Exception to the Rules (15 page)

“What you have on is perfect.”

Her face heated for what she was certain was only the first of many times to come. She couldn’t help it. Blushing had always been the bane of her existence. There were days when she wondered why she’d been cursed with such a fair complexion.

“So, um, where are we going?”

“A quaint café I know. It’s not extravagant, but the food is good.”

“I’m glad. I love Belgium waffles and bacon.”

“It’s on the menu.”

“And eggs. Sometimes. As long as they are fried. I prefer medium where the yoke isn’t too runny. With a side of hash browns.

“That sounds like my sort of breakfast.”

“Really?”

He nodded.

Just then, the driver took a corner, rapidly, and she fell right into Dax’s arms. Embarrassed, she tried to sit up, but found she couldn’t.

“Wait a second,” he said.

When Kallie looked up, it was right into his face, only inches away. “But—”

“I’ve wanted to do this for some time now,” he whispered, and then he leaned down until his lips touched hers.

For several heartbeats, all Kallie could do was blink and hold her breath. But then the explosions in her brain stopped, and she actually felt his soft breath, his gentle lips, his firm arms holding her close.

Her eyelids drifted close as she gave herself up to the moment. Right now it felt like someone else’s life, but as long as she was borrowing it, she might as well savor it.

Sweet buttered corn, she hadn’t had many boyfriends. Her nerd status in high school and college had sealed her fate when it came to her social calendar. One time she’d been invited to a party by a guy who seemed to love to drink. What made it even weirder was how much he kept telling Kallie how much she looked like his sister. The night ended with him retching on her. As far as memories went, it was one she tried not to remember.

Now, this current situation was the stuff memories should be made of. Dax Kavanagh, who was amusing, intelligent, and more considerate than she could have ever imagined, kissing her. Holding her.

She inhaled sharply as she felt his tongue swipe her bottom lip. The gasp gave him the opening he was looking for, and in a moment that would be burned into her mind forever, she tasted him. A hint of mint, a hint of chocolate, and oh, God, Dax!

Kallie could stop breathing right now, and it would be okay. In fact, she sort of wished she would, because there was no way life could get any better than this moment.

“Kallie?”

She startled when she realized he’d pulled back and was looking directly at her. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. Several times.

“Just making sure.”

“Yes. Great. Elated.”

He smiled. “That’s wonderful. But now we need to get out of the car. We are in a no parking zone and the driver needs to find a better place to park.”

They’d stop moving and she hadn’t even known it. Oh, crap! She sat up, patted her hair to make sure it was still decent, cleared her throat, and did her best to come back to the real world that she had drifted away from.

By the time Dax had gotten out and finished speaking with the driver, she was almost back to herself. Not really all together by Gaea’s standards, but not her normal Kallie self either.

He enclosed her hand in his, another good memory to be filed away, and led her into the charming restaurant. Maybe she wasn’t as composed as she thought, for she barely felt her feet touch the sidewalk.

* * * *

Bas woke up to pounding. Loud hammering. He hadn’t slept worth a damn, and waking was no easy task. His eyes refused to open, his legs were all tangled in the sheets, and whoever  was knocking was about to have their life cut short.

“Hang on,” he said, but doubted the knocker heard him. Finally, Bas made it to his feet. He walked toward the door, careful not to bump into anything. A quick glance to the bedroom door let him know that if Gaea had heard the door, she wasn’t in any hurry to answer it.

Bas leaned forward and peered through the peephole. As he’d suspected, Arnold, the creep, was the one making all the noise. Just as Bas reached for the doorknob, ready to hand Arnold’s ass to him on a platter, he remembered the pull out couch.

Damn it!

“Hang on,” he said. “Just a moment.”

Bas rushed to the bed, threw the pillows to the side and shoved the bed back into the couch. It jammed, of course, just long enough for Arnold to get impatient and start knocking again. The bed gave in to physical pressure, and then he tossed the pillows on in random order. It was good enough. He jumped over the coffee table and made it back to the door before Arnold beat it off its hinges. Bas yanked the door open. “I hope it’s an emergency, Arnold.”

Arnold’s dejected gaze took in Bas’s bare feet and boxer shorts. “I would like to speak to Gaea,” he responded, his words borderline muttered.

“She’s asleep.”

“Gaea will want to get up for me.”

“I doubt it.”

Arnold exhaled heavily, adjusted his stance so he was halfway to getting inside. Bas wasn’t about to allow that to occur.

“Look, Arnold, as soon as she’s up, she’ll give you a call.”

“It’s important.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t. But we had a pretty long night, if you know what I mean.”

That got a response. Red-faced, Arnold attempted to look past Bas’s shoulder, trying to get a glance at the bedroom door.

That was the last straw. Not caring if he harmed Arnold or not, Bas shoved Arnold’s shoulders with one hand while he closed the door with the other. “I’ll give her your message.”

“Wait!”

“She’ll call you,” he stated as the door finally closed. “Man, he really is a piece of work.”

Bas turned around, not at all happy about having to remake the bed. Yet, he was still extremely tired. He’d left his watch on the coffee table, but he didn’t need it to tell him it was still early in the morning. 

In actuality it was just past noon. Oh well.

“Was that Arnold?”

Gaea’s voice surprised him, and he looked up to find her standing in the open bedroom door.

“Yes.”

“Is there a problem?”

“If there is, he probably made it up or caused it.”

“Hmm.”

She covered a wide yawn behind her hand as she made her way to the bathroom, her robe flying behind her. Bas reacted to the sight in a way that contradicted his last interaction with her. But he couldn’t deny that she was still stunning. Even with her hair in disarray, and makeup giving her that popular smudged look. He wanted her just as she was. Well, okay, he could hold off until she took care of her morning hygiene, but barely.

He wondered which Gaea he’d be dealing with this morning. The lascivious woman he’d made love to or the one scared to death of being an inch outside of her comfort zone. Maybe wishing for the former would help. That’s exactly what he did as he fixed the couch, rearranging the pillows and gathering up his clothes. He stared at his robe for several minutes, but decided not to put it on. If it was the sensual one, he wanted to be ready.

Talk about optimistic. She’d made it very apparent last night that she wasn’t real comfortable about crossing the line of business arrangement to personal. Bas could either be the nice guy and go along with her request, or...

One thing of which he was quite certain of—when they’d made love last night, Gaea had been right there with him, stroke for stroke, caress for caress. She’d come alive in his arms. Man, it had been like nothing else he’d ever experienced. He wanted that woman back. Needed to have her back.

Bas exhaled deeply. Being Mr. Nice Guy wasn’t getting him anywhere. From this moment on, there would be a change in plans.

* * * *

Gaea had turned on the shower the instant she’d stepped into the bathroom. She hadn’t gotten in yet, though. Instead, she’d gone through her daily morning routine of washing her face and brushing her teeth. She’d even disrobed and looked at herself in the mirror. All the while steam from the hot water filled the bathroom. She figured she’d better make a decision. Time wasn’t going to stand still.

One more analytical look at her nude body. Not too bad, although she could lose a few pounds, especially in the hip and thigh area. The personal trainer had been a wonderful investment. Yes, it cost her a fortune, but the spent money incited her. Now, if she could exert more will power at dessert time, maybe she could achieve the body shape she wanted.

It wasn’t going to happen with her just staring at herself in the mirror. There was a lot to do today and she needed to get a move on. She’d wasted so much time, Bas was probably growing impatient to use the bathroom, but that didn’t matter. With the right motivation, she could get him to forget his need to get ready.

After a quick shower, she turned off the water and put on her robe. Closing her eyes briefly, she put her hand up to her mouth and did a quick breath check, just in case. Then she went out to get started on what she’d named Project Sebastian. He wasn’t the only one with a goal and a plan to accomplish it. And Gaea had always excelled when it came to achievement. Give her a test and she was a force to be reckoned with. So watch out, Mr. former Navy Seal slash top researcher. The ball was in her court and she planned to make sure she came out on top.

* * * *

“This is one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to,” Kallie said. “Except I ate like a pig.”  She wiped her mouth with her napkin. “I never thought about it before, but that’s a very interesting idiom.”

Dax put down his fork and smiled at her. “You could be right. I’ve never really thought about it either.”

“Sort of unattractive sounding, especially when you conjure up the image of a pig eating and what it is that they eat.”

“But it gets the point across.”

She nodded. “How did you find this restaurant?”

It wasn’t a large place. In fact, it was what one would call a hole-in-the-wall. That didn’t matter, though. All the tables were occupied, mostly with a middle-aged crowd, but it seemed the most popular area of the restaurant was the to-go counter, especially the see through display. Behind the glass were delicious-looking baked goods, from fresh-baked pastries to homemade bagels. Having grown up near a bakery, she was extremely familiar with the tasty morsels. If she wasn’t due back at the hotel tonight, she’d purchase a bunch of the savory food.

“What are you thinking about?”

 “Bagels with cream cheese and lox.”

He chuckled loudly, and the sound made her feel all warm inside.

“What?”

“Not the response I expected.”

“But look at all that baked goodness,” she stated, pointing toward the display case. “I can’t believe I ate so much yet I still want more. But who could blame me? When is the last time you saw such a delicious looking piece of bread?”

“I haven’t. It’s one of a kind.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

His eyes widened as if he was offended. “Of course not. Not at all. The way you think intrigues me.”

She scowled. “I think just like other people. Don’t I?”

“No.” Dax took her hands in his. “Not in the least. Which is awesome, so there is no need for you to get all worried over it.”

“How can I not? I mean, I know I’m not like the most average person in the world, but I never thought I was that peculiar.”

“Peculiar? I prefer unique. You are a very unique person.” He caressed the back of her hand with his fingertip, causing her entire body to tremble. “As soon as you overcome that wanting-to-fit-in-with-everyone-else stage, it’s what you look for in others. The uncommon things. Good or bad, it’s always fascinating.”

“Well, psychopaths are different.”

“Uh, yeah, you don’t want to stretch it too far, but I can’t think of anything more awful than trying to fit in by attempting to be like everyone else.”

“That’s the last thing you have to worry about. Believe me, you’re not. You’re the most attractive guy in the world.”

Dax laughed out loud, while Kallie turned fifteen shades of red. She couldn’t believe that just came out of her mouth. If she could have crawled under the table and hid, she would have.

“Oh, gorgeous, don’t be embarrassed. That is very nice of you to say. And yes, I am nice-looking enough to be a model, I know that. Which is okay as long as I don’t let it go to my head.”

“That’s the great thing about it all. You don’t. I would have never guessed you would be so polite and welcoming.”

“Thought I’d be all snobbish and egotistical, huh?”

“Yes. In case you weren’t aware, physically attractive people can get everything they desire. I would think it to be easy to be drawn into that.”

“Do you get everything you want?”

“Me? Why do you ask?”

One corner of his mouth curved upward. “You’re exceptionally stunning.”

“And you are delirious from too much food.”

He leaned back, his eyebrows arching high on his forehead. “So I’m nice but dishonest?”

“Of course not!”

“Then you’ll just have to accept what I say as the truth, won’t you?”

For the first time in her life, Kallie was speechless. Couldn’t form a response to save her life. She was Sleeping Beauty waiting to be awakened, Cinderella who’d been invited to the best ball of them all. Kallie felt certain she was going to wake up and find it was all a dream, but hoped it wouldn’t happen yet. It was the best time she’d ever had.

“You know,” Dax said, “there’s this party I have to attend tonight. At the Reunion Tower. I need a date and I can’t think of anyone better than you. How about it?”

“What? I already have to... Oh!”

The other corner of his mouth curled upward and the day became that much brighter.

“I’d be delighted to.”

“Good deal. What time do you have to be there again?”

The sunshine dimmed some. “Too early. By three o’clock.”

“Not a problem. What do you say we start our date around eight? After I arrive.”

“I think that’s a great idea. I’d like that very much.”

He brought her hand up to his mouth, placed a kiss on the back of it. “Great,” he murmured. “Make sure you save the first dance for me.”