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Phae abruptly stilled. “I only want to make sure that you know what you’re doing.”
He smiled with satisfaction when she leaned back against him. Her breasts were firm against his forearms, and he shifted his arms slightly, revealing the tops of her breasts that were only half-covered by the water. Her dusky nipples remained enticingly pert. He slipped his hands under her breasts and ran his fingers over the perky buds.
She trembled. “I thought we were supposed to be having a conversation. I can’t think while you’re doing that.”
He squeezed her, pushing the perfect globes up out of the water. He couldn’t believe how he wanted her again already. He couldn’t get enough, it seemed.
But they did need to talk so he needed to get a grip. But not on her. Groaning, he released her breasts.
“Cover yourself, woman,” he said brusquely.
Phae crossed her arms over her chest, hiding her tempting breasts from his view. Too bad, he thought, but it had to be done.
He took a deep breath. “I completed the sale of Kenrik quite a while ago, but I didn’t tell you because we weren’t in the right place for it yet.”
“So you sold your business before you knew I’d take you back?”
“I did. After everything that happened between us, the way you made me feel, our connection, I could never have packed up and gone back to Phoenix. Even if I couldn’t have you, ultimately, I couldn’t imagine leaving you. It was an easy decision, in the end.”
“We are pretty incredible together,” she said, her voice easy with pleasure. “You want to do it again?”
“You know I do,” Kent said. “Have I mentioned that I like insatiable women?”
She smiled and sighed happily. “Lucky for me.”
“So here’s my plan. I’ve got the renovations underway here but I’ll stay on at Aunt Eugenia’s unless I get a better offer,” he said.
“That wasn’t a slick hint at all,” she said.
“I never thought I was slick. I make up for it by being tenacious.”
“You are definitely that.”
“I think I may start a new business. And Phae, I’d like us to do it together.”
She stiffened in his arms.
“Don’t overreact,” he said gently. “I’m not making demands like before. I only want you to know what I’m thinking and what I’d like us to do. It’s not what we have to do, okay? Besides, I hope you’re finally willing to admit that hairdressing isn’t a sacred calling for you.”
“Well, no it isn’t, but I’m not as terrible at it as some people think.”
“Of course you’re not. So this new business is something we can talk about later. It can be anything we want it to be, Phae. Think about it.”
“I take that to mean you got a good price when you sold Kenrik.”
“I did. Thanks to you. My refusal to give them a firm answer made them raise their bid several times. My bank accounts thank you. Though I didn’t want to brag.”
She laughed lightly. “Sure you didn’t.”
“Well, maybe a little. You can’t blame me for wanting to impress the woman of my dreams.”
“I’ve never been the woman of any man’s dreams before,” she whispered.
“You are now. And one other thing. I want to officially say that I changed my mind about Captain Nice Guy. I still think it’s dangerous, but I respect how much you’ve trained for it, and how good you are at it. I trust you, you know that, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Now, yes. But I’m not as sure about being the captain as I was before. I’ve always accepted that by trying to help someone, I might not always do the best thing. No one’s perfect. But after what happened with Leon and Meg, I don’t know if the risk is worth it.”
He smoothed her hair. “Give it some time.”
“I don’t think time will help, Kent. I think I should quit.”
“No, you shouldn’t quit.”
“There you go again, telling me what to do.”
“Expressing an opinion isn’t telling you what to do,” he said.
Phae sat up and turned to look at him. “Let’s not talk about this right now. I want to feel good for a while.”
“I want that, too,” he said. And he did want it, but he couldn’t ignore what she’d said. This wasn’t right and he needed to reach inside her, not let her push him away every time he questioned her.
“I’m glad,” she said. “Kiss me.”
“I will in a moment. First, give me an actual good reason for you to quit helping people.”
“I did.”
“No you didn’t. It sounded to me like things have gotten hard, and there have been some consequences you’ll have to deal with, and instead of working them out, you want to run away. Do you always do that? Quit when things get hard?”
He hated to see her frown, but there was no help for it. He had to get through to her. He couldn’t imagine a future with a quitter.
“Phae, is that why you left Chicago? Because it was too hard?” he asked.
She reacted as vehemently as he’d expected. She pushed away from him, sloshing a great wave of water over the side of the tub.
She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a hard look. “I’m not a quitter. I told you why I left Chicago and now you’re throwing it in my face.”
“No I’m not. I want the truth about what happened, and I know you haven’t given it to me. You say you trust me, but you continue to hide.”
“I don’t want to talk about this. You’re going to ruin everything.” She struggled to untangle herself from his legs so she could get out of the tub.
“I am not. And you’re staying put.” He grabbed her shoulders and held her tightly. “I’m not accusing you of lying, but I know you didn’t tell me the whole truth that night at the fair. I knew it then and I know it even more now. You’ve never told anyone but your grandmother, so why would you have trusted me with it when you’d only known me for a week? And while we’re at it, I’d like to know how your grandmother fits into everything.”
Phae grabbed the sides of the tub. “I’ve told you as much as you need to know.”
“To hell with that. You owe me the truth.”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
Chapter 27
IN FRUSTRATION, KENT RELEASED HER shoulders. “Fine. But maybe you owe it to yourself to talk about it, get over it and move the hell on.”
With that, he climbed out of the tub. The floor was half-flooded so he had to fight for footing. Grabbing some towels, he wrapped one around his waist, threw the rest on the floor, then stomped out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, ignoring the curses coming from the angry woman in the tub.
He fumed silently as he poured himself a shot of bourbon from the small table. She said she didn’t owe him anything. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. They loved each other. She said she loved him. If that didn’t gain her trust and confidence, what would?
He stomped to the armoire and pulled out a pair of bathrobes. He pulled one on and when Phae came charging out of the bathroom, struggling to pin a towel around herself, he tossed her the other robe.
She stepped aside and let it fall to the floor. “I don’t need that,” she said, looking around the room. “I’m finding my clothes and then I’m leaving.”
Kent’s stomach churned. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
She snatched up her pants. “I’m not. You blew it.”
Something snapped inside him, something he couldn’t name but which changed everything. He’d had enough. “It’s easy for you, isn’t it? Things get a little tough, things are said that you don’t like, and you cut and run. It’s all you’ve done since I met you. You act like you’re tougher than nails, but you’re actually soft as putty.”
“Shut up,” she said, pulling on the pants under her towel. “You don’t know me.”
“Maybe I didn’t, but I’m getting a handle on it now. I would, since I’m the one who’s done all the wo
rk in this relationship. All you do is quit whenever you’re disagreed with. If that’s what it means when you say you love me, then I don’t want that kind of love. And Phae, it’s not the kind of love I’ve offered you.”
She had bent over to pick up her shirt, but she stopped and sat down on the floor. She didn’t say anything for the longest time. When she covered her face with her hands, Kent had to struggle not to go comfort her.
