“This is nice,” she murmured between soft, gentle caresses.
“What? Me holding you or having my dick inside of you again?”
Kaelyn shivered, loving his arousing way with words. “Both,” she returned unevenly. She ran her hand over his chest, enjoying the feel of his body.
Caught up in the wonder of what was happening between them—soft and gentle, then hot and wild. Who was she trying to fool? She wanted a relationship. She wanted Ashton so much it scared her.
Kaelyn took a deep breath and released the thought that had been hovering in her mind: “Does this thing between us feel…” she paused trying to bring it to words.
“Real?” he said, finishing her sentence.
“Yes?” she whispered.
Ashton dropped a kiss to her hair. “Yes, it does. And we need to talk about it. I want to know where we go from here.” He smoothed his hands over her body, cupping her breasts.
Her body quivered as she turned slightly and looked up at him. “Yes, I agree.”
“But first, I need to do some old fashion courting. Will you spend the rest of the day with me?” he asked, as his finger skid across her skin, then down lower to her pussy.
Kaelyn arched toward his finger and whispered, “Yes, I would love to.”
She was a hopeless romantic. Ashton was everything she had dreamed about… read about, and so much more. She was following her heart, not her brain, and that had gotten her into trouble too many times before. But there was something so charming and comfortable about him that made her feel that he had her back. No matter what, he would be honest.
He stroked the tender folds between her legs. Kaelyn rocked toward him and kissed his chest. “I trust you and that’s what matters most,” she whispered.
Ashton lifted her chin, his kiss light upon her lips. She didn’t know what was happening between them, but she liked it. She liked it so much it scared her.
* * *
Her words were like an electric shock to the heart.
I trust you.
His stomach clenched and he squeezed her sleeping body closer to him. He was a liar and the last person in the world Kaelyn needed to be trusting. She had been fucked by the enemy, or at least that was how she would see it once she discovered the truth.
A scowl marred Ashton’s lips as he thought about what he was doing. The second he discovered who Kaelyn was he should have put the brakes on their relationship. Instead, he continued the charade making her think he was a delivery driver when he actually was the owner of Platinum Pre-Owned Automotive.
Her soft, even breathing filled the room. Ashton stroked her hair, brushing a strand away from her face. Kaelyn was so beautiful and he wanted her, lying beside him every single night.
Fuck!
When Kaelyn realized who he was, she was going to feel not only betrayed, but deceived, by the one man she had grown to trust. The one man who couldn’t be honest because he didn’t want to lose her.
Damn, he was selfish.
No wonder he didn’t have any luck with relationships. Honesty and communication were two key ingredients and he was failing at both. And if he wanted her in his life—which he definitely did—then he needed to fix it.
Ashton squeezed his eyes shut wishing somehow he could fast forward a few days. He had hoped by now he would have figured out what had happened to her Volvo, because things clearly weren’t on the up and up. His plan had been to find the truth and tell her what had happened, hoping it would soften the blow. But he didn’t have any answers yet and he had a feeling he was running out of time. The longer he waited to tell Kaelyn the truth, the harder it was going to be for her to forgive him.
It’s now or never.
Ashton kissed the side of her neck tenderly, possessively. He could already see a future with Kaelyn. And as soon as she was awake, he was going to tell her the truth. Ashton just hoped things played out the way he’d planned.
Chapter Eight
Kaelyn turned on her side and sighed with contentment. Ashton had gone into the living room to take a phone call, trying not to disturb her, but her mind was too busy for sleep. She gazed out the large window. The sun was long gone. Stars studded the sky. Outside the wind chimes jingled softly, churned by the light Atlantic breeze. She was exhausted, her body satisfied. The weekend felt like one long glorious dream.
They had spent the entire day together. First having lunch at Clarence’s Chicken & Fish, and then cupcakes from Debbie Cakes. In a short time Kaelyn had grown to love Main Street with all its unique shops and plenty of entertainment, and having a gorgeous man holding her hand made the afternoon stroll even better. But it was the night she anticipated. Once they returned to her house, they had come together twice more bringing her more pleasure than she could ever begin to describe. Now her body ached beautifully, her breasts were sore and aroused and her pussy throbbed delightfully, proof that Ashton had been there. All evening the only thing that mattered was she needed him, wanted him like no man she’d ever wanted before.
With a smile tugging her lips, Kaelyn rolled onto her back as visions of their latest erotic encounter danced before her eyes and made her nipples tingles. She could still feel the hard rhythm of Ashton’s body meeting hers, the heat of him on top of her, taking his time until that last pulsating moment when everything exploded.
Lovemaking with him was magical, overwhelming, fierce and passionate. And she couldn’t get enough. She didn’t want to get enough… ever. Several times he had wanted to talk about them, but she promised they would talk tonight after they returned to her home.
And she was ready.
Glancing over at the dresser, Kaelyn spotted her camera bag and a sneaky smile curled her lips. All afternoon she had been itching to use her Canon. She could just imagine what a magazine would pay for photographs of Ashton. Not that she would ever sell them, and she felt an unusual wave of jealousy at the thought of someone else admiring his muscular back, broad shoulders, and beautiful abs. Hell no. She wanted photos for her own private collection.
She slid her feet off the end of the bed, then reached down for his t-shirt and slipped it over her naked body. With her Canon in hand, she tiptoed toward the front of the house. The best shots were candid when the subject had no idea he was being photographed.
Moments before she reached the living room, Ashton’s voice drifted into the hallway and seeped into her soul. Ashton was truly one of a kind and she was already crazy about him.
Kaelyn stopped inside the doorway and found him standing on the back deck, the moonlight shadowing his face. As he leaned against the rail she admired his hard backside, defined in boxers, and his bare sculptured back. From a distance she could hear waves crashing against the shore over his low murmurs.
Expertly, she quickly took several shots. His back was still to her so she tiptoed across the room, giggling inwardly. And just as she reached the sliding glass doors, she heard Ashton say something that caused a gasp and her body to tense in shock.
“No… I still haven’t told her truth,” she heard him say with a long breath. “I don’t know how Kaelyn’s going to react when she finds out I’m the asshole owner of Platinum Pre-Owned Automotive.”
Chapter Nine
“You’ve been avoiding my calls.”
“I know,” Mackenzie said with a nod.
Ashton sent her a disgruntled look as he took a seat at the bar. “Why didn’t you tell me Kaelyn was the same deranged chick who was suing the dealership?”
Mackenzie popped the cap off a bottle of beer and plunked it on the bar in front of him before replying, “Because you didn’t ask. And from day one I told you not to go there.”
He glared at her standing behind the bar with a hand at her dainty hip. “You see what good that did.” The second he spotted the raven-haired beauty on stage, he knew he’d be a goner.
“So what happened?”
His body tensed. “She overheard me on the phone with my brother talking about the dealership,”
he muttered, then cursed under his breath.
“Oh,” Mackenzie said and seemed clearly amused. “I wish I could have been there for that!”
Ashton raised the bottle to his lips and took a sip before answering coolly, “No you don’t. It was quite heated.” He shook his head and muttered, “I had no idea she was a pistol.”
“You should have seen her in college when a jock made a pass at her,” Mackenzie began and chuckled. “You could hear Kaelyn going off clear on the other side of campus.”
Ashton shook his head again. When he had swung around on the deck and found Kaelyn standing there, he had immediately ended the call. He’d barely got his clothes on before she was shoving him and his toolbox out the front door with a slam. Ever since he’d been trying to get her to talk to him, but after three days, Kaelyn still refused to listen to anything he had to say.
“She accused me of pretending to be interested so I could sweet talk her into dropping the charges.”
Mackenzie folded her arms and leveled a look at him. “Yep. That sounds like Lynn, but can you blame her?”
Ashton sucked in a deep breath. No. Once he’d had a chance to think about how the weekend had played out, he couldn’t blame her at all.
“Trust is hard for her. Her father walked out on her. Even her last relationship ended badly,” she explained.
He felt his jaw clenched. “What do you mean by bad?”
Mackenzie hesitated then leaned over with elbows on the counter. “She was with this guy for almost four years when he decided to break it off a week before their wedding and marry someone else.”
Ashton shook his head as anger seeped inside. “Damn.” When he thought of her with any other man something possessive and territorial came over him, especially if that person hurt her.
“Kaelyn really thought they had a future. But he’d been lying to her for years. That bastard already had a two-month-old son.” Mackenzie released a few choice words as she grabbed a frosted glass. “Ash, you should have been honest with her.”
Ashton drew a deep breath. She was right. He should have told her from the start who he was instead of allowing her to continue to think he was just a delivery guy and part owner of Kilmer Appliances.
“I fucked up,” he admitted.
Mackenzie poured beer from the tap, filling the glass and nodded. “I agree. So how are you going to fix it?”
Ashton sighed. He didn’t have a clue. By the time he’d made it into the office the next morning, he still hadn’t figured out a plan.
Ashton waved at his assistant, then walked back to his office and tried to take his mind off of Kaelyn by burying himself in his work. He had several financial reports to review and he was planning to accompany Glen at an auto auction later that afternoon. Anything to get him to stop thinking about her. He was reviewing last month’s impressive sales report when there was a knock at the door.
“Excuse me Mr. Kilmer, do you have a moment?”
He looked up to find one of his long-time mechanics, Rafael Cavazos, standing in the doorway. “Hey, come on in.” Ashton waved him into the room, glad to have a momentary distraction. The short Hispanic man shuffled slowly into the office. Ashton could tell whatever was bothering him was heavy on his mind. “What’s going on?” he asked and leaned forward with steepled hands on the desk.
He wet his lips nervously. “Mr. Kilmer, I don’t know how to say this, but… I was paid to tamper with that Volvo.”
A fist knotted in his gut, just like someone had punched him. “What did you just say?” he said slowly and noticed how Rafael backed up slightly and dropped his gaze to the floor.
“For the last year I’ve been rolling back odometers and passing cars that shouldn’t have passed inspection.”
Ashton’s nostrils flared slightly and his chest rose and fell more rapidly. “Who paid you?”
Rafael glanced guiltily back up at him. “I-I know what I was doing w-was wrong, but I-I needed the money.” Ashton was well aware of his mother’s battle with cancer. He had done everything he could to get him time off, but that was no excuse.
He slammed his palms on the desk and Rafael flinched. “Who paid you?” Ashton repeated impatiently.
Trapped in the angry, heated gaze, Rafael swallowed and replied, “Glen paid me.”
Ashton sprung from the chair and stormed down the hall, then opened the door to Glen’s office with a force. “What the hell have you been doing?” he barked.
Glen’s head whipped around in surprise, then a curious look marred his face. “What are you talking about?” he asked and had the nerve to look clueless.
His voice was tight with anger. “You know what the hell I’m talking about. Rolling back the odometers on my cars!”
The smile slipped from his lips and Glen turned pale the moment he spotted Rafael standing in the doorway.
“I-I can explain,” he stammered.
“How about you explain this fist in your mouth!” Ashton growled, then hopped across the desk and his fist caught Glen in the jaw. The two fell onto the floor and Ashton groaned as his shoulder hit the end of the desk.
“Are you crazy?” Glen shrieked with disbelief.
“No, but I’ll show you crazy!” His fury spiraled out of control. Ashton swung again and Glen went down holding his nose and crying out in pain. Rafael stepped between them.
“Boss, no!” Rafael shouted and helped him off the floor.
“You’re finished at this company, you hear me? You’re done!” Ashton raged and jerked away from Rafael’s grasp.
Hugging the wall, Glen rose slowly to his feet. “We’ve been the top dealership in the region for the last two years. I made that happen! I did that,” he reminded, his lips curled in a surly twist.
“By deceiving our customers? Are you serious?” Ashton shouted with disgust.
Shaking his head, Glen looked at Ashton as if he was the one being ridiculous. “But don’t you see. I was just trying to keep us on top!” he cried. “That’s all I was trying to do!”
“You have ten minutes to pack your shit and get the fuck off my property before I have you arrested,” Ashton said in a menacing voice, then he turned and stormed out the office.
Damn him. Damn him to hell. Whatever it took, he was going to find a way to make things right with Kaelyn.
Chapter Ten
In the last week Kaelyn wrapped up her business with the Chamber of Commerce. Photographs had been edited and processed for the new brochure. The commission had been quite impressed with her work and had given her a nice bonus. Word traveled fast, because since then several offers had come through via e-mail, including a phone call from Jabarie Beaumont for her to do a family portrait on canvas. She smiled, pleased at how well business was going. Things couldn’t be better.
That wasn’t completely true, she thought, as she slumped back in her office chair. She missed Ashton like crazy. And hated herself for it. How could a man appear so loving… kind, and goddamn sexy, and be such a liar?
She took an angry bite of her cinnamon roll and sipped her coffee. When she’d decided to take his picture, Kaelyn had no idea she was going to walk in on the tail end of a conversation she would have preferred not to hear. But the second she discovered Ashton’s true identity, her entire body tensed and she forgot to breathe.
Abruptly, she sprang from the chair and stormed down the hall to the kitchen, clenching the coffee cup so tightly tension traveled up her arms. She was furious and had every right to be mad at him and Mackenzie for not telling her the truth. Kaelyn called her only seconds after slamming the door in Ashton’s face.
Mackenzie wasted no time explaining. “You liked him so much, I didn’t have the heart to tell you the truth.”
“But you’re supposed to be my friend!” she had cried into the receiver.
“You’re right. I am, which is why I’m staying out of it.” With that Kaelyn heard a click and the phone went dead. Of course it only angered her more because she was certain the two were
conspiring against her.
Ashton Ray Kilmer was the owner of Platinum Pre-Owned Automotive. He knew all along who she was, yet he had kept his identity a secret. He had played her and she hated feeling like a fool. She shook her head as confusion swirled inside. She was still having a hard time believing the sweet man who had the ability to make her entire body come to life with a single kiss was a snake! Why would he do something like that? That was the part that was so unclear. She thought Ashton cared about her. She wanted so much to believe there was a logical explanation.
Well, maybe there was if she had given Ashton a chance to explain.
The moment he spotted Kaelyn standing behind him, Ashton ended his call and immediately tried to explain. Only she didn’t give him a chance. Instead she flung his clothes at him and wasted no time putting him out of her cottage. Since then she’d refused all of his calls and attempts to contact her. She had even skipped karaoke night and she never missed Fridays at Spanky’s.
And to think I thought I was falling in love.
Story of her life, she thought as tears welled up in her eyes.
Always jumping into relationships, wearing her heart on her sleeve and look where it had gotten her.
Damn him!
Last night, she’d tried to look on the bright side. Ashton had helped her out of her sexual drought. In fact, Ashton was responsible for giving her the best sex of her life.
Damn him to hell!
Now her body was going to crave what only he could offer. As far as she was concerned, Ashton was no better than Tip. Both had used her, taking what they needed and lied to her.
The enormity of his betrayal suddenly hit home. With a violent gesture, Kaelyn flung the plastic mug across her kitchen, and it hit the wall, bounced off the counter, then fell onto the floor. She then slumped into a chair at the kitchen table and cried, sobs racked her body. “Why?” she whispered. “Why does this keep happening to me?”
Time For Pleasure Page 8
