“Yes.”
He handed her the glass. She took it, then looked at him. “What are you drinking?”
“Water.”
She sipped her wine. “So you’re trying to get me drunk?”
“Nope. Trying to relax you. You seem tense.”
She took a deep breath, then sat on the sofa. “You’re probably right. I am tense.”
He laid his water on the coaster on the table, then sat next to her. “Why?”
“I don’t know. You, probably.”
“Me?”
“Yes.” She took another swallow of wine.
“I make you tense? Why do you think that is?”
“Because you make me think about things I don’t have time to think about.”
Now it was getting interesting. “What kinds of things?”
She shrugged. “Maybe we should talk about something else.”
Before she’d been direct, even doing her best to get rid of him with blatant honesty when they were in Barbados. So why was she avoiding him now? “Oh, no. You don’t get to throw that out there, then deflect.” He took her glass and laid it on the table, then grasped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. “What are you thinking about when you’re with me?”
She drew in a breath. “Kissing. You touching me. I liked your hands on me when we were in the gym earlier.”
There it was, and oh, man did he like hearing her say it. “I can do something about that, you know.”
She shook her head and stood, wrapping her arms around herself. “Not here. Leo’s just a few floors down. He could pop back in anytime.”
He went over to her and wrapped his arms around her, inhaling the sweetness of her scent. “So why don’t you find out if Leo can spend the night with his friend?”
She pivoted to face him. “They could still come back. I wouldn’t be comfortable or relaxed enough to … enjoy being with you.”
He got the idea there was more to it than that, but he’d have to respect her decision. “Okay. How about another night?”
“Don’t you have to leave town after your game?”
“Eventually. Make arrangements for the kids and come stay with me at the hotel the night after the game.”
“I couldn’t. The kids would know I was with you.”
He rubbed her arms. “And that’s a bad thing?”
“I … I don’t know.”
“You’re an adult, Katrina. You’re entitled to have a relationship. Leo and Anya seem like smart kids. I don’t think they’d mind if you spent some time with me.”
She walked away and went over to the door leading out to the terrace. “I know that. It’s just me, really. I’m a lot more concerned about things like this than I should be.”
She turned to him. “Maybe it’s better that we’re just friends.”
He had no idea what was going on with her, but he wasn’t going to walk out and let it end like this.
He stalked over to her and drew her into his arms. “I don’t fucking think so. And I don’t think you want that, either.”
He held her just a breath away, his gaze meeting hers, a storm of emotions in her eyes. He felt the draw, and this tension wasn’t the kind that made her want to pull away.
He put his mouth on hers, felt her surrender even before his tongue slid between her lips. He wrapped an arm around her waist as he explored the softness of her mouth, tasting her, claiming her, letting her know that friendship wasn’t at all what he wanted from her. And when she sagged against him, when one of her hands wound around his neck, her fingers sliding into his hair, the other hand clutching his shirt, he tasted victory.
Her moan was as sweet as her taste, and he let his hands slide down over her back, relaxing a little now that he knew she wasn’t going to bolt. He wanted to touch her everywhere, to take his time kissing her neck, that sweet spot on her collarbone, and her back. He wanted to get her naked and explore her skin with his hands, his mouth, and his tongue. He’d seen so much of her body in Barbados, but they hadn’t been alone and it had been for work—his hands on her then had been professional.
Now he wanted to get really goddamned personal with her body, but he understood she wasn’t relaxed enough for that. He needed to get her alone, behind a locked door where neither one of her siblings was likely to burst in at any second. He needed her calm, tranquil, and stress-free, not thinking about anything but what the two of them were doing together.
But right now he enjoyed having her mouth under his, tasting and teasing her lips and having her body snake against him in a way that felt urgent and needy and made him hard. Which he had to agree was probably not a good idea since they didn’t have a guarantee to be alone.