A Dream to be Loved Kandi Jaynes (16 page)

"Really?" she whispered.

"Really." He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, and smirked. "Not that I wouldn't be interested in finding out the answer, mind you, but I wouldn't try to get you out of your dress to resolve a bet."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." She stood up again, paced the floor a few times, then gave him a sheepish grin. "Would you resolve the bet if I asked you to?" The stunned look returned to his face, and she laughed. "I know it sounds strange, but I need you to tell them exactly what is under this dress."

He stood, looking at her suspiciously, "How and why?"

"The how is I'm going to tell you what I'm wearing and you can tell them Monday, at lunch. When they're all together."

"Do you want me to wait until you're there or not?"

"Oh, I definitely want to be there."

Drake cocked his head grinning. "Am I going to be in big trouble with these guys for this?"

"No. You're simply helping them out with a bet. One I don't think they'll be dumb enough to make again. As for the why, I'd like to keep to myself for now if you don't mind."

He looked skeptical, "Why do I feel like those poor guys have been had?"

"Because they have. Will you help me?"

"You're sure you want to do this?"

Her fingers curled into fists at her side and her chin raised a notch. "Yes, I'm sure."

His skepticism was replaced by mischief. He stepped closer and pulled her into his arms. "How will I know if you're telling me the truth about what's under here?" He ran a finger along the edge of the shoulder strap. "I'm not sure I would feel right about going along with this without verifying the answer myself. They'll want to know how I found out. If it was discovered you told me what to say, how would it look? My reputation could be tarnished, I could lose all credibility in the shop and that might jeopardize my job. There's a lot at stake here."

She couldn't contain a grin at the obvious intent behind his statements. Finally, she laughed at the innocent look he was trying to achieve. "As I'm not going to just stand here and drop my dress for you, I guess you'll simply have to take my word for it."

Drake raised an eyebrow in challenge and started running his fingers up and down the length of her back. "I would never expect you to just drop your dress." He leaned forward kissing her cheek. "That would spoil my fun." He increased the pressure of his hands up and down her back as he kissed her. After starting soft and easy he reached up and cupped her face, deepening the kiss. His hands slid down her neck. His fingertips gently massaged across her shoulders, then trailed slow caresses down her arms until he linked his fingers with hers. As his lips left hers, he took a step back and lifted her arms slightly away from her body.

Kate didn't fully understand the satisfied grin on his face until she felt something tickle her foot and looked down. That's when she discovered her dress pooled at her feet. It took a few seconds for conscious thought to force its way through the shock at standing there in nothing but a black teddy and silk stockings.

She felt reality rise in direct proportion to the color flooding her face. She dreaded seeing the humor in Drake's eyes but couldn't stop herself from looking up. What she saw, however, was not smug humor. He was taking in every inch of her teddy and the parts of her that it did and didn't cover. Replacing the humor was a look even someone as inexperienced as Kate could recognize. His eyes returned to hers and held. She wanted to breath but couldn't. His breathing was shallow and strained.

Suddenly he was dragging her back into his arms covering her lips with his. This kiss was long, deep, and urgent, causing her to lose all sense of everything but Drake. Kate was vaguely aware of being lifted and carried to the couch. She felt the weight of his body press her into the cushions. His mouth left hers and started a trail of kisses along her chin and down the side of her neck. "Kate," he whispered against her skin, "you are so beautiful." She heard him draw a ragged breath as he lifted his head. Her eyes opened and locked with his. "If I don't leave now I'm going to tell you, as well as show you, how I feel about you."

Kate didn't immediately release him. She studied him for a moment unsure of what to do. Drake threw his head back and yelled, "Yes!" with a satisfied laugh and hugged her tight. "At least you thought about it and didn't just throw me out. I'm making progress, aren't I?" He kissed her again when she would have spoken, then stood up. "That's good enough for now."

Glancing down the length of her body, he said, "One day soon though, I'm going to tell you. So you'd better get used to the idea." Kate immediately flushed under his gaze and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch, wrapping it around herself.

Drake bent and gave her a slow kiss good-bye. When she opened her eyes again, he whispered, "Happy birthday," then strode over and retrieved his coat. He opened the door and turned, Smiling, he said in that familiar tone, "Sweet dreams, Kate," before disappearing into the night.

Kate sat stupefied, not being able to take everything in. The evening had started out strange and continued to get more bizarre as it progressed. She felt like her whole life had changed in the course of a few hours.

She had come out of childhood into adulthood knowing who she was and how she would spend her life. It would be spent with a good job, working with people she liked, for a company she was proud to work for. It would be lived in a house bought by her no one could take away. She had worked hard and accomplished what she had set out to do and was lucky enough to have gathered close friends along the way.

Not once had a man been part of the master plan. Kate had just accepted at an early age she wouldn't marry. She didn't remember really ever questioning it or being upset about it. She just knew it wouldn't happen.

This man however didn't seem to want to go away. Kate didn't know what to do. She had tried to explain things to him but he wouldn't listen.

Chapter Ten

Monday morning dawned and Kate was glad for the distraction. She was tired of trying to find things to keep her mind off Drake, and trying to convince herself he was not making progress.

After spending the morning focused on work, she felt much better. When the lunch bell ran, Kate headed to the break room. She was about half way through her sandwich when Drake strolled in.

"Hello." He received a round of, "Hi, Drake," in return. Kate stifled a grin as he moseyed over to the pop machine and got a soda. She noticed several of the guys looking at him, then glancing at her. He popped open the can and took a drink, then walked over and stood across the table from her.

He looked around the table. "I believe I have an answer you guys want." Kate noticed some of the men start to fidget. Others made faces and squeezed their eyes shut, as if they could disappear. "Uh, you could tell us later Drake," one of them said.

"Yeah, this might not be the best time," added another.

"I think now is as good a time as any," replied Drake. "It was a black teddy with lace trim and garter."

They all turned to look at Kate. She glared around the table. "Now why would you guys need to know that?"

Steve pulled out his wallet and Terry slowly pulled the crinkled sheet of paper out of his pocket. He scanned the grid and said, "Here it is, someone got it exactly right." He squinted, pulling the paper closer, "The name's so small it's hard to read."

Steve pulled a stack of bills out of his wallet. "Here's the money when you figure out who won."

Terry looked again at the paper, then a look of disbelief eased across his face. He glanced at Kate, then buried his face in the paper again. "I don't believe it," he mumbled.

"Well, who is it?" someone asked.

He turned toward Kate. "It's her."

They all gaped at her for a moment then one of them said, "How did you get your name on there?"

"First of all, you guys should know by now you can't hide things from me." She reached over and picked up the money. Even dared to count it in front of them. "Secondly, you should learn not to leave your grids just lying around on tables unattended." She splayed the money and used it to fan herself. "Well it looks like I'll be eatin' good this week. Thanks, boys." She felt quite smug now, giving her unexpected courage. "Well Drake, since you helped make this possible how about a thank you dinner." She waved an arm around the table. "Compliments of the shop."

Drake smiled a slow, unnerving smile. "I would love to have dinner with you, but it would simply be for the enjoyment of your company. Believe me, being shown the teddy was all the thanks I need."

He winked at her and strolled out of the break room as casually as he had entered, leaving her and her crimson glow to face this mob. I'll get him for that, she thought as she picked up her things, head held high, and marched out of the room, pretending not to hear the snickering behind her.

She stopped at the grocery store after work and found Drake waiting in her driveway when she arrived home. He unfolded out of the jeep as she pulled into the garage opening her car door when she shut off the engine. "Hello, I was hoping you'd be home soon. I just got here myself." She climbed out, and rather than shut the door, he slid into the driver's seat. She gave him a cautious look but didn't say anything. "Don't worry I just want to look." He slowly inspected the inside and gave a low whistle. "Nice," was all he said before looking up at her. "I know I'm not allowed to drive it, but do we get to take this when we go to dinner tonight?"

"Sure. But right now you can help me carry the groceries in." She loaded him down with bags and entered the house. They talked about the day as they worked. Kate had noticed the second she saw him he had lost the dress shirt and pleated pants and changed into snug faded jeans and an equally well fitting hunter green pullover. He even had on a pair of tennis shoes. Did he somehow find out how attractive she thought he was dressed like this? And what if he realized she kept handing him all the things that went on the lower shelves of the pantry because it gave her an unobstructed view?

When Drake straightened and turned after the last item was put away, she noticed his brow arch as he looked at her. Not only had he caught her staring, but she wondered just how goofy the grin on her face had been considering her thoughts at the time.

"Is something funny?"

She instantly went as red as she had in the break room this afternoon. "I... uh..." She burst into nervous giggles. "No, not really." His brows drew together. She laughed even harder. She had never behaved this way around a man before. She felt like a twelve-year-old. "Well, um... actually it was funny, but it was one of those you-had-to-be-there things," she stammered.

He didn't look convinced but decided not to question the subject further. "So where are we going tonight?"

"Do you like seafood?" He did so they decided on a small local restaurant that was well known for their fish and shrimp.

Kate enjoyed dinner but decided it was time she made sure Drake didn't read too much into it. She wished she hadn't gotten carried away at lunch and invited him without considering the consequences. She was quiet as she drove home trying to figure out how to convince him this had been a impulsive invitation and he shouldn't take it too seriously. As she pulled into the drive, he turned and smiled at her with his arm resting along the back of her seat. He slid his fingers under her braid and began to caress the back of her neck.

"I enjoyed dinner. Thank you. It's also nice to know you're no longer angry with me."

Kate turned off the engine. "Angry with you?

Drake laughed. "You said when you were done being mad at me for telling everyone at work about us you'd let me know by asking me to dinner."

After a moment of confusion, the conversation came back to her. She also laughed. "Oh, yeah, I did say that, didn't I? Well, I guess you're off the hook."

"Don't think I've forgotten what else you agreed to."

The look on his face quickly conjured up the second part of the conversation. How could I have forgotten? Her mind scrambled trying to think of a way out of it.

Drake laughed out loud. "Oh no you don't. You agreed and I'm holding you to it."

"Drake, I...."

"You can either kiss me here, or we can get out of the car first. It's up to you, but you have to decide soon because I have some work to catch up on so I can't stay much longer."

"Well, if you're in a hurry it could just wait."

"Oh, I definitely have time for this."

Kate shoved the door open and escaped from the car. Drake also vacated the vehicle and walked around meeting her half way. He took her hand and walked with her to his car. When they reached his door, he dropped her hand and grinned. Making no move toward her.

She glared at him. "You're not going to give me a break here, are you?"

"Nope."

"Drake." She ran a hand through her hair.

His voice lowered. "And I expect a real goodnight kiss. Not some sisterly peck on the cheek."

Kate brought a hand up and covered her eyes, massaging her forehead with her thumb and forefinger. There was no way out of this. She had willingly agreed to it at the time.

She just wished she had remembered before getting into this position. Finally with a sigh of defeat, she lowered her hand.
You can do this, you can do this. You can do this.
She slowly slid her hands up and over his shoulders. He still made no attempt to participate. She could tell by the look on his face he was going to leave it all up to her. Stretching up on tiptoe, she let her eyes drift shut as she touched her lips to his.

She felt Drake's arms slip softly around her. She could feel his heartbeat against her own. Knowing if she continued she could get carried away by the sensations rushing through her, she slowly sank back on her heels breaking the kiss.

After a careful breath, she asked, "Was that acceptable?"

Drake smiled, "Yes, that was defiantly acceptable." He dropped his forehead to hers. "As a matter of fact, I would be willing to accept a kiss anytime you wanted to give me one."