Hot Property (Kingston Bros.) (5 page)

"Yes. He actually built this place. If you have any questions for him, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we interrupted." Actually, he would probably mind a lot, but that was really just a bonus
as far as Serena was concerned.

Karl swung his gaze towards her and the look he gave her was positively icy. "No, thank you, Miss Garrison. I really must be going. But I appreciate your time. Enjoy the rest of your day." With that he spun on his heel and began striding towards the front door like he wa
s afraid of catching a disease.

Miss Garrison? Karl had been calling her Serena for weeks. What had just happened here to make him suddenly so distant? Serena panicked. Karl was the only semi-serious home buyer she'd encountered all week. She was getting desperate to make a sale, and she couldn't just let him walk out like this. She practically chased him into the hall, glaring furiously at Jack and Lacey as she passed. They were completely oblivious to her death-stare, but Mark watched in fascination as she grabbed Karl's arm and gave him her most da
zzling real estate agent smile.

She pulled a business card out of her skirt pocket and tucked it into his hand, giving his knuckles a little caress as she pulled her hand away. "I understand completely if you have to go, Karl, but I hope you'll call me if you have any questions I can answer regarding this property. Please feel free to contact me anytime. I'm always available for my clients." Jeez. What was she doing? That sounded like some kind
of lame booty call invitation.

Karl paused in his escape and turned to look down at her with a puzzled expression. Serena couldn't really blame the guy. Before today she hadn't encouraged his personal interest at all. Now she was practically throwing herself at his Gucci-covered feet. N
o wonder he looked so confused.

"I'm glad to hear that you're available. For your clients." Karl said wi
th a pervy little smirk.

Ewww. Serena smiled in return but internally wondered if inferring she was a call girl was his twisted manner of flirtation. So not sexy. What a shame that a guy this good-looking had no idea how to talk to women. Maybe she was reading too much into his behavior. Perhaps she just made him nervous and he was prone to putting his foot in his mouth when dealing with women. She'd give him the benefit of the dou
bt if it meant a possible sale.

"Do you have a card, Karl? In case I come across a property more suitable for you?" She asked, amazed at her own boldness. She usually asked visitors to sign the Open House guest-book and leave their con
tact information if they wanted
No pressure. She never asked for cards because as far as she was concerned, real estate agents who did so were the stereotypical pushy ones who hounded everyone they met. Until today, she'd been determined to never come across as that desperate or intrusive. But here s
he was, crossing that line too.

She felt pathetic. When did her job become so important to her exactly? It was consuming her. Financially, she was fine. She didn't even need the sale, but she felt like she was losing her touch. She couldn't accept another failure. Not now, when her job was really all she had
.

Karl reached into his back pocket, pulled out a surprisingly ancient-looking brown wallet, and fished out a creamy vellum business card from one of the compartments. He handed the card to her, and ga
ve her another lecherous smile.

Serena couldn't help but notice how thin and dry his lips were and gave a mental shudder at the thought of kissing that mouth. It would be like making out with a piece of frozen liver, rubbery and cold. Yuck. Was it just her imagination or did his giant, unnaturally white front teeth look almost exactly like Chiclets? And were his canine teeth just a trifle too long and sharp looking? Why did the Big, Bad Wolf from Little Red Riding H
ood just flash across her mind?

"Yes,
please
call me if you have something for me. I'm looking for something really special. Not quite so common as this." Karl said, waving his arm
to indicate their surroundings.

Serena nearly gaped at him. The townhouse wasn't huge, but it contained all of the upscale finishes a home buyer could possibly desire. Kingston Bros., built really fine homes and she was more than proud to represent them. No matter how annoying and unprofessional they were at times, her cousins were not common. She really had to restrain herself from lashing out at Karl, the pompous ass. She managed another fake smile and began walking him out the door. "I'll keep an eye out for the perfect property for you, Karl. Thanks
so much for coming out today."

He held out his hand to shake hers and she hesitated. She really didn't want to touch him, but wasn't sure how to avoid it without alienating him completely. Gingerly she shook his hand, trying not to visibly recoil as his clammy flesh closed around her fingers. She looked up in surprise when he gripped her hand just a tad too tightly.

"I really hope to hear from you soon, Serena." Karl said, drawing out her first name and staring into her eyes with an unblinking intensity that made the skin
on the back of her neck crawl.

She eased her hand out of his grip and looked down at her watch. "I'll be in touch. B
ut right now I really must go."

Karl's brow furrowed. "Oh. Do you have big plans
this evening? A date perhaps?"

Serena thought seriously about lying to him, and saying yes, but despite his newfound creepiness, she really didn't want to discourage him completely. Rejecting him outright at this point would guarantee that he didn't buy a property from her. It was unfair but it was true. If he felt deceived by her he'd take his business elsewhere. "No. Unfortunately not. I have to meet a buyer out on
Old Carriage Lane
in about an hour. Like I said, I'm al
ways available for my clients."

Karl's smile became wider as she reiterated that statement from earlier. "I can see that you're very dedicated to meeting the needs of your clients. I find that very admirable. Enjoy your meeting. Good-bye, Serena." With that, he let go of her hand and left the townhouse, heading for his dark blue Mercedes sedan parked at the cu
rb, behind her own convertible.

Closing the front door with Karl, thankfully, on the other side, Serena closed her eyes, took a couple of deep breaths and turned back towards the kitchen with her head held high. Creepy Karl may have escaped the brunt of her anger, but the three people in the next room were not going to be so lucky.

Chapter Four

Serena was surprised to find that Mark had followed her into the hallway. His arms were crossed over his hard chest and he was leaning against the archway, blocking her route to the kitchen. She could see Jack and Lacey over his massive shoulders, but they were completely oblivious to what was happeni
ng outside their couple cocoon.

Serena frowned up at him and attempted to dodge around his overgrown frame, but the damn football player still knew how to block. He'd probably move if she asked politely, but she was so not in the mood to obey the social niceties. She would have to touch him to get him to move. The idea both thrilled and horrified her. The last time she'd touched him had been the most humiliating experience of her life. But some small part of her longed to see if his body was as hard and hot as she remembered from that night. Only one way to find out.

"Mark," she hissed. "Let me by." She gave his shoulder a good shove, but it was like trying to move a refrigera
tor. A very sexy refrigerator.

"What was that about?" Mark asked casually, pretending not to notice that she was trying to manhandle him out of her way. He was being a bully, but couldn't seem to help himself. He needed to know if Serena was actually intereste
d in the prig who'd just left.

"What?" Serena replied rudely as she attempted to nudge by him. Her breasts accidentally brushed his muscled forearm, and her nipples became instantly erect. She glanced up at him and was humiliated to find that his eyes were glued to her breasts. She covered them by crossing her arms and wondered exactly how hard she would have to knee him in the groin to get him to mo
ve.

"That whole thing with the
gay guy? What was that about?" He wav
ed one hand at the closed door.

"Karl? You think Karl is gay?" Serena nea
rly screeched in disbelief.

"Yeah. Obviously. He didn't even check out your ass w
hen you turned around earlier."

"And that makes him gay? Maybe he's not an ass
man;
did you ever think of that?"

"Doesn't matter. Any straight guy would check out your ass."

"I can not believe I'm having this conversation with you. Karl is a gentleman and he doesn't objectify women." She enunciated her words carefully, as if explaining a c
hallenging concept to an idiot.

Mark frowned and scowled at her condescending tone. "You can't possibly be that naive. Straight guys check out women's asses. It's not about degrading women, it's about admiring them. We can't help it. It's ingrained in us." He shrugged as if he was helpless to the
natural order of the universe.

"No, it's ingrained in you to be a male chauvinist pig. Karl, however, was ingrained with some
class. He doesn't ogle asses."

"Right. I bet he does ogle asses. In the
men’s
locker room."

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "W
hat a homophobic thing to say."

"What? No way. I'm a landscaper. Do you have any idea how many vendors and florists play for the other team? Trust me, I have no problem with gay guys. More of them the better as far as I'm concerned. But I don't think you should be getting all hot and bothered over a guy who prefers sausage." His voice softened. "You deserve better."

She ignored his concerned tone and focused on the part of his statement that didn't make her melt inside. "I am not getting 'hot and bothered' over him. Who even says that anymore? I was trying to get him to buy a house. He keeps popping up at my Show Homes, and I thought I could work on him a lit
tle. Get him to seal the deal."

"He's been to more than one of your Open Houses then?" He asked
, furrowing his brow in concern

"Yeah. Several in fact. Condos, detached family homes, and townhouses.
He's shown up at all of them."

"And you don't find th
at weird? Or downright creepy?"

"Not really. I often run into the same people. Looking at real estate is kind of a hobby, I guess." She uncrossed her arms and gestured towards the kitchen. "Look at Lacey and her mother. Before she met Jack, those two had been to every Open House in town. They were rec
reational real estate hunters."

"But a single guy? Cruising around, checking out Show Homes on Saturday. That's not normal." He shook his head as if describing someone who lights fires in his spare time. "Y
ou're sure he's single, right?"

"It was one of the first things he mentioned to me.
” She said sweetly. “
So yeah, I'm fairly certain he's single. I think he said something about living with a grandfather who recently passed away. He's looking for a change from the old house, and he's not sure what he wants. That's why he's been to
such a variety of properties."

"So, you don't think he's stalking you then?" Mark raised
one speculative eyebrow at her.

"Mark. You're not making sense. If you think he's gay, why would he be stalking me? Because he admires my personal style so much?" She gestured down at her fabulous patent leather Mary Jane pumps with the thin ankle straps, but references to fashion were lost on Mark. He looked blankly at her shoes, but his gaze warmed up considerably as his eyes travelled over her curvy calves
in the black-patterned tights.

"I don't know why a gay guy would be stalking you, but there's definitely something off about him. You should lose his card. And maybe you should reconsider being alone at these Open Houses all th
e time. He could be dangerous."

"Karl? Dangerous? You've been smoking your rose bushes, haven't you? That's just crazy." She chose not to think about her unease when the blonde man had touched her hand or his creepy smile. In retrospect, she'd been entirely too hard on Karl. She must have been imagining how unnerving his stare had been. He was a normal guy. Just because he wasn't an imposingly confident alpha male didn't make him a predator of some sort. He was just a bit lacking in social skills. And really, that was a good thing. A man like that could be trained. Unlike this big, sexy beast in front of her. The woman who fell for Mark would have a hard road trying to get him to bend to her will. She felt real pity f
or that woman, whoever she was.

"No, it's really not crazy. Don't you read the news? There's a whole world of freaks out there. And I haven't smoked anything since college. Besides, I really didn't like th
e way he was looking at Lacey."

She stared blankly at him. "Lacey? I thought he was stalking me. Now he's stalking Lacey. Get your
twisted story straight, Mark."

"I said I didn't like the way he was staring at her. I didn't say he was stalking her. There was just something weird about it. Like he hated her or something."

"Perhaps he was just disturbed at seeing her tongue wrapped around Jack's tonsils like that. I know I found it disturbing. And from the look on your face, you were a little tra
umatized by the sight as well."

Despite the gravity of their discussion Mark grinned sheepishly and rubbed one hand over his bristly cheek. "Yeah. Who knew those two were such exhibitionists? Jack's always been so
conservative.
I don't think I ever saw him kiss his wife, and yet every time I see him and Lacey together I feel like I'm walking into a porno movie." He glanced over his shoulder where Jack and Lacey were standing close together and talking quietly, staring into each other's eyes. "But seriously, do you think that guy knows Lacey? Has a gr
udge against her or something?"

"Lacey's a nurse who volunteers at the local animal shelter and faithfully recycles. I don't think there's a less offensive woman on the planet. So, no, I don't think Karl is harboring some kind of deep-seated grudge against her. But I'm kind of impressed at your imagination. Who knew Super-jo
ck had such a creative streak?"

Mark smiled inwardly. Serena occasionally called him Super-jock when she wanted to needle him about his past career. She thought he'd been awarded that particular nickname in high school because of his athletic prowess, but in actuality it had been earned by the size of his jockstrap. He didn't correct the misrepresentation because it amused him when she used the term. Unintentionally complimenting him on the size of his equipment took some of the
sting out of her many insults.

"Yeah. I'm full of surprises," he said dryly. "But I think we should at least have that guy checked out. Steve Benjamin from high school is a cop now. Maybe he can see what this joker has been up to." He pointed one finger in her face and shook it at her like she was a misbehaving puppy. "And you should avoid him until we know if he's a threat or not. I'm serious, Serena."

Serena fought the urge to stamp her feet in frustration like a child. Instead she managed to stare at him coolly. "I'm not avoiding anyone. Your paranoid delusions do not dictate how I do my job, Mark. And I'll thank you to mind your own damn business."

Mark stared back at her for a moment, eyes blazing like he wanted to give her a good shake. Instead, he just ran both hands through his long hair and crossed his arms again. "Fine. Don't listen to me. Let's see what Jack thinks then, shall we?" He turned away like the matter was settled and beg
an to head back to the kitchen.

"Mark. Don't you dare." Serena hissed. She reached out and yanked on his arm, intending to turn him back in her direction, but he barely moved. So, she grabbed him by the waistband of his jeans and pulled as hard as she could. She wasn't able move him much, but she was able to stop his forward momentum. She dug in her heals and leaned back, hoping she was treating him to the worst front wedgie of his life. He certainly deserved it, the domineering jerk. "If you tell Jack about your ridiculous theory, he's going to be baby-sitting me for the rest of my life. And I am way too old for a baby-sitter. I'm a real estate
professional, for God's sake."

Mark spun around, smoothly dislodged her hand from the back of his jeans, and before she knew what was happening, she was in the air. He had actually rushed her like the tailback he was, and was now lifting her gently until her back was against the brick staircase wall and he was pressing against her from chest to knees. Her feet dangled at least a foot off the floor as he held her with his hands in her armpits and his pelvis anchoring her in place.

It had all happened so quickly she hadn't even had time to react. Now that she realized how effectively trapped she was between his solid frame and the wall, she pushed uselessly against his wide shoulders to dislodge him, but he wouldn't budge. She grunted in frustration when she discovered that kicking him in his bad knee wasn't even an option because her skirt was
wedged between them
. She wiggled as much as she could, but that was a big mistake. Make that a huge mistake. Wiggling was just bringing about a very predictable reaction in his body that could not be missed. She looked down between them and sud
denly became very, very still.

With some effort, Mark ignored his hardening cock and gave her a little shake. "You," he said through gritted teeth. "Need a babysitter. And a spanking. And possibly a distemper
shot. I hope you realize that."

"Put me down, you ass," Serena said, looking down at him with wide, panicked eyes. She wasn't scared of Mark. He was a brute, but he would never harm a woman, at least not physically. He was only capable of inflicting emotional damage on females. She knew this from first
hand experience.

Right now, with his warm breath fluttering against her chest and his thumbs pressing into the sides of her breasts, she felt her body come alive under his touch. If she didn't put some distance between them she wouldn't be able to resist her attraction to him for long. Even after his heartless rejection ten years ago, he still had the power to excite her beyond reason. It was all she could do not to slide her hands into his thick, silky hair and lick every inch of his ridiculously toned and sinewy body within reach. But no matter what, he could never know how much she still wanted him. Her pride simply wouldn't allow it.

"If Jack sees you man-handling me like this, he will castrate you with a rusty spoon. After he busts your other knee." She looked
over his shoulder meaningfully.