HellKat (7 page)

“Snap out of it, Williams. Your memories are going to have to keep you warm tonight.”

His eyes traveled the short distance to hers, oblivious to the question she’d asked.

“How long are you going to be in New York?”

He waited a few beats, held her stare. “As long as it takes.”

She cleared away the lump of desire in her throat, and refocused. “For ...?”

“For you to feel comfortable enough to come back to Montana with me for a spell.”

He seemed to have returned to the present.

“A spell? What does that translate to?”

“Oh, a couple weeks or so. I’m hopin’ longer. Just depends on how things go from here on out. But I’m gonna be on my best behavior. You can count on it, Kathryn James.”

There went the tickle up her spine again from the rumble of her given name rolling off his tongue. His lids narrowed slightly. Did he know that had an effect on her? God, she hoped not.

“I’m not gonna make it easy for you to say no.” A sexy grin lit his dimpled cheeks.

Kat tried to suppress her own smile but failed miserably.

“So what are you going to do while you’re here? Surely you have to work, have places you need to be.”

“You just let me worry about that.” He shrugged. “I can work from anywhere.”

She outlined the hard angles of his face. A rush of excitement flooded her with images and sensations of the nights possible in her future. She cleared them out of her head and looked away, replaced the pictures of Tucker with Grant’s face at their lunch date tomorrow, the one where she’d blindside him, the way she’d been blindsided tonight.

She and Grant had had a good evening, a good time since the first day they’d met in the park. No fuss. No fights. No pestering.

So, why did he, they, seem so damned boring now?

Why hadn’t sitting across from Grant ever aroused the same intense thrill sitting across from Tucker spurred in her?

Whatever the difference, when the passion faded with Tucker, Grant would already be with someone else, leaving her back at square one to contemplate Dan, again. Without doubt, plenty of women in the city would happily trade places with Kat, push her out of the way, in fact, for the opportunity to accompany Grant, soak up his easy charm and share his bed.

Kat sighed in doubt and shifted focus to the worn varnished tabletop. Warm fingers fluttered underneath her chin, gently lifted it.

“It’s gonna be all right, Kat. He’s a big boy. Better he finds out now, not later.” His expression was shaded in hues of understanding and patience. “We need to see what this is between us. I know you feel it too, and I can’t walk away without finding out. Can you?”

A freaking mind reader too? How the hell could he be so confident about this?

“I’m tired, Tucker. I have an early day tomorrow, and I really need to go home. I need to think about this. It’s not as easy as you want it to be—not for me.” Indecision poked at her, pushed her outside her comfort zone, and made her mad. She slid out of the booth, no goodbye.

Tucker quickly followed, blocked her path before she could escape him.

“You’re not running away from me, Kat. I
am
walking you home.”

His implacable don’t-fight-me look shut down her instinct to argue. Just as well, the fight had left her anyway, for now.

His damn victory grin hovered above her, crowded out the line of lunch-goers at the sushi bar across from her table. Jesus, he was exasperating. Because of Tucker, she’d had to use concealer this morning to hide the dark circles under her eyes from the complete lack of sleep last night. She’d been helpless to turn off his voice in her head, everything he’d said outside her apartment, at the diner, and the first time they’d met. Not to mention their never-to-be-forgotten one-nighter.

She’d thought of nothing else after she’d waved goodnight to him from her living room window three flights up. He’d insisted on waiting below after walking her home. Wanted to make sure she made it in safely before he would leave. And to top it off, he’d asked to see her cell phone after she’d taken a quick call from Grant on the walk back to her place, at which time he added his number and summarily deleted Grant’s.

“So, you’re a confirmed stalker now, huh? Followed me here and even had the nerve to sit right over there,” Kat pointed without looking away from him, “where you knew I could see you, so you could make sure I’d go through with it. Or
pressure
me to go through with it, is more like it.”

Tucker pulled out a chair and sat across from his feisty hellcat.

“Oh, I couldn’t pressure you to do anything you didn’t
already
want to do, sweetheart.” His eyes were full of devilment. “Have any time left on the clock? Or do you need to get back to work?”

“You don’t waste a second, do you? I literally just broke up with a great guy—
minutes ago
—and here you are ready to step right in like it never happened—like you didn’t watch it happen.”

The edges of Tucker’s rugged features softened.

“I’m sure he didn’t like hearin’ it, and I wouldn’t want to trade places with him. But I can’t lie; I’m damn glad he’s outta my way.” He cocked his head and leaned across the table. “And I’m not interested in wasting any more time. I’ve already waited six months. I’m ready to see where this goes.”

“You’ve waited six months?”

“Yeah. I was hopin’ that’d be enough time for you to be able to listen, talk. Not want to shoot me on sight. Now I just want to get started, spend time with you, get to know you.”

She flopped back against her seat and reviewed the muddled game plan in her head.

What if this did work out …?

She scrutinized him, tried to reconcile him sitting across from her in the flesh, not in a fantasy. Tried her best not to think about the black T-shirt hugging his body, the faded jeans incapable of hiding his perfect ass. Or the rebellious blond strand of hair curved along his square jaw, hair she remembered seeing, feeling on her skin, wild and free …

Tucker’s chin dipped in recognition, and he gently bumped her knee with the inside of his.

“You all right, sweetheart?” The knowing expression on his face said he’d read her.

She refocused on the decision she’d struggled with last night. Despite the reality of their differences and their bad start, she’d chosen to give him a do-over. However, she wasn’t about to make penance easy for the man.

Tucker was right. This would be fun.

She’d make sure of it.

“Do you like the opera, Tucker?” His mouth dropped open, but he didn’t speak. Oh, he wanted to, she could tell. Kat chewed at the inside of her cheek, did her best to hold back the grin wanting to break across her face. “Ever been to the Met?” He shook his head, slowly. “What a shame. We need to fix that as soon as possible.” She teased him with a wink.

“You don’t have any problem renting a tux, right?”

He cleared his throat. “Not at all.”

Kat’s eyes narrowed. “Just to be clear: black jeans and a sport coat aren’t considered a tux here.” He bit down on his lip to stop the grin so clearly wanting to spread. “Take care of that while I’m at work, would you? I have a friend who can get us great seats—tonight even. I’m sure of it. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” A killer smile lit up her face.

Tucker nodded once. The playfulness in his eyes and tight set of his lips broadcasted he understood this to be a test, and that he wasn’t about to give up any points.

Her body hummed with exhilaration.

She checked the time on her smartphone. “I have to get back to the office now. I’ll call you with the details.” She smacked her lips together in an air kiss. Her giggle could not be stopped.

Kat sashayed away, confident that not only was he watching her ass but also wondering if the opera would be the worst of his punishments.

****

They laughed themselves silly all the way down the steps as they fled the Met, then in the cab, and now at a late-night diner. When he’d picked her up earlier in the evening, her heart had skipped a few beats when she first glimpsed him in his tux. He hadn’t tied his gorgeous hair back, which had surprised her. An act of defiance? Or maybe his own test to see if she’d object. Didn’t matter. He’d looked sexy as hell and knowing Tucker Williams, he’d gotten exactly the response he wanted.

They’d made it through the first two acts of
Rigoletto
before she’d pressed against him, savored his scent, and whispered words of freedom. Tonight had been a test—not his last one—and he’d passed admirably. No complaints. No eye rolling. No deep sighs of frustration. Tucker had been a real trooper. So, he’d earned a reward: she’d ease off and cut him some slack the rest of the night.

“I’m thinking we’ll go to the ballet next. What do you think?” She popped an onion ring into her mouth to stop the grin.

Tucker halted midair with the chili cheese dog. A clever smile spread on his face, his eyes gleaming from the challenge. “Well, I’m all for broadening my horizons, sweetheart. You just tell me what time.”

He took a man-sized bite of the foot-long dog. Swiping a napkin across his mouth, Tucker’s head bobbed in approval. “Damn, you were right. This is the best chili dog I’ve ever had.”

“I know chili dogs. I’ve just never eaten one dressed like this.” She gestured at her violet, strapless evening gown before biting into her own dog.

Tucker boldly admired the view, his vision clouding over with palpable need. “You look beautiful, Kathryn James,” he said in a rough whisper, eyes creased in a tender smile, “even with chili smudged on your face.”

A heated blush bloomed across her cheeks at hearing the desire in his voice, the respect bright in his eyes. He wanted to lick the sauce off her, and more, she could feel it. Her flesh quivered from the idea alone. Impulse control, Kat. Kick it in gear,
now
.

A man had never affected her quite like this one.

“Well, you don’t look so bad yourself. You clean up nicely, Mr. Williams.”

She wiped away the chili near her lips as her eyes roamed over his untamed hair. He smiled knowingly and finished off his chili dog before digging into the basket of onion rings.

“I’ve had fun tonight.”

“So have I,” he said. Kat snorted in disbelief and looked out the window at the busy foot traffic. “I have, Kat. The opera isn’t somethin’ I’d normally do, but it wasn’t bad. If you like it, I’m on board.”

She brought her attention back to him. “That’s just it. It’s not really my thing. Never has been, but I still go—the ballet too. There are so many things to do in this city. I’ve probably done most of them—many times over.”

“Okay, so other than torturing
me
, why do you go, then?” He crossed his strong arms and rested them on the tabletop, awaiting her answer.

“Well, because ... because I always have. With my family when I was young and with my friends and …”

“And boyfriends,” he said, completing her thought.

She nodded.

“It’s just what we do, that’s all.” She wondered if his wheels spun in his head like hers were, trying to figure out if they could fit anywhere but a bedroom.

“What do you do, Tucker? I mean, back in Helena. What kind of things do you do for fun?”

He sat up straighter, removed his jacket, and draped it over the chair next to him before rolling up his sleeves and settling back over the table.

“Well, the ranch keeps me pretty busy. I’d rather be there workin’ than all this other stuff I do that people
call
work. But I’m tryin’ to keep John’s business goin’ strong. It’s what he’d want. And he was a decent man. I owe it to him.”

Tucker grabbed a salt shaker, spun it slowly on the table, focused intently on the silver-topped piece of glass.

“Listen, after what happened with us, I’m sure you Googled me and know all the dirty details about my life.” Embarrassment marred his face; he wouldn’t look at her.

“I’d rather hear the truth from you, Tucker.”

His eyes darted to hers. He stared for a few seconds and then straightened, resting his large hands on his legs. He appeared ready to speak when their shakes, heaped with whipped cream and topped with nuts and cherries, landed in front of them.

“I’m sorry it took so long. We got backed up with orders and then the shake machine jammed and,” the waitress sighed, “can I get either of you anything else?” She sounded defeated.

Kat and Tucker shook their heads at each other, then at the server. The frazzled girl placed their ticket on the table. Tucker motioned for her to wait as he dug out his wallet, pulled out some twenties, and placed them in her hand.

“Oh, no, you just pay up front.” She tried to return the bills, but Tucker refused.

“I know. It’s for you. Seems like you’ve had a rough night here. I’m sure you’re the one gettin’ all the heat for what’s goin’ on back in the kitchen, and no doubt you’re payin’ for it in tips.”

The girl glanced down at the wad of green in her hand and blinked back tears. “Oh, I really couldn’t take—”

“Don’t want it back.” Tucker’s statement left no room for negotiation. He turned his interest to the double chocolate chip shake in front of him.

The girl looked to Kat for guidance and then back to Tucker, his focus squarely on his milkshake. “Thank you so much,” she whispered gratefully as she scurried away.

With everything Kat had Googled about Tucker, the act of compassion she’d witnessed came as no surprise. After her debacle with him, she’d scoured the Web for anything and everything about the man. At the time, she’d chalked up her snooping to an anemic attempt to assuage her guilt over her miscalculation in judgment. However, what she’d uncovered about him highlighted her real misjudgment, the one she’d made the first time he approached her ...

The negative news stories she’d read about the maverick before her had outweighed the positive ones. She’d had to dig for the blurbs that gave Tucker any credit for being a decent human being. He obviously had enemies determined to destroy him, or at least his reputation. Skepticism ran deep in Kat’s veins, making her leery of the tenuous grasp the media had with the truth, with facts—especially when the story involved hostile factions, families at odds. Given Tucker’s story, there were plenty of detractors with agendas bent on his failure.

The couple slurped their shakes for a few minutes, allowing Tucker’s earlier discomfort to settle before Kat broke the silence. “Tell me about your siblings.” She shoveled in another scoop of her thick, strawberry banana goodness and noted the guardedness evident in his stiff body language. “It seems like they’d rather work against you than with you.” Tucker sat back against his seat. “Money can bring out the worst in people. I’ve been around it my whole life, seen it firsthand. There will always be those who want what you have. And those who don’t think you deserve to have it.”

His features softened. “That sums it up about right. It’s not completely their fault, though. The circumstances were shitty.”

Kat’s head cocked to the side.

“Seems like you got the worst of it, Tucker.” The tenderness in her voice seemed to ease him further.

He swallowed hard, watched her for a few seconds. Then he surprised her by scooting both of their shakes out of the way and grasping her hands, with gentle sweeps of his thumbs over her knuckles.

“That whole situation,” he shook his head, “was messed up. Finding out the man I thought was my dad, wasn’t, hurt a lot. Hurt me more than it did him, seein’ as he’d known all along. A double whammy, you could say. And when my biological father, John Diamond, decided he wanted me, well ...,” Tucker sighed, “everything changed.” He swung his eyes away, out the window. “But it is what it is, and I can’t walk away from it.”