Sins in the Sand

by Kait Gamble

  He chuckled wholeheartedly. “And funny. Dinner will be my pleasure.”

  “Gerald is my cousin.” Julia nudged him, none too gently judging by his answering grimace. “He’ll be a perfect gentleman, I can guarantee it.”

  “Of course.” The words might have been right, but the mischievous grin he gave Kendra said otherwise.

  “Right. Now the introductions are over with…” Julia turned to Malika.

  “I’ve got to go down. We have a car waiting for you at the back of the hotel to make your big entrance. Just walk straight through the crowd as Kiki would. Your table is right at the front. You’ll be ushered to it, so don’t worry about getting lost.” She took Kendra’s hand. “Thank you so much for your help on this. I’ll be forever grateful.”

  “Glad I could help.”

  Malika gave her a heartfelt smile before striding from the room.

  Julia led her down to the car and got her into it. She bent at the waist to give Kendra a smile. “Not to echo Malika, but thank you. I knew I could count on you.”

  “Any time.”

  Julia winked and shut the door then banged on the top to get the driver moving.

  They took a long, meandering path to the entrance of the hotel. And, as promised, there was a huge crowd gathered there to watch as the glitterati arrived. What she was about to do crystallized in her mind as the car came to a stop.

  Was she really ready to walk out of the car, as if she were a star?

  “Ms. Wright, are you ready?”

  Tarik’s voice came loud and clear through the intercom. It gave her some comfort that he was the one on the other side of the partition.

  “Give me a moment, please.” She folded her shaking hands in her lap, admiring the glitter of the gems on her fingers and the perfection of the manicure. All that work… She couldn’t let Julia and Malika down.

  Kendra pressed the button. “I’m ready, Tarik.”

  She heard the driver’s door open and close a mere second before her own swept open.

  Inhaling a long, deep breath, Kendra took Tarik’s hand and stepped onto the red carpet. Worrying about all the faces staring at her had been a waste of time thanks to the never-ending flashes. Blinded, she kept the smile plastered on her face and made sure to imitate the walk as she headed in a straight line. At least as straight as she could manage. She was hustled along and wasn’t given much time to do anything other than smile and wave a little as she rushed past.

  Inside was much the same. Apparently, she was the last to arrive and just needed to find her seat for the night to begin.

  Kendra found herself at a table with several other people, none of whom she recognized. But for them to be at the same table as ‘Kiki Brandt’ must have made them high-profile. Cameras flashed without notice, reminding her that it was show time and that she needed to stay on point. She forced herself to do the flirtatious smile that Kiki was known for and posed with the people flanking her.

  As the glitterati began to settle, Kendra glanced around the room at the other diners and was rewarded with an eyeful of designer clothing, glittering gems and a never-ending list of stars and the rich.

  On perusing a table not too far from hers, her gaze collided with that of an incredibly handsome man. He was dark and dangerous looking. The tux he wore—with devastating effect—barely tamed him. The instant their gazes met, the pure power of his attention knocked the breath from her lungs. Unaffected, he merely gave her a predatory smile, raised his martini glass with a nod and took a sip. All without ever breaking visual contact.

  Dropping the act, she lowered her gaze and took a long sip of her water to soothe her suddenly parched throat. It took her a long while to calm the fluttering of her heartbeat and replace the star-struck expression she was sure she had on her face with a confident smile.

  Kendra made very sure not to look in his direction again. Keeping her gaze carefully averted, she made chitchat with the people at her table for a time. Luckily, no one she sat near knew the real Kiki and didn’t really seemed to bother to talk to her, only breaking the silence when there was a photo op or uncomfortable lapses in conversation.

  Enjoying a break from the pretense, Kendra let her gaze wander around the room again, dodging the man that had stared at her earlier. A frisson of excitement buzzed up her spine at the mere thought of him, but she kept her gaze carefully averted. The last thing she needed was for him to come on to her thinking she was someone else.

  She flicked her gaze toward a table where a gaudily dressed woman flapped her arms mid-story, giving the impression of a huge, gangly bird trying to take flight. Kendra watched in amusement until the woman noticed she’d lost the interest of her table, most of whom appeared to have turned away in embarrassment.

  On the other side of the woman, a man sat with a smile on his face, though it wasn’t directed at the awkward woman. His gaze was focused on Kendra. He was the opposite in looks to the other man. Golden, but equally beautiful, he lit up his table with his presence. Looking perfect in his tux, the man widened his grin when their gazes locked.

  At little startled, she gave him a flash of her teeth in return before quickly turning her gaze to the stage.

  It seemed to take eons before Katherine Murray appeared on the stage.

  Stunning in a blood-red dress, she beamed confidently at the crowd. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Totally Five Star, Dubai. I want to thank you all for being here for such a worthy cause. I hope that we can make this a night to remember, not just for us, but for the children whose lives will change, thanks to your generous donations.”

  The thunderous applause shook the room.

  Wishing there was more she could do to help the children, Kendra joined in. Hopefully her ruse would put quite a bit toward the charity. At least then it would all have been worthwhile.

  “Without further ado, please whip out your checkbooks and get your cards ready as we begin!”

  It seemed that the patrons of the evening were most definitely in the mood to give. Each prize up for bid went for staggering amounts of cash. Almost all were bought for more than she could make in a year. It was mind boggling to her that the expense hardly made the group blink an eye. In fact, it seemed more like an exercise in one-upmanship with the next making sure to give thousands more than the last.

  Eyes watering from the sheer insanity of it all, she waited for the inevitable announcement. What if she didn’t make as much? What if no one bid? It was well known that Kiki Brandt wasn’t easy to get along with. Her manner was brash, snooty and generally nothing Kendra would want to have anything to do with. She couldn’t imagine many people would want to spend an evening with her.

  She’d never been more delighted that there was a ringer for her than at that moment. No matter what, she knew Gerald would have her back.

  Then another worry niggled at her mind. What if the bidding got even crazier? What was the winning bid of the last item? Was it one hundred and fifty thousand? Two?

  Why hadn’t she been paying attention?

  “Finally, our last donation comes from the gorgeous and talented Kiki Brandt. You’ll know her from the catwalk and her reality TV show, Kicking It with Kiki.”

  The brilliant lights immediately turned to blind her. It was all Kendra could do to keep the smile on her face. She stood, gave a wave and, in a fit of absurdity, adopted a pose and blew a kiss to the crowd. She had never felt more relief than when the lights turned back to Katherine and she was able to melt back into her seat.

  “Kiki has generously donated a dinner with her at our multi-Michelin-starred restaurant Soar this evening!”

  Was it her or was the applause less than thunderous at the pronouncement?

  “We’ll start the bidding at twenty thousand.”

  There was a long pause before Katherine’s thankful voice announced, “We have twenty! Anyone for twenty-five?”

  It was a long and slow process and even then the bids crawled to a stop at ninety tho
usand dollars. Though she knew that people weren’t actually bidding on the real her, it was more than humiliating to take in so much less than everyone else.

  Wanting to crawl under the table and die, Kendra fought back tears. Just as one threatened to ruin the painstakingly applied eye makeup, a deep, slightly accented voice declared, “Two hundred thousand.”

  The tears dried up and butterflies pin-wheeled in her gut. That wasn’t Gerald. In fact, he was the one who had upped the bids to the paltry ninety thousand.

  “Three hundred.” Another voice came from the other side of the room.

  Gasps came from her table and those around. What was happening?

  “Four,” growled one voice.

  “Five,” countered the other, without missing a beat.

  Surely these men were insane.

  Kendra lost the fight to remain cool and collected and joined everyone else in trying to find out who the madmen were. It soon became clear that, without standing up and searching, she wasn’t going to have any luck as everyone was doing the same and getting in her line of sight.

  She turned her focus to Katherine who had an expression of mingled delight and amazement on her face. She met her gaze briefly before turning back to the action as the men bid furiously between themselves.

  “Two million.” The words were met with silence from the crowd, as if the entire room had joined Kendra in holding their breath to see if the other man would outdo the excessive bid.

  There was a thoughtful silence, then a voice broke the deafening stillness. “If Kiki, my competitor and the hotel allows it, I will match the bid in order to share the meal with them both.”

  Katherine’s jaw dropped, as, Kendra imagined, did everyone else’s in the room. “That is most generous. If no one has a problem with it.” She turned to who Kendra assumed was the other bidder before she shifted her gaze to Kendra. How could she say no to that?

  Kendra gazed helplessly at her.

  “That makes it a collective four million for the meal with Kiki Brandt! A new record!” Katherine pointed to two people in the audience. “Thank you, Dmitri Volkov and Nikos Demarchis, for your incredible generosity!”

  They stood. They were—very clearly—not Gerald. She found herself staring at the two men she’d caught glimpses of earlier in the evening.

  She swallowed convulsively as she fought to keep the smile on her face.

  The men soaked up the adulation, but while they were being applauded for giving up so much cash, they both kept their attention on Kendra. Hunters with their eyes on the prize.

  The rest of the words being said droned uselessly at the back of her mind as Kendra sat stunned. Four million had been bid for a few hours of her time. Not her time, but Kiki’s. She had to remember that. The men thought they were spending all that money on someone else. The pressure to meet their expectations terrified her and tied her stomach into even tighter knots. What if she failed? What if they expected more for their money?

  She imagined that two such devastatingly handsome and virile men had women falling all over themselves to be with them. Did they expect her to be the same way? And to share her? The evocative thought triggered vivid images that she quickly brushed aside. Kendra desperately hoped they meant only her time because she had no idea how to even navigate a relationship, let alone deal with two men simultaneously.

  Kendra was sure she would end up with an ulcer or five by the end of the night.

  The rest of the event was wrapped up rather quickly after that. At least that’s how it seemed to her. She wouldn’t have minded it going on a while longer. Anything to hold off dinner just that little bit more. But soon her table had emptied and she had to admit to herself that the real show was about to begin.

  “Ms. Brandt.”

  Kendra had been getting to her feet when she heard the name. She turned to find both men standing close enough that their combined masculinity nearly knocked her back into her seat.

  In tandem, they reached out to steady her.

  Was it possible to feel electricity in a touch? Kendra was sure she’d gotten a jolt from both of them.

  “Thank you.” She pulled her arms from their grasps. “And thank you for being so generous with your bids tonight. I hope that dinner with me will be worth it.”

  The dark-haired one smiled, revealing an even row of white teeth that contrasted with his lightly burnished skin. “I’m sure it will be.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Dmitri Volkov.”

  Kendra could do nothing but let him as she gazed up at him. Tall, dark and handsome could have been invented as a phrase to describe him. His hair and eyes were black, the latter piercingly so. She squirmed a little under his uncompromising regard. His lips were full, still moist from whatever drink he had last enjoyed. He had untied his bow tie and left it hanging from his collar, the top button tugged free. Kendra’s gaze was inexorably drawn to his skin and the pulse throbbing just under his chin.

  Not to be outdone, the golden man on her other side enveloped her other hand between his. His touch sent tendrils of warmth coursing up her arm. “Nikos Demarchis, a pleasure.” He brushed his lips against her knuckles.

  Her attention now drawn to him, he smiled warmly. In looks, he was the anti-Dmitri. Tan, golden blond, deep blue eyes—he couldn’t look more different. But in terms of masculinity, he had the same overpowering presence as Dmitri. Tall and broad, he wasn’t as menacing, but he commanded attention much like the man at her other side.

  These were definitely two men who knew what they wanted and took it.

  Kendra licked her lips, a move that drew the attention of both men. It was on the tip of her tongue to introduce herself as Kiki, but she couldn’t bring herself to voice the lie. Instead, she caught the eye of Malika, who was weaving through the crowd toward them.

  Dmitri pressed his large, warm hand at the small of her back. “Shall we go to dinner?”

  Kendra motioned toward the mastermind of the night as she approached. “I think Malika Alfarsi, the PR rep for the hotel, wants to thank you for your generosity first.”

  Malika, flushed and obviously delighted with how the evening had gone, smiled at them. “Thank you both for your contributions.” She shook their hands. Nikos first then Dmitri. “I know I speak for all the kids at the charity when I say that your generosity will go a long way.”

  “It’s a good cause. I’m glad to help.” Nikos’ gaze still hadn’t left Kendra.

  She quickly looked away and found that Dmitri was staring intently at her as well. If they kept it up, their scrutiny was going to undermine her determination to get through the evening without mishap. At this point, she was going to be glad to make it to dessert without turning into a puddle in her seat.

  “I’ll have someone escort you just as soon as I have a little chat with Kiki. It’s been a long time.”

  Both men relented and stepped back to regard each other silently as Malika pulled Kendra aside.

  Malika dragged her in for a hug and whispered, “I’m so sorry! We never anticipated this! I couldn’t approve an expenditure of that much to outbid them.”

  Kendra stepped back and gave her a wobbly smile. “It will be fine. It’s just dinner, right?”

  “Yes.” She received a squeeze on the shoulders for that. “Let me give you a quick rundown about them. They’re both unimaginably wealthy. Obviously. Volkov’s money came from oil. Demarchis’ from some very canny investments. Both have dated a string of models and heiresses. They’re known rivals and will do just about anything to outdo the other. I’m actually stunned they’ve decided to play nice this evening. Probably because we’re here for charity.”

  Her nerves were strung tight enough that Kendra wasn’t sure if knowing more about them was helping her or not. “Anything else?”

  “They’re worldly, smart and don’t take no for an answer.” She gripped Kendra’s hands. “But make sure they do tonight.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.” What would she do w
ith one billionaire, let alone two? They were way out of her league and she knew it. “The plan is to go to dinner, be a charming dinner companion and get out of there before they find out the truth.”

  “Sounds good to me. I can have people nearby in case you get into trouble, if you’d like. You know, if you end up floundering. They can run interference.”

  That would take a load off her mind. “That would be great. Thanks.”

  “No, thank you.” Malika hugged her again. “If you ever need anything at all, call me.”

  “I will.”

  Malika waved over a man Kendra knew was one of the wait staff. “Please see Ms. Brandt and her dining companions up to Soar.”

  ”I’m sure we won’t have any trouble finding such an illustrious restaurant.” Dmitri waved the man away. “It’ll give us time to get to know one another and explore this impressive hotel.”

  Nikos smiled down at her. “If you don’t mind, that is. I’m sure you have a busy schedule.”

  “I do have a schedule I need to keep to.” There was no question that the men were fascinatingly different from any she’d ever spent time with before. Kendra would love to learn more about them, but the less they asked about her, the better. The best way to prevent that from happening was to keep their time together short.

  “That’s settled, so we go straight up to dinner.” Nikos wound his arm around her waist, holding her close as they followed along behind their usher.

  Dmitri sullenly flanked them without much effort on his part.

  It wasn’t hard to pick up on the tension arcing between the two men. It seemed that Malika’s assessment of them had been right. If the simple act of getting to the dinner was a point of contention, what was the rest of the evening going to be like?

  Better than any other evening she’d had in a long time. At least so far.

  It was amazing to think that only a few months ago she’d lived a quiet little life on the other side of the world.

  And now here she was having dinner with a couple of billionaires.

  Under false pretenses.

  Her insides were gnarled tightly, but she wasn’t sure if it was nerves or excitement.