Smiling warmly at her, Kai’s sea-green eyes swept over her face. “You don’t have to keep doing things for me, Jessie,” he whispered her name, and Jessie’s heart skipped a beat. No, the face-to-face absence had definitely not been a good idea. His presence was overwhelming her so much right now that she wanted to grab his neck and pull his mouth to hers. But…she couldn’t, not with that cousin word still hovering in the air.
As she absorbed the tender look in his eyes, she finally noticed what he was wearing. It was some sort of uniform: khaki slacks and a bright teal polo with the research center name in the corner. The color of the shirt emphasized the color of his eyes, even in the fluorescent glow of the parking lot lighting. He was even more spectacular, and for a moment, Jessie was too awed to answer him.
She moved away from the truck and into his body. Kai didn’t pull back, not even when she took a step forward and pressed the entire length of her body into his. He said nothing; he did nothing, other than part his lips as he started to breathe heavier. Clenching his hand, Jessie brought her other palm to his chest, resting it on the lean muscles she’d been picturing all day long.
She ran her fingers up to his shoulder, but he still didn’t step away, still didn’t react negatively to her nearness. In fact, his free hand drifted to her hip, pulling her into him. Feeling bolstered by his touch, Jessie moved her head closer to his. “I’ve missed you,” she breathed, her lips just mere inches from his.
Kai’s head lowered as his eyes half closed. “I missed you too, Jessie,” he whispered. His breath over her face made her feel weak, allowed her to ignore every warning bell going off in her brain. She knew they were too close, she knew they were being too intimate, but his hand on her hip was sliding around to her backside, and she just couldn’t care enough to stop him from touching her in that way. Honestly, he could touch her any way he wanted to right now.
Her fingers trailed up his neck to tangle in his dark hair. They moved toward each other simultaneously. The distance between their lips was slimming by the second, when suddenly a car zoomed around the corner, breaking the spell. The car had been going too fast for the tight turn, and slid out a little as it came toward them. Kai immediately grabbed Jessie and shoved her behind him.
The stupid sports car came within two inches of hitting the back of Jessie’s truck, before the driver finally regained control and continued speeding away. Yelling an obscenity at the asshole, Jessie glared at the red tail lights until they disappeared. What was it about fast cars that made people think they were invincible?
When the jerk-hole was gone, Jessie finally noticed how Kai was pressing her into the concrete wall, protecting her. Clinging to his shoulders, her fingers dug into his thick jacket as adrenaline pumped through her. She’d been so sure that car had been about to hit them or their vehicles, and Kai had thrown himself in front of her. No one had ever done anything like that for Jessie before, and a surprising rush of warmth filled her.
Kai stepped forward and then slowly twisted to look back at her. Jessie wasn’t sure if he was dazed by their near-kiss, the squealing vehicle that had almost smashed them, or the lingering feeling of protectiveness that was still hovering in the air. Either way, his breath was much quicker when he finally faced her again. Brows drawn together in concern, he searched her body. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
It was only then that Jessie felt the slight ache in her shoulder from where he’d roughly shoved her into the wall. Not wanting him to feel guilt over shielding her, she smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m fine,” she said, reaching out a hand for him.
Looking relieved, Kai took it. As he squeezed her fingers, he gave her a devilish grin. “I didn’t realize you had such a dirty mouth.” Jessie blushed; the words she’d yelled at that maniac driver hadn’t been ladylike. Side effect of growing up with four brothers. Kai’s grin widened when he noticed her flush. “That was kind of hot.”
His smile immediately dropped, and he released her hand. Both looking torn, they stared at each other for a long, painful moment. They had nearly caved into the temptation to kiss each other—really kiss each other. Jessie was sure that if their lips had touched, it would have ignited the sexual tension between them, and they would have spent the night testing out the strength of Kai’s new headboard…the headboard that belonged to the woman who was a grandmother to them both.
Swallowing the bile in her throat, Jessie broke the silence by indicating her truck. “I brought you a table,” she muttered, not even sure if coming here was a good idea anymore.
At hearing her dejected tone, Kai’s face fell, but then he brightened as he looked over at her truck. “You did?” He walked over to examine the table in the truck bed, then looked back at Jessie, stunned. “You actually went out and found me a table?” He seemed perplexed that she would take the time to do that.