“You’re a godsend, Katie.”
They agreed on a time and a place to meet the following morning. Katie was in a hot shower, scouring all traces of chinchillamusk residue from her skin and hair within two minutes of Miles walking away.
She thought of telling Rill tonight about taking the job at the community center as she showered. Nervousness flickered in her belly at the prospect. He wouldn’t mind, would he?
Would he be insulted? Would he patronize her?
The fact of that matter was, taking on a job implied a state of permanence to her and Rill’s relationship that she wasn’t sure was at all justified.
But the nervousness she experienced when she thought of telling Rill about her new job was nothing in comparison to what she felt when she reached into her purse ten minutes later and drew out what was in the bag from the pharmacy.
“Rill’s going to kill me.”
Her fingers felt rubbery with rising anxiety as she opened the box of the early home-pregnancy test.
Twenty-two
Rill had bought an antenna for the old television set and was finishing setting it up when Katie walked into the living room.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Katie murmured. “It’s a color TV.”
Rill chuckled and fiddled with the channel dial. When he stood and Katie neared, he noticed her expression.
“You okay?” he asked as he came down on the couch next to her. “You’ve seemed kind of out of it this evening.”
“No, I’m fine. It’s just . . .”
“What?”
“We just figured out that old TV set shows color and you picked a black-and-white movie,” she said bemusedly.
Rill laughed. Katie had always cracked him up, ever since he’d first known her. He was glad to know that giving free rein to his monumental lust for her hadn’t diminished his appreciation of her humor.
He reached for her and pulled her against him. He buried his nose in fragrant gold waves. “It’s Hitchcock. You know I never pass on Hitchcock. Besides, I wasn’t really planning on spending much time watching TV,” he informed her. “Seems like I haven’t seen you in ages.”
“It was just this morning,” she murmured as she stroked his shoulders and kissed his ear. His cock appreciated not only her actions but her delicious, clean scent. She’d just taken a shower when he’d come home earlier and she’d greeted him in the kitchen. Her long hair had been damp and she’d been wearing a soft-looking yellow and white short nightgown and robe. Her skin had been dewy-looking and her green eyes shone. He’d scowled when she’d casually mentioned Miles Fordham had been there earlier, nosing around.
The guy was a fucking nuisance.
Rill had wanted to haul Katie off to bed instantly, but he couldn’t without giving away his true identity as an asshole caveman since she’d made such a nice meal for them.
She’d seemed distracted during dinner. Her preoccupation didn’t have anything to do with Fordham, did it? Surely not. Katie wasn’t stupid. She’d sidestepped his question about what was bothering her, but he really wanted to ask her about it again, and he would . . . if she stopped kissing him, that was.
He picked up the end of a tendril and squashed a fat curl between his fingers. “Thanks for the dinner. You’re going to spoil me, you know.”
“Have you ever been spoiled before?” Katie asked as she continued to kiss his ear and make him shiver.
“Never.”
“I refuse to believe that.”
“I’m too contrary to be spoiled.”
“You’ve got that straight,” she murmured wryly.
She shifted her focus to his face, where she began to rain little kisses on his eyelids and cheeks. Her lips felt warm and soft when she finally landed on his mouth. For a few delicious seconds, he kissed her back, molding her lips to his languorously. Kissing Katie was like a sensual gateway drug . . . heady, intoxicating . . . making him crave the next high making love to her would give him.
He groaned when she pressed her breasts against his chest. He steeled his restraint, something that was starting to be nearly impossible to do when it came to Katie. He became a rabid animal when he was in her presence.