Tommy took one from his hand. "Cheers. Actually, no. I think she's calling my bluff. I told her I wanted to see her again, but she did a disappearing act on me, presumably because I didn't give her my contact details the week before."
"Ah." Jay said, apparently loving the unfolding saga. "She's laid down the gauntlet." He tipped his bottle in Tommy's direction.
"Well, she did manage to track me down. It's a matter of necessity to match that, and—of course—return the favor." He intended to return each and every favor that she had bestowed on him the night before, in spades.
Clayton laughed and shook his head. "So you two are like...playing tag, or kiss chase, or what?"
Tommy shrugged it off with a smile. It was so true, although their game was a whole lot more adult than that. "You could say that, but I'm not about to let her go now."
Jay sat down next to Clayton, and they looked right together. At first, when they told him they were involved, Tommy had felt awkward. He'd never hung out with anyone who was gay before. Very soon after, he'd accepted it easily, because they were so good together. Gender didn't enter into it for him anymore. They were just two people who were meant to be together. Maybe Clayton had always been destined to be with a man, but Jay was obviously the right one.
Even with the decision about "coming out" weighing heavily on him, Tommy noticed how much happier Clayton was. Jay had been good for him. Before Jay came along, Clayton had been a miserable sod, seldom happy outside of when he was performing or recording. Jay had changed all that, and even though he'd brought about a new set of worries, it was still a positive change.
"So, what's your plan?" Jay was fascinated.
"She left a couple of clues. However long it takes, I'll find her."
"Good man, Tommy boy," Clayton said. "Keep us informed of your progress."
Tommy drained his beer. "I will. And just let me know what time you want me around tomorrow. I'll be there."
As he walked back towards the Tube station, it struck him that even though Kelly was fiercely independent, she impacted people's lives in a unique way. It was her forthrightness, her strength, and determination. She'd come into contact with Clayton and Jay, and it looked as if she had changed them forever.
Me too, most likely.
He liked this strange mixture of qualities she had—the woman who would stop at nothing to get an autograph for her injured friend, the woman who spoke her mind to a big celebrity and made him rethink his life, the woman who fought tooth and nail to be independent, but still had a soft underside that she couldn't always hide. That's the sort of woman Tommy wanted to know better.
Shame she is so bloody prickly, he thought wryly.
The only way to deal with her was on her terms. Capture her. Challenge her. He could do that. If something was worth having, it was worth working for. That had been his whole life policy, whether it be following a band he loved around Europe or building a business for the family, hard work was part of the deal. If that's what it was going to take, he was ready. She was worth it.
But first of all he had to track her down.
Chapter Eight
By Tuesday afternoon Kelly was thoroughly annoyed with herself. Even though she tried to concentrate on her job, it was nagging away at her. She could no longer deny her mistake. She shouldn't have walked out on Tommy. That's what she set out to do, to show him how it felt, and her stubborn streak hadn't let her change her mind, even when she had desperately wanted to. Ever since that day she was filled with regret.
Now she had to face up to it, she'd thrown away the chance for something good to prove a point. How stupid was that? She sighed heavily and continued with her vigorous polishing of the free-weights stand.
"You'll polish it away to nothing." Helen looked across the small weights room at her, eyebrows raised questioningly, as she moved from wiping down the stretch bars on the wall to checking the machine settings. "I thought you said you'd burned it all off?"
Kelly frowned, but didn't stop polishing. Over-energetic housekeeping might be a sign of sexual frustration, but she wasn't about to admit it. "I'm just wondering if I am too stubborn for my own good. I got my revenge on Tommy, but it wasn't as sweet as I'd expected."
"You like the man, that's why. It does happen, even to women like you." Helen's smile was teasing.
"Yes, I did like him."
"And did you ever find out if he had a reason for bailing on you that first time?"
"Yes, he had a reason, but I still had to follow my plan through." She put her hands up, rolling her eyes. "Go ahead, laugh at me. I deserve it." She threw her polishing cloth aside in disgust. She did deserve it. She'd messed up.
Helen walked over, put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "Stop giving yourself such a hard time. Look, we're done in here. Why don't you take your break now, while it's quiet? Just flip the sign over as you go out and I'll put the cleaning gear away."
"Thanks," Kelly said, returning the hug and heading for the door, not trusting herself to say anything else in case she embarrassed herself. At the door, she flipped the "closed for maintenance, please use main gym" sign around to read "gym open."
She walked along the corridor and up the stairs to the staff room on autopilot, barely noticing anything about her surroundings. After the emotional high of Saturday night with Tommy and her comedown on Sunday, she hit rock bottom on Monday. There was an extreme sense of loss eating away at her. They'd had such fun. Stop beating yourself up and face it, it's over.
In the sanctuary of the staff room she went to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice, pouring out a glass. Dropping into one of the easy chairs she set the glass on the table next to the various magazines and newspapers that accumulated there. Ruffling her hands through her hair, she stared down at the papers with unseeing eyes, until a headline finally caught her attention. She moved her glass out of the way and stared at the newspaper in complete amazement.
ROCK STAR CLAYTON WARREN SINGS NEW TUNE: "I'M GAY AND I'M IN LOVE."
The accompanying picture of Clayton and Jay grinning at the camera took up half the front page of the tabloid. Clayton looked stunning, the happiest she'd ever seen him, his arm around Jay's shoulder as he waved at the camera. She snatched it up and read the photo caption.
Sorry ladies, it looks like hottie Clayton Warren bats for the other team.
"Well what do you know?" she said, with a soft laugh, her chest tight and full, her spirits lifting as she read the column.
Clayton Warren, popular music star and lust object of women across the world, spoke briefly to us late last night, following a shocking press statement put out by his new PR representative. Clayton talked about coming out as a gay man and his love for Jay Leonard, pictured here with Clayton outside The Celtic, Clayton's favorite London recording studios, where he's laying down new tracks for the next album.
The two lovers have been involved in a secret affair for seven months. Clayton decided to go public prior to jetting off with Jay for a secluded holiday in the tropics. "I've never been happier," Clayton announced. "Now it's time to tell the world how I feel."
Clayton also revealed that "Squandered," his biggest selling single, was a song he wrote for Jay. "Meeting Jay changed me and my view of everything I'd done up until that point. My emotions were so strong that I felt like I'd squandered my life up until then."
Kelly blinked and paused, remembering how they'd been backstage, after he'd sung the song as his final encore. Now it made sense. She read on.
Jay Leonard, a music producer who has worked with Clayton for the past year and produced all of his recent material, added, "We hope that Clayton's fans will understand and support him."
When asked if he thought this announcement would affect his career, Clayton said: "I've always been about the music. I will continue to be the musician and performer that people have enjoyed up until now, but—this is about me. When you want to be with someone this badly you've just got to go after it."
>
Kelly nodded, smiling. "Too right, Clayton. You just have to go after it." She'd done that, she'd gone after Tommy, but it hadn't done her much good.
She looked again at the photo. In the background, she could see another figure, cropped in at the edge of the shot. Her heart fluttered in her chest. Tall and built, she recognized him just from the posture of that magnificent body of his. Tommy.
He'd been there. Of course he'd been there, she thought. He was that sort of person, loyal, reliable. He was standing by his friend and employer. She lowered the paper with a deep sigh. Reluctantly, she admitted it to herself, she really liked the man. A lot. She'd meant to burn off her attraction with another night of crazy sex, but it only made her hanker after him more. Now it felt like some sort of addiction she couldn't shake.
She knocked back her juice, put the paper down and stretched, trying to push Tommy out of her mind. But her gaze kept being drawn back to the paper, to Clayton and Jay's smiling faces, and that familiar figure in the background.
"Feeling better?" Helen had stuck her head around the door.
Kelly looked over and forced a nod.
"Good. You've got a session in two minutes."
Kelly held up the newspaper as she stood up. "Have you seen this?"
Helen walked in and as she closed in on the paper her jaw dropped. "Well, who'd have guessed that?" Taking the paper from Kelly's hand, she scanned the article.
"Are you heartbroken?" Kelly asked, as she retied her sports shoes and shook out her arms and legs, limbering up for her session. She was curious about how the die-hard fans would react.
Helen lowered the newspaper and rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding?" She pointed at the photo of Jay and Clayton. "I used to have wicked dreams about Clayton performing. Just look at this guy." She jabbed the picture of Jay. "Now I'm going to be having dreams about the pair of them getting it on." She fanned herself, laughing. "Two hot blokes. Now that I'd like to see."
Kelly grinned, her mind going back to the image of Jay and Clayton backstage. "Yes, I bet that would be quite a sight." A soft laugh escaped her.
Helen looked suspicious. "You knew, didn't you?"
Kelly shrugged it off.
"No, you did." Helen pointed at her accusingly, eyes narrowed. "There was something odd about when you went backstage, like part of the story was missing. It wasn't just to do with Tommy, was it?"
There didn't seem to be any reason not to spill, now. "Okay, seeing as it's in the news, I may as well admit it. I accidentally saw Clayton and his lover together."
Helen's eyebrows shot up, her eyes rounding. "Oh, my god, you lucky woman."
Kelly nodded. "Not something I'll forget in a hurry." She winked. Glancing at the clock, she ruffled her hair. "Who's my client?"
Helen folded the paper and tucked it under her arm. "Some bloke who looks like he needs a personal trainer like he needs a hole in the head."
Kelly grimaced. "Not another one looking for girly attention?" It happened from time to time—men who paid for that one-on-one workout when they had no need for it. Mostly they wanted to show off in front of a woman and chat, maybe score.
"Don't worry, this one is easy on the eye. Go, do your duty, soldier." She pointed at the door.
Kelly saluted and headed off. Walking along the corridor, she made a mental note to update the championship league chart and the monthly challenge posters. Hearing the news about Clayton and Jay had lifted her sprits. She was glad. It was good to know that they were happy.
At the door to the small weights room she stopped in her tracks. The "closed for maintenance" sign was back on the door. "Huh? I'm sure I changed that."
Peering through the glass door, she couldn't see anyone waiting. The client must be getting changed, she figured, or maybe he thought the gym was really closed. As she walked in she was about to flip the sign, when she sensed another presence. The door shut behind her. Turning, she caught sight of a tall, familiar figure standing behind the door. Tommy.
A hot thrill ran through her entire body. Her heart immediately started to race, her hand going to her throat. It was him. He'd found her—he'd been waiting for her.
He kept his hand on the door, holding it shut, and scrutinized her from top to toe. "Ready for a stiff workout, Kelly?"
Oh, yes. "Maybe," she breathed.
His mouth moved in a slow, suggestive smile. "I've been having these relentless dreams about you straddling me, while you spot my weights...so, I bought your time for two hours, and then I paid the other customers to get the hell out of here." He stepped closer to her. "You were a hard woman to track down."
She tried to get the image of straddling him out of her mind and lifted her chin, looking him in the eye. "But you managed the job. I'm impressed."
"I never let a client down, and I was still on paid time through Sunday."
"Cheeky."
He nodded. "Ah, but I'm learning from the mistress of cheek."
He looked good in black shorts and a tight white T-shirt, his magnificent body shown to perfection. "How did you find me?"
"You mentioned two consecutive years winning the Southern Counties canoeing title, that nailed it for me, Ms. Burton. I went through the records. Only one woman fitted the bill. Once I'd found out your last name, I started calling round all the gyms in London." He ran a finger down one side of her jaw, softly caressing her chin with his thumb.
"I bought your time. Finding your maintenance sign was an added bonus. Now I've got you all to myself, and it's payback time." His intentions were perfectly clear.
Kelly shook her head, unease rising. If they made love again, she might not be able to walk away from him like she had before.
"And this time you won't get away so easy."
His words only confirmed all her fears. "I shouldn't be doing this on work time." She was reaching out for excuses, denying him, denying herself.
He smiled. "I've figured you out, Kelly. You're a strong, independent woman, you take what you want, but you shun emotional involvement."
"So you think you know me now?" Backing away, she could barely take it in. He'd really thought about it.
"You're also honest and true, and you have a strange effect on people. Clayton and Jay came out, because of you."
"No." She shook her head. "I saw it in the paper, but it had nothing to do with me."
"You had an impact on them, you made Clayton think. He told me that himself, so don't you go shaking your head at me, madam. I've just seen them off at the airport. Clayton sends his thanks. They both do."
Could it be true? She didn't realize that what she'd said would have any impact on him, other than explaining her own honest intentions. "I just...said what I thought."
"That's it exactly. There's something about you. You changed my life too, just by being in it. You're a reckless, headstrong woman, and I love that about you."
Love. Panic hit her. She'd been glad to see him, thrilled, but nerves had taken over. He was talking about stuff that unsettled her.
He continued, ignoring her denial, but standing between her and the door. "Now that you've had your revenge, I wondered if you felt any differently?" His expression was serious. "Do you think two hours of your time will be long enough?"
"Long enough for what, exactly?"
"Long enough to talk you into seeing me under regular circumstances." He moved closer, and put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them. Then he ran his fingers down her back, hauling her body against his.
She could feel him so well, the angles and planes of his body, his strength and muscle, the hard bulge at his groin. Her hands were up and locked against his chest, just like that first night backstage. She couldn't have moved if she wanted to. That alone made her melt. I need this; I need this man who holds me so tightly. She shook her head, her hands fisting between them. She was programmed to deny this. "I can't."
"You can."
He made it sound so easy. Was it easy?
"All this buying each other's
time and tracking each other down could be much better spent with some quality one-on-one time, don't you think?" His expression was watchful, and then he shifted, stroking her shoulders. "But...if you insist on playing these kiss chase games across London, I warn you, I'll give as good as I get."
"Kiss chase?" Why did that make her feel silly?
"That's what Clayton said about us." Humor warmed his expression.
"I guess he has a point." She could feel her cheeks heating, but the idea tickled her. "But, if I run away–"
His eyes darkened. "I'd chase after you." He cursed under his breath, his body taut against hers.
"What if I tied you up again and ran away?"
"You don't want that, you can't."
The response in his eyes made her heart leap. His expression was so serious, the atmosphere between them shifting again.
No, she didn't want that. Could she admit it? She turned her face away.
"Say you'll give it a go," he urged. "Kelly, please. I've let you do things to me that no one else ever has or will, I wouldn't let anyone else."
"You enjoyed it," she murmured, glancing back.
"I did, but because you did it to me....I want you badly. You've got under my skin, you're in my blood. I think of you all night long when you're not there." He moved against her, gently reminding her of his erection.
Her heart beat hard, as if responding to him no matter what her head told her about independence and being strong. Give it a try, it might just work. Yearning was rising up inside her. It was sexual need, yes, but something else too, something much more unusual. "I don't do relationships," she murmured.
"Why are you so dammed prickly? Did someone break your heart?"
"No, I..." She'd answered on reflex, but stopped. Her heart thundered in her chest, memories flooding her mind, memories that she'd locked away until now, until Tommy had forced her to see them again. Her dad, packing cases, leaving them. Her mother, heartbroken. And me, too. Staring up at him, she realized that he was right. She had been heartbroken. She'd been heartbroken right alongside her mother.
Sex,Lies, and Bondage Tape Page 10