Page 20 of The Sinner's Touch

He’d never been able to leave her alone. Peter had warned him off his sister, but Kade couldn’t stay away. He’d told himself to let her be, it would only complicate the situation, but like an ass, he’d completely ignored his own advice.

Their first date was embedded in his memory.

He showed up dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt, but he hadn’t expected the fist coming at him as soon as the door opened. It was so fast, he didn’t have time to duck, and it landed squarely on his jaw. He hadn’t stumbled back but absorbed the blow.

“You fucker.”

Kade rubbed his jaw but didn’t step back. “Peter.”

“I told you to stay away from her.”

He was nervous enough without Peter trying to go all big brother on him. “I like your sister. I just want to spend some time with her, get to know her. Do I look stupid enough to do anything to risk our friendship? I’ve got nothing but respect for her.”

“Kade?”

The soft, musical voice that had been haunting his dreams for over two months floated to him from behind the brick wall that was Peter. He could barely see the top of her head. She wasn’t overly short, but next to him and her brother, she looked like a petite fairy.

Peter shot him another warning glare but moved out of the way. His breath caught, and he stood there, unable to do anything but stare. She had her hair up in some kind of loose knot, but several tendrils escaped to tease her neck. Her simple black dress highlighted her curves without revealing too much skin. It was made to inspire a man’s imagination.

Peter let out something like a growl, and Angel laughed. “I’ll see you later. And no texting me!”

Peter looked ready to throw her over his shoulder and ban her from leaving the house. Kade wouldn’t put it past him, either. She looked up at him and must have seen some sort of alarm on his face, because she hurried toward him.

A burst of air left him once they’d closed the door on Peter’s judgmental hostility. “Your brother wants to beat my ass.”

She giggled. “He might do it too.”

Peter and he were about the same size, and they were both brawlers. Kade and his brothers had toughened each other up by beating on each other growing up, but he dreaded fighting Peter. It would be like fighting his brother, Viktor. Neither of them could take the other. He had a feeling Peter would be on par with Viktor.

“He might, but it would be worth it.” He gave her what he hoped was his most charming smile while he spewed what had to be the cheesiest line to ever come out of his mouth. Kade was usually smoother than this, but she made him nervous, and he fumbled the simplest of things when she was around.

She arched a brow, laughter dancing in her eyes. She recognized how lame the line was, but to her credit, she didn’t remark on it. “So, where to?”

“I made reservations at Keellies, and then I thought we might take a walk on the beach. It’s not crowded at night.”

“That sounds nice.”

Kade shook his head to clear it of the memory. She’d been so young. Hell, he’d only been a year older than she was. They had been just two kids not really understanding the intense and all-consuming attraction that sprang up between them.

“Hey.”

His head snapped up to see her standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking a little lost. Her green eyes were wide and luminous, the worry in them bright. She’d pulled all that unruly hair of hers back into a loose ponytail, and her pajamas clung to her in a way clothes only did after a shower. He wet his lips and tamped down his feelings. She needed Agent Kincaid, not Kade the bastard who’d left her.

“Feeling better?”

She nodded but didn’t move farther into the room.

“Can I get you some coffee? I made a fresh pot.”

Again, she nodded but didn’t move a muscle.

“Well, grab a seat at the island while I make it for you.”

He got up and made his way into the kitchen. She’d come in when she was ready. Angel refused to be rushed. He found an empty mug and poured it halfway full of coffee, then he took out the last of the milk from the refrigerator and filled the rest of the mug with it. He’d been shocked to find milk when there wasn’t so much as a full saltshaker in the cupboards. He guessed Nik and Lily were keeping it to a bare minimum.

She sat and accepted the mug from him. “You remember how I take my coffee?”

How could she be surprised? He remembered everything about her because he loved her.

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