Hot Property (Kingston Bros.) (4 page)

This made him exactly like those women.
The ones
who
had paid his father to use him. Corrupting an innocent to feel better about themselves. Actually, he was worse because his victim was drunk. And worse yet, he knew she had actual feelings for him. Her infatuation with him had been obvious to everyone since she was 14 and had asked him to her first dance. He’d rejected her then
too.

God, he was like some kind of depraved pervert, preying on her
naïveté
. What was wrong with him exactly? Why had he brought her out here in the first place? She deserved so much better. He needed to get her home as soon as possible. Before he changed his mind and finished this. Conscience be damned. His aching dick would
certainly agree with that plan.

“I’m sorry, Serena. So sorry.” He whispered, and placed her hands in her own lap. Trembling, he grabbed his keys off the dashboard and started the truck. The lights from the display lit up the dark cab and he glanced at her. He was shocked to see that h
er eyes were glassy with tears.

“Mark? What happened?" Her voice was husky with unshed tears, but she didn't let them fall. Not a single one. "Did I do something wrong? If you just show me, I’m sure I can get the hang of it.” She placed one of her hands on his thigh and began smoothing
it up towards his groin again.

“Serena. No. We can’t,” he barked, much more harshly than he’d intended.
She flinched from him like she’d just been slapped. He looked at her again and saw the shock and humiliation on
her face. Then anger took over.

“Take me home,” she said through grit
ted teeth. “Take me home. Now.”

She slid over to her side of the truck with as much dignity as her inebriated state would allow. Crossing her arms protectively over her chest, she stared out the window and wouldn't respond to him for the rest of the drive home. His explanations and apologies were ignored. It was like he didn't exist for her anymore.

When he finally pulled into her driveway, she scrambled out of the cab without a word or a glance back at him. She walked in front of the truck and stood there, hands on her hips, illuminated by the headlights. He could see the shape of her legs where the light shone through her long lavender skirt, and her fair hair had mostly fallen down from the careful up-do she'd worn earlier. She had never looked more beautiful or more
irate
. And he'd never wanted someone so much in his entire life.

He realized in that moment that he was in love with her. Her humor, her innocence, and her basic decency drew him like a moth to a flame. He'd had so little of those things in his life it was no wonder he wanted to drink her in like a sponge. But it was more than that. She was the one for him, even if he could never have her. As simple as that. All other women from this point on would never compare. She'd j
ust ruined him for anyone else.

He thought about going after her. She was angry and hurt, but he was fairly certain he could seduce her again if he acted quickly. But then what? He was still leaving. If he stayed he would still be too old and tainted for her. And he'd be trapped, watching his dad drink himself to death, and missing out on the professional football career he'd been
working toward his whole life.

The reality of the situation was that there was no way it could last between him and Serena. Sooner or later, she'd dump his sorry ass and go to college where she would flirt with frat boys and eventually find someone suitable to spend her life with. And he'd be working for his dad, developing his own drinking problem and perhaps returning to his old method of dealing with his loneliness. No, it was better like this. She was hurting, but at least she had some chance at happiness. He needed to do the
right thing and give her that.

Right now she was glaring at him through the windshield like he was a particularly disgusting type of insect. Their eyes locked for a moment and then she was gone into the darkness. And so was any chance he’d ever had with her.

Chapter Three

Serena stared up at the handsome blonde prospective buyer and contemplated dating him. Karl Bauer was certainly attractive enough by anyone's standards. Those wide shoulders and slim hips made her think of an Olympic swimmer. All long limbs and powerful muscles, but streamlined. Not bulky like a certain overblown
ex-football player's physique.

And Karl was tall. Tall enough that she had to look up at him when they were standing next to each other. This was a rarity for her. And that face. With those pale
green
eyes and tousled golden hair, he would look very comfortable at the prow of a Viking war ship, or perhaps in a Renaissance painting of an angel. Or possibly sitting shot-gun in Barbie's pink Corvette, she mused to herself
, thinking of poor sexless Ken.

What was it about some guys? How could a man be this handsome and yet not attractive to her at all? It was like those movie actors, Colin
Farrell
and Colin Firth. Colin Firth was handsome, but she couldn't imagine getting hot and sweaty with him. There was just something not quite sexy about him. He would probably say, 'please' and 'thank you' before getting down to business. Colin
Farrell
, however, was a different Colin altogether. She could easily imagine doing just about any depraved sexual act he required of her, provided he demanded it in that whiskey-soaked
Irish
accent of his.

There was no denying that she had a thing for guys who were a little raw and rough around the edges. But those guys were useless on a long-term basis. And that's what she needed. Someone settled and reliable. Not hot, broody, and a bit tortured by the past. She needed to grow up and find someone eligible, like Karl. He was exactly what she required to move on and settle down. Hotness was overrated compared to good, old-
fashioned stability. Wasn't it?

Karl was a doctor. Her mother would be thrilled if she dated a doctor. Granted, he wasn't a medical doctor. He had a PHD in genetics. But still, a girl couldn't deny the attraction of those letters behind a man's name. Superficial, but true. Fortunately, genetics was a rather interesting field of study. Much better than say, engineering or microbiology. She could almost stand to listen to him drone on about his area of expertise for another few minutes. If it meant selling a house, she would listen to him talk about his bowel movements. Hopef
ully, it wouldn't come to that.

More importantly, she was fairly certain he was interested in her but was having some trouble working up the courage to ask her out. He'd shown up at several of her Open Houses over the past few weeks, and was always more interested in talking about himself rather than the properties she was trying to sell. She had no doubt that he would eventually either buy a place or make his move, but she was getting tired of waiting. He needed to get to the point. If she was honest with herself, she'd be much more excited if he put in an offer on one of the townhouses rather than
an offer to take her to dinner.

She didn't know what it was about him that was putting her off. On paper he met all the criteria she was looking for in a potential boyfriend. He was good-looking, financially stable, reliable and unmarried. Maybe he wasn't exactly warm and funny, but otherwise he was perfect. And yet she felt nothing when she looked at him. Not even an itt
y-bitty fizzle of electricity.

She thought about her cousin, Jack, and his first meeting with Lacey. The chemistry between those two had been practically nuclear from the second they'd laid eyes on one another. Serena wanted that, or at least a little sizzle. She knew instant passion was rare and didn't usually last, but she couldn't shake the feeling that anything less than spontaneous combustion with her future man would feel like a compromise. She'd only felt heat like that once in her life, and i
t had been a complete disaster.

Against her will, she glanced in Mark's direction as Karl blathered on about an experiment at work involving rat gene splicing. Apparently, it was hilarious, but she really wasn't following the story. She just smiled encouragingl
y and chuckled when he paused.

While Karl was oc
cupied with the sound of his
voice
,
Serena thought about her one and only experience with real chemistry. Since Mark's unwelcome return her thoughts often wandered back to that night in his truck after Jack's wedding. She'd kissed many men since then, and had even slept with a few, but those lukewarm experiences paled in comparison to the twenty minutes she'd spent parking at the golf course with the cruel, yet inc
redibly sexy, Mark Goldsworthy.

Even now it was difficult to look at him and not think about how warm and silky his skin had felt as she'd ran her hand over his chest. And the few seconds she'd actually touched him between his legs had been so wildly exciting she felt her cheeks heat and her thighs clench just remembering how firm and large his erection had
felt pulsing under his zipper.

She'd been a little drunk that night but she could still recall it all in vivid detail. She'd been so shocked when he'd first danced with her and then had actually agreed to leave with her. He'd been running from her since she could remember, so it took her completely by surprise when he'd seemed w
illing to spend time with her.

Until the summer she'd turned fourteen and had developed an embarrassing crush on him, Mark had treated her just like his own cousin. He viewed her as an annoying but lovable pest. But when she'd started trailing after him and asking him why he didn't have a girlfriend, he'd begun avoiding her. It didn't help that her cousins teased him unmercifully
about her infatuation with him.

Between college classes, working for his dad, and playing college ball Mark didn't have a lot of spare time, but whatever leisure hours he did have were often spent at the
Kingston
's home with Jack and his brothers. Serena's mother, and her twin sister, Maria were pathologically close, so it seemed quite natural for them to have their houses built on the same huge lot and raise their families together. As an added bonus, living next door offered Serena many opportunities to both harass her cousins and
corner Mark whenever possible.

These meetings usually resulted in her trying unsuccessfully to convince him that she would make an ideal girlfriend. He always rejected her as gently as possible, but she knew that eventually he would realize how perfect they were for each other. This went on for a few years. She went on a few dates with other boys because it was expected of her, but her heart wasn't in it. As far as she knew, Mark dated college girls but never anyone seriously. When he'd been in high school, there'd been rumors about him dating a much older woman, but he'd never admitted to anything. He was very close-mouthed about his romantic life. This just contributed to Serena's misguided belief that he was waiting for her to be old enough and then he'd step up and be her boy
friend. But it never happened.

When she'd turned eighteen, however, something had changed. Occasionally, at family functions, she would catch him watching her. Not like another cousin, but like a man. That was all the encouragement she needed. She'd schemed and plotted, but nothing seemed right. Then the wedding had happened. She would make her move then. A few glasses of champagne had bolstered her courage and she'd asked him to dance, hoping and praying that finally he would see he
r as both an adult and a woman.

It had worked a little too well. He'd seen her as a woman all right, but she'd acted like an innocent child. Apparently that innocence had been a complete turn off. Clearly, she wasn't experienced enough for him and he didn't want to be the one to initiate her. She wished she'd allowed some of the boys she'd dated to paw her a little more because at least it would have prepare
d her for parking with Mark.

Instead she'd humiliated herself. Her cheeks would still flush at the thought of her clumsy attempt at seduction that night. What had she been thinking exactly? She'd practically begged him to let her touch him. And he'd allowed it. Until it had been obvious she had no idea what she was doing. Then he'd been repulsed by her awkwardness. She wasn't sure what he'd expected. Was she supposed to know what to do? Was there something wrong with her because she didn't intuitively know
how to please him?

The unfairness of his expectations and his impatience with her innocence struck her as uncharacteristically cruel. Mark was usually so kind and giving. So surprisingly sensitive for a man who looked like he ate iron filings for breakfast. She wondered if she had just imagined all the noble characteristics she idolized in him. Maybe he was just another jerk after all. A jerk who'd taken a drunk girl parking and then rejected her because she
didn’t act
like an accomplished seductress. Not
exactly the hero of her dreams.

He'd tried to explain on the drive home, but her pride would not allow her to acknowledge his lame excuses. He had finally rejected her too many times, and she was done trying to prove herself to him. He wasn't worth it. She'd paused in front of his truck on her way into the house that night, but he hadn't even tried to stop her. He'd just sat there. And watched her with a blank expression on his gorgeous face. He'd left the next day for
Dallas
. She hadn't seen or heard from him in nine years. And that was when Jack had re-hired him to work for Kingston Bros.,
without even consulting her. 

She shook he head and brought her thoughts back to the present. Mark was standing next to Jack at the kitchen island with his arms crossed, but he wasn't looking at the site plans. He was glaring daggers at her. She fought the impulse to stick her tongue out at him, or possibly flip him the bird. Instead she scowled back at him and reached out to pat Karl familiarly on the forearm as his story concluded. She laughed dutifully up at him and asked him what he thought of the crown moldings in the den. Turning her back on Mark, she walked Karl past the front staircase and into the lovely room at the front of the townhouse with the bay window and
French
doors.

Just as Karl was giving her his expert opinion on crown moldings, Serena noticed Lacey Ferguson entering through the front door. God, Serena thought to herself, was everyone she knew going to show up at this Open House today? No wonder she couldn't sell anything with all these distractions going on. Clearly she needed to set some ground rules with these people. They were treating her work environment like a coffee shop rath
er than her place of business.

Lacey waved at Serena as she passed but didn't stop to greet her or meet Karl. She
was making a beeline for Jack. Serena couldn’t help to notice how stunning Lacey looked. Her recent tropical vacation had darkened her olive skin to a warm latte shade and her yellow scrubs just accentuated her exotic coloring.

Serena watched from the entryway as Lacey affectionately squeezed Mark's shoulder in a friendly greeting and then launched herself into Jack's waiting arms. They began kissing passionately and Serena thought about spraying them with the stainless steel pot-filler faucet to get them to quit pawing each other like randy teenagers. Not that it would deter them. They'd probably use
it as an excuse to get naked.

The only saving grace to this unprofessional behavior was Mark's discomfort. He looked like he would gladly burn his eyes out with acid rather than witness anymore of their exuberant display of affection, which seemed to involve an embarrassing amount of both baby talk and tongue
action. Yuck.

Serena was so busy watching them that she didn't even notice when Karl stopped talking. She tore her gaze away from Mark's delightfully tortured expression and prepared to make her apologies to Karl. He wasn't looking at her. He was staring past her into the kitchen at Jack and Lacey. He clearly wasn't amused by their antics. The look on his face couldn't even be called mild disap
proval. It was genuine disgust.

"Karl," she said in her most jovial tone, squeezing his arm to distract him. "Please ignore my cousin and his girlfriend. They're recently engaged and have a tendency to overdo the PDA. Why don't we go check out the Master Bath now?" She started walking towards the stairs, but Karl wasn't moving. He was too busy staring. Glowering was actually the most accurate term she could think of to describe the e
xpression on his handsome face.

"That's your cousin?" Karl
asked, not even looking at her.