“You were scared of me, but you checked me out.” I opened my mouth to deny it but clamped it shut because there was no refuting it. I was surprised he’d noticed any girl checking him out though. It never appeared as if he noticed, but more than likely he hadn’t cared.
He reached in the cupboard for a travel mug then poured coffee into it. “You want milk or sugar?”
“Neither. But—”
The lid snapped closed. “Ready?”
No. Spending several hours with Killian was a horrible idea and I hadn’t considered hanging out with his friends. I’d thought a few public dinners, maybe a party or two. But going for Sunday brunch at his best friend’s place, not on that list.
“No kissing,” I reiterated the rule.
He picked up the travel mug and prowled in my direction. And it was a prowl because I felt like the hunted. I felt like that rabbit quivering in the hole as the wolf approached. The difference was, there was a part of me that wanted to get caught.
I raised my chin and crossed my arms over my chest.
He stopped in front of me and held out the mug. “Coffee.”
I took it. “Thanks.” I thought he’d walk away; instead, he cupped my chin between his thumb and finger. The tips of his fingers weren’t soft, they were rough and firm, but his touch was gentle. “I’ll follow your rule, Savvy, but just so you know, I’m good with you kissing me.”
I snorted.
He smirked and his hand fell away. “Let’s go.” He strode out into the hallway.
There was a brief moment when I considered slamming the door and locking it, but slamming a door in Killian Kane’s face would lose me a job, and I no longer even had a car to live out of if I couldn’t pay my rent next month.
“What the hell am I doing?” I muttered under my breath as I grabbed my purse off the kitchen counter and noticed the slip of paper sticking out. I took it out and glanced at it.
It was a check. Half the money up front. I hadn’t seen him put it in there.
“Savvy?” Killian called.
“Yeah.” I shoved it back down inside, grabbed my cell and keys, and met him out in the hall.
We drove to Logan and Emily’s farm, which was in King City, about a half-hour drive from the city, and Killian kept the conversation revolved around me. He asked questions about the foster homes where I’d lived, jobs I’d done, dance classes I took. I noticed David’s name never crossed his lips as he skirted around the subject. I told him about Ms. Evert and her greenhouse and learning about flowers, but I failed to mention the orchid, and he never brought it up.
He was a perfect gentleman, keeping his hands to himself and I even found myself laughing as he talked about Emily taking him and his bandmates horseback riding and how Crisis fell off four times on the trail.
But by the time we arrived, I was on edge, probably because I’d been breathing in his deliciousness for the past half hour and my body was reacting to it.
He drove through massive iron gates, up a winding driveway, and then stopped in front of a stable. The house was off to the left, so I wasn’t sure why we were parking here.
But what I did know was that I needed out of the car so I could finally inhale a breath of non-Killian air.
As if he knew exactly what I was doing as I scrambled out, he smirked while walking around the front of the car. “Problem?”
“No. My legs were cramped.” I nodded to the stable. “The word farm gives an impression of manure, rusty hinges, and a crappy wood barn. This is like a five-star hotel for horses.”
He grinned. “Emily loves her horses.”
We walked side by side toward the large double doors with iron hinges. “Are we having brunch in the stable?”
“No. But I thought you’d like to see the horses. Plus, I wanted to check up on one in particular.”
“Oh, I never saw you as a horse person.”
“My father had a number of horses growing up, still does. I never rode, but I heard a lot about them when he was bitching about losing a polo match.” His jaw clenched and back stiffened. “He wasn’t nice to his horses, and he isn’t now.”
He also hadn’t been nice to Killian. “Do you… talk to him?”
There was a tick in his jaw as he nodded. “Yes, but only recently. I didn’t for eleven years.” I decided to not ask anything more because his father had always been an issue, and a touchy subject.
We walked the rest of the way in silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable; instead it was… nice, our breaths synchronized, our hands occasionally brushing against one another.