by Ryli Jordan
“How?” I asked, frowning. I had to figure out what it was we were doing wrong, and we had to figure out some way to correct it. We couldn't let anyone else find out about it…
Luke shrugged. “I mean, if you're not staring at her, she's staring at you. And when the two of you are interacting with one another? You could feel the sparks from a mile away. Nothing like a little passionate verbal foreplay to set the right tone for everything else. And if that weren't enough, well, we all noticed when you and Kate both just happened to disappear at the same time on Christmas. Multiple times. And for you, it might be normal to retreat to your room during family gatherings. But it's not so normal for Kate to disappear in a house she doesn't know, especially not when she's such a social butterfly normally.”
I blanched. “You all noticed?” I asked.
Luke shrugged. “I mean, no one really said anything about it. But there were definitely some pointed conversations about where the two of you might have gotten off to.”
“Dad included?” Luke nodded, and I pressed my hands to my face, feeling utterly mortified.
“But I mean, they all know how you are,” Luke said snidely. “No one expected it would last. And I'm sure they're all relieved to see you're still sleeping around with Anna.”
“You fuck around too,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but not with family members,” Luke reminded me. His eyes tracked Kate as she crosses the room. “She does look good in that dress, though, doesn't she?”
I swatted his arm, giving him a warning look, and he smirked at me. “Don't worry, I'm not touching her.” He paused. “But, uh, I really don't think anyone would be too concerned if you wanted to… Just as long as you don't make things awkward. It's not like the two of you are actually related or anything.”
“I don't need your permission,” I snapped.
“I know,” Luke said. “But what I mean is, I don't think your parents would mind either. Otherwise, they probably would have come to find the two of you on Christmas.”
I watched him walk away and then abruptly turned to watch Kate. She was dancing with the guy from earlier, looking like she was having a wonderful time, if her grins and laughter were anything to go by. And gosh, I could just watch her swing her hips and twirl like that for ages, especially as she did a particularly quick twirl and her skirt spun out, revealing a healthy amount of that pale, porcelain skin.
She fell back in the guy's arms, still laughing breathlessly, and I watched as his hand slipped lower, resting first on her lower back and then cheekily slipping down to caress her ass.
That was when I decided I had had enough. I marched across the room, dodging other dancers as I went, and tapping her insistently on the shoulder.
She looked surprised when she turned to see me. “I'm a bit busy right now,” she said coldly, making to turn back to her partner.
I caught her shoulder in a firm grip, keeping her from completing the action. “Your mom asked me to make sure that you got home all right,” I lied. It probably wasn't the best line to use, but Linda had already stopped to say goodbye to me a little while ago, so I figured there was a possibility that she would never find out. Anyways, I wasn't really thinking about that future problem at the moment. I just needed that guy to quit touching Kate like he might be going home with her at the end of the night.
“Well, I'm not ready to go home yet,” Kate said.
“Well, that's too bad for you because I'm leaving, but I promised your mom that I'd get you home,” I said.
“You're too drunk to drive anyways,” Kate scoffed.
I rolled my eyes. “No shit, sherlock. That's why I hired a driver for the evening. He's waiting with the car outside.”
“I'm not leaving yet,” Kate said. “I'll make my own arrangements—I'll call a cab.”
“Bet you don't even know the address where you are,” I challenged. “How would you handle calling a cab?”
Kate looked momentarily embarrassed, and I counted that as a victory. But then her dance partner stepped in. “I mean, I can handle getting her home safe,” he said, smiling warmly at Kate. “Can't give an exact time for it, big brother, but Kate's a responsible adult and can make her own plans.”
I scowled at him, not sure if I was more offended by him calling me her 'big brother' or his condescending tone. “Stay out of it,” I snapped. I turned back to Kate. “Look, like I said, I already promised your mom I'd get you home safe. You don't want me to have to break my promise to my new stepmother, do you? We were all just starting to get along as a family...”
Kate looked momentarily torn at that. “I just can't believe she asked you, of all people, to get me home safe,” she finally said, but I could tell that her resolve was cracking.
I shrugged. “Well, she did. Now, can we please go? I'm nearly desperate to get out of this tie...”
Her partner sneered at that. “So why don't you take home a girl who will undress you, David?” he asked. “That's what you usually do at these things, isn't it? Come to think of it, where's the girl you arrived with anyway? Did she finally get sick of you?”
“Again, this is really none of your business,” I snapped at him, suddenly recognizing him. Five years of foreign university later, Michael Westin was just the same smarmy asshole that he'd ever been.
Michael's face twisted into an ugly grin. “I bet you're just trying to take her home so you can fuck her as well, right? I know how you are with pretty girls.” He reached out and boldly stroked one of Kate's breasts. “Are you jealous?”
I punched him square in the nose, and he fell back on the floor, howling in pain.
Kate stared at me in shock, as did a few of the people around us who realized what was happening. I blinked, not having though through that action at all, just having reacted to what he was saying. I must be drunker than I had thought… I swallowed hard, only imagining what my father would have to say to me when he heard about this. Especially if this screwed up his deal with Greg Whittaker, I would be in for some serious lectures on responsibility and respectability. There wasn't much he could do at this point, of course, since I'd been independent for years, but… Well, I did like to stay on good terms with him.
I turned to Kate. “We're leaving,” I hissed. But I turned to stalk out of there without once looking to make sure she was with me.
Surprisingly enough, she followed meekly behind me and climbed into the back of the car with me. “That was a little interesting,” she said quietly.
I gave the driver the address of her house and then fell silent.
“Hey,” Kate said, reaching over and running a finger down my knuckles, which would probably be an ugly shade of purple by tomorrow. “That was kind of sexy, you know. I've never had a guy fight for me before.”
I closed my eyes and counted to ten, letting out a deep breath. “I wasn't fighting for you,” I said finally.
“Oh,” Kate said, sounding like she didn't quite know what to say.
After a long, silent drive, we reached her house (it wasn't that far away, but it felt like it took ages to get there, no doubt partly due to the thick, swirling snow that was falling outside). Kate paused, her hand on the doorknob. “Is that it, then?” she asked me, looking like she was almost disappointed with me.
I turned to look at her, feeling an almost desperate urge to pull her into my arms and just...hold her? I frowned at that altogether girly sentiment and shrugged. “What do you want me to say?” I asked.
“You could admit that you were jealous,” Kate said. “You could tell me why you're going home with me instead of with Anna.”
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingertips. “Can I come in?” I asked, surprising myself. Maybe surprising both of us, if Kate's expression was anything to go by.
“I don't think that's a good idea,” Kate said, moving to get out of the car. “I don't do one-night stands.”
“So we'd better do it more,” I told her cheekily. “We could have a string of one-n
ight stands, at least.” That, of course, wasn't what I wanted, but she still didn't seem to realize that, and I doubted she would take the word of a drunk guy who had just punched someone out at a party.
“Not what I meant,” Kate said coldly, opening her door.
I reached out and caught her wrist. “I know,” I said. “Look, can I just come in? Not to have sex or anything like that. I just… I don't know. Never mind. Forget it.”
Kate sighed. “Fine,” she said after a minute. “Fine, you can come in. You're not staying the night, though.”
I nodded solemnly and then climbed out of the car, following her inside.
Chapter Sixteen
DAVID
We binge-watched a few movies that night, and each time Kate got up—to get popcorn, to refill our drinks (just water for me, and juice for her), to go to the bathroom—she sat back down closer and closer to me, until by the end of the night, she was snuggled into my arms, her back pressed against my chest. She fit there as though she belonged there, I thought distantly, staring down at her soft, shiny hair. I leaned my cheek against the top of her head, giving up all pretense that I was still watching the movie.
“You tired?” Kate asked, her voice sleepy and quiet.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, nuzzling her a little. “Really comfortable here, though.”
Kate carefully extracted herself from my grip. I could have detained her if I'd wanted to, but I figured she needed to use the bathroom again or something. When she stood there with her hands on her hips looking down at me, though, I realized my mistake.
“You need to go home, then,” she told me firmly. She held up a hand to forestall and protests I might have. “I don't want to hear any arguments. You agreed to leave. And it's my house.” She paused. “I can't...have a repeat of before.”
I stood slowly and stretched, yawning widely. When I looked back at Kate, I was amused to see she had been ogling my abs where my shirt had ridden up. I tugged it back down, keeping my hands teasingly on the hem as though I might take it off at any second. “Are you sure you don't want me to stay?” I asked her.
She blinked at me, looking for a moment like she didn't even know what I was asking. But then she scowled. “Oh no,” she said, shaking her head. “Oh no, no, no. You're not going to charm me into it again. I swear, if you–“
I closed the distance between us and swept her into a dramatic kiss, feeling her protests melt against my lips. I slipped an arm around her lower back just as I felt her knees give out, her weight falling heavily against my support.
“God,” she said shakily as I pulled away. Then, she shook her head again. “I mean it, David,” she said warningly. “I'm not going to have sex with you. Now, please. I want you to leave.”
I cupped her cheek in my palm, watching her eyelashes flutter a little. “Oh Kate,” I said sadly, lightly stroking her cheekbone. I leaned my forehead against hers for a long moment, just reveling in this closeness. I swallowed hard. It was probably the first time I had ever wanted to stay over with a woman and not have sex with her. I just wanted to hold her, to possessively treat her as though she was my own for the night.
And I had missed our conversations. Kate and I were great in bed, and if we had more time together, to talk alone, about the facts of our lives, about the things we grew up dreaming about. .. I wanted more than what we had now, wanted something that I seemed to only be capable of finding in Kate. But I wasn't sure how to go about telling her that. And I knew I shouldn't be saying—or even thinking any of that. It was too early in our relationship.
“Luke says he thinks our parents knew we had sex on Christmas,” I said suddenly.
Kate's eyes widened, and she went a couple shades paler than usual. “Really?” she asked. She blushed brilliantly. “Oh god, what does my mother think?”
I shrugged. “I don't know. I don't think Luke knows. But he says that if they wanted to stop us, they would have come to find us.”
“I mean, Mom wouldn't have wanted to walk in on me like that, and I bet Alex wouldn't have wanted to walk in on you either.”
“True,” I said. “But they might have knocked on the door.” I shrugged. “Look, I don't know. I just...”
“But it doesn't matter anyways,” Kate said firmly. “Because this isn't what you want. I'm not what you want. You just want me to want you.”
“That's not it,” I said frustrated. “I mean, not to sound like an arrogant prick, but I already kind of expect most girls to want me. I'm attractive, and I make shitloads of money.”
“Wow,” Kate said, shaking her head as she pulled away. “Wow. I can't believe I slept with you.”
“Wait,” I said, catching her wrist. “I mean, it also helps that I'm intelligent and can hold a conversation. And I can cook decently too. And… Well, there's a lot of things.”
“But you'll sleep with every woman you meet who fits your standards,” Kate said bitterly. “And it means nothing to you.”
“Kate,” I said. I sighed and looked away from her, staring out at the snow. “Look, Kate. I don't do relationships. I never do relationships. You're going into this fast, as though a little bit of knowledge about someone and one night—or a few nights—of great sex might mean you're soulmates and destined to be together forever. I don't believe in that kind of stuff. And I'm not sure how to go about getting to know someone better. Especially if you're living here and I'm living in London.”
“Except that I won't be living here,” Kate pointed out. “I'll be living in London as well.”
“I know,” I sighed. “But if you were living with me in London… Don't you think that's a lot of pressure to put on a relationship all at once?”
“That might be the first sensible thing I've ever heard you say,” Kate said, looking thoughtful. She shook her head. “I really am going to London anyways,” she said again. “I've already okayed it with work. I'll be there starting in early February, once I straighten out my affairs here and get someone to rent out my house and everything.”
I took a shuddering breath. “Then maybe once you're in London–“
Kate placed a finger over my lips. “Uh uh,” she said, shaking her head. “Don't say it, David. Not now, not when you're still drunk. I don't want to hear more promises about the future from you and then have you wake up in the morning regretting all of this.”
I nodded slowly. “That's fair,” I said. “I'm not making any promises. But it would be a shame for us both to be in London and not at least meet up for dinner sometime.”
“It would be,” Kate agreed.
We were silent for a long moment, just staring contemplatively at one another. Finally, I broke the silence. “I'd really like to hold you,” I told her. “I don't want to have sex, and we'll keep on however many layers of clothing as you think we need. But I'd really like to hold you. That's...not something I normally do.”
“All right,” Kate breathed. “I'd like that.”
Chapter Seventeen
DAVID
The New Year's party was surprisingly low-key that year. I almost didn't go, after having a long talk with my father about my behavior at the Whittakers' party. But in the end, he decided that if I didn't go, it looked almost worse than my going. He did stipulate that I needed to make a public apology to Michael at the party, and I hadn't fought him on that one. I just hoped the idiot's face was even more spectacularly bruised than my knuckles.
I didn't go straight over to start flirting with the cluster of girls in the corner like I normally would have. I didn't pick a random woman that I wanted to kiss at midnight. I didn't head straight to the bar to get a drink. Instead, I found a group of guys my age and attached myself to their conversation. They seemed a bit surprised at first, but everything quickly relaxed into some semblance of normal.
I couldn't keep my eyes off Kate, but that was nothing new. I at least tried to be a bit more discreet about it today, which was probably made easier by the fact that I wasn't drinking as heavily as I normally did at t
hese things.
Midway through the evening, Kate came over to me while I was grabbing some food. “Want to find a secluded place to kiss at midnight?” she asked under her breath. “Or is that a bit too much commitment for you? I mean, I'm sure you have a line of girls all desperately vying for your kiss tonight...”
I shrugged a little. “I'm not really interested in kissing just anyone,” I admitted.
“You haven't really been drinking that much, either,” Kate observed. “I've noticed.” It sent a thrill through me to know that she'd been watching me just as much as I had been watching her. “Is something wrong? Are you sick?”
“Nah. I just don't really feel like it tonight.” I looked down at my plate of food and decided I had everything that I wanted. “Hey, do you want to go eat outside in the gardens? Usually, they have little fires spaced out in private nooks so that people can get some time alone.
Kate raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you sure that's a good idea? People might notice we've disappeared together again.”
“Not at a party like this,” I said. “And especially not this late into the night.” I glanced at my watch. “It's only about forty-five minutes until midnight, anyway. Maybe we can find someplace quiet out there where we can kiss.”
Kate blinked and then nodded. “Okay.” She followed me out into the gardens. “You seem different,” she said as we walked through the dark gardens, listening to the soft music and laughter spilling out from the party.
I shrugged again. “Yeah, well. Let's just say I've thought long and hard about punching Michael Westin in the face, and I'm repentant.”
“You had a long talk about that with your father, didn't you?” Kate asked, grimacing in sympathy.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “But the most interesting part of the conversation was when he said he doesn't care who I sleep with, as long as I keep my private matters private. Apparently, everyone seems to have overheard the reason that I punched Michael as well.”