For the time being, anyway, Alex thought grimly.
He picked up the razor he’d placed on the sink and scowled. He’d planned to shave earlier to make himself more presentable to his father and his date. It’d been four years since Mitchell and he had had that huge, drag-out fight, after all. They’d bickered since then about everything from Alex selling his seat at the Chicago Board of Trade to where Alex should spend the holidays, but those were just mild skirmishes compared to the battle that had raged four years ago.
Estranged was much too pale of a term to describe his and Mitchell’s relationship.
Alex had been cautiously hopeful after his father called and seemingly extended the olive branch, offering to visit Heavenly View for Christmas. Mitchell had refused to set foot on Alex’s new property ever since he’d purchased it just over a year ago. Mitchell wanted to make it clear how much he disapproved of Alex’s decision.
But now Alex knew the truth. Mitchell hadn’t been trying to make peace with his son. He wasn’t ready to listen when Alex said he didn’t want anything to do with the cutthroat world of high finance, or that he’d spend every holiday that his mother was available with her at her house in St. Paul.
No…the presence of the woman out there in his living room said otherwise. Angeline Kastakis was just another way for Mitchell to mock Alex…to sink the shaft just a tad deeper.
He tossed down the razor. It fell into the sink with a metallic clacking sound. His father had more than likely hinted broadly to his young, beautiful playmate that his son was an uncouth brute.
He’d hate to disappoint her.
Chapter Three
“What are you doing?”
Angeline nearly dropped the steaming teapot she held in her hand at his terse question.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she asked, giving him an irritable, exasperated glance. Her gaze stuck and remained glued to his face.
“Damn,” she mumbled when the boiling water she’d been slowly pouring into his coffee pot overfilled the filter and splashed onto her hand. Suddenly Alex was beside her. He took the teapot and tossed it onto the stove before he grabbed her wrist. The next thing she knew he was standing next to her at the sink while he held her burned hand beneath the flow of the frigid water.
She grimaced in discomfort. “That water is like ice. Don’t tell me you actually took a shower in that.”
“It did the job,” he muttered.
Angeline inhaled shakily. He was right. He stood so close she breathed his scent, and he smelled fantastic—like spicy, clean male. She glanced up nervously into his face. The single kerosene lamp cast it in as much shadow as fiery glow.
“You trimmed your beard.” The sight of the neat goatee that surrounded his firm, sensual mouth had been what had caused her to burn herself. It was nothing more than a shadow and revealed the stark, chiseled lines of his chin and jaw.
He ignored her breathless observation and just continued to hold her hand under the cold water. His grip on her was strong and warm. It struck her just how tall he was as he leaned down over her. Her face was inches away from his heart. She wasn’t used to feeling so petite next to a man. She laughed about the casual Amazon jokes regarding her height, but Angeline had always been a bit jealous of petite females, wishing she could experience what it was like to feel super-feminine when she was with a man.
Her gaze skittered anxiously over Alex’s wide, flannel-covered chest.
The truth of the matter was Alex had caused a secret, shameful desire to bubble to the surface of her consciousness. What would it be like to be mastered by a man in bed? She’d never met a male before who made the forbidden longing seem like anything but a hot, but highly unrealistic fantasy.
Heat flooded her cheeks when she recognized the direction of her thoughts. How could she entertain such raunchy thoughts about Mitchell’s son?
“Is it all right?” he asked after a tense moment in which Angeline realized she’d been holding her breath.
“Yes. It’s fine.” She yanked her hand away from him, but he refused to let go. He lifted her dripping, numb hand close to his face and examined her through narrowed eyelids.
“I think it’s still a little red, but I can’t really tell in this light.”
His warm breath on her wet skin made her shiver. This time when she snatched her hand away, he released her. Angeline hurried over to the stove.
“I was making us some coffee. Thank goodness you have a gas stove.”
She was hyper-aware of him watching her as she found two cups in the cupboard. He leaned against the counter. He was so tall, the edge hit him at the top of his thighs, making it easy for him to rest his muscular, jean-covered ass right on the counter.
Angeline determinedly kept her eyes averted from the compelling sight.
“How do you take it?” she asked, holding up the filled coffee cup. He held out his hand, and she had her answer. She took a deep breath, preparing for battle.
“Alex, we need to talk.”