Page 62 of Uncharted Desires

“Not when we fell overboard.”

“Hmmm, maybe your grandmother is right.”

Kat ducked her head, avoiding her mother.

“And why is that?” his father asked.

“That belonged to my mother,” Doris explained. “In many Native tribes, we believe turquoise protects us from evil. Unless you were Navajo or Hopi, turquoise is scarce and a precious stone. Some say if there is a crack in your stone, it has already protected you from evil, but of course, that’s just the old stories.”

Her mom gave a slight laugh, and West saw what Kat meant about her being uncomfortable with her Indigenous heritage.

His father looked at Doris but spoke to Kat. “Yes, Katrina, it appears you should have been wearing such an amazing family heirloom.”

Kat swallowed, and West gazed at the long column of her neck, wishing he could scrape his teeth up it. He needed her. After last night, all he could think about was her body against his. Her lush hips in the palm of his hands. He needed this dinner to be over now.

After the backhanded comments from her mother, Kat quickly realized nothing had changed, and yet, her mom seemed calmer. Less overtly critical, and more subtle. A slow change, but a change nonetheless.

Kat stole glances at West, her mouth going dry just at the sight of him. He wore a perfectly tailored gray suit with a white shirt. He didn’t wear a tie and had two buttons undone. She had seen his chest plenty, but something about the V of the dress shirt and the chain he wore around his neck made his chest that much more alluring. His jacket fit him perfectly, and Kat couldn’t think of anything else other than sliding it down his lean and sculpted torso. She was sitting right across from her mother, and her mind kept wandering to stripping the man next to her naked. What was wrong with her?

Dinner went rather amicably. She was surprised by how easily her mother and West’s father talked, and they carried most of the conversation. She never imagined in a million years her mother having anything in common with an eighties rock star, and yet the two laughed and joked as if they were old friends. Kat locked eyes with West and inclined her head toward their parents in question. He shrugged, just as confused about their relationship as she was. Then he gave her a dazzling smile. Not the fake one he gave fans after a long night of playing, but one that reached his eyes. It left Kat breathless. She was never going to be accustomed to how he took over her senses.

It was more than his looks though: his kind words, caring disposition, and the way he made her feel like she really was capable of anything meant far more to her, and she couldn’t fathom walking away.

She glanced across the table, and Tommy Monroe raised an eyebrow in question at her. He had caught her staring at his son. What did he think of her? Of them? Did he know there was something between them?

He was a good-looking older man, and she saw so much of West in him. If this was how West would age, the world was certainly in trouble because he did not look like he was in his sixties. No wonder her mother was enamored. After being stuck with a blue-collar man like her father for over thirty-five years, having a man like Tommy Monroe give her any kind of attention was probably rather enthralling.

Same, Mother.

Kat held back a sigh as her mother talked animatedly with Tommy. They had finished eating, and she was ready to leave. Sensing her urge to get up, West cleared his throat.

“It’s been fun,” he said in his sardonic laid-back tone, “but I think Kat and I are going to hit up the outdoor bar if that’s okay with you?” He smiled his most charming smile—the one she had seen him use on fans, but oddly enough, never on her. It did nothing for her, but her mother practically tittered out of her seat.

“Oh yes, of course. You two have fun.” Her mother gave her a pointed look, and for the first time, Kat realized her mother saw her as a woman and not a little girl.

“Yes, Mother.” She rolled her eyes, her mother so obviously trying to marry her off.

Before Kat could stand, West appeared by her side, holding out his hand to help her. As they walked away, his hand moved to her lower back, touching her possessively. She tried not to shiver, but his touch had such an effect on her. They walked out of the restaurant and out toward the bar.

“That wasn’t so bad,” he said.

“No, I guess not. What’s with our parents? Did you get, like, a flirty vibe from them?”

West snickered. “What? Worried our parents are hooking up?”

“Ew . . .” She pushed away from him. “I cannot in good conscience be screwing you if my mother is with your father.”

He pulled her back into his arms. “I know it’s weird, but not even that would keep me away from you.” He crushed his lips to hers with hungry desperation, like tasting the first rains of spring after an endless drought. Her pulse skyrocketed as he pushed her up against the hallway wall, and she felt his body heat radiating off him. His hands roamed up her skirt, eliciting a gasp that had him gripping her even tighter.

“Let’s go to my room. I have an hour before I have to leave for this press event,” he said between kisses.

“Do I need to go?” she asked, pulling away slightly. They had to stop before he had her naked in the hotel hallway.

“No, I don’t want you to be forced to deal with them. I want to protect you. We’ll work up a plan for the press when we get back to the states. This is just the first of many, I’m sure.”

“Oh, okay,” Kat said, unsure how she felt about being left out of the conversation. She had been stuck on the island too, and something felt wrong about not being there.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, always able to read her face no matter how hard she tried to hide it.