My Name Is Desire: The Bad Baker Boys: Mark's Story

by Tonya Brooks

  “Yes,” she replied honestly and looked away from him. “And I can't run the risk of letting Kylie get attached to someone who'd break both of our hearts.”

  “Not all men are bastards,” he said gently as he tilted her chin up until their eyes met. “I'm sure there are a lot of men who'd love to have a wife and child like you and Kylie.”

  “Would you?” she asked bluntly and saw his shocked expression. Desi smiled and shook her head. “Don't worry, Mark. I don't have any designs on you. I was just trying to prove a point.”

  “What point was that?” Mark asked in confusion since he'd damn sure missed it.

  “Most men aren't interested in a readymade family and the ones who are usually have some pretty strange reasons why,” she explained. “I know a woman who met a man that seemed perfect for her. Then she found out that he was a pedophile and the only reason he went out with her was to get to her sons.”

  “I hope she dumped the sick son of a bitch,” he said in disgust.

  “She did, but its people like him that I have to avoid.” Desi said seriously and saw his frown deepen. “If you'd said you were interested, I would have had to wonder why.”

  Mark nodded his understanding even though he didn't like her reasoning. The thought of some pervert dating Desi to get to her daughter infuriated him. “I had no idea being a single parent could be so difficult,” he admitted. “Even dating sounds complicated.”

  “It is,” she agreed and then laughed self-consciously. “I'm sorry. I don't know how we wound up on that topic. I just wanted to apologize and thank you for being so nice to Kylie.”

  Now that she had told him the possible dangers, Mark understood even more why she had been so upset. “Don't worry about it, Desi,” he said completely serious and felt compelled to add, “But I hope you know I'd never do anything to hurt you or Kylie.”

  She didn't doubt his sincerity and on impulse leaned up to kiss his cheek. “You're a very nice man, Mark Baker. I'm honored that you chose to show kindness to my daughter,” she informed him sincerely.

  Mark just stood there on the landing staring after her as she descended the stairs and headed toward the kitchen. Yeah, she was a special lady alright. It was just too bad he wasn't in the market for a wife and child. If he were, there’s no way he'd let a woman like her get away. No way in hell.

  ~~~~

  Since John's band, the Bad Boy's, had to perform that night, the wedding rehearsal was being held at three and as usual, when the Baker's were involved, it was far from ordinary. Harley's niece Candi was the flower girl and the child flatly refused to walk down the aisle unless she had flowers to scatter. Matt solved the problem when he filled one of the offering plates with rose petals that he plucked from the pastor's yard.

  “Tell Jen to order a rose bush from Eileen's and put it on my account,” he informed the minister.

  “She's gonna kill us both,” Gator Barnes assured him. His wife loved her roses and she had some prize winners in the garden. He really hoped Matt hadn't plucked the wrong bush.

  Harley's sister Stella Abbott was the first down the aisle, and the band began to play an old burlesque tune that had her doing a hip swinging walk and she stopped midway to remove the blouse covering her tank top, and send it flying across the sanctuary much to everyone’s amusement and Gator's dismay. Once she took her place at the altar, the music switched to the tune from the Wizard of Oz and Kylie skipped merrily down the aisle.

  They played the wedding march for Desi's entrance and she shook her head and blushed as she made her way to the altar. Happy now that she had flowers, Candi walked slowly down the aisle scattering petals along the way and completely ignored the pink panther theme song they played for her. When Harley began her walk, the band began a funeral dirge and she laughed all the way to the altar.

  Jedidiah scowled at the entire wedding party and admonished, “Behave yourselves. This is a church, dammit.” Which caused everyone, including the minister, to laugh. Realizing that he had cussed in church, the family patriarch growled, “Sorry, Gator.”

  “No problem, Mr. Baker,” the minister said with a grin. He'd known these people his whole life and hadn't expected anything other than chaos.

  The rest of the rehearsal was just as hilarious with everyone cracking jokes and teasing the bride and groom unmercifully. They really harassed Harley about the promise to obey her husband since she was so strong willed and independent. “I do everything Matthew asks me to,” she informed them demurely.

  “That's because he's not stupid enough to tell you to do anything,” Mark assured her.

  When the minister got to the part where he asked if anyone had a reason why the two of them shouldn't get married, Matt threatened him with bodily harm unless he removed that from the ceremony, and he hadn’t been kidding.

  No, it hadn't been a typical rehearsal at all, but it had been pretty much what he had expected, Gator thought with a grin as he watched them leave. He fervently prayed the wedding party showed more decorum for the actual ceremony but he wasn't holding his breath. When the bad Baker boys were involved, anything could happen, and usually did.

  ~~~~

  The rehearsal dinner was held in a private dining room at the Manor House and the staff had their hands full as they waited on the boisterous crowd. The restaurant was known for its refined elegance and this crowd was anything but that. The manager was as nervous as a cat as he expected a food fight to break out at any minute. Fortunately they managed to refrain from going that far, but he had witnessed one of the brothers toss a dinner roll across the table to another one. Thankfully they left as soon as the meal was finished and the entire staff breathed a sigh of relief.

  Jedidiah, Claire and Josie opted to take the children home with them when the rest of the adults decided to party the night away. The group moved on to Mark's bar where the party atmosphere bubbled over onto the rest of the patrons and everyone was having a great time.

  Well, not everyone.

  “Hello, Mrs. Baker,” Darla Mason said scathingly as she looked her over enviously when they met in the ladies room.

  “Darla,” Harley acknowledged coolly. She and the other woman had never been friendly and Darla had despised her since Mark had involved her in their game back in high school. Since they had only pretended to be a couple, Mark had slept with other women on occasion and Darla had been one of the unfortunate ones who thought she could replace Harley as his girlfriend. She'd been furious when the couple didn't break up.

  “I hear you and Matt are gonna tie the knot again tomorrow.”

  “You heard right,” she agreed as she rinsed her hands.

  “What makes you think it'll work this time?” Darla asked nastily. “You couldn't hold on to him the last time and he's even more of a man now than he was back then.”

  “Because this time I want to hold onto him,” she said with a feral smile of warning as she dried her hands.

  “Then you'd better make sure he gets rid of his love shack,” she informed her with malicious glee. “If Matt doesn't have the apartment to take another woman to, he'll have no choice but to come home to you.”

  Harley stared at her incredulously as Darla turned on her heel and flounced away. Matt had an apartment where he took his women, she thought a bit wildly and fought the old doubts and insecurities that threatened to resurface. Harley had learned the hard way to face them head on, so she walked back into the bar and straight across the room to where her soon to be husband was standing and suggested, “Let's take a ride.”

  Matt took one look at her face and knew she was pissed. He slid his arm around her waist and led her out to the car. “What's wrong, baby?” he asked once they were inside.

  “I'd like to see your apartment,” she said bluntly and saw his guilty expression. Holding up her hand to forestall an explanation, she added, “I'd like to see it now, Matthew.”

  Matt didn't say a word as he cranked the car and drove them to the complex where he had kept an apartment
for the last several years. He parked in front of the one with the For Rent sign in the window and said, “That's it.”

  Harley held out her hand and said, “The key.”

  Matt reached in the glove compartment and handed over the key ring before he followed her to the door where she unlocked it and walked inside. He flipped the lights on and remained silent as she walked through the studio looking the place over and saw no evidence of his personal effects anywhere. “I haven't used it since you came back, Harley,” he explained. “I don't need it anymore.”

  “You've had this apartment the whole time and you never brought me here,” she said curiously and slid the keys into her pocket. “Why?”

  “Hell, baby, I couldn't take a woman back to the house,” he began to explain his reasons for having the apartment instead of answering her question. “I needed some place to...”

  She didn't need details, just an answer. “Why didn't you bring me here instead of making love to me in the car?”

  The night that she had told him about being raped and Matthew had volunteered to help her overcome her fear of intimacy, he had insisted they needed a bed, but they had wound up making love in his car again. They had also spent the next few nights together in his car and she couldn't imagine why he hadn't brought her here since that was what he obviously used the place for.

  “I couldn't bring you here.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you're too special for a place like this,” he confessed. “You're the kind of woman a man marries. This place is for... everyone else.”

  “I see,” she said as she turned to face him. Oh, dear. Her husband still saw her as some perfect lady on a blasted pedestal. It was definitely time to change that. “This is the building that you and Mark own.”

  “It is.”

  “I suppose he has an apartment here as well.”

  “Next door,” Matt admitted. Harley went to the window and removed the sign. “What are you doing?” he asked with a frown.

  “We're keeping it.”

  “We are?” he asked in disbelief and then hastily assured her, “Baby, I told you there wouldn't be any more women and I meant it.” She had to know by now that there was no way in hell he’d ever cheat on her again.

  “I know,” she agreed with the naughty smile that he loved. “But the house doesn't have a lot of privacy and a place like this could come in handy.”

  “You're kidding, right?” her husband asked hopefully. There was no way he would make love to his wife in the place he'd brought other women to. Dammit, it just wasn't decent.

  “It needs some work,” she said as she looked it over with an eye for detail. “And new furniture of course, but it'll make a nice little love shack for us.”

  “You're serious?” Matt asked incredulously.

  “Absolutely,” she agreed and began to point around the room. “We'll put a hot tub over there and the bed can go there. Oh, and the pole can go right here.”

  “Pole?” he repeated blankly.

  “Strippers pole,” she elaborated. “Of course, the whole place will have to be soundproofed first. I doubt Mark would appreciate all the noise.”

  Matt was trying to wrap his mind around the idea of the pole. “Why would we need a stripper’s pole?”

  “How do you think I put myself through school so fast?” she asked in amusement.

  “You were a stripper?” Matt thundered incredulously.

  “Exotic dancer,” she corrected in an offhand manner, as if it were of little importance now.

  “Tell me you're joking,” he pleaded as images of his wife dancing naked for countless men tormented him.

  “If it'll make you feel better,” Harley said with a smile. “So you see, Matthew, I am the kind of woman you could bring to a place like this.”

  “Dammit, Harley, that's not funny,” Matt growled.

  “Neither is finding out that my husband has a love shack that he never bothered to tell me about,” she shot back and dropped the ridiculous pretense.

  “I didn't think you'd want to know,” he admitted.

  “I sure as hell didn't want to find out about it from Darla,” she assured him. “What else are you hiding from me?”

  “Not a damn thing,” he swore. “We promised no more secrets and other than this place, I don't have any.”

  “Good,” she agreed as she walked to him and put her arms around his big, strong body. “I couldn't bear losing you again, Matthew.”

  “That will never happen,” Matt assured her as he hugged her fiercely. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this place, baby. I was afraid if I did, you'd believe I was still as wild and reckless as I used to be.”

  “You are,” she smiled up at him. “The only difference is that now you keep it at home where it belongs.”

  “Yes, Ma'am,” he readily agreed and kissed her passionately. “Let's go home to our bed.”

  “The house is full of people,” she pointed out.

  “Maybe we can soundproof our room,” he suggested hopefully.

  “Oh, I plan to,” she assured him as she pulled away. “And I am having a pole installed there.”

  “You're kidding, right?” he asked as she laughed and walked out the door. “Harley? Dammit, baby, don't tease me like that,” Matt complained as he put the sign back in the window and locked the door before following her to the car. “You never danced, did you?”

  “I've danced for you before,” she reminded him of the graduation party where she had gotten drunk and climbed on top of a picnic table to dance just for him. “What do you think?”

  She could, he knew without a doubt. Harley was an incredible dancer, completely uninhibited and that dance had been the most erotic thing he'd ever seen. “You did,” he said in shock. His wife had been an exotic dancer. The knowledge infuriated Matt. “If you needed money that bad, why the hell didn't you let me help?” he demanded.

  “No more secrets,” she reminded him. “I had already forced you into marriage, there was no way I was going to burden you with supporting me when I was perfectly capable of doing it myself.”

  “Dammit, Harley, you wouldn't have been a burden,” Matt assured her heatedly. “I wanted to support you and I kept offering, but you always refused. If I'd had any idea what you were doing...”

  “You would have raised hell, which is exactly why I didn't tell you,” she pointed out. “Besides, I made damn good money and was free to spend more time with Jed than I would have with a job waiting tables, which is the only other thing I knew how to do.”

  “The money couldn't have been that good,” he growled jealously.

  “I averaged well over a thousand dollars,” she informed him.

  “A week?” he asked in surprise.

  “A night,” Harley confessed and saw his look of astonishment. “I was damn good.”

  That was more than he wanted to know. Matt knew first hand just how erotic she could move that gorgeous body. Hell, he'd have paid any price to watch her dance like that again. He still would. A troubled frown marred his brow as he stared at her in frustration that he hadn't been able to prevent her from subjecting herself to that kind of life.

  “I only danced for them, Matthew,” she said to reassure him. “They paid to watch, not touch, and I didn't dance naked.”

  “I don't care, dammit,” he growled angrily. “You should have let me help you.”

  “Are you jealous or is it your pride growling at me?” she asked shrewdly.

  “Both,” he admitted.

  “You don't have a reason to be jealous,” Harley assured him. “I can't tell you how many nights I pretended you were in the audience watching me and I was dancing just for you again.” she said and saw his jaw drop in surprise. “That's why I was so good. I was dancing for the only man I ever wanted.”

  She slid across the seat and put her arms around him. “And my pride wouldn't allow me to ask you for help, just like yours is offended now because I didn't,” she reasoned. “I learned
a long time ago that pride can get you in a hell of a mess if you let it, Matthew. So what I'm asking is, can you forgive me for not coming to you, or is this going to be a problem?”

  Matt stared at her beautiful face and felt the anger drain out of him. There was no sense in his getting upset over something that had happened years ago and he had no way of changing. “If you can forgive me for all the hell I put you through, how can I complain about this?” he said at long last and let it go.

  “Good,” she smiled and kissed him. “I love you.”

  “I love you,” he smiled and pulled her to him for a soul stealing kiss that left her breathless. “And the pole is a damn good idea,” he assured her wickedly. “We may have to install an ATM in the bedroom so I'll have plenty of cash on hand.”

  “That won't be necessary,” she grinned back just as wickedly. “Since I plan to dance naked for you there won't be a bikini to stick it in.”

  His eyes narrowed jealously and Matt just had to ask, “Is that what they did?”

  “Pretty much,” she agreed and didn't elaborate. There were some things he really wouldn't want to know, like how many guys had shoved money in her bikini three nights a week.

  Matt got the picture and sure as hell didn't want any details to go with it. “Anything else I should know about?” he asked warily.

  “You do know I can't cook, right?”

  “Not in the kitchen,” Matt said with a wink and cranked the car. “Besides, Pop probably wouldn't let you in the kitchen anyway. That's his domain.”

  ~~~~

  When Mark placed another one of his special concoctions on the table in front of her, Desi didn't have the nerve to ask him what this one was called, so she asked instead, “Have you seen Harley?”

  “Not for a while,” he admitted and looked around the crowded room to see if he could locate his brother. “She and Matt probably sneaked out to the car to fool around,” he said with a devilish smile and she blushed becomingly. Mark laughed and invited in that silky voice, “Dance with me.”