Kayla squeezed past me like she was afraid to touch me. Chuckling, I closed the door behind her. She took off her soaking-wet sneakers, peeled off her jacket, and walked on the balls of her feet down my hallway to the back of the house where everything gave way to an open concept flow.
She didn’t say a word.
People were usually rendered speechless when they entered my not-so-humble abode. The house was a showpiece and a daily reminder to myself that I was no longer the poor boy who grew up with nothing. Every collected piece of art from around the globe was a promise kept to myself that I would not settle and that I would see every corner of the world I’d always believed I’d never have a chance to visit.
Kayla wrapped her arms around herself when she reached the living room. “Your home is stunning, Lukas. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Thank you.”
Her compliment left me feeling out of sorts. Normally, I was proud to show this place off. I wanted the compliments. I wanted the recognition. I wanted the verbal reminder that I was enough.
But I didn’t feel that way tonight.
I felt guilty.
Kayla let her purse fall from her shoulder. I moved to take it from her, but she shot me a look, and I stopped with one arm half outstretched.
“What?” I asked.
“I don’t like what happened at the soup kitchen.”
“Neither did I.”
She put a hand on her hip and blew out an exasperated sigh. If her hair hadn’t been matted to her forehead from the rain, I was sure she’d have blown it out of her face. “If I’ve done something to offend you, please tell me. Don’t just storm out expecting me to figure it out on my own. My head is too full of things I need to remember, Lukas. Things I need to do. I can’t anticipate your emotions when you won’t tell me what’s wrong.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You sound like my sister.”
“Good.”
I rolled my eyes.
Kayla took a step forward. Rain dripped from the tip of her nose and landed between our feet. “I value your partnership and our friendship.” Kayla’s voice dropped a little lower when she said the word friendship, and my body responded with a feeling of tight anticipation. Lust.
I pulled my towel from my shoulder and held it in front of my crotch to hide the pitching tent happening inside my track pants. “What about you and Rodney then?”
“What about it?”
“How close of friends are the two of you exactly?”
Kayla laughed nervously. “We’re colleagues, nothing more.”
“Nothing?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. We’ve just known each other a long time. It’s comfortable. Maybe at times a little too comfortable on his part but—”
I grabbed her arm and pulled her close. Kayla gasped and tried to back away, but I held fast, one of her wrists gripped in one hand while I put the other on her waist. “Being your friend has its perks if I’m allowed to touch you like Rodney does then.”
Kayla’s eyes narrowed. “You have the wrong idea, Lukas.”
“Do I?” I growled. “Because from where I was standing today, it looks like I have a pretty clear idea.” I moved my hand from her hip and trailed it up her side and across her chest. Her skin was still glistening with raindrops and I broke their perfect round dots upon her flesh with the tips of my fingers as I worked my way up the side of her neck. I pushed the wet hair from her forehead and she tilted her head back to gaze up at me. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips full and begging to be kissed. “What do you want from me, Kayla?”
“I don’t want anything,” she whispered.
“Lies.”
“Let me go.”
“Do you want me to let you go?”
Her eyes darted back and forth between mine. Her chest fluttered with quick, desperate breaths. Her mouth was saying one thing, but her eyes and her body were saying something else entirely.
“I want,” she whispered. “I want…”
There was no more time for talking.
I yanked her up against my bare chest. The air rushed out of her lungs and I kissed her deeply. This time, there was no working our way up to the passionate, desperate kissing. This time, we started at full force. She ran her hands up my bare stomach. She clung to the waistband of my pants. I cupped the back of her neck and practically bent her backward as she suckled at my bottom lip and dared me to lose control.
I wrapped my arms around her waist when her knees went weak. I held her up and she whimpered against my lips as the kiss deepened. A soft moan escaped me, and she froze.
Suddenly, she gasped sharply and pulled herself away. This time, I let her go.
Kayla pressed her hands to her head and ran her palms over her already slicked-back wet hair. She shook her head and refused to meet my eye. “I think you have the wrong idea about our friendship,” she said breathlessly.
I gritted my teeth.
This push and pull with Kayla was driving me mad. I couldn’t stand it. I wanted her, but I knew she’d never let me have her.
It was exhausting.
“Fine,” I grated. “You wanted to talk? Let’s talk. I’m not interested in doing any more of your hands-on activities.”
“But at the farm, you said—”
“I want to keep it simple. I don’t have the luxury of time to dive into every little project with you. Farms and soup kitchens. Who do you think I am, Kayla? Let’s just get this thing done and wrap it up with a pretty bow, and then you don’t have to spend any more time with me than absolutely necessary. Sound fair?”
Kayla wrung her hands. “Lukas, that’s not what I wanted. I’m just trying to understand—”
“I want a fundraising gala. Quick, effective, and done in one night. The press can be there if they want. I really don’t give a damn. We’ll
