Man of Fate

by Rochelle Alers

  Although Kyle had made love to her, he’d held back. He wanted Ava to get used to their sleeping together before introducing her to other positions guaranteed to bring both of them the most exquisite erotic pleasure.

  Reluctantly, he withdrew and gathered her close. They’d made plans to go to his place to have dinner and dance under the stars. That would have to wait for another time. After all, Ava had promised to give him the next three months of her life, and Kyle intended to make the most of their time together.

  * * *

  Ava awoke totally disoriented. She was in bed, but not alone. As soon as she attempted to move her legs she realized what had happened. Shifting, she tried to get into a more comfortable position, but one of Kyle’s legs made that impossible. She whispered his name, and the only response she got was a grunt.

  She pushed against his solid shoulder. “Kyle, you have to move off me.”

  “What…what!” he sputtered, sitting up and looking around.

  “It’s all right, darling. I just needed you to take your leg off mine.”

  Kyle ran a hand over his head. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No,” Ava said. “Now, go back to sleep.”

  Kyle gathered Ava to his chest, smiling when she pressed her buttocks to his groin. “What time is it?”

  She glanced at the small clock on the table on her side of the bed. “It’s one-forty.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  Ava giggled. “No. Why?”

  “I’m hungry enough to eat a whole pig.”

  “Didn’t you eat today?”

  “I ate yesterday. I had brunch with my parents around eleven, but didn’t eat anything after that because I thought I was going to have dinner with my girlfriend.”

  Ava smiled when he called her his girlfriend. “We would’ve had dinner if you hadn’t made love to me.”

  Kyle’s teeth nipped her shoulder. “We would’ve had dinner if you hadn’t begged me to take you to bed.”

  Ava went completely still. “I didn’t beg you, Kyle Chatham. I remember asking you to make love to me. Don’t forget you could’ve refused.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. The only time I’d refuse not to make love to you would be if I couldn’t get it up.”

  “Remember there are pills for men with ED.”

  “What’s with you and ED issues?”

  She giggled like a little girl. “You were the one who mentioned not being able to get it up, not me.”

  His hand caressed her breasts. “Thankfully I can still get it up.”

  “I’m thankful, too.”

  His hand stilled. “What are we going to do?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Are we going to get up and get something to eat or are we going to make love again?”

  “I need to take a shower before I do anything. I’m sweaty and sticky.”

  Kyle nuzzled the nape of her neck. “We can take a shower together. Is there a restaurant around here that stays open late?”

  “There are a few within walking distance.”

  “What do they serve?”

  “Everything. Why?”

  “I’m not sure what I want to eat.”

  Shifting to face him, Ava kissed his throat. “We don’t have to go out. There is food in the refrigerator.”

  “Do you have the ingredients for an omelet?”

  “I think I do. How often do you eat in the middle of the night?” Ava asked.

  “Hardly ever,” Kyle admitted as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He turned on the lamp on his side of the bed, then came around the bed and scooped Ava up into his arms, smiling when she rested her head on his shoulder. “I forgot to give you something.”

  Her head came up. “What on earth are you talking about?”

  He carried her back to the bed. “Reach inside the back pocket of my jeans.”

  Ava reached down, picked up his jeans and found a small, square, silver-foil-wrapped package with a miniscule black bow. “What is it?”

  “Open it and see.”

  “Put me down, Kyle.”

  He complied, placing her on the rumpled sheets. Smiling, Kyle watched Ava remove the bow as if it were fragile porcelain. The seconds ticked as she took off the paper. He didn’t think he would ever forget the look on her face when she removed the top.

  Ava’s eyes were bright with unshed tears when she looked up at Kyle. He’d given her a diamond wishbone necklace suspended on a yellow gold chain. “It’s beautiful. Thank you, darling.”

  He winked at her. “You’re welcome, darling.”

  She handed him the necklace. “Please put it on.”

  It took several attempts, but he finally fastened the clasp, the pendant resting on her breastbone. The gold glowed against her rich brown skin. “It looks nice.”

  Ava rose to her feet. “I guess I’ll have to increase your allotment of wishes.”

  “How many more am I going to get?”

  She winkled her nose. “Five.”

  “Why so stingy?”

  “All right, I’ll give you ten more wishes and another month.”

  Kyle’s smile was dazzling. “I’ll take it.” He extended his hand. “Let’s take that shower so I can put some food into my belly before I faint on you.”

  Ava patted his belly. “We can’t have that, because if you’re too weak then I can take advantage of you.”

  “What would you do?” Going on tiptoe Ava whispered what she would do to him. “Oh, please, baby, can we do it in the shower?”

  “No!”

  “What if I make it one of my wishes?”

  “Then I’d have to grant it.”

  Staring at Ava under lowered lids, Kyle focused on her mouth. “I want you to take advantage of me.”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  Tightening his grip on her hand, he led her out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. Kyle came to regret his wish when, under the fall of lukewarm water, Ava took him into her hot mouth and made love to him in the most intimate way conceivable. It ended when he made love to her again and this coupling was vastly different from the first as he took her from behind. It ended with them collapsing to the floor of the shower stall where they lay facing each other in a fetal position.

  Kyle stared at the moisture curling Ava’s hair and spiking her lashes. It was only now that he knew what Micah Sanborn had meant when he said he’d fallen in love with Tessa Whitfield within a week of meeting her for the first time. It was no different for Kyle. He’d fallen totally and inexorably in love with Ava Warrick.

  * * *

  Kyle stood off to one side to allow Jordan Wainwright to enter the office that had been set up for him. He knew most of his staff was curious about the tall, well-dressed man who’d greeted their boss with a rough hug and a slap on the back. Kyle decided to wait until later to introduce them to his new associate.

  “The door on the left is your private bathroom and the one on the right is a closet. A carpenter will be in at the end of the week to install bookshelves. If there’s anything else you need just let me know.”

  Jordan shook his head, his luminous hazel eyes aglow with excitement. “It’s great, Chat. I’d rather look out on trees and flowers than concrete and steel. This place is exquisite.”

  Kyle nodded in acknowledgment. He’d spent a small fortune reconfiguring the bedrooms into offices. “There’s a kitchen, dining room and games room on the street level for building employees. And there’s no need for you to work out at your high-ass sports club because we also have a gym with showers on the first floor.”

  “Who else occupies this building with you?”

  “Duncan, he’s the financial planner, has his offices on the first floor and Ivan, who’s a psychotherapist, is on the third floor. Everyone who comes to the building has to identify themselves before they’re buzzed in. The place is wired with closed-circuit monitors and cameras, and the security system is wired directly to the local preci
nct.”

  “Have you ever had any problems?”

  Kyle wondered if Jordan was concerned about someone assaulting him. “No. Not only is Mount Morris a National Historic District, but the residents also engage in a neighborhood watch. Not much can go on without someone reporting it. And I don’t know if you noticed when you came down the block that many of brownstones are equipped with cameras similar to those in banks. So, rich boy, you don’t have to worry about someone running upside your head.”

  Jordan blushed to the roots of his raven-black hair. “If I was that concerned about my safety then I never would’ve considered working in Harlem.”

  “And if I thought you were some Fifth Avenue stuffed shirt, you wouldn’t be standing here,” Kyle retorted. “I’d wanted to have your name up on the door when you got here, but there wasn’t enough time because of the holiday weekend.”

  “I appreciate it, but having my name on a door isn’t as important as me getting back to practicing law.”

  “How long has it been since you left TCB?”

  “It’ll be a year at the end of August.”

  “What have you been doing?”

  “Not much. I was seeing a girl who lived and worked in D.C. I’d asked her to come live with me in New York, but she didn’t want leave her position as a legislative assistant. I knew I didn’t want to live in D.C., so we split up.”

  “Don’t tell me you can’t find a woman in New York?”

  Sitting on the edge of his desk, Jordan gave Kyle a direct stare. “I do all right until I open my mouth to introduce myself. The minute they hear the name Wainwright they sit up and take notice as if shocked by a jolt of electricity. I’m so tired of hearing ‘Are you one of those Wainwrights?’ that I’m ready to change my name legally to Jordan Jones. It’s like hearing the name Trump and people assume you’re related to Donald Trump.”

  Kyle smiled. “My heart bleeds for you, Jordan,” he drawled facetiously.

  Jordan Wainwright was born not with a silver but a golden spoon in his mouth. He’d told Kyle about his family one night after he’d had a little too much to drink. His grandfather, a descendant of working-class European immigrants, was rumored to have had been involved in clandestine criminal activities until he caught the eye of a young woman from a French-Canadian family who’d made their fortune in fur-trapping.

  Wyatt had fathered three daughters before his wife gave him his only son, who had disappointed his father when he refused to join Wyatt’s rapidly expanding real-estate business after graduating from college. Their relationship had changed when Edward, also called Teddy, married beautiful social-climbing Christiane Johnston. She’d convinced her husband to reconcile with his father when he presented Wyatt with his first grandchild, Jordan Wyatt Wainwright.

  It would be a decade before Wyatt celebrated the birth of another grandson. Jordan was ten when Noah was born. Two years later, Rhett, named for Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind, slept in the nursery in the Wainwright’s Fifth Avenue maisonette. Christiane and Edward Wainwright welcomed their first daughter, Chanel, named for the famed fashion designer Coco Chanel, the year Jordan celebrated his sixteenth birthday.

  Again, a rush of color darkened Jordan’s deeply tanned face, making his eyes appear lighter than they actually were. “Maybe you should change places with me for a week, Chat, and then you’d know what I have had to go through.”

  “No, thank you, buddy. I like who I am.”

  And he did like Kyle Chatham—a lot. There was never a time when Kyle wanted to be anyone else but Kyle. He’d learned not to repeat mistakes and felt genuine pride when he turned failure into success.

  Jordan flashed a brittle smile. “Maybe one of these days I’ll tell you about my family feud. When do you want to me start working on the landlord-tenant case?” he asked, deftly changing the topic.

  “Cherise will give you the file after the staff meeting. Staff meetings are held on Mondays before ten. We review cases and catch one another up on progress or lack thereof on the status of each case. We’re very informal with one other except when clients are present. Then, we go into überprofessional mode. We have strict rules about eating at one’s desk. If you don’t feel like going downstairs to the dining room, then you can use the conference room, providing it’s not in use.

  “I’ve instituted an open-door policy. The exception is personal or private telephone calls, or if you’re seeing a client. I’ll see that you get a set of keys and the code to the security system that is monitored 24/7. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are our late nights for clients who can’t come during the day. Ivan, Duncan and I share the day and evening receptionists and the cleaning service. The part-time paralegal comes in for our evening clients. Fortunately, everyone works well together. Last year was the first time I was able to offer year-end bonuses.”

  “How does it look for this year?” Jordan asked.

  “It looks good, too. Now, if you win our landlord-tenant case, it will be more than good.”

  A sardonic smile twisted Jordan’s sensual mouth. “How much do you want to soak the bastards for?”

  “The cost of all the repairs and add twenty-five percent on top of that for depraved indifference and insufferable arrogance.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Jordan angled his head. “Would it bother you if I added a dose of humiliation?”

  “Do whatever you have to do to win the case.”

  Jordan’s teeth flashed whitely in his face as he exhibited a Cheshire-cat grin. “You’re really feeling generous, aren’t you?”

  “Why would you say that?” Kyle asked Jordan.

  Jordan sobered. “You’ve changed, Kyle. In the past you’ve gone strictly by the book.”

  “I’ll probably say the same thing about you a year from now. I didn’t leave Trilling, Carlyle and Browne because of some blood feud, but because I wanted to defend the little guy and not the designer-suited crook who paid a firm millions to buy his freedom. Do I sound idealistic? Maybe,” Kyle said, answering his own question. “But at least when I put my head on a pillow at night I can sleep with a clear conscience.”

  “That means we’re not all that different,” Jordan stated emphatically.

  Kyle wanted to tell Jordan being male attorneys did not make them similar. There were too many other variables that had come into play. But he would let the younger man believe what he wanted to believe. His only focus was achieving a positive outcome for the clients he represented, and making certain Ava would not only become a part of his life but also his future.

  CHAPTER 11

  Kyle’s head came up when he heard the soft knock on his office door. “Yes, Cherise?”

  “I…I don’t know how to say this.”

  “What is it?” he asked his secretary.

  “May I come in and close the door?”

  He waved a hand. “Come in.”

  Cherise Robinson registered the note of impatience in her boss’s voice. For the past two weeks she’d found him distant, and the one time she forgot to give him a message that Miss Warrick had called he’d practically bitten her head off.

  She walked into the sun-filled office and closed the door. The furnishings in the executive suite reflected the personality of the man sitting behind the solid mahogany desk. A matching credenza held a variety of paperweights in various sizes and shapes. Framed and laminated diplomas covered a wall facing shelves packed with law books and journals. Cherise found it odd that Kyle’s office didn’t claim one photograph, which translated into his ability to completely separate his professional life from his personal life.

  Kyle stared at spots of bright color on Cherise’s cheeks. He opened his mouth to ask her whether she wore a hat when outdoors, then stopped himself. Cherise should know that with her fair complexion she was more susceptible to the damaging rays of the sun than her darker sisters.

  “What is it, Cherise?”

  “There’s been a slight problem since Jordan Wainwright joined the firm.”


  Lacing his fingers together, Kyle leaned forward. “What kind of problem, Cherise?”

  “I don’t know how to say this.”

  Kyle frowned. “That’s the second time you’ve said that. If something’s bothering you, then spit it out.”

  “It’s the girls from Ivan’s and Duncan’s offices.”

  “What about them, Cherise?”

  Kyle was close to losing what was left of his patience. His dark mood had begun when Ava had called to tell him that she was going to Maryland to be with her sister who’d delivered a baby girl. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her until he heard her drawling, sultry voice. One night she’d called just before he went to bed and he spent the entire night tossing and turning restlessly. He called her the next day and asked that she call him at his office. At least at work he had enough distractions to keep him from thinking about her.

  “They find every excuse in the world to come into the office, hoping to see Jordan.”

  “Can’t they see him in the dining room?”

  “He doesn’t eat in the dining room.”

  Kyle paused. “Where is he eating lunch?”

  “He goes out for lunch. The few times he ate in the dining room they kinda bum-rushed him. The poor man couldn’t even finish eating because they were all up in his face. I would’ve told Tanya to handle it, but she’s on vacation until the end of the month.”

  Sighing and blowing out his breath, Kyle reached for the telephone. If his office manager hadn’t gone on vacation he never would’ve heard about the piddling annoyance. Punching in an extension, he asked the receptionist to connect him to Duncan, and then punched the speaker feature.

  “DG, I’m having a problem with your staff of the female persuasion.”

  “What’s going on, Kyle?”

  “It appears that some of them find every excuse in the world to drift up here to make moon eyes at my associate. It’s gotten so bad that the man goes out for lunch rather than be set upon in the dining room.”