Playing For Keeps

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Copyright © July 2009, Stephanie Morris

Cover art by Amira Press © July 2009

Amira Press

Baltimore, MD 21216

www.amirapress.com

ISBN: 978-1-935348-51-1

No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.

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To my Dad, my guardian angel in the sky. I will always be daddy’s little girl.

To my Grandma Madea for all of her unconditional love and support over the years.

“Hi, Mr. Feldon.”

Her former high school principal grinned and stepped back, allowing her to enter his home. “Hello, Keirra. Come on in.”

She stepped inside with relief. Today had been a busy day. She had spent it running errands and dodging Eric. He had been trailing her all day for some reason. Hopefully neither of her big-mouth sisters had made mention of her flippant remark about Eric last night. Of course, she had just wanted to tease her sisters, and because of it, this morning at the breakfast table had been so funny.

Her sisters had almost given her a full-body inspection. Luckily, she had gone downstairs dressed for work instead of her normal pajamas, so there wasn’t much they could examine. It served them right.

The only thing now was that she had to deal with Eric.

Thankfully, she hadn’t had too much contact with Eric since the homecoming celebration. She had only run into him once, and she had been getting in her car so she had been able to get away quickly.

Deep down, she knew she wasn’t going to be so fortunate today. She had thought he was going to be able to catch her in the grocery store while she was picking up Mr. Feldon’s groceries, but she had been a little quicker than him. She had to stay away from Eric. Something about the man scared her to death. He made her weak in ways that she didn’t want to be.

“Keirra, are you going to bring the groceries in here?”

Keirra jumped at the sound of her name, and then began to flush in embarrassment. She was still standing in the foyer like a brainless person. Smiling, she gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry, Mr.

Feldon. I fell asleep for a minute there.”

Mr. Feldon chuckled and gave her a knowing look. “Is that what they call it now?”

Keirra couldn’t help but to laugh as she followed Mr. Feldon into the kitchen. She winced when she realized how nervous and high-pitched it sounded. Mr. Feldon was an astute man, and he would figure out that something was amiss and soon, if she wasn’t careful.

“How are you feeling?”

He nodded. “I am feeling a lot better. My son will be in town within the next month or so.”

Keirra smiled. “That’s good.”

“Actually it’s great. I will be able to get rid of the nurse from hell.”

Keirra laughed before she could stop herself. “Mr. Feldon, that isn’t nice.”

He chuckled. “That may be the case, but it’s true.”

Keirra just shook her head and began to unpack the grocery bags. It didn’t take her as long as she would have liked it to. She was glad Mr. Feldon invited her to stay and visit. He led her to the living room, and she sat down on the sofa while he sat down across from her in the recliner.

“So who is the young man that has you running scared?”

Keirra’s eyes widened, but she couldn’t deny anything, and even if she tried, Mr. Feldon wouldn’t have believed it.

“Is he the one waiting for you outside of my home?”

Keirra fell for the ploy and turned around to look out the window. Once she realized the blinds were closed she knew she’d been had. Still, she was positive that Eric was out there waiting on her.

“I was wondering why you were beating on my door like you had a murderer on your heels.”

Keirra dropped her head and thought she was going to die of embarrassment.

“So do I need to invite the young man in?”

Keirra stood up quickly shaking her head. It was the last thing she needed, another person to get in her business. He would only become another ally of Eric’s and try to persuade her to go out with him. She stood quickly picking up her purse and smiled at Mr. Feldon.

“No that’s okay, Mr. Feldon. I will go out and talk to him. It was nice seeing and talking to you.

Glad to see that you are feeling better.” She said the words so quickly she was certain she set a record and rushed for the door, setting another. Mr. Feldon had barely stood up, and Keirra had let herself out the door. It was already closing behind her. He chuckled when he heard her stomp her foot.

“Damn it,” Keirra muttered as she laid eyes on Eric. Even though she knew he had still been out there, seeing him made it a little worse. She looked up as the door swung open.

“I heard that, young lady.”

Keirra stumbled over an apology. She wasn’t sorry for saying the curse word but for letting Mr.

Feldon hear her say it. The events of the past ten minutes made her want to crawl underground and hide. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t fit. Even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to burrow quickly enough. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the driveway toward Eric. His mysterious expression didn’t change as she made her way toward him. As she got closer to him, the first thing she noticed was he smelled delicious. The second thing was he was sexy as hell. She stopped in front of him, and he spoke before she could.

“I will meet you at Sam’s Café in ten minutes. We definitely need to talk.”

Before she could say anything, he turned and climbed into his SUV before driving off. She stood there for a moment flabbergasted at his actions. After another moment, she went and climbed into her car. As she backed out of the driveway, she could have sworn she saw a laughing Mr. Feldon glancing out of the window. She blinked, and when she refocused her eyes, no one was there.

Something was definitely wrong with her. Her avoidance of Eric was starting to drive her insane.

She continued to back out of the driveway. When she made it to the stop sign, she started to turn in the direction of her house. It would serve Eric right, yet she knew he would come looking for her, and once he found her, there would be no telling what he would do. She would rather meet him on neutral ground. This way no one had the upper hand, although he already had a slight one by inviting her to Sam’s Café the way that he had.

No. She wasn’t going to back down, but then she was curious to see what he had to say. Knowing the turn she was going to make was sure to lead to trouble, she still took it. When she pulled up, Eric was already there. Keirra took a deep breath before getting out of her car. She walked into Sam’s Café and spotted Eric at the back of the restaurant. One of the things that she noticed was that he stood out. He had a commanding presence.

What she did know was that whatever he had to say better be interesting because she was going to have a fit otherwise. As she neared him, she figured whatever he had to say must be important because he was sitting in a secluded booth. He stood up as she approached the booth and didn’t sit back down until she was seated. She hated that he was such a gentleman. Personally, she thought it was all an act to sucker a woman in, and she refused to be one of the women that fell for that game.

So much so that she didn’t even give him a chance to speak.

“So what did you want to talk about?”

If she had irritated him by interrupting him, he didn’t let it show. Instead, he gave her a reassuring smile.

“Why don’t we order some food first then we can talk.”

She frowned at him. “I’m not hungry.”

“You have to be. You haven’t eaten all day.”

Keirra laughed. “So you admit that you have been following me all day?”

Eric grinned. “I wasn’t aware that I was trying to make it a secret.”

Keirra figured he had a point. If he wanted to trail her without her knowing, his experience as an officer would allow him to do so.

“Well, thank you for the offer of lunch, but I had a big breakfast.”

As if to mock her as well as make her look like a liar, her stomach let out a loud growl. She closed her eyes in embarrassment and wondered if the day could get any worse. Eric chuckled and leaned back in the booth.

“Are you sure?”

Keirra rolled her eyes at his smugness before picking up the menu in defeat. She flipped through the menu in haste and decided on the chicken fried steak sandwich. That was one of the things on the menu she had been interested in trying but hadn’t received the chance to. Eric must have worked up an appetite following her around because he ordered enough food to feed at least three people.

There was no way the man could eat the way he did and maintain the body he had. The shock must have shown on her face because he smiled.

“Don’t worry. I have a workout room at my house, so I get plenty of exercise, but you are always welcome to provide alternative methods.”

Keirra gasped in outrage, but she didn’t get the chance to respond because Nadia came up to their table and took their drink and food orders. When Nadia walked off, Keirra turned her attention back to Eric.

“So what was so important that I had to meet you here and have lunch?” she asked through gritted teeth, still insulted by his earlier comment. However, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of a response. He would only bait her into an argument, and frankly, she just didn’t want to go there.

Eric laughed, and her heart skipped a few beats. The man was too sexy for his own good.

“To discuss that you want me just as much as I want you, and it’s time we stop avoiding it.”

Keirra felt her eyes widen. The man was cocky as well. A little too cocky, and it made her blood pressure rise to a dangerous point.

“I tell you what. When you are ready to talk to me and not at me, let me know.”

Keirra reached for her purse and went to slide out of the booth. Eric reached out and stopped her.

“Keirra, wait. I apologize if I sounded rude.”

Keirra gave him an incredulous look. “
If
you sounded rude?”

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves before continuing. “Eric, you were
very rude,
and you know it. What I can also tell you is that I’m not like the other women you have talked to. So you are going to have to do much better than this if you want to capture my attention.”

Keirra tightened her grip on her purse at the thought of just how many women that could be. “If you are looking for a typical one, I am positive there are several women around here willing to oblige you starting with Melanie.”

Eric gave her an incredulous look, but she wasn’t going to take the words back. If he wanted a battle, he was going to get one.

* * * *

Eric stared at the enigma of a woman sitting across from him and thought about the bold statement she’d just made. He completely ignored the examples of rudeness she had displayed toward him because he could easily point them out, but they wouldn’t help him any. “I don’t want any other woman. I want you.”

The smile that appeared on her face wasn’t one of humor. “And I am sure you’re one who always gets what he wants.”

Eric shrugged his shoulders. “I won’t say always, but I do a lot of the time.”

Keirra just shook her head. “Well, that could be your problem.”

Eric shook his head. “There isn’t anything wrong with getting what you want.”

“It is if it turns you into a spoiled pompous ass.”

Eric tilted his head to the side. “Do you really think that I am spoiled?”

Keirra laughed. “I know you are.”

Eric was quiet for a moment, a lot longer than he wanted to be, because Nadia appeared at the table with their drinks. When she walked off again, Eric spoke.

“I think I deserve a chance to prove to you that I’m not the bad man you think I am.”

He groaned inwardly at the expression that appeared on her face. Inadvertently, he just gave her an opening, and she looked happy to use it.

“First off, I never said that you were a bad man. Second of all, if you are a good and honorable man, then you will let me come to that conclusion on my own.”

Eric frowned because he knew where Keirra was going with her reasoning. “And how long will it take for you to come to your conclusion?”

Keirra smiled. “That is where your patience is going to have to come in. For you see, Mr. Brooks, you can’t rush these sorts of things.”

Eric closed his eyes and sat back in the booth. He knew he had just been beaten at his own game.

The only thing Keirra didn’t know was he wanted her more than his next breath, and he intended to seduce her until her every waking thought was about him.

Eric leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. He was tired, but he hadn’t done anything except stay up all night and think about Keirra. He just wanted to find a good woman to settle down with. Keirra was that woman. When he had run into her yesterday, she had looked as beautiful as she always looked. Every time he saw her, he couldn’t take his eyes off her for more than a few minutes. The only thing he didn’t like was he was beginning to think about Keirra a little more than he should. He didn’t know what his problem was. He couldn’t figure out what it was about her that made him look at her in a way he hadn’t looked at any other woman. He wouldn’t mind using other tactics to get Keirra to go out with him. A man would have to be a fool to turn down an opportunity with a beautiful woman.