"Yes. No more arguments," he said in an authoritative voice. "Now, do you want to go out to lunch or do you want to eat last night's leftovers? Clarise said to help ourselves."
"Kane?" she said quietly.
"Yes?"
"If you're going to be around then I could go back home to Jess and Rob's, couldn't I? I really don't want to bother too many people."
Kane pursed his lips as he considered her request. "I can't see why not."
She smiled at him. "Thank you. I really hope this isn't too much trouble for you."
He moved closer to her and tilted her face to his. "You know this isn't any trouble for me, Jaz," he said huskily, his eyes boring into hers with naked emotion.
Her breath caught in her throat. The magnetic attraction she'd been trying to push away no longer wanted to be ignored. It wove an invisible cord around them, pulling tighter, bringing them closer. She didn't know who made the first move but in the next breath, their lips met.
She moaned softly as Kane's lips moved against hers, and she responded without a thought.
"Jaz," he whispered before he deepened the kiss. He crushed her to him, his hand raking her hair while the other heatedly stroked her back. His tongue explored her mouth insistently, deliciously. Making her hot, making her wet.
"Kane," she breathed as his lips went to her neck. Kane. How many times had she called that name in her dreams. In her dreams. Before this, only in her dreams because … he was engaged.
"No!" she cried as she pushed him away and turned her back to him. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing away the desire from her body, willing her head to override her heart.
She flinched as he felt his hand on her shoulder.
"Jaz, let's talk about this," he pleaded.
"I only have one question, Kane," she said tremulously as she faced him to look straight into his eyes. "Are you still engaged?"
"Only technically speaking."
"What the hell does that mean?" she asked angrily, her mind focusing on one thing alone. He was still engaged.
"It's a long story so we better sit down," he said resignedly as he held out his hand to her.
She ignored his proffered hand and walked stiffly to the sofa, her arms folded across her chest. She sat on the one-seater, wanting to put some distance between them.
She hated herself for not clarifying his status before she went lip-locking with him. And she was mad at him for even attempting to kiss her.
But despite that, her heart eagerly awaited his explanation.
CHAPTER FOUR
Kane placed himself at the edge of the three-seater, adjacent to Jasmine. God, he wished he could hold her while he told her everything but right now, he knew she wouldn't welcome such a gesture.
At least she was willing to listen. He needed to tell her everything so she would understand why he was in such a conundrum, why he had to remain engaged to another woman when he couldn't even reign in his attraction for her.
Jasmine looked pointedly at him, and he started his story.
"A few months ago, an old buddy who's now living in New York was here for a short visit. We got together with some of our old university friends and ended up having quite a rowdy party. The company and the alcohol made us act like we were in our early twenties again.
"To cut the long story short, I slept with an old friend that night. I didn't hear from her for close to three months after that event, until just after New Year's Day, when she told me she was pregnant and I was the father."
Jasmine gasped. Fearing she might stop listening to him, he leaned over and placed his hand on her knee in a reassuring fashion. He winced when she moved her leg, indicating she didn't want him to touch her.
He took a deep breath and continued. "Of course, my first instinct was to question if I was really the father. But Hannah said she hadn't slept with anyone for seven months before we hooked up and that she hadn't been with anyone else since that night at the party. We did paternity tests, which proved beyond doubt the baby was mine.
"I said to her I would honour my responsibilities and would help her raise the baby. But I didn't want a relationship with her. To say she wasn't happy with that was an understatement. For the next few days, she was either yelling at me or begging me to give her a chance. She was high-strung and very volatile, which surprised me because she had always been a calm, even shy, person. Then I found out from a mutual friend that she was under a lot of emotional stress because her mother was diagnosed with cancer."
He slumped back on the couch as he grew weary from the memory.
"I toned down my negativity and tried my best to be supportive. She was carrying my child, after all. Then one day, she dropped a bombshell. She said she was scared out of her wits at the thought of being a single mother, that even though I promised to be around she couldn't be absolutely sure of that, no matter what I said. She told me she was going to have an abortion, then move back to London to be with her family.