by M. O. Kenyan
Katherine gave him thumbs up and turned around, walking around the corner and out of his sight. AJ laughed, but his fun was interrupted by what he knew was a fleshy breast rubbing up against him. AJ thanked God Katherine hadn’t seen the seductive show the nurse was putting up for him. He couldn’t even remember his name, let alone remember if he had slept with her before. He ignored her, but that didn’t stop her from rubbing up against him like a cat on heat.
Dear God, he was so pissed off about Katherine sleeping with Lyle—the bruise to his ego and the final nail in the coffin that held his hate for the man—he didn’t think of how she felt. It couldn’t be comfortable for her to be working, interacting with and depending on the help of the women he’d had affairs with. He needed to forgive her and hopefully she would forgive him for putting her in such an awkward position.
“AJ,” the horny cat meowed seductively.
“Not today, babe, not ever.” AJ looked away from her pout with disgust. How the hell did he bed all these desperate women without being disgusted with himself. “I’m taken.” He registered the shock on her face. AJ knew that by the end of shift every single nurse would soon find out of his relationship status. Hopefully Katherine wouldn’t suffer because of his new chastity belt. AJ walked away and immediately a crowd formed around the nurses’ station. He chanced another look over his shoulder and Rose’s hate-filled smoldering glare froze him in place. A woman scorned.
“Great!” he muttered under his breath.
* * * *
Katherine tip toed around Lyle, only allowing him close when they were in a crowd of people. She knew Adrian wasn’t lurking about trying to catch her in the act. But she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. She wasn’t going to mess this up. She took out her phone and pondered for a while before finally texting Adrian. She wasn’t sure about what she was allowed to do in the new parameters of their relationship. So she hoped texting and asking about his day was all right.
Not bad. What about yours babe?
Katherine wanted to do a back flip. But instead she did a happy dance where she stood. He called her babe, just like he used to before this nightmare with Lyle started. She thought of texting something bolder, but she was scared. She willed herself to be brazen. After all would man land on the moon if they were afraid they would be killed by tiny green aliens?
I miss you.
Me too Kitty Kat.
The response came instantly so she didn’t check the caller ID when her phone rang. “I guess you missed the sound of my voice.”
“Well, dear, I am your mother. And I do miss you terribly.”
It her mother’s southern drawl that echoed from the phone and not the timbre of AJ’s voice. “Oh hullo, Mother.”
“I assume you didn’t know it was me calling. Anyway that doesn’t matter. You have to come to dinner tonight. It is of the utmost importance,” she said in her high society tone. Sometimes Katherine wondered if the woman was real at all.
“Not to me, Mother. I have plans.” She did. She was going to ask AJ on a date. She was going to take him out to dinner, make an effort on jump starting their new fresh relationship.
“Cancel them. Your brother, Christian, has come up with the most idiotic idea ever. He’s going to join the army. A gentle soul like his will be killed in his first hour.”
“Don’t say that. Really, Mother, the things you say. Wait. Did you say Christian is joining the army?” Fear for her brother’s well-being gripped her. But it didn’t compare to the feeling of loss for her only normal sibling. With him gone, she would be the only normal Henry child in New York.
“Yes, so you must come. We are going to try and dissuade him from this cockamamie idea.” She snorted.
“I’ll be there, Mother.”
“Where is that?” Katherine turned to find AJ grinning down at her.
“I’ll see you tonight, Mother.” Katherine hung up her phone and smiled back at AJ. She tried to calm the wild beat of her heart before she spoke. AJ always had a way of getting her tongue tied. It was worse now because of the egg shells she was trying not to step on. “My mother is holding a dinner party for us.”
“A party?”
“By party I mean, a lunch not so different from the one your mother holds. The difference is we have to get dolled up before we are fed. Then we sit in this awkward silence listening to Father and Duke grunt about business. Christopher usually manages to sneak in something inappropriate,” she rambled on. “But it wouldn’t be met by the same humor as it is at your dinner table. Then it would be left to Christian and I, the only normal children of Tara and Harold Henry, to make the mood lighter.”
“I think I’d rather go for a colonoscopy.”
It was then that it hit her. Did AJ expect to come to the dinner? Duke and her father would chew him up and spit him out even before he got to take his seat at the table. How was she going to tell him he couldn’t come without setting their relationship ten paces back. “Did you…did you want to come?”
“Was I supposed to?” AJ asked in genuine surprise. It seemed the thought of joining her had never occurred to him. “I thought we were taking this slowly. I get you’ve already met my parents, but either way, Reno wanted to meet up with me tonight. If I had known about the dinner and if—”
“And if I hadn’t cheated on you, you would have come,” Katherine mumbled to herself. She looked up and met AJ’s disapproving glare. “It’s okay. I just found out about the dinner. Maybe we could go out tomorrow night?”
He smiled and she knew she had saved the situation. “Sure. I will make sure my schedule is cleared for you.”
“Thanks.” Katherine and AJ stared at each other for a while. Now what? Take a risk. The command came to her mind before she had the chance to process it. Her body took action, getting on her tip toes she kissed AJ’s cheek. She took a couple of steps back, her gaze locked on his the whole time.
“Coming through!”
Katherine jumped away just in time as a gurney came rushing down the hallway. “I’ll see you at home. And about that, I am looking for alternative accommodations.”
AJ nodded and smiled at her the whole time, not saying a word.
* * * *
Katherine looked at her watch for the umpteenth time. She was expecting time to slow down for her. Already her mother had called her three times to confirm the dinner and to give her time checks. The last time she called, she made sure to point out that she was late. Katherine looked up when she felt like her skin was crawling. She looked around wondering what gave her that awkward feeling. When she turned her head to the left she met half a dozen glares directed her way. Katherine frowned at them, but they didn’t falter.
“Hey, beautiful.”
Her stomach did a flip when she heard the timbre of AJ’s voice vibrate through her. “Hi…hi.” What the hell was wrong with her voice? “What’s wrong with them?”
“Well.” AJ’s hands wrapped around her waist and he turned her body to face his. Katherine watched, her hands held up as if in surrender. “Someone might have told them, that the greatest stud in this hospital—”
“Just this hospital?” she teased.
“Well I’d like to say New York—”
“But you haven’t bedded the whole of New York yet.” Katherine immediately regretted what she said. Her eyes shifted to his chest, unwilling to see desire leave his eyes to be replaced by anger. But AJ shocked her by nuzzling her neck. His hot breath scorched her skin, as he planted kisses along her neck.
“I don’t have to. I have the prettiest girl in New York in my arms.” AJ looked at her and smiled. “Anyway, I was saying, they’ve found out that the greatest stud in New York is taken. He has finally found the girl he is willing to be chained to. They’re not very happy about it.”
“I bet they aren’t.” She rose to her tip toes and kissed his. Speaking against his lips she said. “You’re lucky I’m fond of you and that ego of yours.”
“Good thing I have the
skill to back it up.”
AJ lifted her off her feet and was about to kiss her when her phone rang. “Arrgggh! It’s my mother. I need to go.”
“Are you getting a cab?”
“I don’t have a car. You know that.”
AJ reached into his pocket and retrieved the keys to his car. Katherine immediately thought about what Reno said about AJ and his Range Rover. “Take mine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I trust you.”
My God. Katherine felt like her knees would give and she would crumble to the floor. She didn’t think she would ever hear those words. To Katherine, at the moment, those words meant more to her than if he had told her he loved her. She took the keys and kissed him before running out the hospital doors.
Chapter Thirteen
I trust you, Katherine smiled to herself once more. She couldn’t ask for a better way to start her night. Inhaling deeply she could still catch the scent of him. She could see his eyes, like dark roses, seductive and laced with the forbidden. The gentle brush of his lips was enthralling, lighting up nerves in every single part of her body, and settling a pool of warmth in her belly. His breath warm when he whispered against her ear and her lips, pressing against the pulse point in her throat. And when she tasted him, he was too sweet to pull away from.
Her arms went around her as she hugged herself, imagining that his freakishly large arms were holding her one more time. A slow smile crept on her lips, and all she could think about was getting back home to him. It didn’t matter that they weren’t making love anymore; she just wanted to be held, to feel his strong body against hers, his lips…
“Katherine?” Her eyes snapped open and she met the curious gazes of her family. She could feel a crimson blush warm her cheeks. “Would you please get out of whatever fantasy you seem to have disappeared into and pay attention to the situation at hand.” Trust Veronica Henry to turn a molehill into a mountain. “Your brother wants to ship himself over to some God-forsaken country. Say something.”
“Look at it this way, Kit, they too, think we are a God-forsaken country,” Katherine said and was rewarded by a few strangled chuckles.
Her father, sitting at the head of the table, cleared his throat killing the mood. “Of course you would find this funny. Everything is a joke to you. You too turned your back on your family business.”
Katherine shot a look at Christian, who had always been Kit to her since the day they had brought him and Christopher from the hospital. It had been just her and Duke for three years. At that time, she and Duke had been close. He had taken care of her, clothed her, bathed her, fed her and was the perfect big brother.
When the twins were brought home, she understood she had to be just as responsible for the two. She had always taken care of Kit while Duke took care of Topher. That way both babies got attention at the same time. It had always been that way even as grownups.
Now she looked into the blue-gray eyes of the little baby she used to bottle-feed. He was a grown man who approached every decision carefully and thought and rethought even a sandwich order. Christopher was the spur of the moment kind of guy. He had enough adventure for both himself and his cautious twin brother.
Katherine believed Christian had thought about his decision. He would be leaving everything behind, even the big piece of his identity, Christopher. She didn’t like the idea of them being separated, but they were men now. Men, who should be able to make their own decisions and choices. The last thing she wanted for them was to be turned into father’s puppets. She wasn’t going to let her father take over their lives the same way he had Duke’s.
“I believe Kit has thought about it. He’s old enough to make his own choices, we should trust him.” Katherine looked at Duke. He seemed to have tuned out of the conversation. His proper, chosen, mannequin wife was staring at her acrylic nails. She bet the biggest decision Yvette had ever made was whether pink looked good with her olive island features. She didn’t look like someone who knew how to make an honest living. To her knowledge money was plastic and appeared in Duke’s wallet and disappeared in a retail store.
“I think Christopher and I can handle the family business. Let Christian do what he wants, father.” Duke’s deep baritone had become so unfamiliar to her that she sat back marveling at its timbre.
“Yes father, let him do what he wants. Soon enough he will realize he can’t live without me and come back.” Christopher’s ego spoke up.
“Hardly.” Christian scoffed. “Father, I don’t really need your permission. I am an adult. This is what I want to do. I want to serve my country.”
“This is entirely your fault, Katherine.” Harry barked.
“How so?”
“Don’t talk back to your father.” Victoria reprimanded.
“I am just defending myself, mother. Father cannot be judge, jury and executor of this family anymore.” Katherine for the first time in her life felt brave. She knew that soon she would have to defend her relationship with AJ against her parents. She thought it would be better to start now.
“You are not one to talk about what is right and wrong, Katherine. Your brother tells us you are living with a man.” The judgment in Victoria’s voice rang true.
“Kit!”
“Sorry.”
“Yes, I live with a man…” Katherine’s courage seemed to flee her body. “…who also happens to be my boyfriend.” She heard the clangs of several forks as they hit their plates. “He is a brilliant surgeon.”
“If he was that brilliant he would have gone to a more prestigious hospital,” Harry cut in.
Katherine scoffed. In other words her father was saying that she, too, wasn’t smart enough to get into a better teaching hospital. Of course, she wasn’t surprised at how he downplayed how hard she had worked to get into Lenox Hill. Sure, her first options had been John Hopkins and George Washington Hospitals. But she had applied late, as wrangling her future out of her father’s hands had put her back. But she was proud of where she was now. It was the best hospital in New York.
“Actually he stayed in New York for his family.”
“At least he knows the value of family.”
“His sister had leukemia. He did not stay behind to run the family business. His sisters are doing that. His father let him follow his heart professionally,” Katherine said.
“His father must be an idiot.”
“His reputation in Wall Street begs to differ. He seems to have accumulated a huge fortune and, most important, a solid business and legal standing.”
“Who exactly is this man?”
Katherine watched as both Duke and her father leaned in. She couldn’t say for sure what her elder brother was thinking or what his interest was, but she could smell the greed oozing out of her father’s pores. The old man was thinking mergers of empires and family social standing. Already Harry was thinking of marrying his daughter away to an unnamed man for the better of his business. She personally wouldn’t mind, but she didn’t figure Adrian Ross Senior was one to merge anything with her father.
“Adrian Ross Junior. His father is Senior, unlike you and your first born son, they share a name.”
Katherine sat in shock as Harry forced his chair back and stormed off in a fit of rage. She looked around the table in confusion. “Was it something I said?”
“I think you should get back home, kitty kat.” Duke spared her a smile before taking off after their father.
“Mother?”
Victoria stood up, a scowl claiming her porcelain face.
“What the hell?”
“You sure know how to clear a room, sis.” Christopher laughed.
Katherine rose to her feet and gave her brothers a hug goodbye. She stood back as Yvette graced her with three air kisses. She didn’t know how she was expected to react. “Kit, always do what is best for you. You are going to be okay. Call me if you need anything.”
When Katherine stepped out into the cold New York air, she felt relieved. Sh
e was getting away from her father and going home to AJ.
* * * *
“Dad, do you know a Harold Henry?” AJ asked at the dining table that weekend. Katherine told him about the bizarre reaction her father had to his name. And since he hadn’t met the man he knew it had something to do with business.
“Yes.” Senior cleared his throat and gave his mother an uncomfortable look. Something more was going on. “We did business together a while ago. We had a falling out. It’s no big deal.”
“Why do you ask, mijo?” his mother asked.
“He happens to be Katherine’s father.” AJ watched in silent confusion at the somber way his father nodded his head, and the glances his parents kept giving each other.
“Do you love her?” It was an odd question especially from his father. He expected his mother to ask that.
“Yes…Yes, I love her,” AJ answered. He was sure about that, but his certainty of their future together was getting less plausible with every frown on his father’s face. “Am I going to have a problem with her father?”
“If you both love each other, it doesn’t matter,” Senior answered, the frown deepening. “Look at Lisette and Reno. They made it.”
“Michael and I.” Catalella piped in, but he was definitely not going to follow their example. AJ was determined to make a love match. He wasn’t interested in being comfortable. He wanted to combust with the passion and love he would feel for his wife. So far, his and Katherine’s relationship had all the ingredients for a love match. The fights and challenges included. He wanted a marriage, not a farce.
“Are you going to tell me how bad this situation is between you and Harold?” If he was going to be fighting for his relationship, he needed to know his odds.
“Is Katherine independent or does she do what her father asks her to.”
“She rebels actually.” AJ chuckled. Her rebellion is what brought her to his home in the first place.
