not for her body’s immediate reaction.
Pheromones, she’d read recently, acted to stimulate a body’s chemical reaction to the opposite sex. But such clinical reasoning wasn’t enough of an explanation for her response to Kane McDermott. It might explain the all- over heat despite the chill outdoors, or the delicious sizzling sensations tripping around inside her. In no way did it account for the rush of warmth when those eyes met hers or the understanding she’d seen there when she’d told him about her childhood.
If he’d been vague about himself, that was okay. He’d be gone too soon for it to matter and he’d shown interest in her life, something no man had ever done before. His curiosity about her new career path and the new services she planned for Charmed! made her feel as if he cared.
Catherine was right. This was a man capable of putting Kayla and her needs first. But she’d never done anything like this before and she needed his reassurance before deciding to take this next step. She needed to know there was no one else in his life. That she wasn’t making a colossal mistake.
She glanced at his serious expression, one mixed with desire and concern. Kane might want her, but he was a gentleman in the ways he showed her his desire…except for that incident in the alley, where she’d been as willing a participant as he.
Her entire system shook in reaction. Foreplay, she thought. He’d readied her mind as well as her body. The heavy pulsing deep inside proved that, so did the anticipation of what awaited her.
She wanted to blame chemistry but she knew a lot more than that had pushed her to this moment. A lifetime of being treated as a sex object and not a person with feelings. Years of ignoring her own desires because she feared picking the wrong man, one who wanted her body but not the whole person. The final straw had come over the past month, when she’d taken on Charmed!-the vehicle to secure her sister’s future and hold onto her aunt’s past. While her sister dated, while Catherine registered and started culinary school, Kayla had deferred the rest of her education to run the business. She’d suppressed her own desires and needs.
She glanced at Kane. This man made her feel alive for the first time ever. Add what seemed to be a genuine caring and she couldn’t go wrong. There might never be another man who valued
She met his gaze. He was unattached and sexy, dynamic…and hers, for the night at least. The suspense and excitement built and she smiled. “Well, I guess that settles things.”
“Does it?” He shoved his hands into the front pocket of his jeans. Tight jeans that molded against muscular thighs and showcased his obvious arousal.
She licked her dry lips. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
“You were quiet for so long I was about to ask you the same thing.”
Kayla drew a deep breath, as much for courage as for luck. Then she extended her hand.
A sexy grin edged the corners of his mouth and he intertwined his fingers in hers. “One stop first.” He crossed to the front desk. He handed something to the clerk, whispering too low for her to catch what he said. “Ready?” he asked, turning back toward her.
Her stomach felt as if it hit the floor. “Ready,” she murmured.
Everything that came next, the elevator ride and the walk down the dimly lit hall, all passed in a blur caused by near panic. Then she found herself alone with Kane in his hotel room. For a woman with limited experience, she wondered what had possessed her. She swung around, taking in the clutter. An open briefcase sat on the table, clothes lay scattered around and an unzipped suitcase had been shoved into the corner. The mess was so unfeminine, so like a man…so like Kane.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re trembling.”
She glanced at her surroundings once more. The king-size mattress in the center of the room drew her focus. What awaited her in that bed sent her imagination soaring. Kayla, Kane, hot bodies, tangled sheets…To her shock, her case of nerves calmed as she realized this was exactly where she wanted to be.
She looked at him. “I’m okay now.”
“Kayla…”
“Yes?”
He cleared his throat. “Have you ever done this before?”
She raised her chin at the doubt in his tone. “Lots of times.”
“Bull.”
“Fine.” She made for the door before his embarrassing, on-target questions humiliated her further. If her inexperience showed now, how disappointed would he be later?
She didn’t get far. Two steps and he stopped her departure with a firm arm around her waist, drawing her close against his lean, hard body. His masculine scent pummeled her nerve endings, enticing her physically, assaulting her already raw senses. Her breasts tingled, her skin sizzled with fire and that wasn’t the worst part. This man had the power to affect her emotions, too.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“My mama always said if you can’t do something right, don’t bother doing it at all.”
“Did I say you did anything wrong?”
She rolled her eyes and threw the blame squarely on him. “Not me, you.”
“I did something wrong. What?”
“You questioned my experience. Not exactly the way to endear yourself to a woman, McDermott.” She forced herself to remain stiff and unyielding in his arms, even though she wanted to curl into him and feel his strength flow through her.
His heated breath fanned her neck. His cologne threatened to seduce her and make her forget common sense. She struggled against the seductive pull. “Let me go.”
“Not until you answer the question I asked a minute ago and then I’ll explain. If you don’t like what you hear, I’ll take you home myself. Have you done this before?” he asked again.
“A one-night stand in a stranger’s hotel room? No. Happy now?”
“Not by a long shot. And that wasn’t the question I was asking and you know it.”
“Okay,” she said, resigned. “Once in my senior year of high school and once more a few years ago.” The first time she’d been young and inexperienced, scared but seduced into believing the guy had wanted her, not just a quickie in the backseat of his car. He’d gone to great lengths to convince her, and she’d bought his act. Then he’d gone bragging to his friends, and she’d never heard from him again. The second time had been years later. Another mistake, a futile effort to relieve the loneliness in her life.
She resented being forced to relive either time. “You want names and dates, too, Officer, or are the sketchy details enough?”
He jerked back, but kept his hand firmly around her waist.
“Well?” she asked when he remained silent. “Are you going to keep grilling me like some cop or let me go home?”
“Neither.”
His long exhale took her by surprise. Had he been as tense as she was about this encounter? Impossible. Men didn’t get nervous.
Kayla straightened as best she could, trying to ignore that her behind now snuggled firmly against him. She didn’t have to look back to know what male organ pressed hard and insistently against her. She gritted her teeth.
“Why is this so important?” she asked him.
“You said years.” His hand brushed her hair off her face and he lay a warm, comforting cheek next to hers. “I want you so badly I can barely stand.” His rough voice shook her body. The truth shook her soul. “If I didn’t ask, if I didn’t know, I’d have hurt you.”
Her cheek remained cushioned next to his. He felt so right. Her stiff muscles relaxed, even as her body remained strung tight and begged for sexual release.
Kane loosened his hold, apparently assured she wouldn’t run. She turned, crossing her arms in front of her and clutching her stomach in a death grip as she asked her next question. “And if you had…hurt me, I mean…you’d have
