Tangled Vines: An Australian Rural Romance (6 page)

“With a nice dessert wine to go with it, I’m guessing.”

“As a matter of fact, yes. Care to join me? See if I can’t use it to convince you just how good wine can be?”

A smile broke out over her face again as she spoke, lighting up her green eyes, striking Kyle right in the gut. He liked her smile and wanted to see more of it. He didn’t understand why. Only this morning he’d been wanting her as far away from him as possible.

The peace that filled him seconds ago dissipated quickly. He knew in a few short days the darkness and memories would surface. He would become more of an asshole than he had already been to her. This was why he went away to be alone. No matter how tempting it was to grasp at the lightness Jordan could bring to his soul, he knew he had to resist.

“Actually, on second thought I think I’ll skip dessert.” He glanced at his watch. At nearly ten, it wasn’t late by anyone’s standards. But now, now, he wanted the night to be over.

Another flash of disappointment dulled the spark of fire in her eyes. “Probably a good idea. As I said, I have an early start in the morning.”

Jordan pushed her chair back. Did she plan to walk out on him? “Where are you going?” His question sounded harsher than he had intended.

“I’m going to the bathroom. If that’s okay?”

He nodded and watched her retreating back. Why did the thought of Jordan walking out on him affect him so much?

• • •

Jordan let the cool water run over her wrists. It had been a hell of an evening. She felt like she’d just played a game of tennis. One minute things were easy between them. Light-hearted banter volleying across the table. Then, wham, a comment whizzed pass with the force of an ace, knocking you out of the game.

Turning off the tap, she wiped her hands and reached into her purse to slick on some lip-gloss, although she wasn’t sure why. Did she want to encourage Kyle to give her another kiss?

Yes
resounded loudly in her mind. Even though it was complete madness. Giving herself a mental shake, she walked out of the bathroom and back into the dining room. Kyle stood as he saw her approaching, a half-smile on his face, the slight uptick of his lips enticing.

“Did you pay the bill already?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

“Is that a problem?” he enquired mildly as he cupped her elbow and led her through the restaurant to the front door. Heat radiated from his hand, through her body, warming her even though she wasn’t cold.

“I wanted to split the bill with you,” she said as they made their way toward the car.

Kyle stopped abruptly. “Let me get this straight. I asked you out to dinner. I pay for said dinner.”

Whoa. She hadn’t meant to offend him at all. She’d just wanted to split the bill. She and Don had done that early on in their relationship. Maybe she should’ve seen that as a sign things weren’t going to work out. Her father told her numerous times a gentleman will always pay for his date.

“Look, I’m sorry, Kyle. It’s just something I’m used to doing.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying that you split the bill with every single date you’ve had?”

“Well,” she dragged the word out. “When my ex-fiancé and I first started dating we would split most of the costs wherever we went.”

“Are you kidding me? What sort of guy does that? And you were engaged?”

Not wanting to get into her disaster of a relationship, she shrugged. “I didn’t mind. Yes, I was engaged. I broke it off before I moved here. I haven’t heard from him since, and that makes me happy.”

Kyle stepped closer to her, his warm, hard chest brushing up against hers. “Well, let me tell you something, sweetheart. I’m a firm believer of the principle ‘I ask, I pay.’ And if your fiancé expected differently, you’re better off without him.”

The endearment slipped off his lips naturally. Seeing the fierceness in his eyes, her heart beat double time. Her eyes flicked back down to his lips. They were so close and the touch they’d shared earlier so fleeting. It made no sense to her, particularly as they had just been discussing Don, but she wanted to taste him again.

Her lips parted of their own accord as she leaned a little closer. He must have had the same idea because in the next instant their lips were fused together. Her hands clutched his chest, scrunching up his shirt between her fingers. Kyle’s arms slipped around her, bringing her lower half flush with his. He was rock hard from the chest her fingers were touching, to where her softness met another solid part of his anatomy. They aligned together in a perfect match.

His lips roved over hers, encouraging her to open beneath the onslaught. And she did. His tongue delved in, dueling with hers. Wanting to feel more of him, she rose up on her tiptoes and moved her hands from where they were clutching his shirt to slipping around his back and up until she was able to sink her fingers into his hair, ensuring the kiss would continue.

Time stood still as they tasted each other. Her body heated as his hands moved to cup her bottom, the thin material of her trousers no barrier against his heat.

A car door slamming, followed quickly by some loud laughter, broke the spell. Kyle pulled his lips from hers and Jordan fully expected him to step away. Instead he rested his forehead against hers and ran his hands up from her bottom until he found her waist.

“I’m not sure that was a good idea.” The words whispered out of her.

“Why?”

“Because.” Jordan dropped her arms from where they were still entwined in his hair and maneuvered out of his embrace, taking a couple of deep breaths to get her equilibrium under control. Why the hell had she thought her relationship with Don would be life sustaining? One kiss from Kyle and she’d experienced more heat than she ever had with Don.

Angry at herself and at Kyle for reinforcing just how shitty her previous taste in men was, she stepped off the curb and headed in the general direction of where they’d parked the car.

She’d not taken two steps when a hand landed on her shoulder, the fingers digging briefly into her.

“Because is not a suitable answer.”

Anger at herself, for once again kissing someone who had control over her employment, flowed to life within her. “You’re my boss, Kyle. Kissing the boss is never a good idea.” She closed her eyes briefly in attempt to get her wayward emotions under control. “It’s never the boss who gets fired, is it? Besides, only a few hours ago you wanted me out of your house.”

Under the bright light illuminating the car park, Kyle looked like the formidable stockbroker she’d read about—tall, strong, unyielding. And moments ago she had held him.

He opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, but then snapped it shut. Good. Nothing he said could make a difference to the situation they were now in. Instead he nodded and Jordan had an idea that, come tomorrow, he would be keeping his distance from her. She would do well to keep her distance from him too.

Tiredness pervaded her soul. It had been a long, emotional day and she just wanted it to end.

“Can you take me home now?”

• • •

The red numbers glowing in the darkened room from the digital clock mocked her as they kept changing. The tiredness that had cloaked her in the restaurant car park had evaporated the moment she lay down on her bed. Restless energy had taken its place. Throwing back the covers, she thought maybe a mug of hot chocolate would relax her and she could manage some sleep before her alarm sounded.

Jordan padded to the apartment kitchen, opened the fridge and groaned. Nothing but empty shelves greeted her. She’d moved all her food to Kyle’s house when she’d moved there. After the kiss they’d shared in the car park, she’d thought it safer to retreat to dad’s apartment for the night, forgetting the apartment had been locked up for a week. Dampness pervaded the air. She’d almost gagged when she’d walked in. But she refused to give in. A few days with the windows open should make it easier to sleep—she hoped.

The entire drive home she’d battled the temptation to reach out and place her hand on Kyle’s leg. It seemed so ridiculous to feel such intense emotions with someone she’d just met. And she’d felt them all, from anger to desire.

Jordan closed the fridge and wandered over to the window overlooking Kyle’s place. Darkness shrouded the big house.

Could she dare? Should she?

She could go in the back door, grab her milk from the fridge, and he’d never know she’d been there.

Not giving herself a second to list all the reasons why that would be a bad idea, Jordan picked up her keys and headed toward the door.

It only took her a few moments before she found herself standing at the back door, the key nestled in the lock. Her fingers grasped it, ready to turn the key, but she hesitated. Pushing aside her nerves she flicked her wrist; the click of the lock releasing sounded loud to her ears in the quiet night.

She quietly closed the door behind her, making her way through the room lit only by moonlight. She yanked on the fridge handle and pulled out the carton. She turned and slammed into a hard wall.

She screamed and dropped the milk.

The light turned on and she blinked rapidly at the sudden brightness. “What the hell?”

“I could ask the same thing. Do you always sneak around in the dark?”

Jordan pulled her dripping wet tank away from her skin. “I didn’t realize you were still awake. Do
you
always sneak around in the dark?”

She walked past Kyle and picked up the roll of paper towel to start cleaning up the mess.

“It’s my house. I can do what I want.”

They either argued when they were together or they kissed. Not exactly the best way to communicate with each other. Conscious she had on short shorts and a wet tank, she quickly cleaned up the spill and put the carton back in the fridge, all thoughts of making some hot chocolate to help her sleep gone.

She really wanted to take a shower to wash the milk away but also the lingering musty smell from the damp apartment she now smelled on herself. Although this time, the risk of Kyle walking in on her would be slim.

After throwing away the sodden paper, she washed her hands. “While I’ve enjoyed this little chat, I think I’ll go back to my apartment.”

Kyle moved from where he leant against the kitchen table and strolled toward her, sniffing the air. “What is that smell?”

Mortification filled her. Could the earth open up and swallow her now?

“Ahh, that would be from the apartment.”

“And you’re sleeping there now when a few hours ago, I couldn’t pay you to go there? You should stay here in the house tonight and until the apartment is finished being renovated.” He glared at her. “Like you were going to. And you should have a shower.”

“If I have a shower, it would probably wake me up. And it’s not that bad in the apartment.” She paused. “Now that the windows are open.”

It wasn’t the truth. The apartment would smell for a few days and sleep definitely wasn’t going to happen anytime soon since her body was now too aware of Kyle and how close he stood next to her. He’d already caught her in the shower once. This was the second time he’d seen her wet.

His gaze fixed on her wet tank. Her nipples peaked under his scrutiny. Heat suffused her body as she imagined his hands on them. Caressing them. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.

This was complete madness.

She held her breath—what would his next move be?

Her lips parted in anticipation as Kyle leaned toward her. Instead of his lips connecting with hers, his thumb lightly brushed her cheek. “Take a shower, Jordan.”

With that he turned and headed down the darkened hallway, leaving her weak kneed and wishing things had ended differently.

Kyle wished for a swell as he bobbed on his surfboard. Anything, even a two-foot swell, would be better than nothing. Sighing, he laid himself out on his board and started a slow paddle back to the shore.

He’d wanted the ocean to toss up some wild waves so he could test himself against the elements. He’d walked back to his room after his encounter with Jordan in the kitchen, sporting a hard-on that had taken a long while before it disappeared. He called himself every name in the book for turning down what she had been offering.

She wanted him to kiss her. Touch her. In her wet tank and short shorts, it had taken everything in him to walk away and not take her hard and fast on the kitchen table.

He walked through the shallows with his board under his arm. Having Jordan in his house, around him, was the last thing he wanted. What he craved right now was to go back home and get drunk. His usual modus operandi when he came down here at Christmas. What would she think if he did that? If she walked in and found him passed out on the couch?

He sat down on the hot sand and looked out over the ocean. What had it looked like that day almost eleven years ago? Calm and peaceful as it looked now? Or had it been churning, warning everyone of the impending disaster? What had been going through his parents’ and sister’s mind when they heard the rushing water? Had their last thoughts been about him? Wondering where he was and if he was okay? Or had they’d been so terrified they couldn’t think at all, let alone run to higher ground?

Kyle punched the sand. He would never know what they’d gone through. Had they suffered a long, drawn-out death, or had it be quick? It still cut deep that he’d survived the tsunami and they hadn’t.

Some days he wondered why he’d been spared. What had he done to deserve the hall pass? Hell, he’d yelled at his parents on Christmas night. A belligerent nineteen-year-old who didn’t want to do the
family
thing. Now he’d give anything to have a do-over on that evening again. Maybe if he’d stayed, he could’ve got the family to safety and they’d be getting ready to celebrate another family Christmas. Maybe Emily would be at the top of her university course, ready to take on the world.

God, he missed her so much. He may have found her an annoying little sister, but she always made him laugh. He had really wanted to play big brother. Make sure that the boys she dated were good enough for his sister.

He squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden burst of moisture. He was done crying. He was thirty years old. Men his age didn’t cry.