Winter Interlude (30 page)

“And what are you going to do to get me to back off?” she taunted, stomping her foot and pulling out of his grasp
.
“I’m sick to death of you Morrisons having everything your way,” she said, poking him again
.
“You’re just as bad as James.”

“Oh, yeah
?”
He hated being compared to his brother and
doubly
hated the fact she’d bring him up now
.
“Well, here’s a news
flash,” he countered, leaning in closer and fighting his anger
.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not James
.”

“No, you’re worse
.
You’re certainly no gentleman
.”
She hurled the words like a weapon and poked him again, this time harder, while adding, “In fact, I can’t believe you’re related
.
He’d never treat me like this.”

His patience finally snapped
.
If she had such a low opinion of him, he’d show her just how low he could go
.
He caught her wrist, swung her into his arms and
,
before she knew what hit her, his lips crushed hers in a bruising, punishing kiss fraught with all the frustration, irritation
,
and desire now burning his insides
.
Her arms moved higher and
,
rather than push him away as he expected, she pulled him closer.

In seconds, he had her back against the wall, leaving her no doubt about his arousal.

After
what felt like an
eternity, he broke the kiss and asked in a ragged voice, “You want to play with fire,
Kate
?
You just keep pushing
.”
T
aking her hand, he moved it lower
.
“Here
—
that’s fire and it’s burning for you.”

Then, he moved
against
her hand, scorching them both with his heat as she moaned
.
He captured her lips once again, only this time his lips softened
.
Where they were bruising before, now they were sensual, moving over her mouth, trying to seduce her
.
Where they were demanding before, now they were begging, asking for completion
.
He used his tongue, plunging into her mouth, invading her, filling her, working to make her yearn for things neither of them should want
.

All coherent thought flew out the window, along with any remaining restraint
.
His only thought
?
Subdue her…dominate her…possess her
.

He forgot about Judith
.
He forgot that
Kate
loved his brother
.
He forgot that she was the woman he’d
derided
for years and
disdained
.
He forgot that he shouldn’t be doing this because he was encroaching on his brother’s girl
.
All he could think about was finishing what he’d started last night
.
Th
e
aching need that began two days ago as a simmering attraction boiled over into a desperate act of desire
.

When he tasted her tears, it stopped him cold and yanked him out of the erotic haze that had taken control of his decency and tossed him back to reality faster than a
cold shower
.

He lifted his mouth from hers,
suddenly
immersed in self-loathing
.
How had this happened
?
How had he lost control like that
?
All these questions burned in his
mind
.
But
the biggest problem
?
How could he make it up to her
?
“I’m sorry
.”
He
looked
into her tear-rimmed eyes as regret filled his
.
“You didn’t deserve that
.”
He kissed the top of her head
.

He gathered her up, carried her to the sofa, and sat with her still in his arms
.
He spotted the blanket she’d used the night before and g
rabb
ed it
,
before
he
tucked
it
gently
around her shoulders
.
She cried as he
rock
ed
her
slightly
back and forth
,
comforting her
as if she were a small child instead of
a grown
woman.

His heart ached as he continued rocking
,
staring at
the flames
that danced in
the fireplace
.

Not once in his twenty-eight years had
Paul
ever been jealous or envious of his brother
.
He’d taken great strides to carve out his own identity and be his own person
.
He never lived in Jame
s’
shadow. He’d never wanted to be like him; had never wanted anything he had
.
Until now
.
Now, he wanted
Kate
.
He wanted the love she gave to James
.
He’d give anything he owned to acquire it
.
This all-consuming, burning desire for it overwhelmed him so much that he wondered about his sanity
.
Judith had never made him feel this way
.
He couldn’t
possibly
love
Kate
, not after so short a time
.
But what he did feel was strong enough to dwarf what he felt for Judith, making him question everything in his life
.

Finally, he glanced at
Kate
.
She’d stopped crying and was sitting in his lap wrapped like a baby
,
looking up at him with questioning eyes.

“Better?” he asked.

She nodded and smiled in a fragile way that ripped his heart more
.
She seemed to have no intention of moving, so he held her and stroked
her
in an effort to ease the hurt he’d caused.

“Am I forgiven?” he asked minutes later, breaking into the silence that had settled upon them
.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” she said softly, as that spunky gleam
made
a reappearance
i
n her eyes
.
“We both were uncivilized and mean
.
I
,
for one
,
am not telling Judith about your transgressions, if you don’t breathe a word about mine.”

Her teasing manner and words caused him to scrutinize her more thoughtfully
.
His admiration of her spirit climbed a notch
.
It seemed nothing got her down or kept her spirit from bouncing back
.
Like a ball in deep water, you could push it under but ultimately it rose back to the surface.

When quiet descended again, Paul noticed the chill
.
“How long has it been this cold in here
?”
The fireplace, never meant to act as a heater, couldn’t keep up with the falling temperatures outside
.

“I don’t know
.
It seems as if it’s never been warm.”

“
Kate
, you should’ve come in
to
my room
.
There’s no sense in freezing.”

“Oh, yeah, after what happened last night, I’m just supposed to go knock on your door and say
,
‘Hey
,
big fellow…how about keeping
me
warm?’
What kind of fool do I look like
?”
Then offering another feeble smile, she said, “No! Don’t answer that.”

He chuckled
.
“I definitely understand your reluctance
.
I should’ve let you have the bedroom
.
I’m sorry
—
I wasn’t thinking straight last night.”

“It’s okay
.
I was fine.”

“Well, it doesn’t make sense to be uncomfortable
.
Tonight we can share the room.”

“Excuse me?” she countered
.
“It may make sense, but I’m not sure it’s wise.”

“What
?
You don’t trust me
?”
He laughed.
“Don’t answer that
.
Really,
S
cout’s honor, I’ll be on my best behavior
.
Even better, I’ll be happy to sleep on the floor in front of the fireplace.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Well, while you’re thinking, I’m getting cold
.”
He stood and headed for his room with her still in his arms
.

When they got to the open door, the warmth hit him
.
He unceremoniously dropped her on the bed and turned to stoke the fire
.
Th
e
room was about twenty degrees warmer than the one they’d come from
.