“So, Lexie Parker, tell me about yourself.” His father focused on her and waited for a reply.
Which didn’t come. Lexie squirmed, obviously uncomfortable beneath his father’s assessing gaze.
“Lexie works at Blink,” Kade said, taking over in the wake of her silence. “She keeps everything around me running smoothly,” he went on. “I couldn’t function without her.”
“He exaggerates,” she said softly, so un-Lexie-like. She usually spoke her mind.
Keith looked from Lexie to Kade and grinned. “Well, I’ll be damned. You found a woman to put up with your—”
“Isn’t that Colton James?” Kade gestured to the far side of the room, where his father’s oldest friend in the investment world stood with his wife. He interrupted before his father could discuss Kade’s issues out loud and in public.
They might be at a benefit for mental illness, but Kade’s quirks and anxieties were his own. He didn’t like or choose to share himself with the world, and he wasn’t about to start now.
His father looked across the room and nodded. “I need to have a word with Colton, actually. I’ll catch up with you two later. Have fun,” he said with a wink before heading for the opposite corner from where they were standing.
Lexie blew out a long, relieved breath, and Kade knew exactly how she was feeling. The air was lighter with his father gone.
But now that they were alone, his mind immediately returned to earlier, when she’d avoided admitting she was his date. “Why did you do that?” he asked her.
“Do what?” She took a sip of her now warm champagne, grimaced, and placed it on the nearest table.
“Why didn’t you want to admit you’re my date?” he asked. “Are you embarrassed to be with me?”
The words came out without prior thought or warning. After all, his father had alluded to him finding someone to put up with him, and the women in his past hadn’t been able to.
“God, Kade, no!” Lexie sounded horrified at the thought. “It’s the opposite, actually. I was afraid your father would think I wasn’t good enough for you!”
He reared back in shock. “Why the hell would you think that?”
Her face turned pale at his gruff tone, her blue eyes lighter against her fair skin. “I… It’s just… You’re you. You’re intelligent, brilliant, really. And I’m … me. I’m not sure if you ever looked at my resume, but I haven’t held a long-term, stable job. And I lost my last one because I was chronically late due to … family issues. And I was only hired because Derek took pity on me, and now I pick up your dry cleaning and order your lunches.”
Kade hadn’t thought beyond his own issues. He’d never had an inkling that his in-your-face assistant, the Lexie he admired, had her own insecurities she hid from the world.
He shook his head and groaned. “Aren’t we a pair?” he asked ruefully.
“Are we?” she asked, her eyes bright, alight with renewed fire and interest.
“Fuck it,” he muttered. “Let’s get out of here.” He grabbed her hand with his splint-free one and pulled her out of the gala, ignoring the stares of people as they passed.
“Kade!” He came to a halt at the sound of her voice, then pulled her into an alcove where they could be relatively alone.
“What’s the rush?” she asked.
“I have the sudden urge to kiss you.” Well, to do more than that, but even he knew he needed to finesse her more than he’d done so far.
Heat flared in her eyes. “So do it.”
As if to back up her words, she rose onto her tiptoes and raised her chin. He met her halfway, pulling her flush against him and covering her mouth with his. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening their connection.
So much for worrying about finesse, he thought, losing himself in her sweetness and desire. A desire so hot it matched his.
His height had her tipping her neck, and he lifted her in his arms, grateful for the weight lifting he did at the gym because he had just one hand to work with. She came willingly, practically climbing him to get closer. He lived and breathed her in the space of this one kiss. Their tongues dueled, mouths devoured, and his body tightened with an all-consuming need.
Noise sounded from down the hall, and awareness of where they were returned to him. He forced himself to break the kiss, touching his forehead to hers. She inhaled deeply, catching her breath, while he did the same.
Finally, she eased back, meeting his gaze.
Her lips were moist and puffy, her eyes glazed with desire. “Kade?”