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Mac was already out of bed and obviously working, and as Keiley pulled on the charcoal sundress she chose to wear in place of the Egyptian cotton, she hoped Jethro was with him.
How was she going to manage to face either one of them today? The events of the night before felt more like a dream than reality, but she couldn’t manage to convince herself that they had just been a strange little illusion.
Mac had held her, his hard body cushioning her back as another man kissed her. Not just another man, but his best friend. The man he was rumored to almost exclusively share his women with before his marriage.
The memory of it had her knees weakening as she buttoned the small pearl buttons that ran from the neckline to the hem of the summer dress.
The cotton blend was incredibly light and cool, the sleeveless straps crisscrossed at her back, and the skirt flowed to the midpoint above her knees. The bodice skimmed her breasts, but the material and cut of the design were flattering to her figure without being provocative.
She looked inf
ormally businesslike, she assured herself before heading from the bedroom.
She couldn’t hear any movement in the house, which she hoped meant it was deserted. Rushing to her office, she grabbed her purse and leather briefcase. Opening the butter-soft leather satchel, she checked to make certain the check she had written out the night before for the booth for the charity committee was inside, as well as a copy of the map of the booths. She closed it and moved quickly from her office.
Rushing through the doorway, her head down to find the keys in her purse, she ran headlong into an immovable object.
The purse went flying. The briefcase fell to the floor, and Keiley looked up in shock to meet the wickedly amused gaze of her houseguest.
“This beats a ‘good morning’ any day of the week,” he murmured, his fingers caressing her shoulders where he had caught her to steady her, his body pressed closely against her own.
Keiley felt frozen in place, staring up at him as contradictory emotions tore through her. She should run. She should stay. She shouldn’t be frozen with arousal, confusion, and fear. And she sure as hell shouldn’t be remembering that kiss the night before as his fingers had worked the snap of her jeans loose.
“I—” She swallowed tightly. “I have to leave. ”
His hands smoothed down her back, warm and calloused through the thin material of her dress. Heated flares of sensation snapped to life beneath her flesh as she felt a tremor ripple through her body.
Seduction. It scented the air, filled her senses, and slapped her with the knowledge that her body was responding.
Finally, she found the strength to push away from him, bending to grab her purse from the floor and tried to shove the items that had fallen back inside.
“Let me help you. ” He knelt in front of her, reaching for each item that she tried to capture, his fingers tangling with hers more than once before she managed to gather up the fallen items.
Men. God, they were like a plague of testosterone, and she felt like she was on overload after the night before.
“I could have done it myself,” she muttered.
“But it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun,” he assured her, smiling as he helped her to her feet, his hands gripping her shoulders firmly.
The memory of the night before glittered in his eyes, tightened his expression.
“I have to go. ” She gripped her purse and case as she moved to go around him.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Keiley,” he said then, his voice gentle as her gaze jerked back to his. “You’re an incredibly passionate woman. There’s no shame in sharing that passion. ”
“Don’t start this with me, Jethro,” she snapped, her eyes narrowing on the sensuality that seemed to bleed into his expression. “I don’t have time for it. ”
Surprise gleamed in his eyes as a smile tugged at his lips. “You’re a confrontational little thing, aren’t you?”
“Only when confronted. ” She smiled tightly, moving quickly around him. “I’ll see you and Mac later. I have to run. ”
And she was almost doing just that. Keiley breathed a sigh of relief minutes later as she drove the car down the narrow lane that led to the main road.
It was a welcome relief to leave the house today, to get away from Mac and Jethro, to find time to think. She needed the time to put this crazy situation into some kind of perspective within herself.
Keiley wasn’t the type to lie to herself. She had done that once, lied to herself, buried her head in the sand and tried to pretend there was nothing wrong. That the nightmare her parents had created for her would just go away. It hadn’t worked, and it had taught her a valuable lesson. Ignoring the little curves thrown her way wasn’t going to work. One had to deal with them from the onset or pay the price later.
She was going to deal with this. First and foremost, she was going to accept the fact that she had known all along that it was coming.
