I ripped my hands free from his, only to find my fingernails digging into the taut muscles between his shoulder blades. His left hand settled on the small of my back, pressing me completely against him as his other hand cupped the side of my face. We were wholly flush, his touch scorching every inch of me.
My mother’s shrill demand rattled me free from my ecstatic delirium as she barked my name so loudly, it even startled Reese. His fingers caressed the curve of my cheek, brushing away a stray strand of hair that toppled into my face.
One last kiss, and he finally pulled away. I opened my mouth to protest, but he was already opening the door. “Let me know if you ever change your mind.”
Left in the desolation of my bedroom, I looked to the heels resting on the floor. Time to face the music…
Chapter 26
Love is Blindness
“Kat, there you are.” Mom sighed, but the breath faltered upon her doing a double take. The color drained from her face as she weaved her way through the small crowd at the foot of the stairs.
The other ladies followed her line of vision, and Mrs. Hoffmann coughed as I suspected she choked on some gourmet cracker spread. Yep, nailed the outfit. I’d splurged at a vintage clothing store in New York during our last family trip, and the lonely articles had been sitting in the back of my closet collecting dust for the past eight months with nowhere appropriate to take them out.
Leather leggings, spiked stilettos, a studded leather jacket, fingerless riding gloves, an onslaught of eyeliner, and an off the shoulder Sex Pistols graphic t-shirt. Sure enough, Mom looked like she was about to have a heart attack.
“Honey,” she gritted through a forced smile. “What on earth are you wearing?”
I batted my eyelashes innocently. “What? You don’t like it?”
“I hardly find it appropriate for the party.” Her eyes flared, and on any other day in my life, the look would have petrified me to my very core.
“That’s alright,” I retorted. “I’m not staying.”
Mom grabbed me, her talon-like false nails digging into my leather clad arm as she tried dragging me away. I didn’t move. “If you honestly think after a stunt like this that you’re not going back to Stewart’s Landing, you’ve got another thing coming,” she growled under her breath. “One word to your father—”
“‘True love should never come with conditions.’ But since you’ve made your position so clear, I’ll make mine. Two words to Dad, and I’ll be the least of your problems.” Her face scrunched in confusion as I leaned in, lowering my voice. “David Monaghan.”
Her grip immediately fell away.
“Perhaps I’ll spare a few more words for better clarity, like ‘Room 731 at the Biltmore, Monday’s at one.’” A familiar tingling warmth curled around my left arm as I watched the blood drain completely from her face until she was paler than egg shells. I plucked up a chocolate covered strawberry from a nearby serving dish. “Don’t wait up for me.”
And just like that, I strolled right past her and through the gawping crowds of stunned onlookers.
“Have a good one, ladies,” I cheerily called out, sauntering to the door.
***
The familiar trek through the West End took me to the front entrance of a quaint cottage where a rusty old beater truck sat parked in the driveway. Galloping up to the porch, I rang the doorbell, startled at the chime. Beethoven’s fifth symphony echoed from inside. Not ten seconds later did a shadow pass the entryway’s draped window. The door eased open.
Reese’s gaze immediately dropped, scoping every inch of me. “Wow.”
My blood red lips stretched, and he shook his head.
“I mean, hi.” He laughed, but it was breathy.
“May I come in?”
He leaned a forearm against the doorframe, as if to bar me passage, but his impish grin was all fox. “What if I say no?”
There wasn’t a moment of hesitation. My fingers gripped the lapels of his jacket, pulling him down to me. Before any sense of rationality had a chance to catch up with my body, I crushed my mouth against his.
For the longest moment of my life, he didn’t react. I finally pulled away to see him looking back at me in complete astonishment. And timidity finally crashed into me.
What was I doing?
My face heated with embarrassment as I turned to head down the front porch when his hand grabbed my wrist. In an instant, I was spun back around, finding Reese right in front of me. He drew me in through the doorway until our bodies were flush against each other as his lips captured mine.
A thrilling wave of electricity swept through all my extremities, inciting the shiver that had me gasping. His kiss deepened, and every inch of me went flush as his hands trailed up my sides. My own hands pulled at his jacket, forcing it off his shoulders. He haphazardly tossed both our jackets at the coat rack in the corner, immediately taking control of my waist. I fiddled with the front of his crimson brocade vest, undoing each notch blindly as his mouth softly grazed over my lips.