Turn on a Dime - Blane's Turn (17 page)

“I . . . can’t,” he said finally. “I won’t.”

Her expression turned aghast. “What? Why?”

Blane released her wrists, his gaze devouring what he’d probably never see again and his hands followed where his eyes touched. Moving slowly down her arms, his fingers brushed the skin of her shoulders, her sides, over her collarbone and down to cup her breasts, to her stomach that quaked under his touch to the delicate swell of her hips.

“You’re beautiful, Kat. Perfect,” he said. “And I thought I could, but I can’t. You’re too young and innocent and I’m not going to do that to you.”

“You’re Blane Kirk,” she spat. “Since when do you care?”

Blane expected the bitterness in her voice, after all, he was rejecting her in the most intimate way a man could reject a woman. But he had no choice, not if he wanted to be able to live with himself. And she was right. He’d made no secret of the revolving door of women he’d had sex with, but hearing Kathleen say it made shame creep over him.

“Usually, I don’t,” he said, his voice hard. Selfish anger made his fingers grasp the fragile fabric that still kept part of her from being bare to him. One quick pull and it’d be over. He’d be inside her, pushing his straining cock into her wet heat, making her cry out his name as she came. The silk was soaked with her arousal, the evidence of Kathleen’s desire for him nearly making Blane lose the careful grip he had on his control. Then another thought hit him.

“I doubt you’re on any sort of birth control either, are you?” His cold question seemed to break through to Kathleen, her face paling.
Yes, darling, this was sex.
Two people using each other to get off, and the consequences of that wasn’t a white wedding and a happily-ever-after. Not with him.

Blane let out a vicious curse at the shattered look on Kathleen’s face, hating that he was responsible for it. But he knew she’d hurt even worse in the morning if they did this tonight. He didn’t do relationships, even with a woman as lovely as her.

Grabbing his shirt, he covered her torso so he could at least make it out of the room. Blane kissed her one more time, and knew he was being much too rough, but couldn’t seem to help taking his frustration out on her. A moment later, he left, slamming the door behind him.

Seventeen Years Ago

After that, Kade gradually settled in to living with Blane. Blane spent time with him every day, trying to get to know him, which was harder than he thought it’d be for a kid Kade’s age.

Kade was suspicious, cynical, and always guarded. He was also funny, his dry sense of humor very similar to Blane’s. He acted much older than his age, and Blane tried not to dwell on why that was the case. When they talked, it was of inconsequential things, just building a relationship. Blane didn’t push for Kade to spill his guts. It was a learning curve for Blane, too, learning how to deal with Kade as both a brother and father figure.

Mona and Gerard were a godsend. Kade took to Mona immediately, and she was soon cooking as many of his favorites as she could discover. Gradually, Kade put on weight, which eased Blane’s mind. He also stopped sneaking food into his backpack as time passed, which Blane took to be a good sign.

It was late in August when Blane thought maybe Kade would want to play catch with him. Grabbing a baseball and two gloves, he went to search for Kade, finally finding him in the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, he was eating a snack Mona had made for him, though dinner was only a couple of hours away. The kid was a bottomless pit, but then again, Blane remembered he’d been a bottomless pit at that age, too.

“Hey, want to go play catch?” he asked, handing Kade a glove.

Kade took it, looking at it like he’d just been given a manure-crusted shoe. “Why?” he asked.

Blane shrugged, hiding a smile. “It’s nice out and I haven’t played in a while. You’ll like it. C’mon.”

Kade followed him outside, wearing jeans and a short-sleeved black T-shirt. Blane had tried to buy him some shorts, but Kade had refused. He only wore jeans. And it had been a concession just to get him to wear short sleeves. His wardrobe was mostly black, though Blane had snuck in a few items that were navy and couple of white shirts as well.

It was obvious right away that Kade had never done this before. Without drawing too much attention to that fact, Blane helped him with the glove and showed him the basics. It was enough and soon they were tossing the ball back and forth underneath the shade of the oak trees out back.

“A friend of mine is coming over tonight,” Blane said, catching Kade’s toss. He threw it back.

“Who?” Kade asked, catching the ball with only a little awkwardness.

“A girl. I’ve known her since we were little. Her name is Kandi.”

“Is she your girlfriend?”

Blane hesitated. “Sort of. She’s a junior and we’ve been seeing each other on and off for a while. Been friends for a long time though. I’m anxious for her to meet you.”

Kade considered this. No one had been by to visit since he’d been here, and until today, he hadn’t thought much of it. Now he wondered if Blane was embarrassed by him. Absently, he caught the ball, the leather glove smacking with the impact, and threw it back. This was kind of fun. He’d never done it before.

“Tomorrow we need to go enroll you in school,” Blane said. “They’ll want to give you tests, that kind of thing, to place you properly.”

Kade shrugged. Tests were easy. The less he cared, the better he did.

The girl, Kandi, came by for dinner. She was beautiful. She had long, blonde hair that hung in a straight, gleaming curtain down her back, blue eyes, a golden tan, and legs that seemed to go on forever. She smiled when Blane introduced her to Kade, but Kade quickly saw that though she said all the right things, her eyes were calculating, measuring him. A nearly imperceptible disdain curled her lip and tinged her voice when she spoke.

Kade wasn’t a bit surprised that perfect-golden-boy Blane had a perfect-Barbie-doll-girlfriend. What did surprise him was how Blane didn’t seem to see her for what she was, a spoiled, selfish brat who thought she was better than Kade, and probably everyone else, for that matter.

Kade excused himself to go to the bathroom. When he returned, he caught his name and stopped in the hallway to eavesdrop.

“ . . . worried about you,” Kandi was saying to Blane. “You barely even know this kid. And you’re telling me he grew up on the streets? You have to be careful, Blane. For all you know, he could steal from you, or get his friends to come rob you one night. You could get hurt.”

“That’s enough,” Blane said, his voice stiff. “Kade’s not like that. He’s my brother, and he’s here to stay.”

“I’m just trying to warn you—” Kandi continued, but Blane cut her off.

“I don’t need a warning,” he said. “And if that’s how you’re going to view Kade, treating him like a criminal, then maybe we shouldn’t hang out anymore.”

Kade’s eyebrows climbed. He was defending Kade to the Barbie doll?

“Blane, listen to me—”

“It’s time for you to go, Kandi. We’ll talk some other time.”

Kade waited where he was and in a moment, Kandi came stomping out of the den. When she spotted Kade, she marched over to him.

“You may think you’ve really pulled one off,” she hissed, “but Blane isn’t stupid. He’ll see you for the conniving piece of trash you really are.”

Kade’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t seem so pretty anymore. “Ditto,” he said.

Kandi flounced past him to the door, slamming it on her way out. When Kade turned back around, Blane had emerged from the den.

“Sorry about that,” he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Kandi had to leave suddenly. She said to say bye to you.”

“Sure she did,” Kade replied, his gaze steady on Blane’s.

Blane sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair. “She’ll come around,” he said. “She’s just a little protective . . .”

Possessive
, Kade thought.

“ . . . but it’ll be fine,” Blane continued. “And if it’s not . . .” He shrugged. “Hey, I’m hungry. You want ice cream?”

The worry that had churned in Kade’s stomach all day, the anxiety he hadn’t even acknowledged, eased. Blane had stood up for him, taken his side. Emotion clawed at his throat and he couldn’t speak, so just nodded.

“Awesome,” Blane said, flashing another blinding smile. This time, his eyes smiled, too. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER SIX

Blane was up before the sun, carefully knotting his tie and checking his cufflinks before heading downstairs. Mona was waiting with fresh coffee and a bagel for him.

“Do you have that spare quilt that matches the one in the Garden Room?” he asked.

“Of course,” she said, her brow furrowing. “Why?”

“I thought Kathleen would like it.” He took a sip of the scalding coffee. “I’ll drop it by her apartment. Did you get those things I asked for?”

“I did,” Mona said. “Poor thing. She hardly had anything in that refrigerator of hers.”

“Thanks for doing that,” Blane said. Gerard was sitting at the kitchen table finishing his breakfast and reading the sports section of the newspaper. Blane grabbed the front page from his discarded stack and skimmed it while he ate.

“Gerard, could you ride with me to work?” he said once the older man had finished the last of his bacon. “I need you to bring Kathleen’s car back to her this morning. I don’t want her to feel like she’s a prisoner here.” Though Blane would have very much liked her to be, at least until he knew for certain she was safe.

Gerard readily agreed. “Let me get my jacket,” he said. He pushed himself back from the table and headed down the hallway.

“Kathleen will be so excited to see all you did in her apartment, Blane,” Mona said, picking up Gerard’s empty plate. “You’re a good man.”

Blane felt a twinge of guilt that must have shown on his face. Or maybe it didn’t and it was just a testament to how well Mona knew him that her smile faded.

“She does know, doesn’t she?” Mona asked.

Blane glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to go. I have court this morning.” He tossed down the paper and stood.

“Blane Kirk, what are you doing?” Mona’s no-nonsense voice made Blane wince, but he just gave her a tight smile and she sighed. He didn’t want a lecture from Mona. Not today. What was he supposed to do? Just send Kathleen back to her trashed apartment? He knew she didn’t have the money to replace what had been damaged and the thought of her having to live with broken things and ripped furniture was untenable.

“Make sure Kathleen wears a coat when she leaves today,” he said. “It’s going to be cold out there.”

Mona nodded, her expression still disgruntled as Blane gave her a swift kiss on the cheek. He followed Gerard down the hallway and out to his car. Soon they were on their way to the firm, the early morning gray and misty as the sun’s rays peeked over the horizon.

Blane had swiped Kat’s keys from her purse and handed them over to Gerard so he could drive her car back to his place.

“This girl,” Gerard said as he was getting out of the car. “I’ve never seen you quite so worked up before.” His eyes held a question.

“She’s in trouble,” Blane explained. “And she has no one else.”

Gerard nodded, seeming to take Blane at his word. He shut the door behind him and Blane headed to Kathleen’s apartment. He hadn’t been completely honest with Gerard. Yes, Kathleen was alone with seemingly no one to notice or care what became of her. But Blane wasn’t just being a Good Samaritan, and he knew it. It had occurred to him this morning that perhaps Kathleen hadn’t told him everything. Maybe whoever had searched her apartment knew something he didn’t.

It was an unsettling thought. Was he wrong about her? Was the innocence an act?

Blane reached Kathleen’s apartment at the same time the furniture guys arrived. He let them in and they began clearing out all the damaged furniture. Heading for Kathleen’s bedroom, he spread the quilt Mona had given him over the crisp sheets. It suited Kathleen and was a silent message from him to her. He wasn’t going anywhere and if she was hiding something from him, he’d find out what it was. A subtle warning wrapped in flowers and cotton.

Once he was finished, Blane called a locksmith who agreed to come and replace her locks as well as drop him a copy of the key. A quick glance at the furniture the men were moving in to make sure it was what he’d ordered and Blane had to leave. The sun was shining bright as he got in his car and headed downtown.

Blane had two hearings and it wasn’t until late morning that he got back to the firm. Immediately upon entering, he knew something was up. A cluster of three women stood by a desk, their heads close together as they talked. A twinge of curiosity stirred, but having been the topic of gossip often enough, Blane didn’t pay much heed. Until he heard Kathleen’s name.

Freezing in place, Blane turned from his path to the elevators and headed directly for the women. One of them saw him, her eyes widening into saucers as she nudged those with her. They all fell silent as Blane stepped up to them.

“What’s going on?” His expression was carefully blank, his tone one that demanded an immediate answer.

They all looked like proverbial deer in headlights and no one answered. He fixed one of them with a look and raised an eyebrow expectantly. That seemed to nudge her tongue loose.

“Um, yeah, Diane fired someone,” she said.

Blane frowned. People were occasionally let go, this was a business after all, but it usually wasn’t cause for water cooler gossip.

“Who?” he asked.

“The new runner,” another girl answered. “Kathleen.”