by Leanne Banks
His chest tightened.
She was too important to him. Too important to him to lose. Even if he didn’t deserve her.
He had the crazy urge to build a wall of protection around her, but knew it was impossible. Still she had to be protected, and he was the man to do it.
Kate awakened the next morning to the sound of a cat purring. She opened her eyes to find Parkay curled in a ball next to her stomach. She smiled. Michael had found her. Stretching, she glanced around the sparsely furnished room and her gaze stopped on the nightstand. Salted crackers and soda. Her chest squeezed tight.
He had come for her last night. He had come through for her last night. She felt a softening inside her, a glimmer of hope. Then his words echoed through her mind, snuffing it out. I don’t believe in love.
She sighed and sat up. She was in his bed, she realized, rubbing her fingers over the sheets. She had dreamed of sharing his life, sharing his bed. But not this way.
She tugged the sheet up to her nose and sneaked in a quick breath of his scent, then pushed crazy dreams aside and got out of bed. Glancing around the room, she looked for pictures on the wall and saw none. She looked for books. Still none.
Frowning, she pushed open the door and walked down the hall to the kitchen. The complete absence of Michael’s personal expression throughout the house surprised her.
“Good morning,” he said from behind her, making her jump. She whipped around to find him looking down at her. His gaze swept over her. “I like my shirt on you.”
She tugged at the collar and crossed her arms over her chest, then dropped them to her sides. She rubbed her thighs together, all too aware of her bareness beneath his shirt. There was something just a little different about the way he was looking at her. His gaze held a tinge of possessiveness edged with tenderness. Kate blinked and the expression was gone.
“Thank you for coming for me last night and for giving up your bed. I was just looking around your apartment. Why aren’t you at work?” she blurted out, unable to stifle her curiosity.
He waved his hand toward another room which held a desk, a raft of papers and a laptop. “I’m working from the laptop this morning. How are you?” he asked, and his gaze turned assessing.
“Fine. I’m great compared to last night. I’m sorry I was a little weepy.” She smiled. “My stiff upper lip is back this morning.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t break out in hives from your tears.”
“True,” she said, remembering how he had held her. She glanced at his hands and saw scratch marks. Wincing, she reached for one. “Parkay?”
He nodded. “She was under your bed and didn’t want to come out.”
“Ingrate,” she said.
“Tuna helped, but I almost had to bring home a lot of her friends.”
“Oh I bet you were popular with all the kitties.” She released his hand and sighed. “How long have you been here? Did you move in recently?”
“Three years ago,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve been busy.”
“But there are no pictures, no plants. Do you have a CD player?”
“I think my alarm clock has a radio, but I kill plants.”
She bit back a moan. “Michael, there’s nothing of you here.”
“Almost all of me has been at the office.” He glanced at his watch. “Which is where I’m going now that I know you’re okay.” He backed away to turn off his computer and load it in his attaché. “Call me if you need anything.”
Wondering if she’d made him uncomfortable with her questions, she joined him at the door. “Michael,” she said, drawing his attention back to her.
He looked down at her, and she acted on an impulse. Standing on her toes, she kissed him lightly. “Thank you.”
He slid his arm around her waist and gave her a deeper, hungry kiss. “Tonight.”
He left and she leaned against the door, touching her lips as they buzzed. Her entire body buzzed. She covered her eyes and shook her head. “Get a grip.”
She looked up, her gaze taking in her barren surroundings, and decided to make a few changes. By the time Michael arrived home tonight, his apartment would at least be more comfortable. It was the least she could do. The man had rescued her cat and been there when she called him.
Michael arrived home late that night to the sound of Santana gently playing on a boom box and the kitchen table set with new china and flatware. A pitcher in the center of the table held a small bunch of spring flowers. Candles had been lit and snuffed out, and he inhaled the mouthwatering scent of something Italian. He glanced in the refrigerator and spotted lasagne.
Michael blinked. His refrigerator usually only held stuff like beer and soda, occasionally juice and a few leftovers that resembled chemistry experiments gone bad. Lasagne.
Closing the door, he tugged at his tie and walked through the apartment in search of Kate. He found her asleep in his bed with a book folded over her stomach. Parkay lay at her feet.
She had waited for him, he realized. It was an odd feeling. He couldn’t remember anyone waiting for him. A whispery sweet feeling snuck under his skin. Damn strange thing. He liked it and felt uncomfortable with it at the same time. Frowning, he dismissed the sensations and turned his attention back to Kate.
He carefully lifted the book from her stomach and set it on the nightstand. She rolled over onto her side, causing her nightshirt to gap slightly. The sight of her dusky nipple reminded him how she had felt in his hands, how she had tasted in his mouth. So incredibly responsive. He remembered how soft her inner thighs had felt when he’d coaxed them apart, and her femininity softer still as he’d slid inside her.
He wasn’t exactly sure how she did it, but her combination of head and heart reminded him he was a man instead of a machine. She reminded him of needs and desires he’d made a habit of turning off like a faucet. He liked the way she looked in his bed, he thought, but he’d like it better still when they would share it. Soon.
The following morning, Kate rose early with the intention of getting back to her duplex. She’d spent the entire day yesterday trying to add small touches of comfort to Michael’s apartment. She had so wanted to surprise and please him. Although he hadn’t known she’d prepared a meal for him, she wished she had known he would be late so her feelings weren’t so squashed.
As she nibbled a cracker and dressed, she told herself her feelings should not be hurt. If she kept repeating it, maybe she would believe it.
She took a deep breath as she left the bedroom and smelled coffee brewing. Michael was up and dressed already. No surprise, there, she thought with true envy. The man required far less sleep than normal humans, especially this pregnant human.
“I’m sorry I missed dinner,” he said, glancing up from his coffee.
“No big deal. It was just a thank you for giving me and Parkay a place to land.”
“You went to a lot of trouble. I think my refrigerator is in shock from having something other than beer and soda in it.”
She felt a sliver of amusement. “I think both of you may be in shock. I hope you’ll get a chance to enjoy it. You can reheat small portions of it in the microwave here or at the office. I appreciate you sharing your apartment, but I’ll get out of your hair now. I’m going back to the duplex today to air it out, and I’m hoping it will be livable by tonight.”
Michael frowned. “I don’t think you should go back.”
“The gas problem is repaired and I’ve been given the all-clear sign.”
“Move in here,” he said. “We’re going to be married in less than two weeks.”
Butterflies danced in her stomach at the thought. “My parents will be here in a few days, and my mother will want to be a part of the wedding planning. In fact I’m going to let her plan most of it. I still can’t believe I’m doing this,” she murmured.
“Why?”
“It’s just not what I envisioned for myself.”
“You didn’t envision getting pregnant,” he said.
“What did you envision?”
Uncomfortable beneath his scrutiny, Kate glanced away. “I don’t know. In my mind, I guess I thought I would date someone for a while, and there would be a courtship, and then he would propose.” She shook her head. “You and I have it backwards. We haven’t even been on a date. There’s so much we don’t know about each other. What if we get married and don’t like each other?”
Hearing the frantic edge to her voice, Michael took her arms and looked into her eyes. “That’s not going to happen. You’re panicking, but you believe it’s the right thing to do.”
She moved her head in a circle. “Kinda.”
“Kate…” he said, searching for a way to reason with her.
“I’m not sure how to explain this, but it’s like a merger. Usually you learn everything about the company you’re merging with, you court them and negotiate differences. But you and I, we’re signing the contract first,” Kate mused.
As far as Michael was concerned, the sooner they married, the better. “I know the best way to solve this.”
“How?”
“You need to be sleeping with me.”
Kate groaned. “That’s what got me in trouble in the first place.”
“So you can’t get into any worse trouble now.”
She shot him a dark look that alternated between sexy and wary. “That’s a matter of opinion,” she said and flounced toward the door. She stopped when she put her hand on the knob. “There is one other thing,” she said, not turning to face him.
Her reluctance to look at him piqued his curiosity. “Yes?”
“I realize it will be a challenge, but when we’re around my parents, you need to act like you’re crazy about me. It will be hard, but if you use one-tenth of the energy and creativity you’ve used for your business, you might be able to pull it off.”
Then she whisked out of the door, treating him to a tempting view of her curvy backside. Michael couldn’t decide if he’d just been complimented or insulted. Perhaps both.
After work, he drove to her duplex and found her on a stepladder armed with a screwdriver while she worked on a curtain-rod bracket. Anyone else looking at her wouldn’t have a clue that she was pregnant. Slim and curvy in shorts and tank top, she was barefoot, but her legs caught and held his attention. Until he thought about the nasty combination of the ladder and her pregnancy.
“Have you lost your mind?” he asked as calmly as he could.
He must have startled her because she let out a little shriek, then jumped and struggled for balance. His heart hammering, he ran toward the ladder and wrapped his hands around her waist.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, scowling down at him. “You scared the living daylights out of me.”
“Did you forget you’re pregnant?”
“No,” she said. “But as long as no one comes up behind me and disturbs me, I should be fine on the ladder.”
“Let me finish,” he insisted.
“It’s not necessary,” she protested.
“If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for Cupcake,” he said, using her term of endearment.
She thought about it for a moment, then handed over the screwdriver. “Okay.”
Michael swung her off the ladder to the ground, and climbed it. “Nice screwdriver. I’m surprised.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a woman.”
“That’s sexist,” she said. “Besides, there’s an unwritten rule. Every woman should have a good screwdriver, a drill, and a black bra.”
The screwdriver slipped in his hand, but he caught it. “And do you?” he asked. “Have all three?”
“Yes.”
Michael was struck with the wicked wanton image of Kate in a black bra and not much else. He sucked in a quick breath and frowned at the odor. “Still smells like smoke.”
“It was strong when I first got here, so I ran two fans on high and went out for a while. I must’ve gotten used to it this afternoon.”
“You know I can’t leave you here, don’t you?” he asked, finishing the screws and descending the ladder.
“Why not?”
“Because if you got hurt, I couldn’t live with myself.”
Her eyes widened. She folded her arms over her chest. “I’ll be fine.”
“I would have thought you’d be fine two nights ago,” he pointed out. “But you weren’t. Any other climbing you planned tonight?”
“No,” she said reluctantly. “If you keep acting nice and attentive, you’re going to confuse me.”
“If you get confused, does that mean you’ll show me the big three?”
“Big three?” she echoed.
“Your screwdriver, your drill and your black bra.”
Five
Surprised, Kate gave a double take. Her heart skipped a beat. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” he said, moving closer to her. “I’d like you to show me your big three.”
Was he flirting with her? Michael didn’t flirt with her. “The drill is in my toolbox.”
“And the black bra?”
“Bottom dresser drawer,” she said, wondering how far he was going to take this.
“I want to see it on you,” he told her, sending a wicked rush through her.
“Maybe another time,” she said.
He took her hand when she started to turn. “Is that a promise?”
She studied him. “What is with you?”
“It’s time we left the boss-assistant relationship totally behind.”
“And how do we do that?” she asked.
“I have some ideas,” he said and pulled her into his arms.
He took her mouth in sensual exploration, quickly warming her from the inside out. “Every time I looked at you during the last three years, I said no. I’m not saying no to myself anymore.”
His words surprised and aroused her. He felt solid, strong and distinctly masculine against her. He took her mouth again, this time with his tongue, seeking and seducing her, sipping at her as if she were his favorite drink, and he’d been thirsty for a long time.
“You smell like sex,” he whispered.
Kate felt her knees lose their starch. His desire for her was intoxicating. She slid her fingers through his hair and rubbed her chest against his, craving a closer touch. The atmosphere in the room turned steamy. He slid his hands down to her bottom, guiding her against his hardened masculinity. Long denied needs rushed to the surface, and Kate fought against letting go. “I’m not sure about this,” she asked.
“I’m just practicing,” he said, skimming one of his hands over the side of her breasts. The movement teased and taunted.
Kate bit back a moan. “Practicing what?”
“Practicing for when we’re married.” He skimmed his hand over her breast again, this time closer to, but not touching her tight nipple.
Kate’s moan escaped her throat.
“Do you like that?” he asked, rubbing his thumb over her nipple.
She pressed her breast into his hand, an unspoken confession.
“I’m going to find out what else you like,” he said, and pulled her with him down onto the sofa. Pulling her onto his lap, he lifted her shirt and flicked his tongue over the tip of her breast.
Kate couldn’t suppress another moan. When he unfastened the top button of her jeans, she put her hand on his. He was making her dizzy. “This feels fast.”
“It could be faster,” he said.
She shook her head and swallowed over her dry throat. She lifted her hand and was surprised to find it trembling.
Michael looked down at her hand and took it in his.
“It’s going to sound crazy,” she said, searching his gaze, “but when you said those things in your office the day I quit, a big part of me gave up on you.”
“What are you afraid of?” he asked. “That I’ll abandon you or stop supporting yo
u? Because I won’t. I—”
She shook her head. She couldn’t tell him what she feared. She had too many fears, and, unfortunately, she had every reason to believe they would come true. “I think I need some time. I think we need to take this slowly.”
His gaze held hers for a heart-pounding moment. “Okay, we’ll trade,” he said. “We go slow, and you come back with me tonight.”
Kate started to shake her head.
“This isn’t negotiable,” he told her. “You can pack or I’ll pack for you.”
“Why? I’ll be fine.”
“I’m here to make damn sure of it,” he said. “You can either walk out of here or I’ll carry you out to my car and let the neighbors stare when you scream. But I’m not leaving you here until your parents arrive.”
She didn’t like having her wings clipped. “I thought you said we were leaving the boss-assistant relationship behind.”
“I’m just practicing to be your husband,” he said in a maddeningly calm voice.
“I wish you would practice differently,” she retorted.
“I will,” he said, his tone dark with sensual promise.
“You’re getting what?” Justin nearly shrieked as he slammed his mug of beer down.
“I’m getting married in less than two weeks, and you two are invited,” Michael calmly said.
Dylan just stared at him for a long moment, then cleared his throat. “Isn’t this a bit sudden?”
“Yes,” Michael said, although he still preferred the idea of chartering an airplane to Las Vegas and taking care of the vows instantly. “It would have been sooner, but Kate’s mother wants a church wedding.”
“Why the speed?” Dylan asked, his eyes narrowed as if he sensed there was more to the story.
