Bound

Kate

Kate

The whiny beep of a car horn behind me caught my attention. I pushed my foot onto the Jeep's gas pedal, feeling pain in the lip I'd been unconsciously biting down hard on. When I pulled up to the door Ryke had told me to pick him up at, I shoved the gear shift into park and gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles burned. I had no right to be pissed, none at all, but I was. I had been all damn day, and now I was about to boil over.

Ryke's perfect white grin when he strolled out a few minutes later just incited more anger. Damn him. Even though it was my own stupid fault.

"Hey," he said as he got in.

"Did you want to drive?" I looked straight ahead, knowing I'd blow if I let him turn those caramel eyes on me. Or worse, melt and forget how mad I was.

"No, go ahead. How was your day?"

"Fine." I focused my attention on traffic in the parking lot. "I dropped off the stuff you're donating to that auction, did your shopping and worked on your schedule."

"Is everything okay?" he asked. I must not have been masking my hostility very well. I'd never been a good liar.

"Yep. Oh, and you got an email from a Krista Grayson. She sent the address for your date this weekend. Should I add that to your schedule?"

Silence.

That's right, fucker. Busted playing both sides.

"Ah . . . It's not a date. Krista's married to Dan, one of my teammates."

I actually felt my heart slow a little with relief. "Oh. And you're having dinner with her?"

"Her and Dan, yeah." I looked over and he was rubbing his jaw. "And, uh . . . one of Krista's friends."

My heart went back to its pissed off pace. "So a double date?"

"No. It's not a date, Kate. It's not. They just asked me to come, and I didn't want to, but Dan talked me into it."

"Maybe it'll be fun," I said, trying to keep my tone level. "Maybe you'll like her."

"It's not like that." I'd stopped at an intersection, and I felt him looking at me. "Kate . . ."

"What?" I said, an edge in my voice.

"Come with me."

"Go with you?" I glared at him. "On a date? Why, in case you need your water refilled or your mouth wiped off? Will I be assisting your date, too?"

"It's not a fucking date!"

"What is it, then?"

He sighed, clearly agitated. "A favor for a friend."

I pulled into traffic and the sound of whipping wind and other cars kept us from talking about it any longer. I turned sharply into Ryke's parking garage and shoved the Jeep into park again.

"Kate," he said. "Come on, Kate."

"I'm taking a cab home. I'll take my mom's car to the meeting tonight." I had to stay angry here, in front of him, because if I didn't, he'd see what I was really feeling.

"Please don't go," he said. We both stood next to the Jeep, and the sensation of his hands on my shoulders made me tingly. I took a deep breath and worked up the courage to look into his eyes. They were warm and imploring.

"I'm just your assistant," I muttered. "I have no right to be jealous of your date."

"You aren't just my assistant. I wasn't trying to sneak anything past you. I just told Dan I'd do this to get him off my back. I won't go if you don't want me to."