Complicated Desire

Chapter Seven

"You're being dramatic," Bianca yelled out as she kicked off the heels that had been killing her feet all night.

Matt slammed the door behind him before he stalked past her, heading straight for the booze cart, of which he'd already consumed plenty of. "Like hell I am. The guy had his hands all over you."

Bianca let out a huff of air while Kara paid the babysitter. "He gave me his coat because it was forty degrees out."

"He was staring at you all night."

"He was giving me eye contact on occasion so that I felt included. He wasn't staring at me." Bianca was fairly certain Kade was, in fact, staring at her, but that wasn't ammo her brother needed to be in possession of. "I don't know what your problem is with Kade, but last week you were singing his praises, telling me what a great guy he was. Hell, you were telling me that yesterday."

"I told you that before the two of you met, before he was coming onto you. Trust me, if I'd known he was going to want to fuck my baby sister, I wouldn't have talked him up so much."

"I'm three fucking minutes younger than you!"

"And he's twenty-five fucking years older than you!" Matt fired back.

Bianca watched as the babysitter rushed between them to get out the door, taking a wild guess that the young woman would never be coming back to this house ever again. She could hardly blame her. Bianca was ready to leave, too.

"Twenty-seven years older," Kara corrected quietly. "Not that it matters, because my dad wasn't coming onto Bianca. When I talked to him earlier today, I asked him to make Bianca feel as welcome and included as possible, because I wanted her to want to live here. If I knew my loving husband was going to jump to conclusions and make an ass out of himself, I would have kept my mouth shut."

The room grew quiet, and Matt set his freshly made drink back down on the cart. Once Matt looked down at his drink, Bianca jumped at the chance to look over at Kara, whose eyes were narrowed on her and she gave a quick nod of the head as she sat on the couch.

Bianca knew that look. It was the 'go with it' look. "And now I'm not sure if I can ever show my face in this city again, let alone face him."

"Come on, Bianca, tonight wasn't that bad," Matt spoke in a much quieter voice than before, seeming to want to do damage control.

Bianca felt like a grade A asshole for turning the tables to make Matt feel like he'd overreacted. Not that he hadn't overreacted, but it wasn't as if Kade had his hand on her thigh or was whispering sweet nothings into her ear. He'd just been attentive. Incredibly attentive.

"It wouldn't have been that bad if you'd kept your little comments to yourself. You did everything short of flat out accusing him of wanting to fuck me, which thankfully you waited to do until after he drove away. He was just trying to be nice to me, Matt, and you made him feel like he did something wrong."

Matt seemed to mull it all over before going over and sitting next to Kara, leaving his drink behind. "I thought... fucking hell, your father hates me now, doesn't he?"

Kara shrugged. "Dunno yet. But it would go a long way if you apologized."

"I'll go see him tomorrow," Matt agreed with a nod.

Bianca dipped down and grabbed her heels. "Well, I'm going to bed. The sooner this night is over, the better."

Kara gave her a closed-lipped smile. "Goodnight."

"Night."

Bianca made her way along the edge of the pool, heading toward the dim light outside of the guesthouse.

Matt hadn't been wrong about anything. Though Kade's hands hadn't been all over her, they certainly lingered on her longer than they needed to. Then, of course, when he placed his palm on the small of her back as she entered the restaurant. Matt hadn't seen that part, but it happened. And yes, there was some staring, just as she couldn't help but stare at him. But a little innocent flirting never hurt anyone, so long as it was kept innocent.

Once the door was shut behind her, Bianca jumped at the sight of Kade sitting at the dining room table, legs stretched out and his temple resting against his fist.

"I know you're heading back tomorrow, and wouldn't blame you if you decided to never step foot in this city again, but I wanted to make sure you were alright after what happened at dinner. If Matt was right, and I made you uncomfortable, you have my apologies."

Bianca dropped her heels and tossed her purse on the table. "He made me feel uncomfortable. You made me feel..." Bianca paused when she realized the words that were about to escape her were absolutely not words to be spoken aloud, "not uncomfortable."

Kade let out a short-lived laugh as he scratched at his peppered beard. "Happy to hear it. I was worried I scared you off, which strangely enough concerned me more than pissing off your brother. I hope I didn't cross any lines."

Bianca shook her head. "I never drew any."

"But your brother did," Kade responded.

"Him being a few minutes older doesn't make him the boss of me."

Kade smiled lazily. "Even so, I probably should have considered him before being so forward with you. On that note, I suppose I should go before I get myself in more trouble than I'm already in."

"Or you could stay?" Bianca said, realizing how desperate she much have sounded.

"That would be the other option, yes."

Kade stood and walked up to her until he was a mere inch away from her face. Close enough to feel his hot breath, could almost taste whiskey on his lips. His rich scent clouded her senses, turning her brain into a hazy blur.

For a moment, it almost seemed like he was daring her to take the next step. But then he tipped her chin up with his forefinger, grazed his nose across her cheek, and lowered his mouth to hers. It almost felt like a whisper, waking her up from the deepest of sleeps, willing her body to come to life.

But where the kiss was a whisper, when the kiss ended, the look in his eyes when she was finally able to force her own open was anything but a quiet plea. And the words he spoke after hit her like a siren blare.

"The issue with that is if I stay, I'll be fucking you until sunrise, and I'm not sure either of us will be able to keep quiet enough to avoid drawing your brother's attention. In fact, if I didn't have you screaming through every orgasm, it means I didn't do my job properly."

Bianca clenched her thighs at his words. This was wrong on so many levels, and her brother would surely hate them both for it. But if she walked away from him now, Bianca would end up hating herself for it. "So, your place then?"