There was a brief glimmer of a smile attempting to shine through the walls she’d erected around her. And he would have given anything to completely shatter them in order to see the light she had to offer. Before he could lasso whatever it was he was seeing, she continued her argument. “I’m leaving in a few months.”
“Have you ever considered going into law, Kat? Because I think you’d make a great lawyer.”
“Leo, this is serious.”
He closed the distance between them, his hands grasping her around the waist before he spun her around and pressed her against the wall in her bedroom. Running his nose along the hollow of her throat, her jawline, and toward her ear, he allowed himself to breath in her scent. Then he whispered. “I’ll have you as long as you’ll let me.”
It was a lie.
A bold-faced lie.
If she’d let him have even a morsel of what he knew the potential of this relationship could be, then he’d fight tooth and nail to see it through and win everything she had to offer. If she gave him the chance? He’d make her fall so deeply in love with him that she’d throw her so called dreams to the wind.
She’d choose love over a job.
She’d choose him.
The thought had his core ready to burst into flames. And the soft whimper that came from her throat only added to his determination.
“What do you say, Princess? Want to have a little fun while you’re here?”
Kat exhaled a shaky breath. “I don’t think…”
“Don’t think,” he insisted. “Say yes.”
Even the quiet house seemed to hold its breath, waiting for her answer. Leo’s hands had released Kat long ago and now he rested his palms against the wall above each of her shoulders.She was all but pinned between him and the wall. One word from her, and he’d take what he so desperately wanted.
Finally, she took in a deep breath and whispered, “Yes.”
His lips crashed against hers, claiming her, promising her that he’d be everything she could ever want. She might not know it yet, but he was about to turn her world upside down in the most delicious and amazing way.
Kat’s fingers dug into his still damp hair and she gave as good as she got. Their kiss was messy and passionate. It felt like it went on for hours and yet mere seconds at the same time. His heart sang, relieved that he’d finally managed to find what might possibly turn into what his parents had.
Then the front door downstairs opened and slammed shut. “Leo? I’m back. We had to turn around. There was too much snow on the roads. You eat yet?”
Kat stilled beneath his kiss and when he pulled back, he stared into a pair of eyes so clouded over from their embrace that it made him want to ravish her even more. She bit her lip and stifled a giggle.
“Leo? Kat?”
He turned his head to the side then called out. “Just coffee, mom.”
“I’ll whip up some waffles,” she called back.
Leo turned his attention back to Kat. Then he leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll see you down there.”
She nodded. “See you down there.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Another dinner?What does that make this? A full week without missing a single one? You’re spoiling me,” Sonya murmured but her voice told Kat just how much she loved having Leo come to dinner with the two of them.
She couldn’t help but wonder if things would have been different had she stayed in a motel in town or at one of the other houses on the property.
It wasn’t too hard to put the pieces together. Leo had been avoiding dinner with his mother because Kat was there. The temptation to feel guilty reared its ugly head but she pushed it away. They’d both admitted that they hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms when she’d arrived.
She fought the urge to look at Leo where he sat across from her, but she failed miserably. When her eyes clashed with his, she flushed. It wasn’t merely looking at him that caused that reaction. It was the open way he stared at her with that stupid grin on his face that got her all hot and bothered.
Kat picked up her fork and dropped her gaze to her plate. The country fried chicken smelled divine. Paired with mashed potatoes and asparagus, she couldn’t help but think that this meal could have been served in one of the five-star restaurants back home.
