One week later, Jensen pulled into her driveway as she was walking back with Tim from Claire's house. Claire's boys and Tim had had a play date. Tim immediately went bug eyed when he saw Rufus.
“Maybe i can see the dog, Mom,” Tim said excitedly, and slid a look at Jensen's car. Uh-oh. Had they been conspiring over a way for Tim to play with Rufus? She wondered. She wouldn’t put it past them. Tim and Jensen seemed to be getting closer. She wasn't too surprised when she walked into the living room one afternoon and Tim was on her phone with Jensen. He had picked the call when he saw the caller ID and saw Jensen's name.
So she made a noncommittal noise. “Come on, Tim, let’s get inside,” she urged, but Tim was still staring when Jensen got out of his car. So was she, but for a completely different reason. Watching him unfold his long frame made her pulse flutter.
Goodness. She swallowed. “Tim,” she said in her best warning tone, then wo
“Makes sense.” Jensen said. He didn’t press or make her feel judged for turning down Tim's fondest wish.Jensen took a step closer and inclined his head so he couldn’t be heard over Tim's giggling. The closeness raised goose bumps on her arms. "I have missed you, Kat. I just wanted to stop by and say hi. It's been a while. I sincerely hope you haven't been avoiding me"Katherine looked down at the sidewalk, then back at him. "No of course not. I have just been busy, that's all. I'm sure you have been too"He nodded.Letting him in meant he’d be in her life, in Tim's life, with all the associated risks. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that yet. Still, she knew he and Tim liked each other a lot and wasn't it fair to use her mixed feelings to prevent them from learning more about each other. So far he hadn't done anything to hurt Tim. Infact he had been so helpful.
"Rufus, come on boy" Jensen whistled for the dog. After a moment it came bounding back, stick in it's mouth. It panted, eyes expectant, waiting for him to throw."You think I've got nothing more to do, don't you?" he asked, as he ran his hands through the hair on the dogs neck. His mind drifted. He was supposed to be at Katherine's house soon.The dog barked at him."Sorry. I forgot" he said. "You've got your priorities, too, haven't you?" He flung the stick and grinned as the dog chased after it.He remembered his conversation with his friend, Matthew at his house earlier that day.“She said it wasn’t a date? Interesting,” Bonnie had said, and exchanged a glance with her husband, Matthew.Jensen looked up at his friend’s wife—and then back at Matthew—sharply. “Why do you say that?” he asked.“Because if she has to frame it as a non date, she was thinking of it as a
He stood so close, all she could smell was his scent. His words were teasing, but his eyes were—well, not so much. There was a heat in them she wasn’t ready for. She swallowed hard. There really wasn’t anywhere for her to go if she stepped back. And darn it, she didn’t want to step back.“Um. Okay.” She spun around quickly and pulled the plates out of the cupboard. “I’ll dish it up, you can serve it. That work for you?” she asked.Her voice was a little too high and her hand a little too unsteady, so the plates rattled against each other as she set them down.Jensen stepped back and she moved around him to grab the salad. She pulled out two bottles of salad dressing, ranch and Italian.“Which, if either, do you like?” she asked.“Ranch is fine,” he said. “Does Tim get any?”“Tim is not really a fan.” she replied.He chuckled and the sound hit her down low. Very, ver
Laughter—and a friendly bark—erupted from the living room, and she dried her hands on a towel before she went back out to see what was going on. She had to pause when she caught sight of them.Tim was on top of Jensen, laughing. and Jensen was laughing along with him. Rufus was in there, too, tongue lolling and tail going a mile a minute. Lego towers had collapsed and scattered—maybe due to the tail—and she thought there was a block under Jensen's hip, but he never let on.Tim laughed gleefully, full on belly laughs that made her smile even as her heart stuttered. She made herself walk in there, and hoped her pounding heart wasn’t obvious to Jensen.“Wow, Tim, what are you doing to Jensen?” she teased, and he caught her eye with a wink. Her mouth actually went dry. If a man playing with her kid could make her all mushy inside—and it wasn’t as if there weren't other pe
He appeared at the doorway and halted. He cocked his head to one side, his expression serious."What's wrong?" he asked. "Did something happen?"Jensen edged in front of Katherine, shielding her flushed face from Tim's view. "Nothing, son" he said. "I was just saying goodbye to your mom"The muscles shifting on his back mesmerized Katherine. She forced her dry tongue to move. "Go back to your room, Tim. I will be there real soon""Okay. Bye Jensen." Tim said and ran back to his room.After Tim left, Jensen turned back to Katherine. His smoldering gaze brought a flush to Katherine's entire body. The flat of his hand chafed the stubble on his jaw. "I love how you erupt when I touch you" he said simply.Katherine could not meet his stare. "You should go now" she said. His maleness was still evident through his trousers. He followed her gaze and grinned at her.
Katherine stared at him. "You want to help me bake?" she asked.Slowly, one sleek eyebrow spiked. "You think I don’t know my way around a mixer and batter?"Katherine laughed. "I’m sure you do." She shoved it towards him. "Have at it."He frowned. "Actually when I asked if you needed help, I meant do you have any already baked ones you needed help eating... Now that, I can help with".Katherine couldn't help a smile. "Come in here" she said as she took off her apron and began to walk to her office. She felt his intense gaze singe her back as she walked away. He followed.Jensen watched Katherine move, the sway of her hips so damn attractive, her long, shapely legs extending in that way that only models and trained dancers could execute without appearing pretentious or awkward. Her small heels were a shiny rose gold colour that drew attention to her delicate ankles.He wanted to grip
As nervous as a teenager preparing for her first date, Katherine soaked in a long bubble bath, then shampooed her hair beneath the shower. She rinsed and stepped from the tub."This is silly" she said, mocking her image in the steamy mirror. A ruffle made an upward diagonal across her chest, leaving bare one smooth shoulder. Loose tendrils of hair teased her face, though the knot atop her head was tightly pinned.Katherine lightly dusted her nose with powder, swept blue and green shadow on her eye lids, and brushed her lashes with mascara.She rummaged through her closet for the highest heels she could find, determined to shorten the distance between Jensen's head and hers. She found just the right ones and slid them on, then stood before the mirror. No wonder the sales girl had said this dress was like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, she thought. The front was prim and proper, but the back was pure sin. She added a dash of musky perfume at
"Oh no" Katherine said and Jensen's grin grew wider. "Hell, no, Jensen. I'm a terrible dancer""You're not" he said. "I have seen you dance many times" he stood and held out his hand which she took and then he pulled her up and led her to the dance floor."You dance beautifully" Jensen said as he pulled her gently to him and one of his hands wrapped around her waist. "Remember the last time we danced together?" he asked.Katherine grinned up at him. "Ermm, Jonathan and Kate's wedding" she said.Jensen smiled and shook his head. "No I mean, years ago... before you left"Katherine rested her hand stiffly on his shoulder as they started to move to the music, and her mind drifted back.... To when they were young and things had been perfect. It had been at a wedding too, the Kent's, she remembered. They hadn't attended as a couple, but she had been madly in love with him and had thought he felt the same