skin, the fine, slightly upturned nose, the thick brows matching her gleaming hair… those lips. Those kissable, delicious lips. So tempting.
Tucking those strands of hair behind her ear, I ran my thumb over her prominent, high cheekbone. She was so very pretty. So dangerous. I swallowed.
“Kat,” I said in a small voice. “Katya, wake up.”
Her eyelashes fluttered and then opened. Those blue eyes focused immediately as she squinted up at me, then proceeded to contort her body into a long, catlike stretch that pulled her t-shirt tight against her chest. Her curvy legs splaying out. And now I was doing more than just admiring her beauty… I was reacting to it in a very sexually frustrated way. Turning to hide the hard-on in my pants, I clenched my jaw, frustrated. Damn it. Even opening up this little bit was dangerous.
I stood. “You fell asleep,” I snapped without looking at her again. “We’re not paying you to snooze on the job.”
She let out a sigh. “Sir, yessir.” Then she pushed herself upright on the couch, blinking and stretching her neck from side to side. She’d really been out of it.
“Kyle came by and should not be a jerk to you again. But I don’t want you to meet with him without me present, just to make sure.”
She blew out another long breath, then looked up at me with an unreadable expression. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. We’ll go home at five.” And I left.
Yeah, I was gruffer than I’d meant to be and it wasn’t her fault I found her so difficult to resist. But I had a will of iron and I would resist her. I’d succeed where I’d failed before.
When we arrived home, the houseguest contingent were sitting on the doorstep sipping beers with a 24-pack sitting on the ground between them. Their jeans were rolled up on their calves and Mike wore a red Angels baseball cap that he must have picked up at a local souvenir shop.
“This American beer tastes like moose piss. I have no idea why we bought an entire two-four of it,” Mike drawled as we approached.
“Like you know what moose piss tastes like,” Kat’s brother said.
“Couldn’t even drink it at the beach, anyway. Such a crock.”
Kat stiffened as we came to a stop, staring at her brother with hostile eyes.
“How was your day?” I asked neutrally when her silence started to make it a little awkward.
“We went to the beach. Nice beach. Something Spanish name like the beer. Corona de la…”
“Corona del Mar,” Katya supplied. “And no, you can’t drink alcohol on any beach here. Just like at home.”
“Well, there are ways, at home.” Mike said with a smug grin. “But we didn’t dare over here. American cops are bonkers. Took all the fun out of the beach.”
Another long awkward pause before Kat turned to her brother. “You shouldn’t be drinking that at all.”
“We’re on vacation,” Derek answered with a slight whine. “It’s my first time in Cali. Cut us a break, sis?”
Ugh. Yeah, no one who lived here called it Cali. Ever. His smile looked a little defiant when he met his sister’s gaze and took another pull from his bottle.
She folded her arms across her chest. “And Mum and Dad spent thousands on rehab for what, exactly?”
Derek blew out a long breath, crossing his eyes before rolling them but did not answer her. He and Mike shared a look and both bust up laughing, as if they’d predicted she’d say something like that and were mocking her.
I could feel my arms tense and I had to resist saying something I’d regret.
When Kat continued to lock her condemning stare, he set down his empty bottle on the step and held up his hands in resignation. “All right, all right. That’s the only one I’ve had. I promise to be good and not have anymore.”
Mike tipped his bottle up with a laugh. “I will make no such promise.”
They stood when I climbed past them to unlock the front door. I entered and held it open for them. Neither of them said another word to Kat as she stood there, stiff posture unchanged. Mike did make sure to grab the rest of the carton to carry inside with them, though.
“I’m starved. What’s for dinner?”
With a long sigh of resignation, Kat bent to pick up the bottles they’d left behind. Then her shoulders sank, as if she was wilting before my eyes. As if the tough girl had finally had enough and had to show her exhaustion.