Inked by an Angel (16 page)

Uri sagged in relief. “Thank you so much. I will do better this time, I promise.”

“I certainly hope so.”

They moved around the room, everyone else giving their accounts of progress or, in some cases, steps backward.

“Michael?” Gabriel spoke, jolting him. “You’re the last one. Do you have any news for us?”

Everyone was staring at him. He just wanted to get the heck out of there. He was still feeling ashamed for what he’d nearly done to poor Uri. He dared a glance at Gabe. “Well, uh, you know . . .”

Gabe dipped a brow. “No, I don’t. Why don’t you tell us?”

He remembered how Kyle looked the evening she and Jed came in after having dinner together. Mike was no mind reader, but he would’ve sworn something was different between them. And Miz O’Neill looked different somehow. Like maybe she’d been kissed. At least he wanted to think so.

“Well, Michael?” Gabe prompted.

He bit the inside of his cheek. “Oh, right. Well, Miz O’Neill and Jed went away together this weekend to work. At the lake.”

“Alone?”

He nodded and couldn’t help smiling. He’d been thrilled when he heard the news and more than a little impressed with himself for concocting that little ‘computer virus’ to make it happen.

Gabe grinned right back at him. “Excellent! Very romantic. Things are moving along very nicely there, I’d say. Well done, Brother.”

He accepted his congratulations as the meeting came to a close and tried to ignore the bittersweet feelings that were threatening. Because it was one thing to do a job well. It was quite another to know that he must leave when it was done.

Jed and Kyle trudged back into the lake house at twilight with sore feet and a bag full of Kyle’s antique store finds.
Treasures,
she’d called them. He called it junk. He set it down with a sigh. Who needed crap painted on old pieces of tin anyway?

She turned to him with a smile and a flush riding high on her cheeks. “That house wasn’t spooky at all.”

He took a load off and propped his ankle on his knee. “No. But I guess they’re not going for spooky. It’s a restaurant now. It just happens to be a tourist thing because it’s the old house they used for the
Chainsaw
movie. It doesn’t even look the same to me.”

She shrugged as she rifled through her packages. “I wouldn’t know. Never saw it.”

He gaped at her. “So you really never saw
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
? It’s a classic.”

She rolled her eyes as she pulled out the ugly tin thing. “Somehow I doubt that. But the food was good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She smiled as she kept pulling out more ugly stuff. “I had a good time today, Jed. The caverns were lovely.” She shot him a Cheshire Cat grin. “The antique stores were fabulous.”

Oh, the pain
. But he had enjoyed watching her wiggle in her jeans all day. He needed a cold shower and a beer. “I’m glad you had a good time, Muffet. It was water-boarding torture for me.”

She swatted his arm. “Oh, don’t be dramatic. I saw you having a not horrible time today.”

“Oh, really?” He grabbed her by the wrist and felt her pulse jump. “How could you tell?”

She licked her bottom lip and hesitated. “You smiled. Once.”

He’d been teasing himself by watching her all day. He needed to be close to her. He stood, making her look up at him. “Must’ve been an oversight on my part. It won’t happen again.”

“I hope that’s not true,” she said in a hoarse whisper, her eyes intent on his.

He needed to be closer. He stepped toward her until their thighs touched.

She reached out and gripped his forearms. Blinking slowly, she tipped her chin up ever so slightly in a silent invitation.

He needed to taste her. He bent his head and nibbled her lower lip. She opened her mouth to receive him and he delved in wholeheartedly. There was no time for sweet or gentle. In a flash as brilliant as a star being born, there was a mating of tongues and flesh, and they discovered each other.
Here. Now
.

Her hands wound feverishly around his back and hips, finding their way under his shirt to the skin of his waist.

He moved to suckle at the flesh of her neck, just behind her ear, knowing it drove her crazy. She tilted her head, giving him better access, and he was rewarded with soft moans of pleasure as her fingernails scraped his abdomen. He pulled back, found her lips with his own, just long enough to tease, then moved to the other side of her throat and did it again.

“Oh, my, Jed.” She sighed his name.

He could do this all night. Maybe not.

Her hot little hands found their way up to his chest and grazed a nipple. He inched back to her lips and drew her tongue into his mouth and she responded in kind, her lips demanding he give all. Her body bucked against his as he held her close, her stomach rubbing erotically against his painfully hard erection.

He pulled back and studied her face. She was flushed with arousal, her lips plump from being thoroughly kissed. God, he wanted her. Now.

“Come here,” he ground out as he lifted her to sit on the kitchen table so he could stand between her legs. He dragged her forward so she was on the very edge, her pelvis right up against his. The only things keeping her from his hard-on were their jeans and her panties.

He found her lips again as his hands found her breasts. She moaned from deep in her chest and leaned into his hands, offering him all of her. And he took it with no regrets. He massaged the full, sexy weight of her and found the hardened tips with the pad of his thumbs. He brushed over them and she gave a little sigh. He did it again, more forcefully, as he ground his erection against her and she cried out.

She reached around his waist and pulled him even closer, urging him on. Again.

He focused on one breast, taking his time to give her nipple a gentle roll.

“Oh, my God.” Her head fell back.

He took the opportunity to let her go and reach for the hem of her T-shirt. Her head snapped up when she realized what he was doing. He watched her eyes. It only took her a moment to acquiesce. She raised her hands above her head and let him remove her shirt.

He looked at her for the first time and had to catch his breath. “Jezus, Kyle.”

Automatically she crossed her arms to hide herself. “What’s wrong?”

He grabbed her arms and uncrossed them. “No, don’t do that. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because.” He bent and pressed a wet kiss to the dip between her breasts. “My, God, woman. You’re beautiful.”

Another wet kiss, then a lick trailing across the top. “And I never . . .”

Suckle. “Ever.”

Deep, wet suckle. “Knew you were hiding
this
under those prim, proper work clothes, Muffet.”

He closed his mouth over the lace-covered nipple as he fingered the strap of the sexy pink bra.

“Ohhhh . . .” she sighed.

He moved to give the other nipple his attention and she nearly bucked off the table. Her hands wound around his neck, pulling his lips to hers, and she kissed him with a fierceness that matched his own.

He pressed her back, using a hand to shove the remnants from the shopping trip off the table. Once he was above her, he pressed his groin into hers, making her writhe and moan beneath him as her hands frantically clawed at his skin.

He thought he was going to burn alive.

“Easy now, baby,” he panted as he eased back and pressed a kiss to the curve of her breast. Then her ribcage. Her belly. She quivered in response, her skin pricking in goose bumps.

He pulled back far enough to reach for the button of her jeans, his fingers grazing the skin of her stomach as he slowly unsnapped it. His eyes slid up to hers as the button gave way. He reached for the zipper.

“Do your panties match your bra?” he asked, his voice gruff with need.

Her hand reached down to cover his. He thought she would stop him now. In some deep, rational part of his brain he knew this was sheer madness.

But she didn’t stop him. She linked her fingers with his and helped him open the zipper. The sound echoed through the kitchen like the ripcord of a parachute in a canyon.

His mouth went bone dry. Her panties did match, and he could see right through the sheer pink lace. He bent and pressed his lips to the edge where they met her flesh, bringing a hoarse cry from her lips.

Her hands reached blindly for him as she tried to guide him back up to her. “Please,” she begged. “I need . . .”

He ran his fingers beneath the elastic band of her panties. Then his tongue. Her hips surged off the table. “What do you need, baby?”

Her breath came in pants and gasps. “You. I . . . oh.”

“Tell me.” His thumb dipped well below her panty line.

“Please, Jed. I’ve needed you for so long.”

He pulled back and took her in. Her lily-white skin, unmarked by the ink of a tattoo needle. Her beautiful, beautiful heart, there in her eyes as she gazed back at him.

He stepped away from her as reality came crashing in like a bucket of knives. He could not live with himself if he hurt her. And he would if he let this nonsense go any further.

He trailed his hand down the soft skin of her stomach. “I’m sorry, Muffet, but I think things have gotten a little out of control here.” He bent to retrieve her T-shirt and handed it to her.

She grabbed it and held it to her breast, hurt clear in her eyes.

“It’s not you . . .” he started to say.

She jumped off the table and yanked her shirt back on. “Save it, Jed. ‘It’s not you, it’s me?’ Really? What? Are we in middle school? Why don’t you just say you’re not interested?”

He ran a hand across his face. “I’m not interested?” He indicated the table and his hard-on. “Are you deaf, dumb, and blind?”

“Then what? Please enlighten me because I’m thoroughly confused.”

He didn’t know what to say. How could he explain that he was doing it for her own good? To the detriment of his own blue balls. He shifted to relieve the pressure in his jeans. “We’d never work out.” He looked down. “I don’t want to lead you on.”

“Well, next time you don’t want to lead me on, why don’t you do us both a favor and finish what you start?”

Kyle woke early and watched the sun rise from the deck with a mug of coffee steaming in her hands and confusing thoughts swirling through her mind. She’d stormed off to bed after making out with Jed, all but begging him to make love to her, right there on the dining room table. And she’d called him out for having the wherewithal to stop the madness. Where was her head? The problem was, when he was around, she had no sense of reason. Raging hormones took over and all sensible thought was out the window. God, he must think she’s an idiot. Or a whore. She wasn’t sure which was worse.

She turned as the sliding glass door opened. She could play it cool. She sipped her coffee and turned back to the view of the lake.

He sat next to her with a yawn. “Mornin’,” he said, his voice gravelly and all together too sexy for this early in the day.

“Good morning. There’s coffee inside if you want some and I made muffins.”

He nodded. “I saw. Thanks.” But he didn’t move to get anything. He leaned back in the reclining chair and closed his eyes.

Man, she wished he’d say something. Anything to let her know where she stood with him after their little foray in the kitchen.

He didn’t move, but he finally spoke, startling her. “So, will you be ready to go in about half an hour?”

“Go?”

He lifted his head and looked at her. The rising sun bounced off the water, sparking brightly in his blue eyes. “Fishing. I booked us on a guided fishing trip this morning. You still wanna go, don’t you? Are you still pissed at me about last night?”

She took a breath. “No, I’m not pissed at you.” Hurt, maybe. Hot and bothered for sure.

“So we’re still on?”

She set down her mug and stood. “Sure. I’ll go get changed.”

He smiled. “Cool.”

Kyle wasn’t sure what she expected from a Texas Hill Country fishing guide service, but Em-N-Em’s Fishing Guide Service wasn’t it. They were fairly large and upscale with a new building and what looked to be a huge brand new boat sitting down at the dock.

Jed led her inside the storefront and they were met at the front desk by a lovely blond woman whose embroidered shirt read
Irene.
When she turned, her obviously pregnant belly bumped the counter and she grimaced.

“Good morning, folks.” Irene smiled. “Welcome to Em’s. How can I help you?”

Jed stepped forward. “Hi. We’re booked this morning under the name Gentry.”

Irene scrolled around on a computer screen and clicked a couple of times. “Ah, yes. Here you are.” She smiled at Jed. “Sorry about yesterday. Booked solid. It’s a busy time of year.” She turned back to logging them into the computer as she chatted them up and explained about their new building and boat since Jed had been there last.

“I thought it looked different,” Jed commented with a glance around the lobby.

“Yeah, well, there are perks when the owner marries a famous author.” Irene handed Jed back his credit card with a grin.

“Famous author?” Kyle had to jump in and ask.

Irene nodded and inclined her head to some book covers framed on the wall beside them. “Vance Canton?”

Kyle studied the covers. “Vance Canton? Oh, wow! Is he here? I’d love to meet him.” She turned with a grin.

Jed looked at her like she’d grown another head.

“Don’t you read?”

“Some,” he said defensively. “But last time I was here I went out with an older male guide? I don’t remember any
famous authors
,” he said snidely.

Irene giggled. “That’s Emmitt Reed. He’s retired now. His daughter, Em, runs things. Vance, the writer, is her hubby.”

Kyle ignored Jed and gave Irene her full attention. “
A Time to Live
was fabulous. It made me cry.”

Irene nodded. “The next one,
A Time to Lie,
is coming out next month.” She glanced out the large windows. “I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. He helps Em a lot when he’s not writing.” She turned back with a smile. “I’m sure we can wrangle you an autograph or something if you’re interested.”

Kyle grinned. “I would love that.” She glanced down as a little girl with golden ringlets toddled into the room and Irene hefted her up into her arms.

Irene planted a kiss to the girl’s chubby cheek. “This is my daughter, Savannah.”

“She’s beautiful.” Kyle smiled at the little girl and reached across the counter to admire the stuffed animal the toddler was offering. She ran her fingers across the soft fabric and felt a tug on her heart. She turned to see what Jed thought of the child, but he had already paced to the door. Apparently he wasn’t a kid person.

Irene must’ve sensed this, too. She put Savannah back on her feet. “Go back to Daddy, baby.” She shooed her back to an adjoining room. Once the little girl was out of sight, she rounded the counter. “Shall I walk you to the dock, then?”

Jed looked relieved. “Sure.”

They followed Irene out a side door, across a large covered deck, and down some wooden stairs toward a footpath that led to the dock. Kyle glanced over at Jed. He had slipped his Oakleys back on so she couldn’t see his eyes. He strode with purposeful steps, his feet crunching and eating up the gravel with large bites. She had to hurry to keep up, even with a pregnant woman leading them.

“All right, this is as far as I go.” Irene stopped just short of the dock and patted her protruding belly. “The lake smells don’t agree with me.” She pointed. “There’s Em, your guide, over there. And I think I caught sight of Vance going below deck. Have a good time.” And with that, she turned on her heel and left them.

“Let’s go.” Jed started walking in the direction of their guide without a backward glance to see if she was following. This could prove to be a long day if he didn’t lighten up.

With a sigh, Kyle stepped up onto the deck and paused a moment to look around. It was beyond beautiful. The lake water rippled gently and lapped against the dock beams with quiet insistence. Several hundred yards across the lake, a sheer limestone cliff rose hundreds of feet in the air creating a wall of sorts between the lake and the sky. A hawk circled above searching for prey. The breeze ruffled her ponytail as it kissed her skin and she closed her eyes a moment to soak it all in.

“You coming, Muffet?” Jed obviously didn’t appreciate nature in quite the same way.

She heaved an irritated breath. “Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.” She readjusted the bag on her shoulder and started toward him. She smiled at the guide who had already approached him.

“Hi.” The small, curly-haired woman held out her hand. “I’m Em. I’ll be your guide today. I hear you two are from Austin?”

Kyle nodded.

“Well, you didn’t have far to go.” She laughed. “But I still hope you have a good time and can relax. My mini-yacht, as I like to think of her,
Bubbles II
, has all the amenities you could want, pretty much. Just let me know what you need to be comfortable.”

Jed’s hand migrated to the small of Kyle’s back. “We will. Thank you.”

Kyle shot him a glare and shook his hand off. One minute he was hot, one minute he was cold. Jerk.

“Follow me, then.” The guide moved to lead the way.

They boarded the boat behind their guide and a few other guests and she pointed out where they might want to sit for the best view.

“Vance, honey,” she called down below the deck, “we’re T-minus five minutes until I’m leaving.” She turned back to Jed and Kyle with an embarrassed grimace. “I never could get the man over his seasickness, nor could I teach him to fish. He’s hopeless.” She looked over as he appeared. “Aren’t you, sweetheart?”

Holy . . . Elvis?

A taller, thinner, better-looking version of the King came strolling over with a baby perched on his hip. The resemblance was uncanny. “I’m
what
?” he asked with a smile.

Em popped up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek before grabbing the baby from him. “You’re the most wonderful husband and father in the whole, wide world.” She razzled her daughter’s tummy. “Isn’t he, Lisa Marie?”

Jed and Kyle exchanged a look. What the . . .?

Vance seemed to realize what they were thinking. He reached for the baby. “Em, give me Lis before these nice people think we’re crazy, and I’ll go back to the house and get some work done while she naps.” He shrugged apologetically and whispered, “The name was her idea.”

Em made the introductions and Kyle tried not to gush. But she really did love the man’s work.

Jed laughed softly, murmuring something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like: “
This is the hill country, not Hollywood, Muffet,”
as he moved to lean on the railing of the boat while their guide saw her husband and daughter off a few minutes later.

Kyle joined him and glanced at him from the corner of her eye, unsure of what to say. Unsure of what she was feeling. Last night she’d done plenty of thinking as she tossed and turned in her empty bed. She’d been hurt when he turned her away. But it was more than that. Somehow, someway, feelings for Jed had begun to germinate deep within her and they were growing at an astounding rate. And it was scaring the holy hell out of her.

She reached out and brushed the back of his hand.

He pulled back like he’d been branded.

Was he toying with her when he’d touched her last night? It felt so real. Her heart ached knowing he would never return any of her newfound feelings. They were miles, no, worlds, apart and their separation could never be bridged.

“If everyone will take a seat, we can go over some preliminary information, then be on our way.” Em interrupted her painful thoughts. All the better. They were here to relax and so she could get some work done. A relationship with Jed was nowhere in the cards.

They took their seats and he wouldn’t even look in her direction.

Their guide went over the safety rules and made sure everyone had a fishing license. Kyle glanced over as Jed produced one for each of them from his pocket. Then Em got behind the boat’s wheel, started the engine, and they were off.

As the lovely views slipped by, Kyle relaxed a little bit and let her mind wander.

After several minutes of silence between them, Jed surprised her by reaching over and taking her hand. He leaned in, his breath brushing the skin of her neck as he spoke into her ear. “It’s not you, Muffet.”

What the heck was that supposed to mean? She gripped his fingers tightly when he tried to pull his hand away. She leaned over and pressed her lips to his. “I wish it was,” she confessed. It would make things so much easier. She could change herself. Maybe. But he was as immovable as a boulder.

He gave a curt nod and relaxed back in his seat. He didn’t try to let go of her hand again. Instead, he intertwined their fingers and squeezed as he turned his gaze back to the lake.

“So, Muffet,” Jed asked with a tip of his beer in her direction, “did you enjoy fishing today? You did pretty darn good, after I baited your hook.”

Kyle sipped on her second margarita of the night. She was parched after their day out on the water. And she was fairly certain this Mexican restaurant was skimping on the tequila because she wasn’t feeling any of the warm fuzzies she usually did when she had a drink. And she always stopped at one. She knew her limits and she was a lightweight. “I had a good time. Did you?”

He munched a chip loaded down with salsa. “I would’ve had a better time if you hadn’t caught the bigger fish,” he said with a grin.

“Such a man.”

“You know it.”

Yes, she did know it. That was the problem. She sipped her drink. The waiter served their food on sizzling platters, giving Kyle a welcome diversion from her wandering, hormonal thoughts.

Next to them, two couples were seated. It might’ve been the liquor, or maybe her burgeoning feelings for Jed, but immediately Kyle heard the tittering and whispers of the women as they looked over. She nibbled on a chip and ignored them.

Jed dug into his food, totally unaware.

One woman laughed and Kyle glanced over. They looked away.
Bitches.

“So, Muffet,” Jed spoke between bites, “What do you do for fun?” He looked up at her with a smile in his electric blue eyes. “Other than fish?”

“Fun?” she echoed.

“Yeah. Surely you do something besides crunch numbers.”

Did she?
Zip.
A tingle ran through her body as the tequila finally hit her brain. And as if she suddenly developed supersonic hearing, she could hear the women still making fun of Jed at the next table. Didn’t he notice? Or maybe he was used to it. She turned and shot daggers with her eyes.

She looked back at him. “How can you stand it?”

He shrugged. “Small town. Small minds. I really don’t give a shit, Kyle.”

So he did notice.

He reached out and grabbed her hand. “And neither should you. What do you do besides accounting?” he asked, trying to get her focused on him.

She pulled in a deep breath as the idiots at the next table were served their drinks. That should keep ‘em quiet for a while.
Okay. Let’s see
. What
did
she do besides accounting and lusting after a man she couldn’t have?

“I like to read. I like movies. Yoga.” She took a bite of her enchilada. “I’m pretty boring, I guess.” She glanced back up at him. “But I can make a mean meringue and you bet your ass I can fold a fitted sheet. Bet you can’t do that,” she joked.