Baby Be Mine (Spinsters & Casanovas Series Book 1) (37 page)

Amelia looked like she was about to cry.
Tears were already simmering in her eyes. That soft-hearted friend
of mine.

It was all my fault. I was the one who
introduced that bastard to my friend. All because he was the son of
my father’s associate. I thought they made a good match. Good match
my ass.

I tugged Amelia behind me and lashed out at
Simon. “Not what Amelia thinks?” I reiterated my point. “What does
Amelia think, with you smooched up to that girl like that,
Simon?”

“Shut up, Kimberly. You stay out of this.
I’m talking to my girlfriend.”

“No, you shut up and listen,
Simon
.
No boyfriend would bring a random girl out to a night club and eat
her face like that when he claims he has a bar exam coming up.”

“Amelia, don’t listen to her. I can
explain.”

“What is there to explain?” I shut him off
again. “The evidence is there.” Simon seemed to be running low on
steam. And when he didn’t reply, I gave him my verdict. “You make a
lousy lawyer.”

This only made him more determined to outdo
me. But clearly, he hadn’t enough wits in his brain to
counterattack my statement. He huffed, and knowing he’d been
cornered with no way out, he escaped, dashing after Amelia, who was
already backing out of the scene. He pushed me along the way too,
gutless thing making me twist on my heel, and I knew then I would
collapse on the dance floor.

Shit! Two assaults in one night. What a
pleasant night this turned out to be.

Once again, I expected to hit the floor,
land on my butt, and be the laughing stock of the whole club. But
tonight just seemed to be the night when random knights in black
suits came to my rescue. I was held back by a pair of strong arms,
embraced from behind by a wall of steel chest.

“Are you all right?”

My heart convulsed. I looked up.
Oh, dear
Lord, help me!

Mr. Baritone-voice, the pure sex god had
appeared once again.

***

His touch scorched me. Every single particle
of my being came alive.

“Let my leg go. I need to see to my friend.”
I tried to distract him from feeling my foot up and down like he
was making love to my leg with his fingers.

He didn’t listen to me. His steel-grey eyes
continued to manipulate the tensed muscle at my ankle.

“You twisted your ankle.”

“But my friend?” I tried one more time.

That got his attention, and once again, I
was faced with his beautiful kissable lips and mystifying grey
eyes. “Your other friends have already followed her.”

“But…” I wanted to say I wanted to follow
them too, but those fingers were really distracting.

I tried. Seriously, I tried. When I found
myself within his embrace, I was lost for a full minute before my
brain kicked back into gear. I stood up, wanting to follow the rest
of the party after Amelia had disappeared off into the crowd, only
to fall back clumsily right into his arms. And he really was my
knight in shining armor, gallantly carrying me off to his private
booth, all the other girls glaring daggers at me for being the one
to capture this dark knight’s attention.

My mind returned to the present situation
when he massaged my leg a little too hard, squeezing it until I
yelped.

“Sorry.” He smiled up at me. “Feel any
better?”

I wanted to scream right there in orgasm.
Did he know how fuckable he looked at that moment? Body crouched in
a kneeling position, head below my knees, eyes assessing my ankle—I
could imagine a thousand ways he could make me feel better already.
And nothing involved him staring at my ankle.

“Better, thank you,” I rasped, darting my
tongue out to lick my dry lips.

That small action made his eyes flick in my
direction, flaring something stormy and intense.

The atmosphere changed. Tension brewed in
the air. An electric sexual tension that was so virile and raw I
could almost feel it and taste it.

Shit! Would this finally be the day I had a
one-night stand with a complete stranger?

“Take better care of yourself. A beautiful
and delicate girl like you should always have someone to protect
her.”

If another man dared use the word delicate
to describe me, I would have boxed his ears. But for him, I agreed
wholeheartedly. A beautiful and delicate girl like me definitely
needed protection against crazy men. And it was almost on the verge
of my tongue to utter,
Maybe you can protect me against those
men
, when he dropped my foot and looked up at me. I mean really
looked at me, focusing all his attention on me.

Once again, my world tilted on its axis, and
I couldn’t stop my smile from forming. He was too beautiful, too
handsome to be described with mere words. My head become dizzy, too
much of his pheromones in the air, intoxicating me until I was no
longer talking straight.

“Thank… thank… thank…”

He laughed. That deep, husky baritone voice
throbbed against my pleasure spot and instantly made me wet.

I harped incoherently again. “What… is…
is—”

Why can’t I just ask him for his name?
Better yet, go for his phone number too.

“Would you like me to call a taxi for you?”
He cut me off before I could ask anything.

“My friends,” I managed to leak out,
indicating they were probably waiting for me somewhere in the
club.

He shifted his attention to his watch, an
expensive-looking Rolex that must have cost over fifteen grand.
Papa wore a similar one.

“I have to go now. Take care of
yourself.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to stop him,
pull him back and kiss him before he left. But I was too slow
because, once again, my brain shut off when he smiled at me.

I watched as he disappeared, leaving me in a
wet puddle.

Shit! Now there was nothing to dampen my
desire except a cold shower.
I must see to it tonight.
More
importantly, I had to see to poor Amelia.

As I got up and went in search of my friend,
I wondered to myself,
Will I ever see him again?

CHAPTER ONE

Three Years Later

The sweltering summer air of Brisbane
greeted me in a fierce welcome. I was already drenched in sweat as
soon as I stepped onto the tarmac.

“Welcome to Brisbane,” I muttered to myself,
checking my cell phone for the current time. “Three hours
behind.”

Amelia must be at Dunstan’s funeral by now.
Poor girl. Dunstan was like a father to her, but now he’d died, all
because of her sister’s cruel act.

What a way to treat a man who’d saved you
from living on the streets. Corinne should have never brought that
guy she’d met online to her house and hurt Dunstan’s heart like
that. Then again, Dunstan was also wrong to be involved with
Corinne. He was an old man, even older than Papa. I wondered if he
had some problem with his family to actually have an affair with a
woman who was as young as his daughter.

I’d never warmed up to Corinne. I didn’t
actually know what Amelia saw in her sister to care and protect her
like this. Then again, I didn’t have any siblings, so it was quite
hard to factor in that part of my personality.

I really should stop thinking about other
people and start thinking about myself. That soul mate of mine, the
man I saw three years ago, who I dubbed Mr. Baritone-voice because
of his ability to conjure up sexual images in my head just with his
voice, was nowhere to be found.

Damn me. Countless hot dreams of us lying
naked on a large bed, his hot mouth sucking the rose bud of my
breast, still made me hot and bothered. Just remembering his
six-pack abs sliding across my body and his cock thrusting into me
made my skin glisten wet with a longing that could only be quenched
with a cold shower.

I firmly shook my head to calm my raging
heartbeat and the throbbing of my clit, reminding myself it
wouldn’t be long now before I could hit that cold shower. Feeling
better, I went to collect my baggage.

One bag.

I traveled light. This was a business trip
after all. Papa wanted me to meet his business partner Mr. Devereux
from Devereux Enterprises. They owned a majority of the properties
here in Brisbane, just like Papa. They both had similar ideas,
wanting to join forces to create even bigger and better properties.
And their project was a massive mall covering an area the size of
three football fields right in Surfers Paradise of the Gold Coast.
And it was my job to see to their proposal before accepting the
terms of the merger contract.

After graduating from university just a few
weeks back, I thought I could have the chance to travel around the
world for a bit, right before I settled down to work for Papa, but
he was a very persistent man.

***

“Why don’t you go to visit Beau, my business
partner? You remember him, right, Kimmy-berry? He used to come to
New Zealand when you were a little girl,” he said while we were
having dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Dunedin. “That
way you could go sightseeing around Australia, all while getting
some work done.”

“But, Papa. The world isn’t Australia. The
world is China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam—not Australia.
And besides, I don’t remember Mr. Devereux. Why don’t you go
instead? It would be kind of a reunion for the both of you.”

Papa simply ignored my question. “Well, you
can start with Australia first.”

“Seriously, Papa?” I rolled my eyes. “I only
graduated like yesterday. The ink on my degree hasn’t even dried
yet, and you want me to work?”

“Kimmy-berry. This is very important to
Papa. If you’re happy with how they run things, then we’ll go ahead
with the new venture.”

“Why does it have to be me? Haven’t you
already discussed this with Mr. Devereux? I don’t need to be
involved in this project.”

“Yes, you do, Kimmy-berry. You’re my only
daughter, and in the future, this whole empire will be yours.”

“But that’s like light-years away.”

“You have to be prepared now.”

***

And that was how it ended, me being prepared
for whatever was about to happen.

Being the good girl I was, I could never
refuse Papa’s request. How could I? He was my dad and the only
living relative in my family. Mum passed away due to breast cancer
shortly after I was born. And now two weeks after that discussion,
I was here. In Brisbane. Ready to meet Devereux.

But where is he?

I sank onto the couch in the private lounge,
folding my legs and casually playing with my tablet like I hadn’t a
care in the world. But it was all an act. I was beyond exhausted
and irritable to boot. I was so tired from the trip, feeling my
muscles in my arms tensing. My temperament wasn’t too pleasant
either. During the flight, the turbulence was really bad, rocking
my body like a baby rattle.

I looked at the time again. Papa said
someone was to pick me up at the private lounge at 5:30 p.m. It was
already nearing 6:00 p.m. I was hungry. I needed dinner, a bath,
and a facial, like right now.

Just before I attempted to find myself a
taxi, a middle-aged man walked into the lounge with my name written
on a nameplate.

Finally!

I shook my head and stood.

“Miss Kimberly Henderson?” he asked, unsure.
In my messy state, even I wasn’t surprised no one recognized the
daughter of multi-millionaire Geoffrey Henderson.

“Yes. I’m Kimberly Henderson.” I tried to
smile, but really, this wretched weather was getting to me. And I
smelled like a skunk.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Henderson. The traffic
is really bad. It took me more than an hour to get here.”

“I understand. Auckland is pretty much the
same.” I nodded and picked up my one bag but was stopped by the
chauffeur.

“No, Miss Henderson, I’ll carry that for
you.”

“Please call me Kimberly.” I smiled. “And
your name?”

“John, Miss Kimberly. Mr. Devereux sends his
sincerest apologies. He’s been detained at another meeting and
won’t get to see you until tomorrow morning. He’s sending one of
his sons to greet you at the hotel and take you out to dinner.”

“No. There’s no need. I’m really tired. I’d
like some time to myself. Please tell Mr. Devereux I thank him for
the suggestion, but I have to decline.”

“Okay then, Miss Kimberly. I’ll pass on the
message.”

I nodded, pleased now to have some privacy
before I had to meet all these people as Papa requested.

We made our way outside into the boiling
sun, once again sweat pouring by the bucket from my body. Oh how I
craved a cold shower.

We arrived at the Brisbane Silverton Hotel,
one of the many hotels that were popping up like daisies around
Australia and New Zealand. Hunter and Anton Silverton, both heirs
of Silverton Corporation, had decided to expand their services.

And excellent service they provided. If
possible, I always planned to stay at the Silverton Hotel wherever
I went.

“The meeting is scheduled at ten tomorrow
morning, Miss Kimberly,” John reminded me.

“Thank you, John. I won’t forget.”

***

After showering and receiving a facial
treatment, I couldn’t suppress my hunger anymore. I needed to eat.
It was way past dinnertime already.

Although it was going to be a meal for one,
I was still dressed to impress, as usual. A strappy summer dress,
my freshly washed and dried chestnut hair cascading all the way
down my back, and summer heeled sandals. I was quite pleased with
my accomplishment since it was a job performed in haste.

“Table for one, please.” I smiled as a
waitress approached me. She led me to a table near the window. The
restaurant was on the fifteenth floor, so the view outside was
quiet breathtaking.