Lost in a Stallion's Arms (Kimani Romance) (5 page)

J
oanne was throwing clothes around her bedroom when her doorbell sounded. The ring was unexpected, startling her from her thoughts as she debated slacks or a skirt for her evening with Luke Stallion. She wasn’t expecting company, and she knew it wasn’t her friend Marley, who was supposed to be en route from her job at Starbucks to her philosophy class at the university.

Moving to the door, Joanne peered through the peephole, her expression shifting from curious to annoyed. She had half a mind to ignore the man standing on the other side of the wooden door, but then he rang the bell again, this time holding it longer than necessary, seeming to demand a response from her.

Joanne opened the door reluctantly, annoyance greeting annoyance, as she and her father locked gazes. It had been over a month since he’d last bothered to grace her doorstep.

“What took you so long?” Dr. Charles Lake questioned, leaning to kiss his daughter’s cheek as he pushed his way into her home.

“Hi, Daddy,” Joanne responded, not bothering to answer his question as she closed the door behind him.

Dr. Lake smiled, nodding his head. “I would have called first, but I was on my way to meet the mayor for dinner and had a few minutes to kill, so I thought I’d drop these papers off to you,” he said, waving a large manila envelope at her. “How are you?”

Joanne nodded. “I’m fine. How are you?”

“I’ve been busy. Extremely busy. There’s a lot going on at the office.”

His daughter shrugged. “There always is. Would you like something to drink?”

He shook his head. “No. I just stopped to say hello. How’s business?”

His question took Joanne by surprise, her father rarely asking about or supporting her design venture. Her excitement seeped into her voice. “It’s going very well. I’ve taken on two new stores and expanded the studio space. I would love for you to stop by and check it out,” Joanne said expectantly.

Looking everything but enthusiastic, Dr. Lake nodded. “Sure. So are you still spending all your time downtown at that center?”

Joanne paused briefly before answering. “I’m still volunteering.”

“Just like your mother,” he mumbled under his breath, as if there were something wrong with Joanne having any similarities to the woman who’d given birth to her.

Joanne heaved a deep sigh, warm breath blowing into the cool air. “I was actually on my way out, as well. Maybe we can get together for lunch later this week?” Her expression was hopeful. Her father’s response was less than eager.

“Maybe. I’ll have to check my schedule.” Dr. Lake gestured with the envelope he was still holding. “You need to put these away somewhere safe. I’ve added some stocks to your portfolio. One day you need to sit down with myself or my accountant and go over them so you understand what you have.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Joanne stared at the envelope before moving her gaze to her father’s face. “Yes, Daddy,” she said, enthusiasm waning from her tone. “Thank you, but I really don’t think you should keep—”

Her father interrupted her, tossing the envelope onto the table in the center of the room. “Don’t argue. These investments are for your future, Joanne. If you won’t invest in it, I certainly will.” He looked around her home one last time. “I really don’t know why you insist on living here on your own like this when we have that big house.”

“That’s your house.”

“No, Joanne, it’s our home. You left because you wanted to, not because you had to. You can come home whenever you want.”

Joanne sighed again, not interested in waging another argument about the same topics the two constantly butted heads over. She appeased him instead. “Yes, sir. I know.”

The man nodded, his gaze shifting toward her as he looked her up and down. “Are you eating properly, Joanne? I really hope you’re not gorging on junk food. You really need to try to get some of that weight off. It’s not healthy for you.”

Joanne bristled, her expression voicing her irritation. “Thanks for the tip, Daddy. I’ll get right on that.”

Completely oblivious, her father smiled, taking a step toward her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her to him as he wrapped her in a warm hug.

“Take care of yourself, Joanne.”

Her eyes closed, Joanne pressed her face into her father’s chest. “I love you, Daddy.”

Kissing her forehead, Dr. Lake moved back to the door. “I’ll call you soon. Okay?”

Nodding, Joanne sauntered behind him. “Goodbye, Daddy.”

Even before she could close the door behind him, tears had misted behind Joanne’s eyelids. She wiped at the moisture with the heel of her hand. She refused to cry, adamant that she would not shed one single tear over her father. She’d been wasting tears on the man for too many years.

Reaching for the envelope he’d dropped onto her coffee table, Joanne didn’t bother to look inside, hardly interested in the newly purchased stock she knew to be detailed inside. Joanne had little interest in the many investments her father had made on her behalf, the man believing that such would afford Joanne the only security she would ever need. Moving into the kitchen, she pulled open the silverware drawer and dropped the mailer inside, along with the other forty or so unopened envelopes hidden behind her few spoons and forks.

Dr. Charles Lake had been trying to buy her affections since she’d been six years old when he had won sole custody of her from her actress mother. Lillian Taylor, beaten and broken from the nasty legal battle he’d waged, had crossed an ocean to put as much space between her and him as she could. Leaving had garnered her more alone time with her only child than staying for a few hours of weekly visitation ever would have. The doctor had tried to buy that away from them, too, but his money hadn’t been able to get him everything he’d wanted.

Joanne’s father was a man who assessed his entire life by his material wealth. He didn’t consider himself accomplished if he wasn’t making money and more money. He’d come from money, his parents affording him the best of everything with their oil ventures. His father had insisted he go to medical school. As a little girl, Joanne remembered him having a thriving surgical practice. Business had kept him away more than it had kept him home. When she’d complained, there had always been a new toy to appease her.

Joanne had wanted for very little. What she’d been desperate for was time and attention, the two things her father never seemed to have for her. The day Joanne had turned eighteen, she’d made the decision to live her life very differently from her father’s life. Attending design school on the West Coast had afforded her much anonymity. Returning to Dallas, but far from her father, had kept her under the radar.

Very few of her own friends and associates knew anything about her, and Joanne was determined to keep it that way. She’d had a pampered and privileged upbringing, and now she wanted her life to be more about helping those who were much less fortunate.

A few years ago the good Dr. Lake had laid down his scalpel, giving up medicine altogether. Building upon his own father’s initial investments had become his new goal of choice. Bonding with his daughter hadn’t yet made his list of things to do.

Even at the age of six, Joanne had understood that her mother staying would have left them both damaged beyond repair. Her father’s bitterness toward his ex-wife was palpable. The man had thrived on his resentment. He and his money would have made their lives a living hell, so instead, Joanne frequently flew to Paris to spend time with her mom. The two women eventually built a thriving relationship that her father hadn’t been able to tarnish with the money he tossed around like water.

Thinking of her mother, Joanne suddenly had the urge to hear her voice and to ask her advice about men, one man in particular. Taking a quick glance at the grandfather clock on the far wall she realized that with the time difference, a call would be wasted since Lillian would be in the theater, readying herself to perform the lead role in the stage production of
Carmen
. Joanne decided she would call her mother later. Just maybe, she thought, she might be able to maneuver her schedule and fly to France for an extended weekend. Mother’s Day was just around the corner, and it would make for a nice surprise.

Returning to her bedroom, she reached for the new chocolate-brown skirt she’d purchased from Ashley Stewart, the skirt having won the debate with her tailored black slacks. The top would be one of her own designs, a form fitting V-neck shirt in a bold, animal print. Brown suede ankle boots would complete the look. Minutes later, pressed, pampered and perfumed, Joanne headed out the door, excited and anxious to see Luke Stallion again.

When Joanne arrived at the Tom Cat Club, parking her car a good distance from the front entrance, her nerves were a tangled mess. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the warm evening air. Taking one last look at her reflection in the rearview mirror, she dabbed a light coat of tinted lip gloss to her lips.

She didn’t have a clue what to expect, not wanting to imagine the
friends
that might be with Luke. She only hoped that none of them recognized her or knew her father. She wasn’t ready for Luke Stallion to know so much about her personal life.

What she did want, though, was to spend more time with Luke, to get to know him better. Joanne was anxious to discover whether there was truly more to him than met the eye. The man excited Joanne, and she’d been fighting it with everything she had in her, but there was no denying the attraction between them. On the surface, Luke Stallion represented what she disliked most about her own father. But clearly there was something to that man that had her intrigued.

There were two bouncers at the door of the Tom Cat Club, both looking like oversized Buddhas busting out of too-small, pin-striped suits. One had a clipboard in his large hand, only allowing admittance as the moment moved him. Joanne assessed the long line of partygoers hoping to be allowed inside. The women were all stylishly underdressed, the men elaborately overdressed. They were a pretty crowd of Dallas’s young elite, mixing and mingling like an assortment of sweet confections. She didn’t waste any energy with the end of the line, strutting boldly straight to the front door.

Buddha Number One gave her a smug look, eyeing her from head to toe. Joanne knew instantly that she didn’t fit the profile of the size 0 beauties in short-short, low-cut attire that typically got in without a hassle. But Joanne was hardly intimidated. She eyed both the Buddhas with disdain.

“May we help you?” Buddha Number Two asked, his soft voice seeming out of place for his massive size.

Joanne smiled sweetly. “I’m meeting Luke Stallion. My name’s Joanne.”

Buddha Number One chuckled. “You’re meeting Mr. Stallion? And we’re supposed to believe that?”

Joanne’s eyes narrowed to thin slits. “I don’t much care what you believe. Check your list.”

The man fingered the document clipped to his clipboard, not bothering to even glance down at it. “I don’t see a Joanne on the guest list,” he said snidely.

Joanne reached into her purse and pulled her state-issued ID and a small photograph of her and her father from her wallet. She passed it to the man. “Look again,” she said sternly.

Both men eyed the documents quickly, then passed them back to her.

“Miss Lake, our apology,” Buddha Number One said as he reached for the velvet rope that cordoned off the entrance from the general public. “Please, go right on in,” the man said, waving her inside.

Before heading through the door, Joanne turned from one to the other, her expression stern. “I really don’t like either one of you, but if you two want to keep your jobs, you don’t know me, is that clear?” she said, her tone firm.

The Buddha nodded his thick neck. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Enjoy your evening,” the second man echoed.

Her sweet smiling returning, Joanne brushed past them both. Before the club’s front door was closed behind her she heard a potential partygoer complaining about her cutting the line. The response echoed harshly behind her.

“What do you want from me? Ownership has its privileges.”

The nightclub was filled to capacity. Pretty people filled tables, the dance floor, the length of the bar and crowded the aisle Joanne walked to enter the main party room. Inside, the décor was minimalistic, simple black tables and black chairs with a black-and-white checked floor. The lighting was dim and seductive, and bright white balloons and vibrant red streamers crowded the ceiling.

They were playing reggae, the music beckoning to her as bass drums vibrated within the concealed speakers in the walls. Iridescent lights flickered above her head, and the smell of sweat mingled with a mélange of perfumes and colognes. Around her, bodies were gyrating and twisting with the music, the couples lost in the beat of their own rhythms.

Even with the crowd, there was no missing Luke Stallion, the man’s commanding presence filling the room. Joanne saw him before he saw her as he stood in conversation with two other young, well-dressed men. She stood watching him curiously, appreciating him from afar. The brother was dressed nicely, a silk suit in a pale shade of gray fitting him nicely. He was leaning back on one hip, his hands pushed casually into the pockets of his slacks. He was animated, energy seeping from his pores, and Joanne was suddenly thankful that she’d decided to come.

As she continued watching him, she couldn’t miss the too-cute female who sauntered to his side mid-conversation to whisper into his ear. The woman was svelte with a close-cropped bob, a milky complexion and bright eyes begging for attention. Luke nodded his head as he listened to whatever it was she was telling him, a wry smile pulling at his mouth. As if to make her point, the too-cute female pressed a manicured hand to his chest, drawing it slowly down to his abdomen and around his waist. A wave of something that felt like jealousy rippled over Joanne’s spirit.

Shaking her head slightly, Joanne contemplated turning around and going back home. Clearly the man had enough friends to keep him company, so he probably wouldn’t even notice if she didn’t show up. But she couldn’t pull herself from where she stood as she continued watching him and the young woman, who was clearly eager for his time. Her mind was almost made up when Luke caught sight of her, his eyes focused straight in her direction. His wry smile pulled into a full grin.