It's All Relative (12 page)

His lips curved into a full grin. “Deal.”

She helped him put the food away, and a small thrill of delight shot through her whenever he said he loved something. More than once he asked her how she knew exactly what he liked. It thrilled her, and it saddened her. They were so compatible. The very last thing he pulled out was the pineapple. His expression odd, he quietly said, “You bought me a pineapple?”

Jessie couldn’t tell if he found her addition humorous or not. Maybe she’d crossed a line and offended him? “Um…yeah.” Feeling foolish for her obviously ethnic choice, she flushed. “Sorry, kind of…cliché, isn’t it?”

Setting it down, he put a hand over hers on the counter. His was warm from the shower, soft. “No, it’s very nice.” His eyes got a faraway look for a second. “Reminds me of home.” Returning his eyes to hers, he smiled warmly again. “Thank you, Jessie. For everything.”

He whispered that last part in a low, sultry voice, and Jessie found herself inching toward him. Not breaking eye contact, she placed a hand on his chest, just under the towel still draped over his shoulder. Jessie felt his muscles stiffen, watched his lips part. Hers did, too. She knew she shouldn’t touch him like that—it was too intimate, too close—but she felt drawn to him; she couldn’t stop herself. Her fingers curled, lightly grazing his skin. She felt tears of frustration stinging her eyes as their gazes locked. She wanted to be close to him, and she couldn’t. It was killing her.

Kai noticed her tears. One of his hands cupped her cheek, while the other removed her fingers from his chest. “It will get easier,” he whispered. Seemingly torn, he stared at her for long seconds before finally giving her a light peck on the forehead. Jessie briefly closed her eyes, savoring the connection even as her stomach twisted. “I should finish getting dressed,” he mumbled. And then he left her alone in the kitchen, staring at the spiky fruit on the counter. Stupid pineapple.

N
eeding a minute to pull himself together, Kai walked into the bathroom. He’d pushed her away when all he’d really wanted to do was grab her and lock those beautiful, perfect lips to his. He still wanted that, even though his stomach churned at the thought.

He couldn’t believe her timing. In the shower, he’d just been wondering how he was going to get a full load of groceries home on his bike. He figured he’d have to make several trips to fill up his pantry, and he hated making trips. He probably would have settled on eating out a lot or buying only a couple of days’ worth of meals at a time. Kind of an annoying way to live.

But Jessie had saved him from having to worry about it. And she’d managed to pick up a bunch of things he routinely craved. Sometimes it was like they were cut from the same cloth. Closing his eyes, Kai suddenly remembered that technically, they sort of were cut from the same cloth. He knew genetics didn’t account for personality and tastes, but it was partly the reason why they were so similar. Too similar. Don’t touch her similar. Don’t walk back into that room and throw her down on the mattress similar.

Running some water, he splashed his face in an attempt to clear his thoughts. He needed to get a handle on this if they were going to be an important part of each other’s lives. And they were going to be, he could already tell. Right or wrong, he wanted her around.

After his common sense returned, Kai wiped his face with the towel on his shoulder, and then hung the towel over the rack on the wall. The small room was still warm from his shower, and dampness clung to the air. Wanting to feel a little bit of mugginess, he’d cranked up the heat while he’d been in there. Running his hands down his bare arms, his skin soft and full of moisture, he walked back to his bedroom. He glanced at Jessie as he moved toward his dresser. Her eyes had drifted to his chest, but she quickly looked down at the floor.

Kai sighed in frustration. Normally, he enjoyed getting checked out by a girl, but right now it only complicated things. Especially when he couldn’t stop staring at the tight, button-up shirt that she’d put on today. It was fitted in all the right places, and a dark chocolate color that perfectly matched her eyes. It looked amazing on her, especially paired with the long gray skirt and what he had to imagine were thigh-high boots. Well, that was what he preferred to imagine anyway.

Rummaging through his drawers, he sighed again. She looked too amazing. Maybe he should tell her to ugly herself up, if that was even possible. The thought made him laugh as he grabbed a deep blue sweater his mom had ordered online for him. She’d been positive that the temperature here would be twenty below, every day. But Kai was always a little cold, so thanking his overprotective mother, he slipped it on.

From the kitchen he heard Jessie say, “What’s so funny?”

She was watching him smooth the sweater over his chest. It was tightly knit, soft, and looked like a long-sleeved T-shirt than a sweater, but it was keeping him warm enough that he didn’t feel the need to double up. Remembering what had made him laugh, he smiled and shook his head. “Nothing.”

Still eyeing his chest, Jessie gave him a sly grin. “We’re going to have to buy you long johns when it actually does get cold around here.”

Kai frowned; it was already cold. Shaking his head at her tease, he walked over to the kitchen. “The next time I go visit my parents, you should come with, and then we’ll see who’s more uncomfortable.” He grinned at her, and for a second, it seemed like she’d stopped breathing. Not wanting to read too much into her body language, Kai turned away. It was best if he didn’t think about it.

Grabbing the pineapple Jessie had brought over, Kai decided to share it with her. Pineapples were a traditional welcoming gift, meant to impact well wishes on the new arrival. He wasn’t sure if Jessie had known that when she’d purchased it, but he was touched by the sentiment, regardless. And it really did remind him of home.

Leaning against the counter, Jessie gave him a playful smirk. “That’s no challenge. I kick ass in a bikini.”

Kai stopped his hand an inch from the cutting board on the counter and turned to stare at her. God, she probably looked amazing in a bikini. Jessie was giving him a grin that was slightly seductive. Combined with the curvy imagery in his head, he couldn’t stop the sudden wave of desire. He had an overwhelming urge to cut the pineapple, run a piece along her lip, and suck the juices off. He wanted that more than anything. He closed his eyes to banish the alluring vision, and reason slowly returned to him. No. he couldn’t do that, not with her.

He heard Jessie let out a soft grunt of annoyance. “Oh, um…damn it,” she muttered.

He cracked an eye open to look at her. She seemed mortified, and he couldn’t help but smile. Had she really not seen the sexiness in her statement and her face until just then? God help him if she was clueless about her effect on men. Or maybe just her effect on
him
. He shook his head. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that, cousin.” He said the word teasingly, wanting to dissipate the tension that always seemed to build between them, but she raised an eyebrow at hearing it.

Her face warmed into a beautiful smile. “Right…cousin.”

Her body was blocking the set of knives that he needed, but instead of just reaching around her, like he’d do with any other beautiful girl, he pointed at them. “May I?”

She glanced behind herself, then moved out of the way. “What are you doing?”

Grabbing a knife, he held it up to her. “I’m hungry, and I owe you big, again, so I thought I’d prove a point.” Her features scrunched in confusion and he laughed at how adorable the expression was on her. Opening his cupboard, he grabbed the can of Spam. She immediately frowned and he laughed even harder. “Deal’s a deal…cousin.”

Kai found that the more he called her that term, the more distance he could put between them. Like an unflinching reminder. Jessie smiled at hearing him say it again; maybe she enjoyed having the verbal barrier there, too. Maybe she needed it as much as he did. A part of him wanted her to need it as much as him, and that made him feel horrible as he started slicing open the pineapple. A part of him actually wanted his cousin to want him as badly as he wanted her. Jessie had nailed it yesterday, when she’d said their situation was messed up. It definitely was.

While he instructed her on how to slice and fry up the Spam, he called her cousin about five more times. She followed his instructions with a laugh, mocking his deli choice the whole time. The smell of spiced, processed, ham-like meat soon filled his small home, making his mouth water. Grabbing some bread that she’d bought for him, he toasted some slices and prepared the mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato. Jessie had brought over everything he could have asked for and more.

After setting their finished sandwiches next to a pile of fresh pineapple, Kai handed her a plate. Then they walked to his bedroom, sat on the edge of his mattress, and began to eat their lunches. Kai smiled as he watched her take her first bite. She’d been grimacing as she did it, until the taste hit her. Then she smiled, and she made an almost erotic pleased noise in her throat. He tried to ignore the sensuality of the sound and laughed at her reaction. He knew she’d like it. Everyone did, once they gave it a chance.

Jessie was studying his bare walls as she ate her meal. He thought to ask her why, but he didn’t; he was enjoying the silence of her company too much. Once they finished their meal, Kai grabbed her plate and took it the few steps to his kitchen. He started to set their dishes into the sink, vowing to clean up later. Ceramic plate in hand, he glanced back at Jessie still sitting on his bed, looking around his room. She was leaning back on her elbows now, and the comfortable position was emphasizing her curves. Her body strained against her shirt, one key button just about to pop open if she moved back any farther. Kai thought he could see a trace amount of snow white skin through the seams of the dark fabric. Suddenly remembering that creamy skin in all its fully naked glory, he dropped one of the plates into the sink.

Jessie’s gaze snapped to his at hearing the loud clatter. As Kai turned back to the sink, cursing, she sat up on the bed with furrowed brows. The plate in the sink was now cleanly split in half. Great. Kai didn’t know how to smoothly talk his way out of this one; he turned on the faucet simply to give himself something to do. He was pretty sure his cheeks were bright red. They felt on fire.
Stupid, stupid, stupid
.

Sometimes it was so easy and causal to be around her. Other times…it was the exact opposite. Kai hung his head as the situation suddenly overwhelmed him. Why her? Of all the girls that he’d ever slept with, which really wasn’t all that many, why did she have to be the one who stirred his desires the most?

Kai leaned against the counter, his head still down as he watched the water swirl some of the smaller chips down the drain. A hand came up to rest on his back, and he closed his eyes and sighed. Why her?

He heard the water shut off, felt her fingers on his face, turning him to look at her. Kai opened his eyes to see her brows knotted in concern as she examined him. He felt wiped. He’d had to adjust so much coming here—the different time zone, the different climate, the different altitude, leaving all of his friends and his close family behind—but adjusting to Jessie…that was harder than all of it.

Her hand rubbed small circles into his back as she stepped closer to him. “Kai,” she whispered. The soft murmur of her voice sent a painful ache through him—awful, wonderful. Shaking her head, Jessie looked him squarely in the eye. “It will get easier, cousin.”

Closing his eyes, he melted into her embrace. Yes, it had to.

M
onday morning, Kai woke up before the alarm he’d set on his phone. That surprised him, since seven in the morning still felt more like three. And because he’d had trouble sleeping. He’d had trouble falling asleep, and he’d had trouble staying asleep. His dreams, when he’d slipped into slumber deep enough to have them, had all centered around a dark-haired, dark-eyed girl with amazing curves and an unbelievable smile. A girl he dreamed of kissing, but shouldn’t have. He’d give anything to stop thinking about Jessie that way. How had one woman so completely turned his world upside down?