The Mating(93)

“I haven’t been secretly contacting him!”

“Of course, forgive me. He’s been contacting you.” Elise opened her mouth to protest, but Kane continued speaking, his voice increasing in volume. “Don’t try and deny it. I heard him on the answering machine—three times he’s called you!”

“What?” Elise hadn’t meant to shout, but she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Next time you remind me to change the tape in the answering machine, make sure you’ve erased all the old messages first. I suppose you never thought I’d listen to it before throwing it out.”

Elise stared at him open-mouthed as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. Bryan had only called once and Marla had taken the call. Wait! Hadn’t Marla said that someone had phoned for her several times and she’d let the answering machine take the calls before finally deciding to pick up? It had completely slipped her mind until this very moment. That must be what Kane was talking about. “But I can—”

“Explain? I’d like to see how.” Kane looked around as if suddenly recalling that they were standing in the street and their raised voices were attracting attention. He grabbed her arm, opened her car door, and pushed her inside. “We’ll finish this at home and don’t try to run off with your friend. I’ll be following right behind.”

It took Elise a few tries to get the key in the ignition; she was so upset her hand was shaking. Kane was really angry and she could see his point, in a way. On the other hand, he should have some faith in her; she’d done nothing previous to this to warrant such suspicion.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, she saw that Kane was driving about two car lengths behind her. Hopefully, he’d cool down on the way home and be willing to listen to reason. His background while growing up would make him more sensitive to the idea of infidelity. Marla had dropped him for Ryne, so possibly he was expecting the worst based on past experiences. He’d just watched her with Bryan and those phone messages were pretty incriminating, but at least there was nothing else. Unless he’d heard Rose’s rumour. But if he had, surely he would have mentioned it.

Unsure of what to think, Elise felt herself becoming increasingly tense the closer she got to home. By the time she pulled into the driveway, she was a mess. Would Kane be reasonable or angry? Had he heard the rumour or not? Would he listen to her explanation or just continue to jump to conclusions based on his own past?

The more she thought, the more her agitation increased. Suddenly, she realized she was sweating. God, it was too hot in the car! It felt claustrophobic; the air was stale. She unzipped her coat, while pushing the door open, welcoming the rush of cool air over her skin. As she went to get out, something jerked her back inside. Damn! She’d forgotten to take off her seatbelt. Fumbling, she worked the clasp, wanting to scream in frustration as the lock resisted her initial efforts. Finally free of the restraint mechanism, she slammed the car door shut and stomped towards the front porch.

The sound of Kane pulling in behind her had her turning to look his way. Through the windshield, their eyes met and she could easily tell by the set of his face that he was still upset. Suddenly and inexplicably, she was angry at the whole lousy predicament she’d landed in. With a glare in his direction, she spun around and with a flip of her ponytail stalked inside. It was a distinct snub, but at this moment she really didn’t care.





Chapter 27





Elise stormed up the stairs towards the bedroom. The front door slammed behind her as Kane entered, but she didn’t look back. Her emotions were vacillating rapidly; at the moment anger was foremost. How dare Kane accuse her of infidelity? She’d done absolutely nothing wrong!

Once in their room, she headed for the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Running cold water, she splashed some on her face, trying desperately to cool down. She was so hot, her nerves were on edge, her skin was crawling... Leaning against the vanity, she looked into the mirror. Oh great! It was last night all over again: eyes dilated, cheeks flushed, rapid breathing. At least this time Kane was here, but he was too mad at her to do anything to ease her discomfort. Somehow she doubted that jumping her bones was his main priority right now, and quite frankly, she was too put out with him to find the idea very appealing either.

The sound of the door handle rattling caused her to jump. “Elise, come out of there this instant!”

“Keep your shirt on!” She shouted back. The sound of Kane huffing and stomping away followed her comment.

Briefly, she considered staying in the bathroom and taking another cold shower, but the argument still needed to be resolved and hiding wouldn’t prove anything. She sighed deeply and rubbed her arms with her hands, torn between the primal urge to mate, the need to make Kane understand what had really happened, and wanting to avoid his wrath as long as possible by staying right where she was. The longer she hesitated, the more the intoxicating male scent of him drifted under the door and into the small room, teasing her nostrils and elevating her hormones. He was aroused too—she could smell it—and even if it was mostly due to anger, her body yearned for his. Almost of its own volition, her hand reached for the handle and turned the knob.