She finally turned and met his stare calmly. His irritation mounted, but then disappeared in an instant when he looked down over her.
“Damn it. Your knees,” he muttered. Her delicate hosiery hadn’t torn, but the color of it was so sheer that he could see the skin of her knees was red and abraded.
Merde. You rode her like a fucking animal.
“I’m going home,” she said quietly. His eyes widened with alarm as he studied her impassive, beautiful face. Her cheeks were still flushed from arousal and orgasm, but her skin looked especially pale beneath it. “Will you please tell Ian, Lucien, and Francesca that I felt a little unwell?”
“But—”
“Tell them. Please. I can’t show up looking like this.”
“I’m sorry about your . . .” He glanced down at her knees, regret swamping him. “I tried to take the pressure off them by standing, but—”
“I know you did,” she said. “I’m not blaming you. It’s my fault. I’m the one who let it happen.”
He made a disbelieving sound at that. “You make it sound like you agreed to a crime. We didn’t commit murder together,” he added darkly.
She closed her eyes. He flinched inwardly, seeing her discomposure. “You don’t understand. I don’t do things like this.”
“You obviously do now,” he said before he could stop himself. “Why is that such a problem?” She shot him an anxious glance and draped her wrap over her shoulders, covering herself.
“Lin, wait—” he called out when she moved past him. She unlocked the door. “We still need to talk.”
“I know. We still need to discuss the details of the Klinf meeting this weekend. I also need you to tell me all that you require for the first demonstration of your device for the Gersbachs. I’ll call,” she said.
And she was gone.
For several seconds, he just stared blindly up at the ceiling, replaying the last half hour of his life and trying to make sense of it, with not a modicum of success. They’d gone from combustible lust to uncontrollable, wild, blistering sex to Lin saying the only thing they had to discuss was business.
“C’est vraiment des conneries,” he cursed bitterly before he stalked out of the cloakroom and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
• • •
The Coffee Boutique was hopping with customers when he arrived. He understood from Lucien that while Elise’s heralded new restaurant was the soul of their hotel, the coffeehouse was the heart of the thriving microcommunity. It was the comfortable living room of the luxurious establishment, a place where travelers, locals, and tourists alike lounged on deep couches and chairs and sipped premium coffees that had been individually prepared with chicory-roasted beans. They devoured mouthwatering confections made by Elise’s pastry chef. Some of the patrons read books and magazines they’d bought at the attached bookstore that specialized in first editions, rare books, and antiquities. Lucien must have spent about what Kam survived off of annually on the two space-age coffee makers behind the bar.
Not that Kam was focused on any of these niceties. His purpose was single-minded as he stalked into the energetic room. He saw Lucien exiting the coffee bar at the same time he was entering. He gave Kam a bland look as they met, and paused.
“What happened to you?” Lucien asked.
“What?” Kam demanded sourly.
“You look like you’re about to kick someone’s ass. And your shirttail is hanging out,” Lucien added calmly under his breath as several patrons passed them.
“Merde,” Kam muttered, shoving his shirt down into his pants. He never wanted to dress like this to begin with. He wouldn’t be trussed up in this damn suit if it weren’t for Lin.
“Did something happen with Gersbach?” Lucien asked.
“No. It went well with the Gersbachs.”
“Was Lin pleased?” Lucien asked, glancing in the direction of the lobby as if in search of her.
“What, my opinion isn’t good enough?” Kam growled.
Lucien’s eyes narrowed on him. “Trying to pick a fight?” he asked levelly, gray eyes as cool and sharp as a driving ice pick. “Pick a better target. I’ve got too much work to do at the moment. If you still feel like a spar tomorrow, give me a call and we’ll go a couple rounds at the gym.”
Kam rolled his eyes in mounting frustration when Lucien walked past him. His eldest brother was intimidating and tough, but it was his control that was already growing legendary in Kam’s mind.
He’d apologize to Lucien for his rudeness tomorrow. Tonight, he was done being a polite, powdered good boy. Lucien was right. He did feel like kicking someone’s ass just for the satisfaction of hearing his victim thump to the floor.
“Lin didn’t feel well and had to leave,” Kam said to Ian without any preamble when he approached the seating area where Ian and Francesca lounged. “She wanted me to tell you.”
“Oh no,” Francesca said, concerned. “Was she all right to go home by herself?”
“She seemed to think so.”
Francesca glanced at Ian with arched brows at Kam’s curt reply. She cleared her throat and stood. “If you two will just excuse me for a moment? I’ve decided that the baby’s favorite room is going to be the bathroom, as much time as he wants me to spend in there.”
“Have a seat,” Ian said quietly when Francesca walked away, nodding at the chair across from him.
Kam gave his brother a sidelong glare. “I’m not really in the mood for—”