My Name Is Desire: The Bad Baker Boys: Mark's Story

by Tonya Brooks

  “I'm thirty-one,” he said with an indulgent grin.

  That was even better. She'd heard her mom say once that she preferred mature men and anybody that old would have to be mature. “You don't have a girlfriend, do you?”

  “Nope. Do you have a boyfriend?” he teased.

  She laughed and shook her head. He had a sense of humor, too. That was good. Her mom liked to laugh. “You're not gay, are you?”

  The smile turned into a shocked expression. “Hell, no,” he denied bluntly.

  “Good,” Kylie smiled in satisfaction that she had just found a husband for her mom. She was so excited and couldn't wait to tell Trey. “You're perfect.”

  Mark watched the girl scamper out the front door before he walked to the kitchen wearing a disgruntled expression and wondered what he was perfect for. “What the hell are people teaching their kids these days?” he asked his family in disgust.

  “I see you met the little redhead, too,” Luke grinned.

  “Strange kid. She asked my age and then said I was too young,” John volunteered.

  “Yeah? She asked me the same thing, then she asked if I had a girlfriend and told me I'd do,” Luke said with a shrug.

  “I got all of the above and she said I was perfect after she asked if I were gay,” Mark scowled while his brothers howled with laughter. “It's not that funny, dammit.”

  “Yeah, it is,” John assured him. Mark had a well earned reputation as a ladies’ man and for the kid to ask if he were gay was absolutely hilarious.

  “Excuse me,” a soft, feminine voice said from the doorway. “Have you gentlemen seen my daughter?” Desi didn't bother to describe Kylie. There was no mistaking who she belonged to as the red hair was a dead giveaway.

  The three men turned and saw a petite woman with a mane of flaming auburn curls staring expectantly back at them with emerald eyes. That she was stunning went without saying and the white capri pants and green tank top revealed that she was well proportioned and curved in all the right places as well. The laughter ceased abruptly and she had their complete attention as all three brothers flashed their lady killer smiles.

  Damn, she was hotter than hell, Mark realized as his eyes roved over her with the appreciation of a connoisseur. “You must be Kylie's mother,” he said as he stepped forward to shake her hand before his brothers could. “I'm Mark Baker.”

  “Desi Anderson,” she smiled back at him, bemused by the fact that Harley hadn't been kidding. All three of the brothers were drop dead, to die for gorgeous, but Mark looked enough like Matt to be his twin. They even had the same muscular physique and from the back she had thought he was her friend’s husband. The only difference was that Mark didn't have an earring and his eyes were the color of dark chocolate.

  “I'm Luke,” he said as he tried to elbow Mark aside without success. Damn, Harley could have mentioned her friend was absolutely gorgeous.

  “And I'm John,” the youngest said as he circled his brothers and came up beside her. There was no way in hell he was gonna let his brothers nab this one. She was smokin' hot.

  “It's nice to meet you all,” Desi replied, somewhat disconcerted at being surrounded by so many handsome men at once. “Have you seen Kylie anywhere?”

  “She was headed outside a few minutes ago,” Mark volunteered and slid his arm around her waist in a proprietary manner. “I'll help you look for her.”

  “I couldn't impose,” she refused, unnerved at having such an incredibly handsome man that she barely knew, touching her as if he had a perfect right to do so.

  “No imposition at all,” Luke assured her as he twined her arm through his, not about to let his brother steal her away before he had a chance.

  “She's climbing up in the tree house,” John said as he spotted her out the kitchen window.

  Desi breathed a sigh of relief because her daughter was safe and she had an excuse to escape from the sea of testosterone that she was drowning in. Lord, the Baker brothers were overwhelmingly masculine and her heart was fluttering like a wild bird in a cage. She excused herself, eased free of their hold, walked a bit shakily out the back door and over to the base of the tree where she called up to her daughter, “Kylie. Honey, you can't just run off by yourself and not tell me where you are.”

  “I'm sorry, Mom. I was bored,” the child apologized as she poked her head out the trap door. “I met Trey's uncles.”

  “So did I.”

  “Aren't they great?” she enthused in genuine excitement. “John's too young and Luke's a possibility but Mark is just perfect.”

  Hell, they were all perfect from what she'd seen, Desi thought in amusement. “Perfect for what?”

  “For you to marry,” Kylie announced as if that should have been obvious.

  “What?”

  “He's thirty-one, doesn't have a girlfriend and he isn't gay,” she informed her mother cheerfully. “Oh, and he thinks my hair is beautiful.”

  Desi closed her eyes in despair because her daughter was matchmaking again. Dear God, she should have known Kylie would do something like this, especially in a house full of single men. “Kylie, tell me you didn't ask the man if he was gay,” she pleaded in acute embarrassment.

  “How else was I suppose to find out?” the girl asked reasonably. “I didn't know Fernando was gay until you told me that was why you wouldn't go out with him.” She had been very disappointed at that revelation since the hairdresser was always so nice to both of them.

  Kylie had tried to get her to go out with the hairdresser until she had finally explained to her that he was homosexual so she'd stop trying to fix them up. “Honey, you can't go around asking strange men questions like that. It's not proper.”

  “Uncle Mark's not strange. He's nice,” she assured her. “He's perfect for you, Mom.”

  “Kylie, you have to stop trying to find me a husband,” she said firmly.

  “But, Mom, you're not trying at all,” the girl complained. “If I don't help, you'll never find one.”

  “I'll choose my own man when I'm ready to, thank you very much,” Desi informed her.

  “But you said Trey's dad was drop dead gorgeous and Uncle Mark looks just like him, so you must think he's gorgeous, too,” Kylie reasoned.

  “They're all gorgeous,” her mother admitted in exasperation. “But that doesn't mean I want to marry them for heaven’s sake.”

  “You have to get married, Mom. You just have to!” the child wailed in a desperate tone.

  Desi felt like wailing herself, but she forced herself to say calmly, “Honey, I know how much you want a daddy, but I can't just marry a perfect stranger. You wouldn't want me to marry a man I don't love, would you?”

  “Couldn't you at least try to love one of them?” she sniffed miserably and knew that she'd lose Trey forever unless her mom fell in love with one of his uncles.

  “Even if I did, there's no guarantee that they would love me,” she assured her sadly. “Love just doesn't work that way.”

  ~~~~

  Inside the kitchen, the three men had overheard the entire conversation through the open windows. “That explains the strange questions,” Luke deduced.

  “Poor kid,” John said compassionately. “She was looking for a daddy.”

  “Well, it damn sure ain't gonna be me,” Mark denied and received reproachful looks from his brothers. “What?”

  “That was cold, bro,” John frowned in disapproval.

  “Don't act like you've forgotten how much we all wanted a mother when we were kids,” Luke reminded him.

  “I haven't,” he denied. “But that doesn't mean I'm willing to give up my freedom either.” When they just stared back at him balefully, Mark growled, “If you two want to help the kid out and marry her mom, be my guest.”

  “I'm too young, bro,” John pointed out with a grin.

  “I'm just her second choice. Kylie thinks you're perfect,” Luke just had to add.

  “You can both kiss my ass,” Mark assured them grumpily and went u
p the back stairs to his room.

  Yeah, he felt sorry for the kid, but not enough to get married and tie himself down with a readymade family. Hell, he'd have to be crazy to even consider it. Mark was not the marrying kind. The longest relationship he'd ever had was with Harley as a teenager, and that didn't count because it hadn't even been real. They'd only pretended to be a couple to keep Matt away from her. The kid was definitely barking up the wrong tree if she thought he was gonna be her daddy.

  Thank God, her mother didn't seem to be husband hunting. Desi was a fine looking woman and he wouldn't mind getting to know her a lot better. Besides, she was only going to be here for the weekend. Just long enough for them to have a great time together before she went back to Miami. But first he'd have to get rid of the competition and show his little brothers how to charm a lady.

  ~~~~

  The family gathered for dinner that night and as usual, it was a lively affair. Their guests seemed amused by the amicable bickering and awed by the massive thirty-five foot dining room that was rarely used. The table would seat twenty people so there was plenty of room for everyone and Jedidiah had outdone himself with the food.

  Harley's mother Claire had also joined them on the pretext of seeing her cousin again. Since Claire and Jedidiah had been dating in secret for months now, Harley was the only one present who knew about their relationship and she was still trying to convince her mother to make it public with little success. She could tell her mother did not like the way Josie was flirting with Jedidiah and Harley hoped the other woman’s interest might finally make Claire step forward and claim her man.

  The conversation had covered a variety of topics simultaneously which made it rather confusing to keep up with at best. All three of the brothers kept flirting outrageously with Desi and the poor woman seemed more than a little overwhelmed with all the attention. The food was excellent, the camaraderie was just as good and everyone was relaxed and comfortable by the time desert was served. It was a perfect evening.

  Of course, something just had to go wrong.

  Kylie and Jed had been talking about the baby and she said wistfully, “I wish my mom were pregnant.” Desi nearly choked trying to swallow a bite of peach cobbler and all conversation ceased as everyone looked curiously at the children.

  Oblivious to the fact that they had the attention of the adults present, Jed suggested, “Get her to ride in the backseat of my dad's car. Every time mom does, she gets pregnant.” Harley did choke at that announcement and Matt barely held back a laugh because his wife had gotten pregnant in his backseat twice now.

  “You can't get pregnant ridin' in a car, Trey,” Kylie informed him with a superior look. “That's what sex is for.” That astute and unexpected comment left every adult at the table speechless while the girl sighed in frustration. “I can't even get mom to go out with a man, much less have sex.”

  “Kylie Renee Anderson!” Desi exclaimed in acute mortification, her cheeks flaming as she rose from the table and took her daughter by the arm to lead her toward the kitchen. “You and I are going to have a chat about dinner table etiquette.”

  “That girl needs a father,” Jedidiah said in his typical blunt manner when they had left the room. “Where's hers?”

  “He left Desi high and dry when he found out she was pregnant,” Josie said in disgust. “His father paid her to have an abortion and leave town. Desi left alright, but she didn't even consider having an abortion. She didn't bother to go home and pack either. The poor little thing just got on the first bus that came along and wound up in Miami. Harley found her sitting in the bus station and brought her home. She was only seventeen and scared half to death.”

  “What about her family?” the older man asked with a frown.

  “Her mother died when she was young and Desi was raised by her sorry excuse for a step-father. He stayed drunk all the time and liked slapping her around, drunk or sober. Getting on that bus was the only way Desi could get away from him, and there was no way she'd ever go back there again,” the older woman explained.

  “She was better off with you and Harley gal,” Jedidiah assured her, a scowl on his handsome face at what he'd heard so far.

  “No doubt about that,” his guest agreed. “But Kylie wants a father and she comes up with the most outlandish ways to set her mother up with men. She saw a plumber working next door to us a few weeks ago and stuffed a sweater down the toilet so we'd have to get him to come over and fix it. The whole time he was there she tried to get him to ask her mother out. Fortunately, he was married with three kids of his own.”

  “Sounds like she's a determined little lady,” he said with a grin even as his heart went out to the girl.

  “You have no idea,” Josie assured him.

  The Baker men could not imagine what kind of bastard it would take to just pay Desi off like that or to abuse her like her stepfather had done. Jedidiah had raised them to respect women and he'd done a damn fine job of it. Not one of the brothers would ever dare raise their hand to a woman and they had no use for a man who would.

  Everyone at the table felt genuine compassion for the young mother and her daughter and Mark received those baleful looks from his two younger brothers again. He glared back at them, silently demanding they keep their mouths shut, and thankfully they did. By the time Desi and a somewhat subdued Kylie returned, they were all able to pretend nothing unusual had happened.

  “Dinner was great, Pop, but I've gotta get to work,” Mark said as he rose. Never one to miss out on an opportunity with a pretty lady, he invited, “Ladies, if you're not too tired from the trip, come on down to my place. Your drinks are on the house.”

  Not about to let his older brother think he could have her all to himself, that bad boy smile firmly in place, John informed Desi, “I'll even sing a song just for you, darlin’.”

  “I'm ready for a quiet evening myself,” Josie said in amusement and turned to Desi to add, “But I'd be happy to keep the munchkin out of mischief if you want to go.”

  “John's band is really good,” Luke added in encouragement when it looked like Desi might refuse as well, “And I'm in need of a dance partner.”

  “It's a nice place. You'll like it,” Harley assured her. She knew her friend had an aversion to alcohol in general due to her stepfather and she rarely frequented bars because of it.

  “Do you want to go?” she asked uncertainly.

  “I never pass up a chance to dance with Matthew,” Harley confessed with an adoring smile at her husband-to-be.

  “Alright, then. It sounds like fun,” she agreed.

  Kylie and Jed exchanged a triumphant look. All three of his uncles seemed to be interested in her mom. They hoped she would at least give one of them a chance. Jed knew his uncles all loved the ladies and he was certain that one of them could steal his aunt's heart. If she'd let them.

  Aunt Desi always got upset when Kylie tried to find her a husband, but he knew how much his best friend wanted a dad, and Jed wanted her to be as happy as he was with both of his parents. As much as he loved staying with his dad, he always missed Ky when he was here, and he really wanted her to move to Lakeside so they'd never have to be apart again.

  ~~~~

  Jedidiah, Claire and Josie cleaned up the kitchen while the children went upstairs to take baths and get ready for bed. He sent the ladies into the living room to relax while he prepared a pot of coffee and carried it in. The cousins were laughing over something one of the children had said at dinner and he was pleased to see that Claire was enjoying herself. She was a hell of a woman and he'd love nothing better than to date her openly, but she had some damn fool idea that the scandal would ruin his reputation and he hadn't been able to change her mind yet. Jedidiah placed the tray on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa.

  “Let me do that, Jed,” Claire offered and laid her hand on his arm when he would have picked up the carafe. She poured them each a cup and asked, “How do you like your coffee, Josie?”

  “Just
a little cream, please.”

  Claire added the cream, rose and walked around the table to give her the cup. She went back to the sofa, sat down closer to Jedidiah this time and added cream and sugar to his cup without asking, since she knew how he liked his coffee, and gave him the cup before she prepared her own and then leaned back beside him.

  Jedidiah couldn't hide a grin as he realized that his lady had just effectively staked a claim and let the other woman know that he wasn't available without saying a word. He draped his arm around her shoulders and she leaned comfortably against his side as if she belonged there. “'Bout damn time,” he said softly and hugged her closer.

  ~~~~

  Desi hadn't been sure what to expect, but she was pleasantly surprised when she stepped inside the bar and saw that it was a nice place. She was even more surprised when Mark bounded over the bar in one fluid movement that attested to his physical conditioning, and made his way through the crowd to her. Before she knew how it had happened, the handsome owner had effectively stolen her away from his brothers and was giving her a tour of the place. It was bigger than she had expected and quite popular, if the size of the crowd was any indication. The place was packed and it was barely eight o'clock.

  The massive L shaped bar ran the length of the wall to the right of the door before it turned left and continued on the width of the building. The mirrored wall behind it was filled with shelves that contained bottles of alcohol in every shape, size and color imaginable. Behind the section of bar at the end of the building were three doors that led to the office, a storage room, and the employee break room.

  At the opposite end of the building was a stage that contained an impressive array of instruments and sound equipment as well as a huge dance floor. The men's and ladies rooms and an emergency exit were located on the right against the back of the building. A line of booths ran the rest of the length of the back wall and a multitude of round tables filled up the center of the room.