going to grow up?

“Doesn’t your mother live back east, Jim?”

“Virginia, she and Dad moved there a few years ago. I caled her this morning and she promised to get on the first available flight. The problem is this. I need someone to stay with Briana until my mother gets here. I know you don’t owe me any favors after what I did, but—”

“Don’t, Jim. You’re family now. Of course I’l come.”

“Thank you.”

“I need to think.” Kara removed the phone from her ear and pressed it on her forehead. “God, I could wring her selfish, scrawny neck right about now.”
What am I saying? I’ve never
been pregnant despite my advice to Jim. Briana may be going
through some major pregnancy-induced ailment for all I know.

“Kara?” Baron asked from behind her, making her jump.

She turned to look at him. “I didn’t know you were stil here.”

“Is everything okay?”

His gentle voice and concerned-filed eyes did something to Kara. She blinked back tears. Here she was trying to hold it together and he just had to stick his nose in her business and…

No, she was letting her inner bitch take out her frustration on Baron. He was being nice, sympathetic. “It’s my baby sister, she’s pregnant and acting weird, that’s al.”

“Do you need to go to her?”

She nodded, frowning. It would take her about three hours on Amtrak, a little over two if she drove, but only fifty-ish minutes on a non-stop flight. She brought the phone to her ear, again. “Jim?”

“I’m stil here.”

“I’l get on the earliest flight available. I’l cal you once I get a ticket.”

“I have to leave as soon as the housekeeper comes back.

She’l keep an eye on Briana until you get here. I appreciate this, Kara. She always listens to you.”

Kara just shook her head. “Briana dances to her own beat, but I’l get to the bottom of what’s troubling her as soon as I get there. I’l cal you later. Bye.” She closed her cel phone and started toward her workroom. Next on the agenda was getting a ticket.

She had used United Airlines before and knew they offered nonstop flights from LAX to San Diego.

“Kara,” Baron caled from behind her.

She caught herself before snapping at him. “I can’t deal with anything else right now, Baron,” she said without stopping.

“No, this is not about us. It sounds like you need help.” He reached her side, caught her arm, and nudged her to turn around when Kara dug in her heels. “I want to make a few cals and see what I can drum up.”

Kara shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

“You need to fly to San Diego to be with your sister, right?”

“How did you know where she lives?”

“Your father mentioned it a few times. Come with me upstairs. If what I plan doesn’t pan out, we’l figure out something else.”

“I can handle this on my own, Baron.”

“I know, but two heads are better than one. From what I heard, the sooner you get there the better.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

Why was he helping her? Was it to score points, make her indebted to him? This was no time to let her pride get the better of her. She needed to be in San Diego, if not to kick her sister’s butt then at least save her from doing something she’d regret for the rest of her life.

“How can you help?” she asked.

“My brother’s jet. He’s in town, which means it’s available.”

She’d forgotten just how wealthy Baron’s family was. The money started with an ancestor during the gold rush then a top-notch surgeon of his time. Baron’s father folowed in his old man’s footsteps, married Estele Valdes, a Cuban real estate agent with who-was-who in Holywood as clients. But the company, Fitz-Valdes Real Estates, became a major player on the north and the west coast after Lex Fitzgerald took over. And that was just Baron’s side of the family. There was a health insurance company, a chain of motels, and oil fields somewhere in the Fitzgerald clan’s assets.

Kara alowed Baron to lead her back along the halway and into the elevator. “If he’s using it, I’m caling the airport,” she said, trying to regain control of the situation.

“Deal.”

Upstairs, Gena’s smooth brow creased when she saw them together. “Good morning, Baron, Kara.”

Kara nodded without saying a word to the secretary.

“Morning, Gena,” Baron said. “Could you get Lex on the line for me, please?” He ushered Kara into his office, led her to the sofa where he usualy entertained clients and indicated the couch.

Kara watched him with bemusement as he sat opposite her.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Why not?” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “You need help and I’m in a position to offer it.”

It was sweet of him, and despite her suspicions, Kara was touched. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, not until we get you to San Diego.

Your sister is going to be okay, you know.”

Now he was trying to comfort her. The man was mercilessly chipping at her defenses, and she had no idea how to stop him. To be honest, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. For once, she didn’t mind letting someone help her with Briana.

“I know she wil, unless she does something stupid in the mean time. Briana is very unpredictable.”

“Is she very il?”

Kara shook her head. “She’s pregnant and is scared. Or the hormones are messing with her head, I don’t know. She told her husband she didn’t want their baby. Briana might do the craziest of things, but she’d never kil her child.”

Her head snapped up when a growled expletive escaped Baron’s lips. He was glaring at the wal above her head, his fingers clenching, eyes blazing with anger. No, pain.

“Baron, what is it?” Kara reached out to touch him and froze when he moved away from her hand.

He closed his eyes briefly, but when he opened them, it was as though she’d mistaken the play of emotions on his face. Kara swalowed as she studied him, but he refused to meet her gaze.

Baron didn’t try to answer her. His demons were his own business, not to be shared with anyone, not even Kara. He got to his feet, went to his desk, and pushed the intercom button.

“Where’s my brother?” he snapped.

“He’s in a meeting,” Gena answered. “His assistant went to get him.”

He sat and continued to avoid eye contact with Kara. She had left her seat and was now standing by his desk. He couldn’t block the memories of Valerie and his unborn child, the searing pain that accompanied them. He despised a woman who used her unborn child to screw with a man’s head. If he had his way…

Baron shook his head at his ugly thoughts and reached for his cel phone. No matter what it took, he’d make sure Kara made it to her sister’s side. He speed-dialed his older brother’s private line. It was picked up after two rings.

“I’m in the middle of an important meeting, Baron. What is it that can’t wait until—?”

“I need your jet.”

There was a brief silence, and then Lex said, “Sure. It’s being refueled as we speak. I’m supposed to be heading to San Francisco, but I can reschedule. Is everything okay?”

“It wil be.”
I’ll make damn sure it is,
he vowed silently.

“Where are you headed?”

“San Diego.”

Something in his tone must have warned Lex not to ask any more questions. “I’l have the pilot file a new flight plan. Cal me later.”