King’s Million-Dollar Secret

by Maureen Child

  She laughed in spite of herself. “That’s a heck of a description.”

  “This guy who treated you so badly,” Rafe said, ignoring her last comment. “What was it about him that attracted you in the first place?”

  Her mouth twisted a little and she took a breath, then blew it out in a huff. “Fine. I admit it. He was…” She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “…exciting. Different. He was rich and handsome and—”

  “Hmm,” Rafe teased in a thoughtful tone. She’d said exactly what he’d hoped she would say. Made it much easier to score a point here. “So the first thing you noticed about him was that he was rich?”

  “Not the first,” she argued quickly, then after a second or two she admitted, “but it was in the top two.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Fine. I see what you’re saying.” She shook her wind-tousled hair back from her face. “Very clever. So the poor rich man was taken advantage of by a woman who was intrigued.”

  “Nope, not what I’m saying at all,” he told her, keeping her hand firmly in his despite the fact that she kept trying to slip free. “All I’m saying is that you liked that he was rich until it turned on you. So basically, the problem here is that he was a jerk, not that he was a rich jerk.”

  Whatever she might have said in response went unspoken because their server chose that moment to arrive with their salads. Rafe and Katie stared into each others’ eyes as the woman deftly slid icy plates in front of them and asked, “Is there anything else you need right now?”

  “No, thanks.” Rafe dismissed her with a smile, then turned his gaze back on Katie, who was watching him through narrowed eyes.

  “Think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?” she asked.

  “Actually, yeah.”

  She laughed and the sound of it was like music to him.

  “Okay, I see your point,” she acknowledged, picking up her fork. “And maybe you’re a little bit right.”

  “Only a little?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “I didn’t like him because he was rich, but I do admit that was part of the attraction. Mainly since I couldn’t understand why he was interested in me.”

  “I can.”

  Rafe understood completely what any man would see in Katie. What he couldn’t understand was how a member of his family could be so stupid as to walk away from her. To hurt her and toss her aside. That he would never figure out. But if his anonymous relative hadn’t walked away from Katie, Rafe wouldn’t be with her now. So maybe he owed the bastard a thank-you—after he punched him in the face.

  She smiled. “Thanks for that. And I’ll think about what you said. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s not rich guys I should be mad at, but the jerks of the world.”

  He lifted his glass in a silent toast to her, even while thinking that if she was going to condemn the “jerks,” wouldn’t he technically be one of that crowd? The burden of lies fell on top of him and Rafe couldn’t shrug it off anymore. He wasn’t looking forward to telling her the truth, but he couldn’t see a way around it.

  “Deal.” He reluctantly released her hand so that she could eat her salad, but he found he missed the warmth of her touch. He watched her in the flickering candlelight and though the restaurant patio was crowded with other diners, it felt to him as though he and Katie were all alone.

  He didn’t need dinner. Didn’t need the wine. All he really needed—wanted—was this woman sitting across from him. She was unlike anyone he’d ever known. She didn’t want anything from him. Didn’t demand his attention—though she had it anyway. In another week or so, her kitchen redo would be complete and he wouldn’t have a handy excuse for seeing her every day. That thought settled like a black cloud over his heart and it was just another reminder that he didn’t want to let her go.

  He wasn’t sure if that meant they had a future or not, but what it did mean was he wanted her for more than a few stolen moments.

  This had never been about a future with Katie, he reminded himself. This had started out as a way to reclaim the King family reputation. But there was more to it than that now. He had planned to simply woo her, win her and then move on. Go back to his life and leave Katie to hers.

  But since that plan wasn’t as appealing as it had been before, he clearly needed a new plan.

  He only wished he knew what that was.

  Ten

  Two hours later, dinner was over and instead of taking her home, Rafe helped Katie down to the beach.

  “These heels are not made for walking in the sand,” she said with a laugh. She stopped and pulled off first one shoe then the other and looked up at him with a grin. “There. That’s better.”

  High above them, diners still filled the restaurant patio. But here on the moonlit beach, they were alone in the shadows, as if they were the only two people on the coast. And Rafe couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was the most captivating woman he’d ever known. She thought nothing of kicking off her heels to take a walk on the beach with him. She didn’t worry about her hair and she didn’t whine about being cold. She was…amazing and he felt a hard, solid punch of something he couldn’t identify somewhere around his heart.

  She laid one hand on his chest. “Rafe? You okay?”

  “Yeah,” he told her, “I’m fine.”

  But he wasn’t at all sure. Leading her along the beach, Rafe held her hand and made sure she didn’t get wet as the tide rushed in, leaving a foaming layer of lace on the sand. The coast was dark, but the ocean shone with moonlight glittering on its surface.

  “Tonight was perfect,” she said and leaned her head on his shoulder. “But you didn’t have to take me to such an expensive restaurant.”

  He dropped her hand and laid one arm around her shoulders. “You didn’t like it?”

  “I loved it,” she admitted. “I just don’t want you to think you have to spend a lot of money to impress me.”

  There was a first, he told himself wryly. He couldn’t remember anyone ever telling him not to spend money on them. Hell, his own mother only came around when her bank account was empty. And even thinking that made him feel like a child demanding something he couldn’t have. Ridiculous. He didn’t need anybody. He was better alone. At least he always had been. Now, he wasn’t so sure. His mind was racing with thoughts that contradicted each other. Back away, one side of him said. Have a few great nights with Katie, then tell her the truth and leave her behind. But there was another voice in his mind now, too. And it was saying something completely different. That maybe Katie was what had been missing from his life. That maybe, if he could find a way to dig himself out of the hole he found himself in, he might actually find love.

  That thought was both intriguing and terrifying to a man with so little experience with love.

  She threaded her arm through his and snuggled closer and his heartbeat quickened even as his brain raced. Damn, what was going on with him? All his body wanted to do was slow down, enjoy her. Hold her. But his mind wouldn’t let him relax into the moment. It kept insisting that Katie was different. Special. That she deserved honesty, damn it. That he was risking something potentially wonderful by lying to her.

  “What’re you thinking about?” she asked, coming to a stop so she could tip her head back to look up at him.

  “You,” he said.

  She reached up and smoothed his hair back from his forehead and the touch of her fingers sent heat jolting through him.

  “They don’t look like happy thoughts. Should I be worried?”

  “No,” he said quickly. He threaded his fingers through her hair and she turned her face into his palm. “Did I tell you how beautiful you are?”

  “Yeah, I think you mentioned it a time or two.”

  “Well, since I don’t like repeating myself, why don’t I show you instead?”

  He kissed her thoroughly, completely, parting her lips with his tongue and sweeping into the warmth he’d found only with her. She welcomed him, leaning into his embrace, matching his de
sire with her own. He held her tightly to him, drawing her as close as possible and still it wasn’t enough.

  Here on this lonely stretch of beach, with the moonlight spilling down on them, Rafe could only think of her. Nothing else mattered. Only the next kiss and the next. Touching her, being with her. His brain was finally silenced by his body’s overwhelming need.

  He swept one hand along her side, feeling the curves of her through the silky coolness of her dress. He cupped her breast and she arched into him, a soft moan issuing from her throat. His thumb stroked the peak of her rigid nipple and even through the fabric separating him from her, he could feel her heat reaching for him.

  Not enough, he thought wildly. Not nearly enough. He needed to feel her skin. Flesh to flesh. Heat to heat. He shifted her in his arms and while his mouth tantalized hers, his hand swept to the hem of her dress and inched it up, higher and higher. His palm moved over her thigh, sliding toward her core, and she parted her legs for him.

  That first touch inflamed him, though the silk of her panties kept him from delving as deeply as he wanted—needed—to. He stroked her center and she shivered, that soft moan erupting over and over again as he brushed his fingertips over her most sensitive flesh.

  The sea wind caressed them, the moonlight coated them in a silvery light and all Rafe was aware of was the woman in his arms. The woman he wanted above all things. He pushed the edge of her panties to one side, stroked that one tender spot at the heart of her and felt her tremble in his arms, quaking and shivering. Again and again, he touched her, pushing her higher, faster. He dipped his fingers deep, stroking her, inside and out. Her legs parted farther as she plastered herself against him. Rafe’s tongue twisted with hers, he took her breath, each labored gasp, as she twisted and writhed against him, hungry for the climax shuddering just out of reach.

  He reveled in her response. Loved knowing that she was as hungry for him as he was for her. He continued to push her, using his hand, his fingers, to urge her toward completion, needing to feel her surrender.

  Then it was there, a release crashing down over her with enough force to leave them both shaken.

  Her hands clutched at his shoulders, and her hips rocked into his hand, riding him as he took her quickly, inexorably into a shower of stars.

  When it was done, when she hung limp in his arms, he tore his mouth from hers. It nearly killed him to stop, but he gathered his strength and rested his forehead against hers, each of them struggling for breath that wouldn’t come. After several long seconds, he smoothed her skirt back down and whispered, “Let’s go back to your place.”

  “Yes,” she said, her voice husky with satisfaction and growing need. “Let’s go now.”

  He grinned at her, swept her up into his arms and carried her back across the beach to the cement stairs leading up to Pacific Coast Highway.

  Laughing, she said, “Rafe, I can walk, you know.”

  He brushed a quick kiss across her mouth. “Yeah, but I really liked carrying you before. Thought it was worth repeating.”

  At the head of the stairs, he took a left and made for the restaurant. He was suddenly grateful he hadn’t used valet parking. They wouldn’t have to stand around and wait for the car to be brought up. Instead, he’d make a dash to the lot and swing back around to pick her up.

  Kissing her again, he dropped her to her feet, cupped her face in his palms and said, “Wait here. I’ll get the car.”

  “I can come with you.”

  “Faster if I run for it and those heels aren’t made for running.”

  “True,” she said, glancing down at the sexy black heels she’d stepped into again the moment they were off the beach. “Hurry up.”

  “Back in a flash,” he promised and raced off into the parking lot.

  Katie watched him go, her gaze locked on him until he was swallowed up by the crowd of cars and the hazy light thrown from the yellow fog lamps. Her heart was pounding and every inch of her body was tingling, throbbing still from the effects of the orgasm still rattling through her.

  The ocean wind was cold now, but it couldn’t even touch the heat flooding her body. She smiled to herself, thinking that the splurge on the dress and shoes had been totally worth it. Having him touch her, take her, on the beach beneath the moon had been an experience she would never forget. The man was far too sexy for his own good and his touch was magic.

  The whole night had been perfect and was, she told herself with another smile, about to get even better.

  She was going to be happy, damn it. She wasn’t going to deprive herself of the chance to be with Rafe because of old fears and trust issues. She wouldn’t pass up a shot at happiness because of past mistakes. Besides, she had been thinking about what Rafe had said earlier all night.

  He had a point. Part of what had attracted her to Cordell had been the fact that he was rich. So what did that say about her? She couldn’t really blame his actions on the fact that he had money any more than she could blame her response on the fact that she wasn’t wealthy.

  They were just people.

  And people made mistakes, right? The important thing was to learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes over and over again.

  She remembered the feel of Rafe’s arms coming around her. The slow, intimate caresses. The heat of desire and the warmth of love rushing between them and her breath caught in her chest. She hadn’t realized it until just this moment, and now that she had, she couldn’t imagine how it had escaped her for this long.

  Katie was in love.

  Real love. She knew the difference this time and she wrapped herself up in the amazing sensations as they spiraled through her. What she’d thought she felt for Cordell before wasn’t even a glimmer of what she felt for Rafe now. He was everything she had hoped to find. He was the man she had been waiting for all of her life.

  How had it happened so quickly?

  But even as she wondered that, she smiled to herself, remembering that Nana had always said “Love doesn’t go by the clock.” One moment was all it took when it was real. One amazing moment when the world suddenly became clear and your heart knew exactly what it wanted and needed.

  She sighed a little and held her newfound knowledge close. Tonight was a night she would remember forever.

  “Katie?” A deep voice called her name. “Katie Charles? Is that you?”

  A small thread of something unpleasant unwound throughout her system as Katie turned slowly toward that too-familiar voice. She saw him instantly, but then he was hard to miss. Tall, gorgeous, black hair long enough to lay on his collar and sharp blue eyes fixed on her.

  Cordell King.

  She stood her ground and lifted her chin as he walked to her. She shouldn’t have been surprised to see him.

  She knew he lived in Laguna Beach and this restaurant, being the most expensive one in miles, would surely be a draw to him. But what did amaze her was the fact that she felt nothing for him. There were no leftover feelings trapped inside her. Not even anger, though as he smiled at her as if they were long lost friends, she could feel a spark of irritation flash into life.

  “It’s great to see you,” Cordell said as he got close enough. He swept her into a brief hug whether she wanted to go or not, then released her. “You look amazing.”

  “Thanks,” she said, even more grateful now that she’d bought the fabulous black dress. Imagine if she’d run into him wearing that beige one.

  He glanced around, then asked, “Are you here alone? Can I buy you a drink?”

  “No, you can’t,” she said, amazed that he had even asked. “I’m sure the woman you’re with wouldn’t appreciate the company.”

  “No date,” he said. “I’m here meeting a couple of my brothers.”

  “Well, I’m here with someone else. He’s just gone to get the car.”

  “Oh.” He shrugged and gave her that slow, easy smile that had first tugged at her. “Well, not surprising you’ve got a date. You look great.”

 
“You said that already.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he told her. That smile came back, but when she didn’t respond, he continued. “Look, Katie. I’m actually glad we ran into each other. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about you lately.”

  Now that was surprising. “Is that right?”

  “Yeah,” he said, stepping in a little closer. “I was going to call you, but doing this in person is even better.”

  “Why’s that?” she asked sharply, folding her arms over her chest. “You didn’t think breaking up with me was important enough to do in person. You overnighted me a diamond bracelet along with that charming note that said something along the lines of ‘Our worlds are just too different.’ Remember?”

  He had the good grace to wince at the reminder, but it wasn’t enough to shut him down completely. Oh, no, not a King, she thought.

  “Okay, I could’ve handled that better,” he acknowledged. “But I did send you diamonds.”

  And she’d sold them to help pay for the kitchen remodel, Katie told herself.

  “I never asked for diamonds,” she pointed out.

  “No, but—” He stopped, took a breath and said, “Look, we’re getting off the subject.”

  “Which is?” The toe of her shoe tapped against the cement, making a staccato sound that played counterpoint to the conversation.

  “I’d like to give our relationship another chance,” he said. “I mean, we had a great time for a while—”

  “Until you dumped me, you mean?” she interrupted, that spark of irritation flashing into quite the little blaze.

  “Yeah, well.” He shrugged as if that were water under the bridge. “That was then, this is now. And, babe, looking at you now makes me think we could work things out if we tried.”

  “Babe?” she repeated, taking one step toward him. “Don’t you call me ‘babe.’”

  “Hey.” He lifted both hands in the air as if he were surrendering, but that meant nothing. “Relax, I just thought—”

  “You just thought that I’d what? Leap into your arms at the gracious offer of being able to go out with you again?”