wasn’t how his day was supposed to go. He lived a quiet life by choice. He liked his place—it was secluded and he didn’t get visitors. Solitude was his friend and he didn’t need any others. So why did he have an uncomfortable sensation that everything was about to change?
He walked into the gatehouse and found Willow on the phone.
“Gotta go,” she said. “Kane’s back with the cat and her kittens. Uh-huh. No, that’s great. Thanks, Marina. I appreciate it.”
“You called someone?” he asked as he set the box by the fireplace.
“You gave me the phone. Was I not supposed to use it?”
“It was for emergencies.”
“You didn’t say that. Anyway, the call was local. I phoned my sister. She’s bringing over cat food and a litter box. Oh, and some dishes, because I didn’t think you’d want to use yours for the cat food. I’d put money on her calling Mom and telling her what happened, which means Dr. Greenberg is probably going to want to check me out before I can move.”
“You have a doctor who makes house calls?”
“My mom’s worked for him for years. He’s great.” She glanced at her watch. “We should have this all wrapped up by two or three. Really. But if you have to be somewhere, don’t let me keep you.”
As if he was going to leave her alone in his place. “I can work from home today.”
“So that’s all good.”
She smiled at him, as if all this was normal. As if she was normal.
“You can’t do this,” he told her. “You can’t invade my life.”
“I didn’t invade it. I stumbled into it. Literally.”
There was that smile again—the one that transformed her from pretty to beautiful and made her eyes twinkle. As if there was a joke that only she got. Which, based on her loose grasp of reality, was probably true.
“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.
“I told you. Julie’s sister.”
“Why aren’t you at work?”
“Oh, I work from home, too. I’m a cartoonist, actually. I have my own comic strip. I’m syndicated. Do you have anything to eat? I’m starved.”
He didn’t keep much food around. It was always easier to grab a meal on his way home from work. But there had to be something.
“I’ll go look.” He stalked toward the kitchen.
“Nothing with meat. I’m a vegetarian.”
“Of course you are,” he muttered.
The cat had followed him into the kitchen. He searched his bare pantry and found a can of tuna. After opening it, he dumped the contents on a plate and set it on the floor. The cat gulped down the food.
“She must have been starving.”
He looked up and saw Willow standing in the doorway. She was balanced on one foot, holding on to the door frame, her gaze focused on the stray.
“Poor thing. All alone in the world and pregnant. You know whoever the guy cat is, he didn’t bother to stick around. It’s just so typical. A real statement on our society today.”
Kane rubbed his temples as he felt the beginnings of a headache.
“You should be sitting,” he said. “You need to ice your ankle.”
“I’m getting cold from the ice. Do you have any tea?”
He wanted to snap back that this wasn’t the kitchen at the Four Seasons and no he didn’t have any damn tea. That she should be grateful he hadn’t left her and the stupid cat out there to freeze to death.
Except this was Los Angeles and it never got close to freezing and there was something in Willow’s blue eyes, an expectation of goodness and trust, that stopped him.
She was the kind of woman who expected the best from people and would bet a large portion of his considerable bank account that she’d been disappointed more often than not.
“No tea.”
She nodded. “Not the tea type, huh? You’re too macho for that.”
“Macho?”
“Manly, virile, whatever.”
“Virile?”
“I’m just guessing on that one. It might not be true. You don’t seem to have a woman in your life.”
He felt an unusual need to growl at her. “You screw with my day, threaten my boss, run from me, blame me because you tripped and now you’re questioning my…my…”
“Manhood?” she offered helpfully. “Am I making you crazy? It happens. I try not to do that to people and I don’t always know when I’m doing it.”
“You’re doing it now.”
“Then I’ll stop. Would it help if I hopped back to my chair?”
“More than you know.”
“Okay.”
She turned, then swayed and grabbed on to the door frame to keep her balance. He swore and stepped over the cat to pick her up.
“It’s just the blood loss,” she said as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I’ll be fine.”
“Especially considering you haven’t lost any blood.”
“But I could have.”
He turned his head to look at her. It was only then that he realized how close their mouths were. His gaze locked on the curve of her lips and he had a pressing need to rest his mouth there. Just for a second. To know what she felt like and how she tasted.
He shouldn’t. He would only hurt her—it was as inevitable as the sunrise and yet he was tempted.
“I wouldn’t mind,” she whispered. “I know I’m not your type but I wouldn’t ever tell anyone.”
He didn’t know what she was talking about and he didn’t care. Because for once in his life, he was going to do the one thing he knew he shouldn’t.
He was going to kiss her.
Two
Kane claimed Willow with a kiss that took her breath away. Powerful, sensual, erotic. She couldn’t say what was different, how his mouth pressing against hers was unlike any other kiss, but it was.
His lips were firm and demanding, but with a gentleness that made her want to give him anything he wanted. She knew he could just claim her—he was more
