Her instant response just fueled the flames that were already consuming him. She met his tongue stroke for stroke, squirming beneath him to unbutton his shirt. Finally, he felt the buttons pop, and his shirt parted, their bare skin finally meeting. And Kade completely lost it. The feel of her naked breasts—that he personally found to be the perfect size—sliding against his chest felt so incredibly erotic that he was desperate to get her naked, to feel their entire bodies skin-to-skin.
“Touch me,” he demanded as he pulled his mouth from hers. He needed her hands on his heated skin before he went completely insane. Her fingers had just started their shy exploration, were almost to the waistband of his jeans, when Kade heard a noise from downstairs.
“Kade? Are you here?” The voice was coming from the kitchen and it was definitely female.
“Fuck!” His sister had shitty timing. And he should have known he wouldn’t have to let her know he was home. No doubt Mia passed by his house on a daily basis, waiting. Kade wanted to lock the bedroom door and ignore it, but he knew he couldn’t, even though he was pretty sure his balls were as blue as a Smurf.
Asha froze beneath him, her expression startled. “Who is it?”
Kade clenched his jaw tightly and forced himself to move from the sweet haven between Asha’s jean-clad thighs. “It’s Mia—your new pain-in-the-ass sister-in-law.” Kade loved his sister, but considering what she’d interrupted, he wanted nothing more than for her to go away for at least a week. Or maybe two. “No doubt Maddie is with her, and probably Max.”
Kade stood and Asha scrambled to her feet, holding her buttonless shirt in front of her. “Oh, God. I’m not ready for this,” she groaned.
He grinned at her wickedly. “I guess you better find a shirt.”
Watching her scurry around the room, pulling open drawers frantically, made him smile even wider. She looked so adorable when she was frazzled. Rifling through her bag, she pulled out a bra, jerked it on and snapped it in the front. Kade scowled, thinking that was a real pity.
“Can you grab me a shirt?” she asked nervously, looking in the mirror and frowning at her reflection. “I look like I just tumbled out of bed,” she said, her voice tremulous.
“You did,” he answered, sounding pleased with himself. Knowing it was his fault that she was somewhat tousled made him want to take her back to bed and finish the job.
“I don’t want them to know that,” she hissed, pulling a brush from her purse and yanking it mercilessly through her long hair.
“Kade?” Mia’s voice sounded again, closer this time.
He strode to the bedroom door and yelled, “We’ll be down in a minute.” The last thing he wanted was to be confronted by Mia, Max, and Maddie in Asha’s bedroom. Their appearance would lead to questions he couldn’t or didn’t want to answer. He supposed he should get another shirt for himself, but he strolled to the closet and browsed the selection Mia had picked for Asha. Pulling out a bright red silk with a swirling black design, he pulled it from the hanger and walked over to Asha. He held the shirt open while she slipped her arms into the sleeves and hastily buttoned the front. He took the brush from her hand and set it on the dresser. “Stop torturing your hair. You look beautiful,” he told her gruffly, taking her hand and leading her across the hall.
He grabbed another shirt from his bedroom closet and shrugged it on before reaching for her hand again. “Ready?”
“No. I’m a coward. I don’t want to go down there,” she told him honestly, her voice panicked.
“Then don’t,” he told her simply. “I’ll go down and make something up. If you’re not ready to meet them, they can wait.”
Asha sighed. “I can’t do that to them. They’ve been nice enough to come meet me. I can’t be rude. I don’t want to hurt their feelings.”
Kade shrugged. “Sure you can. If you’re not ready, then they can wait.” Really, his main concern was whether or not Asha was comfortable. Maddie, Mia, and Max were here because they couldn’t contain their curiosity; Asha was scared shitless.
“I’m fine,” she murmured, tightening her hold on his hand.
Asha was clinging to him, but he had no complaints. She could lean on him all she wanted. He’d be there for her anytime she needed him. That was another thing he couldn’t explain—he actually wanted her to need him, to be able to count on him to have her back in any bad situation.
Shaking his head at his thoughts, he let go of her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her body tightly against his in a protective gesture.