Did he expect her to question him about why he still had it? If he did then he would be disappointed because she wouldn’t. Walking out of his bedroom, she decided that she was going to pretend she hadn’t seen it.
* * *
KAEGAN GLANCED OVER at Bryce. They were sitting out on his back porch enjoying the view of the bayou while enjoying the fried fish, salad and hush puppies that he’d prepared. One thing he’d always appreciated about her was that she was not a finicky eater. She’d always loved food and it appeared she still did. He recalled those days when she ate too much, she would talk him into running around the track after school to work it off. He knew she was still an avid runner. More than once, he’d seen her jogging around the cove.
He recalled what Ray had said earlier in the week. Bryce was a beautiful woman and he couldn’t go around getting mad at every man who found her gorgeous, as well. After breaking up they’d both moved on, but here it was ten years later and neither had found someone else. Yes, they’d dated and had been in relationships they might have thought were serious, but in the end here they were, in their thirties, single and not seriously involved with anyone.
He thought she looked pretty today. Hell, he would admit to thinking that she looked pretty every day. But especially today. There was just something about a woman with gorgeous legs and curves in a pencil skirt. And she smelled good, too. She’d tied her hair back from her face, which showcased the cutest pair of ears. He liked her loop earrings—they made her appear sexy.
She glanced up and caught him staring, and he quickly asked, “Food’s okay?”
She smiled over at him. “It’s better than okay, Kaegan. Everything is delicious. I’m all but licking my fingers. Whatever seasoning you used on the fish is to die for and tastes better than the fish served at my parents’ café. But you better not tell them I told you that.”
“I won’t. Scout’s honor,” he said, holding up his hand.
“You never were a Scout.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t remember that,” he said, grinning as he pushed aside his plate. “So did you see any real-estate properties that might interest me in Boston?” he asked, knowing she would prefer if they stuck to the business at hand.
She nodded as she pushed away her plate, as well. “I saw quite a few available that I think will work for you. Will you maintain your place here as the primary headquarters?”
“Yes. I am a Louisiana guy through and through.”
She nodded again. “You’ll be making a big step for your company, Kaegan.”
Was that caution he heard in her voice? “Yes, but Reid thinks I’m ready. The first place he expanded LaCroix Blueberries was in Boston and he has done well there. I’m ready to tap into that market.”
“I think what you’re doing is wonderful. Good luck.”
“Thanks. Now show me the comp listings you’ve come up with.”
After clearing off the table, they spent the next two hours going over listings before he selected two for her to check out. “I checked comps in the area, and I think we can negotiate for both.”
“Good, but, of course, I’d want to see them. When can we take a trip to Boston?”
He noticed her hesitation. Then she asked, “When would you like to go?”
“Preferably within the next two weeks.”
“Okay.” She checked her watch. “I can’t believe I’ve been here for four hours.”
“We had a lot to go over.”
“Yes, we did,” she said, standing.
He stood, too, as she stuffed the papers into her folder. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
She glanced over at him. “I don’t have any. Why?”
“After I straighten up things here, I’m driving to New Orleans. There’s a jazz show that’s starting around five.”
“Jazz?”
“Yes,” he said, grinning. He knew her. You said the word jazz and automatically her toes would start tapping. As proof, he glanced down and her feet were moving to some inaudible beat. When he glanced back to her face, she laughed.
“I can’t help it.”
He nodded. “I know you can’t. That’s why I believe in another life you were a jazz musician.” He’d always told her that. “That’s also why the band I recommended to the high-school-reunion holiday committee was big on jazz.”
“I noticed and appreciate you for it.”
“So will you go with me to listen to some jazz?”
She nibbled on her bottom lip, as if she was trying to make a decision. He then said, “You spent two hours with me on my yacht this week, so you should know I don’t bite.”
He thought that at least he used to not bite, but now he could imagine putting all kinds of passion marks all over her while branding her his. That way other men would know whom she belonged to because they would see his imprint. Kaegan’s woman. For years he’d thought of her as his girl, but over the years she’d developed into a woman.
“Would I need to go home and change?”
He shook his head as his gaze scanned over her. “No, what you’re wearing is fine. You look great, by the way.” She had come dressed for business in that stylish pencil skirt and collared blouse. In his book she’d still managed to look sexy.
“Thanks.”
“So what’s your decision?”
Drawing in a deep breath, she nodded. “Yes, I’ll go to New Orleans with you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THIS IS NOT a date, Bryce kept telling herself as she and Kaegan left the club after listening to two hours of jazz music. It had been wonderful, and more than once instead of tapping her feet, she’d gotten on the dance floor to sway her body to the music.
He had surprised her when he’d gotten out there with her. Second time in a month that he’d done so. In the past, he never danced. He preferred just sitting back in the corner while watching her. It had felt good having him out there on the dance floor with her. However, she would admit she’d liked those times when he’d sat watching her and she would intentionally move her body knowing just how much he liked seeing her do it. Kaegan’s dark eyes had always been readable to her. She could recognize anger in them and could also recognize desire.
She loved New Orleans as a place to visit, but not a place to live. For her there was nothing better than Catalina Cove. It was a nice, peaceful town with great people who looked out for each other. Thanks to Reid and a number of citizens on the planning board, the cove retained that small-town atmosphere.
“Hungry?”
She glanced up at Kaegan. Why did he have to look so handsome in his shirt and jeans and with moccasins on his feet? He had a rawhide jacket with frills and with the way his hair was down and flowing around his shoulders made it obvious he was Native American. Full-blooded. Hot-blooded. Sexy as hell. She noticed more than one woman eyeing him at the club. Now women that they were passing on the sidewalk were openly staring.
“Yes, I’m hungry. What about you?”
He smiled down at her. “Yes, I’m hungry, as well. I suggest we go to Finley’s.”
She glanced at her watch. “Close to seven on a Saturday night? Good luck.”
He grinned down at her and she felt her stomach stir. “I have connections. I’m one of their biggest suppliers. We’ll be able to get in.”
She laughed. “Okay, let’s do it.”
Less than an hour later, good to his word, Kaegan had gotten them in, bypassing the extremely long line. Not only did he get them in, but they also had special seating in a small private room, where the sound of jazz music was playing through the speakers. Automatically, she began tapping her feet.
The food was delicious. Not only was the huge seafood platter they shared very good, but Kaegan also boasted that everything on their plate was his catch. “I don’t think I can eat another thing,” she
said, leaning back in the chair and rubbing her stomach.
He looked at her and laughed. “Take a look, sweetheart. There’s nothing left to eat. You ate it all, even that last crab cake I was eyeing.”
She threw her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. He was right. She’d definitely eaten a lot. “Okay, I owe you a crab cake and will cook it for you one day.”
“Soon?”
She tilted her head. “How soon do you want it? I have to buy the ingredients and crab meat isn’t cheap.”
“Oh, but you have connections,” he said, grinning. “I happen to know this terrific guy who owns a company that goes out and pulls the crabs right from the ocean. They can’t get any fresher than that.”
She grinned over at him. “No, they can’t.”
Bryce could honestly say she had enjoyed her day spent with him. If anyone would have told her this time last year that she and Kaegan would be out together in New Orleans, she would not have believed them. Hiring her meant he believed in her abilities and she appreciated that. Just like she had appreciated Vashti when she’d hired her to sell the inn. Although the deal fell through, just knowing her friend had trusted her judgment had meant a lot.
“I think I need to get you to dance with me before you tap a hole in that floor,” he said, glancing at her feet.
She laughed, and when he stood and reached out his hand to her, she automatically took it. She was glad this was a private room and that they were the only couple in here, which was probably why he felt comfortable dancing with her. The moment their hands touched, she’d known it had been a mistake but couldn’t do anything about it. In all honesty, at that moment she didn’t want to do anything about it. And when he drew her into his arms, she was reminded of the last time they’d slow danced together at that charity ball. Tonight they were not in a crowded room and the music was jazz. Swaying to the music, she leaned in and placed her head on his chest, inhaling the masculine aroma of his scent that was totally Kaegan.
His body, long, hard and muscular, pressed against hers and she could actually feel him in every nerve, pore and pulse of her body. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and she closed her eyes, moving to the jazzy rhythm while remembering a time, a rare moment, when they’d danced in their hotel room. It had been his twenty-fifth birthday and she’d wanted to dance with him. Naked.
He had obliged her, and every time during the dance that their naked bodies had met, touched, stroked each other, coiling arousal had invaded her core. She could vividly remember wrapping her arms around him, gliding her hands up and across his muscled back, loving the curve of his shoulders and arms. Desire had clawed at her that night, and at twenty-two, she hadn’t fully understood the magnitude of what had been taking place between them.
Oh, she’d known how the night would end because they had made love over the years plenty of times. But that night had been special because it was his twenty-fifth birthday, and she had been determined to make it one he would never forget. She wondered now if he remembered that night. It had been the last night they’d slept together before their split.
“You okay?”
His question made her quickly open her eyes. Had she said something or made a sound? She glanced up at him, saw the look in his eyes. That look. Her breath nearly caught in her throat. They stopped dancing when he reached out and cradled her face in his hands and lowered his mouth down to hers.
* * *
KAEGAN HAD TO kiss her. Whether she’d been aware of it or not, she’d given the code, a secret language they had developed between them years ago. The tip of her fingernail had written it in the crevice of his back. Even with clothes on he’d known what she’d engraved. I W Y. I want you.
He wanted her, too, in every cell in his body. He wanted her with a need he’d denied himself for ten long years. A need that only she could take care of. He wanted her to know his response, to feel it in the way his tongue was taking her mouth. Boldly, hungrily, ravenously, while clamoring at the last of his control. But then, he’d never had any control where Bryce was concerned. She had been his from the first, on the day in elementary school when he’d sat beside her in class and she’d shared her box of crayons with him. That had been the beginning. Over the years she’d shared her mother’s blueberry muffins when he’d missed breakfast, and had shared one of her father’s sandwiches after discovering on some days he didn’t have lunch of his own. And she’d shared her brothers’ clothes those days when his had been too dirty to wear to school. Even as a kid she’d shared her parents’ underground passageway by leaving the door unlocked for him to get in for shelter when things had been difficult for him at home. And she’d shared her heart with him, and her body at seventeen.
Now he fully understood what Ray had meant that day. Home for him was not Catalina Cove or the bayou. Home for him was here in Bryce’s arms. Home was kissing her, tasting her, knowing she was kissing him in return. He loved her. He’d always loved her and would always love her. He had loved her through all the hate he thought he’d felt. Loved her when she would glare at him with a gaze that all but told him to shove it and where. Then there were the times there had been fire in her eyes when he knew he’d risked pushing her to the limit and he could very well end up with a pot of coffee thrown in his face. But he had needed that fire to stay his distance. But now he wanted to close the distance, and reclaim everything that he’d walked away from ten years ago.
His mouth was eating away at hers with a hunger he felt in his groin and she was kissing him back with a greed that matched his own. He was convinced his testosterone was out of whack, causing every nerve in his body to bring him to full awareness of her, even in the air he was breathing. Her scent was driving him insane. Before they got arrested for indecent exposure, he broke off the kiss and breathed in deeply. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, “I think we’d better leave here now, don’t you?”
Instead of answering, she nodded and he took her hand in his. After going back to the table to sign the check, they walked hand in hand out the restaurant.
* * *
BRYCE KNEW THIS was crazy. Absolutely, unconditionally, unequivocally crazy. But at the moment she couldn’t help it. Even while sitting in Kaegan’s car with the night’s wind hitting her in the face, it wasn’t putting any sense back into her brain. She was too far gone for that. Her mind and body were ruled by something she hadn’t counted on. A deep sexual need.
After going without a man for nearly four years, her body was protesting. It had taken as much as it would take and those damn battery-operated boy toys weren’t enough. It wanted the real thing, from the real deal. It wanted the man who’d ruined her body for any other man.
Tonight was tonight. What would happen tomorrow? The day after? Then the day after that? She had no idea and, honestly, at the moment she didn’t care. Bottom line was that she needed Kaegan to make love to her. Tonight. She would deal with tomorrow tomorrow.
He wasn’t saying anything. He hadn’t said anything since they’d left the restaurant. Music was playing on his radio. No longer jazz but a sultry sound of soul. The lyrics spoke of love, making love and endless love. She tried ignoring the words and concentrating on the music.
And on the man driving the car.
It no longer mattered what women he’d made love to after her. She’d had him first. She and Kaegan had taught each other to kiss, to feel, to touch. Nobody could ever take those things away from her or from them. She realized they were not the teens and young adults they once had been, where their worlds revolved around each other and no one else. They were mature adults who saw things differently than before.
Tonight she was definitely into her feelings, and what she was feeling more than anything was Kaegan Chambray. There was something she needed to know, though. “Did I give you a code back there, Kaegan?” she asked.
He only took his eyes off the road for a quick second. That
was enough. Even in the moonlight shining in the car, she could see a flash of heat in those dark eyes. “Yes, you coded me.”
She swallowed. “And what was the code?” While dancing with her eyes closed, she had thought of several erotic things. And he’d been the leading man in all of them.
“You coded that you wanted me.” He paused a moment and then asked, “Do you?”
No need to play games, act coy or change her mind since she was definitely having a Kaegan Chambray moment. “Yes, I do.” Things were moving fast. They’d just officially become friends again recently. “How do you feel about that?”
They’d come to a traffic light. He glanced over at her and said, “You will know exactly how I feel once I’m inside of you again, Bryce.”
Lordy...thanks to his words, she was threatening an orgasm right then and there and tightened her legs together. Frissons of fire raced all through her womanly folds. There were just some things a boy toy couldn’t do, but Kaegan knew how to do it all, and she had a feeling this older, mature and ripe Kaegan would likely blow her away.
She barely recalled when they reached the Catalina Cove city limits; could vaguely remember passing through town and definitely didn’t recall when they were on the road that led to the bayou. But she had full recollection of when they pulled into his yard and he parked the car. And she would never forget when he told her to stay put in that deep, husky voice, before coming around to open the door for her, then unhook her seat belt before he swept her into his arms and carried her inside the house.
Her memory would forever be filled with recollections of him closing the door with the heel of his foot, before taking the stairs two at a time with her in his arms. What other man could do that?
Finding Home Again (Catalina Cove) Page 19