At the Tycoon's Command (13 page)

Kim prepared Chloe's dinner while Jared put together some dinner for the adults. Again, he felt the closeness of family, the comfort and contentment of having Kim and Chloe with him. He knew it wasn't possible or feasible for Chloe to stay with him for long, that eventually the police would have to be called if the mother could not be found. His attorney had made that very clear to him. Even though he was the little girl's uncle and therefore a relative, due to the unusual circumstances it did not relieve him of the responsibility of reporting what had happened.

And Kim. She was only there because of a letter of agreement stating that she would work for the summer to pay off her father's debt. The warm sensation brought on by the family atmosphere of the current situation was a short-term deal. Did he want it to be more? To be permanent? The questions frightened him. He was not sure how he felt. He thought he loved her, but was it a true love? He'd never been in love before and wasn't sure he could properly recognize it. And if it was, then what was the next step? It scared him as much as it provided a surprising amount of comfort.

He had his long-held belief that commitment to a relationship wasn't worth the time it took to claim it existed. His father's many marriages, mistresses and affairs had shown him that. Was Kim the type of woman who would be agreeable to an affair, a no-strings-attached type of relationship? He didn't know, but everything about her said she would not consider such a proposition.

And what could he do if she didn't agree? The idea of Kim not being in his life was something he didn't want to consider.

A
fter dinner, Kim dressed Chloe in her pajamas. She took the little girl's hand, and they walked to the kitchen where Jared was putting away the last of the dishes from the dishwasher.

She indicated the toddler. “I think we're ready for bed now.”

She picked up Chloe and gave the little girl a kiss on the cheek. “Do you want to say good-night to your uncle Jared before you go to bed?”

Jared flashed his sexy smile at Kim. “It looks to me like only one of you is ready for bed.”

She chose to ignore his pointed comment, twinkling eyes and killer smile, although it wasn't an easy task. “Do you want to say good-night to Chloe before I put her to bed?”

Jared took the little girl from Kim's arms and started talking to her as he carried her toward the stairs. Lurch
trailed behind them, pausing every few steps to look back as if to make sure Kim was following them.

They reached the guest room, and Kim watched as Jared put the little girl in her crib. The contrast between the man whose face had been clearly etched with panic when she arrived after his frantic call and this man who took great care to tuck Chloe safely in her bed was startling. He seemed to take naturally to fatherhood. Could he adjust as easily to a committed relationship?

She walked to the edge of the crib and stood next to Jared, watching as the toddler yawned and fought to stay awake. It had been a busy day for her, filled with new people and new surroundings.

Jared put his arm around Kim's shoulder and drew her closer to him. “She isn't any trouble at all. Are all children this easy to care for?” He turned to face Kim, the expression on his face saying his question was sincere rather than facetious.

She could not stop her spontaneous laugh in response to his question. “Not even close. You've apparently forgotten your panicked phone call to me in the middle of the night when she wouldn't stop crying. I'll admit she seems to be a very happy child, but this isn't what I'd call the normal way things go with a toddler. This has been an exceptionally trouble-free day.”

Chloe finally closed her eyes after a valiant attempt to stay awake. When it was obvious that she was asleep, Jared and Kim left the bedroom, taking Lurch with them.

“Well, I'd better get home. It's getting late.”

Jared pulled her into his arms, and a moment later his lips were on hers. His kiss deepened, promising all the passion and excitement she had experienced in his bed. He broke the kiss just long enough to gasp out a few words.

“Come on…we'll have a glass of wine and then—”

“No, I really have to go home.” She backed away from his embrace, thankful he had provided an opening that allowed her to recover her resolve. “I'll see you in the morning. I'll be here early so I can help with Chloe's breakfast.”

With that Kim hurried out the door, got in her car and drove away. She tried to put the sexual magnetism of Jared Stevens out of her mind, but without much success. She attempted to concentrate on other things. She turned at the end of the block rather than continuing toward her father's house. As she approached downtown Otter Crest, she scanned the area for any new construction. She drove up and down several blocks until she came to the site of the new community center.

She took out a pad and pencil and copied all the information posted on the various signs…name of the construction company, name of the project under construction and name of the organization financing the community center. To her surprise it wasn't a bank. What she didn't find was the name Jared Stevens or Stevens Enterprises. She would check it out and see if she could find any connection between this building and Jared.

She had her eyes opened to a Jared Stevens she never would have believed existed, the type of person she had never associated with the Stevens family. He had taken her side against Terry's verbal abuse. He had apologized to her for Terry's rudeness. She had heard him say he believed some of his father's business dealings had been unethical and that those suspicions had left him uneasy. He also told her he had confidence in her ability to plan the charity event. And then, to top it all off, he had accepted full responsibility without reservation or hesitation for the care and safety of an eighteen-month-old girl he had never seen before…a responsibility that he took very seriously.

That was the Jared Stevens she had fallen in love with,
but was it the same Jared Stevens she would be seeing in the morning? The future was becoming more and more confusing. She emitted a little sigh of trepidation as she arrived home. She went straight to her bedroom, dropped her clothes in the middle of her bedroom floor, collapsed into bed and quickly dropped into an exhausted sleep.

 

Jared woke early. Somehow he had managed to sleep through the night while still keeping one ear attuned to any sounds from Chloe's room. He took a quick shower, dressed, then immediately checked on the little girl. She was still sleeping, her teddy bear clutched tightly in her arms.

He allowed his thoughts to drift over the previous few days, starting with the intensity and passion of the lovemaking he and Kim had shared. She was everything he wanted and everything he needed. She had given him a glimpse of what a real family could be like. It was an eye-opening revelation that belied his assumptions about relationships and family but didn't do anything to ease his deeply ingrained fears where commitment was concerned.

He went to the kitchen and made coffee. Kim said she would be at his house early to help with breakfast. He glanced at his watch and wondered how she defined early.

He didn't have to wonder for long. The doorbell rang, signaling her arrival. He opened the door and was immediately assailed by the warmth and sensuality of her presence.

“Good morning. I'm glad to see you.”

An immediate look of concern flashed across her face. “Is something wrong? Is there a problem with Chloe? Why didn't you call me?” Without waiting for an answer Kim rushed toward the guest room with Jared right behind her.

“Wait…nothing's wrong. She's still asleep.”

Kim came to a halt and eyed him questioningly. “Then why were you so glad to see me? I thought something was wrong.”

He grasped her hand. “Does there have to be a problem? Can't I just be glad to see you?”

Confusion gripped her thoughts again. They had made love with an intensity that far exceeded anything she had ever before experienced. Then the next morning a definite tension materialized between them, a tension caused by Jared. She didn't understand why he had behaved the way he had, especially in light of his subsequent attentive behavior toward her.

A wave of irritation rippled through her. What kind of game was he playing? She took a couple of steps away from him as she eased her hand out of his, desperately needing to break the physical contact before she totally succumbed to his all-too-tempting touch.

“I don't know what's going on here, Jared, what you're trying to pull, but you're not going to sucker me into your web a second time. You know that old saying, ‘fool me once, shame on you—fool me twice, shame on me.”' As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. She did not want to confront him about how she had been hurt by his casual dismissal of her from his bedroom as if she were a paid escort. She loved him, yet he had pulled back from her, and it hurt.

A look of total shock spread across his features, followed by bewilderment. “What are you talking about?”

She clenched her jaw as she turned away from him. “Never mind. It's nothing.”

Jared grabbed her arm and whirled her around until she faced him. Flecks of anger sparked in his green eyes. “No, you don't. I'm not going to let you get away with that. I
hate it when women pull that
it's nothing, never mind
routine. I don't know what you're talking about.”

She glared at him. “Well, you should know.”

He continued to hold her arm in his strong grip, his gaze locking with hers in a battle of wills. “But I don't know and I won't unless you tell me.”

Her confidence melted away quicker than she could stop it. She glanced at the floor, unable to maintain eye contact with him.
When am I ever going to learn to keep my mouth shut? Now he has me on the spot.
She had to share her thoughts, feelings and hurt with him or exacerbate the situation by telling him it was none of his business after she had already let him know it was something he had done.

His voice softened a little. “Come on, Kim. Talk to me. I don't like playing games.”

Her head snapped up, her gaze once again locking with his in a brief battle of wills. “You don't like playing games? What do you call that little number you pulled on me Saturday morning?” Her anger returned full force, combined with the hurt she couldn't keep out of her voice. “You handed me my clothes and as much as said I was dismissed. You practically shoved me out of your bed as if you couldn't get rid of me fast enough.”

A sharp stab of guilt shot through him. Her words were the last thing he had expected to hear. He knew he hadn't behaved in a very good manner, but he certainly hadn't intended it to be like that. He had been so confused that morning, unsure exactly where things stood and what was happening. He had felt trapped, as if the walls were closing in on him. But playing a game? That had definitely not been his intention. The very last thing he wanted was to have her think he was toying with her.

He pulled her into his arms and brushed a tender kiss against her lips. His voice was soft, containing the emotion
that coursed through his veins. “I wasn't playing a game with you. I didn't mean for anything I said or did to make you feel that way. It's just that…”

He turned her loose, rubbed his hand across the back of his neck and nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He didn't know what to say without exposing his true inner turmoil and the vulnerability he had tried so hard to keep hidden. But he knew he had to say something, offer some kind of explanation.

He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Kim…” He saw the uncertainty in her eyes and felt the tension in her muscles. He had to find the right words to ease her hurt without exposing his carefully guarded fears. He pulled her into his embrace, cradled her head against his shoulder and stroked her hair. If only he wasn't so afraid to say what was in his heart.

“I'm sorry, Kim. It was thoughtless on my part. It didn't occur to me that you would interpret bringing your clothes to the bedroom as my desire for you to leave. Quite the contrary. My only thought was that you might be uncomfortable without a robe or something to put on. I should have found something in my closet for you to wear.”

He placed a gentle kiss against her forehead and continued to hold her in his arms. Had he said enough to soothe her concerns and allay her fears? He didn't know.

Kim wasn't sure how to reply to what he had said, but knew she had to say something. “Well…it was very upsetting for me.”

“I'm sorry. If you'd mentioned it to me at the time, then we could have straightened out the misunderstanding right away instead of having it grow into this. Next time you have a problem with something I've said or done, promise me you'll let me know before it gets blown all out of proportion like this did…okay?”

He sounded so sincere, so honest. Did she dare trust that he really meant it? That the entire incident had been nothing more than a miscommunication? Possibly her anxiety and fears affecting her thoughts?

Her words came out barely above a whisper. “Okay, I'll mention it.” As long as she remained in the warmth of his embrace she was like putty in his hands, ready to be molded into whatever he wanted. She had something else on her mind, too, and this would be a good time to mention it, to get it out into the open.

“I drove by the downtown construction site on my way home last night. The sign says it's going to be a community center. There's no mention of Stevens Enterprises, yet Fred Kemper is involved with it somehow. Is there a connection between you and the nonprofit organization listed on the sign?”

Jared paused as he gathered his thoughts. Her question had come out of left field, and he wasn't sure what to say. He didn't like to talk about the things he did through his nonprofit organization. He carefully measured his words.

“That organization is a part of Stevens Enterprises. It was something I started after taking over the company from my father. I use it for community projects where I see a need and for charity projects when I want the origin of the help to remain anonymous.”

She didn't know what she had expected him to say, but that hadn't been it. She turned his words over in her mind before saying anything else. “Why didn't you tell me instead of avoiding the issue when I asked about Fred going to a construction site?”

“I didn't know it was an issue.” A shiver of uncertainty made its way through his body. Jared had never been as on edge in his entire life as he had since he and Kim made love. It told him what he didn't want to know, what he had
feared. It told him he might be in love with her. He mentally shook his head. There was no
might
about it. He was in love with her. And he had done everything wrong from the moment he had realized it.

He pulled her into his embrace. He didn't want to dwell on troubling matters. His words were tentative, and he wasn't sure exactly where he was going with them. “This is a very large house with five guest rooms. There's lots of space for you here.” He shoved away the quick rush of anxiety. “I'm sure Chloe will be glad to have you around.” He brushed a tender kiss against her lips. His voice dropped to a soft, intimate whisper. “And so will I.”

As much as his words about her temporarily moving into his house excited her, he hadn't mentioned a word about commitment or love. Things were becoming very confused. She felt torn apart, her desires pulling her one way and reality tugging her in a different direction. Kim stepped back from the enticing warmth of his embrace. She had to keep her emotions out of this.