Natural Lust (5 page)

“No.” Hank pushed the emergency stop button on the elevator control panel and stood in front of it, blocking it with his body. “You will listen to me. I have no idea what you think happened between us, but I can assure you it wasn’t just a ‘great time’ for me.”

Kallie did her best to ignore him. Being trapped in an elevator with Hank would have held such appeal a few days ago. Now, it burned her ass! Who did he think he was?

“Well what was ‘it’ then, Hank? Research for a book? Is that why you were in Tennessee? Was I some sort of escapade that will make it into your next novel? You really did follow me, didn’t you?” Kallie made a fist, ready to nail the sick bastard where he stood. One way or another she was getting out of that elevator.

Hank held his hands up in front of him, “Whoa, Kallie. Settle down. Being in Tennessee at the same time you were was pure coincidence.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“Well, in my line of work, you learn to believe in a lot of things you never thought you would. Just listen to me. I went to Tennessee to visit the place my brother was killed. When I met you at the pool.” At her icy glare he said, “Okay, when I ruined your laptop…”

“And e-reader.”

“When I ruined your laptop and e-reader, I had just gotten back from the site. I hopped into the pool to work off the emotional pain. I really didn’t see you there. I swear I thought I was alone.”

“You didn’t hear me screaming at you?”

“I wear ear plugs when I swim,” he shrugged. “I have a tendency to get ear infections. So, no I didn’t hear you until I walked up to you.”

Kallie relaxed a bit. “But what about the waterfall? You expect me to believe you didn’t follow me there?”

Hank blushed and looked away for a moment. “Okay, yes I did follow you there, but…”

“Creep!” He ducked as she swung at him.

“But not for the reasons you think.” Kallie backed away and Hank uncovered his head, letting his arms fall to his sides. “I saw you head up the trail when I came off of another one. I thought I would take the chance to apologize the right way for breaking your stuff. Of course, that went horribly wrong, because I made you drop your phone into the river. Not one of my finer moments, I assure you.”

He was telling the truth, Kallie knew it. “Why did you stand me up? I waited all night. Well, okay I only waited up until one. But that was after I drank an entire bottle of wine.”

“When I got back to my cabin, I had a ton of phone calls from my lawyers and the police. After three hours on the phone back and forth, my lawyer said the police were willing to work out a deal but I had to come straight back here or they’d file charges for harassment and malice. They sent a state trooper to pick me up and escort me back to the city. I didn’t get a chance to tell you any of it. I was completely in self-preservation mode, Kallie. I just wanted to make this whole ‘Stanton Foley is a psycho’ thing go away. I could only hope you’d still be at your cabin when I returned. In fact, I was heading back to see you after I came here and apologized to Kal M.”

“Oh. So you didn’t stand me up?” Kallie felt the weight of a thousand tears lift away and her heart flipped with joy. Hank hadn’t stood her up and more importantly, he hadn’t lied to her.

“Not intentionally. For what it’s worth, I feel horrible about it. I didn’t sleep at all Saturday night. I knew you’d be angry, but it really couldn’t be helped. It was killing me to know you were waiting on me and I left like I did. I never, ever meant to hurt you. I was trying to make things better so I could get back to you and set the record straight. During my trip up here, I thought of a hundred ways to make it up to you, if you’d let me. So, when I saw you here today, I was ecstatic and I knew what it was.”

“Coincidence?”

“No, Kallie. It was fate. Our meeting like we did, at the pool, it was predestined, our instant attraction to each other was natural. How else can you explain it?”

Kallie shrugged. He was right but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

“Why do you go by Kal M.? Kallie is a beautiful name.”

“Yeah, well people don’t take my opinions seriously when I’m Kallie. As soon as I switched to ‘Kal,’ the ratings for my reviews went through the roof. Plus, I figured if folks thought I was a man that was okay, too. It would keep the psychos away.”

Hank laughed and Kallie couldn’t help but smile. He was so damn sexy, his smile made her worries vanish and all she could picture was making love to him again and again. The truth of the matter was Hank was a good guy. Kallie knew that. His story made sense and she’d be a fool, a lonely fool if she didn’t give him a second chance.

“So, um, how exactly were you planning on making it up to me, Mr. Fogle?”

Hank’s face lit up with happiness and his eyes danced with mischief, making him appear even sexier. He stepped forward, pinned her to the elevator wall with his body. “Well, Ms. Masters, I happen to have a gorgeous cabin in the Smokies. As luck would have it, it’s empty right now. I’d love to show it to you.”

Kallie slid her arms around his neck and locked eyes with him before she nibbled his bottom lip. “Mr. Fogle, I’d love nothing more than to see your cabin. But you owe me dinner first.”

*THE END*

About the Author

Madison Sevier is an avid reader and lover of all things romantic. She lives with her amazing husband and daughter, both of whom have shown her how wonderful and magical life can be. Madison spends her days as a homeschool mom and her nights are spent building fictional lives for readers to find inspiration and hope for their own happily ever after to come true.

Secret Cravings Publishing

www.secretcravingspublishing.com