She escorted him to the front door, opened it and her followed her out.
As they stepped out onto the porch, there was a distinct drop in temperature. Anna hugged her shoulders and wished she had worn a cardigan over her bare arms. Her sleeveless cotton shirt provided no protection from the chill that peaked her nipples, and Patrick made no attempt to avert his eyes. There was a time when his hungry expression would have excited her, now it left her feeling exposed, vulnerable. The hem of her short skirt danced in the soft cool breeze, lifting slightly, sending a chill down her legs. She tried to hold the skirt down as the wind picked up and Patrick’s eyes dropped to her bare legs.
“Patrick. I told you it’s been a long night. Please go.”
“I’d almost forgotten how beautiful you are.” He moved closer. His hot breath against her neck. She moved away until her back connected with the wooden frame of the door, trapping her. As he leaned in for a kiss, she turned her head to the side.
“Patrick. I told you it’s been a long night. Please go.”
“The lady asked you to leave.”
“How the hell—”
Derrick shoved Patrick aside as he stepped between them. His smooth voice was edged with annoyance as he addressed Patrick.
“Must I forcibly remove you?” His biceps rippled as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Oh, my god. He’s going to hit him. She reached up to grip his bicep and gave a small squeeze.
“There’s no need to get physical. Patrick was leaving.”
“Okay, but only because you asked.” Patrick smiled but Anna could see the fear in his eyes. He nodded to Anna. “Promise me you’ll think about my request?”
Reluctantly, she nodded. It was the only way she could think of to calm the situation. Patrick gave Derrick one final defiant scowl and then turned on his heels and left. The moment he was out of ear-shot Anna challenged Derrick.
“What gives you the right to order people from my home?”
Derrick lifted his hands, palms up, in the air. “He was making moves on you. I was trying to help.”
“What if I had wanted him to make moves on me?” Anna argued as she leaned against the doorframe. A tremor ran through her body. Patrick was not one to take no for an answer. What if Derrick hadn’t arrived when he did?
“No—you didn’t. You asked him to leave. I heard you. I also saw the way you covered yourself in his presence. That is not the act of someone wanting to be kissed.”
“You were spying on me?”
“I was on my way up the drive. You were busy arguing and didn’t notice me. I heard the conversation and noticed the way that Miller was leering at you. I saw the way that Patrick was reacting to your body when the wind lifted your skirt.”
Anna strained to look down the dimly lit path. It was possible he was telling the truth but she doubted it. There was something in his eyes that told her there was more to it than that.
“What do you want anyway?”
“I think we should go inside before you catch your death.” Cradling her elbow, he maneuvered her into the house.
“What? This time you walk straight in? Last time you were here you asked permission to enter.”
“That was then. I had never been in your home before so it was polite to ask.”
“Not even when Dad was alive?”
“Of course I was here when Jake was alive, many times.”
“Did you ask him permission to enter?”
“Yes. On the first occasion I did.”
“You’re a strange man, Derrick Corel. A really, really, strange man.”
“And if I’m not mistaken, you Miss Derwent, have been drinking.”
Anna shrugged. “Do you want one?”
She stopped at the fridge, expecting him to react. His left eyebrow rose as she poured a glass but he didn’t comment, besides answering, “Sure, why not?”
“Aren’t you going to belittle me for drinking from a cask?”
“I’m not even going to comment on the wine being stored in the refrigerator.”
“But you just did.”
Another flash of the dimples, followed by a deep, throaty laugh. Anna’s heart somersaulted in her chest. She handed him a glass and sat beside him on the couch.
“Let’s change the subject. What was Patrick Miller doing here?”
Despite her reluctance to share information with her new partner, Anna felt a compulsion to tell him anything he asked. She wondered if it was the cheap wine loosening her tongue or if it was the way those blue violet eyes broke down her resistance. Whatever the case, she told him the whole story.
“What are you going to do?” He placed his glass on the table beside hers.
“It’s not up to me. You own the majority share. You built the business to where it is today.”
“Let’s get something straight, Anna,” he reached for her shoulders, holding her gently. She placed her hands on his chest to keep him at a safe distance but left her arms limp enough that she could feel his breath on her face. “You are just as much a part of the gym as I am.”
Anna nodded. “I guess the place is in my blood. Dad loved it and I loved being there with him. To be honest, Derrick, being there makes me feel closer to him. In a way, it’s my sanctuary.”
He leaned closer, nuzzling his cheek against her neck, his soft hair tickling her skin while his masculine scent assaulted her senses. He released her arms to run his fingers through her hair.
“Nice,” she murmured, closing her eyes as she eased her head back into his palms. “That’s really nice.”
“What about your mother? Jake never discussed her. Was she involved in the fitness industry?”
Anna opened her eyes as the familiar pang hit her. “My mother died as a result of a car accident when I was only a child.”
Derrick cupped her cheek in his large palm. She nuzzled against it.
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. I was so young when she died that I feel I know hardly anything about her.”
“Your father didn’t speak of her?”
“Rarely.” She swallowed the lump caught in her throat. “I don’t believe he ever fully recovered from her death. He would tear up every time I asked him about her so I gave up trying. I couldn’t bear to hurt him.”
Derrick’s arm crept behind her and he drew her into his chest. “David and I had a younger sister. Her name was Isabelle. When she died, she took a part of me with her.”
“Was she ill?”
Derrick’s bicep flexed, his grip tightened around her shoulders. “No, she was killed by her two-timing husband.”
“Oh. How horrible.” She lifted her head from his chest and looked up into his eyes.
His eyes lowered to her lips which she parted, expecting, no hoping for a kiss. He hesitated.
“Anna.” He said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Do you still have feelings for Patrick?”
“I don’t think so but, maybe he really has changed.”
“I don’t believe that for a moment.” Derrick snapped his face away from hers. “His type will never change. He will only bring you heartache. Stay away from him Anna.”
“Strange, he said the same thing about you.”
“What else did he say about me?” He leaned back against the lounge. His shoulders stiffened and his eyebrows knit but he kept his arm around her.
“Nothing besides warning me away from you.” She mirrored his expression, frowning as she asked him, “Are you hiding a dark secret? What does Patrick know that I don’t?”
“Patrick Miller is looking for an easy way to make money. He believes that my associates can offer him an affluent lifestyle. Possibly they can, but the price is high and if he succeeds I worry…” He shook his head and looked down at the floor.
“What worries you?” she pinched his chin between her finger and thumb, lifting it so their faces were only inches away.
“I worry that he will not be the only one to pay the cost.” He reached out
with his free arm. She allowed him to draw her closer, their bodies pressed together, his lips inches away from her mouth as he gazed into her eyes. His eyes blazed with desire.
“Anna.” He sighed as he took possession of her mouth. His lips pressed against her with moist heat, overwhelming her senses with cravings for more kisses.
She wanted him. Needed him. Ached for his touch on her skin.
When he eased the cotton shirt up from her waist, she lay back, raising her arms over her head. He tenderly kissed the junction of her breasts, her cleavage strained against the lacy fabric of her bra as she leaned against his mouth, his moist lips sending a flood of warmth through her breasts. She lay back while he pulled the elastic-waist skirt down her hips, pausing to kiss the yellowing bruises on her thighs. She squirmed on the lounge, lifting her legs out of the skirt and wrapping them around his waist while she fumbled with the buttons on his silk shirt. As she leaned forward to peel the shirt from his torso, he unfastened the clasp on her bra spilling her breasts into his cupped hands. She gasped as he lowered his head to suck a nipple into his open mouth and arched her back, digging her nails into the flesh of his bare skin. When she could stand no more, she traced her hands back to his waist and began to unfasten his belt.
“I feel so safe around you,” she whispered into his ear. “Despite the shadow that hovers over your aura.”
“What?” Derrick pinched her chin between his fingers and stared into her eyes. “Why would you say that?”
Words tumbled unrestrained from her mouth. I can trust him. “I know how it feels to keep secrets.”
Derrick’s expression hardened but his tone remained gentle, intoxicating. “What’s your secret?”
She ran her fingers lightly over his chest causing his skin to ripple in response. “I don’t know what my father told you about me but … here goes. I can’t be around large groups of people. Actually, I don’t like being around more than one person at a time. You see … I am what they call an empath. I feel the emotions of others. I feel their pain, their anger, and their desperation. It’s horrible. Sometimes alcohol helps numb the emotions but the relief is usually only temporary.”
“That must be terribly difficult for you.” He kissed her neck, her shoulder while she continued to stroke his skin on his back.
“All my life, people have been uncomfortable around me and I feel miserable around them. It’s like I have multiple personalities.” Tears burned behind her eyes as she confessed “I just want to be like any other normal person, Derrick. The only feelings I want to experience are my own. I’m never sure if my emotions are my own or someone else’s.”
“Is that all you want?”
Anna forced her shoulders back and gazed into his eyes. I could spend the rest of my life staring into his handsome face. “No. That’s not all I want.” She cupped his head in her hand and kissed him. His mouth scorched her lips. He returned the kiss, his tongue stoking the flames of her desire. She told him in between kisses, “I need someone strong enough to cope with my idiosyncrasies…”
“What else?” He asked as he fondled her bare breasts. His lips kissed a trail down to her nipple and he drew the hardened peak into his mouth, moving his tongue around the tip in agonizingly slow circles.
She gasped and let out a tiny groan as she held his head to her chest. “I want the whole shebang. Walks on the beach, making love on the sand while the sun warms our skin, and eventually children.” She slipped her fingers inside the waistband of his trousers and fumbled with the zipper.
His mouth stilled on her breast. His hand closed over hers.
“You should have those things. You deserve those things. But, I can’t give them to you.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you—”
“I do, more than you know.”
“Then why?” she attempted to pull his head towards her, lower his mouth to her lips but he refused to budge.
He retrieved his shirt from the floor and passed her the cotton shirt he had earlier removed, turning away as she covered herself. “Your gift of empathy, your description of the simple pleasures that you enjoy, I just—”
“Just what? No, let me finish that sentence for you. You just need excitement, travel, night life. You love nightclubs and gambling, fast cars and fast women.” Like I haven’t heard that before.
“No. No, nothing like that.” He reached for her but she raised her arm to stop him as he offered an apology. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Spare me the platitudes.” Humiliation washed over her. She had opened her heart to him and had it ripped from her chest. Worse still, her body still felt the impression of his hands, and her lips tasted the sweetness of his kiss. She tried to draw on her gift to ascertain his mood but she could sense nothing but the erratic beating of her own heart. “You think I’m not good enough for you.”
“No. That’s not what I said, not what I meant.”
“I few minutes ago you were more than ready to take me … here on the lounge,” She motioned to the bulge in his pants, “but, I scared you away by revealing my secret.”
Derrick scratched his head. “It’s true. Although I appreciate your honesty and the courage it took to tell me, you’ve made me realize that I can’t give you what you desire. There is no hope of living a normal life with me. It just isn’t possible.”
Anna shook her hands in frustration. Tears ached in her throat and she was desperate to hide her pain from this man. She had opened her heart to him, revealed intimate secrets and he had crushed her. “How would you know that? You didn’t even give me a chance to demonstrate my feelings for you. You know nothing about me.”
“Maybe so, but I know me.” He turned towards the door. “Making love with you could never be a one-night stand. To me, it would be a commitment—a demonstration of love.”
“Then why—?”
“Because it would never work out.”
“I see.” Anna rose to her feet and led him towards the door. “I think you should leave.”
Derrick left without another word, closing the door behind him as he disappeared into the night leaving Anna mortified. She threw herself onto the couch and cried, realizing that once again she had allowed a man to crush her spirit and make her feel worthless.
****
Anna came to a decision during the night as she paced the lounge room, wringing her hands. She had always considered her abilities a curse, making her an oddity that separated her from the normal world and prevented her from living a normal life. Judging by the visions and premonitions that had recently developed, her “otherness” would only drive a bigger wedge between her and the world. Damn the world and damn Derrick. She would transform herself into the type of woman both Derrick and Patrick doubted she could be—then, she would play them against each other and when she had them both completely under her spell, she would sell her share of the business and leave town … for good.
Chapter Five
“Good morning, Susie.”
“Well, what a surprise,” Susie said between puffs as Anna ran out the front door to join her on her morning jog. “I really didn’t expect to see you today.”
“I wasn’t sure I would be here either,” Anna confessed. In her attempt to block out her emotional evening, she had almost emptied the wine cask on her own. “But I need to burn off some emotional baggage.”
“Sounds like man troubles. Anyone I know?”
Anna ignored her new friend’s question and picked up her pace. Running along the road to the beach gave her a chance to tune out the world and concentrate only on the sound of her shoes as they slapped against the bitumen. When they reached the beach, they stopped and drank deeply from their water bottles, Susie the first to break the silence.
“Tell me boss, who’s the guy that has you steamed?”
“Actually, there are two men who are driving me mad.” Anna took another swallow from her bottle while Susie tried to encourage her with a quizzical look. “It’s a bit comp
licated.”
“I would be happy to take one of your problems off your hands,” Susie told her, “especially if they are both good looking.”
Anna nodded and smiled but the smile only reached one corner of her mouth. Two handsome men professing to care for her yet neither willing to share her strange way of life.
“I’ll race you to the gym,” she called over her shoulder as she bolted in the direction of the gym, grateful in the knowledge that Derrick would not be around when she arrived.
“That was a great workout.” Susie gasped as they entered the gym. “Luckily I have a change of clothes in my locker or else my clients would be complaining about my personal hygiene.”
Anna lifted her arm above her head and sniffed. “I guess I’ll need to run back home and have a shower.” In her haste to join Susie, she had forgotten to grab her backpack with her change of clothes.
“Not necessary.” Susie grabbed her elbow and led her to the supply room. “One of the perks of being the boss is that you can take what you want.” She motioned to the shelves full of gym clothing, and then began to sort through the rows of bike pants and t-shirts checking for sizes. “Here, these ought to fit.” She threw the items to Anna who had already located a sports bra and undies in her size. She was amazed by the range of clothing the club appeared to sell. The women walked into the staff-only ladies room with the new clothes in tow.
“Do you have your lanyard?”
Anna nodded and removed the lanyard that held her identification card and keys from her short’s pocket.
“If you check inside your locker—Susie pointed to the row of lockers in the change area—“you’ll find the locker key on your lanyard next to the office keys. Derrick called me last night. He must have realized that he hadn’t told you about your locker. He was pretty insistent that I show you today. You’ll find a bag of toiletries and a couple of towels.”
“You’re kidding? The gym supplies us with toiletries?”
“Yep. This is the best place I’ve ever worked. Derrick treats us staff like we’re gold. I’ve never had such a great boss.” She turned back to Anna tilted her head and winked. “Until you of course.”
Kiss of Death (Blood Brothers Book 1) Page 6
