which he could see the faint outline of her nipples, and the smallest pair of sleep shorts that skimmed the top of her thighs. His gaze drifted back up, drinking in those high cheekbones, that array of messy hair just grazing her shoulders, and those stunningly beautiful whiskey eyes groggy with sleep.
God, he wanted her. Still. Eight months of working with her hadn’t cured him of that little affliction. He hadn’t been so attracted to—obsessed with—a woman since Kate. And look how well that had turned out. His infatuation with Kate had had enormous consequences and was, in a roundabout way, responsible for his parents’ death. His lack of a college degree, inability to trust and his emotional unavailability could also be traced back to that woman.
And here he was falling down that rabbit hole again, desperate to make Kasey his.
Your brother is in trouble. Your sister is heartbroken and confused. Your niece is a basket case and your world is falling apart. Is sex really what you should be thinking about, Phillips?
“Aaron...hi. Uh, what are you doing here?” Kasey asked, rubbing her fist in her eye.
Going slowly mad, Aaron silently answered. He looked over her head, easy to do since he was nearly a foot taller than her, into her sunny, colorful abode. “I need to talk to you.”
Kasey pushed her fingers through her hair and Aaron noticed the way her breasts rose and fell with the movement. And a part of him rose...sheesh.
“Can it wait until Monday?”
“I wouldn’t be here at nine on a Saturday morning if it could,” Aaron retorted.
Kasey narrowed her eyes at his bark and he recognized her play-nice expression. Kasey was tough and strong-willed, and never hesitated to put him in his place if she felt he was being too pushy. He disliked doormats and her unwillingness to take crap from a work-obsessed, demanding boss was one of the things he liked best about her.
Sighing, he softened his tone. “Let me in, Kasey. Please.”
She stepped back, and Aaron walked into her bright, airy cottage. After closing the front door behind him, he jammed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. Her furniture looked used but comfortable, covered in checks and stripes in shades of the sea. Yellow and orange cushions and vibrant vases of flowers created splashes of color in the sunny room.
“Kitchen’s that way.” Kasey’s bare arm brushed his as she pointed to a door behind him. “Make coffee, will you?”
“Where are you going?”
Kasey glanced down and Aaron noticed her flushed face. She gestured to her clothing. “Not exactly the outfit I need my boss to see me in.”
Aaron started to remind her that he’d seen her in much less but at the last minute pulled the words back. For eight months they’d pretended that night had never happened and mentioning it now, when she was halfway to naked, wasn’t appropriate.
His brother was missing and his niece needed him. He was also one of the few people who knew that the man he’d thought was his old friend and brother-in-law was an impostor. Plus, he was trying to support his sister, whose life was even more of a tangled mess than his.
Which meant sex with Kasey should be the last thing on his mind.
Aaron swore and scrubbed his hands over his face. When he opened them again, Kasey was walking away from him. He ordered himself not to follow her—but, hot damn, those shorts did not cover her butt cheeks.
Coffee, Aaron thought. Coffee was the only thing that made sense right now. He slipped into Kasey’s tiny kitchen, thinking he was far too big for this dollhouse. His house was huge—eight thousand square feet and seven bedrooms—but as he’d told Jason, who’d sarcastically called his house “the Shack,” at six-three he was a big guy and he liked a lot of space.
A few minutes later Aaron saw Kasey standing in the doorway, wearing a pair of knee-length, cut-off denim shorts and a blue, white and red striped top. She was shoeless, her toes ending in slashes of hot pink. She’d brushed her hair, washed her face and, judging by the peppermint smell, brushed her teeth. Her face was still free of makeup, but she rarely wore much: her eyelashes were long and thick and her mouth a natural, deep pink. As always, she took his breath away.
“I need your help,” Aaron stated, trying to get his mind off the bed down her hall.
Kasey picked up her mug, sipped and lifted her finely arched, dark eyebrows. “Okay.” She glanced down at her clothes and grimaced. “Do we need to go to the office? Must I change?”
“Not necessary,” Aaron told her. “You’re fine as you are.”
Kasey waved her coffee cup in a silent gesture for him to continue.
Should he tell her? Was he doing the right thing? Aaron wrestled with his doubt. He didn’t trust anyone, not fully, but he needed Kasey’s help and that meant sharing classified information, something he wasn’t comfortable doing. He’d learned, the hard way, to keep his secrets, both business and personal, close to his chest.
“I’m trusting you not to repeat this, Kasey.”
She nodded and Aaron continued. “It’s a long, tangled story. You met Will at the ball. How much do you know about him?”
Kasey replied immediately, her business brain moving into high gear. “CEO of Spark Energy Solutions, a company with ties to oil, gas and solar. Recently passed away?”
“Yeah. A while ago, Will and Rich Lowell, his best friend, were in Mexico and they got caught up in a boating accident. Long story short, the boat exploded and we were told Rich died. Except that wasn’t what happened. Rich escaped the brunt of the blast and Will’s body was never recovered.”
Kasey waited for him to continue.
“This is where it gets odd... Rich presumed Will died in that blast and he returned to Royal—but he returned as Will. Acting as Will, Rich took over Will’s life and his business. Married my sister. Then, a few months back, Rich, still pretending to be Will, faked his own death... Following me so far?”
Kasey looked dazed. He didn’t blame her; it was a hell of a story. “Meanwhile, the real Will also did not perish in that boat explosion.”
“Seriously? So where was he while Rich was assuming his identity?”
“He was in Mexico, recovering from his injuries. He’s now back in town, laying low and quietly trying to unravel the mess.” Aaron released a breath. “My brother, Jason, is Will’s good friend and worked closely with him at Will’s energy company, SES.”
“Your brother didn’t notice the difference between the real and the fake Will?” Kasey asked, sounding skeptical.
“Remember that boating accident? Acting as Will, Rich claimed he’d been badly injured, that he’d needed reconstructive surgery to both his face and vocal chords. Jason took his words at face value. Will and Rich had the same coloring and build, and they looked a lot alike, so none of us ever thought, not for a minute, that Rich wasn’t who he said he was.”
Kasey looked puzzled. “Okay, but I still don’t understand how this relates to me doing a favor for you.”
“Getting
