Homeless Heart (6 page)

Her shapely lips widened into a lovely smile. “You don’t have to do this.” She shook her head, her mouth now pursed with uncertainty.

“I realize that,” he answered with a grin. “I wanted to do it. Please don’t make a big deal out of it,” he insisted.

Her features changed, hardening. “I don’t want you feeling sorry for me,” she said defensively.

Drake laughed, his nerves tightening. “I don’t, really. It’s just that since that night we met, out there, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” His confession was hesitant. Drake’s declaration hung between them.

Kelly frowned, opening the small bottle of brandy, avoiding his gaze. “Come on,” she said, challenging him. Drake could see the whites of her eyes rolling. “I’m a nobody…who’s got nothing.”

“No one’s a nobody, everyone’s somebody,” Drake told her. He let his testimony sink in as she poured a splash of the amber liquor into her cup. Kelly replaced the plastic lid and took a cautious sip.

“God, that’s good,” she confessed, her tone purring.

“Good.” He reached for the bottle as Kelly passed it back to him. He thought he smelled her, a faint floral fragrance mixing with the earthy scent of burning wood and fallen leaves.

They sipped their coffee in silence. The crinkling of the paper bag took the place of any words they both might’ve been afraid to voice. The cookies were soft and still warm. They melted on Drake’s tongue. The Sugar Château was a gourmet bakery in Cypress Hill. It was the best.

“You obviously have money. I’m sure there are quite a few women sashaying under your nose. I mean…look at me.” Her laughter was hoarse. Her eyes lowered over furrowed brows.

Kelly’s cold words startled him. Her candidness sliced through his heart, but Drake wouldn’t be deterred. He leaned back on the rock, crossing his legs. He set the coffee between his knees.

“I have looked at you. Don’t you get it?” Drake gulped the coffee, letting it scald his throat. He let the open ended-question settle between them for a moment, and then continued. “Yeah, money isn’t my problem. I’ll explain what my issue is?” Drake asked, reaching for another cookie when Kelly tipped the bag in his direction, her expression curious. Drake took a bite, seeing if she would hang on his words. Her eyes held his, kicking the door to his thoughts open. He’d gotten her attention. Drake opened that door wide, allowing her into his world.

“What could possibly be the problem?” Kelly snickered.

“Wealthy people aren’t real,” Drake told her. Kelly’s head tilted, her forehead lined with bewilderment. “I’m so tired of all the pretentious bullshit. I’m sick of selfishness and greed. No one has any empathy…”

Kelly’s voice rose, plowing over his revelation. “Are you real?” she asked, her tone cool. A thin wrinkle deepened between her eyes.

“Yes, I am. I’m me, drowning in a sea of snobbishness. I’m surrounded by masks that are three feet thick,” Drake told her, trying to explain. “People always think money is the route to all sorts of grandiose things. It’s a fucked-up misconception.” Drake crushed his cup in his hand, tossing it into the fire. Flames licked the edges, curling the paper into charred dust.

Kelly’s voice cut through the crackling of the fire. “Don’t make me your mission.” She stood.

Drake looked up at her. The fire brightened her beautifully angled jaw, turning her skin to gold. Her cheeks were flushed with a candy pink. Misty breaths curled out of her mouth. Drake rose to his feet.

“I’m going to say this one more time,” Drake said, his voice cool and flat. He stepped closer, rounding the fire, seeing her wide and shiny eyes. The golden strands of her hair gleamed. Escaped tendrils fell over her hollowed cheekbones. He wanted to grab that ponytail and pull it. “You’re not my agenda. You’re also not my next tax write-off for charity either. All I wanted to do when I got out of college was be successful. If I’d known that I’d have to extract a piece of myself and become a different person, a man with shallow values, forced to wear a disguise and forget who I am, then I wouldn’t have bothered.” Drake gasped for breath.

“I lost everything and now have nothing,” Kelly reminded him.

“You have everything,” Drake said, his voice raspy. “You just don’t realize it yet. Let me show you,” Drake whispered, his chest tight with an assault of feelings he never saw coming.

“You don’t even know me,” Kelly stressed.

“I know this is real…because I feel it. I can see it, too.” His words died on a sigh. “That’s why I want to get to know you better. I don’t want the things you’re thinking of, things you don’t have. I’ve got plenty, enough for both of us, in fact. I need the real.” Drake held her with his hard stare. His urge was mounting, the preoccupation he’d battled. Drake couldn’t wait to succumb to it all, and breaking it off with Nina was only the beginning. Now he needed to fight the next war, and that was convincing Kelly that she may very well belong with him, and to give it a try.

Chapter Eleven

It was all too crazy, but he remembered her name. The dark, gelled strands of his hair shined in the fire’s light. His eyes looked black. A light layer of growth shadowed his masculine face. He had a few inches on her, but their stare was level, nose to nose.

His cologne mirrored the woods, rich and pungent like the cedar shavings he probably kept in his clothes closet. Kelly’s eyes dipped down to his mouth. His lips were thin, but nicely shaped. A dimple recessed in his cheek. What more could she say? He was determined, probably a man who always got what he wanted—but then again, he’d told her different.

It sounded as if a requirement of his wealth meant surrounding himself with the class of people he’d just accurately described. Penalized for his success maybe? Kelly assumed that that was what a lucrative salary got you. Everything had a price.

His body was leaning into hers. Whether it was his own heat or that of the fire, she felt him. His presence singed everything around them. His breath wafted across her lips, smelling like sugared coffee. When his eyes merged into one through the window of her vision, Kelly squeezed her eyes closed.

His lips pillowed against hers. There were no hands, only their mouths connecting. Insecurity wrapped around her.
Do I smell? Thank God I brushed my teeth.
His tongue glided against her lower lip. Her pulse jumped, pushing the blood through her veins like a gushing river. His lips loosened. She was hesitant to open her mouth against his, but Drake kept prodding, coaxing her gently. Their mouths parted, their tongues mating, tasting the other.

A low groan resounded from his throat. He had her body answering. He was lifting her off her feet, defying gravity. A ground that she usually felt beneath the soles of her boots had now suddenly given way.

It’d been a long time since she’d had any contact with a man. So long the memory could barely be recalled. It was before her mother’s mind had been corroded by dementia, before her father had given up, before her savings had dwindled, hoping for that last horse to deliver the big, winning pot.

Drake’s hand now cupped her cheek, his palm warm and smoother than any other that’d ever touched her. His tongue washed the inside of her mouth with slow, tender strokes. The kiss swept her away, flooding her with a feeling that was so enamoring, it frightened her. Reservation had her pulling back. The cool night air filled the tiny space between their faces. Her hand flew up to her mouth. He stepped back, his eyes narrowed, glazed with heat and a seriousness that shocked Kelly to the core.

“Think on that and I’ll be back.” His tone was smoky. Kelly sagged back into the trunk of a nearby tree, watching the outline of his shadow vanish into the night.

* * * *

She couldn’t sleep. Drake’s kiss had wired her body. Her womanly parts were wide awake and throbbing. He’d left her aching and hungry for more. After dozing on and off, Kelly gave in to the blooming sunrise that began to trickle through the trees. She started to clean up her campsite when she heard Steve’s whistle echo through the peaceful morning.

He had a large brown bag in his hand. Food usually excited her, but this morning she had a different kind of hunger.
I don’t even want to eat!

Kelly folded up the tent and shoved it into the canvas bag, stashing it into the hole where she hid all of her personal items. Steve’s breaths curled out of his mouth in steamy ribbons. He stopped at the fire pit and sat down on the rock Drake had occupied hours before.

“Good morning, soldier,” Steve said, his tone cheery. A wide grin spread across his mouth. “I’ve got surprises.” His words connected like a song. “Wait until you see this.” He dug through his bag of goodies. “So, how was your first night in your new accommodations?” Steve asked.

“Nice. That tent is warm.” Kelly sat down next to him. “It’s cold this morning,” she moaned, rubbing her hands together.

“It was a low of fifty-one. Temps are changing, it’s good we got you that tent. Now look at this.” Steve handed her a large container of what looked to be wonton soup. The heat penetrated into her fingers as she grabbed the container.

“How’d you keep this hot?” Kelly asked, lifting the lid. The scent of salty, warm broth warmed her nose.

“I’ve got my connections.” Steve winked, handing her a plastic spoon.

The soup was warm and soothing. Her stomach was still rolling with the aftermath of Drake’s kiss. Kelly’s mind was crammed with questions. Why her? When would Drake be back? How does one date a homeless person? Steve noticed her withdrawn behavior, calling her on it before they finished their Oriental breakfast.

“What’s with you?” he asked.

Kelly riffled through the bag, finding an egg roll. She set it back into the bag and chose a fortune cookie instead. She tore open the wrapper and broke open the cookie. She smoothed the small piece of paper out on her knee, the message startling.

You’ll be rewarded for your sacrifices despite your mistakes.

“Kelly.” Steve waved a hand, demanding her attention. She flinched, her eyes darting across the cookie’s message again.

“I’m sorry…”

“Are you okay? Did you have a bad night?” His face was lined with worry.

“It was a weird night,” she told him bluntly.

“What happened?” Steve set his bag down and leaned into her, resting his elbows on his knees.

“He came back again.” Kelly cleared her throat, her admission strained. Steve’s brows pulled together. Kelly watched him process, his face smoothing.

“The rich guy?” His jaw fell in shock. Kelly nodded.

“Holy shit,” Steve whispered. “I told you.” He grinned. “That man wants you, girl.”

“For what?” Kelly tossed her hands up in surrender. “What could he possibly want? Look at me,” she told him, infuriated.

“I believe he already has,” Steve told her, his eyes gleaming. “You’re very beautiful.” Steve’s tone went hoarse.

“Oh, come on! I’m homeless, I’m dirty, and my eyebrows haven’t been tweezed in months.” Kelly buried her head in his hands.

Steve’s calm and light words left her more stupefied than she was before he showed up with their morning meal. “Those are exterior things that mean nothing, and he knows it too. He wants your heart, what’s on the inside,” Steve said, nodding in affirmation. “He knows that it matches your natural beauty. He’s a smart man. Believe me…I used to own and work in a salon. I know what’s natural and what needs to be primped,” he said sarcastically. “Do I have the privilege of knowing this man’s name?”

“Drake,” Kelly whispered. “His name is Drake.”

Steve reached for the tiny paper. His eyes lowered to the fortune that had come out of her cookie. Kelly kneaded her temple, staring into the trees, her confusion mounting. Steve’s gaze lifted, catching hers.

“I believe the fortune has spoken,” he told her, smiling warmly.

Kelly stood, shrugging a shoulder at him, irritated all over again. “We have to get out of here. Sam will be here soon,” Kelly reminded him.

Steve stood and handed the small scrap of paper back to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, his face still with seriousness.

“That guy will be back. You can bank on it. If you send him away, I’m gonna kick that cute ass of yours,” he told her, his features tight.

Chapter Twelve

Drake hid in his office all morning. Thoughts of the previous evening had turned him into a blubbering idiot. The kiss lingered, like the after-effects of a high. He was already artfully building the fantasy.

Drake had Kelly naked and soaking in his tub. Drake wanted to lick the pearly bubbles right off her breasts. He was anxious to see what was underneath all those clothes. His cock was in a constant state of arousal, tenting his slacks.
I hope I can get her to leave those woods.

Raised voices parroted through the dark, glossy door. When Drake recognized the voice of James Verance bellowing at his secretary, Drake felt his teeth grit. It was only a matter of time.
Daddy’s here to advocate for his spoiled brat of a daughter.

Drake stood and circled around his desk. He grabbed his dick and squeezed it in attempts to restrain the overactive monster. He contemplated how long he’d have to put his cock on ice. The mere thought of Kelly had it stiff and upright. He opened the door and was greeted with Colleen’s fearful eyes. Nina’s father spun to face him, freezing over his lust like a cold front.