Off Limits

Chapter 2

Kate stalked into the Jolly Roger two hours later and flopped down at the table where Hayley and a large group of friends sat among an assortment of half-eaten pizzas and drinks. Andrew, Hayley's fiancé, was the only man present at the table so it didn't look like blind date guy was there yet. Thank god. Maybe lady luck would shine down on her tonight and he wouldn't pitch. After the 'incident' with Tyler she didn't think she could handle another awkward moment with a guy tonight. She'd rushed home when she'd left the office to shower off her arousal and change into skinny black jeans and her leather jacket. There was no way she could have come straight here, even though going home first meant that she'd arrived much later than planned. Her underwear had been soaked through and she knew she'd smelled of sex. What the hell had she been thinking, begging him to kiss her like that? And then when he finally gave in, shoving her tongue down his throat?

Oh please, she knew what she'd been thinking. She'd been looking for an excuse to get her hands on Tyler for months. He was drop dead gorgeous and she'd been crushing on him from across the room since the day they met. Finding out he was gay had been a massive blow back then—she'd never been so instantly attracted to anyone in all her life. And then the more she got to know him as they worked closely together, the more she'd come to like him as a person. She considered him a friend, and a good one.

But now ... Kate's stomach twisted nervously as she played over what had happened between them. Ty had certainly not behaved like a gay man when he'd kissed her. She'd never wanted anything as badly as she'd wanted to feel him deep inside her, and she could tell he'd wanted her just as much. She would never be able to look at that damn orange dress again without remembering the feeling of Ty's strong hands underneath it, burning into her skin. Kate was turned on, more than a little confused and suddenly desperate for something to take her mind off it.

"What the hell crawled up your ass and died?" Kate's best friend Hayley wasn't known for her tact.

"I don't want to talk about it." She looked around grumpily. "Can a girl get a drink around here?"

"Jeez, you just walked in, give them a chance," Hayley said, eyeing Kate with a mixture of wariness and curiosity. "Bad day at the office or something?"

"Or something," Kate mumbled, reaching over and taking a big gulp from Hayley's glass of wine.

"Hey!" Hayley protested, grabbing the glass from Kate's hands before she could down the lot. "Get your own." She turned to the barman and yelled, "Hey, John, can we get a glass of wine over here, pronto? And make it a big one!"

A waitress materialised moments later with a bottle. Kate smiled gratefully and gestured for her to fill a glass to the brim.

Hayley eyed her curiously. "Care to share what the problem is? I thought you were coming straight from work."

"Who said I didn't?" Kate asked, dropping blocks of ice into the wine from an ice-bucket on the table.

Hayley laughed. "As if the stiffs at Housebridge would allow you to go to work dressed like a member of Hell's Angels. Have you forgotten this is supposed to be a date?"

Kate looked down. Okay, so maybe the black leather look wasn't exactly office or blind date attire. But she was in a mood so she might as well look the part.

"Hey," another girl in their party that Kate had never met before caught Kate's attention. She was petite with clear, coloured skin and a very pretty face. "Sorry to interrupt." She looked anything but sorry but Kate smiled politely back at her. "You work at Housebridge and Associates, the architectural firm?"