Around about then his pride kicked in and he’d slammed into his cords and headed for home. He’d been pissed off through the night and all day too.
And now that she wasn’t home, his pride smarted even more, thinking of her looking for the next guy. He slammed into his fridge, grabbed a beer and drank half of it before he realized he’d downed it.
He snorted and scrubbed at his scalp in frustration, forcing himself to calm.
His day at school had opened his eyes. He’d only been teaching a couple years, so there were times some of his rowdier students threatened his authority. But today, the students who liked to test him had toed the line through every class.
He needed to remember that a teacher with his temper in check could intimidate the biggest asshole into behaving like a human being. Even a sixteen-year-old with attitude knew dealing with a lit fuse at the front of the classroom could be unpredictable.
Yes, he definitely had to remember that one. He wandered back into the living room to set his briefcase on his desk.
Bringing this kind of anger to his next meeting with Kat would be a mistake.
He still liked her. She was a good, quiet neighbor. No point ruining what was otherwise a reasonable relationship.
No matter that his pride was wounded, he still had to live here. Calmer now, he pulled the quiz papers out, stacking them neatly. Smoothing wrinkles where he could, he set a dictionary on top of the stack. It also wasn’t his students’ fault he’d fallen for Kat’s enticements.
Any red-blooded male would have responded the way he did.
Any red-blooded male would want more. The fact that she didn’t want more was what was really eating him.
And he did want more, in spite of the neighbors having a laugh at his expense.
It wasn’t the same as what his old man had done. Nobody was cheating if nobody cared.
He ruminated on that for a good long time.
He wandered back out to the kitchen again, trying to avoid peering through the window to see if Kat was coming home, and failing. Still no sign of her.
Maybe judging Kat had been a mistake. Not that he didn’t think she was a vixen and that she had more men than he wanted to contemplate.
But maybe his attitude was off base. What he needed to do was re-evaluate his expectations.
So Kat wasn’t the sweet woman of his dreams. But she was warm and friendly. And available.
A lot of men would settle for that. She had a spectacular body, an infectious smile when she offered it, and the sex blew his mind.
He shouldn’t mess up a good thing just because it was destined to be short-lived. They could share some good times and move on, none the worse for the experience.
Grateful that he’d been too angry to say much last night, he picked up the phone to call and leave a message next door.
“Hi, Kat, it’s Taye.” His voice sounded hollow as Kat played his message. “Hope you’re not angry that I left last night, but I had some work to get done before school this morning. I figured it would be easier to get up early from here. Sorry I had to skip out on you.” Relief oozed through her.
She must have dreamed about telling him about the silly challenge Celia had thrown out at her. She must have imagined that he’d rolled out of bed, stiff shouldered and quick. That he’d slammed into his cords and left without more than a mumbled good-bye.
Whatever.
She didn’t have to question her sleepy recollections any longer. He was calling and, by the tone in his voice, was happy to leave the message. She dashed upstairs for a shower, wishing she hadn’t had to deliver the double-headed dildo to the lesbian partners.
If she hadn’t had to tend to that bit of business she’d have been at the mailbox just like usual when Taye got home. She might be with him now.
The muffled sound of Taye’s television came through the wall. He was home. Probably alone since she hadn’t seen a car parked next door.
She soaped and rinsed, shaved and primped to get ready for another evening with Taye. There was a chance he wasn’t interested in another evening with her, but it was a better bet that he was. People just couldn’t make the kind of connection they had last night without wanting more.
Still, she needed a little insurance so she pulled out a filmy skirt and see-through blouse as if she were going to a casual party.
If Taye didn’t respond to her unspoken offer, she could fall back on a white lie and say she was on her way out with friends. That way, they could both save face and neither of them would be left hanging or feeling awkward.
Most people had casual sex. Just because she usually needed more of a connection was no reason to lay her standards on Taye.
Celia was right. Her moral code was old-fashioned and B-O-R-I-N-G.
She had to learn to be more sophisticated and easygoing. More interesting and sexually stimulating. That’s what men wanted these days.
Taye wouldn’t want plain old Kat. Shy Kat had to die. If she wanted to keep him interested past this weekend then she’d have to be more like the Kat she pretended to be at her Sexy Pants parties.
Working at a party, she had no problem with lively sexual innuendo and telling tall tales about nonexistent sexual conquests. There was no reason she couldn’t do all that with Taye.
Now was the time to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Her stomach knotted at the idea. Impressing Taye, being with Taye, was way more important than it should be.
She could be more interesting if she thought hard about it, but keeping her head in her books for three years had left her boring and dull. She flapped her hands and saw her mom’s nervous reaction to stress, and quickly stopped. This was no time to turn into her mother!
She slicked on a rosy lip gloss that promised kissability and smoothed her palms down her belly. She swivelled her hips in the mirror, trying for a seductive sway, but it came off wooden and jerky. Maybe if she put on thigh highs again, sheer black this time, with rhinestones shimmering at each ankle, she’d feel more like a seductress on another sexual adventure.
She dug out a fresh package, opened it, then slipped into each stocking slowly, imagining Taye’s large square hands skimming up each leg.
When she got them on straight, she twisted and turned her ankles to see how well the glittery stones caught the light. Sparkly and feminine, the rhinestones danced against the black sheer stockings like fairy lights in a dark sky.
Next she stepped into a new pair of heels, liking the way the shoes and stockings seemed to add length and shape to her legs. Pleased with her appearance, she gathered her courage and headed next door before she chickened out.
At his front door her pussy tingled, moist and hot as she smoothed her skirt. She knocked and waited. Breathe!
The door opened and he smiled. She smiled back, heart thudding. His gaze went from her eyes, to her chest and down her legs to her feet.
Her tummy clenched, her nerves cranked to high, but her nipples gave her away.
She wanted him so much. Right now. But his expression went cold as he took in her outfit.
“You called?” she asked, convinced he wasn’t interested after all. No man could look so unwelcoming and still want company.
8
Kat was dressed for undressing. Beautiful and sexy. Her eyes glowed, her lips parted as she stood waiting at Taye’s front door.
Waiting for him to move, to invite her inside, to do something, but it was happening again. Blood rushing south, voice gone, mind a haze of desire, he couldn’t move, couldn’t speak.
God, he wanted her! Any man would. But that took him to a place he didn’t want to go. He couldn’t think about all the other men, so he cut off this thought and swooped in.
He pulled her into his arms in a rush of kisses. He didn’t want to think about her dressed like this. Looking this way. Transformed into a younger version of Celia.
But that was what she wanted. Free and easy sex whenever either of them had an itch. And Kat was obv
iously looking to be scratched.
He kicked the door shut and slid his tongue down to her tonsils. His cock rose as his hips pressed hers into the wall.
She moaned and shifted, giving him more room between her legs. He pinned her arms to the wall beside her head as he took her mouth again and again. The sweet taste of her, so at odds with her appearance, devastated his defenses.
She arched up and into him, offering whatever he wanted. Offering everything and nothing at the same time.
He tried like hell to drown out his conscience, wanting to stick to his decision to take what she offered until she moved on.
He clasped both wrists over her head in one hand while the other hand skimmed her upper thigh. She groaned low and hot in his ear as he found the top of her thigh high. He slipped his finger under the rubbery top that held the stocking to her leg and tracked along her skin to the inside of her thigh. “Taye,” she pleaded, “touch me there. I’m wet for you.”
It was the signal he wanted. Another night full of Kat. Her slick heat, her soft flesh. Her wild mouth on his.
For tonight. Just tonight. Maybe the weekend.
Then what?
Then nothing. They’d go back to polite chat and passing nods.
He wanted to slip his fingers into her wet cunt, ready her for his cock, then fuck her crazy.
If he did, he’d be so far into her he’d lose himself.
His fingers stilled a millimeter away from her wet curls. The scent of her rose to tantalize, her eyes glazed in anticipation, but he couldn’t do it. He rolled away along the wall, chest heaving.
It was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He was already crazy about her, but to have her again, knowing she’d never be his the way he wanted, would kill him.
“You look ready for a party,” he said. “I don’t want to mess you up.”
She looked confused by his backtracking, and the hesitant Kat he preferred reappeared in her gaze. He waited, fingers flexing, heart thudding, while she gathered her thoughts.
“Me? Yes, I w–was thinking about meeting up with some people.” Her chest heaved.
He nodded. “Then you should go. Promises should be kept, Kat. Always.”
Her eyes went wide at the comment. It killed him, but he knew himself too well to play this game. He wanted exclusive rights, and Kat wouldn’t have made other plans if she was prepared to give him those rights.
It was too soon, too much to ask, but that’s the way he was built. He didn’t share. Not ever.
She shook her head. “I was just going out with Celia.” Her eyes went dark and he read guilt.
“Clubbing? Looking to hook up?” He let his tone go sharp and hard.
“I guess so.” She rubbed her arms. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.” It was clear she’d say anything he wanted just to get back to where they’d been. She was turned on, ready, and he was all kinds of crazy to send her out partying in this condition.
He thought he’d be okay with the free and easy sex she offered, but he wasn’t. Pride wouldn’t let him ask for more if she wasn’t offering.
He stepped away, opened the front door. “Then you should go. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on any action.”
“Oh, okay.”
Celia’s car pulled up to the curb in front of Taye’s place. “There’s your date,” he said, with a nod toward the car.
When she turned to look, Taye shut his door.
Kat’s head was still spinning from Taye’s kisses, and her pussy buzzed with the need he’d put there. She smoothed her skirt, then checked the top of her stocking to set it right.
Somehow, she wasn’t sure how, she was outside his door. To be kissed in a way that aimed her straight into the sack and then booted to the curb in the next second made her dizzy. And a little angry.
Scratch that. A lot angry. At him, and at herself.
She’d obviously come off as needy, clingy and unsophisticated again. She’d been worried she would presume too much, and she’d been right.
What a dunce!
The guy wanted an easy lay. Just the way she’d been last night. Easy. Uncomplicated sex. The kind she’d never thought she would want.
The whole sex kitten thing was nothing but a land mine. And it had blown up in her face. If she’d made it plain she liked the man and wanted a relationship, she could have avoided this whole painful mess.
She couldn’t go home, because Taye would guess that she’d made up the story about going out clubbing. She clasped her hands in front of her, determined not to flap them.
Celia climbed out of her car, thunderclouds scudding across her face. She held up a hand, finger pointed to the sky. “Men,” she proclaimed in woman’s most common lament, “are assholes!”
“You’re not kidding; what happened?” Kat walked woodenly down the walkway toward her, half-afraid of the expression on Celia’s face.
“He wanted to bring his children.” Then her gaze dropped from Kat’s face to her dress. “What’s happening here?”
“Nothing.”
The look Celia gave her was accusing. “You were at Taye’s front door.”
“Men are assholes,” Kat repeated in a slight wail to hide her own confusion. Much easier to blame a man, she thought, when a woman made a fool of herself.
“Give me five minutes to change and we’ll hit Harry’s Place. We’ll arm ourselves with a couple drinks, then take a few men down with us,” Celia said, marching up to her front door, dyed black hair flying behind her. She looked ready to do battle.
With Celia in an unholy rage, Kat had a feeling her evening was about to get a lot worse.
Once inside her house, Celia’s rant continued as she stripped out of her skirt and blouse in the front hall. “Come on upstairs, Kat, but bring some wine. You’ll find a bottle in the fridge.” She headed upstairs. “I’ll be getting into my come-and-get-it clothes.”
True to her word, Celia kept the refrigerator stocked with several bottles of chardonnay and a couple of bottles of champagne.
Kat listened to the ranting monologue drift downstairs, punctuated by swear words even Celia’s showgirl grandmother would blush at. Definitely a two-bottle crisis. She also grabbed a couple glasses on the way past the dish rack.
Whatever had happened she’d have to help her friend wind down before mentioning her unceremonious dump at Taye’s front door. With the mood Celia was in there was no telling what revenge she might be in the mood for.
Celia stood in front of her closet in a soft mauve-colored thong and matching demi-cup bra. She yanked an off-the-shoulder red tunic sweater off a shelf of her closet organizer, then found a pair of new skinny leg jeans. She snipped the tags off and tugged them up her legs.
She held out her hand. “Wine.”
Kat finished pouring her a glass and handed it over, watched as Celia downed it in one swallow. “More.”
Kat obliged. “Better?”
Celia drank half the glass. “Thanks.” Then she blinked as if she’d forgotten Kat was there.
“So? Have you figured out why a man would want to drag his kids along?”
Kat stated the obvious. “Maybe he wanted you to get to know them.”
Celia looked appalled. “Why?”
“Because he likes you? And maybe he’d like you to like them and vice versa.”
Celia blew a raspberry into the air before taking another drink. “No way. He should have known this would be a hot dirty weekend. If I wanted to get to know his children I’d have asked about them.” She raised one hand with her finger pointed to the ceiling while she downed the last half of her second glass of chardonnay.
“I never ask about children.”
Kat pursed her lips and took the hint. Kat didn’t want to touch on a difficult subject. If Celia wanted to share her thoughts, she would. “Where did you meet this guy?”
“Jason, his name’s Jason. We met at a homeless shelter where I volunteer.”
“You volunteer at a shelter?” Kat couldn’
t keep the shock from her voice, and Celia glared at her for it.
“Sure, why wouldn’t I? People need help, so I help.”
Kat sipped at her wine while Celia glared. “I just never thought of you as the type of person—”
“Who would care? Is that it, Kat?” She turned and bent over as she dug through the shoes on the closet floor. She came up with a pair of stilettos and flourished them. “You ought to be careful about those assumptions of yours. They can make for errors in judgment.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that you’ve never mentioned this shelter before.”
Celia waved her hand to dismiss the topic. “It’s been part of my life so long, I don’t think about it. I just keep showing up on Wednesdays after work.”
Wednesday was, indeed, the one weeknight when she didn’t chat with Celia at the mailboxes. “And Jason?”
“He’s been helping out in the kitchen for a couple of months. He’s a chef at one of the five-star restaurants downtown.” She stood in front of the mirror over her dresser and fluffed out her hair, then pinched her cheeks for color. But her eyes were damp and unhappy.
“All set,” she said, then gave Kat a critical eye. “You look like you’re dressed to party, girlfriend. We’ll knock ’em dead at Harry’s. I wish you’d have come out with me sooner. You’re a beauty!”
Heat rose in her cheeks. No wonder Taye had jumped to the conclusion that she was ready to go out and hook up. That’s what Celia saw in Kat’s outfit too.
But still, he shouldn’t have hustled her out onto the walkway and slammed the door in her face. What nerve! “Let’s go, Celia. I suddenly need some party time.”
Celia slid her arm through Kat’s. “Let’s go rock a few worlds, girlfriend.”
Harry’s wasn’t as bad as Kat expected it to be. It was cozy, the music was a comfortable dance beat and it seemed full of locals.
It was Celia who surprised her. She settled in at the bar and ordered two doubles. Then drank them both.
Kat had heard the term two-fisted drinker but hadn’t actually seen one in action before. After a couple of rounds, Celia confessed.
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