Mr Destiny (22 page)

In the grass.

On the dock.

In the water.

Under
water if he wanted.

It just didn't matter.

He was the one to pull away.

But he didn't let her go.

They stood there, his arms clasped tightly around her waist, staring at each other.

“I think we need to slow down,” he said.

Kate said, “I think you're right.”

“And I know it doesn't make any sense, but I think we both felt an immediate connection that first day in the park.”

“Yes,” Kate said. “I think we did.”

He smiled.

Kate smiled back.

Okay, her breathing was slowly returning to normal again. That kiss definitely had her motor running a little too fast, a
little too soon. But Tony was right. They didn't need to jump into anything they'd both regret later.

Her pulse raced again when he pulled her closer to him.

“The important thing,” he said, still searching her face, “is that you aren't going to marry Harold, and that gives us a chance
to get to know each other better. Agreed?”

Kate nodded.

“Now,” he said, “please say you'll stay with me tonight and not go back to the city.”

Thank you, God!

“I'll stay,” Kate said.

Let Tony think her staying was his idea for now.

She'd worry about explaining her overnight bag later.

“But,” he added, “You have my word. No pressure. No expectations. You can trust me to be a perfect gentleman.”

A perfect gentleman?

Kate sighed mentally.

Maybe she'd thanked God a little too soon.

Tony still couldn't believe Kate was with him.

Yet here they were, holding hands and walking down the main street in Hunter. Kate happily licking—quite seductively he might
add—her two scoops of double fudge ice cream in a brown sugar cone.

Thanks to the kiss that almost had him doing backflips off the dock, he'd realized real quick that staying alone at the cabin
with Kate wasn't exactly the best course of action. At least not until they did have time to get to know each other better.

He wasn't some horn dog with nothing but sex on the brain. They needed to take things slow, just like he'd told her earlier.
He wanted them to ease into a comfort zone with each other before they took things to a different level.

His interest in Kate was a lot more than just a quick fling and a good time in bed. You didn't play around with something
as serious as forever.

Forever deserved patience.

For Kate, he would wait as long as it took, for as long as she needed.

That's why he'd quickly showered and changed.

Then he'd taken Kate straight into town so there wouldn't be any further chance of his giving into temptation.

Only a real jerk would take advantage of a woman who had just broken up with her fiancé—eagerly rip her clothes off and ravish
her body fifty ways from Tuesday. Except thinking about how much he wanted to ravish that gorgeous body of hers awakened more
than just Tony's sense of fair play.

Tony glanced at her again.

That tongue of hers was definitely driving him crazy.

Down, boy. Down.

She looked over at him.

Tony squeezed her hand.

“What?” she said.

“I was just wondering,” Tony said. “Are you purposely trying to torment me with every lick of that ice-cream cone?”

“You can have a bite,” she said, and playfully shoved the cone under his nose.

Tony took a bite, but Kate knew exactly what he'd meant.

It certainly wasn't going to be easy being Mr. Take It Slow. Not if she kept teasing him the way she was teasing him now.
The way she was dressed didn't help matters, either. Not that what she was wearing was inappropriate. She wasn't dressed any
differently than any of the other tourists in town. It was the body beneath the shorts and the crop top he couldn't stop thinking
about.

One more glance at her belly button, and I'm toast.

He looked away, wondering if maybe they'd get to know each other better if he ditched his plans to take her to dinner at a
restaurant there in town. Maybe he should fix dinner for her himself. They'd certainly have more privacy than being jammed
in a booth in a busy restaurant where they would have to shout to even hear each other.

Shouting at each other wasn't what he had in mind for their getting-to-know-each-other-better phase of things.

They could stop by the fresh market up the road a few miles. Pick up some fresh trout for the grill, some fresh greens for
a killer salad, and a few bottles of good wine.

Then they could head back to the cabin. Enjoy the sunset from the privacy of his back deck. Soak in the Jacuzzi later, gazing
overhead to see if their destiny really was written in the stars.

Like I could keep my hands to myself with Kate in a hot tub.

No, dinner at a restaurant was safer.

But instead of eating there in town, he would take her up the mountain to the resort village. There was always something going
on in the village. After dinner, they could even hang out for a while at one of the pubs that had a live band.

That would be another safe thing to do.

Later, when they finally made it back to the cabin, he'd give Kate the only bed upstairs in the loft.

He'd bunk downstairs on the couch.

Sadly, but willingly.

No pressure, no expectations.

That's what he'd promised.

Maybe he could even talk her into staying for a couple of days. She didn't seem to have a problem missing Monday at the gallery.
She was the manager, after all. Her grandmother owned the place.

Definitely.

I'll ask her to stay a few more days.

The more time they had away from the city, away from the daily grind, the better. He wanted Kate to know she could trust him.
Completely. With her secrets, with her fears, and with anything else she wanted to share with him.

Kate was truly the first woman he'd ever wanted.

I am
not
going to mess this up.

Kate polished off the last bite of her ice-cream cone, thinking there had never been a nicer guy than the one holding her
hand right now. Or a more gorgeous one. She hadn't missed the envious glances from women passing them on the sidewalk.

Tony was just one of those men who grabbed your attention the second you saw him. He was all male, muscle, and magnetism—a
walking advertisement for every woman's dream come true.

They'd spent the last hour wandering around town, looking in all the shops. Her pretending she didn't notice that his biceps
were so large that the short sleeves of his cotton polo shirt barely fit around them. Or that he looked terrific in a pair
of shorts—the muscles in his legs making those guys on the
Nautilus
commercials look like underdeveloped weaklings.

Kate took a peek at those biceps again and sighed.

Would you excuse me while I scream now!

What the hell was up with Tony?

Nothing was up with Tony.

That was the problem.

Strolling through town certainly hadn't been a part of her fantasy. In her fantasy, the second she arrived at the cabin, Tony
had her naked in two seconds flat, with her legs wrapped around his waist.

Penile dysfunction disorder again?

Not a chance.

So, what's Tony's problem?

Did he like her well enough, he just wasn't interested in her physically? Is that why he'd mentioned no pressure, no expectations,
and given her that old line about being a perfect gentleman?

Or, did she just intimidate him?

Intimidation had been Alex's explanation for guys she'd dated in the past who'd expressed an interest in her, then backed
off for no apparent reason. According to Alex, as much as men loved the idea of making love to a beautiful woman, they were
a lot like a dog chasing a car—when they finally caught one, they had no idea what to do about it.

They stopped walking when they made it back to his car.

Tony let go of her hand and opened her car door.

He smiled, and said, “Would you like to ride up to the village at the ski resort? There's always something going on up there.
The village has some really nice restaurants. We can grab dinner there in a few hours, then head over to one of the pubs that
has a live band, and…”

Blah. Blah. Blah.—Blah. Blah. Blah.

Kate was sick of polite conversation.

She'd wanted Tony from the moment she saw him, dammit!

She was not interested in spending precious time on a freaking tourist expedition or tapping her toe to the music in some
pub with a live band.

She was going to stop being her mealymouthed self.

She was going to take control of the situation.

For once, she was going to get straight to the
hard
of the matter!

Kate interrupted him. “Can I ask you a very blunt question?”

He looked surprised at her outburst.

He finally said, “You can ask me anything, Kate.”

Ask him, dammit!

“I've already told you about my relationship with Harold,” Kate said. “So tell me the truth, Tony. When you said no pressure,
no expectations, what does that really mean? Are you just not physically attracted to me, either?”

Oh, no!

Now he looked shocked instead of surprised.

Kate bit down hard on her bottom lip, preparing herself for his answer.

He finally said, “God, yes. Yes, Kate.
Hell
, yes, I'm physically attracted to you! Making love to you is all I've thought about since the first minute I saw you. I just
didn't want you to think…”

Kate leaned forward and kissed him senseless.

When she pulled back, Tony held up one finger.

“Give me two seconds,” he said, then broke and ran.

Kate couldn't help herself.

She burst out laughing when Tony came charging back across the street from the pharmacy a few minutes later, dodging cars
left and right, carrying a package tucked under his arm like a halfback heading for a winning touchdown.

T
hey were both completely naked.

But they'd never make it to the bed.

Not unless he carried her up the spiral staircase to the loft overhead.

Kate knew that whether Tony did or not.

For one thing, her knees were too weak to support her.

Another important factor—his searing kisses already had her head spinning
until she was three shades past dizzy.

They almost hadn't made it back to the cabin alive, either. Thank God, it was only 3.5 miles from town. She probably shouldn't
have kept kissing him and touching him like that while he was driving, but she just couldn't help herself.

“Mmmmmm,” Kate murmured, as his hands slid down her bare back to her hips.

Her eyes flew open when Tony did pick her up.

Wow!

Countertops.

Who knew they were the perfect height?

He kissed her again, with more urgency this time.