He’d assisted her, he’d gotten her away from Mike, so maybe she should just let him enjoy the moment.
2
It was dark out and with every fiber of his being, Kam was aware of Glory fuming beside him. She still looked perfect. Still smelled enticing.
Still annoyed him.
And yet he wanted her, damn it. Now more than ever.
Those two small tastes, measly perfunctory kisses, hadn’t even come close to taking the edge off. “Come on.”
She dug in, resisting his tug on her arm. “To where?”
“The house? Or did you want to spend the evening in the yard?”
“I wanted to go to my house.”
“It would have been out of Dan’s way to take you there, then take me here, and you still would have been without a car.”
“Mr. Fellows might not have minded,” she grumbled, and grudgingly allowed him to lead her along. Even lower, she said, “Sorry I ruined your night.”
Interesting. So she was still willing to take the blame for that? Well, he wasn’t above teasing her. “What’s that, Glory? You said something?”
They stepped up to the door, and she inhaled a deep breath before facing him with the same enthusiasm she might have had facing a cockroach. “I said I apologize for ruining your evening.”
Folding his arms and resting a shoulder on the exterior wall beside the door, Kam asked, “Why did you?” Would she admit she was afraid of Mike? If so, then he’d have reason to jump in. To get involved.
Instead, she shrugged. “It was a knee-jerk reaction to finding the flat tires, and then Mike showed up. Now, of course, I’ve thought of a dozen other ways I might have handled the situation. Unfortunately, they didn’t occur to me in that moment.”
“I occurred to you.”
“Hmm, well, you do seem big enough and mean enough to discourage another guy.”
Mean? He wasn’t mean. At least, he didn’t think so. Frowning, he wondered if that was how she genuinely perceived him. “Mike didn’t seem all that discouraged to me.”
“I know.” Bothered by that, she looked away and stared out at the yard. “He’s... persistent.”
Kam touched her chin, bringing her gaze back to his. “How persistent?”
For a long moment, she just stared into his eyes—until she caught herself and stepped out of reach. Wrapping her arms around herself, she said, “It’s not your problem.”
He smirked. “Not what you said at the hall.” Why he was so determined to help her, he couldn’t say, especially when she seemed to constantly look down her nose at him.
Predictably, her shoulders stiffened. “I apologized. What else should I do? Bleed?”
Without changing his casual posture, he heard himself say, “Another kiss might cover it.” The second the words left his mouth, his eyes flared. And he stared at her, waiting.
Her eyes narrowed. “Is that what you want, or is it another joke?”
“What do you mean?” Mostly he was intrigued that she wasn’t ruling it out.
“Ha! You’ve made me the butt of your joke since I so stupidly asked for your help.”
Is that how she viewed it? Okay, sure, he’d ribbed her a little, and he supposed he had enjoyed seeing her caught in her own scheme. Only... he didn’t want her to feel bad for asking for help.
Dropping his head, feeling like a complete dick, Kam had to admit she was right. “Not what I’d intended,” he said softly.
Glory turned slightly toward him. “No?”
