Risky Secrets (2 page)

Earlier
that week he’d received a call from one of his clients, Jayne Royale. He didn’t
know much about her other than she was some big name author who wrote what most
in these parts called dirty books. He recognized her name on a couple book
covers while getting checked out at the local grocery store. The shirtless men
on the covers looked silly to him, but he had to admit that he was a little
curious to read what was written on the pages within. He’d never have the nerve
to buy them in person. He’d become the talk of Pine Bluff if he did, but online
shopping was an amazing thing. He often relied on it to get things that he
couldn’t purchase directly in person. Ms. Royale’s books did spark something
inside of him he imagined. They had to because two days later after he placed
his online order for two of her books they arrived at his doorstep packaged
discreetly, much to his relief. The books were hidden under his bed still in
their box and had been since their delivery. Keith finished the rest of his
coffee while he thought about what he had on his agenda for today. There wasn’t
much. It was mid-afternoon and heading into his bedroom, he knelt down at the
edge of the bed and fished the box out from under it. He pulled the books out
one at a time and smirked at their suggestive titles. He opened one book and
started reading pages at random.

Midway
through the book he spotted a few words that immediately grabbed his attention
and pulled him in. The scene involved a woman named Kayla and two men who were
dominating her. He wasn’t that hick that he didn’t know what
BDSM
was. As he read, he envisioned in his mind what was
taking place. The imagery painted with Ms. Royale’s words took him there. He was
in the room with the characters watching them. When the scene finished, he
closed the book and chucked it back in the box with the other. He reached down
and readjusted his swollen crotch. He couldn’t wait to meet the woman behind
the naught words.

****

Blind
dates were not Jayne’s thing, and there was no way in hell that Debbie was
going to convince her to go out with this guy. Jayne pushed the icky thought
from her mind and placed her focus back on her writing. She looked through the
last few pages she’d already written and smiled as she read through the
previous scene. Her skin tingled as she thought about the hot three-way action.
It was a sticky situation for each character all around.

Jayne
typed fast as she finished off the chapter before she closed her laptop. The
phone rang, and she jumped slightly. She clicked talk as she answered the
cordless. “Hello.”

“And
how are you today?” asked the pleasant voice on the other end of the
connection. It was her agent,
Marilla
Davis. This was
the woman who had helped take her to the top of her career. She’d always be
eternally grateful to
Marilla
for that.

“I’m
good,” Jayne replied. She sat back in the chair behind her desk and wondered
what had prompted this unwanted call from
Marilla
.
Considering that
Marilla
did most of her
correspondence through email, it had to be important and pressing.

Jayne
listened as
Marilla
made small talk. She pictured the
older woman sitting at her desk in her big New York office no doubt impeccably
dressed in Chanel or some other big name designer as she closed huge deals for
her clients.
Marilla
was a gem and well respected
within the publishing industry. She was a powerhouse all on her own.

“I
do have a reason for this call,”
Marilla
said. “I
already have an offer for your latest book. It’s the biggest yet, and the
damned thing isn’t even finished. Imagine that!”

“Are
you serious? It’s only half written,” Jayne explained, exasperated at the idea.

“That’s
nothing to be concerned about. You have a track record that’s unprecedented.
Your reputation is like gold. How’s it coming along?”

“It’s
nearing the end. I’m heading up to the lake to finish it.”

“I’m
glad to hear that,”
Marilla
replied. She sounded
relieved and pleased.

“How
much is the offer?” Jayne had to ask, and she nearly fell out of her chair when
Marilla
revealed the figure to her. “That can’t be,”
she exclaimed. That was one hell of a huge amount of money for one book.

“Why
is this surprising to you? Your books always make every bestseller list in the
genre. You’re a hot commodity.” This was
Marilla’s
simple explanation. “Think about it and when the book is finished, get it to me
ASAP.”

The
phone call finished shortly thereafter. There was always a ton of pressure on
her shoulders whenever she turned in a book to
Marilla
,
but now Jayne felt it more so than ever before. She felt confident about her
writing, and having a huge readership made every book a complete success. But
in the back of her mind there was always the fear of failing. Jayne guessed
that was part of being human. Being humble was a good trait to have. It was an
asset. It kept her grounded. This part of her would never change.

Chapter Two

Friday
nights in small towns rarely changed, and Pine Bluff was not an exception to
the rule. Keith looked around at the other patrons surrounding him in
Lucky’s
Bar. This was one of two bars in town that catered
mostly to the locals. There wasn’t much on the go. A couple of guys played pool
in one corner while other patrons sat around as music blasted from the 1950s
retro jukebox spinning one oldie after another.

Keith
sipped his beer as he sat at the bar. He glanced up at the bartender who had
served him a couple minutes before. The guy was new. He couldn’t remember
seeing him around town or in
Lucky’s
before tonight.
He tried to place the stranger, but this was indeed the first time they’d met.
He would have remembered this guy’s face. Dude was handsome in a rugged kind of
way. Not that he’d ever admit to finding another guy attractive.

Nobody
knew about his attraction to other men. That was a secret that Keith had
managed to keep hidden. Small towns were like that—full of secrets. The people
in Pine Bluff wouldn’t understand. Hell, sometimes he didn’t. And for some
reason, every single time he knocked back a couple of beers that side of him
always
rose
dangerously to the surface. It lurked
inside him waiting to be awakened from a long supressed slumber. Here it was
again tonight rearing its ugly head.

Keith’s earliest memory knowing that he
was different from other boys traced back to when he was eight years old.
He liked being
around boys more than girls. At that age this wasn’t uncommon, but his feelings
went a little deeper than the norm. By the time he was thirteen, he’d thought
that he was gay. But it was his attraction for some girls that confused the
hell out of him and threw a wrench into the mix. From everything he’d seen on
television and heard just from paying close attention to the world around him,
gay guys didn’t like girls sexually. He did. He found them attractive in a
different way than he did boys.

Brent
Peters had been his first boy crush. Keith was seventeen at the time. He’s been
best friends with Brent for three years. It happened the summer before their
senior year. It had been fucking hell hiding his true feelings for his friend.
At times they seemed closer than friends. That’s how it had felt to him. Maybe
it had been wishful thinking on his part. After weeks of trying to muster up
the courage to tell Brent how he truly felt for him, he got the courage and
tried to kiss him one night when they were alone at Brent’s house playing video
games. It didn’t go well. Brent freaked and kicked him out of the house. In
less than two minutes their friendship had ended.

“Another?”

Keith
looked up from his half full bottle. Brent and that shitty incident still
played heavily on his mind. Almost eighteen years had passed, yet it seemed
like yesterday. Time has a funny way of playing with a person’s mind like that.
He eyed the bartender. “Sure.” He lifted his bottle and titled his head just a
little. “Another, it isn’t like I have anywhere else to go.”

The
bartender nodded in agreement. “It’s quiet around here. It’s going to take me
time to get used to that.” He retrieved a bottle of beer from the cooler behind
the bar. He twisted the cap off and handed it to Keith.
“Name’s
Tom.”

He
extended his hand to Tom. “You’re not from Pine Bluff. I’d remember you if you
were.” The beers he’d drunk were definitely working their magic on him. He felt
slightly naughty as he caught Tom’s gaze. Keith held it for a moment before
turning away. He smiled. “This is Pine Bluff. Nothing exciting ever happens
around here.”

Tom
raised one brow. “Sometimes a person has to make their own fun.” A sexy, wicked
grin curled across his lips that exposed a deep dimple embedded in each cheek.
“I assume that you too have a name?”

“A name?”
Keith’s mind
pulled a blank. Was this guy flirting with him? Was this for real? “It’s
Keith.”

“One
of my favorite names,” Tom replied. A customer came to the bar and after Tom
served him, he returned to where Keith sat. “You should hang around till
closing.”

Keith
felt his cheeks grow hot. He quickly took a sip of beer and nodded. “Sure.”
Damn! Tom’s eyes were bluer than the summer skies over Pine Bluff and through
his tight white t-shirt, Keith saw that he was also built. He wasn’t overtly
muscular like some steroid gym freak, but lean and defined. Blond hairs
littered Tom’s forearms, and Keith wanted to touch him desperately.

“Great.”
Tom sounded enthused. “We’ll hang out afterwards.”

“Sounds
like a plan.” Keith watched as Tom went back to work serving customers. When
the end of the night finally came, anxiety kicked into high gear as he waited
around for Tom to close the bar.

****

Jayne
considered herself the queen of organization. She folded each article of
clothing before placing it inside her suitcase. She decided to head to the lake
a day early. Everything was set. She’d already spoken to the guy who managed
her property when she wasn’t there. He’d seen to everything, and the house
would be ready to go when she got there. She’d yet to meet him. Maxwell
something or other had the job before him, but that hadn’t worked out and she
switched to this new guy.

He
sounded nice on the phone. She wondered what he looked like. Not that it
mattered, but his deep baritone voice was soothing and helpful when she asked
him questions about the house.

Jayne
looked down through the list she’d written earlier that day. Pine Bluff did
have stores. She wouldn’t bring much other than clothes, toiletries, and her
laptop. This trip was all about productivity. She had to stay focused on that
alone. Perhaps when this book was finished and turned in she’d be able to take
a real vacation. Someplace exotic would suit her fine.
Maybe
a cruise?
A cruise would be more adventuresome.

After
she’d crossed everything off her list, Jayne slipped into bed. It was late, and
she wanted to be up early before the morning commute started. The drive to the
lake would take almost two hours. She closed her eyes and tried to relax.

The
voice on the other end of the phone line from Pine Bluff floated back into her
mind as she lay in the darkness of the room. Jayne tried once again to put a
face to him. Her fantasies got the better of her as she thought up sexy
scenarios that involved him. Nothing like the stories in her books would ever
happen to her in real life. Though it would have been lovely if fantasy wasn’t
too far stretched from reality and what she wrote.

When
one hand slipped between her legs, Jayne inhaled deeply. She needed this. She
craved relief and so much more.

****

“Tell
me more about you.” Tom placed the closed sign in one of the bar’s windows and
locked the front door. “I’ve seen you around town.”

Keith
leaned against the bar. He watched as Tom then placed chairs on top of the
tables. “Need some help?”

“I’m
good. I won’t be much longer. Once the money is in the safe from the cash I’ll
be good to go.”

His
beer buzz had worn off slightly, and he was anxious to see what was going to
happen between him and Tom. It was likely that it would all turn to shit like
it had with Brent. Was it possible that he has misread the signals that Tom had
given him throughout the night?

“You
run your own business, right?” Tom asked.

“I
do,” he answered. “It’s a caretaker gig for the rich city folk who like to keep
a house up here around Somerset Lake. It’s a decent living.”

“A man who’s good with his hands.
I like that.”
Tom emptied the cash register and headed into the backroom with his night
deposit. “I noticed you straight away when you came in here tonight,” he called
out.

“Then
I must be something special.” Keith winced a little after he’d said those
words. It was all out there now.