Accidentally Yours (8 page)

She came to a stop. Anticipation? Over seeing Nathan? Going out with him was about paying him back for the fifteen million. She was practically selling herself. Well, without the sex. She shouldn’t feel anything except obligation.

Only Nathan wasn’t the stuffy, boring guy she’d thought he would be. He was interesting and funny and charming, in his own way. Who would have thought?

Had his hair always been that thick? she wondered absently. Had he always had that tiny scar by his lower lip? He’d shaved and changed his shirt, which shouldn’t have mattered, but suddenly did.

He glanced up and saw her. “Hello.”

Kerri suddenly felt flustered. As if she didn’t know what to say. “Ah, hi. I’m ready.” She turned to April. “We won’t be late.”

“That’s fine. Cody and I have already picked out a movie. Is it okay for us to have microwave popcorn?”

“Sure. He knows where everything is. You have my cell number?”

April rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mrs. Sullivan. You know I took that CPR class, right? I’m totally certified.”

April had been babysitting for them since they moved to Songwood. She was one of the best around. Kerri knew April had everything under control. The question had been more about her unexpected nervousness around Nathan than anything else.

“I can’t help asking,” Kerri told her.

“It’s okay.” April leaned in close. “He’s kinda hot for an old guy.”

“He’d be thrilled to hear you say that.”

“Look.” April held out a fifty-dollar bill. “He paid me.”

“You’re one step closer to wheels.”

“How cool is that?”

Kerri smiled at Nathan. “You driving?”

“You have to ask?”

“I guess not.”

They left the house. Kerri slid onto the cool leather of the passenger seat of Nathan’s car. When he was next to her, she said, “You seriously overpaid the babysitter.”

“I know, but now she likes me.”

“Do you have to buy your way into all of your relationships?” she asked before she could stop herself. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It works on staff.”

“I never thought of April as staff. She’s my babysitter. Well, technically she’s Cody’s.”

“When she has a choice of working for you, knowing you’re doing something with me, or sitting for another family, who is she going to pick?”

“Interesting point. So life is very smooth for you.”

“Most of the time. Every now and then someone like you comes along.”

“Someone who refuses to be staff?”

“Someone unexpected.”

Silly, useless words, she told herself. But they still made her feel all tingly inside.

She told herself it was nothing more than exhaustion. A reaction to all the stress in her life. She was tired and discouraged and wishing things were better. That was the only reason she reacted to what Nathan said.

“Jason has already drawn up the papers to serve Wallace with a lawsuit. We’re asking for an injunction, preventing him from working on anything if he won’t do the research. I have two detectives digging into his background, looking for ex-wives, kids, anything we can use against him. I give it two, three days, tops. He’ll be back in his lab.”

She hoped he was right. Because when she thought about Cody’s disease progressing, she found it impossible to breathe.

“I appreciate all you’re doing, but can we talk about something else?” she asked.

“Sure. Do you know how hard it is to get a reservation at a restaurant in town?”

That made her smile. “Here in Songwood? No one takes reservations.”

“Which is my point.”

“There are only diners and burger places. They don’t take reservations.”

“The guy at the Dynasty Palace was nearly convinced, but then I called Vern’s Bar and Grill and Vern himself promised us the best table in the house.”

She laughed. “I hope you’re not expecting much. Vern runs a roadside bar that serves casual food.”

“He promised live entertainment and dancing.”

“I know there’s a stage, so I guess that’s possible. I’ve never been to Vern’s on a Saturday night.”

“You’ve been missing a classic experience.”

She looked at him and found him smiling at her. Something about that smile made her feel that anything was possible.

They got to Vern’s and parked. Sure enough, the hostess led them to a corner booth with a small Reserved sign in the middle. The hand lettering on a piece of cardboard told Kerri that Vern didn’t usually reserve tables. As he’d said before, money made Nathan’s life flow very smoothly.

The place had been built when Songwood was still a logging town. Heavy beams supported the ceiling and the walls were paneled. Booths outlined the dining area with a small dance floor in front of the stage at the far end of the room. Tables filled the rest of the space.

While there was no live entertainment yet, a couple of guys were setting up and country music drifted from hidden speakers.

When they’d been seated, a waitress appeared with a bottle of Dom Pérignon in an ice bucket. Kerri shook her head.

“You had to have dropped that off earlier,” she told him. “There’s no way I’ll believe Vern just happened to have this sitting in the back room.”

“It’s pretty fancy,” the waitress said as she popped the cork. “Did you know you can buy it at Costco?” She looked at Nathan. “One of those big warehouse stores.”

“I know what Costco is,” Nathan told her.

“Let me guess,” Kerri said. “You have their stock in your portfolio.”

Nathan shrugged. “Some.”

The champagne was poured and their waitress left them alone. He picked up his glass.

“Thank you for joining me this evening. A beautiful woman makes everything brighter.”

It was a line, she told herself. One he probably used all the time. But still, it flustered her.

“I, ah, thank you.” She sipped the champagne. “It’s nice. I’m really tired from working today, but I’m glad you invited me out to dinner. I don’t do this very much. Go out. With men. Not that we’re dating. I know this isn’t a date. But it’s still, you know…”

“Nice?” he offered.

“Right.” She knew she was talking too much but
didn’t know how to stop. “It’s tough, with Cody. Dating, I mean. Not that I’m interested. Which is good. Single moms aren’t exactly hunk magnets.”

He’d been drinking as she spoke and choked slightly. After coughing, he asked, “You’re looking for a hunk?”

“No. I didn’t mean it that way. I have no idea what I’d want. I had someone great once. Brian—Cody’s father. He was a good guy. The kind of man who makes everything better just by being in the room.”

Nathan leaned back in the booth. His expression was unreadable. “Tell me about him.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Sure. What was he like?”

Kerri warmed to the topic. “Funny. Kind. He wasn’t a big guy—he was only a few inches taller than me. But he was such a presence. People just wanted to be close to him. We met at a mutual friend’s barbecue. It was like in a movie. We saw each other from across the room and just knew we were meant to be together. He died before I even knew I was pregnant.” She rubbed her fingers up and down on the stem of her glass. “That’s the worst part. He never knew he was going to be a father.”

She took a sip. “Okay, this is really a bad topic. We shouldn’t talk about Brian.”

“He was a large part of your life.”

Except for Cody, the best part. “He was.”

“Since then?” Nathan asked. “Have you gotten involved with anyone?”

“No. I couldn’t. When Cody was a baby I didn’t have the time or the interest. After he got sick…I guess I still don’t have the time or interest. I need to take care of him, be there for him.”

“You get to have a life, too.”

“No, I don’t. I know it probably sounds stupid to you, but I made a deal with God. I would give Cody a hundred percent and He would keep my son alive.”

“Giving up your life for his?”

“Something like that. It’s working. That’s all I care about.”

“You can’t believe you’re required to give up everything or Cody will die.”

She wondered if what he really wanted to say was that Cody was going to die anyway.

Nathan leaned toward her. “You could be so much more.”

“You mean more than a hairdresser? No, thanks.”

“You should have gone to college.”

“How do you know I didn’t?”

Nathan only looked at her, which reminded her of the file he’d no doubt prepared on her. The one that most likely mentioned her single semester at community college.

“There are so many opportunities,” he said. “You’re smart, driven. You gave up too easily.”

“Don’t be judgmental. I was just starting to like you.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

“Your version of it. I like my work.”

“There are people who can’t be more. Leave that type of work to them.”

“You’re a snob and an elitist.”

“You’re selling yourself short.”

She should be annoyed with him and start telling him off, but she sensed he meant to be helpful. That he wanted more for her, which was kind of sweet.

“You could have the world,” he told her.

Maybe, but all she wanted was for her child to get better. Compared to that dream, the world seemed pretty small.

She glanced at the tiny dance floor. There were two couples swaying to the music. Suddenly she wanted to join them.

“You could ask me to dance,” she told him.

He slid off the seat and reached for her hand. “Yes, I could.”

K
ERRI LET HERSELF
relax in Nathan’s arms. They drifted more than danced, one of his hands holding hers, the other at the small of her back. She tried to remember the last time she’d danced with a man and realized she didn’t care. It simply felt good to be doing it now.

One of the advantages of being with Nathan was that she knew it would never go anywhere. They had nothing in common and if she hadn’t been trying to blackmail him into supporting her cause, they would never have met. So she was free to enjoy the moment for what it was—a dance with a handsome man.

She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of him. He smelled clean and sexy. Heat from his body warmed her, making long-dormant places wake up and take notice. She felt a heaviness in her breasts and a distinct clenching between her thighs.

Sex, she thought, not sure the awakening was a good idea. She wanted sex. She had no intention of getting involved, even casually. Which meant the only intimate relationship she could consider was with her shower massager.

But for now, this was enough. Her head on his shoulder, their thighs brushing, his heartbeat making her feel connected to someone, if only for that moment.

“Are you enjoying this or is this part of what you owe me?” he asked, his voice rumbling against her ear.

“You have to get off the money thing. You didn’t write
me
a check. I’m getting no immediate benefit. I’m hoping for a more long-term miracle, but until that happens, you’re pretty useless to me.”

He chuckled. “I liked it better when I intimidated you.”

“That never happened.”

“You called me Mr. King the first time we met.”

“I was being polite and you nearly had me arrested. I think you called me a bad name. I know you swore.”

“You were way out of line.”

“It worked.”

“That it did.”

The song ended and they moved back to their table. The waitress appeared. They gave their orders, then Kerri reached for her glass of champagne.

“So how did you get from where you started to here?” she asked. “I remember something about a college football scholarship. What position did you play?”

“Do you know anything about football?”

“Not really.”

“Then does it matter?”

She laughed. “I guess not. Were you good?”

He smiled slowly. “What do you think?”

“That you didn’t go pro.”

“I was good but not that good,” he admitted. “I wasn’t too disappointed. I had other plans.”

“To make your first billion and take over the world?”

“It was a goal.”

“So how did you go from being a scholarship student to that first billion?”

“I played poker with rich kids and won.” His expression was self-satisfied. “I started in my freshman year. They had money to burn and very little card sense. I built up enough money by April to buy a small house in South Central L.A. I fixed it up and sold it for a profit. The following summer, I bought two houses. The next, an apartment building.”

She’d barely finished a semester of community college. As she’d thought before, worlds apart.

“I took on a partner in my senior year and we started buying property seriously. We made our first million that year. I bought him out five years later.”

“Did he want to be bought out?”

Nathan looked at her. “Most people don’t bother to ask that question.”

“I’m insightful.”

“He wasn’t as happy as he could have been, but I wasn’t interested in having a partner anymore.”

“You used him to get what you wanted, then tossed him aside.”

His gaze never wavered. “Yes.”

“Just checking.”

The information didn’t surprise her. The Nathan King who danced with her was a charming, handsome, sexy man, but underneath, he was and would always be a ruthless bastard. She knew it should frighten her, but, somehow, it didn’t.

“T
HE OTHER DAY
I counted how many Mario games Cody has,” Kerri said as she and Nathan walked toward her front door. “It’s incredible what those video-game people have done with one short guy. I think he was a plumber once. I can’t remember. But he’s all over the place. There was a gorilla before, wasn’t there?”

They stopped in front of her door. Nathan smiled. “You’re nervous.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re talking about video games, and not making any sense.”

He’d been standing a step below her. Now he moved onto the same one, so he was taller and, oddly, much more male. Not that he hadn’t been male before, but it was more obvious now and she…

She held in a groan. It was one thing to babble to
someone else, but it was a real problem when she started babbling to herself.

It was the circumstances. They’d just been out to dinner, they’d danced, talked, laughed. It was practically a date which meant, at the end, kissing. Maybe lots of kissing.

Except this wasn’t a date and they weren’t involved. Despite her claims that he hadn’t directly given her money, she was in his debt. Or as he liked to phrase it—he owned her ass. And if it was his, she could hardly keep him from touching it, could she?

“What are you thinking?” he asked. “Your eyes are flashing something, but I can’t figure out what.”

“Nothing important.”

“Liar.”

Then he bent down and pressed his mouth to hers.

They’d kissed before, briefly, powerfully. So she should have been prepared for the impact of his lips against hers. But she wasn’t. The heat caught her off guard, as did the electrical thrills that shot through her.

They darted through her body, giving off little charges in her breasts and between her legs. She went from intellectually interested in the exercise to “take me hard” in about an eighth of a second.

All this before he even got serious, she thought hazily as he moved his mouth against hers. He eased a little closer, then touched her bottom lip with his tongue.

It was all the invitation she needed. She parted for
him, then sighed heavily as he claimed her with a sweeping stroke that stole her ability to breathe.

He put his hands on her waist, resting them there. She liked the warm weight but would have preferred them moving. Roving, exploring, touching. Her nipples were hard and hungry, her skin drawn tight in anticipation of a man’s touch. She’d been without so long, she’d forgotten what it was like to ache with every cell in her body.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging because she felt herself shaking. Just a little. Just enough to be embarrassing.

She tried to tell herself it was just a kiss. No big deal. But where before she’d been able to keep control, now she felt driven by need.

It was time, she told herself. Too much time without sex. Or circumstances. She owed Nathan, so she was being grateful. It wasn’t specifically him—it couldn’t be. Oh, but could he kiss.

He moved his tongue easily, exploring her with the patience of a man who loves his work. She kissed him back, dancing with him, stroking him, nipping slightly as he retreated.

He chuckled then and moved his hands to her butt. He cupped her curves, then squeezed. Her insides clenched. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to arch forward until she pressed against him in an age-old invitation.

But two things stopped her. First, her terror that
this was a party for one and that he wouldn’t be hard. Second, that they weren’t going anywhere, not even to bed. She didn’t get involved, no matter that the man in question made her wet, weak and willing.

He pulled back and stared into her eyes. “I wish I knew what you were thinking,” he told her. “I don’t know if you’re really enjoying this or if you’re in payback mode.” He grimaced. “I don’t generally have to question myself.”

“I know,” she murmured, aware that if he slipped his hands between her legs he would find out exactly what he was doing to her. She was swollen and ready and she had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

Part of her wanted to reassure him and part of her knew it was better if he thought she was playing with him. Safer—for her, at least.

She stepped back and reached for the door handle. “Good night, Nathan.”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

She shook her head and slipped into the house.

S
UNDAY MORNING
Kerri threw herself into house-cleaning. Cody was with Brandon, so she cranked up the radio and sang along as she scrubbed floors and tile. She was just about to plunge the soapy brush into the toilet when someone rang the doorbell.

Her first thought was that it was Nathan, and with that thought came a distinct shiver of anticipation. She told herself there was no reason he
should stop by. He wasn’t going to make the hour-long drive just to say hi. If he wanted to see her, he would call first.

But none of the logic did anything to make her insides stop quivering. She pulled open the door, then froze when she saw Dr. Wallace standing on her tiny porch.

Reality crashed in on her. Fear and anger combined until she wanted to reach across the small space separating them and pull out his still-beating heart.

She wanted him dead. No, that wasn’t right. She wanted him suffering. Writhing in pain for an endless eternity. Maybe after a few hundred years she would be willing to feel a little compassion. But not until then. Certainly not now.

He twisted his hands together in front of his midsection. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “That’s why I’m here. To tell you I’m sorry and that I was wrong. I’m already back to work. We’re hiring more scientists. This is my life’s mission—finding a cure. I won’t rest until there is one. We need a treatment, as well, something to slow the progression until we can isolate the cause. I still believe the enzymes hold the answer. I’m looking there.”

He stopped and stared at her. “Why are you crying? This is happy news.”

She reached up and touched her cheek, only to find it was wet. “I didn’t know I was.”

She’d felt nothing but a down-to-her-bones wash
of relief. Her legs ached, as if she’d run for miles. It was difficult to breathe, but all in a happy way.

“I won’t give up,” Dr. Wallace told her. “I want you to know that. What I said before…” He shook his head. “I was wrong. I know I put you through hell. I can only apologize. You can forgive me later, when we save your son.”

Kerri dropped the toilet brush and lunged at Dr. Wallace. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him and cried and hugged him some more.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I still have so much work to do.” He gently pulled her arms free and stepped back. “We’ll celebrate later.”

She nodded, because she was still crying and it was tough to speak. She wanted to ask what had changed his mind, then decided it didn’t matter. There was hope again. Hope where there had been none.

“We should have something experimental soon,” he continued. “Something your son can try.” He hesitated. “It will be dangerous, before the medical trials.”

“I don’t care,” she said quickly. She and Cody didn’t have time to wait for years of medical trials. “I’ll sign whatever you want. Just get him something soon.”

“I will do my best.” Dr. Wallace nodded and left. After closing the door behind him, she sank to the floor and tried to catch her breath.

She wanted to shout her happiness. They had a reprieve. Pray God, it was enough.

The phone rang. She stretched out her arm and grabbed it.

“Hello?”

“Kerri, it’s Nathan. I just had a call from Jason. Wallace is back in the lab and they’re ramping up to work at full capacity.”

She nodded, still fighting tears.

“Kerri? Are you there? This is good news.”

“I know.”

“Are you crying?” His voice was sharp. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m happy. He was just here. You did this. You made him start up his research again.”

“As much as I would enjoy taking credit, it wasn’t me, and Jason had barely started to squeeze. He did this on his own. Maybe you got to him.”

“Maybe. The truth is, I don’t care why. I just want a cure.”

“I know.”

She drew in a breath. “Sometimes it’s hard to keep going,” she said, voicing the thought for the first time. “Sometimes it seems like it’s just me and Cody against the world.”

“You’re not alone. You have a whole team now.”

Did she? She’d been carrying the burden herself for so long that it was difficult to imagine being in a place where she could set it down for a while.

“Dr. Wallace is the best,” he continued. “He’ll find something.”

“I know.”

She believed, because she had to.

“While I’m glad this got resolved,” Nathan said with a smile in his voice, “it puts me in a hell of a situation. I was all geared up to fight. I have to walk away without the thrill of victory.”

She gave a strangled laugh, then wiped her cheeks. “You’ll get over it.”

“I like going to battle.”

“Of course you do. You like to win. To take, to pillage.”

“I haven’t pillaged in a long time. I miss it.”

She had the sudden thought they weren’t talking about battles anymore. She remembered how she’d felt the previous night, standing on the porch, in his arms.

She’d forgotten what it felt like to be held by a man, kissed by a man. She’d forgotten what it felt like to want. Now that she remembered, she didn’t know how to make the need go away.

But she would figure it out, she reminded herself. Nothing mattered but Cody—especially now that they were back on track.

“I appreciate your letting me know about Dr. Wallace,” she said. “I’m relieved it all worked out.”

“Me, too. You still owe me for prom night. You blew me off.”

“I was busy, and I don’t owe you.”

“Sure you do. You can come to Seattle and we’ll have lunch. I’ll show you the mock-ups for the towers I want to build. You can be impressed.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him, it was that being around him made her feel uneasy. Nathan had gone from being a means to an end to something that might be dangerous.

But he was right—she did owe him.

“I’m off tomorrow.”