Blurring the Lines (Men of the Zodiac)

by Marisa Cleveland

  He pulled her closer to him. “I know you care. I know you do.”

  They settled on the sofa, and Kira shh-ed him a bunch of times as the interview started. She watched as Blake inclined his head with a bashful smile in that charming way that caught her in the gut every damn time.

  After discussing the need for a modernized medical facility and a quick rundown of the progress being made on Palm Street, the anchor shifted into personal questions and asked Blake what he considered his most valuable asset. The anchor had probably meant in terms of material items, but television Blake grinned at the same time in the flesh Blake wrapped an arm around Kira and kissed the top of her head.

  “My time. A very wise and beautiful woman told me once that time was the one thing she’d never get more of, and that’s what made her time so valuable.” He looked directly into the camera, and her heart stalled. She’d said that to him in frustration when choosing which projects to champion. Not enough time to do everything she wanted to do.

  “And you certainly give your time to admirable organizations.” The anchor leaned in. He chuckled, and his laughter rang through the living room. Kira collapsed back against his chest and tucked her legs to the side. Did he have any idea how much sex appeal he packed in a simple laugh? All she wanted to do was undress the man, especially when she felt the hard muscles under his shirt.

  Blake clasped his hands together. “I’m floored by the community’s generosity in funding worthy causes, and I’m happy to take this opportunity to ask you, the viewers at home, to save the last Saturday in February for the Just Don’t DUI gala. It’s to raise awareness for the real cost of a DUI, and together we can help educate everyone on preventative measures to ensure fewer incidents and accidents.”

  “Any final comments you’d like to share with the viewers? Maybe something fun?”

  He pressed his lips together in a firm line, and then he grinned. “This might be too philosophical, but I’m feeling it today. I’m an Aquarius, and once upon a time I let a street artist in Key West henna my zodiac onto my upper bicep. I later had a permanent tattoo inked there, and it wasn’t because of a girl or a dare. It was to remind me that we all have a certain energy given to us based on when we’re born, but we don’t have to be labeled by anything other than how we choose to label ourselves.”

  Kira pressed a hand to her heart. He’d said exactly what she felt about her own zodiac sign. When she’d first bumped into Blake, if someone had told her she’d have the best sex of her life with him, she probably would have believed them. But keep her foster dogs at work? Break his no-sex rule? Spend a couple hundred thousand of his hard-earned cash on charitable donations?

  Connect with him on a deeper, emotional level? No way.

  “Wow, that’s so not”—the anchor waved a hand up and down Blake’s suit—“this suited up CEO.”

  Blake chuckled.

  “Thank you, Blake Whitman, Aquarius man, for speaking to us about your organization. Contact information is on the bottom of your screen…”

  Kira stared at the fading image of Blake and wondered when she’d fallen in love with him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Honeybear’s pained howls woke Blake, still dressed in his work attire after collapsing from another long day out of the office. He called the emergency vet’s office and as carefully and quickly as the Friday night traffic permitted, he sped the dog to the clinic.

  As soon as the vet took the dog to the back, he called Kira. Her sleepy hello greeted him after the first ring.

  “I’m at the vet with Honeybear.”

  “I’ll be right there,” she said, sounding more alert.

  He was about to say that she didn’t need to bother, but he stopped himself. He wanted her there, and he liked her automatic insistence on being part of this. “Thank you.”

  Twenty minutes later, she hurried through the doors wearing the most adorable tee shirt with an image of a Shar Pei, a pair of jeans, and flip-flops.

  Her face was puffy—she’d been crying. She didn’t hesitate as she walked right into his hug. “What happened?”

  It felt so right to hold her, and he smiled remembering the Lab and the last time she’d rushed to the clinic to be with him. “So we meet here again.”

  She blinked up at him. “Are you trying to be funny?”

  He’d missed her, both her body and her company. She’d left work hours before he had, and right before Honeybear had woken him, he’d been dreaming about her naked in his arms. “Just thinking how far we’ve come since we were here with Brutus.” Which was true, given how panicked he’d been when he hadn’t known where to take the injured Lab.

  Kira scowled. “I remember. But how is Honeybear?”

  “She’s going to be fine. But the vet has referred her to a larger veterinary surgical center.”

  Both of her hands cupped over her mouth, and her eyes blinked back tears. “What? Honeybear needs surgery?”

  “The larger clinic might be better able to assess her heart function and prescribe new heart medication that won’t wear down her kidneys.”

  Her mouth curved into a frown and then straightened, not quite making it to a smile. “So that’s good, right?”

  “That’s good, but they’re going to keep her overnight to monitor her.”

  “Blake, I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

  “Of course not. You’re coming home with me.”

  As soon as the door clicked shut, Blake snagged Kira’s hand and pulled her into a tight hug. It was exactly what she needed, and she linked her fingers around the back of his neck and dragged his head closer to hers. The familiar heat rushed through her veins, and she pressed her lips to his in a fierce kiss meant to convey all the emotions she couldn’t express in words.

  She ran her hands over his impossibly broad shoulders and down his back, pressing her hips into him and feeling his growing erection. His breath hitched when she wrapped a leg around him, and for several heartbeats they kissed. Then, the floor disappeared from under her feet, as Blake carried her toward his bedroom and straight into the bathroom.

  She leaned back enough to look in his face. “What?”

  The gleam in his eye told her he had a plan. “Shower.”

  He placed her on the plush bathmat and turned on the water. She ripped off her clothes and stepped under the rain showerhead, closing her eyes and letting the hot water seep into her skin. When his mouth closed over hers, she let him devour her. He came at her with all the force and power of a Hummer, and she backed up until her ass hit the cool tile.

  He didn’t even bother using soap, and she saw his intentions once he had her in the shower. As he went down on her, he lifted one of her legs over his shoulder. From the first moment his mouth closed over her clit, she moaned and it echoed against the bathroom tile.

  “That’s right,” he mumbled into her skin. “Let me hear how much you like this.”

  She groaned and rocked into him. He sucked, and she saw stars behind her closed eyes. His fingers spread her wide, allowing his tongue easy access to flick her sensitive flesh and lick her over the edge.

  “I’m…oh,” she panted, her muscles contracting as wave after wave of sensation flooded from her body. “Oh.”

  He caught her under the ass when her knees buckled. He gave her one final, forceful lick and then lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

  Wet, still reeling from the orgasm, and wanting him inside her, she watched him rip open a condom.

  He grinned. She wiggled and shot him a seductive smile. “Your turn.”

  He leaned over her and sucked on first one nipple and then the other, sending dizzying waves of pleasure through her entire nervous system. She shivered and arched off the bed.

  After taking his time to tease her breasts with his tongue, he slipped his cock inside her and grinned down into her face. “Both our turns.”

  With each thrust, she felt her tender nerves spark to life, and when he grunted his releas
e, she wrapped her legs around his waist and flew over the edge with him.

  After foraging in his kitchen for food and coming up with a bottle of wine, some crackers, and a jar of jam, they’d called for Chinese delivery and stood in Blake’s kitchen drinking wine while they waited.

  A hundred emotions raced through Kira’s brain before she smiled with a sadness she didn’t want to feel. “What if something happens to Honeybear tonight?” A million different things could go wrong.

  He pulled her into a hug and gave her shoulders a squeeze. “She’s strong. The vet is good. Trust the process.”

  She blinked back her worry, reflecting on how easy it was to trust him. “Did you just turn philosophical on me?”

  “I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just better to trust the process.”

  “Since when?” Every day she spent with him made her realize why she’d never fit in anywhere else. He got her. Knew exactly what to say to calm her—or excite her in bed.

  “Since you. I threw out my rules for you, and—”

  She leaned forward. “And?”

  He held the glass to his lips but lowered it without taking a sip. “And I was chugging along quite nicely until you attacked me with that doggy leash, barged into my office, demanded I not demolish your building, offered you a job, and now this.” He gestured between them. “I trusted the process, and now look where we are. I think it’s working perfectly.”

  She hadn’t realized how much had taken place since that fateful day. “You do?”

  “Besides wanting more of you, yes, I do.”

  “More? What are you talking about?” They saw each other every day. She saw him more than she’d seen anyone else lately.

  He chuckled, and drew her deeper into his embrace. She lifted her face to his, her gaze flitting between his eyes and lips. “I want more time, Kira. More than scheduled meetings and breaks. I want you by my side. I don’t want to hide how I feel about you.”

  “Because you care?”

  “You know I do.”

  She went up on her toes and kissed him gently. “I care, too.” And for the first time, she honestly believed they might have a future together.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Blake Whitman’s office.” Grabbing the message pad and a pen, Kira cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear and wondered for the millionth time why she didn’t leave the headset on her head.

  “Something came across my desk, and I need you to not freak out, Kira.”

  She dropped the pen as her intuition kicked in. “Something bad, Tish?”

  “It might be best if you come here.”

  She clicked open Blake’s calendar. He’d waved goodbye twenty minutes ago as he’d headed out to a site meeting with two analysts and the company’s top project manager. He wasn’t expected back for almost two hours, so she rushed to Tish’s office.

  She knocked and opened the door, but paused when she saw the stricken look on her friend’s face.

  “Why do I think I might not want to hear this?”

  “Three of the six board members are still in favor of the shiny, new downtown. Looks like your boss hasn’t come through on your bargain. I wonder if he’s tried to change anyone’s mind.”

  A pain gripped Kira’s chest, and she inhaled sharply. “What?”

  Kira sank into a chair and stared out the window. Blake had promised to save her mom’s building. She’d slept with him. They’d just discussed trusting the process, and now that process might not work in her favor. She’d really believed him when he said she was different. That he wanted more.

  She was delusional. He existed on a different playing field. He might keep her for short term and when he needed to release some pent-up tension, but his proposal to change their relationship from a casual affair to a commitment was as unachievable as a trip to the moon. Lying to her about the Bromwell was case in point that he couldn’t be trusted.

  “Show me.”

  Tish slid the proof across her desk, and she picked up the two pages and scanned them. The first was an email to accounting, detailing the cost analysis requirements for the two different architectural plans, including the price of the properties not already owned by Whitman-Madison. The second was from Keith to Blake confirming that every landowner located on the downtown bayside street had signed the city council’s preemptory sales agreement, including her father, Dominic Layton.

  Kira held the printed emails in her hands. Tangible evidence the buildings would be bought and razed.

  The papers slipped from her fingers and tears blurred her vision. Her friend hugged her and patted her back and told her they’d figure out something, but it was over. Everything was over. She’d been so dumb thinking working for Blake would keep her mother’s legacy safe. All along, he’d been working behind the scenes to finagle the purchase of the building anyway. Once her dad signed on the dotted line, there was no way to hold Whitman-Madison accountable to not demolish it.

  “I’ve got to go,” she murmured. “I’ve got to—” Why the hell hadn’t she told her dad her plan? Begged him not to sign? Because she hadn’t expected Blake to go through with the acquisitions. He’d promised her that he’d try to sway the board. That he’d come up with viable options to keep the Bromwell. He accepted her foster dogs in the office. He’d adopted Honeybear. He’d slept with her and said he cared. How could someone like that have made such bald faced lies?

  “How can I help you?”

  “This is something I have to handle on my own. Thank you. I-I appreciate you sharing this with me.”

  She plodded back to Blake’s office and entered and closed the door. After sinking into the space where Honeybear reclined, she crossed her legs and took the Shar Pei’s head in her lap. She stroked her and told her she wasn’t crying and that they’d survive this latest mistake.

  She’d trusted Blake. Even fallen for him. He’d tricked her into his world, given her everything she thought she wanted, and in the end, he’d done exactly as she’d originally expected.

  Honeybear closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into her lap. Kira didn’t know how long she stayed on Blake’s floor, but eventually the tears slowed and a numbness replaced her anger.

  She didn’t have to go down without a fight. She could stick with her original plan. Take the matter to the city council. They still had the final say in the redevelopment plan. As her father had pointed out, after the council chose Whitman-Madison for the design team, the corporation had to approve plans to take the community redevelopment board and the city council before they could even begin.

  Determined to carve out a new plan of attack, she thought back to all that she’d accomplished since working at Whitman-Madison. She’d been able to do more for the community and make monthly contributions to her favorite charities. She didn’t have to feel like she’d wasted the time she’d spent here.

  Gently sliding out from under Honeybear, she stood and checked the time. Blake was due back any moment, and her face must be all blotchy from her temporary bout of hopelessness. After slipping out of his office, she made her way to the restroom and took her time calming herself.

  When she returned to her desk, his head was bent over a thick binder. She tapped on the door and walked through before she lost her nerve. “Blake?”

  He looked up and grinned at her. When he saw her face, his expression tempered. “Why the frown?”

  Her hands were shaking, and she clasped them in front of her and tried to even out her breathing. “Is it true?”

  “Is what true?”

  She clenched her jaw and then said, “That half the board didn’t like the new plans for the downtown revitalization?”

  His mouth opened and closed. His stunned but not surprised expression told her he was aware. “You always knew that was a possibility.”

  That wasn’t the impression he’d given her. Not when she’d shared with him her excitement over a museum and pathways. The betrayal stung. “How could I have expected you to sav
e an entire downtown? Why would you? But I thought…” She stared at his granite face and another thought struck her. “How long have you kept it from me?”

  “Don’t pretend like you’re so innocent.”

  Innocent? What had she done? She blinked and bit her lip, wracked her brain for answers. Her hands shook with anger, and tears threatened to fall. No way would she cry in front of him. “I trusted you.”

  His lips flattened into a thin line. “How did you even find out? It was classified information and there’s no way you should have had access to it.” Kira had expected an apology, some remorse, an explanation. Not the fury coarsening his voice. Before she could say anything he held up his hand. “Just as I suspected right along. I always wondered why someone with advanced degrees would pretend to be a dog walker. Would barge into my office and agree to become a secretary so readily. I didn’t want to believe you had any reason other than your mother’s building… If even that is the truth.”

  “I had no—”

  The angry downward slash of his arm cut her off. “You pretended you didn’t know how to use a phone. You brought in dogs, feigned interest in charities to hide the fact that you were here with an ulterior motive. I knew you weren’t interested in me for who I was, but what information you could steal from me.”

  “Steal? How dare you!”

  He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “No wonder you were so eager to read through every file, to mislead me with your cute little pink sticky notes.”

  Her fingers trembled and the air caught in her lungs. Was that what he thought of her?

  When she didn’t respond, he flung more evidence at her. “I lost the strip mall to baseball fields. And the grocery store next to the library? That sweet deal turned sour.”

  She paused and took a breath. Those had happened before she’d started working for him. She opened her mouth to defend herself but realized that wasn’t the point. “Why would you think those were because of me?”

  “Because I can do research, too.” He stormed over to his desk and opened the top drawer. Then, he tossed the same email with the list of names she’d seen in Tish’s office. “Does the name Dominic Layton ring a bell?”