Sweet Christmas Kisses (66 page)

“Ah, come on, darlin’,” he insisted, as though her words made him feel like a fool. “Don’t take it personal. It was just a goodnight kiss.”

“Goodnight kiss, my—my foot! You were trying to seduce me!”

“Okay, okay, don’t get upset.” He raised his palms, signaling a truce. “I thought you’d like it, but if that’s not the case, I guarantee it won’t happen again. The last thing I want to do is make you unhappy. From now on, I’ll be as trustworthy as a Boy Scout.”

Kim gave him an arch look. “I can’t imagine you in short pants and a neckerchief.”

He smiled proudly and held up two fingers, the Boy Scouts of America official salute. “For your information, I made it all the way to Eagle Scout.”

His reaction looked so sincere she couldn’t resist a wry chuckle. “All right, Rock. In that case, I’ll give you one more chance, but don’t ever try it again or I’m out of here.”

She glanced around his bedroom, an area larger than her living room, furnished with fine Tuscany furniture, ivory walls and beige carpeting. “Now, where am I going to sleep?”

He made a grand sweep of his hand toward the massive four-poster bed covered with a thick brown and blue striped comforter. “Pick your preference, either side. It doesn’t matter to me.”

She pointed toward the camelback loveseat with four oversized throw pillows covered in the same two-toned print as the comforter. “That should do just fine.”

He shrugged. “Well, that thing is all right for sitting on to tie my shoes, but the leather back is cold and though the cushion has fabric on one side, it’s hard and too short to be comfortable, even for a pixie like you. You’re going to wake up with a sore back from sleeping like a pretzel.” When she sighed with disappointment, he put one arm around her shoulder and turned her toward his bed. “I’ve got the best mattress money can buy. It’s like sleeping on a cloud. Go ahead, try it for yourself.”

“All right,” she said reluctantly, but detoured first to the loveseat, snatching the throw pillows. “I’ll take the side nearest the door. You can sleep by the windows.” She carried the throw pillows over to the bed, laying them end-to-end down the middle.

“What’s that for?” He said as he untied his bowtie and pulled it off.

“I’m setting some boundaries,” Kim replied and commenced to plump the pillows.

Sasha began to jump against the side of the bed, trying to scale it.

“You don’t have to do that.” Rock stuffed his bowtie into his pocket as he collapsed onto the loveseat and began to peel off his socks. “I told you I’d keep to myself from now on.”

“Oh, yes, I do.” Kim picked up the dog and set her on the bed. “I don’t want to be mistaken in the middle of the night for your former girlfriend, especially after you’ve had a few glasses of wine.” Sasha found a comfortable spot on one of the throw pillows and curled up.

Meanwhile, Kim picked up her Saks Fifth Avenue bag and dumped the contents on the bed. She stared at the items strewn about in front of her. “Oh, crap.”

Rock arose from the loveseat and came to her side. “What’s the matter?”

She made a tsk sound, annoyed with herself. “I forgot Sasha’s litter box.”

He stared at the assortment of clothes and cosmetics on the bed. “Her...what?”

“Sasha is trained to do her business in a plastic box filled with organic material. That way she doesn’t have accidents when I’m working.” She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, beginning to feel the stress of the day. “Well, I’d better run down to my place and get it. She has to go pretty early in the morning.”

Rock pulled off his jacket and paused. “Would you mind taking off those noisy boots? Mother might hear you get on the elevator. If she does, she’ll be asking a lot of questions tomorrow.”

With a nod, Kim sat on the floor and unzipped her leather boots, happy to get those tight things off her feet. No wonder Candy said she could keep them as long as she wanted.

She slipped barefoot out the door and tiptoed down the hallway, keeping an eye on the guest bedroom doors. They both appeared closed, but she could have sworn one moved slightly as she waited for the elevator. When the doors opened, she slipped in and quickly jammed the button to close them again before anyone appeared in the hallway. The last thing she wanted was for Mother to be asking questions about her late night activities.

By the time she returned, Rock was in the shower. She took advantage of the opportunity to change into her pajamas and get into bed while she had the room to herself. Luckily, she’d showered earlier and she made sure to brush her teeth before leaving her place with the litter pan. One thing at a time! Sleeping with Rock was bad enough. Sharing his bathroom went
too far
.

She jumped into bed and pulled the covers to her neck. Rock’s claim of sleeping on a cloud rang true as her exhausted body slowly melted into the softest mattress she’d ever encountered. Oh, that felt wonderful. All thoughts ebbed away as she stared at an autographed picture on the wall above the loveseat. The picture featured Rock at a NASCAR race, standing next to a driver in front of his car. After a few moments, she closed her eyes, snuggled a bit, nearly drifting off to sleep when the bathroom door abruptly opened and heavy footsteps padded across the room.

The noise jarred her and she opened her lids a sliver, just enough to catch sight of a magnificent body strolling toward her. Once her brain identified the image, her eyes flew open and she sat up straight, clutching the covers as she tried to suppress a small scream. “You’re naked!”

Behind her, Sasha snorted.

“Well, that’s how I always take a shower.” Rock stood at the foot of the bed with his hands on his hips, wearing nothing but a white towel tied around his narrow waist.

Kim covered her eyes with her hands, trying not to look, but couldn’t help sneaking one little peek between her fingers. She had no doubt that he purposely stood there in his birthday suit as a last resort to entice her to sample what he had to offer. No way would she take the bait, but just the same, her heart did an Irish toe dance as she stared between her fingers at a sliver of his wide, bronzed shoulders and sculpted chest. He probably hadn’t eaten a Big Mac and super-sized fries in a decade. No man should look that good. At least, no man should look that good tonight!

“Sorry, but this is the way I sleep.” He paused, as if waiting for her reaction. When she didn’t respond, he pulled back the covers and lifted them high to create a temporary curtain between them, whipped off the towel and crawled into bed, dropping the blankets over his long, sinewy body. With a slow, sexy sigh, he reached up and turned out the lights. The room went inky black.

“Are you sure you don’t want my company tonight?”

She pulled the covers up to her neck. “No.”

“I swear you won’t be disappointed.”

“Cut it out. You guaranteed—”

He chuckled and turned away. “I guaranteed I wouldn’t make a pass at you again. I didn’t guarantee I wouldn’t ask again.”

“Good night, Rock.”

“You’ll never know what you missed. Good night, darlin’.”

****

Kim twisted onto her side and checked the time on the nightstand. The digital clock on the docking station read 3:05 a.m. She sighed and rolled onto her back again, wishing she could get some rest.

“Are you having trouble sleeping?”

She started at the sound of Rock’s deep voice permeating the darkness.

“Yeah,” she replied, feeling embarrassed, “and I’m sorry if my restlessness is keeping you up. I just can’t seem to settle in.”

“How long have you been awake?”

“I haven’t gone to sleep yet.”

She heard a double click and the lamp by his bedside flashed on, flooding the room with soft light. Her eyes blinked furiously, trying to adjust to the change.

Rock lay bare-chested on his back with his hands tucked behind his head, the comforter pushed down to his slim waist. His thick, wavy hair looked tousled from sleeping. A five-o-clock shadow darkened his jaw, but it only added to the sexiness of his pose. She let her imagination wander for a moment and wondered what it would be like to accept his offer and curl up in his arms, nestling her head in the crook of his shoulder, safe and secure...

She suddenly realized by the grin spread across his face that he’d caught her staring and looked away as embarrassment burned her cheeks.

“I sure could use some nice cold water.” He reached for the covers. “Would you like some, too?”

Kim shot out of bed. “Yes, but I’ll get it! You stay right where you are.” Sasha didn’t like her sudden movements and yelped in protest. “Shhhhh,” she said as she snatched Sasha off the bed and dropped the dog into the litter box to keep her busy. She stepped into her slippers. “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Rock pointed to an oak cabinet along the wall opposite the bed. “The fridge is over there.”

She opened the cabinet door and found a mini-bar, complete with a small refrigerator and a sink. The refrigerator held an assortment of beers, wine and chilled water. After rummaging through the cupboard, she returned to Rock’s side of the bed with two crystal tumblers of sparkling water over ice.

Rock accepted a glass as his dark-eyed gaze swept incredulously over her long-sleeved granny gown, thermal leggings and bunny slippers. “What are you wearing?”

“They’re called pajamas. Sorry, but this is the way I sleep,” she said cocking one eyebrow, “especially when I’m in bed with a guy like you.”

“Does that happen often?” He laughed. “You are
so
cute.”

“I’m
so
not getting into anything X-rated with you, no matter how many angles you try.” Kim scooped up Sasha with her free hand and kicked off her slippers then climbed back into bed, sitting cross-legged on top of the blankets. She put Sasha back on the throw pillow between them. “You should have realized by now that flattery will get you absolutely nowhere with me, mister.”

He quickly drained his water and set the glass on his nightstand. “You’re a very attractive woman, Kim. I mean that, even though you don’t want me to say it. I find your old-fashioned ideals quite refreshing. Nowadays, that’s a rare trait in a woman.”

She leaned back, resting on her pillow propped against the headboard. “I’m not a prude, if that’s what you mean. It’s just that... I mean, I just...”

He rolled onto his side, resting his head on the palm of his hand. “Just what?”

She stared into her glass, watching the bubbles surface and wishing the subject had never come up. “It’s nothing, really. I’m not here to bore you with my life.”

“Hey,” he said softly and reached out, lightly twining his fingers through hers, “you’re anything but boring to me. What’s wrong?”

The touch of his fingers caressing her palm shifted her senses into overdrive, but she purposely avoided looking at his hand lest he interpreted it as encouragement. Instead, she pulled away and looked him straight in the eyes. “I don’t trust men like you.”

His brows furrowed. “What do you mean, like me? You make me sound like I’m some kind of villain.”

Kim sipped her water and stared at the ceiling. “Where should I start? You’re rich, you’re powerful and your love life is like a revolving door. Once in a while someone gets hurt, but it’s never you and when it happens, it doesn’t concern you because she has a problem, not you.”

“No, you’re wrong. That’s not me at all.” He touched her chin with his finger and turned her face toward him. His eyes narrowed with intensity. “Someone hurt you deeply, didn’t he?”

“Yes, but when you’re a little girl, any man who takes an interest in you and then abandons you ends up hurting you, even if he didn’t mean to.”

His face softened with concern, but of course, he didn’t understand. No one ever did. Sadly, not even Veronica did when she was alive.

“Tell me what happened.” When she shook her head, he stroked her cheek with his thumb and said gently, “Hey, I’m a good listener and since I can’t sleep either, I’ve got all night. Please, tell me what went wrong.”

Sasha began to whimper.

“It’s too late for that.” Kim smiled to cover up her sadness. “The little girl survived and eventually grew up, but—”

“It’s never too late to change your mind. Why won’t you trust me?”

“I’m sorry, Rock. It’s not you. It’s—it’s me. I can’t trust anyone.”

He sat up and folded his arms across his chest, mulling over her admission. “What about your father? Why can’t you trust him?”

“I don’t know him.” She glanced away, hating the hollow feeling that gnawed deep inside. “His identity has always been a mystery. Oh, growing up, I asked dozens of questions about him, but my mother refused to talk about her past. Eventually, I accepted the fact that she didn’t want me to know and I stopped pestering her.” She shifted on the bed, straightening her legs and crossing them at the ankles. “I’ve always assumed that’s why she kept silent.”

“How could your father hurt you if you never knew him?”

“He didn’t, but his replacement did. Almost all of his replacements did.”

Rock lay back against his pillows, silent, waiting for her to continue.

“If you’d known my mother, you’d understand,” Kim said. “Veronica stood five-feet-eight-inches in her stocking feet, a glamorous bombshell with luxurious red hair and a show-stopping figure. Back in her day, she had no problem attracting men because she looked so much like Rita Hayworth, she could have passed for a twin sister.”

“Rita who?”

“Rita Hayworth,” Kim repeated and sipped her water, “a sexy, sultry redhead who danced and starred in movies back in the 30s and 40s with the likes of Glenn Ford, Cary Grant and Fred Astaire.”

He tweaked a couple strands of her blonde pixie cut. “You must take after your father’s side of the family then.”

She shrugged. “I guess so. Anyway, Veronica knew the power that her exquisite beauty and sexual charisma gave her over men and she used that influence to snare rich and powerful lovers.”

“And you think I’m just like one of her rich and powerful lovers. I see...”

“Actually, you don’t see, but I’ll explain.” Kim held out her hand and offered Sasha a drink from her glass. “Most of the men my mother dated were good to me; some even treated me like a princess. I guess they felt sorry for the shy little girl who spent her life standing in the shadows, all but forgotten. Sometimes I’d get presents or candy. Mostly I’d get money, but what I really wanted money couldn’t buy—a daddy to call my own. Every time I thought God had answered my prayers, another relationship would end and I would never hear from that man again. Veronica’s possessiveness and self-centeredness drove away every man she ever loved.”