When Kaylea’s mother and father walked in, Kaylea let out a breath of relief and Nicole laughed. “Look at you. You look like you’re about to faint. That’s one hell of a way to make a believer out of me.”
Without bothering to deny it, Kaylea grinned, then turned her attention to her parents as they stepped up to their table. They exchanged pleasantries before Gage and Jadyn disappeared into the back room to prepare for their shift. A moment later one of the waitresses came with their sandwiches.
As Kaylea examined her lunch, her lips tingled and her mouth salivated, but it certainly wasn’t for the egg salad in front of her. She inconspicuously watched the man in the corner, as he in turn watched her parents pull on their aprons, relieve the counter staff and step up to serve the lineup of patrons.
Kaylea noted that her stranger seemed a little dark, a little brooding and a whole lot dangerous. As a shiver moved through her, something flashed in his eyes and gained her full focus. Something soft, kind and compassionate. Something that completely intrigued her.
Tempted her.
Shortly after her perusal, he pushed his chair back, the metal legs squealing across the floor like a broken fan belt. He vaulted to his feet and stalked out the front door, letting it slam behind him.
Biting into the sandwich, Kaylea contemplated his hasty exit. But before she even had time to swallow, the door swung back open, and Mr. Leather Pants stood here, darkening the archway. Intense brown eyes locked on hers and in that instant sexual energy leapt between them, bombarding her body with primal hunger.
Desire moved through her, sending heat all the way to the tips of her toes, stopping to warm every erogenous zone on the way. Kaylea gulped down her food, slid her fingers through her hair and nearly chocked as a barrage of emotions overcame her. Everything from excitement and anticipation, to doubt and apprehension, whipped through her blood.
Mr. Leather Pants pulled his gaze away and catalogued the room, his glance settling on her parents as they shared an intimate moment at the counter.
From her peripheral vision, Kaylea caught the salacious grin on Nicole’s face. Knowing exactly what her friend was thinking, Kaylea shifted restlessly in her chair and sucked in air, barely able to inflate her lungs. Her body fairly trembled as lust prowled through her and settled low in her stomach.
Kaylea wagged a finger in his direction, both excited and terrified by the prospect, she asked, “Uh, does he qualify?” Dammit, her voice came out squeakier than she would have liked.
Nicole cocked her head and assessed Mr. Leather Pants. Her mouth curved, a look of approval spreading over her face. “Why yes, Kaylea. I believe he does.”
With her raging libido urging her on, demanding she answer her body’s desires once and for all, she gathered her bravado, braced her palms on the wooden tabletop and forced herself upward, praying like hell her knees would cooperate.
Nicole licked her lips. “I’ll cover for you at the library for the rest of the day, and since we both have tomorrow off you can take your good old time with Mr. Hot Pants. Oh, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Nicole suggested.
Kaylea shot her a wry grin. “Well, in that case, I guess the sky’s the limit.”
Nicole laughed, dropped two condoms into Kaylea’s handbag and pointed toward the door. “Don’t you have a man to seduce?”
Yeah, she did. Now if only she wasn’t so innocent in the ways of seduction…
Chapter Three
Brand had stormed from the coffee shop knowing he couldn’t carry off Lucifer’s plan. Not after glimpsing Kaylea. Christ, he hadn’t expected that Gage and Jadyn’s daughter would be such a bright, gorgeous, vivacious woman. One who made him feel things he hadn’t felt in a long time. Something about the way her eyes glistened with love and laughter when she talked with her friend really got to him, down deep, awakening things he’d long ago buried. Everything from her feminine lilac scent, her smile and her mannerisms, to the melodic sound of her laughter was infectious, and for a brief moment she made him remember what it was like to love, not hate. He’d fled the café ready to call it off, ready to spend the rest of his time on Earth between the legs of someone who was already marked, but then, inexplicably, as if driven by a greater force, something compelled him to turn around. He wasn’t sure why he’d turned back, when all he wanted to do was run away and fuck Kaylea out of his mind, but nevertheless, he’d ventured back into Halo. The second he’d flung open the door and glimpsed Gage and Jadyn sharing an intimate moment behind the counter, holding onto each other in a loving embrace like they hadn’t a care in the world, his anger came back tenfold and reminded him that they’d left him behind to suffer at the hands of Lucifer. Turmoil reverberated through his blood, and urged him to carry forth with his mission.
Deciding to do just that, he hardened himself and caught Kaylea’s glance. As her blue eyes blinked up at him, he noted the lust, desire and intrigue in her gaze. Oh yeah, seducing her, and marking her for Hell, would be like taking candy from a baby.
Concentrating only on the rage inside him as it went from simmer to inferno, he buried every emotion she brought out in him and backed out of the doorway. Brand knew he needed to expel his volatile energy before he went off like a supernova. He turned on the ball of his foot and left his Harley parked curbside. As his blood boiled, he briskly made his way down the sidewalk toward the hotel he’d secured earlier, and put together a plan of action. Tonight, after nightfall, he’d find her and then
