Covering Kendall(26)

“Aren’t we on a date right now?”

“There could be an argument made for that.”

“Let’s kiss now and argue about it later.”

“I love the way you think,” he said, and he brushed her mouth with his.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, fused her lips to his, and he felt her tongue slide into his mouth. She tasted like the wine, with a little tang from the raspberries. She’d tangled her fingers in his hair again. He slid his hand over her lower back and under the waistband of her pants. She was soft everywhere, and he was harder than nails right now.

He’d always liked kissing. He wanted to take his time, tasting, touching, and discovering what a woman enjoyed. Every woman he’d ever kissed was like a treasure map; he sought out her secrets one at a time as he made his way. This one was currently rubbing up against him while she devoured him. He wasn’t objecting. Maybe they could try it his way in a little while. Right now, he was all for her doing whatever she’d like to him.

“I think it’s a date now,” she murmured when they finally came up for air a while later. She was breathing heavily and flushed, with sparkling eyes and a big grin. “How hungry are you?”

“For food, or for you?”

“You’ve answered my question.” She hopped off of his lap. He saw her smile when she glanced down at him. “How do you feel about cold chicken sliced into the salad?”

“What salad?” he joked, and she held out her hand to him.

The beeping oven timer told them the food was done when they re-entered the kitchen. The baked chicken was put into an appropriate container and into the refrigerator for later.

“It’s all set,” she told him.

“I’m sure it’s delicious, but I have other things on my mind right now,” he said, pulling her into his arms again. “Where would you like to go?”

“My room. It’s at the top of the stairs.”

One of the better things about his job was that he could carry a woman up a flight of stairs without even breaking a sweat. After shoving tackling dummies and offensive linemen around a football field, a warm, sweet-smelling woman wasn’t a chore at all. She wrapped her arms around his neck again and laid her cheek against his.

He walked through the doorway and halted in shock.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No. Not at all.” He couldn’t stop staring.

Kendall’s room was nothing like the rest of her house. The only thing in common was sunshine streaming through windows covered with crisp cotton curtains and the feeling of comfort. Her living room furniture was formal. This room was vintage. Her bed was an old-fashioned four poster painted with turquoise blue enamel. The sheets were blinding white. Multiple pillows rested against the headboard. A framed close-up photograph of a riotously-colored bouquet of flowers hung above the headboard. A raspberry-colored patterned throw rug covered most of the hardwood floor.

“It’s a little girly,” she said.

“It looks comfortable, though,” he said.

“I know you don’t sleep in a bed like this at home.”

“Maybe I do,” he joked.

“I’m betting you have a huge bed, the color scheme is dark blue or earth tones, and you’d rather be run over than spend one minute of your time making sure fifteen decorative pillows are perfectly arranged every morning.”

He walked over to the bed, lowered her onto it, and said, “We’d have to get out of it long enough to fix the pillows. I’m sure you can appreciate my dilemma right now.”

“I don’t understand.”

He nodded at the headboard. “Do I put them on the bench at the foot of your bed like a good guest, or do I fling them all over the room and try to make it up to you later?”

Her smile dazzled him as she arched her back and reached toward the headboard. The decorative pillows were off the bed seconds later and scattered all over her room.

“How’s that?” she said.

“Perfect,” he said. She pulled him down next to her, and he went willingly. The thuds of four shoes hitting the floor followed. “Come here.” He wrapped his arms around her. They wriggled until they were both comfortable.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, smoothing the hair out of his eyes.

The heat and the urgency of their kisses on the glider outside had transformed into a much slower seduction. His hands slid down her sides to cup her hips. She tucked the curtain of her dark hair behind one ear as she leaned forward to rub noses with him.

“I’m happy too, Kendall, but I’m a little confused.”

“Why?”