That Kind of Special (7 page)

Footsteps came from the hallway. He glanced up and frowned.

Something was definitely wrong.

Katina set her purse on the counter and gripped the back of the bar stool. He took in everything about her. The stiff shoulders, the extra lift of her chin, the lack of eye contact. Things were not looking good.

“Hungry?” He cut the sandwiches in half.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“Go ahead and take the plates to the table, and I’ll grab us something to drink.” He stepped around the island and opened the fridge. “Canned iced tea?”

“Sure,” she said.

He walked to the table. “You’re lucky my housekeeper keeps me in cold cuts and beverages. We at least won’t starve. I do know how to make a mean sandwich.”

She relaxed and laughed. “You just haven’t found the right incentive to learn to cook.”

“You cook?”

She bit into the sandwich and nodded. “You’ve met my mom. You don’t really think she spends much time in the kitchen, do you?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Instead, she signed me up for cooking camp growing up. After three summers, I was serving three-course meals for her and her friends. She liked to show me off.” She grinned. “All that cooking and baking caught up with me though, and explains why she sent me to fat camp at age fourteen.”

“No…”

She laughed. “You don’t think a former Miss USA would have a daughter who is twenty pounds overweight, do you?”

“That’s awful,” he said.

“I lost the twenty pounds that summer, and still have the ribbon I received for participation. The trophy went to Jenny Devine, who lost fifty-three pounds.” She shrugged. “I ran into Jenny a couple of years ago. She’s happy, married, and had two kids and a killer body. So, really, she deserved to win.”

He laughed. “You’ve got a point.”

The bitterness most women tried to hide after being sent to camp by their perfect mothers wasn’t apparent in Katina. Her smile came easily, and her body remained relaxed. Interesting.

He opened his iced tea, then reached over and opened hers. “I went to camp.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.” He took a drink. “Guess which one.”

She tapped her finger against her lips. “Boy Scouts?”

He grimaced. “Hell no.”

“Safety…” She clapped her hands. “I got it. You were one of the crossing guards at school, and attended the summer training program. You’ve always had the desire to help the meek cross roads.”

“Fucking hilarious.” He glared, but the small grin gave him away. “For your information, I went to basketball camp for four years.”

She leaned back in her chair and studied him. “I can see that. You’ve got the body of a jock.”

He patted his chest. “Come and show me how much you like it.”

She glanced away. “I’m still eating.”

“Baby.” He waited. “Come here.”

“You shouldn’t call me that.” She wiped her hands off with the napkin. “I’m long past the stage of infancy.”

He laughed.
God, she’s funny.

“Come here.” He scooted his chair back.

She sighed loudly, walked around the table, and perched on his knees. He chuckled and pulled her back into his lap. She stiffened, and he used his hand to position her head on his chest, making her relax against him.

“Don’t you like sitting right here?”

“I like it,” she whispered.

He kissed the top of her head. “Good.”

“But…”

He gave her a squeeze. “Spill it.”

“You really shouldn’t call me baby. This is only our first—”

“Second.”

She tilted her head. “Whatever. It’s too soon.”

“So, it’s not that I call you baby, but you think I’m bullshitting you to get you on your back and me between your legs? I’ve been there and I’ll be there again. I don’t plan to leave that spot anytime soon. I’m forty-three years old, and I don’t know if you’re used to younger guys playing the field, but I’m done with that. I want a woman in my bed, in my life, and when I ask her to come here and sit on my lap, I expect her to do it,” he said.

“Oh.” She frowned, and the lines between her brows deepened.

“There it is again. I say anything, and you are trying to figure out if I meant something else.” He tilted her back farther. “I mean what I say. That’s something you’ll learn the more time we spend together.”

She pouted. “You’re bossy.”

“Yeah.” He ran the pad of this thumb across the width of her lip. “Get used to it.”

She stared up into his eyes. Her pupils dilated as he stroked her mouth. His dick hardened. He could imagine her sucking him dry.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“About?” he whispered back. Finally, he’d find out what was bothering her.

“I’ve never—”

The doorbell rang. He growled. Whoever was at the door was asking to be shot.

She straightened. “You better get that.”

He stopped her from getting up. “Give me a kiss.”

She did. He held her chin. “We’re not done. I want you to hold that thought, and when I get back from answering the door, you’ll tell me what’s making you throw up all kinds of fucking barriers. Okay?”

“Yeah.” She hopped off his lap.

Still, he hesitated. “I mean it.”

She nodded. “Go answer your door. It could be important.”

“You’re important,” he said.

She turned away. He jogged down the hallway and into the foyer. No one was to bother him today. He’d informed his secretary last night.

He opened the door

“Hi.” Katina’s friend Doreen stepped toward him, patted his chest, and entered the house without any qualms. “If I told you I got my fill of this house the other day, I’d be lying.”

“What are you doing here?” He shut the door.

“I was in the neighborhood and remembered Katina saying she was spending the day with you.” She walked passed him and peeked inside the living room. “So, I thought I’d stop in. I think Kat forgot we needed to go over some plans tonight. We’ve got a”—she waved her hand in the air—”huge, huge contract on the Mitchells’ house. Did she tell you?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah.”

“Figures. She’s so pumped. It’s her biggest job to date. We’ve been—” Doreen spotted Katina and smiled down the hallway. “There you are!”

“Hey…what are you doing here?” Katina glanced between him and Doreen.

She wasn’t fooling anyone. A thousand bucks said she’d called Doreen while she was upstairs and planned to have her friend come rescue her, because he’d read her right and it made her uncomfortable. He leaned against the wall, waiting to see what Katina would do.

“We need to work on that plan…the um, you know, the thing for the Mitchells.” Doreen oversmiled, showing all her teeth.

Katina pressed her hand against her forehead. “I totally forgot.”

“Do you have your car? You could follow me back to your place.” Doreen asked.

“No. Trent brought me. I’ll have to go with you.” Katina turned to Trent and kissed him quick. “Thank you for everything. I’m sorry to leave, but like I mentioned earlier, I do have work to do.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Come here.”

Her jaw dropped before she caught herself. “What?”

“Come here.”

She stepped closer. “What?”

“Go ahead and run this one time, but know that we will talk about this.” He hooked his thumb under her chin and held her gaze. “I’ll call you at nine. Answer the phone.”

She nodded. “‘Kay.”

He inhaled deeply. “Don’t forget your material.”

“Thanks.” She walked into the other room and returned clutching the cloth to her chest, watching him the whole way.

He walked to the door, saw them out, and then they were gone. He shut the door, and turned the dead bolt. He was not in a good mood. Not at all.

Chapter Eight

The bold-printed material Trent bought covered Katina’s legs. She removed a straight pin from the throw pillow and adjusted the corner of the fabric. Two hours she’d worked on one pillow, and she was no closer to finishing.

“I give up.” She tossed everything off her lap onto the couch and slouched.

Being alone after she’d returned from Trent’s house seemed like a good idea at the time. Now she wished she had let Doreen stay, even though she didn’t have any answers to Doreen’s many questions about her date with Trent.

Trent was invading her thoughts, and she barely had the energy to think about what happened between them, much less what the future held. She rolled off the couch. The situation called for ice cream. The more chocolate, the better.

With the carton clutched under her arm, the spoon stuck deep in the ice cream, she walked back into the living room. The doorbell rang. She changed directions and headed toward the door. If Doreen came back to bother her about Trent, then she’d make Doreen gain five pounds too as they hashed out her feelings.

She shoved the loaded spoon in her mouth to free her hand and turned the knob.
Shit.

Trent stood in the hallway, glaring at her. “You didn’t even check to see who was here.”

She pulled the spoon out of her mouth, swallowed, and grimaced as the cold food moved down her throat. “Did too.”

“Bullshit.” He backed her up into the room, shut the door, and locked the dead bolt. “You don’t even use the lock.”

“I forgot.” She took another bite of ice cream to keep from saying more.

“Baby…” He shook his head.

“What?”

She couldn’t tell if he was happy to see her or wanted to kick her ass. A mix of emotions played across his face, none of them recognizable. And she refused to explore his reaction.

The look in his eyes told her not to push her luck. Deciding to play it safe, she walked around the couch, putting an obstacle between them, so she’d keep her distance. At this point, she knew better than to trust herself around Trent.

“You’re driving me nuts,” he mumbled as he stalked forward and around the couch.

She stared at him, tilting her head back the closer he came. Her nipples peaked, betraying her. “Fine. I’ll try to remember to use the lock.”

He kept coming closer. “You need to use the peephole too.”

“Sure, and I’ll do a background check on every person who knocks on my door to be on the safe side,” she said.

“Kat…” He stood in front of her and growled. “I hope you have a condom or two here.”

Oh, shit.
A few scenarios played through her head, and all of them piqued her interest. “Why?”

Distracted by her ideas, she found the ice-cream carton taken out of her hands, and her body locked in his embrace. She gasped when her feet left the floor.

“Trent!”

“You want me.” He grinned, chuckling.

Dammit. He knew.

He carried her down the hallway, laughing harder when he carried her straight to her bedroom. She’d never seen him let loose, act silly, and she liked it. A lot.

In the middle of the room, he stopped and slid her down his body. She held on to him.
Oh, boy.

She knew exactly why he’d come to the apartment instead of phoning. The proof was pressed against her. “You came over for me?”

“Yes,” he whispered. “I’m not going to let you get away with pushing me away. I want answers, but right now, I want you.”

She clung to his shirt. “You want me.”

“Yeah, baby.” He sank his fingers into the hair at the back of her neck. “You’ve got three seconds to turn around and grab on to the bed.”

She gaped at him. “You think I’ll just bend over? For you?”

“Absolutely.” A dimple showed up beside the corner of his mouth.

It was a standoff. She could yell bloody murder, run for the exit, and be free of Trent. She ran her hand across his stomach, feeling his muscles harden. She’d never see him again, and although he was bossy, dominating, and too sexy for his own good, she kinda liked when he went all caveman on her. He made her feel cherished, as if she was the only woman in his life and he wanted to protect her.

Without taking her gaze off him, she slowly undid the snap on her shorts, wiggled them past her hips, along with her panties, and kicked them off her feet. She slowly turned around, gazing over her shoulder as she leaned forward until her hands braced her upper body on the mattress.

“Fuck me,” he muttered.

She stifled a moan. So turned on by his authority and reaction, she forgot all about her ass showing. Her legs shook, and she clutched the bedspread.

“Only you can look seductively sexy and fucking innocent at the same time.” He swatted her butt.

Warmth filled her as she flinched. She braced herself for another slap, surprised that she wanted him to put his hand on her, to feel the sting of his touch, to have him make her take him.

“Jesus, baby. That’s hot. You pushing your ass up toward me,” he said.

Was she? Oh, God. She was.

He kept his gaze on her posterior. “Condom?”

“Bathroom. Medicine cabinet.” She straightened.

“No. Don’t move. Stay right where you are.” He stalked out of the room.

She thought about moving. It would take only a second to grab her shorts and put them back on. But she wanted Trent to get off on screwing her, and she doubted if she could tell him no when she wanted him inside her.

Her body vibrated as she waited for him to return. Sensitized to every touch, every look, every word, she could no more leave right now before he fucked her than tell him no. In the back of her mind, she knew if she followed his directions and pleased him, he’d take her higher and deeper. Just the way she wanted.

Trent returned. He walked behind her, and she hung her head, watching him step between her legs. The second they were done having sex, she was going to tell him he couldn’t come visit her whenever he wanted, and she was definitely not having sex whenever he wanted.

“I wish you could see how pretty you look bent over in front of me.” He skimmed his thumb down her hip. “Did I tell you how I love when you blush? You get that way out in public when you think you’ve been goofy and quickly cover up with saying something brilliant to distract me. I see through you, baby.”

Her stubborn stance eased, and in its place, her eyes watered. She gazed over her shoulder, blinking. What was wrong with her? Why did she want to throw herself at him, and beg him not to give up on her, no matter what she threatened or threw at him?