Untangle My Heart (Tangled Hearts) (4 page)

“You’re fortunate. Charles and I would have given anything to have the slightest bit of what you have with your family. There was no laughter at the Weston dinner table unless we ate with the servants in the kitchen. They spoiled us and let us be ourselves.”

“I can’t imagine a meal without someone laughing, yelling, and even swearing. Does the fact that you didn’t have that bother you?”

He considered her question. “At the time it didn’t because I thought it was normal. But now I see how other families are, and I can appreciate being in their company.”

“Even with my sister practically in your lap, drooling? She’s definitely going through some post-I-turned-my-husband-gay crisis.” Not that he appeared to mind.

A smug expression crossed his face. “Jealous?”

She straightened in her chair and tossed back her hair. “Hardly. I don’t need to throw myself at every guy with a nice ass and sexy smile, like my sister apparently does.”

“Clearly you’re more sensible and restrained. How unfortunate for me.”

Kate ignored his sarcasm. “Nick and I are pretty much the only sensible ones in the family. My younger siblings…well, let’s just say we generally don’t take them seriously.”

“Are you talking nasty about your brother and sister?” Carmen asked, carrying cups of espresso from the kitchen along with a plate of cannolis.

Kate rolled her eyes at Edward.

“Carmen, you have spoiled me for a lifetime. Dinner was fantastic and although I didn’t think I’d have room for any more food tonight, those look excellent,” Edward said with enthusiasm, despite having eaten two full helpings earlier.

Carmen giggled and placed the plate close to him. Un-freaking-believable. Now her mother was acting like a lovesick schoolgirl—the last thing Kate needed. Was she the only female in her family who couldn’t see beyond the accent and charming words? Of course, his blue-gray eyes—bedroom eyes—weakened even her knees. Along with dark hair long enough to curl above his collar and rumpled, giving it the appearance that someone had run their hands through it. Then there was his mouth, his impossibly stubborn and beautiful mouth that had done so many wonderful things to her body last summer. She squirmed in her chair as heat started to move to her lower parts. Damn him and his charm.

She shook her head to clear the lusty thoughts. “You haven’t had anything until you’ve had Mama’s cannolis. She makes them herself and they’re out of this world.” She shot her mother a loving smile in attempt to make her forget the comment about ragging on her siblings.

“Aren’t you and Joe joining us?” Edward asked.

“We’ll have ours in the den, so you two can work out here.” She turned back toward the kitchen and paused, calling over her shoulder. “I changed the sheets in Nick’s old room so you can stay here tonight,” she said to Edward.

Edward glanced up from his espresso in surprise. “That’s kind of you to offer, but I can get a room at a hotel.”

“Why spend money on a hotel when there’s a perfectly good bed upstairs?” Carmen said and continued into the kitchen.

“Thanks. I appreciate the invitation.”

“Damn it,” Kate mumbled when her mother left the room.

“What? Is that a problem for you?”

She scowled into her espresso. “No, of course not. It’s just…well, Nick bet me twenty you would be spending the night and now I have to pay up. I hate losing to him.”

He laughed and put a cannoli on her plate. “Here, luv, maybe this will make you feel better.”

She bit through the flaky crust of the shell and into the sweet ricotta. She closed her eyes and sighed. Pretty damn close to perfection. When she opened them, she found Edward watching her.

“You should let yourself go more often. When you do, you’re even more delectable than these cannolis here.” He lifted a finger to her mouth and wiped. “You had a bit of cream there.” He licked his finger. “Definitely delectable,” he said, his eyes dark and hot.

She recognized that look. He was trying to get to her, doing his damnedest to break down the walls she put up. And it was working, too. She was going to have to be careful around this man who could, apparently, charm even her and knew it.

Chapter Three

They worked all night. Carmen kept the coffee flowing until Kate thought she’d be able to stay up for the next three days. Around midnight, Vinnie and Vicky returned home with a pizza. Despite his claim to be full, Edward managed to polish off two slices.

Kate and Edward reviewed their ideas and designs with her family and everyone provided input until they had a solid draft of the plans. Mark, her best friend Karen’s husband and also a contractor, returned Kate’s call from earlier and agreed to meet them at the restaurant the next day.

Around one in the morning Kate slipped into her sleepwear of a red tank top and yoga pants. On her way to use the bathroom, she passed Edward’s room. She doubled back, deciding to thank him again for his help. As she raised her hand to knock, the distinct giggle of her sister could be heard from the other side of the door.

Kate’s temper immediately flared at the thought of her sister alone with Edward. Without thinking of the consequences, she knocked and opened the door. Then saw red at the scene in front of her.

Clad in only a towel, Edward clasped Vicky’s wrists. Her sister wore a short, low-cut nightgown that revealed a chest not quite as impressive as Kate’s but not too shabby either. At first it seemed as though Edward was pulling Vicky toward him, but based on the uncomfortable expression on his face, it became clear he was trying to disengage her from him.

“It didn’t take you long to try and seduce him, did it, Vick, and in our parents’ house to boot. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Vicky shrugged. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”

“Ladies, let’s not make a big deal of this,” Edward said, his face grim and tired. “I was asking Vicky to leave when you came in, Kate.”

“Then why are you still here?” Kate asked her sister.

“For someone who claims not to want him, you sure as hell are getting your panties all in a twist. Make up your mind, sis, and stop sending mixed signals.” Vicky blew him a kiss before strolling toward the door. “Goodnight, Edward.” She paused as she passed Kate. “If I were you, I’d lose the top and help him out of that towel—and into bed.”

Kate took a steadying breath and shut the door behind her sister before turning back to Edward. His hair was wet from the shower and curled against his neck. Broad shoulders led to a taut stomach and trim waist. He looked sexy and completely edible. In a way, she couldn’t blame her sister for trying to seduce him, especially when Kate found it difficult to refrain from doing the same thing.

She recalled with perfect clarity the clean scent of his skin and the way his body trembled when she kissed her way down his chest to what lay beneath the towel. Seeing him now, wearing next to nothing, made her momentarily forget why she was staying away from him. It had been too long since she’d had sex, and it didn’t help that the last person she had it with was the scantily-clad man standing before her. She took another deep breath and did her best to rein in her lust.

“Privacy is a hard thing to find around here, so you may want to lock the door. Especially when you’re wearing only a towel and my sister is on the prowl.”

“I’ll have to remember that,” Edward said, taking a step toward her. “I knew she was smitten, but didn’t think she would be waiting in the room after my shower. I was struggling with a tactful way of getting her out.”

“I’m sure you’re not accustomed to asking a woman to leave your room.”

He gave her an unapologetic grin. “No, usually not.”

“I guess it’s partly my fault. I told her I don’t have any claims on you. Apparently she took that to mean it was open season to pursue you.”

“Yet you stopped by. Why?”

“I wanted to thank you again for your help today. You dropped everything to come and help my family and that means a lot to me.”

He took another step toward her until he stood directly in front of her. “You mean a lot to me. I’d do anything I could to help you.”

She nodded in acknowledgement, not sure she could trust her voice to speak with him all but touching her.

“And you’re wrong about not having a claim on me.”

His hands found their way to her waist. Her heart thumped and she knew she should pull back, wanted to pull back. But his blue-gray eyes held her in a hypnotic state and she couldn’t move.

He slid one hand under her tank top, making light circles with his fingers as he moved even closer to her. Momentarily dizzy, she swayed and grabbed his hips for support. With his other hand, he caressed her cheek, pausing at her lips, which he rubbed with the slightest of pressure from his thumb.

“You’re all I can think about.” He leaned in to trail light kisses along her jaw. “All I want.”

Then his mouth claimed hers, and she found herself sliding her hands up his smooth chest and around his neck. She moved closer until there was no space between them, and the hard planes of his body meshed with the softness of hers. It couldn’t have felt more right…or more wrong. Her head told her to stop, but her body was in control and wasn’t ready to stop…not yet.

Their mouths tasted and tempted, and the kiss went from tender to scorching in seconds. His hands moved to cup her breasts and need flashed through her, so strong it would have made her breathless if she hadn’t already been struggling to draw air into her lungs. His arousal pressed into her stomach, and she instinctively rubbed against him, tearing a moan from his mouth.

When his fingers slid to the front of her pants to stroke and tease, her traitorous body strained toward him, hungry for more of what she couldn’t afford to take. Common sense kicked in when he reached the waistband. She pulled away.

“We can’t do this,” she wheezed.

He kissed her with an increased intensity, his tongue thrusting deeper and seducing a groan from her. If she didn’t stop him soon, she wouldn’t be able to. Grasping onto her remaining control, she jerked free of his embrace and held him back with her arms.

“Dammit, Edward. I said no.”

“You can’t deny this attraction we have.”

Kate wanted to contradict him, but couldn’t. She did want him. But like a tempting dessert to a dieter, he was off limits.

“Attraction or not, we can’t do this.”

“Why in the bloody hell not?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation. I just need you to back off.”

“How can I back off when you kiss me like that?”

She didn’t know how to answer him. After breaking free from his grip, she let herself out.

Back in her own room, she closed and locked the door. With a shaking hand, she brushed her hair out of her face. Grabbing a pillow off the bed, she hugged it to her. While she’d spent the past month denying—mostly—her attraction to him, the intensity of her reaction caught her off guard. One kiss and she’d been practically ready to yank the towel from his waist and push him onto the bed like her sister suggested. What a hypocrite. Maybe Vicky was right about sending mixed signals?

Then there were Edward’s sweet words to consider. He said she was all he thought about. Unless her imagination was in overdrive, there seemed to be the hint of something more in the tone of those words. The fact he wanted her was clear, but there was more than only sex in the kiss they shared—so it seemed. Or could he really be that good, attempting to soften her resolve with tenderness? Not knowing what to think, she threw the pillow against the wall.

She caught sight of her swollen lips and flushed cheeks in the mirror over the dresser, arousal clearly stamped on her face. Boy, had it worked. She turned away from her reflection, hating the way her heart raced and body ached for him in a way it never had for another.

Regardless of her desire, no good would come from resuming their intimate relationship. No matter how much she wanted it or how mind-blowing it would be. No. She wiped away the tears and straightened her shoulders. Years ago, she’d made a vow to never become vulnerable to a man again. If she wasn’t careful, she could see herself becoming exactly that to the sexy man in the other room. And she’d be damned before she’d allow that to happen again.

****

Early the next morning, after a night of fitful and erotic dreams of Kate, Edward abandoned his attempt at sleep and powered up his computer. Maybe work would take his mind off the beautiful woman across the hall.

An hour later, he caught the faint smell of coffee. Dressed in jeans and a sweater, he wandered downstairs and found Kate at the kitchen table sipping coffee while working on her laptop. She put the cup down and kneaded the back of her neck, glancing up when he entered the room.

“Good morning.”

She avoided his eyes. “Hi. You’re up early.”

“I had a hard time sleeping so I worked for a bit. You’re up early yourself.”

“I had trouble sleeping, too.”

Not to be heartless, but he was glad he wasn’t the only one unable to sleep. They would have both slept a lot better had they finished what they’d started last night.

“Coffee?”

He nodded and watched her grab a mug from a cabinet and pour. He followed her, fighting his desire to massage the knots in her neck and shoulders. Rather, he accepted the steaming brew she handed him. Despite the faint shadows under her eyes, she looked beautiful, even wearing nightclothes and with her hair in a careless ponytail. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her stubborn mouth.

“We should talk about last night,” he said.

She held up a hand. “I’m sorry I allowed things to get out of hand. I didn’t mean to lead you on and then cut out.”

“I wish you would trust me with the reason you keep pulling away from me.”

“Believe me when I tell you us being together would be a mistake.”

“Why? Because we’re in your parents’ house?”

“That’s one reason. But there are others.”

“Okay, let’s hear them.” He sipped the coffee. “The least you can do is explain why you went from hot to cold last night.”

Kate opened her mouth to speak, but snapped it shut when Carmen walked into the kitchen.