Her Rebound Men (6 page)

Several times
Kev
had offered him a job, and Nate always turned him down
flat. In the next instant he saw the woman Nate was with. Her raven hair was
curled down her back exposing one side of her neck. She wasn’t facing him, but
Kev
went hard.

“Ah, here he is now,” Nate
said.

Kate turned around, and
Kev
was once again struck in the gut by her beauty.

She turned back to face
Nate. “I didn’t think he was going to make it.”

Kev
took a seat beside her. He couldn’t tear his gaze
away from her.

“I’m sorry, business called.
I had a taxi drop me off here straight from the office.”

“Nate has told me you work
too hard. I see why.” She grabbed his arm and checked out his watch. He waited
for her to whistle at the expense of his watch, but she just shook her head.
Kate had only checked out his watch for the time. “You’re late, and I’m
hungry.”

He signaled for the waiter.
They were served immediately. Kate seemed to order everything on the menu. He
was impressed.

Reaching across the table he
stroked her arm. Kate didn’t pull away, but he saw the disapproval in her face.

“Nate kept me company,” she
said, turning back to his brother. She gave Nate her most glowing smile.

Kev
felt like he was being reprimanded by the woman. No
woman ever told him what to do or why they were angry.

Kate showed her anger in the
actions.

Running his fingers up the
inside of her arm, he brushed across her breast. “What can I do to make it up
to you?”

Chapter Six

Kate had been hungrier than
hell, and the fact this suit decided to show up two hours later irked her. They
ate with only minimal conversation to keep the mood light, and Kate could tell
that Nate was annoyed by his brother’s tardiness. It was clear there was
tension between the two, and she knew that really wasn’t something she wanted
to get in the middle of.

Maybe this was a terrible idea?

Despite the awkwardness on
occasion, it wasn’t all bad. Nate had kept her company, and she had spent that
time laughing at his jokes and learning a little more about him. He might have
been a to-the-point kind of guy, but there was a softer and playful side to him
that reached inside of her and instantly made her at ease. She wasn’t thinking
about going home with them for one night of debauchery, not when he had kept
her highly entertained while they waited for his brother to show.

Kev
ran his finger over the swell of her breast, and
although it felt nice it was a little forward, even if their intention was
getting her in bed at the end of the night. Kate moved over an inch, and his
hand fell away. A frown marred his perfectly sculpted face, which seemed to
make him look fiercer in the dim lighting.

“I’m going to run to the
restroom and give you two a moment to talk.” She stared at Nate as he
disappeared down a hallway. Silence descended on the table, and Kate felt
suddenly awkward.

Kev
cleared his throat and said, “I apologize for my
tardiness. It is inexcusable and rude. It’s just—” She watched as he ran a hand
through his perfectly styled hair. The act caused the strands to lie
haphazardly. He seemed a little less intimating that way. “I am out of sorts
with this whole thing.” He waved a hand between them like that explained
everything. “My forwardness was an act out of nervousness, and I apologize for
that as well.” He breathed out roughly, and Kate felt her irritation slowly
fade. Their situation might not be conventional, but it was clear
Kev
felt out of place.

“Listen, this whole … thing …
was thrust at me as well. I didn’t mean to be a bitch to you.” She offered him
a smile, and when he reciprocated she felt the awkwardness of the situation
leave her. “I am totally okay if you want to just take things slow. I mean I
don’t know about you, but
pre-made plans to sleep with two
men on the first date isn’t
something I really know anything about.” His
deep chuckle sent tingles up her spine.

“Well, this is new to us to
in a way, too. I haven’t gone out with a woman in quite some time.” The sudden
sadness in his gaze told her that his comment went a lot deeper than just
words. She didn’t need to be a genius to know he had lost someone close to him,
and that was probably the reason he hadn’t dated.

Kate reached across the
table and took his hand in hers. She looked at the smooth, tanned skin. His
long-sleeved shirt with expensive looking cufflinks stopped at his wrists, but
upon closer inspection she could see a line of dark ink peeking from underneath
it. She slipped her finger under the soft fabric and pushed it up. He didn’t
try to stop her, and when she looked up at him he watched her intently. With
the cufflink in the way she couldn’t push the material that far up, but the
skin that was revealed showed intricately swirled designs in an array of dark
color. Tribal perhaps, but she could also see some lettering and numbers.
Unfortunately the shirt made it impossible to fully read. Curiosity piqued her
interest in knowing more about the tattoos, but it was beyond rude to pry, so
she let the material fall back in place. If he wanted to tell her then she
would be all ears.

“So,
Kev
,
how about we start over?” She liked Nate, and she knew that she could like
Kev
as well. He was certainly just as attractive as his
brother. Their sour first meeting hadn’t gone over so well, so she was going to
change it. “Hi, I’m Kate McAlister. It’s really nice to meet you.”

He took her outstretched
hand, “
Kev
Miller.”

“It’s really nice to meet
you,
Kev
.” Kate didn’t miss how he let his thumb
linger against her pulse. It was such an innocent caress, yet so very intimate.
“So, what do you do for a living? I know Nate said he’s a mechanic?” She eyed
his suit. “I take it you aren’t in the same profession?”
He
quirked a brow and grinned.

“Not so much. I am an
investment banker.”

Kate felt her own eyebrows
rise. “I’m impressed. Don’t you have to be pretty smart for all that?” She
picked up her glass of wine and took a drink while watching him over the rim.

“I suppose you do, to an
extent. You have to have an understanding of finances, management, and sales.
I’m the managing director at my firm.”

“What exactly does a fancy
job like that entail?” Although Kate was never one for work talk, especially
when it was an area that she knew nothing about, she found hearing
Kev’s
voice was almost hypnotic.

“I don’t want to bore you
with the details, because believe me, they are boring. I’ll just say I deal
with clients and setting the overall strategy within my team.” He smiled.
“Like I said, very boring.
What about you?”

Kate’s job seemed like
flipping burgers compared to his. “I’m a paralegal.”

“That sounds interesting.”

At his smile she shook her
head and continued. “I assure you it isn’t, especially when my boss is a
chauvinistic pig.” Just the thought of Frank had her grimacing.

“Sorry to hear that. I’ve
had a few assholes that I worked for back in the day, so I feel you.” He
motioned over for the waiter to bring them another bottle of wine. “Would you
like some dessert? They have an incredible tiramisu.”

Kate shook her head.
“Oh, God, no.
I couldn’t eat another bit. Did you happen to
see how much food I put down?” They both chuckled. She looked down the hallway,
just now realizing Nate was taking an exceptionally long time.

“He’s giving us time to get
better acquainted.”

Kate drew her attention back
to
Kev
. “Oh.” As if he heard his name being called
Nate sauntered back to their table.

“You two kiss and make up?”
He sat beside her again and grabbed his wine glass. He really didn’t seem like
a wine drinker, especially with the sleeves of tattoos, but then again looking
at
Kev
had her surprised that he also had ink. It
just went to show her that she couldn’t judge a hot man by their clothes or
personality.

“I don’t know. Did we?”
Kev
grinned at her, and she felt herself smile in return.
It was still a strange set-up especially when there were no preconceived
beliefs that there would be more for the three of them after tonight. They knew
what would happen, and maybe that was why she felt at ease now?

“So, how
about that dessert?”

****

Kev
felt like a creep for watching Kate eat the tiramisu
he had all but tempted her with. She looked damn sexy licking the tines of the
fork until they
gleamed
silver once again. A bit of
the cream was dabbed in the corner of her mouth, and when her pink little
tongue licked at it he nearly groaned aloud. His cock was hard as hell, and he
had to continually shift in his seat to ease the ache. He hadn’t been sure if
he wanted to go through with tonight. Ever since Heather’s passing
Kev
hadn’t wanted to be intimate with anyone. He had
completely changed, gone into himself, and hadn’t looked back. Losing her had
been the hardest thing he had ever endured, and he had distanced himself from
everything and everyone around him. Immersing himself in his work had helped to
take his mind off of the accident and his pain, but when he had tried to date
again he found it too hard. But he found himself looking at Kate and wanting to
open up to her, to touch and kiss her. Those thoughts were far too dangerous.

Damn, there she went again
licking her full, red lips, and causing his dick to swell to ridiculous
proportions.
 
The fact she was oblivious
to it all made her that much hotter to him. She laughed and teased with Nate,
and there was a part of him that wanted to be that at ease with her. As it was
he felt like a voyeur on their personal little gathering.

“I’m about ready to blow
this
popsicle
stand. What about you guys?” Nate and
his laid back ways pissed off
Kev
more times than
not, but this time he was thankful for it. It further helped to relax the
situation. A pretty pink blush covered Kate’s cheeks as she looked between the
two of them through her lashes.

“Can we possibly … just talk
for a while? Maybe get to know each other a bit more.” He liked her idea, in
fact was just about to suggest it. Jumping into the sack wasn’t what he did,
well, not anymore.
Kev
had spent far too many nights
contemplating how his life would have been if things had gone differently. The what-ifs
played through his mind over and over again, like a broken movie reel. For the
past year he had felt like he was underwater where no sound penetrated and he
couldn’t breathe. He was tired of living like that, of staying in the past. Besides,
getting to know Kate suddenly seemed of the utmost importance. Letting his
feelings get involved was not part of the plan, and certainly not something he
was going to allow himself to succumb to. Tonight was simply about finding
pleasure, but it was also about learning to live again.

Chapter Seven

Nate took his seat and
watched as Kate finished her dessert. He’d taken as long as possible in the
bathroom, but he’d grown tired of listening to uptight men talking about sex.
Did any of them know how immature they sounded? These were the kind of circles
his brother ran in. He didn’t like it. Their parents would have a fit if they
knew what was happening to
Kev
.

Their parents didn’t know the
twins weren’t hanging around with each other anymore. They weren’t aware of
their lack of communication or problems. Nate refused to worry them, but if
Kev
didn’t stop he’d bring them into it in a heartbeat.

“
Kev
was just telling me he’s an investment banker,” Kate said.

He liked the way her eyes
lit up the instant he sat down and how her body turned away from his brother and
to him instead. Her response to him felt like a win.
Kev
wasn’t the one in charge of this situation. His brother may have thought he’d
charmed her with his words, yet Kate was still pissed at him.

Kate wasn’t an idiot, and he
liked
her a
hell of a lot more for knowing this side
of her.

“Yeah, he bores the shit out
of me when he starts,” Nate said. He reached for his water to take a sip. Wine
disgusted him, and he only had a glass so the others wouldn’t start on him.
He’d taken note of the sips Kate took throughout the night while his brother
finished a glass straight off.

Yeah, his brother was
changing and not for the better.

He took pleasure in watching
Kate finish her dessert.

“I imagine it’s hard for him
keeping in shape whereas working on cars must work your muscles some.” Her
teasing made him chuckle.