Taming Casanova (2 page)

Chapter 2

Andi paced the front yard of the townhouse.  This was the worst possible scenario she could imagine.  With no other choice, she took a deep breath and knocked.  She heard music inside but there was no answer.  His car was parked in front.  She pounded louder and the music stopped.  Deep breath.  Deep breath.

“Well what do we have here?”  Kevin smirked as he opened his front door.  Andi Allen was the last woman he expected to see standing there. 
“Did you finally come to your senses?”

She huffed as she pushed past him.
  “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”  She threw her bag down on the floor of the foyer and crossed her arms. 

“Why?” 
Surprised, Kevin picked up the luggage and headed down the hall to his guest room.

Andi frowned.  No smart comment.  No hard time.  “That’s it?  All you have to say is why?  No gloating?  No torture?”

Kevin smiled.  “It’s almost midnight.  You’re at my front door with a suitcase.  I know I’m not dreaming.  So something must have gone terribly wrong if I’m your only option.”

Her eyes locked with his
and a shiver ran down her spine.  Despite the fact her face heated, she smiled.  “Thank you.”  She sat on the edge of his guest room bed and sighed.  “Caleb and Jena have the flu.  I can’t stay there.  Mark and Sophie have Mario and Layla is due any minute.  That leaves Steve and Amber or you.”

“And you picked me over Stevie
Wondercock?  I’m so honored.”

Andi punched his arm and laughed.  “It would be hard to keep my hands off and Amber is scary
.”

“So are you, doll.”  He pulled her from the bed and held her hand as they walked down the hall.  “
Come have a drink with me.  Merck house rule one: drinks are mandatory, clothes are optional.”

She yanked her sweatshirt over
her head and Kevin almost swallowed his tongue.  Andi stood in his kitchen in a fitted tank top and yoga pants.  Her toned body made him stand at attention.  She was gorgeous.  Her dark hair was thrown into a messy bun and her tanned skin begged to be touched. He knew under that tank top was a piercing through her nipple that she had admitted drove her wild.  He took several steps toward her before he stopped himself.  After pouring her a glass of wine, he jumped up to sit on the counter. “So, Andi Allen. That bedroom is dark and chilly.  And it’s on the front of the house so anyone could get in.  Think you might get scared?  I have a nice warm bed just down the hall.”

“Nice try, Deuce.”
  Andi took the last sip of her wine and set the glass in the sink.  “I’m a horror film junkie.  I don’t scare that easily.”

Kevin chuckled and followed her down the hall.  “But what if I get scared?”

Stopping in the doorway, Andi looked him up and down.  “Call Ms. Mile High.  I bet she has a nightlight.”  She shut the door in his face.

“G
ood night, Doll.”  Kevin’s laugh carried down the hall.

Andi stood in the kitchen enjoying a cup of coffee and praying for some clarity about her body’s betrayal when it came to Kevin.  He was a womanizer and a certified pain in her ass.  Yet every time he came near, her heart stopped beating and her body quivered with pure need.
Being this close to him made her nervous.  She silently cursed her brother and the flu that sent her running in his direction.

“Morning, doll.”  Kevin walked into the kitchen absently rubbing his hand down his chest.  He yawned and opened the refrigerator. 

Her eyes widened.  He stood just feet from her, hair messy from sleep and a pair of the sexiest glasses she had ever seen.  His pajama pants hung loosely on his hips, that chiseled V leading to the Promised Land guaranteeing complete pleasure and exhaustion.  She licked her lips.  She couldn’t tear her eyes from his abs. 

“Do you?”  He slammed the fridge shut and chugged some orange juice. 

Andi’s eyes snapped up from his bare chest and met his.  “I’m sorry.  What?”

He smirked.  “Do you need a ride?”

She took a deep breath to compose herself.  “No thanks.  I have my car.”

“Car.  Hmmm.  Not what I was thinking.”  Kevin laughed when she rolled her eyes.

“It’s like you have an encyclopedia of bullshit in that brain.  How pathetic are the women that fall for this?”  Andi grabbed her purse and headed to the front door.

Kevin reached
for her arm.  “Are you pathetic, Andi Allen?  Because you seemed to be enjoying the view a minute ago.”

“And it gets deeper.”  She pulled her arm away.

“Deeper is better.”  As Andi stomped out the front door, Kevin took a deep breath.  He was not going to survive with her under the same roof.

“It’s Merck.  When are you coming back to LA?”
  He tucked his cell phone between his shoulder and his chin and unlocked the door to the gym.

Lily’s laugh made him smile.  “Who is she?”
 

“Don’t ask.  It’s a cluster fuck.  I need to see you.”

“How did I become the booty call?  I’m in Georgia.  Don’t you have a black book of local women?”

Kevin laughed.  “Dude, I’ll buy a damn plane if that will get you here faster.”
  He flipped on the lights and threw his keys on the desk.  “Seriously, it’s been awhile.  I know you aren’t going to fall in love with me.  Makes you the number one in my ‘bitches Imma holla at’ book.”

Lily belly laughed. 
“How long is awhile?”

“Shit.”  Kevin groaned.  “You were my last.”

“What?  That was weeks ago!” 

“Rub it in bitch.”  Kevin sighed.  “You’re naked the minute you land.”

“I think my plane gets in at six on Friday.  I don’t think you’ll be able to screw Andi out of your system though.”  Lily laughed as she heard Kevin cuss.

“Keep that evil voodoo to yourself, mind reader.  No one can know.  Allen would kill me.  And you’d be out one boy toy.”

“Merck, everyone knows.  You two fight constantly.  I think my students could even tell if they saw you.  And they still eat their boogers.”

“
Well, you enjoy snack time.  I’m off to get sexier.  Hit me up when you land.  It might save my life.”  Kevin hung up and smiled.  Maybe he couldn’t screw her out of his heart but he could exhaust himself enough to stop thinking about her for a few seconds.

Chapter 3

The week had been torture.  Having Andi so close every night was
slowly driving Kevin insane.  He heard her shower running in the morning, smelled her lotion and perfume on the couch cushions, and looked at her lipstick on the coffee cups.  He knew it was temporary but if Caleb didn’t get better soon, he was going to risk the flu and go stay with them himself.  Even the flu was better than the chest pains he was having.  Knowing Andi was just a hallway away every night was seriously affecting his ‘game’.

He checked o
ver his shoulder and noticed Andi’s car in his guest spot.  He fumbled with his keys in the lock when the front door flew open.  Lily smiled at him from the doorway.

“Thank Christ.”  Kevin pushed his way into the house, pinning her against the wall.
  His body crushed against her and he groaned. 

“We aren’t alone.”
  Lily giggled and hit his chest.

Sophie cleared her throat.  She sat on the couch next to Andi, staring wordlessly at Kevin who made no attempt to back away from Lily. 
Kevin winked at her and refocused his attention on his prey.

“Don’t let us interrupt you there slick.”  Andi stood up and stretched. 
Her shirt rode up, displaying a diamond navel ring.  Kevin squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.

“Don’t interrupt, doll.  Come join us.”
  He bit his lip and looked back at Lily.  “She’s Tri curious.  Think we could show her what the threesome thing is all about?”

“Lil, seriously?  Please tell me that you didn’t come all the way out here for a quick trip down ‘I wish I had
n’t gone there’ lane.”  Andi headed toward the guest room.  “Digging the log ride even more these days.”

Kevi
n put Lily down and followed Andi down the hall.  “Come on baby.  Take the front seat on the roller coaster. Get your hands up in the air and let me make you scream.”

She stopped so abruptly, he walked into the back of her.  Her face flushed and she stuck her finger in his chest.  “I
’m not living my life like a walking STD.  I believe in relationships, not quickies that leave me itching the next morning.  Go on.  Isn’t there some Penicillin with your name on it out there?”

He g
rabbed her arm.  “What the fuck is your problem, Ms. High and Mighty?  When did you get that stick shoved up your ass?”

“It’s been a long week.  Just go play with your toy.”  Tears filled her eyes but she blinked them away.  “
She flew halfway across the country for what you’ve got, Deuce.  Go prove you were worth it.”  Her door slammed.

Kevin stood in the hallway, the devil and angel battling it out on his shoulder
s.  His heart said break down the door and tell her he wanted her but his brain said run like hell.  Score one for his brain. He sighed and walked away.

“Those two are constantly fighting. 
It’s not you.”  Sophie made room for Lily on the couch.

“
Soph, that’s not fighting.”  Lil watched as Kevin walked into the kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge.  “That’s foreplay honey.”

“What?”  Sophie stared at her in shock.  “No way.”

Lily laughed.  “Reason number 839 that I love you so much.  You are so naïve that you fail to see what’s right under your nose.”  When Sophie flinched, she continued.  “That’s not a bad thing, Soph.  You have such a pure heart and you’re a romantic.  A hearts and flowers girl.  But some of us fight constantly when we love someone.”

Sophie smiled.  “Foreplay.  They’ve been fighting for months.”

“It’s gonna be one hell of an orgasm.”

Kevin jolted awake in bed. 
After arguing with himself for an hour, he walked Lily and Sophie out to the car and agreed to meet them for lunch the following day.  He had held Lily on the couch and laughed while Sophie told them stories about Mario.  But his mind wandered to the closed guest room door and he knew he couldn’t bed Lily without guilt.

Something had woken
him.  He looked around the room and yawned.  Slipping on his boxers, he stepped into the hallway.  He heard the noise again.   “Andi?”  He jogged toward the guest bath.  “Are you ok?”

“Go away.”  Her voice was muffled. 

“I’m coming in.”  Kevin tried the door.

“No.”
  Andi flushed the toilet and moaned.  “Just go.”

He shoved the door and it opened.  Andi was crouched on the floor over the toilet.  Her body was covered in sweat and shivering. 
He kneeled next to her and brushed her hair over her shoulder.  “What can I do?”

“Go.  Don’t touch me.  You’ll get sick.”  She
dry heaved and groaned.  “There’s nothing left.”

Her skin was burning but her teeth chattered. 
He frowned.  “I’ve got you.”  Kevin lifted her from the floor and carried her into his bedroom.

She protested once and gave up.  Her head rested on his shoulder, hair matted to her forehead, body trembling.  “I’m freezing.”

“You’re on fire.”  He pulled his covers back and laid her down in the center of his bed.  Pulling open his nightstand, he grabbed a bottle of fever reducer and poured two into his hands.  He uncapped his water and handed it to her.  “Take this, baby.” 

Her hands shook as she reached for it. 
“Do you have a thermometer?”

“No.  But I
’ll go get one.  Let me tuck you in.”

She swallowed the pills.  “You have to get away from me.  You’re going to get sick.”

“I’m not leaving you.”  He pulled the blankets over her body and sat on the edge of the bed.  Her eyes closed slowly.  He ran his hands over her forehead and down her cheek.  “I’ll be fine.  What do you need?”

“Warm me up.”  Her voice was a whisper but she pulled the covers back to let him in.

Kevin crawled in next to her and pulled the blankets over them both.  She moved into his side, curling her body around his, trembling from the fever.  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

She groaned.  “I can feel that.” She hit his chest with all the energy she had left.

Kevin chuckled.  “I can’t help it.  I’ve pictured this.  Us, in this bed, you all sweaty.”

“You’re a pig.” She whispered and slumped into him as she fell asleep.

When she began to lightly snore, Kevin smiled.  “Someday you will sleep here because you want to.” He whispered.

An hour later, Kevin’s arm was thrown back as Andi ran from the bed, landing on her knees in his bathroom.  He
grabbed his phone and sent off a text before following her.  Her body lurched as she emptied everything left in her stomach.  He handed her a cold cloth and she shook her head.  Tears ran down her face.

“I’m dying.”  She wiped her tears and attempted a smile.

“Do you want to take a shower?  Can I get you something to drink?  I don’t know how to help you.”

She stood and shook her head.  “Bed.”

“Thought you’d never ask.”  He smiled at her and picked her up.  “Sleep, doll.  It will be better in the morning.”

“Talk to me.  Tell me something I don’t know.”  She
curled into his side.  “Talk to me until I fall asleep.”

“
Now?”  When she nodded, he took a deep breath.  “I got really sick after I gave Ryan the bone marrow.  I wouldn’t let Jena tell anyone.  She admitted me after a few days of fighting with me about my fever.  I had a pretty bad infection and J was pissed that I waited so long to call her.”

“Don’t want to cross that one
.  She’s serious about her doctor stuff.”  Andi yawned.  “I’m glad you’re ok.  It wouldn’t be much fun without you.  Tell me more”

Kevin rubbed her back, feeling her relax into his chest.  “
I think I would follow you anywhere.  Harassing you is what I do best.”

“Seducing me while I have a fever doesn’t count.  I’m not of sound mind.”  Her finger drew a circle on his chest and she sighed. 
“It wouldn’t count.” She repeated in a whisper.

Kevin’s whole body went on alert.  They weren’t fighting
and for the first time, he thought she might feel the same.  It terrified him.  “Sleep, Andi.”  He kissed her on the top of the head.  “Sweet dreams.”

Jena awoke to the sound of a text alert.  She stretched and looked at the screen.

‘Andi is sick.  What’s the name of the stuff you gave me when I was sick after.. well you know?  She needs some.  She keeps throwing up.  I’m worried. –K’

She leaned over and kissed Caleb on the cheek.  “I’ve got to
run out.  Your sister caught our flu.”

He pulled her back on top of him.  “Give me five minutes
.  I’m feeling so much better.”

She laughed.  “I’ll come right home.  If Deuce is worried, it has to be bad.” 

Caleb groaned.  “When did you start calling him Deuce?”

Jena wi
nked. “The minute I realized Andi was in love with him.”

“Shit.”  Caleb covered his head with his pillow.