Tainted Kiss (Tainted Knights Book 1)

by Terri Anne Browning

  Maybe I shouldn’t go with him. I should make up an excuse and get as far away from this guy as possible while I still could … while I still had the damn brain cells to know it was dangerous to let myself get close to him.

  I zipped up my case that now housed my camera and lifted it off the table. Then, as I turned, ready to tell Kale I couldn’t do lunch, I stepped right into him.

  One of his hands touched my side then slid around to my back. This close, I could smell his body wash, and it tried to hypnotize me.

  “Ready?” he asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper but was full of so many things I nearly melted against him. I could drown in just the sound of his voice.

  I had barely given him a nod before he was taking my case with his free hand and guiding me out of the room. He didn’t call a good-bye to Travis, and I had almost forgotten about him until I heard him behind us on our way out to the elevators.

  “We need to go over the schedule for next week,” Travis told Kale as we waited for the elevator. “I’ll have everything ready by tomorrow. Tell the others we’ll meet around two to discuss it.”

  Kale lifted his chin in acknowledgement. “I’ll tell Gray.”

  When the elevator arrived, I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or relieved that there were a few other people already inside. Regardless, I took it as a chance to put a little distance between us.

  I stepped inside the metal box, but without Kale’s body brushing against mine, his heat flooding into me, I felt oddly chilled. Then he stepped in beside me and, after pressing the lobby button, his hand returned to the small of my back.

  “What’s your favorite food?” His voice caressed over my ear, making me shiver.

  It wasn’t food I was hungry for right then. It was actually the last thing on my mind as I felt his nose brush across my earlobe.

  Holy shit, I was in serious trouble with this guy.

  “Umm … There’s this really good Thai place about two blocks down. My roommate loves it, and I normally pick her up some when I’m in the area.”

  “That’s not what I asked, Santana.” The elevator door opened again on the ground floor, but he didn’t move. “What’s your favorite food?”

  “Barbeque chicken flat bread,” I found myself telling him honestly. “But I only like it when I make it. I have this OCD thing about chicken. I can’t eat it unless I cook it myself.”

  Something like surprise flashed across his face. The heat didn’t leave it, but a new interest seemed to fill his eyes. It made me wonder if he was really just after a quick fuck or if he actually liked me.

  “You can cook?” He stepped back just enough so that my every breath wasn’t full of his fresh, citrusy scent.

  “I’ve been cooking since I was seven years old,” I confessed. “I had to become self-reliant almost from the womb.”

  Someone cleared their throat loudly, and we both looked up to find several people waiting to enter the elevator and one or two trying to get out behind us.

  Kale dropped his hand from the small of my back, but before I could even feel a twinge of disappointment, he caught my hand and entwined our fingers as he pulled me out of the elevator and toward the main entrance.

  “I’d really like to try your barbeque flatbread. I haven’t had a home-cooked meal since I moved out here,” he told me as we walked out onto the street.

  “Really? That’s kind of sad.” I wasn’t even looking where we were going, my eyes glued to him. Plus, my brain was shutting out everything else except this guy and how nice it felt to have him holding my hand. I barely noticed when we crossed the street until he stopped beside a white car and lifted the trunk to stow my case. Then I was forced to take notice of what was going on around me.

  The white car didn’t really surprise me. It was a Corvette ZO6, trimmed in black. My dad had had an old corvette that he would work on when he wasn’t deployed, so I knew there was speed and power under the hood. Anticipation of riding in it flowed through my veins.

  “Like it?” He shut the trunk and walked me around to the passenger side.

  I nodded. “It’s a sweet car.”

  When he opened the door for me, I just stood there, too stunned by how much of a gentleman he was being. I didn’t think guys actually did that anymore, but I liked it.

  “Why this car, though? I imagined you to be a Lamborghini kind of guy.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe I’m not the type of guy you’re used to, doll.” He winked, closed my door once I was seated, and then moved around the front of the car to get in on the driver’s side.

  I was starting to realize that he was definitely not like anything I had expected. I wasn’t usually so wrong about people. I normally had a sixth sense about people, yet with Kale, my other senses where so out of control I couldn’t get a good read on him.

  I liked that he could surprise me. That he wasn’t anything like I had expected. I really liked the things I was learning about him. So far, this hot rocker was turning out to be a good guy.

  Once he was behind the wheel, he leaned his head back against the headrest and glanced over at me. “What do you want for lunch?”

  “I could cook for you,” I surprised myself by offering. I never cooked for anyone—ever. Not even my roommate. Yet, I found myself wanting to share my favorite food with him.

  “I’d like that. But let’s save that for dinner.” He reached out, pushed my hair over my shoulder, and grinned down at me. “That is, if you let me stick around that long.”

  FIVE

  Kale

  I learned a lot about Santana over lunch.

  She didn’t even realize she tossed her hair over her shoulder ten times in as many minutes. She had the faintest laugh lines around her eyes that told me she smiled a lot. She ate like a dainty little princess.

  She had picked some bistro a few blocks away. It was nice outside, so all the tables on the patio had been taken, but we had been lucky to get a table by an open window. It was lunchtime, so the place was crowded, but I barely noticed everyone else. All I could see was Santana.

  For the last half-hour, we had been doing nothing but talking and eating, and I had been trying my damnedest to make her laugh. Her giggles were bell-like, but her real laugh was slightly deeper, and I grew addicted to the sound. However, it was the little snort that had just left her that was the most adorable sound I had ever heard. It was my new favorite sound in the world, and it made me want to do it repeatedly.

  Her hand covered her mouth as pink filled her cheeks, and those big brown eyes that were like melted dark chocolate widened like she was surprised the sound had actually left her.

  I couldn’t hide my grin as I leaned in close to her. “What was that?”

  She dropped her hand from her mouth to pick up her water glass, trying hard to pretend the snort hadn’t happened. “What?” I lifted a brow at her, and she rolled her eyes at me. “It happens sometimes. Not for a long time, though, so I forgot that it tends to happen when I laugh too hard.”

  Her hair had fallen over her shoulder again, so I reached forward and tossed it over her shoulder, taking the chance to run my fingers over the silkiness. The scent of her shampoo drifted over to me, and I caught a hint of cherry blossoms. That smell took me back to my childhood when my mother would wear the Japanese cherry blossom lotion I would buy her for Christmas. I had saved some of the allowance my grandmother had given me each month to get my mom a present every year.

  Pushing back the memories of my mom, I focused on Santana. “I like it. You should laugh that hard at least twice a day. Now I have to make you do it again.” I watched her eyes fill with surprise as even more pink filled her cheeks.

  She was so damn beautiful, and when she blushed like that, it did crazy things to my dick … and my heart.

  She sat her water glass down and rolled her eyes again. Fuck, I loved how sassy she was.

  “You’re a freak. Who else would like the sound of a pig snorting?”

  “Doll, you’re
no pig. It’s adorable, is all. You’re adorable.”

  Her eyes narrowed on me.

  “And beautiful.”

  She laughed. “You’re so full of crap.” Shaking her head, she tossed her hair over her shoulder yet again.

  Despite her words, I saw the pleasure shining out of her molten dark chocolate eyes. She might try to hide her reactions from me, but I could see each and every one of them through her expressive eyes. She was just as into me as I was into her.

  “Does that mean I don’t get dinner?” I gave her a pout. “Please, Santana, I’m so hungry.”

  “You’re so something.” She sighed exasperatedly, but it was overshadowed by the amusement in her eyes. “I guess I could put up with you long enough to fix you dinner tonight. But only if you promise not to lie about my stupid snort being adorable again.”

  “I’d never lie about something like that, doll.”

  The waiter put the bill on the table and, as if on cue, Santana reached for her things. I snatched the little black book up, shot the man an irritated look for interrupting us, and handed over my credit card. He took it and made a hasty exit back to wherever he had been waiting to fuck up my time with my girl.

  “I should get going. I have to do a little grocery shopping if I’m cooking for you.” She took one last sip of water and stood.

  I jumped to my feet, blocking her from leaving. “I’ll take you then drive you home. That way, you don’t have to carry your camera case and I’ll know where you live.”

  She hesitated, but since I still had her case in my trunk, it wasn’t like she could just abandon me there.

  “Come on,” I urged, lowering my head so I could get another smell of her shampoo. Fuck, she smelled so damn good. “You know you don’t want to say good-bye to me yet.”

  She didn’t. I could see the reluctance glowing back at me plain as day. I wasn’t ready to say good-bye, either. A gnawing ache filled my chest just thinking about being away from her for a few hours. That was a dangerous feeling, especially when I was about to leave for tour in a few days.

  “Don’t you have other things you need to do, rock star?” She tilted her head, watching me closely. “Aren’t you leaving soon?”

  I shrugged. “All I gotta do is pack.” I had a shitload of stuff that needed to be done, but none of that mattered. I only wanted to spend my time with Santana, not wasting it on stupid shit. “That can wait. I’d rather spend time with you.”

  The waiter returned with my card and the receipt for me to sign. Taking it from him, I scribbled down a tip and my signature, and then tossed it on the table. Then I took Santana’s hand before she could make up her mind.

  Out on the street, I pulled her toward the valet and handed him my ticket. Then I turned to face Santana, determined not to let her get rid of me yet. If I let her go now, if we said good-bye and that was it, I knew we would both regret it.

  “You like to have your own way, huh?” Her lips twisted with annoyance, yet I could see the amusement in her eyes again.

  I grinned and thrust my hands into my pockets. “See, you already know me pretty well. Don’t lie to yourself either, doll. You know you like me.”

  Those damn expressive eyes of hers showed me everything she was thinking right then. I saw the truth, whether she was ready to admit it to herself or not. She did like me, but there was more, the same kind of more I was feeling. It might have scared me a little, but I could see that it terrified her.

  Why?

  I wanted to know what had made her so afraid of liking a guy. Afraid of getting close to him.

  “Yes,” she surprised us both by admitting in a voice so quiet I almost didn’t hear her. “I do like you. A lot. Even though I know I shouldn’t.”

  I caught her hand and pulled her into me. Lifting my free hand, I cupped her chin between my thumb and index finger, tilting her head up until those beautiful brown eyes were forced to meet mine. “It’s okay to be scared, doll. This—whatever this is—it scares me a little, too. But it’s a good kind of scared. I like you … a fucking lot. Don’t let whatever fear you have keep you from finding out what this could turn into with me.”

  Her inhale was a little shuddery before she asked, “And what could this turn into, Kale?”

  Damn, the way she said my name like that made my body respond instantly. I knew she couldn’t miss the fact that my dick was hard against her stomach, flexing and straining to get free.

  “You leave next week for a tour, and I—”

  I pressed my thumb to her lips, those big luscious lips that I had been fantasizing about all morning. “I’m just asking for a little of your time, doll. Let’s get to know each other; see if we like each other in the real world. Who knows, you might turn out to be some murderess who lures hot rockers back to her studio in the middle of the desert and tortures guys like me, then hacks their poor bodies into a million pieces and scatters them from here to Vegas.”

  She grinned, making her lips move seductively against the flesh of my thumb. The grin grew bigger, and then she laughed.

  When that laugh turned into a snort, I thought I was going to nut off in my jeans right then and there. Fuck, that little snort was sexy.

  Santana gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth. Then that pretty pink filled her cheeks and spread farther down her neck.

  I couldn’t help wondering if her entire body blushed like that. Would her luscious tits turn that sweet shade of pink? Would the color of her nipples match it, or be a darker rose? Did it spread down her stomach?

  Fuck, my jeans grew uncomfortably tight, but I didn’t adjust myself like I was desperate to do. I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of a street full of strangers.

  “I hate you a little right now,” she muttered sullenly, yet she still couldn’t hide the pleasure that was making her eyes dance.

  “You’re beautiful when you lie like that, doll.” I dropped my hands, but not before I tossed her hair over her shoulder for her. She could have put it in a ponytail. I was glad she hadn’t. I liked watching her toss it out of her way. “Spend the rest of the day with me, Santana. I promise to be on my best behavior if you promise not to cut my body up and toss it to the coyotes.”

  Her lips twitched, fighting a grin. “Okay, I promise.”

  The valet pulled my car up in front of us then, and I reached for her door before the guy could do it. I gave him a tip, took the key fob from him, and practically jogged around the front of my car. Excitement at getting the rest of the day with Santana made my blood sing and put a grin on my face as I slid behind the wheel.

  “Point me in the direction of your place, doll.”

  When she sunk her teeth into her full bottom lip, I reached over without thinking, rubbing my thumb over it to make her release her hold on that delicate lip. It was damp, warm, and silky soft.

  “Unless you want me to kiss that lip better, you shouldn’t try to eat it.”

  Another little shuddery breath came out, her voice barely above a whisper when she said, “It’s not far from here. I actually walked this morning.”

  I tucked her hair behind her ear, saw the little hoop in her daith, and nodded. “Tell me about your roommate,” I urged her as I pulled into traffic, needing to distract myself from the feel of her lips and the hungry ache I had to taste them.

  “Sage?” Her nose scrunched up, then she laughed. “I met her in high school, and for about the first month, we hated each other. Honestly, I didn’t even remember why I hated her in the beginning. It was one of those insta-hate things. Or maybe it was envy.”

  I glanced at her as I paused at a red light and saw her shrug.

  “Whatever it was, it ended when two older girls cornered her in the locker room after gym class one day. They both had a handful of her blonde hair when I walked in after running my mile. I might have hated her, but I wasn’t about to let anyone gang up on someone like that.”

  “Fierce.” I winked at her then drove through the now green light. “So, you kick
ed some ass that day, huh?”

  “I tried. They were a lot bigger than either me or Sage, so we got our asses kicked pretty good.”

  I shot her a quick look, saw she was smiling at the memory, and then turned back toward the road. Traffic was getting congested with people going back to work after their lunch break.

  “But they didn’t walk away without a few scratches. And I might have—almost—broke Mandy Winston’s nose.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  “We all got suspended for a week.”

  Something in her voice forced my eyes back to her, and I saw a flash of what looked like pain and sadness cross her face.

  “I couldn’t stay home, so I ended up hanging out with Sage at her house that week. We became friends during that time, and I guess her family sort of adopted me. After that, I spent more time at her place than home, so it was only natural we ended up as roommates.”

  I wanted to ask why she couldn’t stay at home that week, why she had looked so sad, and why the fuck she’d looked like she was in pain at the memory. However, something stopped me. Asking something that personal could get her guard up and send her running, and I wasn’t about to risk that. There would be plenty of time later for those kinds of questions, I assured myself while she continued to tell me all about Sage.

  I loved listening to her talk. The way she became so animated and moved her hands when she got excited had me glancing at her as often as I possibly could while still driving safely. It was just one more thing that I found adorable about this girl. One more thing that made me want to dive in and discover every other layer she had that made up who she was.

  It took no time to get to her apartment. I found a free space in the parking lot of the complex and carried her case up for her. Instead of letting me in, though, she barely opened the door, set her camera down, and then slammed it shut before I could get a glimpse inside.

  Turning to face me, she gave me a tight smile. “We can walk to the grocery store from here.”