Conference Cupid (8 page)

He’d used her for his own sick purposes
and made her fall in love with him.

Susan stopped laughing and grabbed her
hand. “Hey, are you all right?”

Keary
shook her
head and the tears she’d held at bay began to form in her eyes. There’d be no
way to hold them back now. She wouldn’t see Devin again and if she did it
wouldn’t matter because they were over.

Tears threatened and her hands shook. “Get
me out of here. Please,
Suz
, get me the hell out of
here.”

Susan grabbed
Keary’s
arm and led her outside.

* * * *

The door opened and Devin yelled the
second he heard the sound. “
Keary
, damn it, untie me
and let me explain.
Kear
...”

He stopped in the middle of saying her
name as two of his employees burst into the room, stopping short and almost
tumbling over one another.

Momentarily, they stood frozen in shock.
From deep down in their bellies they burst into laughter.

“You need help, boss?”

Devin shut his eyes, hoping when he opened
them the scene would be different.

What the hell was he thinking when he
allowed her to tie him to the bed? He was thinking of her fucking him, sucking
him, urging the seed out of his cock until his body shook in orgasm. And he was
thinking he could trust her.

Now everyone in the hotel would know about
this little escapade before the hour ended. Not that
Gunther
or Ken would be malicious. It was just too big of a piece of gossip not to
spread. And hell if he’d walked in on something like this he wouldn’t be able
to keep it to himself either.

“Come on guys; get me out of these,” he
said pulling on the binds.

Gunther
walked
to one side and Ken the other. They made fast work of the knots that held him.

Devin went to jump up and realized he had
nothing on under the sheet.  He pulled it up with him and grabbed his
clothes. “Thanks, guys. I can handle it from here. And can you
please
try to keep this to yourselves?”

They nodded, but their shit-eating grins
made it clear they wouldn’t be able to do any such thing. They left the room,
smirking, and Devin collapsed in the chair, elbows on his knees, and head
between his hands. He gazed at the bed where he’d first set eyes on
Keary’s
naked body. He could see her as well as if she
still rested there. Pink nipples hardened with lust. His mouth watered for a
taste. He licked his lips, dry from want.

He couldn’t hold on to the anger. She’d
only betrayed him because he’d betrayed her first. Fear enveloped him instead.

What if he never got to taste her again?

* * * *

Peter crossed his arms and stared at
Maggie and
Keary
, glancing from one to the other.
“People should keep their thoughts and opinions to themselves unless they know
what they are talking about.”

“I didn’t know what was going on. I told
my friend
Suz
about you.
She
put the pieces
together. But why wouldn’t I tell a friend that a man she thought was someone
else played her?”

“Because you know
nothing about it.
You know nothing about him.”

“You wouldn’t help one of your friends? Or
relatives?”
Keary
asked.

“I’d find out the truth before I shot my
mouth off,” he said, glaring at Maggie.

“Right,” Maggie said. “And how would I
find out the truth? Ask
you
?”

“That’s right. You could have asked me and
you might have been amazed at what you would have found.” Peter glanced at
Keary
. “The guy’s crazy about you. Hell, he’s been in love
with you since he started high school.”

“High school?
What are you talking about?”

“High school cheerleader
right?”

“Devin went to
Amdale
High? I don’t remember ever seeing him there.”

“No, try
Amdale
Academy. He begged his parents to let
him switch to the public school, but considering they owned half the town, it
wouldn’t have been acceptable.”

“Barnett. Oh good God. He’s one of
those
Barnetts
?”

“Yup.
And still
this hotel he acquired on his own.
Not that he won’t inherit
a bundle someday.
He is the heir apparent. The point is he was sort of
nerdy in high school. Not like me,” Peter said and shot a cocky look at Maggie.

Maggie rolled her eyes.
“So
big deal.
He still lied to her.”

“That’s right; he did.”
Keary
crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes
narrowed. “What difference does it make that he had a crush on me in high
school. He didn’t even know me and it has nothing to do with now.”

“But it does. He changed in college and
finally had the nerve to search you out. Found you too. But before he had the
chance to accidentally run into you so he could ask you out, a guy at his
fraternity beat him to it.
A guy who knew how he felt about
you.
A guy who hated Devin.
Can you take a
guess at who that man was?”

Keary
reached
out for the couch with her hand to steady herself and then fell into it.
“My ex-husband?”

“Bingo.” Peter stared down at her.

“Are you trying to say my husband never
really loved me?”

“No. Just that he didn’t like being number
two and he always wanted whatever Devin wanted. He could never beat Devin. When
he met you senior year he kept you away from the frat house and away from
Devin. But he rubbed it in his face every chance he could get.”

“That would certainly explain why his
interest died so soon after we were married. I didn’t realize.” She put her
hands up to cradle her head. Maggie sat down next to
Keary
and placed an arm around her.

“Why didn’t Devin just introduce himself
to
Keary
when he saw her at the conference? That
would have been the smart thing to do.”

“He wasn’t thinking. He never did when it
came to
Keary
. He only heard a few things. She
divorced the asshole she married, it had been a while since...well, and her
friend planned on finding her a model to play with while she stayed here. He
just stepped into the role. He didn’t think far enough ahead. I think he just
wanted to be with you on any level and he’d take what he could get.”

“If he’d only been
truthful.”

“About which part?
Hey you were my fantasy girlfriend in high school? Or I wanted to go out with
you in college but when my nemesis found out he married you? Which one would
have gained your interest?”

“He could have simply introduced himself
as the owner of the hotel. Let it out where he came from...”

“Yeah, you’re back to him lying if he
didn’t then say he was nuts about you. He was screwed from the beginning. I
hoped he’d have a good time and get over you.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because whether you want to admit it or
not, the man fell in love with you for real. Not some high school fantasy, not
some vacation fling, the real deal. He’s a good guy and you totally fucked him
over.”

“I fucked
him
over?”

“Sending his employees to release him from
a bondage situation? And taking pictures of it? Nice touch.”

“Is that what this is all about?
The pictures?
He’s afraid of what I might do with them?”

Peter shook his head. “No. He wanted to
find a way to tell you.
A way that would entice you to
continue with the relationship.
The guy is broken up inside and you
don’t seem to care at all. I shouldn’t have come here. You’re not worth it. And
you,” he said to Maggie, “We’re done.”

With that Peter turned and stormed out of
the room.

Maggie sighed.
“Looks
like they’re a passionate family.”

Keary’s
heart
beat wildly. What if what Peter said was true?

What if Devin did love her? Would she ever
be able to trust him?

* * * *

Devin paced the lobby and eyed every woman
checking out. Did she know about him and
Keary
? Which
ones had
Keary
shown her pictures to? He didn’t want
to talk to her but he had to. He wanted to scream at her. He wanted to lick
every inch of her body until she screamed out his name.

Most of all, he still wanted to stop her
from walking out that door and out of his life.

He sensed her presence before he saw her.
He always knew when she walked into a room. Devin glanced up and there she
stood at the top of the stairwell. His eyes caught hers and she stopped moving.

Then the earth tipped and everything
played in slow motion. The tote bag she carried slipped from her shoulder and
tumbled in front of her. She reached forward to try to catch it and her ankle
turned.

Devin’s breath caught and his heart beat
faster. He moved in an all out sprint for the stairs, knowing there was no way
he could stop the forward momentum. Susan screeched and reached out to grab
Keary
but she was already sailing down to her knees and
then tumbling.

He caught her before she reached the
bottom but a significant amount of damage had already been done. Her face, now
ashen, was contorted in pain and her breathing shallow. One look at her right
leg told him it was broken. “Get an ambulance,” he said to Susan without
looking away from
Keary
. He slipped his hand in hers.
“Hold on tight as you need to. Grip my hand to get through the pain.”

Kerry whimpered but couldn’t speak.

Chapter Twelve

Neither Devin nor
Suz
left her the entire time she waited in the emergency room. A balding doctor
with dark circles under his eyes took her to a room and kicked them out so he
could place on her cast.

Six to eight weeks.

How would she ever do it in her apartment?
She
’
d never be able to manage the stairs.

Work would be out of the question. She
’
d
have to work from home until the cast came off. But then how would she get
home? She couldn’t drive.

If she only hadn’t looked down and saw
Devin. She didn’t have a handle on the big bag as it was but the second she saw
him, she lost her focus and everything went to hell. What was she going to do
now?

The downside of being alone was not having
anyone to take care of her. The thought of convalescing with parents at her age
was more than she could bear. They still couldn’t figure out how she let, in
their opinion, the perfect marriage fail.

As if the blame had been entirely her
fault.

But then again they’d been in awe of Jacob
and his money. What a catch. But they didn’t have to live with him and put up
with his neglect.

He never would have held her hand the way
Devin did. He’d never even looked at her the way Devin did.

But then again Jacob didn’t lie. Always
brutally honest, Jacob let her know how she was lacking and when he was ready
to move on to other women.

It wouldn’t have mattered; if she remained
married to Jacob she still would have been alone.

That was the difference with Devin. With
him she’d been complete. Wanting nothing more than Devin’s arms wrapped around
her,
Keary
held back the tears that threatened. She
hadn’t cried when her husband left her and she wouldn’t cry now.

* * * *

Devin had every intention of using this
time wisely. He’d set
Keary
up in one of the suites
and would make sure her stay extended longer than necessary. Certainly in that
time he’d be able to fix the damage he’d done and
find
a way back into her heart.

There had to be a way to make up for the
mess he’d made.

Keary
sat on the
edge of the hospital bed, her pale skin radiating pain Devin wished he could
erase. She winced and glanced at the floor.

Afraid he’d reach out to touch her, Devin
stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’ve got a limo waiting outside.”

She looked up at the sound of his voice.
“Why would you do that?”

“No ulterior motive, I assure you. What do
you suggest? I let you take a cab?” The soft, almost reverent undertone in his
voice erased the sarcasm of his words.

“I wasn’t planning on that.
Suz
is here.”

“It’ll be more comfortable in the
limo.  I’m moving you to another suite.
One on the first
floor.”

Keary
looked
confused. “I should be leaving today anyway.”

“The extra stay is complimentary.”

“I’ve already had a taste of your
complimentary fare.” She locked eyes with Devin. His heart beat faster
remembering the massage that kicked off their affair, his first touch of her
tender skin. The thin cotton of the hospital gown did little to hide the supple
mounds of her breasts. The cold from the air conditioning had them hardened to
pin points and he longed to drop in front of her and suck them through the
cloth. Erase her pain with a flood of pleasure.

“I made a mess of things. I don’t know
what I was thinking but I couldn’t wait any longer for you. I knew if you gave
me a chance we’d be perfect for each other.”

Keary
crossed
her arms over the hospital
johnny
and her jaw
clenched before she answered. “We might have been if you’d been honest rather
than just trying to get me in bed.”