Come (2 page)

Katy tucked a lock of hair behind one ear, the strand immediately falling back across her cheek, mocking her with its unruly perfection. “I didn’t ‘maul’ you. It was a kiss. And it worked. That jackass left.”

She looked slowly up and down his frame as though assessing a prized pig for purchase. “Okay. One drink.” She shook her head as he held out his arm for her to grab the crook of his elbow. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered.

“Shall we take my truck and come back for yours?”

“I’m not that crazy.” Her breath hit his neck from close range and he wished he could lean in and inhale her scent, but that would chase her out of his arm in a heartbeat. “I’ll follow you. I don’t need Uncle Joe coming out here later and finding my car still in the lot. He’d have a coronary.”

“Good point. There’s a coffee shop around the corner. Follow me.” He reluctantly released her as he approached the only car in the lot that had to belong to her. For one thing, he came here to work out with Mason nearly every Saturday morning, so he knew every vehicle that rested in that lot regularly. For another thing, there wasn’t a man inside who drove a candy-apple red Honda Accord. Practical to a T.

She didn’t comment on his precision. Instead she reached into the purse swung over her shoulder and pulled out a key fob. When she’d unlocked the doors, Rafe opened hers for her and held her forearm as she entered the car.

Holy mother of God, those legs… Those thighs… He had to lick his lips to keep them from going completely dry thinking about how many inches existed between the edge of her short skirt and her pussy. He stifled a moan. The surest way to chase her off would be to openly lust after her before they left the parking lot.

She raised an eyebrow as she settled in her seat. “We won’t make if very far if you’re going to stand there holding the door.”

Shit
. He lifted his hands and stepped away so she could close the door herself. With his luck, he’d pinch her finger in the door the way his was currently shaking.

As she backed out, he turned toward his truck, never more nervous than how he felt right then…hoping she didn’t change her mind and bail on him before they left the lot.

Katy Marks gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “What the hell are you thinking?” she asked herself out loud. She looked again into the rearview mirror and then back at the fancy silver truck in front of her. She had to admit she was surprised at the vehicle her would-be suitor drove. His truck was a newer model and decked out.

She knew very little about this man and had no idea why she’d agreed to this farce. It could go nowhere. Something about him had drawn her in from the moment she’d seen him in the ring. Even all sweaty and hard at work punching some guy, he had sex appeal she couldn’t deny. And since when did she notice something like that? Never.

She was a practical woman. She hadn’t pulled herself through college on a shoestring budget and then graduate school so she could fall for a random guy who spent his time being used as a punching bag in some strange boxing sport. Mixed martial arts. That’s what her uncle had called it.

It made her shiver. She’d heard of the sport, but she’d never watched it on television or seen it before. When she’d first arrived at the gym, she’d taken a deep breath, expecting the inside to smell like a locker room. It had. That much was true. But what she hadn’t anticipated was for the first hunk she laid eyes on to take her breath away and leave her struggling to walk in a straight line toward the back office.

Convenient, since that bastard Jonathan Stewart had followed her to her uncle’s gym. The audacity of the man. When she’d walked outside and found him sitting in his car in the lot, she’d done the first thing she could think of. She’d only intended to pretend to make out with the hunk against the wall, but the moment her lips landed on his, a fire had lit inside her that wouldn’t abate and still hadn’t.

Katy shook the thought from her head and stared at the truck turning into a parking lot in front of her. She could keep driving straight and go on with her life. That’s what the normal Katy would do. The one who wasn’t under some sort of trance.

Her fingers turned white as she gripped the steering wheel tighter, holding her breath as she pondered her choices in the last few moments before she would have to commit. Turn left and follow Rafe to the coffee shop? Or head straight and release the air from her lungs, having recouped at least one brain cell?

She never did things like this. Why on earth was she having coffee with a man she didn’t know?
Because he’s the first man you’ve ever kissed that made your toes tingle
.

So, left it is
.

When she exited her car, she found Rafe already standing at her door.
Persistent man
.

He nodded toward the entrance. “Shall we?”

She smiled as she followed him toward the front door. He made interestingly intellectual word choices for an MMA fighter. Maybe he wasn’t just a pretty face…and chest…and biceps…

She ducked under his arm as he held the door open and as they stood staring up at the menu, he set his hand on her lower back. Her knees wobbled. His touch was so intimate and perfect. To the innocent bystander it would appear they’d known each other for years.

“May I help you?” asked the barista.

“I’ll have a low fat latte, please.” She turned toward Rafe. “Shall we go Dutch?”

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “I invited you. Of course not.” He leaned over her shoulder and ordered. “Same for me please, but whole milk.”

After Rafe paid for their drinks and picked them both up, he followed her to a small table in one corner. It was late morning. But for a Saturday the place was surprisingly not very crowded.

Katy added sweetener to her drink and stirred the steaming liquid slowly.

“So, why have you never been to the gym before?” he asked.

She lifted her gaze. “Not really my scene.”

“You never told me where you live. Close?”

“Not far. About fifteen minutes.” She didn’t think it prudent to tell him every detail about herself so quickly, even if he did kiss like a sex god.

He grinned at her and nodded. “Okay, that’s fair. You don’t know me. I’m glad you wouldn’t give out personal information to some stranger. Even one you plastered yourself to in a game of tonsil hockey before introducing yourself.” He smirked jovially.

Embarrassment flooded her again, bringing a warm flush to her face and neck. “Yeah, about that…”

“Hey, don’t apologize. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.” He leaned forward and she found herself drawn to him instead of pulling back. “So tell me about this guy who was waiting outside for you. That doesn’t seem copacetic.”

“Yeah, it’s not.” She turned her mug around in circles with both hands. The steam told her it was still too hot to drink. “I don’t know. I was hoping I was imagining things. But he followed me to the gym? What the hell is that?” She shivered, her entire body shaking.

“Where do you know him from?”

“Work.”

“You work with that guy?”

“Yep.” She sat back, taking a deep breath. “It’s a long story.”

“It better end with a call to the police if some asshole from your office follows you around.” He furrowed his brow, leaning farther forward and clearly waiting for her to elaborate.

She shook her head. “Can we discuss something else? Anything else? I don’t want to spend my weekend thinking about my coworker. He isn’t worth it.”

Rafe paused. For a moment she didn’t think he would drop the subject, but then he exhaled and took a sip of his coffee. “Okay, so where do you work?”

She raised an eyebrow at that question. She had no intention of giving this guy so much information. Plus she rather enjoyed his company and he would undoubtedly stop looking at her in that same confident way if she told him what she did for a living. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

“Coffee? Hell no. It was a great idea.” He dropped the current line of questioning and glanced at the ceiling. “You’re an interesting woman, Katy. I’m intrigued. My curiosity is piqued. You waltz into the gym where your uncle works dressed as though you’re about to go on trial on a Saturday morning. You have a stalker that follows you around. And you kiss strangers without a thought in the world with all the passion of a submissive who hasn’t been granted the privilege of an orgasm for weeks.”

Her eyes shot wide and she swallowed hard at those last words. What the…?

He chuckled. “What? I’ve rendered you speechless?”

He had indeed. She couldn’t follow that last part. “First of all, I’m dressed like this because I had to go into the office before I came here. Second of all, I’m sure the man is harmless, just misguided. I’d hardly call him a stalker. And third…well, I’ve never kissed anyone like that out of the blue in my life. I told you I was borrowing you to get my coworker off my ass. If I’m lucky, it worked.” She grinned.

He pushed his mug aside and set his elbows on the table. “What about that last part?”

“What last part?” She knew exactly what he was referring to and she hated that he was trying to goad her into questioning his weird choice of words. Her fingers shook pondering his phrase.
A submissive who hasn’t been granted the privilege of an orgasm for weeks
. What the hell did that mean? She squeezed her legs together, imagining what he was referring to and wishing with her entire body he would show her.

“You’re squirming.” His smile was getting on her nerves.

She stilled. She hadn’t realized her legs were jiggling under the table. Both of them. “I am not.”

He didn’t comment on that lie. Instead he sat back, looking far more relaxed than she felt. “Go out with me.” He didn’t ask. He told. “On a date. A real date. You can pick the location and I’ll meet you there if you want.”

She paused. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re curious and I make you want.”

She gasped. He was so blunt. And so damn accurate. Her pussy clenched. She squeezed her legs tighter. She couldn’t very well argue either point with him. He was too astute for her fibs. She was curious as hell about his story and she wanted to kiss those plump lips again more than she’d ever wanted a man’s mouth on her. She stared at his lips, watching as he licked them.

Had he done that on purpose? She jerked her gaze to his eyes. They twinkled with mirth.

“Tonight,” he said with all the confidence in the world.

She had nothing planned for tonight or any other Saturday in the near future, but she didn’t need him to know that. It made her look desperate. Available. “I’m busy.”

“Get unbusy.”

She inhaled sharply. He was so…demanding. That was the word for it.

“I’ll meet you at that new movie theater on Fifth Street that has dinner with the show. Seven? I’ll let you pick the movie.” He waited.

She hesitated, but he didn’t interrupt her thoughts this time. Surely the man would only employ so much begging before it became weird. Wait, was he begging? No. Not really. He was actually bossy. And she liked it.

Every date she’d had in the last several years had been too wishy-washy. A man who couldn’t make a decision managed to turn her off in less than an hour.
Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?
It was exhausting.

As crazy as this was, at least Rafe intrigued her on a level she’d never felt. “Okay. I’ll go.” What harm could it do to agree? If she got cold feet later, she could always bow out. It wasn’t like he could find her. She’d given him no information about where she lived or worked. The only connection he had to her was through her uncle. And she could easily call the man and tell him to keep his lips shut.

But you won’t
.

Rafe parted ways with the sexy mysterious Katy in the parking lot. It had taken every ounce of willpower to keep his hands and mouth to himself. After all, he’d already tasted those sweet lips and he’d longed to do it again.

Instead he’d walked her to her car, glanced around to make sure she wasn’t being followed and considered following her himself to make sure she got home safely. But then he realized that would make him no different from the guy already following her.

And what the hell was that all about? He didn’t like it.

As he showered and got ready that evening, he literally shook. What if she didn’t show? He’d been hard all day remembering her face, those glorious curls, the deep brown of her eyes. He had it bad and it had been a long time since a woman made him want like this.

He still had so many hurdles to jump before he could have her in his arms again. And he would wait, albeit impatiently. But it wasn’t like him to go too far with a woman before she was aware of his tastes in sex. It wasn’t fair to the woman. He hadn’t kissed a woman like Katy had kissed him without laying all his cards on the table first in years.

And the unfortunate part was now that he had, he ached to do so again. For him that was out of order. His body remembered her touch. Had memorized it in fact. The way she leaned into him left nothing to the imagination. She had nestled between his legs and wrapped her dainty arms around his neck as though they were long-time lovers. Her sweet tongue had entered his mouth without waiting for invitation.

Why? She hadn’t needed to go that far to prove a point to the man in the Lexus. She could have snuggled up close to Rafe and pretended to be kissing him. But that’s not what she did. She’d put her entire body into the act as though starving for more.

Maybe she was.

Rafe could only hope as he parked his truck at the theater and headed to the entrance. He glanced around the busy lobby when he entered, seeing no sign of Katy. He chose to take up a post next to the front doors, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his khakis to keep from fidgeting. He felt like a teenager on his first date. So unlike him.

He was early, having arrived at about six forty-five. As he waited, he considered what he would do if she didn’t show. The thought weighed heavily on his mind all afternoon. He’d like to think he would let her go. Leave it alone. She was entitled to her choice. But the reality was he was already mentally invested in her and he didn’t think he could do it.