Free I Knew You Were Trouble: A Texas Kings Novel by Soraya Lane

under hooded lashes when he tightened his hold, only just enough for her to notice. He could see she was breathing hard, but he had no idea whether she wanted him to back off or the complete opposite.
    “Are you trying to seduce me?” he asked, his voice barely a gruff whisper.
    He watched her swallow, noticed her cheeks turn a soft, tempting shade of pink. He’d never actually seen her blush before, and he liked it.
    “No,” she croaked, shaking her head.
    “I’ve never had a woman try to seduce me in my own kitchen before,” he told her, releasing her wrist and turning it over in his palm until her hand was facing up so he could trail his fingers across her soft skin. Her hand was trembling. “So, accidental or not, you’re doing a damn fine job of it.”
    Faith made a noise that was hard to decipher. “I don’t think I’m even capable of seducing anyone, let alone you. Especially not right now.”
    “After what happened?” He felt like shit. “That was seriously insensitive of me, pushing you like that. I’m sorry.”
    She slowly took her hand away from his. “I’m not exactly a seductress when it comes to men, Nate. And yeah, what happened has me kind of shaky still. I don’t feel like me again yet, if that even makes sense.”
    “I get it.” He stared into her eyes. “I’ll let you come to me next time.”
    Her smile was sweet as pie.
    “You know, you’re even more tempting because you actually have no goddamn idea,” he said as he took another step back. She definitely didn’t know the effect she had on him. “Any other woman, I’d think this was all just a clever plan, but you?” Nate chuckled. “I actually think Sam’s been so good at keeping most of the male population away from you that he’s actually stopped you from realizing the power you have over men.”
    Faith laughed. First it was a shy giggle; then she was actually laughing. “I thought you were being serious for a moment.”
    She turned her back on him and went back to stirring her sauce, like nothing had happened between them, like she hadn’t managed to tease him and tempt him with her damn Italian sauce.
    “Do you want a glass of wine?”
    Faith looked up. “I’d love one. A pinot would be great with this dish.”
    Nate raised an eyebrow. “And just like that you’re running my household,” he said dryly.
    Faith paused, like she was unsure what to say. “Is that why you’re so scared to have a woman in your house, Nate? Because you don’t like the idea of losing control?”
    He didn’t even bother answering, just went through to the wine cellar and pulled out a bottle, stopping to check the label before returning to the kitchen. He uncorked it and decanted it before pulling out two oversize wineglasses.
    “If we’re going to drink a red, we may as well make it a good one,” Nate told Faith. “If I’d known I would have got you to put it out to get to room temperature a few hours ago.”
    Faith nodded and checked the spaghetti, bumping shoulders with him when she turned to drain the water off. “How about you put the wine on the table? I’ll have dinner served up in a few minutes.”
    Things were strained between them, suddenly strange, and Nate didn’t like it. One moment they’d been easy; the next it was … He cleared his throat, refusing to feel uncomfortable in his own home. He was never uncomfortable, never not in control, especially when it came to the opposite sex. So they’d had a moment. So what? Nothing was going to happen, especially not after hearing how shaken up she still was. He’d been so busy thinking about how to deal with her ex, Nate hadn’t thought about how rough she must be feeling still.
    “Anything interesting happen today?” he asked, settling down at the table and stretching his legs out as he tried to make easy conversation. He glanced at a book she had open and reached for it. “Or were you too busy tidying up this pigsty?”
    “It was hardly a pigsty.”
    Nate