Second Chances

by Gray, Christle

  For the first time in her life, Kristin truly let go of it all and held nothing back. He didn’t reject her, didn’t tell her she was nothing.

  She laced her hands through David’s dark hair and kissed him back just as hard, tasting him like a fine wine. Her legs wrapped around his lean thighs, squeezing his sculpted body closer.

  He pulled her half naked body firmly against him. He stood, lifting her easily, and took the few steps to sit her on the table against the wall. She pulled her lips away from his incredible kiss and shrugged the rest of the way out of her robe, desperate to rid herself of anything that would be a barrier to his touch.

  His hand lighted on her cheek as his thumb roved over her lips. She flicked at his thumb wickedly with her tongue and then sucked it into her mouth.

  His breathing hitched sharply as his gaze devoured her like a hunter who had caught his prey.

  Kristin’s hands fumbled at the waistband of his jeans, frantic to touch him. With the zipper out of the way, her fingers explored freely and she found him. Under the gentle strokes of her hand, he pulsed with need. He let out a small groan and claimed her lips again as her hand continued to massage him. His throbbing need echoed her own, and she broke their kiss, gasping for air.

  “David…” His name was a plea on her lips.

  Her body arched as he entered her, grasping her thighs for leverage. She cried out as he buried himself inside her, and she curled her legs around him to get deeper penetration. Her complete relinquishment of the barriers she had spent so many years behind had somehow super-charged the sensations in her body. David’s fire blazed through her core, and it only took a few thrusts before her body quaked with release. Her thighs flexed as the spasms rocked her.

  It was only an instant later that David tensed with his own climax. He grasped her shoulders and pulled her to his chest, groaning with pleasure into her hair.

  Kristin’s arms tightened around him as her heart kept time with his. Holding onto David fiercely intensified the small quakes that sizzled through her body randomly while she kept her legs wrapped tightly around him. She laid her head on David’s chest and inhaled slowly, trying to catch her breath.

  What exactly had she just experienced? Kristin’s time with David had been intense, for sure, but this time was different. By sharing her art, David had breached the last of her defenses. The raw need for him that coursed through her as a result made small waves of fear ripple down her spine as he held onto her.

  “You’re shaking again, lass.” David’s voice reverberated inside his chest.

  Kristin closed her eyes, squeezing them shut as she tightened her arms around him, not wanting to ever let go.

  He kissed the top of her head. “Are you okay?”

  Her head bobbed against his chest, but her body still trembled. The depth of what she’d just experienced with him left her too stunned to speak.

  David took a step away from her, his body leaving hers suddenly empty. He scooped her up into his arms, and carried her through the apartment to her bedroom, where he deposited her gently onto the rumpled bed. David shed his jeans and sprawled out next to her, his elbow propped up on the pillow to support his head. His other hand caressed her cheek while he gazed at her tenderly.

  “You’re awfully silent. Are you sure everything’s all right?”

  Kristin nodded again and reached out to stroke his lean bicep. A sculptor couldn’t have carved out a better body on a man. Did he even realize that he possessed her entirely after what just happened in her studio?

  “I’ve never been able to share all of myself with anyone like that. My art, my heart, my soul—each one now belongs to you.” The small ripples of fear from the power David now had over her kept her voice very soft. Her heart was completely at David’s mercy. That thought was wonderful—freeing even. How could something so new, so beautiful, be terrifying too?

  David’s lips brushed hers gingerly, lingering only for a moment. “I told you that you don’t have to be afraid, love. I have no intention of hurting you or leaving you. I only want to stay with you and love you.”

  Kristin searched his brown eyes with her own. “Is that really what you want?”

  David kissed her again, this time his lips lingered a bit longer, the pressure slightly firmer. “Does that answer your question?”

  “But this thing with Sophie…” She didn’t want to bring the psycho into her special moment with him, but she had to understand.

  “After you left last night, I pretty much told Sophie I was through with her little game of ‘let’s pretend.’”

  The implication sent waves of excitement through Kristin. “And how did that go over?”

  David sighed openly as he removed his hand from her cheek and lowered his gaze. “Let’s just say she wasn’t very happy about it.”

  That was probably an understatement. But at least David had decided to make a stand and take back control of his life, so she wasn’t stuck in limbo.

  “And that means…?”

  David ran his hand through his hair. “That means I will still have to talk to Bernard to make sure I’m on solid ground. Then, of course, talk to Sophie. I really don’t think she will do anything. It’s over, but I want to make sure she doesn’t try to play dirty.”

  “I see.” Kristin couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice. Public breakups were entirely too messy. And somehow she knew Sophie would make it a mud battle.

  David noticed her change in tone and grasped her shoulder gently. “But all of that can wait. Right now, all I want to do is be here with you.”

  Kristin nuzzled closer to him. She inhaled his musky scent deeply and kissed his neck. “Then it’s a good thing the gallery is closed on Sunday.”

  “Quite right.” David’s lips brushed Kristin’s forehead as he tilted her chin to peer into her eyes. “By the way, what exactly were we painting in your studio together?”

  Kristin flashed him a devilish smile. “Passion.”

  David laughed. “We have the rest of today so let’s not waste it.” He leaned into her and nothing else mattered except his dark, sensuous eyes. Even the knowledge he had to see Psycho Sophie again disappeared when he bit her neck.

  Chapter Nine

  Kristin thumbed through the pages of the morning paper as she entered the gallery’s main door. She searched for the Culture section. Celia was supposed to have placed an advertisement in The Guardian for Haven, using what little was left in savings to try and drum up some business. The ad would run for a month, starting today. But after several times of looking, the ad was nowhere to be found.

  “Celia, didn’t you take that advertising copy I gave you to the paper last week?” She stopped in the middle of the gallery grasping onto the newspaper hard.

  Celia glanced up from the reception desk and bobbed her head. “Yes, I hand delivered it myself. Why?”

  Kristin held the paper up between them. “Because I can’t find it in here. Shouldn’t it have started today?”

  Celia narrowed her green eyes. “Quite right. You want me to call them?”

  Kristin shook her head with a sigh. “No, I’ll do it myself.”

  This can’t be happening. She trudged through her office door and plopped her bag on the desk with a thud. Her body fell in a heap into her oversized desk chair. Great. As if she didn’t already have a ton of things on her mind.

  Kristin stretched her arms and winced briefly, her body reeling with a small stab of soreness. The tenderness from the time she’d spent with David over the weekend made her smile. No rest for the wicked, they always say. And they had both been very wicked.

  Kristin’s cheeks heated as she flipped through the rolodex on her desk. Enough with the dilly-dallying. There was work to be done. She found the number she sought and plucked the telephone receiver from its home.

  “Guardian advertising and sales, how may I be of assistance?” The young woman’s voice was way too chipper for first thing on a Monday morning.

  “Y
es, my name is Kristin Shepherd. I placed an ad for my art gallery, Haven, last week, and was told that it would start today. But, I don’t see it in the Culture section of the paper.”

  “One moment, please.” The peck of fingers on a keyboard echoed through the phone. “There you are, Haven Art Gallery. That ad was cancelled two days ago.”

  Kristin jerked in surprise. “No it wasn’t. What do you mean? By whom?”

  More clicks of the keyboard. “Well, it says by you.”

  What the hell? “I can assure you, that it was not cancelled by me. Can we un-cancel it to start tomorrow?” The blood in Kristin’s veins pumped swiftly.

  “Well, um, it says here that a refund was given in cash. We can redo the ad, but will need payment. Otherwise, there’s nothing I can do.”

  Kristin’s heart sank. That money was the last of what she’d saved from James’ life insurance, and this woman was telling her it was gone, with nothing to show for it? No freaking way.

  “Whoever came in and cancelled that ad, did so without my knowledge, and took money that belonged to me. If you had asked to see identification, you would have known that.” Kristin’s voice rose in anger as her breath became ragged with irritation.

  “One moment please.” Hold music assaulted Kristin’s ears.

  How many more things could go wrong? Wait. Maybe she didn’t want to know the answer to that. Haven had been a success since she opened it. Maybe not a raging one, but a success nonetheless. Now problems attacked her at every turn. Ever since—

  Kristin froze on that last thought. Ever since she’d met David and had been introduced to Sophie Miller, that’s when her dealings started to go bad.

  It couldn’t be just a coincidence. Sophie had to be involved somehow. The woman had been way too sarcastic at the theater when she’d asked how business was. Even though David didn’t believe it, Kristin was certain Sophie had more than a passing involvement in the problems at the gallery. All Kristin had to do was prove it.

  The hold music ceased as the woman returned to her phone. “I apologize, madam. But the manager says that since the refund was given in cash, there’s really nothing we can do right now. You’re welcome to file a complaint at the main office to prompt an investigation.”

  Her swiftly pumping blood thudded in her ears with alarm. “But that doesn’t help me, now! I need that ad to help my business! What am I supposed to do?

  “I’m sorry. As I suggested, please file a complaint. It’s out of my hands now.” Silence followed in the wake of the woman’s sudden disconnection of the call.

  Her hand shook as she replaced the receiver in its cradle. What was she going to do? Though she actually had no proof Sophie had anything to do with this or any of the other issues plaguing Haven, Kristin was certain the actress was involved. Maybe it was time for further investigation, and time she stood up to someone.

  Her finger pressed the intercom button on the phone. “Celia.”

  “Yes Kristin?” Her friend’s voice crackled through the static.

  “Do you remember what gallery Johnathan Bledsloe said had offered him a better showing?”

  The sound of papers shuffling filtered over the intercom. “Let’s see. I believe he said it was the Hayward Gallery.”

  “Thanks.”

  Kristin’s fingers flipped through the rolodex once again. She picked up the phone and punched in another number.

  “Hayward Gallery.”

  “Yes, I’m trying to find out about a new artist that’s showing there. His name is Johnathan Bledsloe.”

  “Oh, yes, Mr. Bledsloe!” The woman’s voice bubbled with pleasure. “What is it that you’d like to know?”

  Kristin cleared her throat. “Well, your gallery typically doesn’t cater to the lesser known local artists, usually dealing only with the larger names, so I was curious. Are you taking newer artists now?”

  The woman inhaled deeply. “No we’re not. But in this instance we had a great opportunity. One of our largest patrons, Dorothy Miller, brought him too us. Apparently, her daughter found him and decided his work was worth the consideration of Hayward Gallery. You might know her—Sophie Miller, the actress?”

  Her gut twisted with annoyance and hot fury. Oh, she knew Sophie all right. “Thank you very much for your time.” Kristin hung up the phone slowly. Well, there it was. Now at least she had some concrete proof Sophie had a hand in some of the things going on with Haven. And she would bet money that Sophie was even more involved.

  Kristin snatched the phone back from its cradle and punched in the number to the place where she had her printing done for shows.

  “City Graphics. What can I do for you?” a man’s voice answered.

  “Yes, this is Kristin Shepherd, owner of Haven Gallery. Tell me, does your business also provide services for Hayward Gallery?”

  The man cleared his throat gruffly. “We service many art galleries in the city. Why do you ask?”

  Kristin breathed deeply in an attempt to keep calm and focused. “I’m just trying to do some research on different prints and the services they offer to larger galleries. You know, get a jump on the competition and all. It would help to know how the other places run parts of their business.”

  “Well, if you do business with us, you’re heading in the right direction. Hayward Gallery happens to be our largest client.”

  “Thank you.” Kristin stared at the phone in her hand for an instant, before she slammed it back into its home.

  If Sophie could threaten her and David so easily, the woman could more than likely threaten a business to make things difficult for the gallery as well. The woman really had to be completely unhinged.

  Blood throbbed through Kristin’s head and the pressure rushed into her ears. Brilliant. What she really needed right now was a headache. Especially since she had to make it through the rest of her day at the gallery.

  Sophie Miller was a woman obsessed. She was not pretending with David. If the actress wasn’t so cold and calculating, Kristin would almost believe the woman still loved him, and was desperate to keep him in her life. But these actions were ones of obsession and ownership, not love.

  Kristin’s finger rubbed a spot on her temple. Something had to be done and plans made before she saw David tonight.

  ~~~

  David glanced at the clock in his car as he drove to see Kristin.

  It was nine o’clock already. The night had swallowed up the day in its inky jaws. What light remained glinted in sporadic areas on the road before him, reflecting in patterns on puddles that remained from the rain earlier.

  David’s day had been a long one, spent mostly with his agent. Bernard had been taken aback when he had admitted the truth about his relationship with Sophie. Bernie’s hurt clearly showed in his eyes as he refused to believe he had been fooled about it for months.

  It took awhile before David finally convinced him that it was over for good, and he needed Bernard’s help to ensure everyone came out unscathed.

  Over the next couple of hours, he spent time with Bernard going through the schedule, attempting to make sure there wasn’t anything that he and Sophie had been committed to as a pair. He needed to make sure Sophie couldn’t keep her threats with his career. Unfortunately, one item had been discovered.

  David located a parking space and climbed out of his car. He strolled toward the building and depressed the door buzzer. “It’s me.”

  Kristin buzzed him in without a word. Her day must not have been much better than his.

  Taking the stairs, he walked through the open door. Kristin stood at her kitchen counter and leaned casually against it. Her black hair flowed freely, framing her face while her dark eyes peered at him. She wore blue shorts and a white tank top, her feet bare. David’s tired body snapped to attention as faint stirrings of desire travelled through him.

  “Sorry I’m so late, lass.” He crossed the room and kissed her cheek lightly. “How was your day?”

  The air around him chilled as Kr
istin moved slightly away and folded her arms across her chest. “Interesting.”

  David felt his eyebrows rise. “Is that so?”

  She nodded and tilted her head to the side. “You remember the artist that canceled a show on me last week?”

  He stood still and watched her. “Yes, I remember.”

  “Well, the gallery that lured him away happens to have one Dorothy Miller as its biggest patron. Come to find out, Sophie was the one to bring him to her mother’s attention.”

  He brushed both hands through his hair. It appeared that Sophie’s deviousness had no boundaries after all.

  “That’s not all,” Kristin blushed and her voice was cool compared to yesterday’s passion. “Apparently, the printer that I use for my own gallery—the one that suddenly took away my credit privileges—has that same gallery as their largest client.”

  David stared at her, not sure of what he should say.

  Kristin threw her hands in the air, frustration written all over her face. “Don’t you see? Sophie has been behind my problems at the gallery all along. You can’t deny her involvement anymore.”

  David’s shoulders sagged. “I still don’t understand why she would go to so much trouble.”

  Kristin shook her head from side to side and stared at the ceiling of the kitchen. “Because she obviously still has feelings for you, and can’t stand it that you want to be with me.”

  David rubbed his head, mussing his hair. “But Sophie knows—”

  Kristin held up a hand, and her eyes held only fury. “I get the feeling that what Sophie knows, doesn’t always mesh with what Sophie wants. And what she obviously wants, is you.”