“Good call.” He finished his first taste. “And good steak. So why all the fast food? I’d have thought your sister, the cooking expert, handled kitchen duty.”
“When she’s around, but her school hours and jobs are pretty irregular, so I’m often on my own. Cooking’s not my thing. It’s hers.”
Kane kicked back in his chair, studying her over steepled fingers. “You’re very different people, that much I realized immediately.”
His lazy gaze zeroed in on hers, causing her body temperature to spiral. The tight top that had felt liberating when she’d chosen it suddenly felt confining. The heat pumping inside her couldn’t be denied or ignored. She wet her dry mouth with a sip of water before attempting to speak. “Cat and I don’t share the same passions, but…”
She didn’t get any further. His eyes darkened and the word passion hung heavy in the air between them. Considering she’d seen him in the throes of that particular emotion, Kayla couldn’t mistake the desire reflected in his gaze. Nor did she want to.
She took a bite of her meal but didn’t taste a thing.
He did the same. “Incredible,” he said in a husky voice. He gestured to the food on his plate, but his hooded gaze never wandered from her face.
She felt a burning flush rise to her cheeks. “I thought you were a steak and potatoes kind of guy, so I made…steak and potatoes.” She was rambling because his intense stare awakened her desires for so much more than food. Desires she’d promised herself to control until the time was right.
“You seem to know me pretty well,” he said.
Superficial information, Kayla thought, and it wasn’t enough. She wanted to know more. She shrugged. “Instinct. Something you cops must believe in.”
“It’s kept me alive more than once.”
She smiled. “And now mine is keeping you fed.” She pointed to the meal with her fork. “It’s not gourmet, but it’s decent food.” The time had come to push some barriers. “Mama couldn’t do more than boil a pot of water, but somehow, we did okay. Catherine’s been the cook in the house…ever since the restaurant owner gave her that job to work off the unpaid bill.” She glanced at Kane. “So who did the cooking in your house?”
He speared another piece of meat. “I made sure we didn’t starve; my uncle made sure we weren’t thirsty.”
She blinked, not yet comprehending.
“Alcohol, sweetheart. The man guzzled the stuff whenever he got the chance.” His face was a blank, uncaring mask.
Kayla suspected he wasn’t even aware of the change. He’d had too many years of practice, she thought sadly. “What about your father?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Wouldn’t know. He took a hike when I was five. Just like your old man.”
She nodded. Though she hadn’t known much about Kane’s family history, she’d always sensed he’d grown up on his own. Sensed he, too, knew what it was like to be alone. But she hadn’t realized how very much they had in common.
At least she’d had her aunt and her sister to give her a sense of family, of belonging. He’d had no one. “It wasn’t always easy,” she said. “But we got by.”
“Same here.” Having cleaned his plate when she wasn’t looking, he leaned back in his seat. “Your sister might be the chef in the family, but you’re pretty good yourself.”
Though she appreciated the compliment, she recognized the change of subject for what it was. “Thank you.”
“No sweat.” He rose and began stacking the dishes.
She shook her head. “I’ve got it.”
“No. You take it easy while I finish up in here. We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”
“The books,” she said softly.
His expression darkened. “Yeah, the books.” He turned away.
She followed him to the sink, dishes in hand. His shirt strained against the powerful muscles in his back. They’d once rippled beneath her fingertips. She exhaled a sigh. If by a long night, he meant one fraught with sexual tension, she agreed.
His abrupt turn caught her unaware. Suddenly, she wasn’t faced with the man’s back but his face. His eyes, a turbulent wash of emotions, none of which she could decipher, settled on hers. Razor stubble darkened his cheeks, matching his current mood.
Her fingertips curled around the dish in her hand.
“I want to get one thing straight.” He eased the ceramic plate out of her grip and placed it in the sink behind him.
Nothing stood between herself and Kane, no barrier existed between his magnetic pull and her tempted body. Without the small dish in her hand, she felt exposed…naked. “What is it?” she asked.
“I’m here because I have a job to do.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she muttered.
“But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be here.”
Kayla forced a smile. “You want me. I think we’ve covered this territory before.”
“Yeah, I do. But my job means keeping you safe and, despite what I said earlier, that means keeping my distance.”
“I didn’t know one thing had anything to do with the other.” Just twenty minutes ago, Kayla had listed every reason in her mind why she wouldn’t sleep with Kane again. Hearing him agree with her, however, hadn’t factored into her plan and hurt more than she would have imagined. Now she found herself wanting to argue against her own logic.
This battle of wills they had going was beginning to wear on her. Coupled with the constant sexual pull, the result was a roller-coaster ride of emotions. She wanted the battle to end, but only Kane’s capitulation on all levels could do that. He had to trust in her—he had to trust in himself.
Funny, she thought. For years, she’d lacked similar faith in herself. But a few days with Kane, and she’d begun to regain the inner strength and belief she’d been lacking. He did that for her. And regardless of the outcome of them, she could never regret the time they’d shared.
But that didn’t mean she was about to relinquish control.
“One thing has everything to do with
