Love in Lust Read online

  “There’s a convention going on down at the Crystal this weekend, and I thought you might be interested in going.”

  Kathryn had heard of the car show that was going to take place, and she knew there would be some impressive machines down there. Of course, if she went it would be for the social aspect, rather than the cars.

  “I don’t know. Those tickets were rather expensive.”

  “I’ve already got two, and one of them has your name on it. I know how you like to get out, and it would be a great time for you to have some fun without any added pressure.” There was a pause, and Kathryn waited. She knew there had to be more to this situation than what her father was telling her, and she had learned that he best way to get information out of him was to simply wait until he offered more.

  “So are you going to be my date then?” she asked when he said nothing. It would be a small consolation for what he had put her through, but she would be willing to give him a chance if he paid for the tickets. Perhaps it would even be fun. It wouldn’t be the first time the two of them had gone to a party at the Crystal Hotel, and in the past, it had been a blast. But that was before she was old enough to be married to some rich entrepreneur.

  “Actually, there is someone else I was planning to give the other ticket. He will pick you up at six and take you down there himself. I figured you would prefer that to trying to find parking on your own.” He laughed, and Kathryn immediately felt her blood boil.

  How dare he try to set her up with someone again? Especially after she had cut off communication with him the last time he had tried to do such a thing.

  “Dad! I’ve told you this a hundred times—I am not going to marry anyone you set me up with. I’m not even going to date them! You know I don’t want your input or advice when it comes to my love life, and I need you to stop!” Kathryn didn’t bother trying to keep her voice down.

  “Kathryn! How dare you speak to me like that? You don’t even know who this is!” She could hear that he was instantly angry with her as well and knowing that he was mad only served to anger her further as she fought for the right words.

  “I don’t care who it is; I don’t care what they want; and I certainly don’t care what they are paying you! I am an adult, and I will choose the man I want to spend the rest of my life with—and that’s the end of that!” Kathryn didn’t even wait for her father to respond. She hung up the phone and threw it across the room, glad that it managed to land on her pillow.

  Putting her hands on her hips, she walked back and forth, taking deep breaths. She didn’t like losing control of herself like that, especially with her father, but there were times when she just couldn’t help it. He was taking more and more liberties with her love life, and it didn’t seem to matter what she wanted—he was going to do things his way, regardless.

  Kathryn’s phone rang once more, and she answered it, but she was too worked up to talk like she had planned. Telling her friend she would call her back shortly, Kathryn once again hung up the phone and set it back down on the couch. Her mind was spinning, and she continued to take deep breaths. She didn’t want to be upset. Being upset was what led to her making bad decisions. Kathryn knew she was in control over her own life, and she was going to maintain that control, regardless of what her father had to say about it.

  Suddenly, Kathryn thought about what Dana had said about Hawk. Though Kathryn had entertained the thought of going to Las Vegas to arrange a meeting with the man, she hadn’t given it any serious thought since the brunch they’d had. After all, who would travel from New York all the way down to Vegas to stage a chanced meeting? If things were to go according to plan, he would have no idea that she was coming or that she had any idea he was there—she could play it off as fate.

  But she would have to do a lot of planning to make sure that happened. Of course, if she dug deep enough, she would be able to figure out where he was staying and even in what room—but that would be far more obvious than she wanted to be. Dana could get the information for her, but unless she had the help of her friend, she would have to go to Lisa—or worse—one of the other brothers themselves.

  After what had happened with Cole, Kathryn didn’t want to get involved with either of the older brothers again—even if she had mended things and ended up best friends with the man’s fiancée. No, if she was going to stage a meeting with Hawk, it was going to have to look like a complete accident.

  Kathryn sighed as she laid back on her couch. It was as though everything she told her father merely went in one ear and out the other. He didn’t care if she was happily married; all he cared about was expanding his own empire. He wanted money—and the security of more money.

  But suppose you were to just go to Vegas and see what happens? You know you could have Hawk wrapped around your finger if you really tried. But even if you don’t get him, Vegas is a large city. There is bound to be someone there your father has no ties to.

  You’ve got the money, you’ve got the time—what are you waiting for? You were just telling Dana that you are happy to have the freedom of getting to do what you want when you want, so exercise a bit of that freedom and make this happen! Kathryn shook her head as she sat back up and grabbed her phone.

  Hawk didn’t have any intention of committing to anything, and she knew it. If she were to just use him to get through this slump she felt she was in, she could move on with her life and find someone who was actually worth her time. She had a lot of pent-up frustration and anger—why not let it out in the best way possible?

  Kathryn scanned her phone, looking at the standard hotels she often stayed at when she was in Vegas. Part of her was surprised that many of the rooms were already booked, but she did find one in one of the downtown locations. Downtown was always a great place to stay—she was close enough to everything to have fun without worrying about it, but at the same time, the hotels themselves were nicer than the ones that were further out.

  More expensive, yes, but it was worth it. She had just treated herself to a cruise and had come back feeling better than ever. Now would be a great time to take herself on a little excursion to Vegas with the same goal in mind: let out all her frustration, think things through, and enjoy some much-needed relaxation away from the stress her father constantly caused. Hawk wouldn’t be her only goal, he would just be her primary goal.

  Kathryn swore under her breath when she saw that the penthouse to the hotel was already taken, but she didn’t let it get her down. There were plenty of other luxurious options on the lower floors, and she could make do with one of those for the sake of this trip. She pulled out her credit card and punched in the numbers, letting the feeling of satisfaction roll over her when she saw that she had a reservation.

  Next, Kathryn turned her attention to the plane. She would be less picky about the luxury of the flight as long as she had efficiency on her side. She didn’t want to spend hours with layovers, and she wanted to get out of New York as soon as possible. Dana would be busy enough with her wedding plans that she could spare Kathryn for a while. Besides, this had been her idea in the first place.

  Kathryn smiled as she paid for the ticket. She had to spend a lot more than she wanted, but she managed to get herself a flight to Vegas the next day. Yes, she was going to have to settle for a hotel room that was less than what she normally stayed in, but considering the circumstances, she knew she could make it work.

  After all, if everything went according to her plans, she wouldn’t be spending very much time in the hotel room anyway.

  Chapter Five

  Hawk

  Hawk adjusted his tie in the mirror, annoyed that he had to actually put on a suit and tie for this meeting. He was going to a job site, so naturally the best thing to wear would be his usual jeans and jacket look—but Blake was adamant that he was going to dress the part, and as a representative for the investors, that meant this was going to be a suit and tie affair.

  As soon as he was dressed, Hawk headed downstairs to meet the cab. He t
echnically had all day to take care of this, but he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible, given that there were plenty of other things he would rather be doing with his day. His to-do list was relatively short, considering what he was in town for, but he still would rather hide in his penthouse suite or go out on his own terms than be dealing with the business of the company.

  The cab pulled up in front of the job site and Hawk looked it over. He was surprised none of the contractors were on site—just laborers. He didn’t care if any of them could answer any of his questions or not; he was there to see Gordon, and if Gordon wasn’t there, he was at his office. Hawk kicked himself for not getting the man’s cell number and vowed to do so as soon as he saw him again.

  He jumped slightly in his seat when his own cell began to ring, and Hawk hoped for a fleeting moment that it would be Gordon—or he would even have been happy to settle for Jack Perry at that moment, if he had to. Instead it was his brother.

  “What?” he asked as he put his phone to his ear.

  “Blake needs an update on how things are going. So, how are things going?” Cole’s voice came through the phone, and Hawk smiled in spite of himself. He knew his brother would be expecting him to have questions or to report that he hadn’t been able to accomplish his assigned task for some reason, but he had quite the opposite news.

  “I’m on my way to meet with the contractors right now—just left the job site, actually.” Hawk said with a triumphant tone to his voice.

  There was a brief pause, and Cole replied, “I’m not sure I believe you, but I won’t make you send me any picture proof. Have you had any contact with the contractors yet?” Hawk felt a twinge of anger in his chest, but he chose to ignore his brother’s jab.

  “Actually, yes, right after I landed I met with the CEO of Steel Construction and his foreman. Of course, since it was late on a Sunday afternoon I wasn’t surprised that the others weren’t able to meet with me, but as you can see I’ve gotten right down to it. Thanks for checking.” He couldn’t help but add the last snarky part.

  “Good. I half expected to be waking you up from some hungover state, to be completely honest. Do things look like they’re going well at the job site?”

  Once again, Hawk had to bite his tongue to keep from lashing back at the remark. Cole was no stranger to parties himself, and Hawk didn’t appreciate the insinuation that he was the only one to ever wake up hungover when he had other responsibilities he should have been tending to.

  “It looks like the skeleton of a hotel, if I had to describe it,” Hawk replied rather dryly. He didn’t care what his brother thought of him—he was doing his part like they were begging him to do, and that was good enough for him.

  “I guess that’s as good a report as any,” Cole said with an unimpressed tone to his voice. He was about to continue, but Hawk interrupted him.

  “You know, I would love to continue with this conversation, but I’m afraid I’ve got other important things to be doing with my day, so I’m going to have to let you go.” Hawk did his best to be as condescending as possible. His brothers had the act down pat; he, however, was still learning.

  He didn’t wait for his brother to respond, but instead just hung up the phone, feeling pleased with himself for being a jerk. When his phone rang almost immediately, he was ready to answer it and fight, but he hesitated when he saw the name flashing on the screen.

  Dan Wellington. Kathryn’s father. The memory of Kathryn sent a twinge through him that he quickly banished to the back of his mind, as he had all thoughts of her. Though Hawk didn’t have much to do with Dan anymore, he still had his name in his phone, and, it would appear, so did Dan. Part of him wanted to know what he wanted, and another part of him was tempted just to send the call to voicemail. At the last second, he picked up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hawk?”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s Dan Wellington. I need a favor.”

  Surprise, surprise, Hawk thought.

  “As it turns out, I’m not in town right now. I’m in Vegas taking care of some business for the company. Can’t you get Cole or Blake to do it?” Hawk didn’t need to know what the favor was, he already knew it wasn’t anything he would want to do, and it would be better if he could get it pawned off on one of his siblings.

  “That’s why you are just the man for me. Listen, my daughter is going to be staying in Vegas for a few days, and I was wondering if you would keep an eye on her. I know she’s all grown up, but she’s always going to be my little girl, and I don’t like the idea of her wandering around the Strip by herself.” He was trying to pass it off as nonchalant, but Hawk could detect the anger in his voice. He could only imagine what must have happened, but he decided to play dumb anyway.

  “What the hell is she doing in Vegas? Didn’t she just go on vacation?” He knew the question would hit home, and it did.

  “The fuck if I know or care. She quit caring about what I say a long time ago, and right now, I need to know that she is going to be all right. Of course, I would like to think that you would do this just for the sake of being a gentleman, but if you need compensation, you know I would be more than willing to pay.”

  Hawk hesitated. He could always use some extra cash, especially since his brothers were being stingy with the company funds. On the other hand, he didn’t want to get involved with Kathryn. Not again. He knew they had run their course, and he didn’t want to reignite anything that was going to lead to more problems between the two of them.

  And yet—the thought of Kathryn being in town was exciting, and Hawk couldn’t ignore that fact.

  “Hawk! I need you to pay attention to me!” Dan’s voice came through the phone, and Hawk smiled as he shook his head. Dan was more like his daughter than he wanted to admit. Or perhaps it was the other way around. Either way, Hawk had an idea.

  “All right, I’ll keep an eye on her. But I’m telling you right now, I am not going to get involved with her in any way. I’ll take care of things if they get out of hand, but she is a grown woman, and she can make her own decisions. I’m not going to make any advances, and I am not going to step in if she decides to go home with some guy she picks up at a bar.” Hawk could sense by the way Dan was breathing on the other end of the line that he wasn’t happy with how the conversation was going, but he didn’t care.

  He wasn’t going to be a babysitter, especially for some woman he had had a fling with back in college. She could do as she pleased, just as he could. And the last thing he was going to do was get involved with her at her dad’s request.

  “Is that good enough for you?” he prompted. Once again, it was evident that it wasn’t, but at the same time, there was nothing he could do. Kathryn was in Vegas, and Dan was in New York. He had to take what he could get.

  “That’s fine. Make sure she stays safe,” Dan said before he hung up.

  “Will do,” Hawk replied. He sat silently for a few minutes, thinking about how the conversation had gone. It was news to him that Kathryn was in town, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing there. It was a bit of a coincidence that she was there the same time he was, but then, most of life was full of coincidences. As the cab pulled in front of the office, he pushed the thought out of his mind.

  “Do you have an appointment?” the secretary asked, and Hawk sighed, not even in the mood to flirt though she was small, cute, and something of a looker with her wide eyes, full lips, and nicely proportioned body. Even her glasses sort of worked for her.

  “No, not an official one, though I can tell you that each of the contractors here would be more than happy to see me. I am Hawk Parker from Parker Industries, and I am sure you know we are one of the largest investors in this hotel. I’m here to see how things are coming along, and would like to have a glance at the accounts too, if possible.” Hawk bit his lower lip. He hated this part of business, and he could see by the look on her face that she had no intention of being cooperative.

  “I can pag
e you through and let them know you’re here, but I can’t guarantee they are going to make any time to see you,” she said as she gave him another look over the rim of her glasses. Hawk forced a smile and patted the notebook in his hand.

  “I can assure you that they will be more than happy to accommodate me,” he said, but she just shrugged. Hawk looked away to keep himself from saying something he would regret. At that moment, the door to the office opened and five men came walking out.

  “Hawk Parker! Gentlemen! I told you he was in town!” Gordon smiled as he held out his hand, and Hawk shook it.

  “I’m glad I caught you. I was hoping to get a chance to look over the accounts,” Hawk said, getting right to the point. Gordon laughed as he pointed at him, shaking his finger and looking at the other gentleman who were present.

  “You see? I told you he is a businessman! Always wanting to get right down to the point! Well, let me tell you, Mr. Parker, we are going to be more than happy to show you all the accounts. But first, lunch!” He put his hand on Hawk’s back, turning him toward the door. Hawk stood his ground, not allowing himself to be led.

  “I understand this should just take a few minutes,” Hawk said as he glanced toward the office. Gordon laughed once more. Hawk was beginning to notice that it was something the man did when he was feeling frustrated with the situation. The other men glanced at each other and back to Gordon and Hawk again, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

  “You’re right, it’s not going to take long. But you’re going to soon realize, if you don’t take a break, you won’t get a break. I’ll tell you what! Are you hungry? Why don’t you come along with us? We were going to go to one of our favorite joints, and I think you would really enjoy yourself.” He slapped Hawk on the back, and though Hawk tried to decline, Gordon wouldn’t take no for an answer.