“Do you want to stay a while and watch a movie? There’s a great horror flick on tonight. I was going to watch it, but…”
“You watch horror movies?” he asked, startled.
Her eyebrows lifted in surprise, her eyes wide with hope. “You like them?”
He laughed, hands fisted on his hips. “I love ‘em. They’re hilarious!”
Kaia frowned. “They don’t scare the holy hell out of you?”
Obviously surprised, Diesel blinked at her. “Horror movies?” he asked, trying to figure out if they were talking about the same thing.
He wanted to laugh at her confusion, but she obviously had a different perspective on the horror movie genre. “No. They don’t really scare me.” Probably because he knew that the real world was a hell of a lot worse than anything Hollywood could dream up. “But if you–”
“You would?” she whispered, her eyes alert. “You’d stay and watch it with me?”
That wasn’t what he was about to say, but hell yeah! He’d stay and sleep outside her doorway if she wanted him to keep her safe. Hell, he’d sleep in her bed, holding her close, to keep her safe. Except…well, except that James would skin Diesel alive if he ever touched his little sister.
Damn, James was a real pain in the ass right about now.
“Great!” she exclaimed, jumping off the counter. “Let me just put these away and we can watch the movie!”
She collected the stack of dishes and took them over to the pantry. Kaia was taller than average, but she still needed a step stool to reach that top shelf. “Here,” he offered, taking them out of her hand. “Let me do that.” He set them easily on the shelf. But when she turned around, it felt as if she were suddenly in his arms. He wanted to wrap himself around her, kiss her, and finally discover what it would be like to hold her close.
Then an image of James popped into his mind and Diesel stepped back, clutching that last tiny thread of control.
“Dishes are all cleaned up,” he announced. Why did his voice sound as if he’d just swallowed a mouth full of rocks?
Kaia stared up at him, then looked around her kitchen as if she’d forgotten where they were. When she looked back up at him, she blinked, her mouth falling open slightly before she asked, “What just happened, Diesel?”
Diesel loved her directness. Damn, was there anything about her he didn’t like and respect? His eyes dropped to her breasts, his mouth watering for a long moment before he pulled his eyes back up to hers. “You’re my best friend’s sister,” he replied, giving her the respect of an honest answer.
Kaia stepped closer and he felt his nostrils flare as he inhaled the feminine scent of her.
“James is your best friend?”
“Yes. He, Jack, and Buck…we’re more like brothers than friends. The things we’ve gone through have made our connection tighter than blood.”
She took another step closer. “So…you’re keeping your distance simply out of respect for my brother?”
He shrugged one shoulder, as if trying to dismiss the question.
“That’s not an answer, Diesel.” She moved even closer and he stared down at her, clenching his teeth as she laid a hand to his chest. “Are you attracted to me?”
His whole body tightened. “That’s a mild way of describing what I feel for you.”
Her lips curled upwards ever so slightly. “So…if you’re attracted to me. And I’m attracted to you, then … the only thing holding you back is my brother?”
He thought about that for a long moment, then nodded sharply. “I would never disrespect James by fooling around with you, Kaia.”
She laughed softly, those delicate fingers sliding over his shirt. Diesel could picture her long slender fingers tracing along his bare skin. Hell, it didn’t even strain his imagination. The way she was touching him, it felt as if her fingers were burning right through his shirt, sending heat right to his skin.
“And you think that showing any sort of affection for me would be disrespecting James?”
Affection? Is that what she wanted? He’d give her affection. If it killed him, Diesel would give her all of the affection she wanted. He’d ignore this lust scorching his veins and give her all the affection she needed! “Yes.”
