“I need to leave,” he said, immediately uncomfortable.
“What you need is to relax,” she countered, and stopped him with one hand on his shoulder. “Let’s dance.” She playfully tugged on his tie.
He glanced over to where the rest of the family gathered next to the dance floor. “I’m not really interested in making a spectacle.”
“Then we won’t.” She slipped her hand in his and led him to the far side of the house beneath an old weeping willow tree.
He could still hear the slow music, but he could no longer see the dance floor, and whoever was out there couldn’t see them. She tightened her hold on his hand, and he realized he’d better take control or she’d be leading him through this dance. He wrapped an arm around her waist, slid his other hand into hers, and swayed to the sultry sound of the music coming from the band.
A slight breeze blew through the long dripping branches of the tree. She shivered and eased her body closer to his, obviously in need of warmth.
He inched his hand up her bare back. “Cold?” he asked in a gruff voice as her body heat and scent wrapped around him him.
“Not anymore.”
He looked into her eyes to discover an awareness that matched his own, glanced down and caught sight of her lush lips. As they moved together to the music, warning bells rang in his head, but nothing could have stopped him from settling his mouth on hers. The first touch was electric, a heady combination of sparkling champagne and sensual, willing woman. Her lips were soft and giving, and he wasn’t sure how long their mouths lingered in a chaste kiss they both knew was anything but.
His entire body came alive, rem
inding him of what he’d been missing in the two years since his divorce. That this woman could awaken him both surprised and unnerved him. It made him want to feel more. He trailed his hand up the soft skin of her back and cupped her head in one hand. With a sweet sigh, she opened for him, letting him really taste her for the first time. Warmth, heat, and desire flooded through him.
“Oh, gross! Just shoot me now!” Tess exclaimed in a disgusted voice.
Nash jerked back at the unwanted interruption. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked, the annoyed words escaping before he could think it through.
“Looking for Kelly. What are you doing?” She perched her hands on her hips, demanding an answer.
Wasn’t it obvious? Nash shook his head and swallowed a groan. The kid was the biggest wiseass he’d ever come across.
“You found me,” Kelly said, sounding calmer than he did.
Like that kiss hadn’t affected her at all. A look at her told him that unless she was one hell of an actress, it hadn’t. She appeared completely unflustered, while he was snapping at Tess because the hunger Kelly inspired continued to gnaw at him.
“Ethan and Faith want to talk to you,” Tess muttered in a sulking tone.
Obviously she didn’t like what she’d seen between him and her sister. Unlike Nash, who’d liked it a lot.
Too much, in fact.
From the pissed-off look on Tess’s face, kissing Kelly and biting Tess’s head off had resulted in a huge setback in trying to create any kind of relationship with his new sister. And to think, if asked, he’d have said things between them couldn’t get any worse.
“Why don’t you go tell them I’ll be right there?” Kelly said patiently to Tess.
The teenager now folded her arms across her chest. “How about not?”
Kelly raised an eyebrow. “How about I’m the one in charge while Ethan’s on his honeymoon and if you don’t want to find yourself grounded and in your room for the next two weeks, you’ll start listening now.”
With a roll of her eyes and a deliberate stomp of her foot, which wasn’t impressive considering she was wearing a deep purple dress and mini-heels from her walk down the aisle, Tess stormed away.
“Well done,” he said to Kelly, admiring how she’d gotten Tess to listen without yelling or sniping back.
“Yeah, I did a better job than you.” She shot him an amused glance. “But I can’t take any credit. You saw what she was like before Ethan took over. This change is due to his influence, not mine.” Her expression saddened at the fact that she’d been unable to accomplish helping Tess on her own.
He knew the feeling. “Don’t remind me about Saint Ethan.”
She raised her eyebrow. “There’s always tension between you and Ethan. Why is that?” she asked.
He definitely didn’t want to talk about his brother or his past. “Is asking about my life your way of avoiding discussing the kiss?” He deliberately threw a question back at her as a distraction.