“She’s something else, your sister.”
Kara stopped. “She came to the gallery again? I told her to leave you alone.”
“She was right about everything she hurled at me. I’ll have to woo her and your parents all over again.” Baron closed the door with his foot and removed the guitar from around his neck. “Want me to grab that dinner?”
“No. It can wait.”
“Good. Because I can’t. I’m starving…for you.” He scooped her up in his arms.
“Oh no, you don’t. We have some talking to do.” She still wrapped her arms around his neck. Her gaze went to the guitar, then his face. “What were you planning to do with the guitar?”
“Serenade you into taking me back. Thank goodness I didn’t have to. The new songs are still raw. ” He continued toward the bedroom. “What’s that sound?”
“The tub.”
“Good. I’ve missed taking a bath with you.” He headed toward the bathroom and let her slide down his body to the floor, a wicked grin on his face when she gasped at his erection. Then he started on the buttons on her shirt.
“You just want to get me naked, don’t you?”
“It’s been three weeks, baby. I missed your touch.”
Put that way it kind of made it hard to resist him. Kara pushed his hands aside and pulled off her shirt. She started on her jeans, feasting on him as his T-shirt came off and his inviting broad chest came into view.
“How’s Sandra?”
“She’s doing better, except,” he sighed, “she’s not mine.”
Kara’s hands stilled. “When did you find out?”
Instead of answering, he appeared mesmerized by her movements as she shimmied out of her jeans.
“When?” she asked again, impatiently.
He shrugged. “This evening. I wanted a paternity test done when I first got here from Idaho, but Sandra slipped into a coma and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“I had no idea you had doubts.”
He grimaced. “I did and felt guilty about it. Valerie manipulated the situation from the moment I walked inside that hospital. Change that to from the moment my brother Lex went to see her. She knew Sandra wasn’t mine but instead chose to lie because she doesn’t have a dime to her name. She claimed she never had an abortion in the first place, but was afraid I’d go after her if I knew.” He kicked his shoes off then yanked at his socks. “I wasn’t about to trust her again. So I waited for Sandra to wake up before doing the test. I was on my way to make Valerie an offer then come and beg for your forgiveness when a friend called me from the DNA lab with the results.” Baron stopped undressing all together and pushed the straps of her bra off her shoulders.
Kara pressed the bra against her breasts and shook her head. “No, baby. Talk first, play later.”
Baron grinned. “I’m crazy about you. Do you know that?”
Kara worked hard to keep a straight face. “I hope you intend to show me.”
“Damn right, I do. Okay, where was I?” He unbuckled his pants but stopped shy of pulling them down as he continued. “When I confronted Valerie this evening with the results, she broke down and confessed to everything. Her marriage was going down the toilet so she paid one of Stu’s men to take pictures of our meeting at the airport. I don’t know what she hoped to accomplish but from her attitude, I gathered she wanted to make Stu jealous. When that didn’t work, she lied to Stu that Sandra was mine and she was leaving him for me. Instead of begging her to stay, he cut her loose, threw her things in the car and was bringing them to my mother’s house when the accident happened.”
“What about Sandra’s birthday? Did she lie about that too?”
“No. She cheated on me with Stu while we were dating.” His eyes shadowed. “When she got pregnant, she wasn’t sure whether the baby was mine or Stu’s. Stu wasn’t willing to marry her at first, so she used me to make him jealous. The entire time we were engaged and planning a future together, she stayed in touch with Stu, always hoping he’d come for her. She loved him, not me. As soon as Stu came around to her way of thinking, she left me.”
“Why did she have to claim she had an abortion? That’s so cruel.”
Baron shrugged. “I have no idea how her mind works.”
Kara hugged his waist, melding his hardness against her softness, wishing she could pay Valerie a visit and smack her.
“She’s not important, you are.” Baron lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry about the pictures in the tabloids, baby. I should have told you about them but we were leaving for Idaho the next day and I didn’t want anything to spoil our stay there.”
Kara kissed his chest then leaned back. “I understand. What’s going to happen to Valerie now?”
“I leased for them an apartment and found a legal firm to sort out Stu’s estate. For now, I’ll pay Sandra’s medical bills but I want that woman out of our lives. Once she gets her share of Stu’s estate, we’ll never have anything to do with her again.” He kissed Kara’s shoulder, her neck. “Hmm, you taste good.”
She pulled his face away from her skin and looked into his eyes. “Why are you helping her? She doesn’t deserve your generosity after what she did.”
“Stu was my friend once. I see this as taking care of his little girl.”
Kara shook her head, marveling at how complex and amazing he was. She’d never known anyone like him. “I love you, Baron Fitzgerald.”
He grinned. “Finally. I thought I’d have to drag those words from you.”
“I love you too much to play games, baby. On that note, forget about the bath and start begging for forgiveness. I’ve missed your touch too.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the bedroom.
“Does that mean you’ll want me to touch you everyday for the rest of our lives?”
Kara’s heart skipped a beat then thundered away. This time she wasn’t mistaken. She turned on the edge of the bed and cocked her head.
“Is that your idea of a marriage proposal, Baron Fitzgerald? Can you imagine me explaining how you proposed to our grandchildren?”
“That was just so you know my intentions. I plan to ask your father first.” He pulled down his jeans and kicked them off until he stood nude before her, his manhood jutting majestically between his thighs.
She hopped on the bed and extended her hands to him. “Your intentions are dully noted. Now, come to me.”
Grinning, he joined her.
THE END
BIOGRAPHY
EDNAH WALTERS grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and dreaming of one day writing her own stories. She finished her PhD in chemistry, married the love of her life, and decided to be a stay-at-home mother. She now lives in a picturesque valley in Utah with her husband, five children and two American short-hair cats. When she is not writing, you can find her doing things with her family, reading or traveling, online chatting with fans.
Ednah writes both YA fantasy and adult romance under the pseudonym E. B. Walters. AWAKENED, the first YA fantasy book in The Guardian Legacy series, was released in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED book two in the series was released August 1st 2011. She’s currently working on book 3 in the series.
Her adult romance, SLOW BURN, was released in April, 2011. It was the first book on the Fitzgerald family. Book 2, MINE UNTIL DAWN, was released on July 1st 2011. KISS ME CRAZY is the third book in the series. She is currently revising book 4 of the Fitzgeralds. You can visit her online at www.ednahwalters.com
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