Unexpected Consequences (3 page)

“Kelsey,” he whispered as he tipped her face to look into her eyes.

The soft, gritty texture of his voice speaking her name mesmerised her, and all fear and trepidation left her once he cradled her face in his hands. With a tenderness she wasn’t expecting, he leant down and brushed his lips against hers.

He gave her a reassuring smile. “Let’s go inside, Bright Eyes. We’ll get something to eat and we can talk a little.”

“Okay.” She nodded. Multiple questions popped into her head at the same time.
Will he like me once he gets to know me? What if we have nothing in common? Is he sticking around only because of what just happened between us?

They entered the sparsely-filled restaurant and made their way towards the bar. “I’m gonna go freshen up a bit,” Kelsey said while nodding towards the restrooms.

“Yeah, me too,” Nick replied. “Meet you back here?”

She smiled and nodded before disappearing into the ladies’ room.

After using the facilities, Nick stared at himself in the mirror while washing his hands. “What the hell is happening here, dude?” he asked himself.

He finished washing up, trying his best to keep his torn shirt closed by tucking it in his jeans. The way Kelsey alternated between seductive and saintly had his head swirling. The woman he’d met in the bar was aggressive and confident, but the woman he’d pulled up to the restaurant with seemed unsure and timid. He contemplated his next step, and decided to just let go and wing it. It’d served him well so far.

He hovered by the bar, occasionally glancing towards the ladies’ room as he waited for her to return. Tossing a peanut into his mouth, he leant back against the rail and began surveying the few patrons who milled about.

“No way in hell! Jensen? Nick Jensen? Is that you, man?”

Nick turned to see a dark-haired man with an equally dark beard approaching. “Damn, it is a small world, huh, dude? How’s it going, Bartholomew?”

“What the hell are you doing back in Brookfield?”

“Oh, you know me, this and that. How’ve you been?”

“Things are good. Got married. Settled down a bit.”

The mood was a delicate balance between comfort and tension as Nick nodded, yet kept his distance. “Good for you, man. Congrats.”

“Thanks,” Bart said, checking his watch. “Hey, how long are you in town?”

“I’m not real sure yet,” Nick replied and gave a quick glance towards the ladies’ room. “I think I’ll stick around for a little while.”

“Here.” Bart handed Nick a business card. “Give me a call before you leave. We’ll have a beer. I gotta run. It was good seeing you.”

“
Detective
Bart Kapman? Moving up in the word, huh, dude?”

“Yeah, well. The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

“Ain’t that the truth. Nice running into you, Bartholomew. I’ll give you a call.” Nick tucked the card into his pocket.

“Good seeing you, too. We’ll have you over. You can meet my wife. Take care.” Bart grabbed his bag of takeout and hurriedly walked out of the front door.

“You too, man,” Nick called out to his old friend’s back. With another quick glance towards the restroom door, he pulled out his cell phone and typed a text message.

Made contact. Stay close.

After cleaning up and trying to make herself presentable, Kelsey apprehensively stepped out of the ladies’ room. She had never behaved like this before, but she found it exhilarating and was willing to see how far it would go. Most of her life, she’d been the good girl—a dutiful daughter, a supportive friend, a docile lover. Tonight, she’d wanted to throw caution to the wind. She’d uncorked the bottle, and there was no way she was going to shove that genie back in.

Burying her nervousness deep down, she found some of her confidence from earlier in the evening. She saw Nick typing on his cell phone and was again taken with him.
If he isn’t the hottest man I’ve ever seen…

“Miss me?” she asked.

“Absolutely, Bright Eyes.” He turned suddenly, tucking his cell phone into his back pocket. “So, are you ready for dinner?”

“I was thinking…”

He chuckled. “Uh-oh. Why does that concern me?”

“What, you can’t handle me?”

“You know I can handle you, baby,” he said in a sexy tone. “What’d you have in mind?”

She had to pause as the image of their heated romp flashed in her mind. “How about we get our dinner to go and take it to my place?”

“You sure you want to do that, Kelsey?”

His hesitation unnerved her, but she wasn’t ready for the night to end, and after what he’d made her feel on that motorcycle, she certainly wasn’t ready to let this guy go. “I’m sure,” she whispered, trailing her finger under his shirt and revealing a portion of a tattoo. She hadn’t been able to see clearly in the darkness of the forest, but she wanted another chance to investigate him. “I’d like to get to know you better, Nick.”

His soft grunt signalled his agreement. “Works for me, baby. Let’s go to your place.”

Chapter Three

The clang of the heavy metal door echoed through the dark loft apartment as the two entered. The warehouse had once been used by a defunct shipping company. Kelsey had explained how the long-vacant structure had recently been taken over by a local real estate developer with hopes of making a quick profit. They’d begun renovations with the loft unit, intending to complete the rest of the building within a year, but when the property values had fallen in the area, the project had been abandoned. That left the loft unit as the only liveable space for blocks. It may have been isolated, but it was spacious, modern, and the rent was dirt cheap.

Running her hand along the brick wall, Kelsey found the light switch and flipped it, illuminating the room, before she slid the door closed and locked it tight.

Nick raised his eyebrow at her actions, sensing he wouldn’t be leaving tonight. “So, this is your place, huh, Bright Eyes?” He dropped the takeout bag on the counter and strutted his way into the living room.

“Yep. This is home.”

“Didn’t take you for the industrial type.” He took a long look at the heavy metal staircase in the corner and bare brick walls. The layout of the place was simple, but functional. The kitchen was located to the right of the sliding entrance door, a long bare counter the only division between that room and the living room. On the far wall was an obviously well-used fireplace, complete with swinging metal doors on either side. The mantle was tastefully decorated, as was the rest of the room. Her penchant for cleanliness spoke for itself.

The back wall sported a large bank of windows, which he assumed had one hell of a view—based on her proximity to the water and the distinct smell of lake air. Judging by the stack of books sitting on the padded window seat, she must spend time reading there, which is exactly what he saw himself doing if this was his place.

“Well, normally I wouldn’t be, but this place used to belong to my brother and his wife. When I moved here from Cleveland, I sublet this place because they bought a house.”

Nick continued to stroll around the apartment, looking at what few knick-knacks she had displayed about while trying to get more of a feel of the type of woman she was. “Cleveland, huh? Were you born there?” he asked, finally turning to her.

“Uh, no. Actually I was born here in Brookfield. I’ve lived here most of my life.” She seemed surprised by his question, and Nick thought she was purposely avoiding his gaze as she unpacked their food. The shy Kelsey had returned. “I only lived in Cleveland for a few years.”

She gasped when he sidled beside her in the kitchen. “Let me help you with that, baby.” He grabbed the plates she had taken out of the cabinet, thankful he had a good grip because she released them quickly, almost dropping them to the floor.

“Thanks.”

As he plated up their meals, she grabbed a bottle of chilled wine and two glasses. “I hope white is okay with you.”

“Fine.” He carried their plates to the small dining table in the living room. “So, what was in Cleveland?”

“Huh? Oh, right… School. I lived there while I earned my degree.”

“What’s your degree?” He pulled her chair out and helped her to sit before taking his seat across from her.

“I’m a nurse practitioner. I worked in a hospital there for a while.”

“A nurse practitioner,” he said nodding. He could tell she was intelligent, so her profession didn’t surprise him. “What brought you back here? You miss home?”

“Oh, man, this is good,” Kelsey said as she licked her fork.

He smiled at her. Her childlike expression was endearing, and quite a contrast from the seductive woman he’d met earlier, but watching her run her tongue along her fork turned him on something fierce. He had to keep her talking. He needed to control himself—at least for now.

“So what brought you back?”

“Sorry. I tend to lose myself in food,” she said with a giggle. “I missed home, but that’s not the reason I came back. Doctor Hinson, the Chief of Staff over at University Hospital, offered me my dream job and I couldn’t say no.”

“Dream job?”

“The hospital is opening an emergency clinic not too far from here. He wants me to be in charge of it.”

“Wow. He’s putting you in charge?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“No! No, I didn’t mean you couldn’t do it. I just meant…”

“I know what you meant, and it’s fine. I’m a bit young, yes, but the Hinsons are old family friends, so I’ve been groomed for this type of job for a while. I think my parents talked to old Doc Hinson and convinced him to lure me back to town, too.”

“Well, good for you. Sounds like a big deal.”

“It’s going to be a lot of work, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Once it gets up and running, I’ll be able to go back to school and they’ll pay for it. I’d like to become a doctor.”

He nodded as he sipped his wine. She was impressive, no doubt—beauty, brains, ambition, passion and an innocence that told him she wasn’t as worldly as she wanted him to think.

“So where is this emergency clinic going to be?”

“Only about a mile up the lakeshore. Another reason this place was perfect.”

“North of here? Isn’t that a bad area?”

“It’s next to that old abandoned bowling alley. I don’t mind the neighbourhood.”

“Baby, that area’s no good—lots of gang violence. You might not be safe, especially at night. Do you really think working there is a good idea?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”

Her words came out as if they’d been repeated many times, but he hated the idea of something happening to her. They may’ve just met, but she was stirring that protective side of him. He didn’t want to prolong the topic, and his gut told him it wouldn’t do any good anyway.

“So, what do you do?” she asked, deftly changing the subject.

“Me? Eh, little of this, little of that.”

She raised her eyebrows at his response. “Is that right?”

“I’ve been known to do a lot of things, baby. Mostly, though, I hustle pool.”

“Now
that
I believe. I saw you beat the pants off several guys tonight.”

“And one woman,” he said suggestively.

She blushed at his comment and looked down as she began to pick at what was left of her food.

“Kelsey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” she responded, not looking up from her plate.

“Have you ever done this before?”

“What? Have dinner with a man? Of course I have.”

He leant back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “You know what I’m talking about. Have you ever brought a strange man home with you?”

She paused, and answered softly, “No, I haven’t.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

She giggled. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of our earlier activities. I don’t think there’s much more that I have to worry about with you.”

“No, you don’t have to remind me, baby. I haven’t been able to think of anything else since.” His voice dropped in tone and volume. He quickly caught himself as he sat up further and cleared his throat. “You finished?”

“Yeah, just let me clean this stuff up.”

“No, let me. You bought dinner, remember?”

“That was the bet. Tell you what, how about I throw this stuff in the dishwasher and you light a fire?”

“You got it.” They rose from the table and set about their tasks.

Within minutes, Kelsey had the kitchen spotless and Nick had started a roaring fire and freshened their wine. “Come here, Bright Eyes,” he said, standing in front of the couch and holding out her goblet.

She stared intently at him as she walked to the front door and switched off the loft’s overhead lights, leaving them shadowed in the glow of the fire.

Nick stood silently holding out her glass as she slowly approached him. Now that he had talked to her, got to know her a little, he recognised the apprehension in her eyes despite the bravado she outwardly displayed. He struggled to calm the desire that increased with every step she took towards him, but he wanted her to relax. He wanted her to be completely comfortable before they continued. She thanked him with a nervous glance as she accepted the wine.

“Let’s sit down, baby,” he finally said.

He settled into the corner of the couch, resting one arm on the back and the other on the armrest. She set her goblet down on the coffee table and stepped closer to him. The firelight dancing in her eyes, she leant down, propped herself on her knee beside him and slid her hands across his chest. With a lick of her lips, she slowly lowered herself to him, her mouth coming closer and closer to his.

He’d thought she was hot the moment he’d seen her in that bar, but the way she looked right now, illuminated by the glow of the firelight, she was absolutely stunning. Her clear blue eyes were so expressive, her luscious, soft lips were perfect for kissing, and her golden, shoulder-length hair surrounded her face like a halo, giving her an angelic glow. He knew if he allowed her to kiss him, he wouldn’t stop, and after sensing her apprehension, he couldn’t help but think he’d be taking advantage of her if he let this to continue before putting her at ease.