Crazy For You (7 page)

He pressed his lips to hers, and she let out a soft
sigh
. Her hands moved up his chest and linked around his neck. Her body relaxed fully against him. He groaned. This was easier than he’d thought.

He cradled her perfect body in his arms as his mouth slid across her, nipping and pecking gently. She kissed as
good
as she looked—wonderful and heavenly.

Quickly, she broke away. “We can’t do this.” She bumped him aside and walked to the kitchen.

He followed, hoping to do a little more convincing. She stood by the stove dishing up the dinner he’d cooked. Anger lines weren’t marking her face as they were earlier. Instead, doubt lingered in her eyes that tried to avoid him. He could tell. And he wouldn’t give up.

* * * *

Kendra
stared at her plate of food, moving around the noodles with her fork. She had eaten a few bites, but her nervous stomach wouldn’t allow much more, especially when she thought about what she and Eli could have done.

Was she stupid? Why was she so eager to
let a total stranger kiss her
? She couldn’t be that
lonely…could she
? Thanks to
Terrel’s
unwillingness to
show her some romantic attention
, she already knew the answer. Yet, she couldn’t let that rule her thoughts. Lately, the more she considered marrying him, the more frightened she became, and that was before Eli had entered her life.

It didn’t matter. Eli was unfamiliar to her, and she continued to suspect he was a few cans short of a six-pack. Something about him didn’t seem right, but she couldn’t identify what it was. Besides, he was all wrong for her...the exact opposite of what she wanted in a man.

The awkward silence at the table kept her from raising her gaze to look at him. She didn’t want his hypnotic green eyes to spin her out of control again. She didn’t want to get to the point where she couldn’t control her urges.

Across the table, Eli shifted his chair, but she kept her attention focused on her plate. Even when he cleared his throat, she wouldn’t look at him.

“
Kendra
? Earlier, we got side tracked from our conversation, and I’d like to talk about it.”

Her heart dropped. Did he want to discuss what had almost happened between them?

“Will you please tell me what
Terrel
had to say about his stepbrother Joshua?”

She released a sigh,
then
glanced up at him.
Big mistake.
She quickly dropped her attention to her plate. Why did he have to be so gorgeous? Why were his eyes so incredibly dreamy, his lips pouty, begging to be kissed? And why was she forgetting that he was so opposite of what she liked in a man?

Food caught in her dry throat, so she finished swallowing. She took a drink
of her bottled water
to moisten it. “
Terrel
said that Joshua was a wicked man. He said Joshua was the reason Adam had a heart attack.”

When Eli’s fork dropped on his plate, she looked up. Anger lines creased on his forehead, and he kept his lips tight.

She continued, “
Terrel
said Joshua was out of control with his cocaine and gambling habits. When Adam found out about them, Joshua laughed in his face.
Terrel
said that was when Adam had his heart attack.”

Eli curled his hands into fists and his knuckles turned white. “What did
Terrel
say about how Joshua died?”

“
Terrel
said Lisa put Joshua into a clinic to get help for his problem, but Joshua escaped and returned home. That afternoon while
Terrel
and his mother were at the office, Joshua had his own little drug party and overdosed.”

Eli rested his elbows on the table as his head sank into his large hands. His breathing turned heavy as if trying to calm himself.

“
Kendra
?” he mumbled. “Will you hate me if I can prove
Terrel
wrong?”

She set her fork down and leaned back in her chair. “How can you?”

He took in a deep breath then straightened, meeting her eyes. “If I remember correctly, my father told me about a disturbing article written in the newspaper around that time. The article was about the Montgomery family secrets.” His hard jaw relaxed. “Actually, the article talked more about
Terrel
than it did Joshua. I remember my father telling me how upset it made Lisa.”

A small throb began to build in her head. “What did it say?”

He shook his head. “I think I’ll take you to the library tomorrow and we’ll look up the article in the archives together.” He pushed away from the table and stood.

“Eli.” Her voice rose. “Tell me what the article said.”

He took a few steps toward the hallway,
then
stopped, glancing over his shoulder. “Let’s wait and see what we find out tomorrow.”

Another sleepless night had passed and
Kendra
was sure if she had any more of these, the bags underneath her eyes would stay permanently.
Instead of being a fashion designer, people would think she changed professions and had become a boxer.
She took a cool shower hoping to bring down the swelling, but even after all the make-up she applied she still looked
like Mike Tyson… Well, almost, anyway.

She dressed in a simple pair of gray trousers, a crop-top white shirt that showed a little of her tummy, then accented her attire with gray and white striped suspenders. This outfit wasn’t one she’d designed, but because it wasn’t a popular fashion, people tended to think her creative mind was at work again.

She left her hair down, not even bothering to curl it. Lately, she’d been too tired even to get dressed in the morning. She left the apartment with Eli at ten o’clock, the time she knew the library would open.

Eli wore another pair of new jeans and a green
pullover
shirt. At least he dressed a little better than when she’d first met him. Right now he looked good enough to
cuddle next to and stay that way for the rest of her life,
so she tried not to stare directly into his smoldering eyes. She should have let him buy those ugly, outdated outfits yesterday. Maybe she wouldn’t think this way about him.

Thankfully, he didn’t talk about their passionate moment last night. Hopefully, he never would. During the night as she tossed and turned, she realized how wrong it was to let him pin her against the wall and kiss her neck. She wasn’t an animal. Yet, she’d acted like one. From now on, she had to remain in control. Just because she had doubts about her wedding didn’t mean she could
kiss
the next available guy
who walked by
.

Only a handful of people were at the library this early, so an employee showed them into a private room to look through the archives. They each sat at a different computer and scanned through all the articles written the month of Adam Montgomery’s death.

The first page about the Montgomery family was about Adam’s life.
Kendra
scanned across the full screen, fascinated with the kind of life he’d led. The article honored him, and the black and white photo slightly resembled Eli with the square jaw of authority, especially, the
puppy-dog
eyes and knee-buckling smile.
Good looks
must run in the family.

She skipped over a few more pages, and then moved on to another week. After a couple of minutes, Eli sat up straight beside her at his computer. She glanced his way. His eyes narrowed; his mouth drooped in a frown.

She touched his arm. “What is it?”

“It’s an article about Adam Montgomery’s funeral.”

She slid her chair next to his and leaned in to read the newspaper clipping.

“I know you can’t see the picture very well, but that man right there,” he said, pointing to a broad figure that stood beside the casket in the photo, “is Joshua Montgomery.” He zoomed in on the picture, but the image was too blurred to see.

“
Terrel
is easy to recognize,” she added.

“Yes.
Terrel
always liked to stand out in crowds.”

She chuckled. “He hasn’t changed much in five years.”

Eli’s
manly scent of spice stirred feelings inside of her again, so she scooted back to her own computer. Silence lagged as she and Eli concentrated on searching through the articles.

Suddenly, across the top of the screen in a large print was
Terrel
Montgomery’s name. It nearly jumped out of the screen and slapped her across the face. Her hand froze on the mouse, her body stiffening. The caption read;
Terrel
Montgomery arrested for possession of cocaine
. She forced herself to read on, her heart hammering against her ribs.

Late Tuesday night,
Terrel
Montgomery, son of the deceased multi-billionaire Adam Montgomery, was arrested at his home. Ten ounces of cocaine were found in the Montgomery mansion,
Terrel
and five others in the house were arrested with possession of a narcotic drug.
Terrel
Montgomery denied charges, but the drug test administered by New York City Police proved he was indeed, under the influence.

“
This can’t be right
,” she mumbled. Her heart plummeted, the blood in her head going along with it. A sharp pain constricted her chest, causing her breath to become abnormal. Eli moved beside her, leaning in to read the article. He took hold of her cold hand and squeezed.

“I’m sorry,
Kendra
.” His fingers stroked her knuckles.

She continued to read in silence.

The eldest son of Adam Montgomery, Joshua, commented about his reckless brother. He promised to have
Terrel
put in a facility that would help him with the drug problem. Joshua promised his brother would not manage the family business until
Terrel
was clean. Lisa Montgomery remains inside the Montgomery mansion refusing to comment.

Kendra
wasn’t aware of her tears until Eli’s finger touched her cheek, wiping them away. She pulled her stare off the computer screen and looked at him. “You must think I’m a fool.”

“You’re not a fool. You trusted
Terrel
. It’s not your fault he lied to you.”

She squeezed her eyes closed and took deep breaths. “It’s amazing,” she said, looking back at Eli, “that he would tell me such an outlandish lie when he knows I could discover the truth.”

“He’s not thinking about that. He believes he has control over you, and in doing so, he knows you’ll trust his word on anything.”

She chuckled. “It’s true. All this time I’ve never had any reason to doubt him.” She shrugged. “If not for you, I would have never come here
looking for answers
.”

He slipped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Why don’t you go home? I’m going to try and find some of Adam’s old servants.”

She rested her head on his shoulder and released a soft
sigh
. Eli was so comfortable to lean against, and yet so strong. “I don’t know if I want to hear anymore. If
Terrel
has lied about this, what else has he lied about?”

“That’s what we need to find out.” He lifted her face to his. “And we need to find a way to get Joshua out of the mental hospital.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Will you help me?”

“Yes.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead again before pulling away. She leaned on him for support as they walked back to the car. Although her body cried out for rest, her mind wouldn’t sleep until the truth came out. And that scared her to death.

* * * *

Kendra
lay curled in the same position for several hours. She tried closing her eyes, but the bold letters of the article that proved
Terrel’s
lies ran through her mind. Yet, staring at the wall wasn’t doing her any good either. She finally pulled herself out of bed and stretched the stiffness out of her arms and legs.

Eli hadn’t returned, and her soul cried out for his company. Funny she’d feel this way after only a few days. How did she become involved so quickly? The answer lay deep in her heart. She must break off her relationship with
Terrel
. Lately she hadn’t been very happy, and she’d been finding fault with him. Was there any goodness in him at all, or had he been lying to her all this time?

She shouldn’t keep stringing him along.
Tomorrow.
She’d talk to him tomorrow and explain she didn’t love him any longer.