Need You Tonight

NINE





“Hold up, you hired someone to head up the fundraiser without even consulting me? Dude, not cool.”

Kade turned the volume down on his car’s speakerphone, deserving any wrath his younger stepbrother, Gibson, wanted to throw his way but not needing to hear it in full stereo. “Look, I know, but I have good reason. And yes, she’s inexperienced but I know she’s going to work her ass off.”

There was a long pause. “I’m waiting for this good reason. I don’t have time to babysit someone.”

Kade sighed and turned into the driveway. “Hey, I’m here, we’ll finish this inside. Do I need to wear a hazmat suit?”

“Nah, I’m not contagious anymore. But you may want to wear a helmet ’cause I’m kind of feeling like I want to punch you right now.”

Kade sniffed and cut off the ignition, ending the call. He grabbed a paper sack from the passenger seat and climbed out of his car. Gibson’s golden lab, Sasha, gave a happy bark from the front window when she saw Kade striding up the walk. He gave her a little wave and pulled out his key, but Gibson opened the door before Kade could get it into the lock. Sasha charged past Gib with excited whines and greeted Kade, stopping just shy of tackling him to the ground.

Kade grinned and gave her head a scratch. “Hey, pretty girl.”

The dog bounced on her front legs and appeared ready to launch herself at him again, but Gibson grabbed her collar. “Sorry. I haven’t been able to take her on her walks the last few days. She’s stir crazy and sick of me.”

“Can’t blame her there,” Kade said, giving his brother a once-over. Gibson’s normal uniform of Armani suits sans neckties had been replaced with wrinkled pajama bottoms and an old Pearl Jam T-shirt. And his dark curly hair was going in three different directions. “You look like you’ve been at an all-night kegger then passed out in the yard.”

“I wish,” he said, heading into the kitchen. “At least then I would’ve probably gotten drunk and laid. Strep throat was much less fun. Want a beer?”

“You got Diet Coke?”

Gib gave him that look that said diet soda was a chick’s drink, but pulled one from the fridge and tossed it Kade’s way. Kade caught it with his free hand and set the bag he’d been carrying on the counter.

“What’s that?”

“I brought you Avgolemono soup from that place by the office, figured that’d be better than chicken noodle from a can.”

Gib’s face brightened as he leaned over and opened up the bag, peering in. “Aw, hell yeah. That’s the good stuff right there. I’m telling you, you need to buy that concept. There are far too few Greek places around here.”

“Don’t worry, a Mediterranean concept is next on my list.” He slid onto one of the barstools on the other side of the counter. Sasha settled at his feet as if waiting for her own takeout to be handed over. “And go ahead and eat. It’s still hot.”

Gib looked up, eyes narrowing as he pulled out the container of egg-lemon soup. “Don’t think this absolves you from hiring someone in my department while I was out. Start talking.”

Kade shook his head, amused by this hard-ass version of his little brother. Growing up, Gibson had always been the meek one. Hell, the poor kid hadn’t had much choice. After Kade had left home, Gib’s father—Kade’s stepfather—had moved on to Gibson as the next easy target and had escalated from verbal beat-downs to real ones. The thought still made Kade’s blood go cold. He’d never thought that bastard would rail on one of his own kids.

Kade opened his soda and took a swig as Gib hopped up on the opposite counter and eyeballed him. “The woman I hired is the founder of the charity we’ll be sponsoring. She’s very dedicated to the cause.”

“Okay . . .” Gibson said, then took a bite of soup, keeping his eyes on Kade.

“And I told her the position was only temporary at this point. Though, obviously, if she does a great job and Evelyn is unable to come back, feel free to keep her on.”

“Sounds like a big if on the great job part,” he mumbled between bites. “So why her? What’s with this rush to hire? I’m going to be back in the office tomorrow. You could’ve waited for me to interview her.”

Kade blew out a breath, figuring he just needed to lay it out there and deal with the consequences. “Because it’s Tessa McAllen.”

“Tessa McAllen.” Gibson’s dark brows dipped low, like he was trying to access an old file in his brain. Kade could almost see when the light bulb clicked. Gib’s spoon dropped into the bowl. “Wait, the Tess? From high school?”

“The very one.”

Gibson put his bowl aside and slid from atop the counter. “Jesus, Kade.”


“She’s divorced and is trying to get back on her feet. Her heart is in the right place with this charity, and I think she can do the job.”

“And you think you can get her in bed,” he said flatly.

Kade’s jaw clenched.

“Goddammit, man. You saddled me with this girl because you want to get her naked? You could’ve done that without the song and dance.” He flattened his hands against the counter in front of Kade, scowling. “Look, I know she was like the forbidden fruit for you back then, the girl you couldn’t have. Hell, I get it. I wanted her, too. But come on.”

“You what?”

Gibson shrugged like it was no big deal. “I was two years younger but I wasn’t freaking blind. That girl was hot. Every time she walked across the quad in those little skirts, I had to stop whatever I was doing to watch. That chick had legs for days.”

Kade’s fingers gripped his bottle hard enough to make the plastic crinkle.

“And I know you think y’all had something between you two. But after everything went down, she never came back around, Kade. She never asked why you didn’t come back to school or where you’d gone. She stayed with that prick of a boyfriend and went on like nothing had happened. She was hot, but she was a stone cold, self-serving bitch.”

“Hey,” Kade said, anger surging at the accusation. “She didn’t have a lot of choices. You don’t know anything about what her life was like. There was a lot of pressure on her, and I couldn’t give her what she needed. Not back then.”

“Bullshit, bro. There’s always a choice. Did you know that after you left, rumors started that you had tried to rape her that night and dickhead rescued her?”

Kade looked away. He’d heard a version of that story from his mother when she’d called to check on him a few weeks later. But he’d been living with his dad by then and too numb about everything that had happened to care.

“And Tessa didn’t say a damn thing to dispel it,” Gib said, disgust in his voice. “I had to go to school hearing people calling my brother a pervert and a freak. Even after your class graduated, I had people giving me the side eye like I was some sort of criminal.”

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” Kade said, wishing he could’ve shielded his brother from more than that after he’d had to leave town. Maybe if he hadn’t been so f*cked in the head over it all, he could’ve gone back and not only protected Gibson but told Tessa the real truth about that night. He could’ve saved her a lot of heartache, but he’d run far and fast and had forced himself to forget about that previous life. “The whole situation was twisted and f*cked up. Tessa was caught in the middle and did what she had to do to protect herself. She’s not what you think. Trust me. I need you to give her a fresh chance. It’s been a long time. We’ve all grown up and moved on.”

Gibson leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “I thought we had, but here you are, looking like you’re chasing after her again. Tell me the truth. Is this just about helping her out?”

He could lie to his brother, but it’d be pointless. Gib was too smart not to figure it out the first time he saw Tessa and Kade in the same room. “No. I’m sleeping with her.”

“F*ck. Of course you are.” He leaned his head back, looking to the ceiling as if it held better answers. “And now she’s willing because instead of some punk kid from Dunlop Road, you’re the Kade Vandergriff.”

“It’s not like that. In fact, I had to persuade her into a second date. She didn’t know who I was when we slept together. She found out about my job when I called her in for the interview. And she still doesn’t know I used to be Kaden Fowler.”

Gibson stared at him like Kade had lost his mind. “She doesn’t know?”

He sighed. “There hasn’t been a good opportunity yet. And I wanted her to get to know me as I am now, not by who I used to be.”

“And what happens when she finds out you f*cked her under false pretenses?”

“Well, technically, I didn’t realize who she was either at the time.” He rolled his bottle cap between his fingers.

“And what about that you’re a dom?”

He groaned. “I don’t think I need to drop that bomb on her any time soon. At least not officially. I told her I like being in charge and that I’m kinky. She’s intrigued by all of that, but she’s also as jumpy as a squirrel after her divorce. I have a feeling Doug wasn’t just verbally abusive but a controlling f*ck—and not the fun kind of control. God knows what she went through in her marriage. I need to tread carefully.”

“And here we go again,” Gibson said. “My brother tortures himself by going after a vanilla girl who’s going to be freaked out by how you are. Why waste your time, man? You sure you’re not a masochist? You should just drop this whole thing, and I’ll sign you up for a session with Fabienne at The Ranch. She can beat this stupid notion out of you.”

Kade sniffed. “No thanks, I’ll leave that to you. I’m sure those paid sessions are very fulfilling.”

Gib’s expression darkened. Even though Kade was well aware of why Gibson went to The Ranch, the BDSM resort they both belonged to, neither of them usually acknowledged it aloud. He had a feeling his brother wasn’t as comfortable as he pretended to be with his conflicting proclivities.

But Gib shrugged, seeming to shake off the comment. “Hey, it’s better than getting knotted up in some relationship then realizing too late that your girl’s not into what you’re into. You’ve been down that road. Don’t do that to yourself again.”

“This isn’t a relationship.” Yet. “Tessa isn’t in the market for something serious,” he added, the reminder of his past mistakes like a mallet to the chest. He refused to liken this situation to that one. He and Angie hadn’t worked because he’d changed the rules of the game two years into their marriage. He’d never enter into another commitment without the woman knowing his very deepest kinks.

“She doesn’t want anything serious. And what about you?”

“Does it matter?”

“F*cking brilliant,” he said with a shake of the head. “You’re already getting tangled up, aren’t you? This girl is under your skin again.”

Kade slid off the barstool and stood, knowing his brother’s concerns were coming from the right place. Gib knew all too well the consequences Kade had had to deal with after his failed marriage. And he knew what was at stake now. But he was growing tired of the interrogation. He couldn’t explain what it was about Tessa to his brother. He couldn’t even explain it to himself. He just knew that when he was around her, his mine gene activated. More than a decade may have passed, but that automatic reaction hadn’t changed. It was probably something he simply needed to work out of his system because he’d been thwarted the first time around. But regardless, it wasn’t something he could ignore. “I’m just having a good time with her.”

“Bullshit. Let’s not pretend I don’t know the kind of setup you really want with a woman—that’s anything but just having a good time. And you never go into anything without a plan, so don’t feed me that line, either. What are you going to do?”

Kade pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time, unwilling to risk being late for his plans with Tessa, then looked back to his brother, meeting his gaze with grave determination. “You really want to know?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. Tonight, I’m going to introduce her to kink, f*ck her until she can’t remember another guy ever existed, and make her wish she’d chosen me all those years ago. Is that what you want to hear? Then I’m going to use what I didn’t have then to sweep her off her goddamned feet so that she agrees to another night and another.”

Gibson scoffed. “Un-freaking-believable. So that’s what this is about, huh? Your ego and proving you can get the unattainable chick from your past?”

Kade’s molars ground against each other. That wasn’t it at all. Gib didn’t get it.

His brother stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder. “A few minutes ago I felt sorry for you. But now I just feel sorry for her, bro. Because I’ve seen you in this mode at work. You think you know what you want, but as soon as you conquer her and have her wanting you back, you’ll be done with her. Acquisition accomplished, move on to the next restaurant chain. The only reason this girl is still interesting to you is because she’s the challenge you never won. And Kade Vandergriff always wins.”

Despite Kade’s attempt to ignore his brother’s pop psych analysis, the accusation was burrowing right beneath his skin, seeking purchase. Though, he didn’t always win. Maybe in business, but not where it really mattered. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have an unused bedroom decorated in pink and purple daisies at his house. “F*ck you, Gib.”

Gib huffed with laughter for a moment then as if the air was taken from his lungs, he went stone cold silent. A strange expression crossed his face as he lifted his eyes. “Hey, wait a second. What if . . .”


Uh-oh. Kade didn’t like the sound of that. “What if, what?”

Gibson’s eyes were bright now, a sure sign that bad shit was about to commence. “This could actually be the perfect solution.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Didn’t your lawyer tell you that anything that made you appear settled and stable would help your case?”

Kade crossed his arms, wary. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Tessa is attractive.” He raised one finger as if counting off something. “And she is in charge of a charity for kids. Why did she get divorced?”

“Doug cheated.”

Gib pointed at him as if he’d gotten an answer right on a game show. “Ha! Perfect. A victim on top of all of that. And you who rarely publicly dates anyone anymore already has them chomping at the bit. You couldn’t paint it better. The media would . . . Eat. That. Shit. Up. The Time Share Bachelor reconnects with his old love. Golden.”

“Gib . . .” Kade warned, the threads of what Gib was spewing starting to weave together in a recognizable pattern. The PR person in Gibson was at full throttle and zooming down a dangerous road.

“What? I’m serious. You want more than clandestine sex with Tessa. Don’t f*cking pretend you don’t. I know you. So why not use that while you can? What better way to convince the court and your ex than to have proof in the damn newspaper? Then after the case, whatever happens, happens.”

He gave his brother a look that he hoped conveyed the level of his contempt for the idea. “Are you serious right now? You want me to use Tessa to fake a f*cking relationship to win in court?”

“No,” he said, excitement still buoying his voice. “Don’t fake it. Have it. You want to anyway. Just don’t do it in your normal behind closed doors style. Of course, keep the kinky stuff out of the press if y’all go there, but bring her out to places, parade her around a bit. They won’t be able to tie her to anything sordid. You can say you left all that alternative lifestyle stuff in your past.”

“You’re insane.” But the crazy idea was sneaking into the crevices of Kade’s mind and infiltrating his thoughts. Yes, he wanted Tessa. Long-term? He had no idea. He didn’t know if she would even be open to his lifestyle. Plus, his track record with long-term since his marriage sucked. Gib hadn’t been off base on what he’d said about Kade’s history. He could think a woman was the best thing in the world, believe that he wanted something more with her. But the minute she said she loved him or wanted something serious, it was like all his interest deflated. He’d feel smothered and trapped and would already be fast-forwarding through the familiar life cycle in his mind: marriage, kids, disillusionment, hate, divorce. Just the thought of going through that again would send him into panic mode. He’d shut the relationship down before the girl knew what had happened.

But regardless of his pattern, he knew he needed Tessa for longer than a few nights. And there was nothing in life he wanted more than to be able to see his daughter again for more than a few supervised hours a month. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to make that happen. And Gibson was right about the press. Tessa was built to be a media darling. Beautiful, charitable, a survivor of an awful childhood and recovering from a bad marriage. Plus, it wouldn’t look rushed because they’d known each other as teens.

Gibson nodded while he watched Kade. “See, see, I’m starting to make sense, right?”

“I would never admit to that. But even if you were, you’re railroading way ahead. I barely got Tessa to agree to see me a second time. She doesn’t want anything to do with a relationship. And when she finds out who I really am . . . I don’t know how she’s going to react to that.”

Gib gave him a come-on-now look. “Dude, you’re Kade-f*cking-Vandergriff now, not that kid she used to know. Women at The Ranch fall over themselves trying to get you to look their way. Change her mind. Woo her.”

“Did you seriously just advise me to woo? Is that your professional PR opinion or your brotherly one?”

“Shut the f*ck up.”

Kade groaned and ran a hand over his face. “I can’t do that. I don’t want to hurt her, man. She’s been through enough. I know I’m interested in her right now, but I can’t give any guarantees. You know how I am.”

Gibson shrugged. “She let you fall in love with her all those years ago and bailed. Turnabout’s fair play as far as I see it. And unless she never plans to date again, it’s not like she’s going to be safe from heartbreak. It’s part of the deal. You’re going in with good intentions. That’s all anyone can ask.”

“Look, I appreciate your concern, but I’m not looking for relationship or legal advice. All I came here for was to ask you to treat Tessa well as an employee and not to bring the past into it.”

Gibson lifted his hands palms out, determination still hovering at the edges of his expression. “You know I’m here for whatever you need. And of course I’ll treat her professionally. Well, unless at any point you ask me not to.”

Kade bristled. His brother knew he had a penchant for threesomes, and he could imagine Tessa going out of her mind under the overwhelming attention of two determined men. But he’d promised Tess the personal stuff wouldn’t muddy the work stuff. She needed to know her boss was only her boss. His protective instincts rose up like a beast inside him. “Don’t go there. Don’t even flirt.”

Gibson grinned wide, making him look like the incorrigible teenager he used to be. “Oh, you’ve got it bad. Fine. I’ll look and not touch. You’re the worst boss ever, by the way. But don’t shoot down my idea about the public relationship yet. Give it some thought. If you’re going to try to be with her anyway, what’s the harm?”

Kade let out a frustrated breath. His brother could annoy the shit out of him and this idea was nutso, but he knew Gib was well-intentioned. He knew how heartbreaking it was for Kade to be reduced to cameo appearances in his daughter’s life. He grabbed his keys. “Fine, I’ll think about it, but right now I need to go. You gonna be in the office on Monday?”

“Yep, I’ll be there with bells on. Apparently, I’ve got a new employee to train.”

Training. Yes, that was on Kade’s agenda, too. Just not quite the same kind.

Hopefully, Tessa would be open to both of their lessons.

Because Kade was definitely ready to teach.

But first he was going to have to come clean and tell her who he was and hope to hell she didn’t run in the opposite direction.

Kaden Fowler, come on down.