Falling for the Enemy, page 10
Kit took her hand in his as they talked about music and followed the clues.
He knew that he was going to have to face the past and figure out what to do next, but for tonight it was enough to be with Rory, singing “I’m Not Okay” at the top of his lungs on a semi-crowded dance floor.
Her body brushed against his and he held her close when she stumbled. He knew that no matter what he wanted, sooner or later he was going to have ask her more questions about the accident and tell her about his brother, but not tonight. Tonight was about letting go. Tonight was for them.
Ten
The Gilbert Corners Chili Cookoff wasn’t something that Kit thought he’d find himself participating in. Especially not in a booth with the Gilberts. But he had to stop thinking of them as Gilberts. So instead he focused on being here with Rory and her family. A few weeks had passed since their night at the speakeasy.
Indy and Conrad were doing a special that would run on the network where they both had television shows. It was combining her town makeover idea and his quintessential cooking challenge. The differences in this show were that the challenge was just locals all cooking their favorite chili recipe—normally Con’s show focused on a showdown between his professional persona “The Beast” and a solo challenger.
And then Indy and her makeover team, which included Lulu who ran the coffee shop, had undertaken the old Gilbert Civic Center space. Rory had worked with Indy’s team on redoing the interior of the convention space and, after some thought, Kit and Palmer Industries had partnered with them as well. The civic center was one of the run-down properties that he’d purchased.
Rory had come to him about the needed updates so he’d immediately offered to make a donation through his company.
Aunt Mal hadn’t been happy that he’d donated it back to the town but she’d liked the plaque on the side of the building that thanked them for the donation. She wanted more plaques around town that didn’t have the Gilbert name on them.
The town wasn’t beholden to the Gilbert family anymore. Which suited Kit. He still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Dash and Con about the night of the accident and he hadn’t brought up the man who’d attacked Rory. A part of him didn’t want to know if it had been his brother.
Coward.
But the truth was, Declan had been the only positive male influence that Kit had had. His father’s descent into alcoholism had soured the relationship between him and Kit. Something that Kit knew he’d never been able to forgive. His father should have stayed sober and helped Kit rebuild Orr Industries. Instead, at twenty-one, Kit felt like he had to start a new business, Palmer Industries, running a business in a field that had been dictated by ruthlessness and revenge. It had been what he’d believed was his dad’s severance pay and Aunt Mal’s savings that had given them the start they needed. And then...well, dumb luck. Aunt Mal said he had a head for business and maybe he did. They’d gone after smaller companies until they were established and then had targeted opportunities that Gilbert International showed interest in.
And slowly Kit had developed the skills and acumen needed to defeat Dash when it came to winning business deals and wooing clients. Not all the time, but often enough that he knew he could eventually bring the man down. But bringing him down was no longer the goal. Kit had come to realize that Dash wasn’t a villain who’d taken away his family’s opportunity. He was just a man. And he was Rory’s brother.
“I have to talk on camera,” Rory said, coming over to him. She had her long blond hair loose, hanging around her shoulders in a way that nicely framed her heart-shaped face. “What if I sound like an idiot?”
He took her hand in his and drew her away from the booth where Conrad’s assistants were setting up the cooking area for their team. “You won’t. You are too smart and you already rehearsed it for me this morning. You know what you’re doing.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “I know but it was easier talking to you.”
“Do you want me to go and stand behind the cameraman? You can look at me when you’re talking,” he suggested. The more time he spent with Rory the harder it was to have any sense of perspective on any of the past. He was falling for her and it would be silly to pretend he wasn’t. She’d also made him face the hard truth of his perceptions about the past with his father and brother.
Being around her made him feel alive for the first time since college. He wasn’t constantly thinking about what the Gilberts had taken from him but instead felt like he was enjoying an unexpected gift.
She tipped her head to the side and gave him a soft smile that went straight to his groin and made him want to carry her from the hall and make passionate love to her.
“We are more.” There was something flirty and sexy in the way she watched him.
He knew they were. And that made the secret he kept from her even worse. However, he didn’t want to hurt her anymore than she’d already been hurt by his brother and the past. But was he just making excuses for himself? His greatest fear was that the longer he kept the truth from her the more betrayed she’d feel.
“We are. So I think even your therapist would say it’s okay for me to be there for you when you speak on camera for the first time.”
She nodded. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged and looked around the hall. The interior was modern and sleek and the walls were adorned with artwork and frescoes created by local artists and students from the high school. The civic center, which had previously held a large portrait of all of the Gilberts who’d served on the town council was now more of a town-focused place.
“It’s just that until now most of my work has been quiet and small. I loved working on the interior of the building and doing the behind-the-scenes work. But this is me being in the spotlight.” She stopped and then shook her head. “It’s not like the people of Gilbert Corners haven’t always talked about me, but I’ve always pretended I didn’t know they were.”
“This time you’re controlling the narrative,” he pointed out. “You’re going to get up there and talk about the work you put into this space and how it’s really part of the town and the people who live in Gilbert Corners. I think that’s important and I also believe you’re the only one who can do it.”
“Oh, Kit, thank you,” she said, throwing herself into his arms. He caught her and held her close, shutting his eyes and breathing in the scent and feel of her.
He wanted her. Not just right this moment but forever. He’d never thought of forever before. It scared him. He’d always known once he’d come to Gilbert Corners things would change but he hadn’t realized how they would.
* * *
Rory was nervous and not just for the reasons she’d given Kit. This was her first project at the first paying job she’d had. She wanted the people of Gilbert Corners to like what she’d done to the civic center. Kit had asked her if she wanted to take her new renovating skills and apply them to the project.
She’d said yes as she had to everything new and risky since she’d moved out on her own. The work had been more fun than she’d realized. She could have done it for gratis but Kit had insisted. He’d have had to hire someone to oversee the project if she wasn’t doing it. Which had made her even more determined to make sure the building exceeded his expectations.
She’d leaned heavily on Indy and Lulu at first, asking them for pointers when she’d run into things she’d never dealt with before. But as she stood next to Kit in the hall, watching not only the TV crew get set up but locals as well who were seeing it for the first time, she felt a sense of pride as she overheard comments about how good the renovation looked.
For once, people were talking about her not because she was one of those cursed Gilberts but because of the work she’d done. She turned to Kit.
“Thank you for giving me this chance.”
“You’re welcome. I knew you could do it,” he said proudly.
But she hadn’t shared his confidence.
That wasn’t something she was sure she would ever say to anyone but her therapist. But the truth was she’d had a massive anxiety attack after she’d signed the contract with Palmer Industries. She’d sat on her couch and listed all the reasons why she was going to fail and had to do box breathing to just calm herself down long enough to see.
But then she’d looked around her house at all the projects she’d done there and that had helped. And as Kit had said earlier today, she hadn’t had to do it on her own.
Kit held her hand and stood next to her in his typical all black. Today he wore black jeans, a long-sleeved black button-down shirt and that thick leather belt that drew her eyes to his hips.
She felt a zing of sexual awareness go through her. Totally not what she should be thinking about at the moment. But when she was close to Kit it was hard not to.
The more time they spent together, the more she was starting to get used to him in her life.
Was that good?
He was the first boyfriend she’d had as an adult. Surely, she should date around before finding someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. And she did want a partner in life. She’d seen with Conrad and Dash how finding someone they loved and shared their life with had enhanced them. Made them seem more fulfilled.
She wanted that.
Was she just seeing in Kit what she wanted to see?
Her heartbeat sped up and a few doubts crept into the good endorphins that she always experienced when she was with him.
“What is it?” he asked, looking concerned. “You know, if you don’t want to be on camera you don’t have to do it.”
She smiled and that knot in the pit of her stomach started to relax. Kit always thought of her first. She knew that was important. Or at least it was to her. “I know. I’ll be okay. Thanks for coming over here with me.”
“Rory, if it’s possible, I’ll always be here for you.”
Oh! Why did he have to say things like that in the middle of a crowded room? She kissed him, long and deep, and then pulled back before it went too far. “Thank you.”
He flashed a grin that made everything feminine in her melt into a puddle of want and need. She didn’t know if she was going to be able to wait until the chili fest was over to be alone with him.
She flushed, thinking about making love in the back hallway of the civic center. She knew just the spot that would give them the privacy they needed.
“How much longer until you need me?” she asked the director.
“About ten minutes. You can go and I’ll text you when we’re ready.”
“Great,” she said before turning to Kit. “Come with me.”
Rory took his hand and led him out of the main hall of the civic center and up the back stairs to the small room that had been used as a projection room back in the day. She’d remodeled it into a private meeting space.
She closed and locked the door behind them after she’d led him inside.
“Uh, Ms. Gilbert...what are you doing?”
She winked. “I was thinking there’s one thing that I need.”
“And that’s...?”
Kit. She needed Kit. She was being flirty and playful with him but deep in her soul she knew she needed him.
It might not be wise to fall for the first man she dated but she knew she was. She was totally vibing on Kit. Everything about him was ticking boxes and pushing buttons and in every way that mattered, he was just what she wanted.
She didn’t know if she’d dreamed him up in her coma or how he’d dropped into her life...and she didn’t care. She was just glad he was here now.
She pushed him back against the locked door, leaning into him and wrapping one thigh around his hip.
And from the look on his face he wanted her just as badly.
His eyes glinting with desire, he put his hands on her butt and drew her up into his body as his mouth came down on hers.
* * *
Kit was aware that Rory only had ten minutes until she had to be back downstairs. Hot and horny, all he wanted to was turn and bang her against the wall but he wasn’t sure that would be satisfying for her. Though his mind was having a hard time staying in control.
Her mouth was on his neck, sucking at that one spot that seemed connected to his cock, which was only getting harder. She was rubbing herself against the ridge of his erection as her hands held his shoulders tightly.
“Rory...honey, we don’t have time for this,” he gritted out.
“I’m pretty sure we do. I mean last night you did it in five.”
He groaned. He hadn’t been able to resist her when she’d put on his T-shirt and danced around the living room, showing off her new strength. God, the more time he spent with her, the harder it was to keep from falling for her.
He looked into her pretty blue eyes and knew that it was time to stop pretending he thought he shouldn’t fall for her. He’d already started. There was no going back and a part of him, deep down, knew he was looking for a way to have Rory and satisfy the need to even the odds with Dash Gilbert.
She put her hands around his neck and shifted so that her breasts brushed against his chest. He felt the hardness of her nipples through the silk blouse she wore. He lifted one hand, rubbing his finger over the tip.
Fuck.
He wanted her and she wanted him. Why was he hesitating?
The thought that he felt he didn’t deserve Rory danced through his mind and he shoved it away. Not now. He’d deal with that later.
Right now his woman was in his arms, undulating against him and making him so hard he might come in his pants. Which would be a waste. He kissed her neck and then lower, undoing the top two buttons of her shirt until he could see the fabric of her black, lace bra and the upper curve of her breasts.
He groaned, knowing there was no way he was leaving this room without satisfying his woman. He turned them so that her back was against the wall. Putting one hand on the wall next to her head, he reached between them, shoving his hand up under her skirt. She wore tights and he pulled them down far enough that he could get his hands on her skin.
Damn.
Her skin was soft and as he pushed his hand closer to her pussy he felt the warmth of her. He cupped her and she tipped her head back against the wall, her breath coming in short gasps as he fingered her. She was so hot and so ready. He reached between them and undid his jeans, freeing his erection.
She’d started taking the pill so they didn’t have to use a condom when they had sex. His mind was conscious of that as he shifted his hips until the tip of his cock was nestled against the heat of her center. Her hands were on his butt, urging him forward as he slipped inside.
He brought his mouth down on hers, plunging his tongue deep into her mouth as he filled her. She was always so tight when he first entered her and her pussy tightened around him as he drove into her again and again.
She sucked on his tongue, her nails digging into his shoulders as he thrust faster, until she tore her mouth from his and moaned his name.
He drove into her harder until everything inside him tightened and he came in her in a long, heady rush.
Afterward, he braced his arm against the wall, holding himself up until he was empty. He rested his forehead against hers and she smiled up at him.
He shifted back from her, tucking his dick back into his pants and then doing up his jeans. “Why are you smiling like that?”
“Well, I had added do it in a public place to my list of things we should try,” she replied. “But hadn’t had a chance to mention it to you yet.”
She pulled her tights up and rebuttoned her blouse and something deep inside him that had felt dead for too long sort of started to come back to life. His heart was racing and emotions that he didn’t want to name swirled within him.
“Do it? Is that your sexy talk?” he teased, trying to keep things light when everything in him urged him to grab her and make her his. To take her away from Gilbert Corners and convince her that he was the only man for her. Now, before she learned who he really was.
She quirked a brow. “What do you call it?”
“Hooking up?”
“That’s not really much better,” she said.
Her phone pinged and she gave a nervous laugh. “I think I have to go.”
“You’re going to do great,” he said again.
“Well, I’m not nervous about talking now.”
“Are you still nervous in general?”
“Just hoping no one notices that hickey I gave you,” she said with a wink as she unlocked the door.
Kit didn’t mind if the entire world noticed. He was proud to be Rory’s man. Grinning to himself, he followed her down the stairs. And as he predicted, despite what she feared when the cameras started rolling, she was a natural. She kept eye contact with him but her voice and attention were on the job she was doing.
His woman. He might not say the words out loud but his soul had claimed her and a part of him knew he was never letting her go.
Eleven
After that night at the speakeasy, Rory stopped worrying about being strong enough or perfect enough and just started to find her footing. They were seeing more of each other—Kit was working from home in Gilbert Corners, and spending most nights at her house in her bed, making love to her all night long.
Kit was awakening dreams in her that she hadn’t given a chance to bloom. A part of her was afraid to accept them but that part got quieter and quieter the more time the two of them spent together.
They were having lunch at Lulu’s and sitting at one of the outside tables on Wednesday. It was the kind of crisp autumn day that wasn’t too chilly in the sun. They’d ordered the special, which was vegetarian chili and jalapeno corn bread. Kit was at the counter waiting for their order and Rory couldn’t help staring at him, feeling warm inside.
