“Mmmm, that feels good,” she said, leaning into him and tilting her head allowing him more access. “I thought we’d watch a movie on-demand. What are you in the mood to watch?”
“Something terrifying so you’ll be forced to sit in my lap,” he said.
She unplugged the popcorn machine and turned to him. “Horror movies are too predictable. I like romantic comedies.”
He preferred action movies to horror but really didn’t care what they watched. He intended to keep her too occupied to notice the popcorn or the movie.
“Oh, and romantic comedies aren’t?”
She added salt and butter to the popcorn and tested it. “Good point.” She fed him a piece. “You pick.”
They settled on an old black and white classic they’d each seen before.
Relaxed and on the couch with Kate’s legs across his lap, he saw how this necking thing had its perks. He remained a perfect gentleman for the first thirty minutes of the movie, but when the popcorn disappeared, he put the bowl on the floor and reached across her to turn off the light, leaving the room bathed only in the soft glow from the television. He shifted and pressed her into a horizontal position.
Her body, while petite in comparison to his long frame, fit perfectly alongside him. She wiggled against him, rubbing against his already hard erection.
“So is this how you used to neck in high school?” He moved his lower body against hers, resulting in a soft moan escaping her lips.
“I don’t recall the boys I dated being quite as skilled as you. It was mostly sloppy kissing and awkward groping.”
He feathered kisses along her face and neck until he paused just over her mouth. “Well, I hope you’ll agree this is better.”
Before giving her a chance to reply, he crushed his mouth to hers. She tasted like salt and butter, a combination never as erotic as they were on Kate’s lips.
Their mouths ravaged each other, trying to fill a thirst that had gone dry too long. He unzipped her sweatshirt to find a tank top underneath. She wasn’t wearing a bra and her nipples protruded against the thin fabric.
Desperate with the need to see and feel her, he lifted her shirt and gazed with admiration at her perfect size Cs, still firm despite having given birth. He rubbed his lower lip against one of the tight, pink buds before drawing it in his mouth and sucking roughly. She inhaled sharply and pressed closer to him.
She swept her hands under his shirt, skimming her fingernails along his stomach before moving around to his back. He shuddered and claimed her mouth again. Sure hands eased under his waistband to squeeze his backside, causing a moan to escape his lips. A little more of his control slipped when she moved her hand and grazed the front of his pants.
“Don’t stop,” he gasped. “Touch me.”
When she increased the pressure against his cock until he all but burst, he thought he’d go mad if he wasn’t in her soon. He shifted to slide his hand between her legs, desperate to feel her slick heat. A storm of emotions passed across her face, and as he stroked her, she trembled.
“That feels good. You feel good,” she whispered. She rolled her hips against his hand. “More. I need more.”
“I need you.” He devoured her mouth, swallowing her moan.
He wanted to take her there, on the couch. He’d even put a condom in the pocket of his sweats, just in case.
Just as he was getting ready to pull her pants down, he heard a noise right outside the room.
“I don’t believe you gave that guy your number. Do you think he’ll….Oh, fuck!” came the voice of Vicky right above the couch.
“What the hell, Vick?” Kate hissed, yanking her top down over her breasts.
“Sorry, guys. We didn’t mean to crash the party. Guess you forgot our sign, sis.”
“I guess you didn’t look very well,” Kate snapped back.
Vicky backed away from couch and turned toward the doorway. “Oops, you didn’t forget. Sorry.” She cleared her throat. “Well, we’ll just go into the kitchen.” She flicked her hand at them. “As you were. Oh…and about freakin’ time. Come on, Lucy.”
Kate and Edward stared at each other a full minute before they burst out laughing.
He clamped his hand across her mouth. “Shhh. Quiet before the rest of your family ends up seeing us like this.”
He waited until her hysterics subsided before he removed his hand. “What sign was she talking about?”
“We used to place a cup upside down outside the room if we had a member of the opposite sex over. Whoever saw the cup knew not to come in the room otherwise they would meet certain death.”
He snorted. “Apparently that doesn’t work anymore.”
“I guess not. It’s been a while since any of us have had to worry about getting caught. I’m sorry.”
“I’m just glad they didn’t show up five minutes later.”
She curled into his chest. “Maybe it’s a good thing my sister came home when she did.”
“I hardly think us both lying here extremely frustrated is a good thing.”
“I mean…” She bit her lip. “Maybe this is too fast.”
He remembered how he’d picked her up in a club the previous summer. After a couple hours of drinking and dancing, she’d accepted his invitation back to his brother’s flat. Despite being different from the women he usually picked up, they’d spent the night having the best sex of his life. And three weeks later, when he’d had to return to London, he had regrets about leaving. “Fast has always worked with us though, hasn’t it?”
She gave him a knowing smile and rested her hand on his chest. “I guess it has. And it’s not that I don’t want this, want you.” She paused.
He heard a “but” coming.
“But I’m still not sure about starting something up for all the reasons I explained before.”
“What can I do to help you feel more certain?”
“Let’s take things slow, or at least slower than last time.” She gave him a pleading look. “You understand, don’t you?”
He didn’t want to, especially with his cock still throbbing for her, but he did. “I understand.” He pulled her close and held her. “Just how slow is slow?”
She pulled back and gave him a tender kiss. “Nothing past second base.”
“Bloody hell, woman, our definitions of slow are definitely different.”
“It won’t be for long.”
“Are we talking a day or two?”
She tickled his stomach. “No.” Her eyes traveled over him, resting on his still aroused state. “Maybe a week or two.”
He gave her a wolfish grin. “Bet I can change your mind.”
“You probably could.” She turned and curled her back into him. “But you won’t.”
He slid his hand under her tank top to rest on her stomach. His pride had him wanting to show her she was wrong and admit she couldn’t resist him, but he didn’t. Rather, he drew her close and held her, enjoying the feel of her in his arms and wondering what all these feelings inside him meant.
Chapter Twelve
The next day, Kate awoke slowly, recalling the events of last night—of what didn’t happen, and what almost had. She stretched in her childhood twin bed before snuggling down further in the covers, part of her wishing she’d taken Edward up on his offer last night to share his bed. Boy, had she wanted to. And still did, despite telling him she wanted to take things slow.
It was going to be a challenge to not sleep with him, especially when they were back in New York and wouldn’t be interrupted by her family. And if she knew Edward as well as she believed she did, he wouldn’t make going slow easy. No. He would take her to the brink of arousal until she’d be begging him. Hell, just thinking about it had gotten her aroused again. Damn the man, she thought with a smile.
With a sigh of regret from giving up the warmth of the bed—and the fantasy—she dragged herself up and into the shower. Growing up, it had always been a race to the bathroom each morning. Whoever
got the last shower, usually ended up getting a cold one. It got so that her mother had to make up a schedule to avoid any fighting in the morning, rotating who went first.
These days, it wasn’t quite as bad since Nick had his own place and Vinnie and Vicky both liked to sleep in. But still, Kate was conditioned to take a ten-minute shower and never indulged under the warmth of the water like she’d always wanted to.
She heard movement in Edward’s room but didn’t dare knock on the door. Clad only in her bathrobe, she knew he’d yank her inside and have the robe off in a matter of seconds, which would have them both more frustrated than they already were.
After her shower, she dried and styled her hair, leaving it slightly damp and curly. It took too much effort to blow it straight and while she liked the way it looked when she made the effort, most days she couldn’t be bothered and left it natural. She added a touch of make-up and her jewelry, and slipped downstairs.
After starting coffee, she took out the ingredients for pancakes. She had finished frying breakfast sausage when Edward entered the kitchen. She could sense his presence even before he slid his hands around her waist.
“Good morning,” he said and turned her to face him.
“Morning.” She lifted her head for his kiss that, as usual, took her breath away. He smelled like a mixture of soap and the light, musky cologne he wore, and she had to fight the temptation to see if his skin tasted as delectable.
“Coffee’s ready,” she said, nodding in the direction of the coffee pot.
She watched as he poured a cup, liking that he felt comfortable in her parents’ home and didn’t expect her to wait on him. He leaned with a lazy casualness against the counter, watching her while she poured batter onto the griddle.
“You remember we’ll have to leave around midday. My flight to Vegas is at six and I need to pack,” he said.
She hated the thought of him being gone all week, however, the distance would ease the sexual temptation. “I remember. We can leave after mass, unless my mother cons you into a quick lunch.”
“Well, it is rather difficult for me to pass up one of her meals. Yours, too, for that matter.”
“Ha. You’re just saying that because you want a piece of sausage before everyone else.”
“Am I that transparent?”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed a fork to stab a piece of sausage and waved it in front of him. “What’s it worth to you?”
“How about this?” He captured her mouth, kissing her with an intensity that left her breathless.
“Oh, get a room, you two,” Vicky huffed, walking into the kitchen and straight for the coffeepot.
They broke apart but not before Edward snagged the sausage and gave her a wink.
After breakfast they headed to St. Christopher’s for mass. Lucas sat with them and was still giddy from the Christmas party. He chatted nonstop about all the gifts and the sledding until the music began.
Later, they headed to the common room for refreshments. Kate spent some time talking with neighbors and friends. She looked at her watch and saw it was time to start heading back if they were going to get home in time for Edward’s flight.
She found Edward talking with Vinnie, her father, and someone she didn’t know. She approached from behind and happened to overhear part of their conversation.
“When will the new oven be ready for installation?” her father asked.
The stranger replied. “Hopefully later this week. As soon as it’s in I’ll give you a call. You got really lucky. Someone must have pulled some strings to get this sent so fast.”
Kate froze when all of the men looked at Edward, who just shrugged. “I may have pressed a bit. I know how important it is to be up and running.”
Vinnie spoke up. “Oh, come on. We’d be out on our asses if it wasn’t for you, Edward.”
“I didn’t do much, it was just a couple of phone calls.”
“What about footing the bill, man? That deserves a lot of credit,” Vinnie replied.
Kate frowned. What did Vinnie mean when he referred to Edward “footing the bill”? She didn’t know but would damn well find out.
Once in the car, Kate played back the scene in her head but still couldn’t figure out what Vinnie meant. Nor could she get the horrible feeling out of the pit of her stomach.
“You’re very quiet. Is everything all right?” Edward asked.
“I don’t know.” She took a breath. “I overheard you talking with my father and brother right before we left. Vinnie said something about you footing the bill. What was he referring to?”
His eyes were fixed on the road, but she saw his jaw tense and knew she wasn’t going to like what he was about to say.
“It’s nothing, really. Your father wasn’t able to extend the bank loan to include the cost of the new oven and the repairs to the refrigerator.”
“Won’t the insurance cover it?”
“It will, but the adjuster can’t get out to the restaurant until next week. By the time your father would have the money to pay for the repairs, and given the holidays, it would most likely not be until next year when everything is sorted out and the restaurant can open.”
“So let me guess. You rode in on your white horse and gave him the money.”
“I offered to lend your father the money until he received the insurance check. It’s really not a big deal.”
Kate sat in her seat and silently fumed. How could Edward and her father do this without telling her?
“If it’s not a big deal, then why all the secrecy?”
“I wanted to tell you. But your family didn’t, and I promised not to mention anything—for the time being.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, that’s just great. So now my whole family is conspiring to keep secrets from me.”
“I’m sorry, luv. I tried to get them to talk with you.”
“Well, you didn’t try hard enough. Instead, you went behind my back and did this even though you knew I wouldn’t approve. You knew my feelings about the business and keeping things in the family. You deliberately ignored that in making this decision.”
“Your family needed help. I had money to lend. It seems you’re put out because we didn’t ask your approval.”
“Damned straight.”
“Your father needed to make a decision—quickly I might add. It was good business. End of story.”
Yeah, end of story all right. They reached her parents’ neighborhood. As soon as Edward found a spot, Kate jumped out of the car and started down the block, opposite the house.
“Kate, come on,” Edward called out and ran to catch up with her.
He grasped her arm. She knocked it away more forcefully than she had intended. “Don’t touch me.”
“I don’t want to fight with you. I apologized for not telling you. What else can I do?”
“Nothing at this point. I need some space, some time to think.”
“Fine. You can think on the drive home.”
She saw the frustration on his face and didn’t care. She shook her head. “You go. I’ll find my own way back.” She turned to start walking again.
“Bloody hell. Don’t leave like this. I won’t see you all week.”
She paused, wanting to turn and go with him. But he’d tampered with the trust between them—trust she’d finally allowed herself to give in to. She blinked back tears and called over her shoulder, “Have a safe trip.” And kept on walking.
****
Edward finished his second whiskey and signaled the flight attendant for another.
“We’ve been in the air for over an hour. When are you going to stop brooding and tell me what’s bothering you?” Charles asked.
Edward stared out the small window at the dark sky. His temper, rather than cooling since his spat with Kate, only seemed to heat.
“I had a row with Kate before we left,” Edward said.
“Isn’t that pretty much standard for you two?”
“I suppose, but this was different.”
“How?”
“She kissed me Saturday at the orphanage Christmas party. And that night, we practically had sex on her parents’ couch. May have, too, if her sister hadn’t interrupted us.”
Edward accepted the drink the flight attendant handed him and took a sip.
“So things have changed between you?”
“She wants to ease into a relationship, not rush into anything too intimate for a few weeks.”
“Isn’t it rather late for that since you spent three weeks having sex over the summer?”
“Yes, but I agreed. And things were great until she overheard a conversation that took place after church.”
Charles raised an eyebrow. “You go to mass now?”
“I have been. Is that a problem?”
“No, I’m just surprised.”
At first, attending mass had been part of his plan to get closer to Kate, but remarkably he found it relaxing and soulful. There, he felt a certain peace he hadn’t experienced since having recovered from the cancer, and he found himself reflecting on his past and wanting to change from the shallow man of his youth.
“Anyway, there was a break-in at the restaurant early Friday morning. The place was wrecked, the oven ruined, and some damage done to the refrigerator. Repairs were going to be rather expensive. Kate’s father, Joe, couldn’t get his business loan increased so I offered to loan him the money until the check from the insurance company came through.” He shifted in his seat. “I wanted to tell Kate, but her father thought it would be best if I didn’t.”
“And now she’s found out and she’s steamed?” Charles asked.
“More like irrational. I explained what happened, but it didn’t matter. She won’t listen to reason. She’s the most infuriating woman.”
“How did you leave things with her?”
“She refused to come back to New York with me. I needed to leave to make our flight so I just left. I’ve called and texted her, but she won’t respond.”
“If you’d like, I can ask Meghan to call her.”
“Fine.” He swirled the liquor in his glass. “And the worst is that she still doesn’t even know everything. Her sister, Vicky, asked for help coming up with a business plan for a bakery and café she wants to open when the pizzeria closes. I’ve been working with her on the side regarding that.”
Untangle My Heart (Tangled Hearts) Page 14
