His Unexpected Lover (The Thorpe Brothers) (2 page)

Kiera had no doubt that Debbie was going to approach
the man.  It was in her eyes and Kiera glanced over at the man, her eyes worried as she gauged the distance between Debbie and the man.

But as soon as she found him
through the crowd, she realized that he was looking at her! 

Debbie was even primping, doing her best to get noticed.  Kiera looked from Debbie to the stranger, wondering when he
would notice the blond beauty standing next to her. 

The stranger’s eyes never wavered and Kiera’s stomach did flip flops at the realization. 

They made their way down the hallway to the ladies’ room and Kiera breathed a sigh of relief.  One gauntlet down, one more to go.  Maybe she could get Debbie out of the bar.  Maybe if they just left, Debbie wouldn’t have time to set her sights on…

“Did you see him again?” Debbie gushed as they both washed their hands. 

Kiera’s throat constricted when she noticed the light of intent in Debbie’s eyes.  “I’m going to talk to him,” she declared.  Kiera sighed with resignation.  When Debbie went on the prowl, men tended to fall to their knees and worship her. 

She fluffed her blond hair
one more time and Kiera wished she had done something more interesting with her out-of-control curls.  They floated around her like some sort of bohemian gypsy instead of being smooth and glossy-straight like Debbie’s blond hair.  Debbie even had those pretty blue eyes that she could bat at any man and have him desperate to do her bidding.  Kiera stared at her boring brown eyes, wishing for the first time that her face could be more interesting, more devastatingly beautiful.  Her lashes might be long, but her mouth was too wide and too full, her nose too small to be anything other than cute instead of sophisticated and interesting.  Her cheeks weren’t gaunt, which was so hip lately. She even had a sprinkling of freckles over the bridge of her nose and her cheeks that she normally covered up with makeup but hadn’t bothered tonight, much to her irritation now. 

With a sigh, Kiera looked behind her at Debbie’s luscious figure
, wondering how long it would be before Debbie had the stranger wrapped around her pinky finger. 

They stepped out of the hallway
, Kiera holding her head down, not wanting to watch Debbie snag yet another man.  Why couldn’t her friend leave this one alone?  Why couldn’t she just let one, this special one, go about his business and not make him fall under her spell? 

S
uddenly, her path was blocked and someone was holding a beer towards her.  She looked up, but all she saw was a denim clad chest.  It was an extraordinarily muscular chest, she noticed.  Her heartbeat picked up rapidly because she knew exactly who this man was.  Her eyes continued to climb and she couldn’t believe it when her light brown eyes captured the ice blue ones of her stranger. 

The man was smiling down at her, not even noticing her blond friend beside her.  Of course, Kiera had no idea
if Debbie was still there or if she’d moved on.  It was just this man, herself and her racing heart. 

“I wish I could come up with some witty line
to get your attention, but I’ll admit, I’m stumped,” he said with a deep voice that reminded her of spicy chocolate. 

Kiera tried to smile.  She tried to catch her breath.  But with this man standing so close to her, his body heat and that incredible male scent wafting towards her, she just couldn’t think.  “I believe I’m in the same situation,” she replied nervously. 

He looked down at her hands and smiled.  “I noticed you were drinking beer.  I got you another one,” he said, referring to the second beer he still had in his hands.  “I know that was forward of me, but…”

Kiera straightened quickly, not wanting him to think she was rejecting the offer. 
“No, that’s very kind of you,” she replied, taking the beer.  But her hand accidentally touched his and she felt some sort of…spark?  She pulled back quickly, unsure of what was going on.  Unfortunately, at the same time, he was releasing the beer.  The result was both of them grabbing for the beer again, fumbling and beer spilled out, landing on her hand. 

“I’m so sorry!” she gasped, horrified at how clumsy she was acting. 

“My fault,” his deep, sexy voice replied. 

“No, really, I was the clumsy one,” she countered, looking up into those blue eyes once again.  And she couldn’t move.  Not even to take a breath.  They looked into each other’s eyes and it was as if the noise of the bar
once again faded away leaving only the noise of her heartbeat.  Time was frozen as she stood in front of this large man standing in front of her and the cold beer in her hand. 

“I’m Axel Thorpe,” he said softly, that deep baritone soothing over her skin like a balm. 

“I’m Kiera Ward,” she replied.  As his large, strong hand took hers, she prayed hard that her knees wouldn’t give out on her and she wouldn’t throw up because she was suddenly feeling like something had just exploded inside of her stomach. 

She had no idea how long they stood there like that.  It could have b
een only a moment or it might have been a half hour.  At that point in her life, she honestly could have looked into his ice blue eyes for the rest of her life. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked, grabbing a napkin off of the bar and wiping down her hand. 

She was struck by the strength in those hands.  His denim sleeves were rolled up slightly and she could see the muscles in his forearms.  She smiled, thinking the man had more than just good bones.  She could tell by the controlled way he moved that there were muscles underneath that shirt to back up the height and breadth of those incredible shoulders. 

She shivered and tried to pretend that
she wasn’t so affected by his closeness, not wanting this sophisticated man to realize how nervous she was.  “I’m a student over at Georgetown.”

He smiled and they discussed the various bars they’d
frequented.  That conversation led to their hobbies and jobs.  She found out that he was one of four brothers, all of whom were in the legal profession.  Kiera couldn’t help but be impressed that he was clerking for a Supreme Court justice at the moment and she smiled, telling him of her goal to go to law school at Georgetown. 

Kiera had no idea how long they’d talked, but one of the waitresses was wiping down tables when she finally looked around.  “I think I’d better head home,” she said, suddenly realizing that the bar had cleared out
at some point while they were talking.  She looked around for Debbie but all of her friends had left. 

“I’ll walk
you home,” Axel stated firmly and stood up himself. 

She smiled up at him, relieved that their night wasn’t going to end just yet.  “That would be nice,” she replied. 

They walked through the now-quiet streets of Georgetown, the uneven brick sidewalks and centuries old townhomes adding charm and intimacy to their conversation.  But too quickly, she was standing in front of the tiny townhome she shared with four other women and she silently wished that she was still living in the college dorms.  Because then she’d have more time with this fascinating man since the dorms were farther away. 

“Something inside of me is telling me not to kiss you,” he stated as he moved closer to her.  Kiera’s heartbeat increased as she smiled up at him. 

“But you’re going to ignore that voice, aren’t you?” she whispered, shocked that she could be so bold.  She’d never been this way with another man before, always preferring to hold off and get to know a guy before becoming physical in any way.  But there was just something about Axel that made it feel like she knew everything she needed to know about him. 

“I
believe I am,” he replied. 

She saw his eyes light
up despite the darkness of the night.  When his lips touched hers, Kiera pulled back, shocked by the touch.  But when she saw the same reaction on his face, it warmed her, giving her a secure feeling that she wasn’t alone with this strange, new feeling. 

He kissed her again, his lips barely brushing hers, over and over again, just touching.  Until she reached up and touched his cheek, signaling her desperate need for more.  And he gave it to her.  The
next kiss obliterated everything she’d ever known about kissing a man.  This was new, different…both terrifying and amazing.  She never wanted to stop kissing this man.  So when he lifted his head, she was embarrassed by how ragged her breathing was.  It felt like she’d just run a marathon. 

“Have breakfast with me tomorrow morning,” he sort of asked and demanded at the same time.

Kiera smiled up at him.  “I’d love it,” she said, her fingers floating over his shoulders and arms.  She wasn’t sure she wanted him to kiss her again.  But she was pretty sure she didn’t want to stop touching him. 

“I can’t leave if you’re going to keep doing that,” he
told her, his hands on her waist flexing against her skin. 

Kiera’s hands stopped.  She bit her lip, feeling an almost physical ache at the idea of pulling her hands away. 

But she did it.  She took a step back and smiled up at him.  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she whispered, then turned and ran into the house, closing the door quietly so she didn’t wake up her housemates. 

She had breakfast with him the next morning, and dinner that same day.  In fact, they spent almost the entire weekend together, parting on Sunday night only because he had to work and she had classes.  But they also had dinner every night that week.  By Friday night, when he came to pick her up at her townhouse, she jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and
kissing him with everything she had inside of her, showing him in the only way she knew how what she wanted. 

Axel had caught her that evening and hadn’t let her go.  They drove to his apartment and Kiera didn’t even see the décor until the following morning when they both realized that they hadn’t taken time to eat dinner the previous night.  He’d taken her into his arms in the parking lot of his apartment complex and started kissing her and they’d fallen into bed together.

He had been her first lover and he was the most tender, caring and sweet man she’d ever met. 

It took her less than twenty-four hours to know that she was in love with Axel Thorpe.  And every time they were together, she found him more fascinating, more amazing.  They had their fights, arguments over silly things.  But it was one of those relationships that was so overpowering, by the time they realized they were fighting, they were already laughing and pulling the other closer to make up and apologize.

It was all so perfect until that fateful day when he picked her up with a huge grin on his handsome face.  She smiled as she slipped into his powerful, low-slung car.  “What’s up?” she asked, excited for whatever was making him smile.  She had just finished her finals but had decided to take summer courses so she could be closer to Axel over the summer months.  They’d even discussed the possibility of renting a house on the beach for the long, Labor Day weekend after her summer classes finished and the fall semester started. 

He kissed her gently before starting up the engine. 
“I’ll tell you when we get to dinner.”

“Where are we going for dinner?” she asked, uncaring, as long as she could be with him.  They always had stimulating conversations until he kissed her and carried her to his bed.  She loved this man and couldn’t believe how wonderful life was with him.

“My place,” he responded.  “I want you all to myself when I tell you this news.”

She grinned, eager to be alone with him.  They had better, livelier conversations when it was just the two of them and they didn’t need to worry about
interrupting people at the next table with their heated debates or the waiter arriving to interrupt them.  She also loved it because she didn’t have to hide her need to touch him, to kiss him.  And she didn’t need to hide her desire for him to take her to his bed. 

She was in full agreement with his plan. 
“Sounds perfect to me.”

It took only a few minutes to arrive at his apartment complex.  And when she walked through the door of his apartment, she knew exactly what to expect.  Dinner was never first on the menu.  It had been the same ever since they’d met that first night in the bar. At the first touch
, they were on fire for each other and Axel lifted her into his arms and carried her into his bedroom.  It wasn’t much to look at, just a bed and dresser.  Everything about the man was utilitarian. Until he was in the bedroom.  Then he was anything but.

And when it was all over, she sighed with happiness as he held her in his arms.  “So what’s your big exciting news?” she asked once her breathing was back to normal. 

He swatted her bottom and pulled her out of bed.  “Come with me,” he said and pulled her out the door, refusing to let her carry the sheet with her. 

Kiera grabbed his shirt just as he pulled her out the door and slipped her arms into the warm material.  No matter how many times he’d encouraged her to be more casual around
him, she couldn’t walk around his place naked.  He had no qualms though. 

“Here,” he said, placing several pamphlets in her hands. 

She looked down at the brochures, not sure what these had to do with him.  “Are you going back to school?” she asked. Her heart lurched at the possibility since these brochures were for schools in Illinois.