Dressed in a cherry-red Dior suit that was both professional and feminine, Edy oozed sexuality. The instant she spotted Brennan, a predatory light glowed in her eyes.
Uh oh. This should be interesting.
Brennan held back a sigh as he watched Kacie’s agent coming toward their table. He had known when he accepted this job that he would not only be thrust into the limelight but would also have to deal with certain types of people. This type was the most bothersome. At one time, she was exactly what’d he desired most in a woman. Long-legged, good-looking, and with a gleam in her eyes that said bedroom games were her specialty.
As both a college football star and an NFL player, he’d dated women just like Edy and, before he was married, bedded dozens of them. And damn it all—he’d married one of them, too.
“Darling,” Edy cooed. “You didn’t tell me we were going to be a threesome.” Her lips tilted in a sly smile, making it clear that her idea of a threesome had nothing to do with lunch.
“I’m sorry, Edy. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. In fact, I’m beyond delighted.” She held out her hand to Brennan. “I’m Edy Brown, and you are?”
Brennan took her hand and shook it firmly. “Brennan Sinclair.”
“The Brennan Sinclair? The former Jets player?”
“That’s right.”
She sat down in the chair Brennan pulled out for her. “How absolutely…surprising.” A questioning gaze went to Kacie and then turned to Brennan. “How on earth do you two know each other?”
Before Brennan could answer, Kacie put her hand over his and said, “Skylar introduced us a while back. We’ve not been seeing each other that long.” She gave Brennan a surprisingly flirtatious smile. “But it’s quickly become pretty intense.”
Edy grinned. “Is that right?”
When they both nodded, Edy’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Seriously? This isn’t some kind of gag or publicity stunt?”
“Of course it isn’t,” Kacie said. “Why would you even think that?”
“For one thing, you’ve never mentioned seeing anyone, much less the infamous Brennan Sinclair.”
“That’s because we didn’t want anyone to know,” Kacie said.
“Also, I was worried about Kacie’s reputation,” Brennan added. “But she has assured me it won’t be problem. Will it?”
Edy didn’t answer for a moment, and Brennan realized she was considering the question. He liked that she didn’t just give an offhand answer, that she was thinking things through.
“No, I don’t think it will. And if I know Julian Montague, the extra publicity will both amuse and thrill him.”
The server interrupted them. “Have you had a chance to read the menu?”
After a conversation about house specialties and daily specials, they placed their orders. The instant the server walked away, Edy’s speculative gaze went back to Brennan. “So tell me, how long have you and Kacie been dating?”
“Not long,” Brennan said.
“We wanted to keep it a secret for a while longer.” Apparently getting even more into the spirit of their pretense, Kacie let her fingers trail down Brennan’s arm in a delicate caress. “Brennan has been out of town for a few weeks, and when he arrived this morning, I invited him to come along. I couldn’t bear to let him out of my sight.”
Ignoring the rush of arousal from that electric touch was impossible. And since he was playing the role of the besotted suitor, he took the hand on his arm, kissed it, and then held it in his own.
The flare of awareness in Kacie’s eyes was gratifying. He was glad he wasn’t the only one with this extraordinary reaction to a simple touch.
“How very romantic. I do hope Kacie’s new project won’t get in the way of your relationship.”
“Not at all. I support Kacie in her career one hundred percent.”
“And what about your own career?”
Even though he had been expecting the question, it didn’t mean he was going to make it easy for her. If she thought he was taking advantage of Kacie’s naïveté and innocence for his own gain—well, so what? “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I know you don’t play football any longer, so what do you do?”
Besides take advantage of naïve young women was the implied question.
“I have various investments I oversee.”
“Hmm.”
“So anyway, Edy,” Kacie said, “there’s something we need to nail down for the contract?”
Even though it was an obvious attempt on Kacie’s part to change the tone and direction of the conversation, Brennan was glad to see the agent pull a thick envelope from her oversized purse. Hopefully, the distraction of his presence could be swept aside so the real reason for the lunch meeting could take place.
With Edy’s focus fully on her client, Brennan ate his grilled prawns and watched the negotiations. As he listened, he became more intrigued by Kacie Dane with each second. He already knew she was an extraordinarily strong person. He knew only the barest of facts about what she had endured at the hands of William Harrington III, and that was enough to tear a hole in his gut. But to look at her now, who could ever imagine she’d had anything but the easiest of lives?
He also liked that she didn’t back down. When Edy kept insisting that certain points were non-negotiable, Kacie never balked. She stated her opinion in a firm, calm way. And apparently, Edy knew when to push and when to back off.
They were in the middle of coffee and an incredible chocolate mousse dessert when the final items were agreed upon and the discussion drew to a close. Despite himself, Brennan had been fascinated, not only by the professional way Kacie handled herself but also by the intricate items included in her contract. Who knew that showing certain body parts was negotiable?
Now that business had been conducted, and Edy had accepted his and Kacie’s odd and seemingly mismatched relationship, she put the contract away and stood.
“I believe Julian will be very pleased. I’ll give his people a call, and if they agree, I’ll have them send the revised contracts to you today.”
“Thank you, Edy. For everything.”
For the first time, Brennan saw a softening in Edy’s eyes. The hard-edged agent had a soft spot for her client. He was glad for it. Kacie needed people around her who cared not just about what she could bring to them financially but also about her well-being.
Brennan stood and shook Edy’s hand, pleased that she gave him an almost warm smile. “It was a delight meeting you, Brennan. Surprising, but still a delight.”
She winked at Kacie. “Take good care of our girl.”
The instant she was out of hearing range, Brennan sat down again and turned to Kacie. Out of all the conditions that she and Edy had argued about, one had surprised him the most. “A model who refuses to wear a bikini? Why?”
Chapter Nine
Even though it was only a little after five when they returned to her apartment, Kacie was as exhausted as if she’d worked a twelve-hour day. She appreciated and admired Edy beyond measure, but she always wore Kacie out. It didn’t help that she was also sleep deprived.
Brennan had been surprisingly quiet on their trip back. His question about her refusal to wear a bikini had come as such a shock, she’d had to scramble quickly to come up with a viable answer. It’d been a while since she’d had to deal with that kind of pointed question. Edy had known what her answer would be when she’d asked about it, which was the reason the discussion on that topic had lasted barely thirty seconds. Brennan had picked up on it, though.
She hadn’t been able to tell him the total truth, so she’d given him her standard, albeit truthful, answer. The persona she had created for herself was a wholesome, all-American good girl. No, wearing a bikini was not vulgar, but neither did it scream sweet hometown girl either. She didn’t mind modeling swimsuits as long as they covered certain areas of her body. A bikini provided little coverage, particularly one area that no one but her doctors had s
een since her rescue.
“Kacie?”
Jerked out of her grim thoughts, she looked up at Brennan, who was standing in front of her, looking down at her in confusion and concern.
“What?”
“You okay? You kind of zoned out there.”
“Yes. Sorry. Didn’t sleep well last night, and it’s catching up with me.”
“That’s understandable. I was asking if you have anything else planned for the day. Anywhere you need to go?”
“No. I’m in for the day. Thought I might take a quick nap.”
“I have a couple of errands to run. I was going to suggest calling Skylar to see if she’d come over and stay with you.”
“She and Gabe are coming over for dinner tonight. There’s no reason for them to come earlier. And no reason for you to be concerned. If you haven’t noticed already, this building has excellent security. It’d take a tank to get by those guys.”
Those penetrating eyes narrowed, assessing her, and Kacie felt as though he looked into her soul.
“I won’t be gone more than an hour or so. Where’s your phone?”
“In my purse.” She pulled it out to show it to him.
Taking it from her, he punched some keys and then handed it back.
“I put my number in your contacts. Anything happens, even the slightest thing, you call me. Got it?”
She took a breath. As independent-minded as she had become in the last few years, one would think his autocratic tone would be irritating. Instead, she felt cared for, protected.
“And you’d better have this.” She pulled out the spare key she’d grabbed from her dresser earlier and had forgotten to give him.
“I shouldn’t be long.”
“I’ll be fine.”
With a quick nod, he walked out the door.
Kacie released another explosive breath. He might be overpowering and intimidating, but she couldn’t help but be glad that he was here to protect her. That is, if she even needed protection.
Before she did anything else, she was determined to find out more about Brennan’s past. Asking him the minute they’d returned to the apartment had felt wrong, like she was being nosy. And okay, looking him up online wasn’t exactly less nosy, but at least she wouldn’t unwittingly offend him by asking sensitive questions.
Sitting at her desk, she opened her laptop and put his name into a search engine. The instant the results screen popped up, she sat back in dismay. Over two hundred thousand links? She clicked on the first one and began to read. The more she read, the angrier she became. Within ten minutes of searching, she was closing down her laptop, feeling both queasy and guilty. They had massacred him. There were even blogs and websites completely devoted to hatred of him.
He’d been called everything from a child killer to an abuser of women. A loser and a coward. The first nice thing she’d read about him had been on the second page of the results list. A news story reported that he donated the money he collected from his son’s life insurance policy to a children’s hospital, though the writer pointed out that it still had not been proven that he wasn’t involved in his son’s death.
She had known the man for less than half a day and already knew that ninety-nine percent of what she’d read was a lie.
But what she truly didn’t understand, what she could not begin to fathom, was why it appeared he had never defended himself. In just about everything she’d read, it was suggested that Brennan Sinclair’s silence was an obvious admission of guilt. Because, of course, if anyone accused you of doing terrible, hideous things, your first reaction would be to defend yourself, wouldn’t it?
Or could he have kept silent because the hurt was too great and the people who believed he could be guilty of such things didn’t matter? The people who loved Brennan knew the truth.
Feeling even wearier than she had before, Kacie headed up to her bedroom. As she undressed, the mishmash of information she’d learned whirled in her head. When she settled onto her pillow, her last thought before she dropped into a restless sleep was followed by deep sadness. Brennan had said he had no family. If that was the case, who had believed and supported him during his awful tragedy?
Just over an hour later, Brennan walked back into Kacie’s apartment. The errands hadn’t taken him as long as he’d feared. He dropped the bags onto the hallway table and was about to head to the kitchen for some water when he heard a muffled scream.
Switching directions, Brennan took the stairs three at a time and sped toward Kacie’s bedroom. Pulling his gun from the holster beneath his jacket, he twisted the knob and pushed the door open. The room was dark, and he didn’t know where the damned light switch was. Clicking the flashlight on his Glock, he swept it quickly around the room and saw nothing other than a small lump in the middle of the large bed. Turning the flashlight toward the wall behind him, he spotted the light switch and flipped it up. Bright light flooded the room. The small, shuddering woman in the bed hadn’t noticed.
Nightmare. He’d had too many not to recognize one.
“Kacie…wake up.”
A low whimper, like the sound of a whipped animal, was her response.
He walked to the bed and said in a loud but calm voice, “Kacie. You’re having a nightmare. Wake. Up.”
He wanted to touch her, shake her from the hell he knew she was reliving, but he feared that would frighten her even more.
“Kacie. Wake up. Now.”
Her eyes flickered open, and she blinked up at him in confusion.
“It’s me—Brennan. You were having a nightmare.”
He saw the fear, the absolute terror, in her eyes. Then, as she realized where she was, who he was, he saw her draw into herself. The fear receded, replaced by a blank calmness.
How many nights had she suffered like this, alone? With no one here to hold her, reassure her? He almost reached out to her but stopped. He wanted to touch her, hold her…be there for her. Shit. How in the hell could he have known her for less than a day and feel this incredible need to comfort her?
She sat up in bed, revealing she wore a white T-shirt. Her perfectly formed breasts showed clearly through the thin, transparent material. Brennan swallowed. Aw hell, he didn’t need to see that.
“Have you been back long?”
Her voice sounded slightly hoarse. How long had she been crying or screaming before he arrived?
“I just walked in and heard you…up here.”
“Screaming?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
She grimaced and scooted up in bed a little more. “Residual crap. Happens sometimes.”
“You’ve had a few tough days.”
“I’ve had better. But I’ve had worse, too.” She glanced at the bedside clock. “You weren’t gone very long.”
“I just needed to pick up a few items.” Needing to get away from the intimate setting and the totally inappropriate desire rushing through him, he started backing away. “Come into the living room after you get dressed, and I’ll show you some things I bought.”
At his mention of getting dressed, she apparently remembered she wasn’t exactly wearing street clothes. She glanced down, saw how see-through her T-shirt was, and slid beneath the covers again. The tinge of pink blooming on her face was both delightful and charming. Kacie Dane was a paradox of conflicting personalities. And as Brennan walked out of the room, he had the insane thought that he wanted to get to know every single one of them.
Chapter Ten
Instead of throwing clothes on and following Brennan into the living room, Kacie took a quick shower and then dressed in a pair of jeans and a white cotton button-down shirt. She not only wanted to wash away the cobwebs from her nightmares, she needed the extra time to settle herself down.
For the first time since before her abduction, she had felt a flash of desire for a man. And even more extraordinary, it had come in response to the heat she’d seen in Brennan’s eyes.
Her therapist had told her at some point those kinds o
f feelings would return, but she hadn’t believed her. Having desire for a man, being intimate with him, making herself vulnerable, wasn’t something she believed could ever happen again. And though she couldn’t say she wanted to just jump in bed with Brennan, feeling the beginnings of arousal was both heady and exhilarating. She clicked a mental check mark next to ‘feel sexual interest to a sexy guy’ on her list of mental health goals. Progress indeed.
She entered the living room to find Brennan on the sofa and an array of items laid out on her large coffee table.
“What’s all this stuff?”
Brennan waved her over. “Come take a look.”
Curious, Kacie went to the table and looked at the odd display, trying to figure out why Brennan had bought, among other things, a metal comb and a curling iron.
“I checked to see if you have a license for a handgun, and you don’t.”
“No. Not crazy about guns. I do have pepper spray on my key chain, and I’ve taken several self-defense classes.”
He nodded as if he already knew this. “Tomorrow you’ll fill out an application to carry a handgun. Then I’m going to take you to a shooting range and help you overcome your dislike of guns. You need to be able to use one without fear.”
“I’m not—”
“Kacie.”
His voice, patient yet commanding, sparked more heat, and another ripple of arousal swept through her.
“Come sit down and let’s talk about these items. They’re everyday, ordinary things that can be used to protect yourself in a pinch.”
He said nothing more about the gun, and she knew it was because it was already a foregone conclusion. He wasn’t going to argue or belabor a point he believed had already been settled.
How did she feel about someone coming in and taking control like that? Her independent I know what’s best for me spirit was flashing a big stop sign. But surprisingly, another sign was coming along right after it: proceed with caution.
She liked that he didn’t push her or snap at her to hurry up. He just gave her time to come to terms with his statements. She took a deep breath. Okay, proceed with caution had taken over.
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