Page 48 of Purr For Me
His chest felt like it was caught in a vise grip as that realization hit him. Looking down at the beautiful, slightly intoxicated—wholly intoxicated, woman at his side, the fact that he loved Lexie became as clear as a brand-new pane of glass. Lexie was speaking to him, but he couldn’t focus on her words over the timpani-like heartbeats echoing off his rib cage.I. Love. Lexie.
It was as simple and as complex as that. He admitted that to himself—welcomed the admission. Just like he sought the truth whenever he was working on a story, he also demanded honesty from himself.
He had to find Jason. He owed his brother the truth, no matter how much it hurt.
Knowing that he was in love with Lexie gave him a tremendous charge, but it also presented a whole host of problems, the first of which was that Lexie wasn’t ready to hear that he had such intense feelings for her.
Fuck.Now what do I do?He had no clue how to handle this wonderful, new complication, but for the moment, he knew that he should get Lexie home so she could sleep it off. He was glad when Jared returned with his credit card and receipt. It distracted him from his musings and let them get out of the restaurant.
He kept Lexie upright while they exited the establishment and waited for the car. When the valet drove up, Kade slipped him a fifty and quickly put Lexie in the car. As they drove away, Lexie kept up an amusing recounting of their evening, as though he hadn’t been with her and needed a play-by-play.
Kade didn’t interrupt her because he was enjoying it, but also because it gave him time to think about what came next.
He cursed under his breath that his team still couldn’t find Jason. Trust him to realize he’s in love with his brother’s wife before their divorce was final.
Just then, Lexie went silent before saying, “Pull over. I think I’m going to be sick.”
* * *
Lexie groaned and leaned her feverish cheek against the cool surface of Kade’s car. “Just leave me on the side of the road to die,” she croaked.
After puking twice, she was wrung out and felt like fire lived inside her skin. Worse yet, her mind was fuzzy from all the alcohol that was slowly making its way through her system. She was sick and woozy and couldn’t quite retain what was happening.
Someone brushed her hair back from her face and lifted it off her neck. A breeze blew across her skin, refreshing her a little. “That feels nice.”
She recognized Kade’s warm chuckle. “Are you feeling well enough to get going again?”
Any kind of motion made her stomach rebel. “I don’t think so.”
“You can do it, Lex. It’s not far now.”
Cracking her eyes open, Lexie tried to bring Kade into focus, but he was still a little blurry no matter how hard she tried. Thoughts of stripping naked and falling into her bed made her reach down deep for the strength to go on.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Getting back in the car was easy enough, since she was ready to collapse. When the motor started up, she didn’t mind the slight vibration as she lay her head back against the seat. But it wasn’t long after the wheels started turning again that her stomach rolled.
As though from far away, she watched Kade reach across her body to roll the window down. Soothing night air flowed into the car and she inhaled it deep into her lungs.
“That’s it. Just keep taking slow, deep breaths like that.”
With a wan smile, Lexie nodded and followed his advice. She felt better, and her eyes drifted shut. “I don’t want to be sick in your lovely new car.”
She didn’t know how much time had passed before she felt herself being lifted, which roused her. “What’s happening?” Opening her eyes, she caught a glimpse of trees and stars, but then all she saw was Kade smiling at her.
“It’s okay. I’m just getting you inside.”
His strength and kindness were comforting. She lay her head on his shoulder. “All right.”
Being in Kade’s arms gave her a sense of safety, and she relaxed again. Until another bout of nausea hit her. This time when it kicked in, she was in a strange kitchen, retching into the sink while Kade supported her from behind. Finally, her stomach was empty, and her body calmed down.
While she caught her breath, Lexie looked around a little, but didn’t absorb most of it. “Where are we?”
“My place. It was closer, and I figured the sooner we got somewhere stationary, the better. You need a nice, cool shower and to go to bed.”
Somewhere in the back of her mind, an alarm bell tried to ring, but Lexie slapped it into silence. Kade wasn’t the type of man to take advantage of a drunk woman.
“Okay. Sounds good.”
