Dark And Dangerous

Dark

And

Dangerous

By

Faye Sommer

Copyright
©
2015

All rights reserved.

Chapter one

 
It was
a beautiful clear day in Monterey, and Kayley Hamilton was driving along with
her car window rolled completely down, trying to calm herself . She was
nervous. In fact she was beginning to think a whole pack of crazy killer
butterflies had somehow found their way into her stomach. Berating herself, she
wished for a moment that the car radio worked. Maybe it would have been able to
drown out her thoughts. It wasn't as if she had never had her paintings
exhibited before, so there really wasn't anything to get so worked up about.
Okay, so maybe it was because she was beginning a new chapter in her life, but
if she failed here she could always go somewhere else and try again.

 
It didn't quite soothe away the butterflies,
but it helped a little. The thought of running away, leaving everything behind
always helped, as it had since she had left home at the age of seventeen.

 
But then it hadn't really been a home, with
the constant fighting, yelling, blaming and drinking.

 
And that had only gotten worse after her
mother took off when she was seven. She had, however, been lucky enough to have
a great art teacher, whom had made sure she was sent to Paris on a scholarship
to paint. It had been her break and she had grabbed it with both hands, never
looking back.

 
 
Compared to that this was a walk in the park,
she reminded herself. Okay, so the real reason she was so nervous, was that she
had never once settled down since she had left home, and now for the first time
in her life she was planning to make a life in one place. The butterflies went
back into attack mode at that thought, so she shifted her focus back to the
scenery.

 
It was gorgeous, the fantastic shades of
green, spreading over the hills, and the incredible deep blue colors of the
sea, with frothing white foam. Joy spread through her and she realized once
again why this was where she wanted to live.

 
She wove through the charming streets of
Carmel-by-the-sea, spotting a parking place and wishing she could just vanish,
parallel parked. It took a few tries back and forth, but eventually she got it.
She quickly deserted her car, barely taking her time to lock it, hoping no one
would notice her attempt at parking. She hadn't owned a car in Paris, hadn't
even taken her
drivers
license until two years ago.
And she still didn't feel confident about driving.

 
Kayley headed the short walk to the gallery
and walked quickly through the doors before she could change her mind. The
gallery was made up of charming interlaced rooms, with rough stone walls to set
off the art. For a moment she simply stood and watched her paintings as they
hung around the rooms, drawing all attention upon them with their dramatic
scenes. It always surprised her to see her art and realize that it was no
longer just a dream for her to be a successful painter, but a reality.

 
"There you are, Kayley. So what do you
think?" Surprised out of her own thoughts, Kayley looked over to see
Yasmin, the young determined gallery owner. Not to mention beautiful, she
thought. "It looks good. You did a fantastic job, Yasmin."
 

 
Looking around, Yasmin took in the work she
had done, and nodded satisfied. "Yes, well, you made it easy for me."
She checked her watch hurriedly. "Okay, we have about one hour before we
open, so we're just setting out the food and drinks." As if on cue a
petite woman and a tall man appeared in the opposite room.

 
"Kayley, these are my parents, Elizabeth
and Richard, and mom and dad this is our showing artist, Kayley Hamilton."

 
Kayley could certainly see the similarity
between Yasmin and her mother, though if she should have guessed, she would
have sworn Elizabeth was no more
then
fifteen years
older than her daughter. It was no wonder Yasmin was beautiful, she thought.
And her father was just as handsome, with thick gray hair and moss green eyes.

 
"It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs.
Sanders," Kayley said.

 
"Just call us Elizabeth and
Richard." Elizabeth smiled warmly and looked over at her daughter. "I
have been trying to wring information about you out of Yasmin, but she hasn't
been very forthcoming."
 

 
"Mom." Laughing Yasmin looked at
Kayley. "I'm sorry, I didn't get to warn you. All of my family is that
bad, so you better
braze
yourself."

 
"Oh, well...ah..." was the only
response Kayley could manage. Luckily they were interrupted as the doors
leading into the private area of the gallery opened and two men appeared,
carrying a table.

 
"Speak of the devils. These are my
brothers, Nathan and Damian Sanders. Just set down the table there."
Yasmin pointed toward one of the walls. "Thanks. And if you would bring in
the other table and place it next to this one."

 
"Yes, ma'am," the two said grinning
and went back through the doors.

 
"Okay, we better get to it. Kayley, do you
mind helping?" Yasmin asked.

 
"No, of course not. What should I
do?"

 
"You can help set out the food and
beverages."

Kayley took the hint and
followed Yasmin and her parents as they headed back through the doors.

Yasmin's brothers carried
the remaining table out of the room, and Kayley breathed a sigh of relief.

 
It wasn't that she didn't like people, it was
just that they made her uncomfortable, and if the people in question had to be
men, well that just made it worse.

 
She had barely finished her line of thoughts
when Yasmin stuck her a big tablecloth. "If you'll just go and put that on
the
tables, that
would be great."

 
Before she even had a chance to reply, Yasmin
and her parents disappeared through another door, which Kayley guessed led outside.

 
Well that was just great, she thought. Now
she had to go out there, and God knows what. She might have to talk to them,
which probably meant she would say something stupid.

Well, she just had to deal
with it. After all if anyone walked into the room and saw her standing there
clutching her purse and a
tablecloth, that
was going
to be just as embarrassing. Taking a deep breath, she quickly dumped her purse
and went through the doors, nearly bumping into one of the men.

 
"Oh, I'm sorry." She could feel a
blush climb up her cheeks already, and wished the ground would just swallow her
up.

 
"My bad," the youngest of Yasmin's
brothers said. "We didn't get properly introduced before, but I'm Damian
and that over there is Nathan." He pointed a thumb in his
brothers
direction.

 
"Um, well it's nice to meet you,"
Kayley managed.

 
"You too. I better see if they need some
help." Damian disappeared through the door, and suddenly Kayley found
herself alone with Yasmin's other brother. He was watching her, she noted, but
she couldn't determine his thoughts.

 
"So, you're the artist."

It wasn't a question, but
Kayley answered anyway, "Yes, I am."

He just looked at her for
a few moment, and she got the distinct feeling of being weighed and measured.

 
"Want me to help you?" He gestured
towards the tablecloth she still held in a firm grasp.

 
"Ah, yes please." Unfolding the
cloth, she handed him one end.

 
"You're not exactly what I had
expected," he said, watching her while they worked.

 
"In what way?" Curious Kayley
looked up. She realized he had gorgeous blue eyes that was enhanced by his dark
collar-length hair, and a strong face.

 
"I thought you would be older, with gray
hair and eccentric clothes."

Laughing, Kayley shook her
head. "Why would you think that?"
 

 
"It's a bit of a clich
é
, but I'm afraid that's the image that comes to
my mind when I picture a painter."

 
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint
you."
 

 
"Oh, I didn't say I was disappointed.
Quite the opposite."

 
"Um, well." Quickly she smoothed
out the wrinkles on the cloth, avoiding his eyes. The door opened again and
Damian walked back in.

 
"Good, you're done. Yasmin asked if we
would set up the food and drinks." He set the tray he was carrying on the
table.

 
"Okay." Happy for the distraction,
Kayley started helping, still avoiding looking in Nathan's direction. He
probably hadn't meant anything by his comment, she told herself.

 
"Mom and Yasmin are just finishing some
details, so we should be ready just in time for opening," Damian said.

She felt a quick jolt at
the thought of the opening and scolded herself for being silly.

 
"You okay, Kayley?"

Surprised she looked up to
find herself alone with Nathan once again.

 
"Um, yes, I'm fine. I was just
thinking." A little too much, she added quietly to herself, since she
hadn't noticed Damian leaving.

 
"Getting nervous?"

 
"No, I'm fine." Kayley straightened
her back and took a deep breath.

Noticing the gesture
Nathan wisely hid a smile. "Good, then we better get ready."

Chapter Two

 
It was
a great success, Kayley noticed as she stood in a corner observing people
milling around her paintings. Yasmin had introduced her to a few hotshot
critics and about a million other people, Kayley thought, and despite her
natural shyness it had gone well. Now, she had managed to drag herself away
from Yasmin and was currently taking a
well deserved
break from the social demands.

 
"Hiding?"

 
Surprised Kayley turned to see Nathan.
"No, I was just taking a short break," she looked back out over the
room again, "and taking in the scene."

 
"Yes, it's quite a show. You're a hit
and so is Yasmin's gallery. Of course we'll have to wait until we read the
reviews before we can really be sure, but you have already sold about half of
your paintings, so it's looking good."

 
She felt an unnerving clenching in her belly
as he smiled warmly at her.

 
"How are you feeling?" he asked.

 
At the moment she had the distinct feeling of
blushing, and tried quickly to control her nerves. "I'm fine. It's going
much better than I had imagined, and Yasmin has really outdone herself. I don't
know how she got everyone to come, but she pulled it off." And if Kayley
felt a little bit like the ugly duckling, that was just her problem, she told
herself.

 
"Yeah, that's Yasmin for you. When she
decides to do something, no one and nothing can deter her." Nathan watched
her closely, as he had all evening, without seeming to. He found her intriguing
for some reason he couldn't name. It wasn't her beauty, though she was
certainly beautiful, with her shoulder length golden blond hair, and deep blue
eyes set in a classical face with high cheekbones.

 
"I think that's a good quality to have,
especially as the only girl with two brothers," Kayley said dryly.

 
"Oh, she can definitely hold her own,
besides Damian and I were always gentle and well mannered."

She laughed, not believing
a word of it.

 
He enjoyed seeing her laugh for the first
time. It transformed her from beautiful to magical, he thought.

 
"Yes, I'm sure you were," she said
ironically.

 
"Do you have any siblings?" Nathan
asked, and watched as reservation came into her eyes.

 
"Yes, I have a brother."

 
"But you're not close?" he prodded.

 
"No, not anymore."

He could see it hurt her,
and although he wanted to keep asking, he knew it was too soon.

Instead he changed the
subject. "Yasmin told me you just moved here."

Relieved at the change,
Kayley happily replied. "Yes, I did. I had actually only planned to do a
few paintings of the Californian seascape, but instead I ended up falling in
love with it."

 
"And so you pulled up stakes and moved
here."

 
"Yes."

 
"That was brave."

 
"No, not really. I have been moving
around since I was seventeen, so I'm used to it," Kayley said.

 
He studied her, thinking that there was much
more behind her words then she was letting on. "Seventeen. Where did you
go at that age?"
 

 
"I went to Paris on an art scholarship,
and lived there for two years."

 
"And then where did you go?"
 

 
"I went back to America, and lived in
San Francisco for a little while, then New York and New England, before
traveling around in Europe for a few years," Kayley said.

 
"You do get around. But I'm glad you
ended up here."

Before she had a chance to
figure out what exactly he meant by that, Yasmin appeared.

 
"Kayley, there you are. There's someone
I'd like you to meet." Grabbing her hand, Yasmin pulled her along, without
waiting for a response. Kayley didn't so much as manage a backwards glance
before she was engulfed in the crowd, and once again bombarded with questions
about her paintings.

.....

 
It was late before the crowds of people
finally left, and Kayley felt like she had just run a marathon. Exhausted but
exhilarated and relieved at the same time. Yasmin however seemed as fresh and
energized as she had before the opening. She had barely said farewell to the
last people, before she began cleaning up.

 
"Kayley, why don't you go
home.
You look tired," Yasmin said.

 
"No, I'll give you a hand first."

 
"I'm just packing away the food, then
I'll call it a day as well." She did just that while she talked.
"I'll come in early and clean up the rest tomorrow. So go home and get
some rest. You need it."

 
"Okay, then. I'll just get my
purse," Kayley said a little reluctantly. She felt dead on her feet
anyway. And besides Yasmin's family was helping her clean up. She went back
into the kitchen to get her purse and found Nathan loading glasses into a box.
He looked up and smiled when he saw her.

 
"You heading home?" he asked as she
picked up her purse.

 
"Yes."

 
"I'll walk you to your car," Nathan
said.

She considered protesting,
but decided it probably wouldn't do her any good. "Oh, okay."

He set the box aside, and
they walked back into the main gallery. "I'll just walk Kayley to her
car," he told Yasmin on their way out.

 
"Okay. Good night, Kayley," Yasmin
said, hiding a smile.
 

 
"What way is your car?" Nathan
asked when they stepped outside.

 
"This way." She stiffened when he
took her elbow as they walked. Nathan felt it, but kept his light grip.

So his feeling had been
right, he thought. She wasn't used to being touched.

 
"Your paintings are beautiful. I lost
count of how many of them were sold." He didn't add that he had bought two
himself.

 
"Thank you. I didn't expect them to sell
so quickly."

He looked at her
contemplating. "I suppose it's a bit sad for you when you sell them."

Surprised Kayley looked at
him. She hadn't expected anyone to understand what she thought of as
foolishness. "Yes, it is. I know it shouldn't be. I can hardly keep them
all and it's every artists dream to sell many paintings, but still it makes me
a little sad."

 
"I think it's natural to be sad. Every
painting comes from within you, it's a part of you," Nathan said.

 
Once again she was surprised by his
perception. "Yes, that's exactly right." She smiled at him.
"Well, this is me." She stopped in front of her car, and unlocked it.
"Thank you for walking me back."

 
He opened the door for her as she slid in and
turned on the ignition. The car grunted its complaint, but didn't start.
Praying, Kayley tried again. It still didn't work. She looked up to find Nathan
grinning at her.

 
"Not cooperating, is it? Why don't I drive
you home, and you can call the tow truck tomorrow."

 
"I'll just give it a few more tries.
It's not the first time it acts up, but it usually starts after a couple of
tries," Kayley said almost desperately.

Patiently Nathan waited,
hoping it wouldn't start. He couldn't have planned it better, he decided. He
had already made up his mind that he was going to get to know her much better.

Damn it, Kayley thought.
It still wouldn't start. Apparently the Gods weren't listening to her prayers
tonight.

 
"You ready to give up yet?" he
asked.

She sighed and took the
key out of the ignition. "Yes, I give up." Getting out, she dumped
her keys back into her purse and stiffened as he took her elbow again. The
gesture made him smile.

 
"My car is back this way." He led
her along the sidewalk. "So where do you live?"

 
"Out of town a ways. I've rented a small
old cottage," she told him.

 
"I suppose, as an artist, you live
secluded?"

 
"That would be right. But I have the sea
view for company."

 
"But no cat? I'm disappointed." He
enjoyed her laugh. It was rich and free.

 
"No, but I do have wild birds that comes
to visit me. After I fed them once, they became my new best friends. Now, if I
forget to close my doors they just come hopping inside to see if I have anything
edible."

He laughed at that. She
was unlike anyone he had ever met.

 
"Well, at least you
wont
get lonely," Nathan said.

 
"No, that's true."

He stopped her in front of
a gleaming Porsche. "This is me." He held the door for her as she got
in. Sinking into the soft leather seats, Kayley sighed. She had to admit it was
a little better than her old rust pile. It was just annoying that the man had
to have her dream car. She looked at him as he slid into the
drivers
seat and started the car.

 
"I forgot to ask what is it you do for a
living?
"

 
"I own a resort."

 
"Really?"

 
"Yes, Yasmin, Damian and I inherited it
from dad. He decided to retire early, so he could just enjoy his life with mom.
Yasmin wasn't interested in the resort, so Damian and I bought her share."
He drove smoothly through the quiet streets.

 
"Where is the resort?" Kayley
asked.

 
"It's situated out of town on a bluff,
overlooking the Ocean." And this was just the chance he had been waiting
for. "I was thinking, we like to make some publicity events a few times a
year. And you would be perfect for that." Plus it would have the added
benefit of him seeing more of her.

 
"Me?" she said surprised. "I
don't think you would get much publicity from that."

He looked at her. "I
don't know if you noticed the turn up tonight? Anyway, we like to exhibit local
art at the resort, and I've already seen what kind of a buzz your art can
create. I think it would be a good idea. I just have to talk to Yasmin about
it. Otherwise she's going to be pissed at me. And lord knows she has a
temper."

 
"Yasmin? I find that hard to
believe."

 
"I know. I doubt I would believe it, if
I hadn't personally experienced it. Just one of the joys of being
siblings."

 
"Yes, I suppose it is."

He heard the wistfulness
in her voice, and wanted to reach out and comfort her. But he knew she wasn't
relaxed enough with him.

 
"Besides, I have signed a contract with
Yasmin to have my paintings shown for at least one year."

 
"That doesn't mean you can't have other
exhibitions at the same time," Nathan countered logically.

 
"You're right. But I still think it
might be a little too close to each other."

 
"I don't think so. Chances of our resort
guests walking into Yasmin's gallery are slim. But even if they do, that will
just be more publicity for all of us."

She couldn't disagree with
that. He was right. "You should turn right up here." Kayley pointed.

 
"I'm going to talk to Yasmin the first
thing in the morning about displaying your paintings, and after I've charmed
her, I'll get in touch."

She didn't have a clue
what was happening in her life, but it seemed to be completely out of her
control.

 
"Okay, that's fine."

Nathan hid a smile. He
could hear her head was spinning. "Where were you born?" he asked,
throwing her even more off balance by the sudden change of subject.

 
Surprised, she looked at him. "I was
born in San Francisco."

 
"And your family still lives
there?" He saw her shutters come down again, and cursed himself for
asking.