by Kasey Krane
And it didn’t matter. I’d probably be fucking different girls by the end of tonight anyway. By the looks of it and how deeply they were passed out, these girls probably didn’t care either.
Neither of the girls were about to wake up and I didn’t want them to. I didn’t care what time it was. I had every intention of spending the rest of the day sleeping in bed. And just as I shut my eyes again, I heard someone clear their throat. It was a female voice.
There was a third girl in the room, but this one wasn’t in my bed.
“It might not be a good idea for you to go back to sleep,” the voice said, before I had even managed to sit up in bed.
When I heard that, I sat up with a jerk. A beautiful blond was seated in a chair at the end of the bed. At first, I thought I was dreaming. Or was I dead? Both of those options were completely plausible.
She had shining golden curls that fell around her shoulders and big blue eyes. She wore some kind of white dress, but it looked formal. Like something a sexy lawyer would wear. I had no idea what a girl like her was doing in my bedroom.
Had I fucked her last night too?
Who let her in?
She sat on the chair with her long legs crossed. Her dress had ridden up to reveal elegant thighs, even though she was sitting, I could tell she was tall with legs for days.
Despite the throbbing pain at the back of my head, I felt my cock coming alive. This was a woman who’d been specifically created to be in my bed.
“Aren’t you going to ask me who I am and what I’m doing here?” She spoke again, and I noticed the confidence with which she conducted herself. The kind of woman who wouldn’t shy away from speaking her mind.
“I’m not interested in knowing why you’re here, but more interested in if you’re going to join me in my bed.” I patted the spot next to me. The redhead naked girl had rolled over to the far edge of the bed now, leaving the perfect vacant spot for this blond bombshell to snuggle in.
She tilted her head to one side and gave me a wide grin.
“Is that really what you think I’m going to do next?”
“I have no way to compare notes or predict what you’re going to do. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”
Her big blue eyes bore a hole through me. It seemed like she assessed me just as much as I’d assessed her.
“Sure, I’d be happy to tell you more about myself, but first, I’d like to be alone with you,” she said.
She stood up and I saw her perfect body in all its glory. The short white dress clung to her, and even though that outfit hadn’t been designed to be sexy, she looked seductive in it. She walked over to the bed and shook the redhead gently.
“Come on, lady, it’s time to wake up,” she said, in a firm loud voice.
That made the other girl move too.
“You too. You guys need to put some clothes on and get out of here,” she continued, clapping her hands this time to snap them out of their sleep.
I had no idea who she was but she’d appeared out of nowhere and had taken
charge.
This woman had achieved something in just a few minutes—which would’ve normally taken me hours to execute. The smooth exit of the girls I’d fucked the previous night.
She’d urged them to get dressed and then led them like cattle out of my room. None of us bothered with goodbyes. I didn’t care what they looked like and I had nothing to say to them. I was way more interested in the blond now and why she wanted to be alone with me. I had a definite feeling it wasn’t about sex, and that’s what intrigued me even more.
As the girls left, she stood by the door with her hands on her hips, waiting until we were finally and completely alone.
Once the bedroom door was shut, she didn’t waste a breath and charged towards me like she was on a mission. I didn’t know it at the time but yeah, she was on a mission.
“My name is Keira Cunningham,” she said, shaking my hand.
I wasn’t sure if she knew I was completely naked under the sheets—or maybe she knew and didn’t care. I’d spent the night in bed with two gorgeous naked girls, what else did anyone expect from me?
So I shook her hand.
“Everett Baker.”
“Yeah, I know who you are. I’m in your home, remember?”
“Did we party together last night or something? How the hell did you get access to my house?”
Keira smirked like I’d said something ridiculous.
“No, Mr. Baker, we definitely didn’t party together last night,” she said. There was something about the tone of her voice that told me what she really wanted to say—that she would never party with me.
I squared my shoulders while I glared at her. She was all-business and as much as I wanted her legs wrapped around my waist, I also needed to know what she was doing here.
“I’m in your house because your brothers invited me. Michael Cox, I’m sure you know who that is…he got in touch with the company I work for.”
“And what kind of company is that?” All kinds of alarm bells went off in my head now. There was something sinister about the way she’d just shown up in my bedroom. Why hadn’t I thought of it the moment I woke up and found her sitting there on the chair, waiting for me to open my eyes.
I should’ve known—she was too good to be true.
“A PR agency. We specialize in image and branding.”
“Image and branding? I don’t even fuckin’ know what that’s supposed to mean,” I growled. Very quickly, the tone of my voice had changed. I was ready to defend myself. My brothers tried to pull a fast one on me.
“Recent events and their consequences have urged your brothers to believe you might need our help; well, more specifically, what happened at the funeral and it was all captured on video and circulated online and social media. The legitimacy and future of your family’s business has taken a big hit. Your shareholders are losing faith in you as a leader, and faith in your brothers too. So yes, I believe you need professional help to fix the problem.”
Fixing my image is what she really meant.
I narrowed my eyes at her threateningly.
This felt like a nightmare. What did I take last night? I didn’t trust myself anymore.
“You’re wasting your time, Ms. Cunningham,” I said.
She didn’t look perturbed by that, but just nodded her head gently.
“Maybe I am, but it’s my job and I’m not going anywhere until we’ve discussed all your options,” she replied.
Seven
Keira
Even while he was asleep and I sat there in his bedroom waiting for him to wake up, I knew I was attracted to him. Maybe it was just his naked body. The sheets barely covered him and his sizzling muscular torso was on full display.
I had just sat there, staring at him. The other two girls who were also naked and in bed with him, were out of my periphery. I knew he slept with them last night. Hell, he may have even had sex with them in the morning, just before I came in. But my eyes were on him. How his body gently rose and fell as he slept. His face was strong and chiseled. He had a square handsome jaw and a light shadow on his cheeks and chin.
This was probably the least threatening he’d look because I imagined he wouldn’t be too happy when he woke up and I gave him the full picture.
I knew I pushed it too far by being present in his room at this hour, before he’d even woken up. While he still had these girls in his bed. But I needed to create the right effect. I needed him to understand what it’d feel like if he continued down this path of self destruction, if he provoked the tabloids to follow him around everywhere. He would have no shred of privacy, and it’d almost be the same as inviting the paparazzi to sit in my place and watch him sleep.
Now that he was awake, he glared at me with pure hatred in his eyes. Maybe he thought I was there to service him the way all the other women in his life were. He didn’t like being told his family was worried about him, that his brothers wanted his proble
ms solved.
I now saw how it’d be an even bigger fight with him than I expected.
But I was up for it. I prided myself as being a professional, being good at my job. But the thing I hadn’t expected was being this fiercely attracted to my new client.
Everett threw the sheets off him and I looked away just in time as he got out of bed. He didn’t have a shred of clothing on. I knew he was naked all along, but I hadn’t expected him to just slide out of bed like that with no warning.
“I don’t care what my brothers think I need,” he growled.
I kept my eyes averted while my heart raced mercilessly in my chest. I was dying for a peek while he walked around the room. I sensed him throwing some clothes on and I wished I’d seen more…
“But they’re right about everything, Mr. Baker,” I replied.
“My brothers sent you here to fix my life because they think an image consultant can do that for me?” he barked.
“I’m not attempting to fix your life. I’m just trying to solve the issues you’re having with the tabloids. It’s not a problem that would have mattered if your shareholders weren’t involved. This is a matter of business. If your company’s value decreases because your shareholders don’t have faith in the leadership, then that’s a real problem for your family.”
Everett purposely walked into my line of vision now. He wore nothing but jeans. His torso was still bare. His chest was broad and muscular. He had six-pack washboard abs, making it clear that he was a guy who liked to work out.
His hair was sandy blond and messy, and with the blue eyes and the tan he sported, he had a rugged cowboy look. The video I’d watched of him hadn’t revealed these details about him and now that I was up-close-and-personal, he was even more handsome. Even sexier.
When I did my research, I found out Everett Baker had quite the reputation. He loved to party. He threw crazy wild parties in this very house. But he wasn’t a player—not as far as women were concerned. Every girl in his circle knew he’d had no interest in a relationship, so he never played around. Any girl who slept with him did so at her own risk, knowing he wouldn’t be interested in more. He didn’t mess around with his rules.
“Sounds like you’ve found out a lot about my family and the business,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me.
“It’s my job. I’m here to help you if you’ll let me.”
My words didn’t soften him. Instead, he turned and walked to another door in the room I assumed was the bathroom.
“Since you have no respect for my privacy, maybe you’d like to join me in the shower too,” he said.
But he didn’t wait for a response—it didn’t look like he wanted me in his shower even if I did. Somehow, I’d managed to push all of Everett’s buttons and I was now very high on his list of people he despised in the world.
That wasn’t my problem. I didn’t care what he thought of me. I just needed him to cooperate.
It seemed like he took unusually long in the shower, and that could’ve been because of me. Because he wanted to see how long I’d wait for him. Obviously, Everett tried to make things as uncomfortable and awkward for me as possible. I couldn’t hold that against him. I had literally invaded his life out of nowhere. However, I really needed him to see I was trying to help.
When he came out of the shower, he was in nothing else but the towel wrapped around his waist. His tanned, smooth skin was damp. His biceps flexed tightly as he ran his fingers through wet hair. If it were possible, he looked even sexier now. I felt the throb between my legs as my body awakened shamelessly to his presence.
I felt my nipples getting firm under my clothes and I really hoped he couldn’t see them.
“You’re still here,” he said bitterly.
“I really want us to be able to work in a partnership together.”
“A partnership? Work on what? What exactly do you want to do?”
“I want to help you build a warmer, more inviting image of Everett Baker in the public eye.”
“Warmer. More inviting? Do you even hear yourself? You’ve looked around my house, right? I assume you’ve done your research on me. Is there anything about me or my life that makes me warm or inviting?” Even his chuckle was sexy.
All I needed to do was take a few steps and tug at the towel and then I’d get the full view of what I wanted to see—how big was he exactly?
I flushed because I was embarrassed by my own secret thoughts. I’d never had these thoughts about a client before and they annoyed me. And yet, I couldn’t help myself.
“Reality doesn’t always have to match what is presented to the cameras. That is the art I’m good at. That is what I’ve been hired for,” I replied with a smile.
He looked me up and down, studying every inch of me. His gaze lingered for a few extra seconds on my breasts and I was worried he saw how aroused I was. That would’ve been the most embarrassing moment of my life. But then he looked away. The expression on his face was like he’d tasted something sour.
I knew what was coming before he had even said the words.
“I didn’t hire you. But I sure as hell can fire you.”
I kept my chin up.
There was only so much I could do. If he wanted to light himself on fire and refuse the help I offered him, that was his decision. This was his life. I had no sympathy for him—for a man who literally had everything money could buy.
“Well, I hope you have a nice day, Mr. Baker. I apologize for disrupting your sleep,” I said. This time it was me who didn’t wait for a response.
I’d given this a shot, and maybe George would be disappointed, but I’d be surprised if anybody could convince Everett Baker to go down this path.
He was a lost cause.
Eight
Everett
Finally through some miracle, I was able to get rid of the woman from hell.
At first I was fooled by her supermodel-like looks. Did she have any idea how striking she was? She had to have known. She had flawless peachy skin, the most golden hair I’d ever seen, big blue eyes that almost made me want to give her whatever her heart desired.
She knew about the effect she had on men—because why else would she assume she could situate herself in my bedroom while I slept and then pounce on me with this insane idea of rescuing my reputation?
My reputation didn’t need rescuing. I didn’t give a crap about what other people thought of me. Least of all Samuel Mendez and his supporters. And all that other stuff she spewed about shareholders and risking our business value…I didn’t care about any of that either.
The only thing that mattered was to stay numb.
I’d managed to remain in a haze of drunkenness for the past few days. Meeting Keira Cunningham in the morning had suddenly and rudely awakened me from that state of numbness. She made me feel a few things. She made me feel real desire, excitement, anger and frustration.
How could one woman make me feel all those things at once? She was clearly skilled at something. She seemed to think she was very good at her job and that I wasn’t going to make it in the world without her help. I laughed at her face when I heard her ideas. She didn’t know what she was talking about.
My brothers clearly didn’t know what they were talking about either.
I was a lost cause.
Within hours of Keira leaving, my house was filled with people again. This time I hadn’t even invited anyone, people had just turned up here because they knew I’d always be up for it. I wouldn’t turn anyone away who wanted to party.
But I still thought about Keira while a different girl sat on my lap with her arms around my neck and her tongue halfway down my throat. Every time I closed my eyes I saw her—with her sizzling smile, her long legs, that conservative white dress and black pumps. I wondered what kind of lingerie she had on underneath. Did she care I was naked the whole time we were together?
Did she even look at me?
I was making out with a girl I wasn’t interested in and fantas
izing about a woman I knew I’d never have.
I was too drunk and high to think clearly. I thought I imagined things when I thought I saw Tate walking into my house through the front door.
The music was too loud in here, and suddenly, it seemed like there were too many people in my house. Specifically, too many people who weren’t behaving themselves.
I pushed the girl off my lap and she giggled as she stumbled off drunkenly, then straightened herself back up again.
I wasn’t expecting to see Tate in my home while I didn’t have a handle on things. My brothers never showed up to my parties, and I was grateful for that.
Tate was the one I had always been closest to, probably because we were closest in age.
He stood near the door now, surveying the house, and I saw the look of disapproval on his face. He didn’t know I watched him from the other corner of the house, and I wished I could do something that’d make him respect me again.
As much as my brothers thought I didn’t give a shit about them—the truth was I gave too much of a damn about what they thought of me. I wanted them to look up to me. I wanted them to know I cared about them. They were younger than me. I was supposed to look out for them. I was supposed to keep the family together. That was what Dad would’ve wanted, what Mom had hoped for when she raised us.
But somehow, along the way, I’d lost sight of that.
My brothers and I had drifted apart—and family didn’t remain as important to me or the others. Even though Tate and I had been close growing up, I wasn’t sure if I really knew him anymore. Did he know me?
I sat sprawled back on the couch watching my brother while he looked around for me. He didn’t approve of the way strangers were dancing and drinking in my house, throwing themselves around, making out. Yeah, if I really thought about it—my house was a mess, and that was the way it usually was these days.
