She held her loosened bra to her breasts and glanced over her shoulder. “Yeah, I think it’s better if I finish the rest myself,” she said, her voice quivering. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be in the bedroom. Yell if you need anything.”
She managed to strip off her underwear and stepped into the bath. She sighed as the warm water floated around her and soothed her aching muscles. She tried to raise her arms to wash her hair, but the pain and stiffness was too much so she decided not to.
After washing as best she could, she stood up in the tub and tried to reach for the towel, but pain shot through her shoulder.
After a knock on the bedroom door, she heard Trent speak to Beasley.
Kate frowned, contemplating how she’d reach the towel. She was too stiff to sit back down in the tub.
“Food’s here. Do you need…?” Trent asked from the bathroom doorway.
A soft gasp escaped her as she realized the door was open. She stood naked before him, frozen and unable to drop back into the water.
He sucked in his breath and his eyes swept downward over her.
A warm flush spread over her body. She used one hand to cover her breasts, and extending the other, pointing toward the towel. “I can’t reach my towel.”
Trent lifted his gaze to hers. His dark eyes smoldered with desire. It was no longer about the bruises, but the heat that flared between them.
He broke eye contact first, leaving her feeling bereft.
He handed her the towel so she could cover herself and helped her dry off. “Let’s get this robe on you,” he murmured, “before I forget you’re only my temporary wife.”
“Trent…?” She wanted to say she didn’t want to be just his temporary wife, but stopped herself, knowing that to him she’d be forever the con artist. “Never mind.”
She tried to hold the towel with one hand, while he helped her slip her other arm into the navy-blue robe, but the towel dropped to the floor.
“Ahhh,” she cried out.
“Kate, I’ve seen you naked before.”
“But not this way. Not since things changed between us.”
Slowly, because of her injuries, he helped her into the robe. She couldn’t help the blush that heated her cheeks. Once she was in the garment, he straightened the robe around her and tied the belt.
He raised his dark eyes to her face. “It’s the smallest I own and you look swallowed up in it.” He gave her a long perusing look, then sighed. “Beasley brought us food. Let’s eat before everything gets cold.”
They returned to the bedroom. On the coffee table was a tray of covered plates and drinks in front of the love seat.
Kate was surprised at how hungry she was.
Trent poured her a glass of red wine. “Perhaps you’ll need this to relax you. I’ve had enough.”
She sipped, hoping it would dull the pain in her shoulder.
He poured water into a glass for himself and he contemplated her as she ate a sandwich and the accompanying food. He poured her a second glass of wine, which numbed some of her soreness. “So, who do you think did this to you? Blake? Roland? Someone else?”
She stopped eating. Her stomach sickened at the thought that not only could Blake be causing all this trouble, he was her stepfather’s old acquaintance. She couldn’t think about that right now. “I don’t know. Do you mind if I lie down? I really need to.”
He strode to the bed and pulled back the comforter. After freshening up in the bathroom, Kate kept the thick robe on and wiggled her aching body between the cool sheets.
“I’ll be back after I shower, Kate.”
* * *
Trent stood in the doorway of the bedroom, while Kate lay on his bed with her eyes closed, looking small and too delicate to have a killer after her. A surge of protectiveness nearly undid him. Although he had considered sleeping in another bedroom, and didn’t think his grandfather would be patrolling the house tonight, she looked too vulnerable to leave.
She was his wife, at least for now. He’d stay with her to be certain she wasn’t hurt worse than she let on. He’d protect her as long as they were together… And this time, he wasn’t sleeping on the floor.
However, after he lay down on the edge of the bed, sleep eluded him. After a while, he heard a stifled sob.
He rose on his elbow. “Kate, are you in pain?”
“Did I wake you? I’m fine. Go to sleep.”
He sat up on the bed and clicked on the light. “Damn it. I should have made you see a doctor at the hospital. What is it, baby?” He leaned over her.
She sniffled. “It’s not the pain. It’s just that everything has gone so horribly wrong.” She started sobbing.
He slid closer, gathering her in his arms. “Tell me if I’m hurting you.”
* * *
He wasn’t hurting her, Kate thought, as she snuggled up to him in the soft king-sized bed. “I’ll be fine.” She choked out a sob again. She wanted to be optimistic but there was no chance things would work out between them, no matter how nice he was being now. “I didn’t come to the company to trick you or con you. I just wanted to avenge my brother’s death. I only wish I could somehow prove to you that I’m not as bad as you think—”
“Don’t try, Kate,” he said in a soft voice.
She nodded. “I know.” She sank her face into the crook of his neck. “In spite of everything…you smell so good.”
“So do you.”
“Do you think you will be able to sleep like this?”
“Sleep? Are you kidding? I don’t think I’ll catch a wink with you in my arms?” His lips met her cheek.
She raised her lips to his. “I don’t want you to sleep. I want you to make love to me. The wine is making me feel better…warmer…”
“Kate, this won’t change anything between us.”
“I know. Please?”
Trent was bare-chested and only wore boxer shorts. He leaned over her, untied the belt, and opened her robe. His eyes gazed upon her as he gently lay his hands on her breasts and smoothed his palms over her sensitive skin. He flicked his thumbs over her nipples.
She closed her eyes in pleasure. A moan escaped her lips.
He ran his hand down to her flat stomach, stroking her belly. He circled his fingers in her belly button, and then lower to the curls at the juncture of her thighs. She sucked in her breath as the throbbing ache between her legs heightened. Forgetting the pain in her shoulder, she rose up to meet his hand. He touched her, stroked her, and caressed her.
“No matter how out of control you make me, I promise I’ll be gentle.”
He brought his lips to her. The kiss made her dizzy with desire and a passion she’d never imagined she could feel. She clung to him wanting to give him everything of herself.
He kissed her breasts again, one at a time, twirling his tongue around her nipples…teasing, sucking. She tensed as he worked his way downward, over her stomach, and his tongue delved into her bellybutton. He moved lower on the bed, until his shoulders were between her bent knees, and then he reached under her, cupped her buttocks, and brought his mouth and warm tongue to her to drive her crazy. Quivering beneath him, she clutched his hair with her hand.
“Oh, Trent. I want you now.”
“Easy, baby, you’ve been hurt. We don’t have to.”
“But I want to.”
“All right, I’m with you, but we’ll take it slow.”
Then he reached over to the nightstand and took out a foil package. He sheathed himself, and slowly sank inside her. He entered her over and over again in a slow, steady rhythm.
Reaching such great pleasure, she soared in his arms as a fiery storm continued to build inside her. Her nails dug into his back, and then she climaxed. As she did, he surged into her and met her release with his own.
As she drifted back to reality, she wondered, if, with time, she could convince him that she was worthy of his love. That they were meant to be together. They were married after all.
&nb
sp; When it was over, he lay back on the pillows and flung his arm over his head. “Damn, that was great, Kate. As long as we’re married, I want you to drop whoever else you’re sleeping with.”
Her breath solidified in her throat. Her cheeks burned and a mixture of anger and hurt whirled inside her. He thought she was sleeping around. She was glad the lights were out so he couldn’t see her shock or her pain at his words. “I understand,” she whispered.
Yeah, she understood all too well what he thought of her. The frequent words of Bill Jackson rang in her mind, “Piece of shit. Useless…stupid… Worthless trash. Should have dropped you in the gutter where you belong.”
And tonight, though she thought she had left that behind, she was battered and bruised and a whore—the destructive picture she’d tried so hard to run from, now complete. Trent thought she was easy. There would be no second chance with him. No second chance marriage. She’d never be good enough for him.
Her dream—the dream she hadn’t realized she’d ridiculously held onto—died and blew away like ashes in the wind. The sooner she woke up to reality and got that message through her ‘thick, stupid skull’—as her stepfather used to say to her—and shut down her feelings for Trent, the better off she would be.
She would not try for happiness again with him. She’d not let all the hard-fought self-esteem she had worked to build since she’d left her stepfather’s house crumble any further. Tomorrow, she’d tell Trent that tonight was a big mistake, and that she wanted to return to being just his employee. There couldn’t be a repeat of this night.
After a few minutes, with an aching heart, she rolled over on her side away from him and let the tears silently slide down her cheeks.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The next morning, in his office, Trent poured over one of the reports he had Mrs. Nash compile. Everyone hired this past year checked out. There wasn’t anything unusual on record and all the employees held clean background checks. Except for having falsified her educational records, having a notorious stepfather, and having been arrested once, Kate’s records were even clear.
Were her claims that she had nothing to do with Frank Blake true? Had she truly only come to the company to find out what had happened to her brother? Was she innocent of everything else?
Leaning back in his chair, Trent pressed his fingertips together and contemplated the phenomenal chemistry between him and Kate. He had been riveted by their lovemaking. The sex had been hot, too hot, and any other relationship he’d ever had paled in comparison. She’d dozed off immediately. He had wanted to wake her up in the middle of the night for more, but he let her sleep, knowing she needed to rest after her ordeal. He’d been tempted to hold her in his arms while she slept, but he didn’t want to hurt her.
But then, he had never doubted the chemistry between them. It was her character that had and still concerned him.
He blew out a deep breath and returned his attention to the reports. The next report listed all the change orders that had been done in the past year. A few alarmed him. He linked those to the purchase orders and found that someone had changed the orders for products and equipment he’d not approved.
Many had been before Kate worked at the company so she couldn’t have been the person who tampered with those. He blew out a deep breath. Had she been telling the truth? He wanted to believe her.
He strode to the outer office. “Mrs. Nash, put out a memorandum to Purchasing. Nothing gets approved or changed without me signing off—in person. Someone has forged my signature.”
Trent returned to his desk and called Sam, the manager of the Karger building site. “If you see anything suspicious, let me know. I want a moratorium on building. We will check the quality of every item to verify that we have the correct products. All the machinery has to be checked for safety, down to each miniscule part to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with.”
“This sounds serious,” Sam said.
“It is. The entire crew needs to be on alert for possible sabotage.”
Trent hung up the phone. He would go through all the records and find out who was responsible, then go straight to the police.
While he’d like to relay this disaster to his grandfather, he couldn’t. The stress might send the elderly man into heart failure. And if Roland had something to do with this, Trent would kill his cousin with his bare hands.
And the next time he saw Kate, he’d ask for her version of everything. This time, he would hear her out. * * *
Kate strode through the parking garage, planning to go out for lunch and run errands instead of hanging around the office. At the sound of footsteps behind her, and still jittery after the accident yesterday, she whirled around.
Trent was behind her.
“Oh, it’s you,” she cried out with relief. Still, her defenses rose to protect her. This man could do more damage to her heart and soul than anyone else.
“Would you like to go to lunch?” he asked, closing in on her.
Tensing, she shook her head, wondering what he had to berate her for now. “I have errands to run.” She turned to walk away.
“I’ll give you a ride to the house later. All right?” he said to her back.
She stopped in her steps and gritted her teeth. He had a lot of nerve. She had lain awake for hours last night, hurting. He’d practically called her a whore. He said he thought she was sleeping with other men while she had been married to him. He probably thought she had been all the time she’d known him!
She stiffened. “No…thanks. I have a rental,” she said flatly, over her shoulder.
“Kate, look at me.” When she turned, he persisted, “I’ll buy you a car. Just tell me what you want.”
Why was he being so nice? Frowning, she walked on. He strode with her to the tiny leased car, the cheapest she could find. “That doesn’t even look safe, Kate. How old is it?”
Kate shrugged. “It’s fine. It’ll do.” She had to conserve her funds so she could buy another car.
Why was he still here?
When she raised her face to him, he smiled. “I have a great idea, Kate. Why don’t we go shopping for a new car for you this weekend?”
She was startled by his suggestion. Desire sizzled in his dark eyes and she couldn’t look away. He touched her arm, sending warmth flooding through her. His gaze dropped to her mouth. She moistened her lips with her tongue and her mind went blank.
“Are you thinking of last night?” he asked, rubbing her arm.
Her knees grew weak. “Yeah,” she whispered.
Then Kate snapped to her senses. She remembered what he’d implied last night about her morals. She clenched her hands and regained her composure. So, that’s why he was being so nice. He thought she’d whore for him again.
Kate raised her chin and resolved never to be alone with him again. “Last night was a fluke. I’m not about to add temporary sex to our temporary marriage, and I can’t accept a car from you either. Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.” She opened the rental car door. “I’m having an alarm installed at my house. I’m going there tonight. Remember our relationship is a business arrangement, so I’ll just head on my way to do my errands—”
“Don’t be ridiculous about tonight.” He grabbed her arm. “It’s not safe for you to stay at your house alone. You’re coming with me. You were almost killed yesterday.”
She clenched her hands at his highhanded, overbearing attitude. “Are you planning to kidnap me? Because that’s the only way you can force me to stay with you.”
“Of course not, but I’m pleading with you…for your safety, Kate.”
“You’re not thinking of having any fringe benefits, are you? Well, I’m taking your advice and cutting out all the men I sleep with—and the all is only you.”
“I couldn’t be sure what you were doing, and I couldn’t handle the idea of you with anyone else. Our relationship hasn’t been exactly normal, and I wanted it clear where I stood on the matter. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She jammed her finger into his chest. “Well, you did hurt me. You made me feel cheap. Came just short of calling me a whore. So thanks for everything, but I’ll take my chances on my own. I’ll do whatever you want in front of your grandfather, but really, the sooner this pretend marriage is over, the better it will be for me.”
“I want to believe you, Kate… I want to believe there were no more lies between us than your credentials and getting into the company, and the issues that went along with that.”
Kate stared at him in shock. “Are you beginning to believe me? I know I was probably wrong to take the matter into my own hands coming to the company, but I felt I had nothing else I could do to find out who was responsible for Matt’s death—”
A silver corvette roared into the garage and pounded up the ramp, precariously close to where they stood by Kate’s car. Trent pulled Kate away from the danger and into the safety of his arms. The car barreled off and screeched to a halt in Roland’s parking space.
“Roland!” Trent released her. “Damn. He must be drunk again. He’ll need to be drunk to take what I’m going to do to him.”
Trent strode to Roland’s car and jerked open the door. He grabbed his cousin by the collar and hauled him to his feet. “You could have killed us, or anyone else.”
Kate gasped at the bruises, torn shirt, busted lip, and blood dripping from Roland’s nose. Trent’s fist stopped inches from Roland’s face, then he dropped his hold.
Roland inhaled a deep breath and swayed back against his car.
“What the hell happened to you?” Trent demanded.
“He’s going to kill me, if I don’t come up with the money.”
“Who—damn it? Let’s go inside and you can explain.” Trent glanced at Kate. “Will you come, too?”
Still sizzling about Trent’s treatment of her last night, Kate folded her arms over her chest. “But only to find out what happened.”
While they rode up in the elevator, Trent seemed barely able to hold his anger in check. “You’ve been cooking the books and stealing from the company,” he accused.
Disguised with the Millionaire (Dangerous Millionaires Series Book 2) Page 32