Her Accidental Boyfriend: A Secret Wishes Novel (Entangled Bliss) (4 page)

Meg took her hand. “You should do it,” she suggested. “I think you’ll enjoy it.”

Kagan gulped back tears. If her own mother had been standing there, might she have said the same thing? Moms gave that little confident nudge no one else did, didn’t they?

“You’ve got six sales right here,” one of the women said.

“Okay. I’ll do it.” She might not get any sleep until then in preparation, but seeing the satisfied smile on Sela’s face was worth the lack of z’s.

Besides, less sleep meant less time dreaming about the sexy man walking toward her.

…

Hands down, Kagan won the award for Most Beautiful. Shane had almost swallowed his tongue when he first laid eyes on her. Her white halter dress hugged every shapely inch of her above the waist and then fell like a slip to the floor. The slit up the side that practically reached the top of her golden thigh had almost given him a heart attack.

Her blond hair was pulled up in a loose style that was both messy and sexy and he wondered how she’d feel about him undoing it and running his fingers through the silky strands while he laid her beneath him.

For the past hour, he and Belinda had talked to the right people, including Mrs. Huston and her daughter, but Shane had always kept one eye on Kagan. He couldn’t help himself. It was like she was tied to his breathing.

Right now he wished like hell he could take her hand and duck somewhere private to show her how much she excited him. He’d start small. A light kiss pressed to her shoulder. A finger caressing her palm. His breath in her ear where he’d whisper the ways he could make her feel good. He wanted one night. One night to lose himself in her.

“Ladies,” Shane said, his thoughts clearing with one look at his mom and sister.

“Did you know Kagan made bracelets?” Sela said.

“No.”

Sela lifted Kagan’s arm. Shane had been too busy ogling the dress to notice anything on Kagan’s wrist. Now that he did, though, he wondered how she’d respond if he delicately kissed the pulse point there.

“Wow. It’s really nice,” he said, taking the opportunity to grab her hand. “I’ve got to steal her away. Excuse us.” Not the most amiable getaway, but he’d had enough schmoozing for a while and wanted Kagan all to himself. After tonight, he might not get another chance if she had her way.

“Shane? It seems you’re on a mission, but can we detour to that guy over there with the beef kabobs? I’m starving.”

“No problem.” He’d take any route she wanted as long as her hand remained in his. Too bad once they reached their destination she needed it back so she could grab two kabobs.

The waiter smiled and noticeably checked out Kagan. She paid no attention, biting into her food, but Shane’s gut clenched. He glared at the guy and he quickly moved on. A tray of miniature crab cakes on the arm of another waiter passed by.

“Oh,” Kagan said, covering her full mouth with her hand. “Can you grab me one of those?”

Shane obliged and grabbed two.

“Thanks.” She plucked one off his napkin and took a bite. “Oh my God, this is good. I could live on finger foods.”

He could live on watching her eat. She chewed slowly, like she wanted to savor the flavor and texture. Lifting the other half of the crab cake to her mouth, her fingers brushed her lips. She closed her eyes for a moment. He fought the urge to step close and brush his mouth against hers to capture
her
flavor. Christ, he craved to find out what she tasted like.

“You going to eat yours?”

His attention snapped back to her equally disarming green eyes. “Not if you want it.”

She looked somewhere over his shoulder. “Actually, I think I see shrimp cocktail making its way over so I’ll wait for that.”

“How about we go halvsies?” He took a bite and then because he had to feel her lips somehow, pressed the rest to her mouth.

Her eyes narrowed, but she accepted. He let the pad of his finger linger an extra second before he brought it to his mouth and licked the tip.

A very visible gulp made its way down her slender throat.

Yes
. He wasn’t the only one affected by the vibe between them—a vibe that sparked like firecrackers every time they were together. In fact, they’d been
this close
to locking lips a few months back during the Fourth of July fireworks display, but something had pulled her back.

The memory reminded him to cool it. She’d made it crystal clear she didn’t want anything physical happening between them and here he was wishing her dress would somehow fall off so he could see her naked.

“Oyster?” said a feminine voice to his left.

He and Kagan turned their heads at the same time. A waitress offered a pleasant smile and nodded to the tray of oysters in her hand.

Hell yes, he wanted an oyster. Or more precisely he wanted Kagan to suck, slurp, and eat one out of his hand.
Shit.

She must have seen the gluttony on his face and decided the aphrodisiac amusing, because she burst out laughing. Her infectious, music-to-his-ears laughter surrounded him and he caught a few guests taking notice as he joined her. Smiles spread across the patio like the wave at a baseball game.

The waitress frowned.

“I’m sorry. It’s not you,” Kagan said through giggles. She put her hand on the waitress’s shoulder. “I think we’d better pass on the oysters.”

“Scared?” Shane challenged. He couldn’t help himself.

“Of you? No.” Yet she avoided eye contact, her gaze falling to the ceramic tiled ground.

“I am.”

Under outrageously long eyelashes, she peeked at him.

“Just looking at you sets off alarms.” He flexed his hands and shifted his weight from side to side. If he’d worn a tie, he’d be loosening it. What the hell was he doing falling off this very dangerous ledge?

“I’m allergic.” She lifted her chin and the faintest twitch of her lips drew his attention to their lush form.

“To me?”

A wide, smart-alecky smile spread across her beautiful face. “To oysters.” The smile stayed as she placed her skewer sticks and a bunched-up napkin on a passing platter. “But give it some time and I could be allergic to you too.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Okay?”

He stepped close enough to graze her neck with his breath. “I’ll spend more time with you. Not really what I had in mind, since you made it clear I shouldn’t think beyond this evening. But I guess my charm got to you.”

She chuckled. “You wish.”

A camera flash went off, prompting them to jerk away from each other. A reporter from the
Cascade Gazette
flashed a credential around her neck and then weaved back into the crowd.

Kagan gave a long, troubled sigh. The playfulness in her pink cheeks vanished.

“Something wrong?”

“I’m, uh, not fond of the press.”

“Because?”

“Back home…” She shook her head and looked away. “She just caught me by surprise is all.”

Shane wanted to ask what happened. But because of her pursed lips, he let it drop. “If you want I can chase after her and demand she hand over the camera chip.” He flashed one of his nothing-I-can’t-do smiles.

“It’s okay.” Kagan squared her very bare, very sexy shoulders. “So back to where we were before I needed food. I think we were headed somewhere?”

Shane ran a hand through his hair and tried not to stare at the way her dress molded to her full breasts. “Yeah. I wanted to show you the best view in the house.”

“Lead the way.”

As they wove around the pool, they stopped to say hello to all the guests who wanted a word with him. Kagan impressed the hell out of him, like attending a black tie event was second nature. She chatted up the women and joked with the men. Her intelligence and wit shone and she made Shane look good. No, she made him look
great
.

What was probably an hour later, they made it to the wrought iron balcony and the view Shane wanted Kagan to see. She leaned against the railing, wrapped her long fingers around the bannister, and sighed. In profile, she was so damn pretty, and when the corner of her mouth lifted, he knew she liked the view.

“Wow,” she said.

“I know, right?”

Lights from beachfront properties and businesses glowed along the coastline to the right, but to the left it was inky and peaceful, the beach stretching into the distance. Straight ahead rested the ocean, its current calm under a full moon. Stars winked in the sky, an unearthly blue-white glow sat on the horizon. The silhouette of trees along the beach stood tall and swayed slightly with the breeze.

Shane’s gaze moved back to Kagan. She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out slowly through her mouth. Her chest rose and fell, and the curve of her breast moved in the most mouth watering way.

Breathtaking. The view
and
his date.

“This is why I stopped here,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“When I left New York, I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up. I just drove. There was a quaint town in Wyoming that I really liked, but I couldn’t imagine not seeing the ocean.”

It sounded like she’d escaped from something and he fisted his hands.
She’s from New York.
Questions raced through his mind, but this was the most she’d ever shared with him, and he didn’t want to say anything to stop her from telling him more.

“I only learned to swim last year and now it’s one of my favorite things to do,” she said.

“Wow. What took you so long?”

She kept her eyes on the beach. “When I was little my mom put me in swimming lessons and my teacher tossed me into the deep end the first day and scared the crap out of me. I was terrified of the water after that and refused to get near a pool for years. Then I got to that age where it was embarrassing that I didn’t know how to swim so I just avoided it.”

“I didn’t learn how to blow a bubble until a couple of years ago,” Shane admitted.

Kagan turned her head. “Seriously?” Her gaze dipped to his mouth for a second.

“Yep. I couldn’t do it. Felt so lame that I didn’t chew gum for a really long time.”

She twisted and crossed her arms, her side against the railing. “You’re messing with me.”

He shook his head. “Nope. But the good news is I mastered doing other things with my tongue.”

“I’m sure you did, and I could ask half the women in Cascade for an evaluation.”

“If you’re curious I could give you a demonstration right here.”

“No thank you.”

Her indifference hit him square in the gut. “Had to take a stab at it,” he said, chuckling, like it was no big deal. “Otherwise you might not recognize me.”

She tilted her head and wiggled her pursed lips. “Actually, I saw a whole new side to you this evening. But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“You did, huh?”

“Yeah. And…he’s not such a bad guy.” She dropped her arms. “You should be really proud of yourself. This place is amazing and you deserve the praise you’ve received.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Congratulations.”

Her lips set his body on fire. One little peck and his pants grew uncomfortable behind the zipper. “Thanks. That means a—”

“Am I interrupting?” a man said from over his shoulder.

“B-Brett,” Kagan stammered. “What are you still doing here? I thought you went back to New York.”

Shane turned. Brett stood toe-to-toe with him and something in the guy’s eyes told Shane that Kagan’s claim her ex would leave her alone now that he thought she had a boyfriend was way off the mark.

“How’d you get into this party?” Shane asked.

“Friends in high places.” He tracked back to Kagan. “Your father asked me to stay.”

Kagan’s breath hitched and Shane sensed there was more to the story than Kagan had told him. More to Brett. Her body tensed so he put an arm around her. “Your father?” Shane said.

Brett took in the points where his body met Kagan’s before lifting his gaze and making eye contact with both of them. “You haven’t told your boyfriend about your dad?” he asked, sounding pleased with the fact.

“You need to leave, Brett,” Kagan said. “From this party. From this town. I don’t care what my father asked of you.”

Brett brushed something off the sleeve of his dress coat. “He’s instructed me to bring you home and that’s what I’m going to do. You’ve made your point. Now come back to New York and talk to your father. He’ll listen.”

“We both know that’s not true. He doesn’t listen to anyone, least of all me.”

“He wants you to be happy.”

“He wants to control me. Make all my decisions. That’s what makes him happy and it makes me miserable.” Pain sounded in Kagan’s usually sweet voice and Shane’s gut clenched. “I’ve swallowed my wants over and over again to please him and avoid confrontation and I’m not doing it anymore.”

“Brett, I think—” Shane started.

“Your father needs you, Kagan.
I
need you. We can make this work.”

Shane tightened his grip on her. “I think Kagan’s made it pretty clear she’s staying right where she is.”

She stiffened under his hold. “Thanks, but I’ve got this.”

“I know you do. Just wanted to remind Brett I’m standing here.” He
was
supposed to be her boyfriend
.
Hell, just thinking it made his palms itch, but this guy was royally pissing him off. “And I don’t like the way he’s talking to my girl.”