He stepped onto the stone path and walked toward a gatehouse. Willow let the cat issue drop as she stared at the pretty structure. It was all windows and wood, perfectly suited for the surroundings. But it wasn’t the main house.

“Hey, where are you taking me?” she demanded, having sudden visions of a dark dungeon with chains and handcuffs on the walls.

“My house. I have first-aid supplies here.”

Oh, right. That made sense. “You live on the property?”

“It’s convenient.”

“It shortens the commute, if nothing else.” She glanced around at the gardens. “Nice southern exposure. You could grow anything here.” Gardening was a favorite hobby. Her fingers itched to be in the soil and planting.

“If you say so.”

He slowly lowered her to the ground, but kept an arm around her and supported most of her weight. She leaned on him, her body nestled close.

He had to be well over six feet and a couple hundred pounds. He felt as solid as a building and she had the thought that whatever happened, this was a man who could keep a woman safe.

He dug keys out of his trouser pocket, then unlocked the door and carried her inside.

“If we were dating, this would be romantic,” she said with a sigh. “Can we pretend?”

“To be dating? No.”

“But I’m injured. I may die and, frankly, it’s your fault. Is it because you’re married?”

He lowered her into the chair by the fireplace, then put her injured foot on the ottoman.

“You’re the one who ran,” he said. “It’s your fault. I’m not married and don’t move.”

He disappeared into what Willow suspected was the kitchen. All right, so Kane didn’t mind doing the rescue thing, but he wasn’t exactly friendly about it. She could handle that.

She looked at the room, liking the high beamed ceiling and the earth tones. The space was bigger than she would have thought, yet still cozy. The large windows that faced south cried out for a few planter boxes, though.

On the table next to her was a book on the Middle East. Financial magazines littered the coffee table in front of the sofa. Interesting reading for a security guy.

“Engaged?” she yelled.

He mumbled something she couldn’t hear, then said, “No.”

“So the lack of pretending is a personal thing. Are you getting ice?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t forget the box for the cat.”

“There’s no cat.”

“Oh, there’s a cat. It’s too cold. Even if she’d be okay, what about her kittens? They’re newborn. We can’t just leave them to die.”

“There’s no damn cat.”

There was a cat, Kane thought grimly as he stared into the hollow of the tree. A gray and white one with three tiny kittens. Despite having been pregnant until a couple of hours ago, the cat looked skinny and bedraggled.

A stray, he thought, wondering what he’d done to deserve this. He was a decent guy. He tried to do the right thing. All he asked was that the world leave him alone. For the most part, the world agreed. Until today.

As the odds of the cat getting into the box were close to zero, he set it on the ground and studied the situation. He wasn’t a pet person, but he knew enough to know cats had claws, teeth and miserable dispositions. However, this cat had recently given birth, so maybe it was weak and therefore feeling more cooperative. It was also a new mother and likely to be protective.

One way or the other, he knew there was going to be blood spilt and it was going to be his.

He reached inside the hollow and closed his hand around the first kitten. The mother cat stared at him and put her paw on top of his hand. As he began to move the impossibly small ratlike baby, claws sank into his skin. Oh, yeah, a real good time.

“Look. I’ve got to get you and the kittens inside. It’s cold and it’ll be foggy tonight. I know you’re hungry and tired so just shut up and cooperate.”

The cat blinked slowly. The claws retracted.

He scooped up the kittens and set them in the nest of towels he’d folded in the box, then reached for the mother cat. She hissed, then rose and jumped gracefully onto the towels and curled up around her babies.

Kane grabbed his coat, Willow’s shoe and sock and the box, then headed back to his place.

This wasn’t how his day was supposed to go. He lived a quiet life by choice. He liked his place—it was secluded and he didn’t get visitors. Solitude was his friend and he didn’t need any others. So why did he have an uncomfortable sensation that everything was about to change?

He walked into the gatehouse and found Willow on the phone.

“Gotta go,” she said. “Kane’s back with the cat and her kittens. Uh-huh. No, that’s great. Thanks, Marina. I appreciate it.”

“You called someone?” he asked as he set the box by the fireplace.

“You gave me the phone. Was I not supposed to use it?”

“It was for emergencies.”

“You didn’t say that. Anyway, the call was local. I phoned my sister. She’s bringing over cat food and a litter box. Oh, and some dishes, because I didn’t think you’d want to use yours for the cat food. I’d put money on her calling Mom and telling her what happened, which means Dr. Greenberg is probably going to want to check me out before I can move.”

“You have a doctor who makes house calls?”

“My mom’s worked for him for years. He’s great.” She glanced at her watch. “We should have this all wrapped up by two or three. Really. But if you have to be somewhere, don’t let me keep you.”

As if he was going to leave her alone in his place. “I can work from home today.”

“So that’s all good.”

She smiled at him, as if all this was normal. As if she was normal.

“You can’t do this,” he told her. “You can’t invade my life.”

“I didn’t invade it. I stumbled into it. Literally.”

There was that smile again—the one that transformed her from pretty to beautiful and made her eyes twinkle. As if there was a joke that only she got. Which, based on her loose grasp of reality, was probably true.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.

“I told you. Julie’s sister.”

“Why aren’t you at work?”

“Oh, I work from home, too. I’m a cartoonist, actually. I have my own comic strip. I’m syndicated. Do you have anything to eat? I’m starved.”

He didn’t keep much food around. It was always easier to grab a meal on his way home from work. But there had to be something.

“I’ll go look.” He stalked toward the kitchen.

“Nothing with meat. I’m a vegetarian.”

“Of course you are,” he muttered.

The cat had followed him into the kitchen. He searched his bare pantry and found a can of tuna. After opening it, he dumped the contents on a plate and set it on the floor. The cat gulped down the food.

“She must have been starving.”

He looked up and saw Willow standing in the doorway. She was balanced on one foot, holding on to the door frame, her gaze focused on the stray.

“Poor thing. All alone in the world and pregnant. You know whoever the guy cat is, he didn’t bother to stick around. It’s just so typical. A real statement on our society today.”

Kane rubbed his temples as he felt the beginnings of a headache.

“You should be sitting,” he said. “You need to ice your ankle.”

“I’m getting cold from the ice. Do you have any tea?”

He wanted to snap back that this wasn’t the kitchen at the Four Seasons and no he didn’t have any damn tea. That she should be grateful he hadn’t left her and the stupid cat out there to freeze to death.

Except this was Los Angeles and it never got close to freezing and there was something in Willow’s blue eyes, an expectation of goodness and trust, that stopped him.

She was the kind of woman who expected the best from people and would bet a large portion of his considerable bank account that she’d been disappointed more often than not.

“No tea.”

She nodded. “Not the tea type, huh? You’re too macho for that.”

“Macho?”

“Manly, virile, whatever.”

“Virile?”

“I’m just guessing on that one. It might not be true. You don’t seem to have a woman in your life.”

He felt an unusual need to growl at her. “You screw with my day, threaten my boss, run from me, blame me because you tripped and now you’re questioning my…my…”

“Manhood?” she offered helpfully. “Am I making you crazy? It happens. I try not to do that to people and I don’t always know when I’m doing it.”

“You’re doing it now.”

“Then I’ll stop. Would it help if I hopped back to my chair?”

“More than you know.”

“Okay.”

She turned, then swayed and grabbed on to the door frame to keep her balance. He swore and stepped over the cat to pick her up.

“It’s just the blood loss,” she said as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I’ll be fine.”

“Especially considering you haven’t lost any blood.”

“But I could have.”

He turned his head to look at her. It was only then that he realized how close their mouths were. His gaze locked on the curve of her lips and he had a pressing need to rest his mouth there. Just for a second. To know what she felt like and how she tasted.

He shouldn’t. He would only hurt her—it was as inevitable as the sunrise and yet he was tempted.

“I wouldn’t mind,” she whispered. “I know I’m not your type but I wouldn’t ever tell anyone.”

He didn’t know what she was talking about and he didn’t care. Because for once in his life, he was going to do the one thing he knew he shouldn’t.

He was going to kiss her.

Two

Kane claimed Willow with a kiss that took her breath away. Powerful, sensual, erotic. She couldn’t say what was different, how his mouth pressing against hers was unlike any other kiss, but it was.

His lips were firm and demanding, but with a gentleness that made her want to give him anything he wanted. She knew he could just claim her—he was more than capable of taking, but the fact that he didn’t seemed to make him even more powerful and appealing.

She clung to him, her arms around his neck. Her body straining to be closer. He touched his tongue to her lower lip and she parted for him instantly.

When he swept into her mouth, she felt heat pouring through her body. Need made her quiver and if she’d been standing, she would have collapsed.

His tongue explored her, teased her, excited her. He tasted of coffee and some exotic flavor that left her hungry for more. She kissed him back with an enthusiasm that probably should have embarrassed her, but as she figured this was a one time thing, why not go for it.

The kiss went on and on until various parts of her body began complaining that they, too, wanted some of that. Her br**sts ached and between her legs she felt a distinct longing.

Finally he raised his head and looked at her. Passion darkened his eyes to the color of storm clouds, which was something she’d never been able to think before. The wanting tightened his features and made him look predatory.

“You want to have sex with me!” she announced, so pleased she nearly kissed him again.

He muttered something under his breath and carried her back to the chair on the living room.

“We’re not having sex,” he told her.

“Oh, I know. I don’t know you and that would make it tacky, but you were interested. Plus, you held me for a long time without breaking a sweat. So you must work out.”

He shook his head. “I’ve never understood why anyone would want to bang his head against a wall, but now I get it.”

She ignored that. “Kane?”

He glanced at her.

Her breath caught. It was still there—the need. Men had offered to take her to bed before, but they’d never needed her. Not sexually.

“Wow. I’m not imagining it. You are so incredibly sweet. Thank you.”

“I’m not sweet. I’m a cold son of a bitch.”

Oh, please. She smiled. “You’ve made my whole day. Guys don’t ever want me. Not really.”

He looked her up and down in a blatantly sexual way. She supposed that to be a fully realized woman, she should be insulted, but in truth, it was thrilling.

“Trust me—guys want you. You’re just not paying attention.”

“No, they don’t. I’m the warm, caring type who takes in strays. I give them a home—well, not literally. I mean they don’t come live with me. But I rescue them. You know, patch them up, give them support, care about them and then they leave. But they never…you know.”

“Wanted to sleep with you?” he asked bluntly.

She winced. “Not usually. Which is fine. Some are just friends, but others…” She shrugged. “It’s kind of the way my life goes.”

She could deal with that—it was her destiny to fix the guys and send them on their way. But sometimes she wished they would see her as something other than a good friend. There had been a couple she’d wanted to stick around.

“Just so we’re clear,” he said. “I don’t need rescuing.”

She wasn’t sure she believed him, but she was willing to let it go for now. Mostly because the wanting thing was so incredible.