Head Over Heels by Crystal B. Bright Page A

around his waist again.
    She felt sturdy as she guided him down the hall to his room. After they reached their destination, she set him against the wall again.
    She swiped the card and opened the door. “Can you make it in?”
    Thane smiled. “Thought you would never ask.” He fell on top of her and pressed his lips against hers.
     

Chapter 5
     
    The scene seemed all too surreal. First of all, Kari hadn’t stopped shaking since leaving Thane’s mother’s funeral. She hadn’t expected when she’d come down to Virginia Beach that she would experience a family grieving the loss of a loved one.
    Kari had no one to blame but herself. Before meeting any potential new client, she always did her homework and researched the hell out of him or her. So confident had she been of her knowledge on all things related to Thane Wells, she skipped that step and hustled it down to Virginia Beach only to learn the news about his mother’s death. Even the local media had reported that Thane and his two equally famous brothers would be laying their dear mother to rest that day.
    Wanting proof, she went to the church to get a standing position outside the recreation building telecasting the funeral. Following the procession to the cemetery had been a mistake. At the gravesite, she couldn’t take her stare off Thane.
    Gunnar and Gideon had looked grief stricken but stood strong. Thane appeared so alone and wounded. The vision of him standing by his mother’s coffin brought Kari to tears. She barely knew this man. She knew he played baseball like a god. She knew he had athletes for brothers. She certainly hadn’t bonded with him or his mother enough to be moved to tears. Yet she couldn’t stop them from flowing.
    Now she stood in a hotel room with the very man she wanted to represent, kissing her, albeit sloppily. Kari tasted the liquor on his tongue and lips. The acrid flavor confirmed the aroma surrounding him.
    She braced her hands against his chest and felt nothing but muscle. What did she expect from a twenty-something-year-old athlete?
    Kari broke from the kiss long enough to speak. “Mr. Wells.”
    He stumbled forward and pressed her back against a wall. She started to panic when she heard the door close behind him. Trapped.
    “You’re”—he hiccupped—“beautiful.”
    Sober, Thane Wells defined sexy. Right now, this all felt wrong, desperate, even though it would have been a crime not to touch his rock-hard body. When she’d gone through his pockets to find his room key, she’d created a happy accident of brushing her hand against his shaft.
    Wow. She’d wanted to find out what kind of game he ran on women. Now he had her in his room and wanted to strip her naked.
    Thane slipped his jacket from his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. “We have too many clothes on.” He reached down and started pulling up her dress.
    “Mr. Wells, please.” Kari held the hem of her dress while keeping her stare directly on his hypnotic blue eyes. “I think you have mistaken me for someone else.”
    “My angel.” He smiled. “I saw you at the funeral.”
    Kari blinked. She had made eye contact with Thane before she left, but she didn’t think he would remember her, especially now.
    “You’ve come to make me feel better.” He nuzzled his face against her neck. He took one of her hands and placed it directly on his crotch. “Make me feel good.” He brought his head up and looked at her in her eyes. “Make me forget today. Can you do that?”
    Reluctantly, she removed her hand from his impressive yet flaccid genitals and started easing him back to what she suspected to be the bedroom. “Let’s get you to bed.”
    He released an obscene laugh. “That’s what I’m talking about. A traditional girl. I like that.”
    “Yeah? What else do you like?” She thought if she kept him talking, it would keep him from embarrassing himself even more.
    “This.” He put his hand on her breast and gave her a rough squeeze.
    Too