I laughed at the incongruity of the moment, both of us standing in the pouring rain with me not wanting to get his seat wet. I shoved my dripping hair back from my face. The rain was letting up a bit now, becoming gentle and steady as opposed to a stinging torrent. I tipped my head back and shut my eyes.

After the sweltering heat, this felt good, washing the sticky sweat from my skin. I laughed again in sheer pleasure, stretching my arms up as though to catch the droplets in my hands. God, I couldn’t even remember when I’d last stood outside in a summer rain.

When I opened my eyes, Kade was watching me.

“What?” I asked, self-consciously dropping my arms. I knew I had to look a disaster. My mascara was probably running in rivulets down my face. “I look awful, I know. Damn rain.” I scrubbed at my cheeks and under my eyes, hoping the makeup was gone.

He stepped close to me, catching a finger under my chin and tipping my face up to his.

“I’ll always remember tonight,” he said, “and the way you look right now.”

I gave him a watery half smile. “I look like a drowned rat.”

“You look happy.”

My smile was wider this time, because he looked happy, too, which made his face appear younger and less cold.

“And that outfit was sexy before,” he said, moving us until I was backed against the car. “Soaking wet, it’s downright… indecent.” The last word was a sibilant hiss in my ear. Then he was kissing me, his lips and tongue a slick heat that contrasted sharply against the chill of my skin.

My arms curved around his neck, holding him tight. His hands cupped my rear, pulling me against him. We kissed and kissed, until I lost track of time and space, like we were teenagers forbidden to be together and had to squeeze in as much as we could before we got caught. Or in this case, before either of us came to our senses.

A crack of thunder made me jerk my lips from his in startled fright. I began to shiver.

“Let’s get you home,” he said in a voice so low I barely heard him. This time, I got in when he opened the car door for me.

My teeth chattered and I kicked off my sodden shoes and socks, pulling my knees to my chest so my feet rested on the seat. Kade turned on the heat and soon my chills subsided. I held my icy hands in front of the vent.

“This kills me to do this to your car,” I said. “Water and leather don’t mix.”

“You worry too much,” he said.

“Aren’t you freezing?” I asked. He had to be. Jeans were a bitch when they got wet.

“I’ll admit to some chafing in areas that I prefer to be treated more gently,” he said, making me laugh.

The seat warmer, combined with the heat wafting over me and the stress of the day, had me nodding off. I woke, still groggy, then realized the car had stopped and Kade had turned off the engine.

“Shall I carry you?” Kade teased when I made no move to get out of the car.

“I’m going, I’m going,” I groused. “Maybe I should carry you to ease your ‘chafing.’ ”

He smirked, his blue eyes twinkling at me, the sight making me feel warm from the inside out. “I’d like to see you try.”

I laughed. The idea of me carrying Kade was an absurd one. He had to outweigh me by nearly a hundred pounds.

It had quit raining and the stars were coming out. I carried my shoes in my hand and walked barefoot to the darkened house. Kade fished out his key and was unlocking the door when it was suddenly flung open.

Blane stood there and the look on his face made me immediately take a step back.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Blane appeared to be livid, his gray eyes flashing fire as he looked at Kade.

“I’ve been worried sick,” he snapped. “Kat got off work hours ago. You said you were going to get her. Where the hell were you?”

Okay, now I felt exactly like a teenager, complete with a pissed-off “father.” A chill racked me and I shivered.

“Can we come in before you start the interrogation?” Kade snapped.

Blane’s jaw clenched and he backed up, allowing Kade and me into the house. As we walked down the hallway, I could feel Blane’s eyes on me, especially when we stepped into the light. And when I stopped and turned, his gaze raked me from head to foot and back. I remembered what Kade had said about Blane throwing a fit and raised my chin. I wasn’t about to be looked down on for having to wear a uniform to work, even if it did make me look trampy.

“Romeo had Fourth of July uniforms for us,” I couldn’t help explaining.

“You’re soaking wet.”

My cheeks burned. “Got caught in the rain,” I said with a shrug.

Blane seemed to let that go, thank God. He turned to Kade. “I’ve been worried about you, both of you. I tried calling a dozen times. I was just heading out to find you when I heard you at the door.”

“I said I’d get her and I did,” Kade retorted. “No need to check up on me, brother. Or was it something other than her safety you were concerned about?” He gave Blane a cold smile, turned, and walked up the stairs. I heard a door open and close, then Blane and I were alone.

Blane pushed a hand through his hair, heaving a sigh. The muscles of his shoulders and neck looked tight and I suddenly felt bad. He had enough on his mind.

“Listen,” I said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were waiting up for us.”

“You didn’t think I’d notice you sneaking out of here?”

Crap. Busted. “I didn’t want to bother you,” I hedged.

“Didn’t want to be alone with me, you mean,” he corrected.

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?”

The look on his face was so pained, I couldn’t stop myself from going to him. I rested a hand on his arm.

“I’m here now,” I said. “What can I do to help? Did the police agree to come here?”

He nodded. “Tomorrow morning.”

The anxiety that had lifted while I’d stood in the rain came roaring back. “Are you all right?”

Blane didn’t answer. Instead, he glanced down to where my hand rested on his arm. Self-consciousness kicked in and I pulled back, but he caught my fingers in his and held them.

“I don’t want you in the room tomorrow when they come,” he said, his eyes catching mine.

“But I don’t want you to be alone—”

“I won’t be,” he said. “Charlotte will be here.”

My heart seemed to skip a beat. “Oh?” Coming to hold your hand, is she? My cattiness and instinctive desire to claw her eyes out surprised me.

Blane didn’t seem fooled by my oh-so-nonchalant response. “She’s my lawyer, Kat, that’s all,” he said.

“I see.” Uh-huh, sure she was.

Blane’s lips twitched like he was thinking about smiling. “That’s not jealousy I hear in your voice, is it?”

“Of course not—don’t be ridiculous,” I sputtered, trying to tug my hand from his, but he held on, inching closer to me until I had to tip my head back to look him in the eye.

“Because if you were jealous, that would mean I still have a shot.” His voice was a gentle rasp that seemed to run right through me.

“I’m not,” I lied. “I just want this to be over, that’s all.”

“When it’s over, will you still be around?”

His hand slid down my arm to cup my elbow. The backs of the knuckles of his other hand ran in a gentle path up and down my stomach, softly brushing my skin. He stood much too close and I realized my back was against the wall. He loomed over me, his gaze holding mine.

Blane’s touch made it hard for me to breathe. It was too familiar, had too many memories associated with it. I couldn’t think, could only feel his skin against mine, gradually moving up to the edge of my top, then ever so slowly down my ribs, across my stomach, dropping beneath my navel to where the wet denim of my shorts clung to me.

I swallowed. “I’ve already come between you and Kade,” I said. “I think it’s best that, once this is over, we all go our separate ways.”