Читать книгу Blackhawk Desires: Blackhawk's Betrayal - Barbara McCauley - Страница 9

“Mrs. Carver is just finishing up a phone call, Miss Daniels. Why don’t you have a seat?”

Kiera managed a smile at the middle-aged brunette receptionist, then sat stiffly on the tan leather sofa. Afraid that her knees might start knocking, she gripped her thighs and held them tightly.

She was about to meet Clair Carver.

Clair Blackhawk.

A knot the size of a trucker’s fist twisted in her stomach.

She’d been setting up her lunch station not even ten minutes ago when the restaurant manager, Christine, gave her the message to report to Clair’s office. Kiera’s first thought was that there’d been more complaints filed against her. Tyler had lightened up a little, but Chef Phillipe had been storming about the kitchen since she’d called him on his faux pas. She’d done her best to keep her opinions to herself, be polite and stay out of the chef’s way, but if he wasn’t barking orders at her, he was muttering under his breath about mindless, insipid waitresses.

Obviously, the man held a grudge.

Still, Kiera seriously doubted that Clair would handle a problem between a chef and a waitress. Normally, owners didn’t get involved in the day-to-day operations of a larger hotel. They had staff for that.

Which led to her second, and definitely more frightening, thought.

Clair knows who I am.

The fist in her stomach twisted tighter.

But how could she?

Sam?

As careful as she’d been to cover her tracks, if he’d been curious enough, if he’d dug deep enough and made the right phone calls, it was possible he might have learned who she was. Maybe even why she was here. But it was doubtful. And he certainly hadn’t seemed curious. Or even interested, for that matter. In fact, for the past four days, since they’d had lunch together at Pappa Pete’s, he’d barely even looked at her. She wasn’t certain if she was relieved or disappointed.

Both, she decided.

There was no question she was attracted to the man. Butterflies-in-the-stomach attracted. Can’t-stop-thinking-about-him attracted.

Fantasy attracted.

When she least expected it, they’d sneak up on her. Those insidious little erotic daydreams. Bare, hot skin against bare, hot skin. Arms and legs intertwined. Busy hands, rushing lips. Sometimes her fantasy involved a bed, sometimes an elevator. In his office—on his desk—was her personal favorite. Sizzling, no-holds-barred sex. Wild. Frantic. Spontaneous. He was as mad for her as she was for him, reaching, gasping …

“Miss Daniels?”

She jumped at the receptionist’s voice, blinked quickly. “Yes?”

“Are you all right?” A frown wrinkled the woman’s brow. “You look a little flushed.”

Darn it! Kiera touched a hand to her cheek, felt the warmth there grow warmer still. “Do I?”

The receptionist nodded. “I heard there might be something going around.”

Knowing the effect Sam had on women, Kiera didn’t doubt there was a lot of what she had going around. “I’m fine, thank you. Really.”

“Miss Daniels, I’m so sorry to keep you waiting.”

Kiera froze at the sound of the feminine voice behind her. It was one thing to imagine meeting Clair, quite another to actually do it.

Breath held, heart pounding, Kiera slowly turned.

Thick, dark brown hair skimmed the shoulders of her lime-colored jacket, framed her high cheekbones and wide mouth. Her skin had the barest kiss of bronze, suggesting her obvious Native American heritage wasn’t full-blooded. And her eyes—Kiera stared at Clair’s smiling gaze—they were blue. Deep blue.

“Thank you for coming.” Clair moved into the room. “I’m Clair Carver.”

Kiera watched the woman close the distance between them and felt a moment of panic. Trey was right. I never should have come here. No good could possibly come of it. She rose too quickly, awkwardly accepted the hand Clair offered.

“A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Carver.”

“Mrs. Carver,” Clair repeated dreamily, her lips curving wider. “Even after six weeks of marriage, I haven’t quite gotten used to the sound of it. But please, call me Clair.”

Kiera managed a weak smile and nodded. “Kiera.”

“Mary—” Clair glanced at the slender gold watch on her wrist “—why don’t you take your lunch now? I can handle things by myself here for a little while.”

“Mr. Carver told me not to—”

“Never mind what Jacob told you.” Softly scolding, Clair tilted her head. “I’m feeling fine now and you both need to stop worrying about me.”

Shaking her head in defeat, the receptionist slid her glasses off and picked up her purse. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

“You’ll be back in one hour, not one minute before, or I’ll tell Albert in Shipping that you have a crush on him.”

“I most certainly do not!” Mary puffed up like an agitated hen, then lowered her brow with worry. “You wouldn’t, would you?”

“One hour,” Clair said firmly, then smiled at Kiera. “After you.”

The spacious inner office, a mix of contemporary and Western decor, was warm and welcoming. Native American–themed watercolors and bronze statues decorated the walls and shelves. A smooth granite fountain bubbled softly in one corner, and two ficus trees flanked the floor-to-ceiling glass window that overlooked the pool and courtyard.

“Please, sit.” Clair waved a hand toward one of the tan leather armchairs in front of a glass-topped cherry-wood desk. “Can I get you something to drink? Some coffee or water? I have some tea, if you like chamomile.”

Kiera took the chair closest to the door. “No, thank you.”

“I’m sorry I pulled you away from your shift.” Clair sat at her desk. “I know how busy the restaurant gets at lunch.”

If she’s going to lecture or fire me, Kiera thought, she certainly is being polite about it. “Not for another half hour.”

“Normally, I would have come down and introduced myself to you right away, but I’ve been a little under the weather for the past few days.”

She did look a little tired, Kiera thought, and her cheeks were slightly pale. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“I seem to be over the worst of it now.” Leaning back in her chair, Clair narrowed her eyes. “Have we met before?”

Kiera tensed, but managed to keep her tone calm. “Have you ever been to Rainville?”

“Rainville? I don’t think so.” Clair shook her head thoughtfully. “You look so … familiar, though I’m not sure why.”

“I probably just look like someone else.”

“Maybe.” There was still doubt in Clair’s voice, but she shrugged it off. “Anyway, I don’t want to keep you, so I should get to the point. I received a phone call regarding you this morning.”

Oh, God, she does know, Kiera thought. But with her throat closing up on her, she couldn’t have spoken if she’d tried.

“Apparently,” Clair said, “you’ve impressed my sister-in-law.”

“Your sister-in-law?”

“One of them.” Clair smiled. “Grace is married to Rand. She comes here for lunch quite often. You’ve waited on her a couple of times this past week. She couldn’t stop talking about how terrific you are. I decided I wanted to meet you myself.”

That’s why Clair had called her here? Because her sister-in-law had said something nice about her? Kiera felt a bubble of hysterical laughter threaten to rise, but she quickly swallowed it back down. “I—I appreciate that. But really, I’m just doing my job.”

“According to Grace, you were doing much more than your—”

Clair stopped suddenly, raised a hand to her temple and closed her eyes.

“Mrs. Carver?” Kiera leaned forward. “Are you all right?”

“I—I thought I was,” she said breathlessly. “But maybe not.”

Kiera stood. “I’ll get your receptionist.”

“No!” Clair opened her eyes and held up her hand. “No, please.”

“I really should—”

“Just give me a minute.” Clair laid her head back. “It’s nothing, just a little wave of nausea. I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” Her own nervousness forgotten, Kiera spotted a pitcher of water sitting on a console, hurried over and filled a glass, then quickly moved to Clair’s side. “In fact, you’re quickly approaching the color of your jacket, which I love, by the way. Vera Wang?”

Clair smiled weakly and nodded. “I did a little shopping on my honeymoon.”

“Just sip.” Kiera held out the glass, studied Clair’s face for a moment, then, without thinking, asked, “How far along are you?”

“Far along?” Clair stared blankly at her. “What do you mean?”

Darn it! Why did she have to always speak before she thought? One more thing Trey was right about.

“Nothing. Here, just sip on this.”

“You thought I was pregnant?”

Afraid to answer, Kiera shifted uneasily.

“I’m not pregnant.” Clair laughed and shook her head. “I just had a little bug last week and I can’t seem to shake it. My nephews had it, too.”

Mentally kicking herself, Kiera forced a smile and started to back away. “It probably is just a bug. There’s always something going around.” Like foot-in-mouth-disease. “I appreciate you inviting me up here, but I should probably get back to work now.”

“Wait.” Clair reached out and grabbed Kiera’s arm. “Why—what made you think that?”

“I was way out of line,” Kiera said, wishing she could be anywhere but here at this moment. “Of course you’d know if you were pregnant. Just forget I said anything.”

Clair’s hand tightened on Kiera’s arm. “I’m not upset or offended. Really, I’m not. Please, just tell me what made you think that?”

Since it was too late to take the words back or escape, Kiera simply sighed and resigned herself to her fate.

“Well,” Kiera said hesitantly, “I’ve been around a lot of pregnant women. The last restaurant I worked in, three of the servers there were expecting at the same time. They all had that same pale-green tint in their face as you do, the same unexpected wave of nausea that would come and go. I guess I just got pretty good at recognizing ‘the look.’”

“And I—” Clair bit her lip “—I have that look?”

Kiera slowly nodded.

“Oh, my God.” Clair sank back into her chair. Wide-eyed, she stared blankly out the window. “It’s possible. There was that one time …”

Clair’s gaze flashed back to Kiera. “Please don’t say anything about this to anyone. I want to be sure, and if I am I have to tell Jacob first.”

Kiera nodded, couldn’t help but note the irony of the situation. “Of course.”

“Oh, no—” the green tint in Clair’s face deepened “—here it comes again.” She slapped her fingers to her mouth and jumped up. “I’ll be right back, don’t leave. Please don’t leave.”

Clair didn’t wait for an answer, just hurried to a door at the back of her office and ran through it.

Kiera rolled her head back and groaned softly. The last thing she’d wanted to do was call attention to herself, but, between doing her job well and having a loose tongue, she’d practically screamed to be noticed.

With a heavy sigh, she started to turn and sit back down, but a grouping of silver framed photographs on Clair’s shelves caught her attention.

Family photos.

Almost afraid to look, but knowing she had to, Kiera moved closer. There were several pictures, but one of them practically leaped off the shelf at her. Her pulse quickened as she picked up the photo and stared at it. Clair sat on the top rail of a corral fence; two men stood on either side. One of the men Kiera recognized—Rand Blackhawk. They were all smiling, not a posed smile, but one of those shots where someone with a camera sneaks up and captures the essence of the moment on film.

Kiera’s fingers tightened on the frame. All three shared the same golden, bronzed skin, the same high cheekbones. The same thick, dark hair.

So familiar. So incredibly familiar.

Beyond William Blackhawk’s obituary, Kiera hadn’t been able to find out anything about the Blackhawk family. It wasn’t as if it was a subject that came up with the few people she’d had contact with in this town. If she started asking questions, there was no doubt in her mind she’d draw unwanted attention. Of course, she’d already done that in spades.

“Hi.”

Kiera whirled at the sound of Sam’s deep voice close behind her. The photo slipped from her hands as she turned, and she could do nothing to stop its descent. She watched the frame bounce off the plush carpeting, then fall open, spilling the glass, the back cover and the photo onto the floor.

Horrified, Kiera dropped to her knees.

“Sorry.” Sam knelt beside her, reached for the frame as she reached for the photo. “I guess you didn’t hear me knock. I thought Clair was in here.”

“She is—she was—she’ll be back shortly.” Carefully, she lifted the overturned photo, stared at the names handwritten on the back: Rand, Lizzie, Seth, at the Double B.

“Lizzie?”

She hadn’t meant to speak out loud, but the name slipped out.

“Clair’s birth name is Elizabeth Blackhawk.” Sam slid the glass back into the frame. “Her parents died when she was little and she was adopted by a family in South Carolina.”

Her parents died when she was little … Kiera let the words sink in. “Clair was adopted?”

“It’s a little complicated.” Sam took the picture from her, dropped the picture and backing into the frame and held it up. “There we go. No damage done.”

No damage done? If only that were true. She couldn’t seem to stop the sudden, uncontrollable shaking. She had another piece of the puzzle now, but the picture still made no sense.

“Hey.” Frowning, Sam set the frame back on the shelf and took hold of her arms. “It’s all right.”

It wasn’t all right, she thought. Nothing was right. It had nothing to do with a dropped frame, but she couldn’t tell him that.

And why did she suddenly want to?

Because she was weary of the charade. Of the lies. Of feeling so damn alone.

Through the fabric of her blouse, she felt the warmth of his large hands, felt his strength. This was crazy. More like insane. Kneeling on the floor in Clair’s office, Sam’s fingers wrapped around her arms. So close … so damn close …

Lifting her gaze to his, she met the intensity of his eyes.

His hands tightened on her arms, his mouth flattened into a hard, thin line. She couldn’t breathe, was afraid if she did she’d lose this moment she so badly needed.

Time slowed; her heart raced. She heard everything around her: the quiet ripple of water from the fountain; the faint tick of a desk clock; the distant laughter of children by the pool downstairs. The sounds surrounded her, enclosed her in a world of her own. A world where nothing else existed but her and this man she’d been fantasizing about for days.

Of course, none of her fantasies had been on the floor in Clair’s office, she thought dimly. But even that didn’t seem to hinder the response she was having to Sam’s touch.

This was so wrong, so completely inappropriate, and even that didn’t seem to stop her from wanting this. From wanting him.

Sam’s hands tightened even more firmly on her arms; a muscle jumped at the corner of one eye. He made a low, angry sound, then dropped his mouth on hers.

The moment his lips covered hers, right or wrong or inappropriate was no longer an issue. Nothing mattered, nothing at all, other than the feel of his mouth on hers.

She tasted his frustration, his anger. His need. He crushed his lips over hers, demanding, insistent. Sensations ripped through her, overwhelming, intense. Her hands clutched his suit lapels, fisted. She leaned into him, into the sheer desire gripping her. Her fantasies had been nothing compared to this. Not even close. How could they have been?

Sam jerked his head back and loosened his grip on her. “Kiera.”

Dazed, and definitely confused, she slowly opened her eyes. His face appeared to be cut in steel, his narrowed gaze fierce. He rose, pulling her with him, then dropped his hands from her arms.

She stared at him, struggled to gain the control that he’d so easily attained. Knowing that she’d practically begged him to kiss her, she felt like a fool.

“I—I’m sorry,” she said, but her heart was still pounding hard, her breath still frayed. “I—”

“Sorry I took so long.” Clair stepped back into the office, stopped short. “Oh, Sam, you’re early.”

“I didn’t realize you were with someone.” Calmly, he bent and retrieved the frame still lying on the carpet. “I’ll come back.”

“That’s not necessary.” Kiera felt the heat of her blush on her cheeks, watched Clair glance curiously between her and Sam. “I was just leaving.”

“Actually, Kiera …” Clair said, her tone reserved “ … if you don’t mind, I need another minute of your time.”

Dammit! Kiera bit the inside of her lip. As if it wasn’t bad enough she’d made a fool out of herself with Sam, she was about to get a reprimand on employee-employer relationships. “All right.”

“Thank you.” Clair glanced at Sam. “We won’t be long.”

He hesitated, then reluctantly turned and left the room.

Kiera squared her shoulders and faced Clair.

“You said you lived in a small town, didn’t you?” Clair asked.

Not exactly what Kiera had expected Clair to say. “Yes.”

Clair moved to the window and stared down at the pool. “Working at the Four Winds, being here day in and day out, it’s just like a small town. We all get to know each other very well. Maybe a little too well.”

Here it comes … Kiera held her breath.

“It’s not easy when everyone knows your business,” Clair said. “Sometimes even before you know it.”

How well Kiera understood—and agreed with—that. But she simply nodded.

“I realize this is an imposition.” Biting her lip, Clair turned. A mixture of fear and hope lit her eyes. “But I need to ask a favor of you.”