In the Eye of the Storm (11 page)

“You can stay here if you want. I have an extra bedroom.”

He looked surprised. “You’d really let me stay here?”

“Why not? It’s not like I have family coming to town. There’s plenty of room and it would only be for a few days.” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince, him or herself. She silently chastised herself for being so dramatic. He’d done her numerous favors, she was only returning one.

“Let me think about it.”

She shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t sure what he was deliberating inside of that head of his, but she let it go.

“I should go,” he said, heading for the front door—almost too quickly.

“Can I ask you something?” she said suddenly, knowing she probably shouldn’t push things. Hell, she wasn’t even sure she wanted more than friendship with him. But she was tired of trying to figure him out, all the same.

“Shoot,” he said, meeting her gaze.

Now that she had his attention, she wasn’t sure she wanted it. She avoided his eyes. “I guess I’m wondering why you’re hanging around here all the time.”

He was quiet a moment. “Do you want me to stop coming over?”

No.
She didn’t speak the word. But she wasn’t sure where they were going with this and it was unnerving. As much as she tried to deny it, she was attracted to him. She had thought he was attracted to her. But he hadn’t been acting like it—not since that first night on her front porch.

“Kate, if I’ve been bothering you, just say the word. I’m not like Wick. I understand the words
get lost.”

“That’s not what I mean.” She looked at him nervously. “I guess I got this idea in my head, that first night you brought me home, that we might…..” She felt her face turning red and wanted the words back. “I mean, I know we talked about it the next day but…” This was not coming out right. She sighed. “I don’t know what to think about us, okay? You obviously know I’m attracted to you. I guess I’m starting to think that it’s completely one sided. But you’re here.. To be honest with you, I

A lot.” She closed her eyes, wishing she hadn’t started this conversation. “I don’t know what I’m trying to say. Never mind.”

“It’s not,” he said quietly.

“What?” She opened her eyes. He was staring at her, his dark gaze intent.

“One sided—it’s not.”

Unsure what to say to that, she waited for him to say more. He didn’t.

“Okay,” she finally said. “So what does that mean?”

He sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “That’s just it, I don’t know. I like you. I like hanging out with you, even just as a friend.”

“What if I want more than that?” She took a step toward him and he watched her carefully.

“It’s probably a bad idea.”

“Why?” Her eyes never left his. She was standing right in front of him now, with only a few inches separating them.

“For obvious reasons—number one being that I’m only here temporarily. Number two being you’re Kylie’s good friend.”

“Is there a number three?” she asked, reaching forward and letting her finger move down his chest.

“There’s a three and a four and probably twenty more after that.” He caught her finger tightly between his. “This is a very bad idea. Why do you think I haven’t acted on it myself?”

“There don’t have to be strings, Beau. I’m a big girl.” She tipped her chin up to meet his gaze.

He shook his head. “You’re not the type to do casual sex, Kate. Do you think I haven’t figured that out about you?”

“Maybe I want to be that type just once.”

“No you don’t. I should go.” He tried to let go of her finger but she held on, wrapping her hand around his.

“Don’t. Just stay.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Damn it, Kate, I just told you why not.”

“Those weren’t good reasons.” She stepped toward him again.

“You’re going to regret this.” He let her lace her fingers with his. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m a big girl,” she said again, willing herself to believe it. Deep down she had a fear that this man could tear up her heart into pieces. But at that moment, she just didn’t care. She wanted him.
Badly.

She let her hands move under his T-shirt. There were those perfect abs again. She felt him intake a breath. His keys dropped to the floor when her fingers moved up to the taut muscles of his chest. She felt his hands snake through her hair and then his mouth was on hers. His tongue shot through her teeth and meshed with hers. She couldn’t get enough of him fast enough.

He lifted her, grinding his hips against hers. She let out a deep breath. “God, tell me you have protection this time.”

“I have something,” he said against her mouth. He backed her up toward the hallway and she motioned to the last do. To be honest with you, I

He lifted her shirt up and over her head. Her bra came next. His mouth moved from her lips to her neck to her breasts. God his tongue felt delicious, the scrape of his five o’clock shadow adding even more intensity to the sensations.

“Beau,” she gasped, not really sure why she was saying his name.

He stopped and looked up at her, questioningly.

“Don’t stop.” She reached for his belt, but he pushed her hands back up and pinned them on either side of her head. He stared down at her intently.

“Once we do this, it changes things. Are you sure this is what you want?”

“God, yes,” she said breathlessly.

He let his nose rub against hers affectionately. “I’m not a forever kind of guy, baby. You know that right?”

She felt a trickle of unease at the confession, but forced it to go away. “I’m not looking for forever. I’m looking for now.” She rubbed her hips against his in a silent plea for more.

Apparently losing his last shred of control, he let her arms go and buried his face in her neck.

She reached for his belt buckle and this time he didn’t stop her. She tore at the buttons of his jeans while he went to work on hers. A few moments later, they were both free of the confining clothing.

She could feel him probing against her intimately. All she had to do was push against him and he would be inside her.

“Wait,” he said, lifting his head and reaching for his jeans. He pulled the condom out and tore it open with is teeth. He swore when she pushed against him again. He was just inside her now.

9

Beau opened his eyes the next morning and knew he was in trouble. Kate’s bedroom came into view and her warm body was pressed intimately against his side as she slept. Regret pounded through him. And it wasn’t exactly because they’d finally given into temptation. It was because he had liked it way too much. In fact, once hadn’t been enough and neither had twice. Not only that, he liked waking up with her spooned against him.

Startled by the realization, he breathed in deeply. How had she managed to get under his skin so easily? It was like all his control flew out the window. It was crazy.

Frowning, he knew he had to get himself out of this before things got any deeper. The question was how? He didn’t want to hurt her. He had warned her the night before that he wasn’t the forever type. Had she believed him? Women were funny that way. He’d had a few along the way who hadn’t heeded that warning. They had fallen apart right before his eyes, so he’d basically ran like hell. Kate would be a little harder to run from, simply because she was Kylie’s friend.

He cursed himself. The fact that he’d let himself get into this mess pissed him off. Normally, he was smarter than this. The truth was she was different than any woman he’d been with in the past. He really liked her, he realized. Probably more than he was willing to admit. He still wanted her, even while at the same time he wanted to sneak out the front door and never come back.

Looking down at her face, he couldn’t help but smile. She still slept soundly, her eyes closed and her body completely relaxed. Her dark hair lay loose against his arm. She had beautiful skin, a little olive toned and soft. She was cuter than all get out. There was just something endearing about that face. Even scrunched up and angry, she was a turn on. He figured most people couldn’t pull that off.

Deciding that staring at her was only making things worse, he gently moved his arm and climbed out of bed. He needed a shower and he needed coffee. Maybe then he would be able to think straight.

First, he knew he needed to give his brother a call. Trey would be worried, given the fact that Beau had a psycho on his tail. He headed for the bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind him. Then he dialed Trey’s number and waited.

“What’s up?” Trey answered a moment later, sounding sleepy.

“You’re still in bed?” Beau leaned against the bathroom counter, keeping his voice down.

“It’s only seven, Beau. Don’t you ever check your watch?. There were people millingd into her driveway”

He hadn’t bothered. It was lying on the bedside table where he’d tossed it the night before. “I thought I’d better let you know I’m alright before you get your feathers ruffled.”

“You told me you were going to Kate’s,” was all Trey replied.

Beau winced. Clearly, his brother knew he was
still
at Kate’s. “Go ahead and say it,” he said, figuring Trey had a right to say his peace.

“Say what?”

“I’m sure you can think of something.”

Trey sighed. “What do you want me to say? You’re both adults. It’s not up to me to give you an opinion.”

“But you have one.”

“Everyone usually does,” Trey answered.

“So lay it on me.”

“Don’t hurt her,” Trey eventually replied. “I can only assume you didn’t sleep on the couch last night. Kate isn’t the casual type. Be careful with this one.”

“I don’t sleep around,” Beau said in his own defense, though he didn’t know why. He was likely going to do exactly what Trey was warning him not to do.

“I never said you do. But I know you can’t stay here. You will leave and when you do, if you’re not careful, she’ll fall apart.”

“Point taken,” Beau answered quietly. He disconnected the phone, knowing Trey was probably right.

Pushing the worry from his mind, he climbed into the shower and rested his hands against the wall as he let the water pour over his face. The sensation helped relax him. A moment later, he heard the shower door open.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Kate asked, looking up at him with sleep tousled hair and an unsure smile.

His dark eyes fell to hers as if a magnet was pulling them. “I figured you were tired.” He stepped back so she could get under the water. Seeing the liquid pour over her was one of the most erotic sights he’d ever seen. One of her hands reached up and smoothed down his chest.

“Kate—” he began, knowing he should stop this from going any further. Trey’s warning played itself over and over inside his head. While his mind struggled to get control of things, his body had other ideas. He immediately reacted to her touch. The feeling of her hands on him was like a match to a flame. It sent him reeling. Her mouth moving against the skin near his collarbone sealed the deal. He pulled her against him, his mouth crushing down against hers. He lifted her and backed her up against the shower wall. He was inside her before he could even give it conscious thought. He stilled, knowing this was a very bad idea. But she felt too good.

She took in a deep breath, her legs wrapped around him tightly. He could feel her coming undone already. And he couldn’t stop himself from following her. He pulled out as quickly as he could but he knew it was too late. Still holding her against the wall, he breathed deeply against her neck. Then he slowly lowered her to the tiled floor. Things got quiet very fast. The water had gone cold and he reached over and turned it off.

She looked up at him, her brown eyes narrowed in uncertainty. She was evidently sensing his anxiety. Reality was rearing its ugly head. Unfolding the fingers of her left hand, he viewed the unopr the past few weeksonhe wasened condom she held there.

“Damn it, why didn’t you say something?”

“I couldn’t talk,” she finally said, and shoved the packet into his hand before exiting the shower. She wrapped herself up in a towel and sat down on the commode, visibly as upset as he was.

Cursing, he grabbed a towel himself and wrapped it around his waist. “I’m sorry, Kate. I know it was my fault too.” He rubbed his face wearily. “I should have stopped.”

“Like either of us was going to let that happen.”

She had a point.

He leaned against the bathroom counter and watched her carefully. “So how worried should I be here?”

“Are you talking about diseases or pregnancy?”

He frowned. She wasn’t going to make this easy. “I think you know the answer to that. I wouldn’t be here right now if I was worried about diseases—which incidentally, you don’t need to worry about either. I’m clean. I have a thorough physical every year. I might add that I’m not half as
socially active
as you probably think. Not only that, contrary to my actions this morning, I always use a condom.”

She shrugged her shoulders tensely. “I certainly don’t have any diseases. I don’t know for sure about the other. My periods are pretty irregular. I had one a while ago. I don’t know the exact date.”

“So we could be in trouble.” His heart began to pound erratically. How could he have been so stupid, especially after the fear of nearly making the same mistake the night before?

“I don’t think so,” she said, standing up and avoiding his gaze. “I mean it’s probably not the right time.”

He could tell she was getting frustrated. He wasn’t good with emotional females. “I don’t know what to say, Kate. I’m sorry.”

“Discussing it to death isn’t going to change anything. I need some coffee.” She walked away from him and he felt more like an ass.

Irritated with himself, he got dressed in the clothes he’d worn the night before. When he went into the kitchen, Kate was sitting at the breakfast bar, now fully dressed, waiting for the coffee pot to finish percolating. He walked over and sat down next to her. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.

“I think we should be rational about this,” he decided. “I mean, like you said, chances are we’re okay.”