She took a deep breath. From him she scented confidence, arousal, and yes, some level of fear also. Good.
She flushed. The room suddenly seemed way too hot.
He sat back again. “Tell me about yourself. All I know is you’re much older than I thought and you have a degree in education. Sisters? Brothers?”
She relaxed, marginally, and took a deep breath. “Two sisters. I’m the middle one.”
“Are they mated?”
“My older sister, Kenzie, is at this very moment being convinced, I hope.” She rolled her eyes. “She’s spent many years insisting she didn’t want to mate, but a nice wolf caught her eye yesterday. He’s supposed to be at the house now . . . sweet-talking her.” She smiled. “My younger sister, Cassidy, is nineteen. Hopefully she’s holding off for a while. That’s too young. Hell, I’m not sure twenty-one isn’t too young. I didn’t see this coming.”
“Neither did I. I mean, after all, I never even got the opportunity to enter the singles party.” He winked at her. “You barged into my solitude and snagged my heart before anyone else had a chance.” He took her hand. His warm palm encompassed hers, so large she couldn’t even see her own anymore.
When he touched her, all her good sense fled the room. All she could think about was how her body melted beneath his touch. She jerked her hand back and left his larger one on her lap. That was not an improvement. His fingers landed on her bare leg, and she kicked herself again for wearing a skirt. It wasn’t even a long skirt. And when she was sitting, it climbed up her thighs.
He caressed the skin with the tips of his fingers and she stared down at the connection, panting. Finally, she jumped up from the couch and stepped back. Her heart raced. Her legs threatened to buckle. She’s wanted him to stroke her skin higher, and yet she’d also needed him to stop before she got so carried away she couldn’t control her reactions.
She smoothed her skirt and swallowed. “And you? You have a sister and a brother, right?” If she brought the conversation back on track, would she be able to ignore her body’s reaction to this man?
“Yes.” He smiled up at her, a coy look that said she hadn’t fooled him. “Samantha lives in St. Louis. Blake is at OU at school.” He paused. “What else do you want to know?”
“You live in Houston? How long are you here for? When will you go back?”
“I’m not sure. That depends.”
“On what?”
“You.” He stood now, sauntered toward her.
She backed up.
He stalked forward.
When her back hit the kitchen island, he had her cornered. He leaned into her, placing one hand on either side of her on the counter.
She flushed. Everything was moving too fast and so intense. Even his gaze was enough to make her lightheaded.
“Kathleen, you’re mine. Do you understand what that means?”
She swallowed.
“I’m not going home without you. I have the next two weeks off. Gives us plenty of time to get to know each other. I don’t care where we go. If you want to stay here, we can. If you want to go to Houston, we can do that. If you want to take a trip to the Bahamas, canoe down the Rio Grande, or go hiking in Alaska, that can be arranged too.” He lifted one corner of his mouth, teasing her.
She shuddered.
“God, you smell fantastic.” He lifted a lock of her hair and held it to his cheek, in haling her scent. Everything he did seemed erotic. Dangerous. Sexy. “I need to kiss you.” He raised an eyebrow, asking for permission.
She nodded.
He placed his hands on both sides of her face, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs for several seconds. As he stared at her mouth, she gazed at his expression.
When his thumb brushed over her bottom lip and then pulled it down, she sucked in a breath. “So soft,” he mumbled. He didn’t stop. Instead he swept his thumb back and forth over her lower lip.
Her mouth tingled. She fought to keep from reaching out to lick his thumb with her tongue.
“Open for me, Kathleen.” Her name sounded so formal coming from him.
She shivered again. How could a simple kiss be so complicated? Demanding? It was taking so long and her legs were wobbling while she waited.
“You could call me Kath. My family does,” she muttered. She had no idea why she needed to tell him that now. Perhaps to break the intensity. It frightened her how aroused she was. She squeezed her thighs together, but that did nothing to make the ache growing low in her belly go away.
He grinned at her, but didn’t lift his gaze from her mouth. “Perhaps. But not when we’re having sex. I like the way your full name sounds tumbling from my mouth when I’m thinking of having you.”