Read Online Since I Saw You by Beth Kery - Free Book Online Page B

Kam’s uncontrollable pornographic thoughts. “Lin seems to be of the opinion that you might be more comfortable with me there instead of her tonight.”
    “Is she?” Kam asked, giving Lin a glance. He wasn’t shocked, precisely, but he was irritated. As he stared at her, however, a different feeling crept into his awareness: curiosity. Her throat looked exceptionally white and flawless next to her dark, upswept hair and the dress. It tightened as she swallowed.
    “I just think a family member might ease things for you more than I can,” she said, her low, honey-smooth voice at odds with the delicate, quick flutter of the pulse at her throat.
    “So you’re not up to it,” Kam said. “Funny, you seemed up for the challenge the other night.”
    Her gaze flashed to meet his, and this time he clearly sensed her anger flowing toward him like a cold, clear stream. “I didn’t say I wasn’t up for it,” she said.
    “Then why are you trying to pawn me off onto Ian?”
    “It’s not a matter of . . .” She faded off when she looked at Ian and noticed his curious stare, as if Ian, too, had wondered the same question. So . . . Lin definitely hadn’t revealed to her boss any of the dirty details of Monday night. He’d wondered. Was that because she was worried about her job or because she was personally embarrassed about having had sex with him? He noticed the delicate stain of pink on her cheeks and decided on the latter. Her lush, rosebud mouth flattened.
    “It was just a suggestion on my part, that’s all. Ian is on more familiar terms with the Gersbachs,” she said evenly.
    Kam slouched back in the chair. “If you aren’t up for doing it, that’s fine by me. The whole thing is a joke, so it hardly matters to me who’s in on the laugh.”
    Her head swung around at that. “Who is going to be laughing? And at
what
?”
    “Presumably the Gersbachs at my rustic ways, isn’t that what you and Ian are worried about?” he replied without pause. “But don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll get a good laugh out of the whole thing as well.”
    “Do you often think people are laughing at you?” she asked with quiet sarcasm. “That’s called paranoia, Kam. No one is laughing at you, or is
going
to be laughing at you. You think far too much of yourself if you think you affect other people so much.”
    She started back slightly when he laughed. Kam’s burst of amusement faded and was replaced by guilt when he saw how stunned Lin looked by his impulsive reaction. He knew it’d been rude, but her depiction of him had given him a sudden bird’s-eye view of himself—a bitter, paranoid loner who was more comfortable with his dog than with most people. The vision had struck him as apt, sad, and strangely comical as well.
    “I get it,” Lin said, recovering from his harsh bark of laughter and turning away from him dismissively. “It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and jeer.”
    Irritation spiked through him. A movement broke his focus on Lin, briefly fracturing his attention. Ian sat behind his desk, a very untypical expression of rapt bemusement on his face as he watched the two of them.
    “If you don’t think I’m going to be a source of amusement in all these meetings you have planned, why are you backing out of them?” Kam demanded of Lin.
    “I don’t appreciate your disdain for the proceedings,” she said, picking at an invisible piece of lint on her dress and sweeping it away. “You’re determined to ruin the whole thing without even really trying. It’s an insult to all the preparation I’ve done.”
    “At least I was willing to show up tonight. More than you can say.”
    “So you actually
want
me there?” she demanded, giving him a sideways glare.
    “I figure you’re the best bet I have.”
    Her nostrils flared slightly as they faced off in the silence.
    “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Ian said. Both Lin and he turned to look at him.
    “Yeah. I’m still here,” Ian said