Pretty Packages (3 page)

But how much had he just given away? For all Giada knew, his place could be a lowly one-bedroom apartment, especially if she thought he was just a bouncer.

Sighing with relief that he hadn’t given away more personal info than that,
Kentucky
led Giada to the modest Jeep he liked to drive in order to hide his true wealth from women like her. He just hoped his stepmother was asleep when they got there and that Giada slept in late in order to miss Hannah on her way to church in the morning.

Hannah liked bragging on her stepson, whom she felt privileged to raise from toddlerhood, three years after his birth mother died. She would tell any- and everybody about how proud she was of him protecting so many influential people. All it would take was for her to drop a few names, and Giada would know that
Kentucky
had more wealth than he let on. He had much more.

* * * *

The ride to the Jones house was far from quiet. Giada kept trying to charm
Kentucky
with her smiles, overall personality, and compliments about his physique. She was doing a good job of it, too.

Giada was very personable, smart, beautiful, and had an adorable sense of humor.
Kentucky
could see why men fell under her spell. He could see why they wanted to just spoil her in reward for being so bright, so beautiful, and so capable of making
them
feel good in her presence.

The way Giada maintained constant eye contact with a man had a way of making him feel as if he was the only person in the world who mattered to her. Each compliment she issued seemed so genuine, specially made just for him.

Giada was also the type of woman who made a man want to stay up late making love to her. Forget about going to work in the morning. She was the perfect excuse to be late for one’s job. A man might even be tempted to use one of his sick days for her.

Giada’s curves were full and supple. Oh yes, each and every one had that squeezable look. Her body was toned and fit. And the sensual way she walked suggested that she knew how to work her hips for maximum pleasure.

By the time they actually arrived at their destination, every muscle in
Kentucky
’s body was tense. The one in his secret place was especially tense.

“You sure you didn’t leave a window open?”
Kentucky
asked, having second thoughts about being under the same roof as Giada. She was testing his control to the limit as it was.

What was it about her that affected him so deeply? She wasn’t the first beautiful woman who had shown interest in him during his thirty years on the earth.
Kentucky
’s physique attracted beautiful women all the time. With them things had remained on a physical level. Yet, with Giada, something about her tugged on his emotions.

Why?

Kentucky
didn’t know that yet. He planned to find out . . . very soon.

* * * *

Giada smiled at the newest question she’d been asked. She knew why
Kentucky
had inquired about her windows again—she’d gotten to him on the ride home. She’d tried to. Shoot,
Kentucky
had gotten to her just as well, and without premeditation.

After watching his large hands and those big, muscular arms of his work that steering wheel and gear shift, Giada was now ready to see how skillful he was at other things. She was now ready to boot him up to boy-toy status, despite the fact that he wasn’t as cute as some of his predecessors.

“No, I never leave my windows open,” Giada replied, finally answering his question.

* * * *

Keeping the disappointment at her reply off his face,
Kentucky
reluctantly got out of the car. Reminding himself that his stepmother was in the house did wonders to calm his raging libido. Soon he was back under control.

Kentucky
and Giada entered the house very quietly so as not to disturb his sleeping parent. The front door was opened and closed with very little sound. They didn’t utter a word between them.

Unfortunately for them, Hannah still woke up anyway.
Kentucky
heard the telltale squeak of her boxspring. He knew that his stepmother hadn’t been sleeping well lately on account of the recent crime spree in the area. He suspected that she probably had awakened at the first sound of his car pulling into the driveway.

Yet despite the recent break-ins in the neighborhood,
Kentucky
still couldn’t get Hannah to move away. Instead she opted to believe that the crime spree would end once the summer was over. After all, like those living in the lower islands, Miamians knew how crazy the heat in these parts could make people at times.

“Kenny, is that you?” Hannah asked through her closed bedroom door.

“Yes, ma’am,”
Kentucky
assured her, pausing by her bedroom door. “But I’m not alone. I have Giada from across the street with me. She lost her key ring at the club and needs a place to crash for the night. I’m gonna put her up in the guest room, okay?”

“Okay, son. Hey, Giada.”

“Hello, Mrs. Jones,” Giada replied pleasantly.

Kentucky
fought not to frown at her overly friendly tone. Was Giada trying to ingratiate herself with his stepmother? What happened to barely speaking to either of them?

Yes, Giada had always talked warmly to Hannah no matter how short their conversations had been. Yes, she seemed partial to older people as a whole, which might explain why she moved into this settled neighborhood. But tonight she had put extra sugar in her speech. Why?

“Y’all hungry? I could get up and fix something,” Hannah said, forever hospitable.

“No need to get up, Mama,”
Kentucky
answered for the both of them when he heard more movement in her bedroom. “We’re fine. Just go on back to sleep.” He did not want his stepmother up talking to Giada about anything.

“All right. I’ll cook a big breakfast for you in the morning then,” Hannah said, obviously settling back upon her bed based on the
zing
sound of her box spring.

“Thanks, Mama. Goodnight,”
Kentucky
replied, determined to wake up extra early in order to do damage control. Once his stepmother learned what kind of woman Giada was, she would keep a lid on his information.

“Good night, son. Night-night, Giada,” Hannah said, singing her neighbor’s name at the end.

Giada chuckled. “Night-night, Mrs. Jones.”

Chapter Three

As
Kentucky
showed Giada around the guest room, he found himself experiencing some of the same things he had in the car. He quickly came to the most obvious conclusion—him, Giada, and small spaces didn’t mix.

She seemed to be aware of that, too, because her breathing instantly became shallower. That hungry look that she’d given him in the car returned. Except this time it was even more voracious.

For the first time in his life,
Kentucky
was actually afraid of someone. He was afraid of a woman at that. He wasn’t fearful on a physical level, rather on an emotional and financial level.

Kentucky
feared falling in love with Giada, being weakened by that love, and eventually losing the fortune he’d spent years to amass due to her materialistic nature.

And yet
Kentucky
showed no signs of fear. He’d been trained not to during his brief stint in the military.

“If you need an extra pillow, let me know. I can bring you one from my room,”
Kentucky
said, continuing to talk about her accommodations. If only his voice wasn’t so husky at the end. If only she wasn’t standing so close to him.

* * * *

Giada smiled, pleased that she was having even the slightest effect on the big giant of a man. She’d wanted to affect
Kentucky
, which was why she’d been following him foot to foot around the room. She had him boxed in near the closet now.

“The only thing I need from your room is a T-shirt to sleep in and . . .” Giada paused, leaned up to steal a quick kiss from him, and added, “You.”

Kentucky
inhaled sharply. His eyes registered surprise, then hot desire.

Giada suppressed a squeal of delight. Did he really like her aggression? The brief smack she’d given him on the lips? She hoped so. There was plenty more where that came from.

“You and I both know I’m out of your league, so why bother?”
Kentucky
said, suddenly picking her up and moving her to the side as if she weighed nothing. It was more like she weighed less than nothing in his arms.

Desire surged through Giada’s body at being lifted so effortlessly by him.
Kentucky
was strong. The man was
real
strong. The fact that he was heading for the door in an attempt to escape what was happening between them turned her on even more.

“You don’t have to be out of my league tonight, Kenny,” Giada purred, calling him by his nickname as she started after him.

* * * *

Kentucky
stopped midstride at her use of his nickname. It sounded so erotic, so . . . right coming out of Giada’s mouth.

Unaware that she’d been right behind him in his distraction, he abruptly turned around, causing her to run smack into his chest.

They both moaned with need upon impact. Yet only one of them actually did something about it.

Locking her arms about
Kentucky
’s neck, Giada leaped upon him and locked her legs around his waist. Then, before he could utter a sound of protest, she latched onto his lips and went for broke.

Kentucky
knew he should pull Giada off of him. He knew she was so wrong for him. He knew a lot of things. Yet despite what he knew, he wanted her kiss and so much more.

And so he surrendered . . . as much as he could allow himself to under his stepmother’s roof.

Pulling her aggressive tongue deep into his mouth for a hard suck,
Kentucky
slid his large hands to Giada’s bottom and squeezed. He knew it would be soft. He’d seen the way it jiggled when she walked.

“Yes, baby. Squeeze that thang,” Giada muttered against his mouth.

Ready to oblige her,
Kentucky
first glided her hips lower. He waited until the moment her softness slid across his rigidity to give her that extra squeeze she required. They both moaned deep in their throats at that intimacy.

“Oooh . . . you’re big everywhere,” Giada noted breathlessly as passion’s fire blazed even hotter between them. “Show me what else you got going on.”

At those words,
Kentucky
took the role of aggressor, bombarding Giada with deep kisses that had her trembling in his arms. His kisses had her wanting, needing him, like she’d needed no other man on the face of the earth. And kissing was just
one
of his special talents.