Bit by the Bug (Matthews Sisters 1) (15 page)

‘Sasha.’ Sasha corrected. ‘It’s great to see Kat with a man who knows more than acting.’

Kat frowned at Sasha so Vincent couldn’t see. What was with her sisters always taking pot shots at Jack?

‘Acting?’ he asked, starting to turn to her.

Sasha swept up his arm and began walking with him
towards the back table where Megan sat waiting. ‘You were saying something about the hissing cockroach?’

Kat wanted to cringe. Trust one of her sisters to encourage Vincent’s oddities. The man hardly needed encouragement to talk about bugs.

‘Oh, only that they sometimes produce forty offspring at once.’

Kat wanted to moan. Sasha glanced over her shoulder with a funny look on her face and said, ‘Nymphs, right?’

‘Right,’ he said, smiling.

‘What?’ Kat asked, more to herself than to them.

‘Those are what the roach babies are called,’ Sasha said. ‘Nymphs.’

‘Thanks, College Girl,’ Kat drawled, wrinkling her nose. Could the conversation get any more disgusting? Sasha merely laughed.

When they reached the table, Megan stood, holding her hand out to Vincent. When Kat had talked to Megan on the phone earlier, all of her fears as to Megan’s intentions with Vincent had been put to rest. The oldest Matthews sister wore her usual black slacks, only she’d opted for a white linen shirt and simple black jacket. Her long dark hair was pulled back to the nape of her neck in a simple bun. ‘I hope you don’t mind the extra company. When Kat called me to make the change of plans, I just assumed you wouldn’t mind if I invited my other sister as well.’

‘She likes to multitask us,’ Sasha said, grinning.

‘Not at all,’ Vincent said graciously. ‘Any man would find himself lucky to be surrounded by such lovely company.’

‘Well, finally Kat brings around a true gentleman,’ Zoe said, joining them at the table. She remained standing as the others sat down. Kat grinned. Her sister looked cute in her white chef uniform. ‘Hi, I’m Zoe.’

‘Vincent,’ he answered. ‘Will Ella be joining us as well?’

‘No,’ Megan said, ‘she couldn’t make it.’

‘Vincent’s telling us about hissing cockroaches,’ Sasha said.

‘Um, oh no, not a good subject for a restaurant.’ Zoe shook her head, a small grimace on her face. ‘How about we talk about the very special dinner I have planned for three out of four of my favourite sisters. It took some bribing, but the head chef has agreed to let me cook your entire meal.’

‘Whoo-hoo.’ Sasha clapped her hands.

‘Very cool,’ Kat said.

‘So, what are we having?’ Megan asked.

‘First, I’ll start you off with Baked Fleur-de-Lis En Croûte, an artichoke salad and, for the main dish, Maccheroncini del Casale with walnut sauce.’

Vincent frowned, and glanced at Megan at the mention of pasta. Kat caught the look, but none of her sisters seemed to notice. She’d asked Zoe not to make pasta when she’d called.

‘Megs, you’ll have an olive omelette sans pasta.’ Zoe winked at Kat. Megan’s wry glance wasn’t as enthusiastic. Kat bit her lip. She was going to be in for it later for that one. Megan wouldn’t be too happy with an omelette when the rest of them were eating gourmet pasta.

‘Mmm, sounds lovely,’ Sasha said. ‘I love it when you cook for us.’

‘You’re lucky that Chef Tyrant agreed. He is being his usual despotic self tonight.’ Zoe rolled her eyes.

‘We’ll tell him you’re a better cook than he is any day,’ Kat said.

‘And get myself fired tomorrow?’ Zoe shook her head. ‘Thanks, but no thanks. I need this gig.’ She glanced over her shoulder where one of the waitresses came near. Bowing slightly, Zoe winked and said, ‘Enjoy your meal.’

After the waitress offered a wine list, took their drink orders and left, Kat looked at Vincent. He was seated next to her. Megan was across the table for four and
Sasha was on her left. A small vase with a single pink bud and a candle graced the centre of the otherwise unobstructed table. The flower was fake, but a good fake. The restaurant lights were low and the candlelight flickered enchantingly on Vincent’s face. His eyes met hers and she trembled all the way to her toes.

‘So what field of entomology do you study?’ Sasha asked.

‘Vincent is going to cure malaria,’ Kat said before he could answer, she drew her hands onto her lap, not taking her eyes off him. He looked surprised at her response. ‘He’s going to develop transgenic specimens and release them into the wild so they can’t infect people anymore.’

‘Wow,’ Sasha said, nodding. ‘That’s amazing.’

Vincent still looked stunned. Under her breath, Kat said, ‘I looked it up online. That is what you’re doing, right?’

‘Close enough,’ he answered. ‘I’m actually just one small piece of a much larger project.’

‘And it’s just you and Kat at the office all day?’ Sasha asked. ‘You don’t work with a team?’

‘Internet connections have made laboratory work a lot easier,’ he explained. ‘We can instantly share information, ask questions, opinions. It’s really been great.’

‘He does have the occasional intern,’ Kat said.

‘Yes, I do have the occasional.’ Vincent laughed and she wondered if he was thinking of the first day they met. She was.

‘I had invited Vincent to dinner to go over case work –’ Megan started to say.

‘Oh, Megs, not tonight,’ Sasha complained. ‘I just had a monster of a presentation in class today and just want to unwind.’

‘I was going to suggest we do that later,’ Megan said.

‘Good,’ Sasha said, as the waitress came back with drinks. ‘I don’t see why you’d want to discuss what you do at mealtimes anyway.’

‘And what is it you’re majoring in?’ Vincent asked.

‘Political sociology,’ Megan said.

‘Fine arts,’ Kat said at the exact same time. As soon as it was out, she looked at Megan in question before turning to Sasha.

‘Actually, its Latin American studies now,’ Sasha said.

‘You changed it again?’ Megan asked in a tone that showed her sisterly concern.

‘NYU actually has a great Latin American programme and since I speak moderate Portuguese, they agreed to let me try it out this summer.’ Sasha grabbed her glass of red wine and sipped, looking up and to the side to avoid eye contact.

‘I think it’s wonderful you’re trying so many things,’ Vincent said diplomatically. He too lifted his wine glass, swirled it, sniffed and then sipped. The gesture was so practised Kat doubted he even realised he did it. When he pulled the wine glass away, he frowned at the liquor.

‘Is something wrong?’ Kat asked, all three sisters looking at him expectantly.

‘The waitress shouldn’t have recommended this. It’s clear she didn’t know what she was talking about.’ By the slightly disconcerted aristocratic tone in his voice, she could detect traces of his father in him. Megan gave Kat an impressed look. ‘The taste will clash with the walnut of the main course.’

‘You know wine,’ Kat said. It was more of a question than a statement. Again, all three of them looked at him in expectation.

‘I always wanted to meet someone who knew about wine,’ Sasha said. ‘It’s one of those things everyone wishes they knew, but hardly anyone really does.’

‘Zoe does,’ Megan said, sipping out of her own glass before holding it up to look at it. She shrugged and took a bigger drink.

‘My parents are avid collectors,’ Vincent said. ‘We used to travel Europe extensively when I was a child and I couldn’t help but pick up a few things.’

‘You drank as a child?’ Megan asked, her cop persona coming through.

‘Only in Europe,’ Vincent assured her. ‘Completely legal.’

‘Doesn’t make underage drinking completely right,’ Megan said under her breath.

‘Whoa, easy there detective,’ Kat said, trying to stop Megan before she scared Vincent off. Kat reached for Vincent’s leg under the table before she realised she was going to do it. He tensed as her fingers touched his leg. She started to pull away, but his lips curled up at the side, stopping her retreat. He leaned back, drawing his hands down to his lap. Warm fingers covered hers, holding her hand right where it was.

Vincent tensed as Kat’s hand slid over his upper thigh, unable to believe what was happening. He was actually out on a date with Kat, his wildly erotic assistant. Since she’d kissed him in the collection room, her mouth brushing softly to his again and again, he had to keep reminding himself this was real. Even now he could feel her lush mouth against his, her tight body squeezing him as he took her from behind.

That was not how he’d wanted things to go – rough passion in the collection room at work – but it was how it had happened and he could hardly regret something that felt so incredible. He couldn’t even remember how long it had been since he’d had sex. There had been occasional hook-ups during conventions and even the rarer girlfriend who ended up leaving him because of his absentminded ways. Sometimes, they’d be gone long before he noticed they’d stopped calling. It wasn’t something he was proud of, but it was what it was.

Thus his need to tell Kat that he did indeed see her and he was sorry if he got distracted, as he undoubtedly would continue to do in the future. He knew himself. He would forget special days and dates and those little
things important to females – like noticing when she changed hairstyles or bought a new dress.

Part of him was scared he’d mess up with Kat by being such a Neanderthal brute, throwing her sweet body down in front of him so he could fuck her from behind. Damn, but it had been erotic watching that butterfly tattoo as he took her! The point was, he wanted it to work with her. He liked her. She was completely wrong for him, and yet she was right.

Vincent knew his parents wouldn’t approve of her. They had grand dreams of him marrying one of their friend’s wealthy daughters, Lily La Rue. He didn’t care about their wishes, never had. In fact, he’d spurned them more than once causing threats of disinheritance. He did what he wanted and they never lived up to their intimidations. They wouldn’t. He was their only child and his mother had taken to hinting for grandchildren. Oddly, Mimi’s only argument had something to do about matching pink suits. He really hadn’t paid much attention when she called the other day about it. It’s not that he hated his parents. He didn’t at all. But, Vincent also knew he wasn’t like his parents.

Her fingers moved on his leg and his cock twitched in response. The blood rushed from his brain to his lower region. It was all he could do to keep his eyes from closing in ecstasy as he maintained a straight face in front of her watchful sisters. Her pleasing smell drifted around him to delight his senses and tease them at the same time. It was a combination of light perfume, herbal shampoo, lotion, and it was making him crazy with lust.

Vincent tried to smile as Sasha asked him a question. Each sister had a distinct personality and style that was evident from the first moment. They were all strong, confident women who presented themselves with conviction and enthusiasm – but each in their own way. Most subtle was Detective Megan Matthews, but her
passion for her job was still there in her eyes. Oddly, Sasha’s passion seemed to be school, or perhaps it was learning. When Zoe talked about the meal and cooking it, her eyes had that same sparkle in them that Kat got when she merely mentioned her camera. And Ella, well, she’d been openly eager to state where her passions lie – in saving the world. Vincent had to admit he was completely enamoured with the dynamic of them, of the strong family ties they exuded with each breath. But, for all their original beauty, there was only one Matthews sister that captured his complete attention and kept it. Kat.

He chanced a look in her direction, hoping his arousal wasn’t too apparent. He held her hand firm to keep her from rubbing his thigh. At the rate of his oncoming erection, he’d be moaning and begging her to get under the table if he wasn’t careful. Then what kind of gentleman would she think him to be?

No, Vincent knew he needed to speak with her first. His mind had been too muddled earlier after sexual release and his thoughts had swum in a sea of mush. But, he had to make his intentions clear. He had to tell her he liked her and that he wanted something serious with her. If anything, as a scientist, he knew to go after what he wanted, to state the facts as best he could before starting something, but always be willing to change the rules as new discoveries were made.

As he thought it, a small fear crept into his brain, making him anxious. What if she didn’t want anything serious? Kat was a freer spirit than he was – from the way she talked and dressed, to the way she lived. Her apartment, with its unpolished wood floors and faded paint walls decorated with haphazard canvases and photographs, was a stark contrast to what he was used to in a home.

Was this a fling to her? Would telling her his intentions
were noble scare her away? Would they keep her from giving him, giving
them
, an honest chance?

Vincent took a deep breath, trying to pay attention to what Sasha was asking him about. It was impossible. The woman’s lips were moving and she was looking at him, but all he heard was the sound of his heart beating in his ears. Kat was touching him and he was lost.

Nerves fluttered in Kat’s stomach, but touching Vincent just seemed right. It wasn’t like they were complete strangers meeting for the first time. She had been around him every day for a month and a half and knew him through his actions if not so much his words. It was as if some wall broke down between them the moment they kissed and now she was magnetically drawn to him. The pull was so strong, so natural that she couldn’t fight it.

His hands stayed on hers, secretly touching her so her sisters couldn’t tell. Only when the meal was served, did he pull away. The conversation flowed easily from one subject to another as they dined on Zoe’s deliciously planned meal. Vincent was gracious as well as smart, and could even be charming. It was a side she’d never seen of him. The only time she got uncomfortable was when he did something too refined. It reminded her of his father, which only reminded her of why she’d met him in the first place, which only made her feel horrible and deceitful and wrong.

The baked Fleur-de-Lis En Croûte was a little pastry filled with cheese – so good, it was like having dessert served first. Kat didn’t care for the artichoke salad and ended up pushing the vile vegetable around on her plate. She even cut up a few to make it look like she tried to eat it so Zoe’s feelings wouldn’t be hurt.