CUPID'S BOW (MADARIS SERIES Book 2)

by Brenda Jackson

“You’re probably right,” Kimara replied, smiling She wiped her eyes and pulled away from Kyle, fighting the need to be held by him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to take a shower before preparing breakfast.”

  “May I come and watch?” Kyle’s grin was irresistibly devastating.

  A confusing frown covered Kimara’s features. “You want to watch me fix breakfast?”

  “No. I want to watch you take a shower.” Kyle’s eyes settled on her mouth. He liked the full, generous shape of it and couldn’t stop remembering the feel of it under his.

  Kimara drew on every ounce of self-control she had as her gaze met his. His words were a seductive challenge, and the shifting lights in the depths of his eyes were magnetic. To cover the passionate fluttering that arose at the back of her neck, her stare drilled into him.

  “I think we need to get a few things straight, Kyle Garwood. I won’t be at your beck and call for the next two weeks.”

  A teasing glint appeared in Kyle’s eyes. “I’m disappointed.”

  “Then I suggest you get over it.” She couldn’t help noticing the towel around Kyle’s waist had slipped a little lower. Her eyes moved from the middle section of his body to his broad chest, then back to his waist, his thighs, legs, and toes. When she raised her eyes, she found he’d been watching her ogle him.

  “I hope you like everything you see, and especially something you don’t, Kimara, because in the next two weeks you won’t know where your body ends and mine begins.”

  “Do you have to say such disgusting things?” Kimara snapped, tightening the robe firmly around her. She suddenly felt hot, and her heart began thumping erratically.

  Kyle straightened his stance and took steps toward her. The look in his eyes was intent.

  Biting her lower lip, Kimara took a step back. When Kyle stood directly in front of her, she felt as if her breath was cut off.

  “My words aren’t disgusting. They’re the truth. And for a reason I don’t fully understand right now, so I’ll blame it on the magic of this place, I want you to have my baby, but not for my grandfather. For me. When we leave here two weeks from now, I want a part of me left inside you.”

  Heat flooded Kimara’s cheeks. Her heart rate surged. She looked at him for a very long while, wondering why he was so eager for fatherhood all of a sudden. Could it be the magic of the place, as he suggested? Did Special K have some kind of lure that was supposed to enchant and captivate them? Is that why Poppa Garwood wanted them to spend their honeymoon there? Kimara shook her head, stopping her imagination from getting the best of her. She was too much of a realist to believe in magic.

  Kimara should have expected what happened next and reacted to avoid it. She couldn’t resist when she suddenly found herself in Kyle’s arms. He lowered his head and his lips brushed lightly over hers. The pure pleasure the kiss elicited made her knees weaken. His lips were gentle and moved softly yet boldly as his tongue explored the recesses of Kimara’s mouth. His kiss was provocative, his touch gentle and persuasive. His arms encircled her, one hand at the small of her back, the other cupping her chin as he smothered her lips with demanding mastery.

  So carried away by her own immediate response, all Kimara could do was continue to press open lips to his as he kissed her devouringly. She was powerless to resist.

  At last, reluctantly, they parted, but for a mere moment she had no desire to back out of his embrace. He brushed a gentle kiss across her forehead, pulling her back into his arms. She relaxed, sinking into his cushioning warmth and at the same time feeling a multitude of uncertainties in the pit of her stomach. She had to be realistic. This place held no magic for her and Kyle. The only thing it held was childhood memories. And the only thing she was to Kyle was another conquest. He would use her body for the sole purpose of fulfilling the terms of Poppa Garwood’s will, and enjoy every minute of it.

  Afterward, he would toss her out of his life like an old pair of shoes. She knew this. His love life was everyday news, yet a few minutes earlier she’d pushed that knowledge aside and let her guard down. When he had touched and kissed her, all common sense had deserted her. He had the capability of sweeping her away on a tide of desire until she was aware of only him and the feelings he was able to ignite in her. She had to be strong and resist him.

  Kimara knew eventually she’d have to give herself to him, but she was determined not to be taken in by him. He had broken her heart once, and she had no intention of ever giving him the chance to do so again. With that thought foremost in her mind, she straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, and met his gaze with narrowed eyes. “I’ll never become one of Kyle Garwood’s women,” she said angrily.

  Kyle watched as she quickly disappeared into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

  • • •

  Kyle had been downstairs for nearly an hour before Kimara came down to join him. He was sitting on one of the sofas, his head thrown back in deep thought. The words she had tossed at him were playing over and over in his mind. I will never become one of Kyle Garwood’s women. What could he say or do to make her believe that she could never be grouped with the other women he’d been involved with before? He shook his head as if to clear his mind. He didn’t like the way his thoughts were going. Why was he concerned about what she thought? Why did he even care?

  He lifted his head when she entered the room. She had showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and looked absolutely great. “We need to finish our talk, Kimara.”

  She frowned, flopping down in the chair across from him. “What else is there to say?”

  “We didn’t discuss the baby.”

  “The baby? What about the baby?”

  Kyle met her gaze. “That night I took you to dinner, I agreed to give you custody, but we never talked about my visitation rights.”

  “Visitation rights?”

  “Yes. I want very frequent visitation rights.”

  Kimara was silent for a moment. She wondered just how frequent he meant. “I’m surprised you’d want them.”

  “And why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because you’re a very busy man.”

  Kyle’s eyes bored into her. “I’ll never be too busy for our child, always remember that. No matter how busy my father was, he always found time for me. I never came second to Garwood Industries. My mother and I were first in his life, and I plan to do the same for our child.”

  Kimara bit her lower lip. The same had been true for her father. He had never put Stafford Publishing before her mother and her. “Things are different. Our parents married for love, so they couldn’t help but love us.”

  “Are you saying we can’t love our child if we don’t love each other?”

  “Of course not, Kyle.”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  “What I’m trying to say is that since we don’t love each other, our child won’t be part of a real family.”

  “That’s a shame, isn’t it?” Kyle stood. “Come on, let’s go see what we can throw together in the kitchen. And later, I’d like us to take a walk around the place. It’s been years since we were here.”

  Kimara stood and walked with him to the kitchen. Her mind was deep in thought over the comment Kyle had made about it being a shame their child wouldn’t be part of a real family. What did he expect, when their marriage wasn’t a real one?

  “The kitchen is stocked with all sorts of goodies. Mason evidently wanted to make sure we didn’t starve for the next two weeks.”

  Kyle’s words brought Kimara’s mind back to the present. She took a look around. The kitchen was massive. A sudden jolt of sadness touched her. The last time she’d been here, her mother and Kyle’s had been busy planning dinner. She had been seventeen at the time.

  “Kimara, how about if you fix the heavy stuff and leave the coffee, orange juice, and setting the table to me. My cooking skills can’t hold a light to yours.”

  A few minutes later she wondered how such a spacious kitchen could su
ddenly become small. Kyle had insisted on offering his assistance to her after he had finished his tasks. It didn’t help matters with the way he was dressed, in a pair of tight jeans and a plaid flannel shirt. No matter what position he held, whether it was reaching into the cabinets for the dishes, bending down looking in the refrigerator for the juice, or simply standing in a nonchalant way in front of the coffeemaker, he looked sexy.

  Kimara couldn’t stop her eyes from straying to his backside, his broad shoulders, his firm stomach, and his sinewy thighs. She found herself wiping perspiration from her forehead countless times while she was going about the simple task of cooking eggs, toast, and bacon. It was almost impossible to stop the hot and seedy thoughts that flowed through her mind. To her way of thinking, it seemed that more than once he bumped into her deliberately or rubbed against her unnecessarily. More times than she could count, their eyes caught and held. He would give her a slow smile, and then continue with what he was doing.

  It was much later, while they were finally seated at the breakfast table, that Kimara made her announcement. “I’ve moved my things into the guest bedroom.”

  Kyle lifted a brow. “Why?”

  “I enjoy my privacy.”

  He let out a deep, throaty laugh. “You didn’t come here for privacy.”

  Kimara toyed with the food on her plate. “Yes, I know, and that’s what I want to talk to you about.”

  Kyle looked at her curiously. “What?”

  “As I told you this morning, I need time to get adjusted to the idea of our sharing a bed.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “Kimara, we shared a bed last night,” he reminded her.

  “I want a little time before we become . . . intimate.”

  Kyle frowned. As much as he wanted to make love to her, the last thing he wanted was a resistant woman in his bed. He looked at her with unreadable dark eyes as he stood. “All right, I’ll give you the time you think you need. But, Kimara . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “You can’t put off the inevitable forever.” He lifted his glass that was half filled with orange juice. “I propose a toast. To the beginning of what I perceive as an enjoyable two weeks. May our stay at Special K be a very productive and creative one.”

  Kyle and Kimara took a long walk after breakfast. The crisp highland air of January felt good and filled their lungs as they covered the massive grounds of Special K. The natural beauty was timeless, with snow-capped mountains in the background, a vast array of pine trees, and numerous blooms of dogwood, azaleas, and mountain laurels. At first they walked quietly side by side, breaking the silence only to recall fond childhood memories.

  “Tell me about you,” Kimara asked Kyle a short while later when they reached the huge lake on the property.

  “Didn’t the newspapers and magazines tell you everything, or did they just zero in on my sex life?” Kyle asked teasingly, tossing a broken twig into the icy blue waters.

  “Hmm,” Kimara answered thoughtfully, a smile touching her lips. “I’m afraid they mostly zeroed in on your sex life, so you’ll have to fill me in on the rest. There’s a lot about you I don’t know.”

  “Like what, for instance?”

  “Personal things. Like your favorite color, your favorite music, what you think of the present state of the economy? Stuff like that.”

  “My favorite color is whatever color you’re wearing. My favorite music is the one you were exercising to that day by the pool, and right now the state of the economy is the furthest thing from my mind.”

  Kimara couldn’t help but laugh at Kyle’s attempt to flirt with her. “Will you be serious and answer my questions.”

  “I am serious.” He pulled her closer to his side as they continued walking. “But I take it you don’t like my answers.” At the shake of her head he said, “All right, my favorite color is blue. I like all kinds of music, but jazz is my favorite, and I think the state of the economy has been pretty good lately, but that’s not uncommon during an election year.”

  Kimara nodded. She liked this side of Kyle. There was a certain playfulness about him. He seemed more relaxed than he had been during earlier times, and she was glad of that. It was important to her that they get to know each other better, if for no other reason than for the sake of the child they would one day share.

  As they continued walking, he told her more about himself, things she hadn’t known about like his special appointment by the President to be a part of a task force of businessmen concerned with the juvenile crime problem in this country. As far as she was concerned, the news media had really done him an injustice by letting their interest in his personal life be their main focus of concern. After listening to him, it was apparent she had not known him at all. Over the past year he’d spent most of his time working hard to keep the New York office of Garwood Industries on top. Now with Poppa Garwood’s death, he’d be working even harder to keep Garwood Industries a Fortune 500 company. She couldn’t help but admire him and all he had accomplished.

  After their walk they returned to the cabin and had soup and sandwiches for lunch. During that time, she told Kyle about the different charities she was involved with and how she wished she could do more. “I wish there were more money around for sickle-cell anemia research. If only everyone would contribute more. But most people don’t feel connected because they themselves nor anyone they know has the disease.”

  There was a long pause of silence in the room, and Kimara looked up from her meal. Her gaze locked with Kyle’s warm stare. She eyed him warily. “What’s wrong?”

  A lazy smile lighted his face. “I was just thinking about how devoted you are to so many causes. It’s really remarkable.”

  She almost became lost in his smile. “There’s nothing remarkable about it. Some people tend to forget where they came from. I’m not one of them.”

  Kyle chuckled. “It’s funny that you of all people should feel that way. Especially when you’re one of the few blacks that was actually born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

  Kimara nodded. “And so are you. But that doesn’t exempt us, or any other well-off person, from wanting to help others, those less fortunate.”

  “I agree.”

  After lunch they played cards well into the afternoon. Dinner was simple - grilled steaks, baked potatoes, and tossed salad. That first day established a pattern of how they spent their time together for the next few days, getting to know each other better.

  Kyle kept his promise about giving her more time. As a result, she felt more at ease around him. Although she was fully aware of his eyes on her constantly, he was the perfect gentleman. Only once had things gotten almost too heated for her; and that was on the fourth night. She had changed into a blue silk jump suit for dinner. He had been quiet during the meal, and it was only after they’d cleared the table and washed the dishes that he told her what was on his mind.

  “Do me a favor,” he said softly, leaning against the kitchen counter.

  “What?” she whispered, not able to ignore the sensual heat in the depths of his dark eyes and the deep huskiness in his voice.

  “Don’t ever wear that outfit around me again unless you’re prepared for me to take it off you.”

  A heat had settled in the pit of her stomach upon realizing he was dead serious. She nodded in understanding. She herself had had identical thoughts that morning when she had seen him dressed in body hugging jeans, a pair of logger boots, and a hooded sweatshirt that placed emphasis on his muscles. Not knowing what else to say she had assured him she wouldn’t before quickly retiring for bed.

  Kimara had a hard time sleeping that night, tossing and turning most of the time. It was only after she admitted something to herself was she finally able to find peace. She loved Kyle. Always had and always would. She had loved him as a young girl, and she still loved him as a woman.

  • • •

  “The last few days have been simply wonderful, Kyle,” Kimara said, coming down the stairs after ta
king a shower.

  Kyle stood leaning against the fireplace. He had taken his shower earlier and was dressed in a pair of slacks and a white shirt. He watched as Kimara descended the stairs. Her feet were bare, and as she walked, the front of her robe would open and show a glimpse of beautiful legs.

  He was glad she had enjoyed their days together as much as he had. He had felt comfortable enough to talk to her about his future dreams for Garwood Industries, and she had listened. Without saying a word, she showed she understood everything he’d told her. He also found her to be highly intelligent, and sincere in everything she did, especially the charities she was involved with.

  Today after lunch they had gone to his grandfather’s bedroom and packed up his things. While there, they had come across numerous photo albums containing pictures taken during a number of family gatherings over the years. After dinner he had gone upstairs to take a shower, leaving Kimara reading a journal she’d come across earlier that day in his grandfather’s bedroom. He couldn’t help noticing she had the journal tucked under her arm now.

  “I’m glad you’ve enjoyed our time together, and so have I. I thought it would be nice to have a picnic by the lake tomorrow, if you like.”

  She smiled, coming to stand before him. “That sounds great. I came down to say good night.”

  “It’s still early.”

  “I know but I thought I’d go to bed and finish reading your grandfather’s journal. Are you sure you don’t mind me reading it?”

  Kyle shrugged dismissively. “Why should I? You’re a Garwood now, and there aren’t any dark family secrets I’m worried about. Besides, I’m sure my grandfather would have wanted you to read it.”

  Kimara nodded. “Did you know he renamed this place the night I was born?”

  Kyle lifted a dark brow. “No. I recall him renaming this place years ago, but don’t remember exactly when he did it or why he did it. It used to be called Mountain Lakes.”

  “Well according to Poppa Garwood’s journal, the night I was born he renamed it in honor of the two of us. He named it Special K for the first letter of our names. He wrote that we were very special to him and it was his desire that the two of us unite the Garwoods and Staffords through marriage. Can you believe he was contemplating our marriage even then?”