“I don’t dance.”
“No,” Lia muttered wryly. “I expect you don’t. Look, for this to work, we really need to find a way to get along.” She paused, giving him the opportunity to agree. When he remained silent, Lia chose not to wait him out. “How about if I confess something that’s hard for me to admit?” She cleared her throat and gave a nervous half smile. “I find you attractive.”
He should’ve regarded the admission as a clever manipulation and met it with skepticism. Instead, her confession lit up his body like a fireworks finale.
“Why would you tell me something like that?”
“It gives you a little power over me,” she said with a sexy, sweet smile that sent an electric pulse zipping along his nerve endings.
“And you think I need that,” he countered, bothered that she had him all figured out. Well, maybe not all figured out. But she had a pretty good idea of what made him tick. It served as a reminder that he needed to stay on his guard around her.
“Don’t you?” Her presumptive manner bordered on overconfidence. “I think you crave being in control at all times and I’ll bet it drives you crazy when things don’t go according to plan.”
“I don’t go crazy,” he said, stepping into her space, unwilling to consider his real motivation for what he was about to do. “I adapt.”
* * *
Lia misjudged the reason Paul closed the gap between them and never saw the kiss coming. Being caught completely by surprise heightened the emotional impact of his soft breath feathering across her skin. An instant later, his lips touched hers and a million stars exploded behind her eyelids. He cradled her head with strong fingers, grounding her while the firm, masterful pressure of his mouth stole her breath and her equilibrium.
Paul’s kisses were in a class all by themselves. Never before had she been so swept up in the magic of the moment. The perfection of his lips gliding over hers. The hitch in his breath as she shifted her weight onto her toes and leaned in to him. Lia never wanted the kiss to end, but couldn’t explain why. What was it about Paul that called to her? He’d offered her nothing but skepticism and scowls. Yet the clean, masculine scent of him, the gentle sweep of his fingertips against her skin unleashed both joy and hunger.
When he sucked on her bottom lip, she groaned and gave him full access to her mouth. His tongue swept against hers and the taste of him only increased her appetite for more. Lia tunneled her fingers into his hair to keep their mouths fused as he fed on her lips and she devoured him in turn.
His arm banded around her waist, drawing her snugly against his hard torso. While she’d appreciated Paul’s powerful body from a safe distance, pressed like this against the unyielding solidity of his strong abs sharpened the longing to feel his weight settle over her.
She’d been kissed enough to recognize she’d never experienced anything like this before. Where moments ago she’d been shivering in the cool breeze coming off the ocean, now her skin burned as fire raced through her veins and sent heat deep into her loins. Paul must’ve recognized the upward tick in her passion because his hand curved over her butt and squeezed just hard enough to send a jolt of pleasure lancing between her thighs. She gasped and arched her back, driving her breasts against him to satisfy their craving for contact.
His fingers tightened on her, the grip almost bruising, and then he was breaking off the kiss and relaxing his hold. Lia might’ve cried out in protest, but an icy lash of sea wind struck her overheated flesh, wrenching her back to reality. She shifted a half step back, surprised at the unsteadiness of her knees. Setting her hand on Paul’s chest for balance, she noted his rough exhalation. Her own heart was pumping hard in the aftermath of the kiss.
She looked up and caught a glimpse of the twin green flames flickering in his eyes. A moment later all trace of heat vanished from his gaze. Had she imagined it? As much as it pained her to leave the warmth and comfort of his embrace, Lia needed distance to gather her thoughts and make sense of what had just happened. Paul had made it crystal clear that he didn’t like her. So, what was he doing?
“Was that meant to determine whether I was telling the truth about being attracted to you?” Lia panted, scanning Paul’s expression and hoping that wasn’t what the kiss had been about.
“Why would you think I’d do that?” he countered, dragging his thumb over his lower lip.
Mesmerized by the action, Lia shivered as pleasurable aftershocks continued to rock her body. “Because you don’t believe anything I say.” The bitterness in her tone caught her by surprise. She wished Paul’s good opinion wasn’t so important to her. “So what’s the verdict? Do you think I’m attracted to you?”
“Yes.” He waited a beat for her retort. When none came, he raised his eyebrows. “Aren’t you going to ask me if the feeling’s mutual?”
Lia shook her head and forced her muscles to relax. “I don’t want to play those sorts of games with you.”
Paul’s features looked carved in granite as he regarded her. “I told Ethan I will go along with your subterfuge for now.”
“Great.” Lia slumped in defeat, unsure why this news bothered her so much. Had she really hoped he’d call her out in front of his family and drive her away? Given who he was, what he believed in, he should. “I’m sure that made Ethan very happy,” she murmured.
Paul scrutinized her for several seconds before nodding. “We should be getting back.”
The ride to Charleston passed with little conversation between them. Lia needed to sort out her feelings about the kiss, Paul’s abrupt acceptance of her temporarily posing as his long-lost cousin and what would happen if her reasons for playing the part ever came to light.
Already Lia suspected her strong attraction to Paul could develop into an emotional attachment unlike anything she’d known before. She’d never experienced such an unshakable craving to be with anyone. The need scared her a little, but the compelling nature of her desire was impossible to ignore. She couldn’t pretend that surrendering to temptation wouldn’t have repercussions. Lia couldn’t imagine this longing for him would just vanish one day. Even if Paul never found out where she came from and rejected her, she planned to get back on the road in a matter of weeks. For her future peace of mind, she needed to bottle up her feelings here and now.
Yet what was going on between her and Paul wasn’t the only emotional time bomb ticking away. The way Paul’s mother and aunt had welcomed her into the family had touched Lia in a way she hadn’t expected. Despite her guilt at the fraud she was perpetrating on them, the love they’d shown for their missing niece left Lia pondering what her own homecoming might be if she ever reached out to the family her mother left behind in Seattle.
Jen Marsh had struck out on her own shortly after high school and never looked back. Reluctance to linger in any place for long meant she rarely formed any lasting attachments. And neither had Lia.
But even though she lacked experience with lasting familial support, sometimes Lia pined for a family to belong to. Not that she imagined fitting into a large, tight-knit group like the Wattses. The reality was slowly sinking in that she would soon be living amongst them and that they would expect her to share their limelight. Jen Marsh had gone to great lengths to escape her past and create an anony
mous life for both her and Lia.