Kiss the Kitty: (Her Dad’s Best Friend)

by Virginia Silk

  Nobody said anything, there was no music playing, and for the first couple of minutes the peace and quiet was nice, but after fifteen minutes, the silence seamed loud, the awkwardness almost tangible, and he was acutely aware that beside him sat a woman who’d made his mind go completely haywire with her mere presence.

  Good God, he’d been ready to turn himself into a stalker for her.

  She had completely bewitched him, and the thought that they might not be compatible hadn’t even crossed his mind, when in reality, she was everything he wanted to avoid in his life, a complete disaster. In his defense, he didn’t know that at the time.

  Even so, her age should have been a caution. Normally he wouldn’t even entertain the idea of pursuing someone so much younger than him. He was thirty-six years old and she was what, twenty?

  Would she even be interested in someone older? Was she even available?

  “Who is Paul?” James blurted out the question.

  “What?” she turned to look at him.

  “He your boyfriend?”

  “No,” she said looking at him curiously.

  “Your dad seemed to think his opinion mattered,” he explained, as if that was the only reason he wanted to know.

  “It doesn’t,” she said matter-of-factly.

  “So, who is he?” Good lord, why couldn’t he just get an answer to that question?

  “Paul Westmore. Dad thinks he hung the moon.”

  “Westmore huh?” probably not a coincident that one of John’s firm’s most important clients was The Westmore group.

  “Yeah,” she said. “Thinks he’d be sure to keep me on the straight and narrow.”

  “Hmm.” James could see why John and a lot people would make such an assumption based on a name. The Westmores had an impeccable reputation, unlike the Reed’s, and they’d maintained an unblemished image for generation.

  Certainly couldn’t say the same about his family. It had been one scandal after another. Affairs, divorces, associations with questionable characters, the list went on. These things had a way of hurting business. Reed Industries had suffered a lot because of that in the past, unlike the The Westmore Group.

  James looked back over at Katherine. “Was he at that…um…rave?” he asked.

  “What?” she asked, frowning, then she rolled her eyes, “Ugh...It wasn’t a rave. We were just toasting one of our sister had just handed in her thesis. A few people came over to congratulate her, and yeah, Paul was one of them.”

  “Must have been one hell of a toast,” he mused.

  She sighed, “I don’t know what happened. I only planned to go down real quick, say hi, and then go back up to bed. I had something important to do the next morning. Anyway, I remember being downstairs and then suddenly waking up to a lot of angry people, and a nurse drawing my blood. I guess someone must have brought me home after that. I was pretty out of it and felt like shit. Then dad came and accused me of deliberately try to get caught.”

  “And you didn’t want that?” James had to ask.

  “Why would I want that?”

  “Well, I don’t know why someone with so many options as you have would want to pursue a career in stripping either, but you did that too.”

  “Ugh, I can’t live that down.” She shook her head sighing. “Look, it was a one-time thing, and if you must know, I never even made it on stage…I…I sort of…um fell.”

  “Fell?”

  “Yes…could have happened to anyone.” She sounded awfully defensive for some reason.

  “Hmm…let me guess, of a barstool?”

  “Well yes, it was actually. Anyway, because of that they didn’t think I was elegant enough for the job, so...” she waived a hand in the air.

  Seriously? What the hell kind of strip club would pass up on having this beauty swaying her hips on their stage? They might have put her in a schoolgirl uniform or nurse’s outfit perhaps. “What were you wearing?” Jesus Christ, did he just say that?

  A slow smile crept up on her beautiful face. “Maybe I’ll show you sometime.”

  Yes please! “No, no, I…um…I…No, I didn’t mean…” Ah shit, there was no coming back from that, was there? He cleared his throat, “I have some work I need to look at.” He quickly brought out the laptop he always kept in the car.

  Nice save.

  Fuck, he was in trouble, had been since the moment he saw her. And when her eyes had finally met his, he had been sucked in like…

  Wait a minute…

  Oh hell, it finally dawned on him. He hadn’t recognized her but she? Oh, she knew exactly who he was. She knew from the start and had been messing with his head the entire time.

  He glanced at her, sitting there beside him with that innocent look on her face. An act, it was all an act...but Christ, she smelled good.

  Shit, he need to get his head straight.

  Maybe this date Barbara had sprung on him wasn’t actually such a bad idea after all. Sure, he’d been avoiding her advances for a while now. Didn’t think there was any chemistry between them, but now that she’d caught him off guard, maybe he should give it a chance. he thought, putting on his reading glasses and turning on his laptop.

  He looked at her again. She was watching him, her mouth slightly parted, her eyes hooded, and her lips…oh God. She was messing with him again, he knew it…but fuck him, he was hard as a rock.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Katherine

  Jesus Christ, was he baiting her on purpose?

  As if his uptightness wasn’t causing all kinds of tingles already. Now, just to add fuel to the fire, he had go and put on a pair of nerdy thick-rimmed glasses. He had to be baiting her.

  Looking at her sternly, he pushed them up on his nose with one finger.

  Oh God, it was just too much. Katherine squeezed her thighs together, and bit down on her lip, hard, to keep herself from moaning.

  “Stop that,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Stop looking at me like that.”

  “Like what?” Katherine asked innocently.

  “I know what you’re doing,” he told her and pointedly turned his gaze away from her.

  “What are you taking about?”

  He sucked in a deep breath before he looked at her again. “You’re messing with me…like before.”

  “Like before?” she asked, trying not to smile.

  “Yes, and you know what I’m talking about. I didn’t know who you were, but I know you recognized me,” he said, failing miserably to hide how flustered he was.

  “So?”

  “So…so…so you should have said something.” Frustrated, he ran his hand through his hair.

  Calmly, she asked, “When? When exactly was I supposed to do that? Should I have yelled across the room while you in the middle eye-fuc–”

  “Don’t,” he held up his hand, “Don’t fucking say it.”

  “Well, you just did, so now I don’t have to.”

  He sucked in a deep breath, before her turned to her again. “You know I would never have reacted that way if I knew who you were.”

  “And you know me so well.”

  “I know enough.”

  “Is that so?” She challenged.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact…” James sucked in a deep breath. “No, you know what? Let’s just not talk for the rest of the ride, shall we?”

  “Fine.” Katherine folded her arms angrily

  “Fine.” James slammed his laptop shut, and starred out the window.

  Why was she so angry? Why should she even care what he thought about her?

  Three minutes later they drove up his driveway. Not quite enough time to cool down, but long enough for her to realize that since he was so riled up too, at least he wasn’t indifferent.

  She also mentally padded herself on the back for not bringing up Barbara. There was no way it would have been to her advantage anyway. Besides, Barbara wasn’t the one who’d be staying in his house with him.

  CHAPTER NINE
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br />   Katherine

  She wasn’t sure what exactly she had expected James’s home to be like, but this wasn’t quite it.

  Sure, the house and the grounds were very well structured and exclusive. No surprise there, but it wasn’t a bachelor’s pad at all. It was a home for someone ready to settle down, and again she had to wonder, why was he single?

  They went inside and immediately headed up stairs. James didn’t give her a grand tour but efficiently told her about the layout of the house and the staff. Apparently, Thomas was more than just his driver, but had a number of responsibilities, and was really the guy who kept things running smoothly.

  James listed several other people she might encounter there as she followed him down the hallway “.…and the housekeeper is usually here in the afternoon.” They stopped at a door. “This is your room,” he said opening the door and letting her pass.

  She looked around the big room, “It’s beautiful,” she said. And it really was. Someone had made an effort, there were even fresh flowers. It was warm and welcoming even though she knew this was most likely Thomas’ or the housekeeper’s doing, and she wasn’t his first choice for a guest — he was just unfortunate enough to get stuck with her.

  But she couldn’t help wonder, what if? What if they’d met in that bistro under different circumstances? Something had started there between them, but her current situation and all the crap she’d done in that past was getting in the way.

  It didn’t have to though. She wasn’t that person anymore – mostly – though recent events suggested otherwise, and he seemed to be pretty hung up on that.

  “Thank you,” she said turning towards him, just to see his eyes flick up to hers. Had he just been checking out her ass?

  Hmm…maybe there was hope for them yet.

  “Um yes, no…I mean, you’re welcome,” he said a little flustered.

  She took a step closer to him.

  “The bathroom is over there,” he gestured and avoided eye contact.

  “Yes,” she said, took another step closer.

  “And…um…the closet…” he pointed to the side and kept his gaze above her head.

  “Yes,” she said and waited for him to look at her.

  When he finally did, their eyes locked and she took one more step. They were so close now, her chest almost touched his.

  “I wasn’t messing with you,” she told him. Oh, she’d love to mess with him — that was what she’d meant by mostly — but not about that. That had been real. “I felt it too…the pull,” she admitted, completely open, raw, and vulnerable.

  He didn’t respond, just stared into her eyes, searching. His gaze then dropped to her lips, but just for a second, before he cleared his throat. “I have to go.”

  She blinked. He was already heading for the door. “Where are you going?”

  “Work.”

  “Now?” Hadn’t he just left work?

  “There are some things I need to take care of at the office,” he said on his way out the door. “The housekeeper has left some food in the fridge. Help yourself to whatever you want. There is security all around the building, so don’t even think about leaving,” he finished and was gone without even one look back.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Katherine

  Going to bed early hadn’t made sleep come easy, but it had prevented her from snooping around the house, which had been so tempting, after Thomas left. He had entertained her the entire evening, but now she was all alone.

  The first night in a place she hadn’t slept in before was always a bit uneasy. Being left completely on her own didn’t help.

  She wasn’t used to being in an empty house, having spent so many years in boarding school and now living in the sorority house, where there were always other people.

  But that wasn’t the only reason she couldn’t sleep.

  Every time she fell asleep the nightmares woke her up again. She had had a lot of them since that night. Probably her subconscious trying to make sense of things. Though they hadn’t helped her remember what had happened. Actually, the dreams made absolutely no sense at all. Just made her wake up feeling scared, anxious and alone. She was alone, so at least there was an explanation for that one.

  A Car’s headlights lit up the ceiling of her bedroom as it drove up the driveway.

  James was home.

  Weird how much that calmed her.

  A little while later she heard his footsteps outside her door. He stopped, and for a couple of minutes nothing happened, then the door quietly cracked open.

  Katherine pretended to sleep. She didn’t know why he was here in her room, but it was quite possible he was here to give her a scolding about earlier, and she wasn’t ready for it yet. She felt a little raw from his rejection. She had put herself out there and had fallen flat on her face.

  She heard him approach the bed. She didn’t dear look, but he was close, very close. Her heart began beating faster. What was he doing? For a few minutes, he just stood over her and she fought to keep her breathing even.

  Suddenly her cheek felt warmer, it was his hand. He didn’t make contact, just held it there as if debating whether or not to touch her. She wanted him to, so bad, and finally made the decision for him. She turned her head just enough that his hand cupped her cheek.

  Slowly, his thumb swiped over her lips. Her mouth parted slightly, and she couldn’t help the tiny gasp that escaped her.

  He let out a barely audible hiss and pulled his hand back.

  Two seconds later, she heard the door click shut, and she sat up straight in her bed.

  What the hell was that?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  James

  James walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Katherine speaking to someone, her phone on speaker. “But I’d made arrangement for that,” she said.

  “Yeah well, he was really insistent, so you can cancel that.” A female voice said on the other end.

  “Yeah, I guess I’ll have to,” Katherine said, turning around. Seeing him standing there, she added, “Um…Penny…I have to go.”

  “Okay. I hope this gets sorted out soon, we miss you at the house.”

  “Miss you too. Say hi to everyone for me,” she said, her eyes locked on him.

  “I will. Take care, all right.”

  “You too,” Katherine ended the conversation.

  He hadn’t moved. Just stood there staring at her. She was wearing thick wool socks, panties, and a white tank top, the material so thin he could see the outline of her pink areolas, not to mention her nipples, hard and pointing right at him.

  His mouth watered, his cock hardened to the point he was sure it was visible through his pants.

  “Good morning,” she said, her smile so bright it lit up her whole face.

  Christ, she was beautiful…and again she was totally messing with him.

  “No,” he barked.

  “What? What?” she said, looking around herself in panic.

  “That,” he pointed at her, but tried to look anywhere else. “That…no…absolutely not…you cannot wear that.”

  Her panicked look turned mischievous. “What, socks?”

  “Kitty,” he warned.

  She bit her lip.

  Christ, those lips. Those lips did things to him, and he had done things imagining those lips. Good God, that little gasp that passed them last night had him jerking off twice before he went to sleep last night, and already once this morning…so far, but the day was still young. What the hell was he thinking going into her room?

  He was supposed to distance himself from her. He’d stayed at the office unnecessarily late for exactly that reason. Lord knows it wasn’t like he was getting much work done. She was constantly on his mind.

  ‘I wasn’t messing with you”.

  Oh, she totally was.

  ‘I felt it too…the pull’.

  Why had she said that? How did she know?

  Maybe he was that easy to read. He was driving himself craz
y thinking about it, so he tried forcing himself to concentrate on work. He never had a problem focusing before, but he wasn’t getting anything done. Finally, he’d figured if he just stayed away long enough for her to be asleep when he got home, he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

  The house had been quiet when he got home. He should have been relieved. Should have, but deep down he was disappointed not to see her.

  Going to her room, he’d convinced himself that he was only making sure she was alright, that she was even there and hadn’t run off.

  “James, are you all right?” Katherine’s concerned voice made him realize he’d completely spaced out.

  “Yes, no…I mean you…you need to put on more clothes.” He pointed a finger at her while trying his best to not to look directly at her.

  “Oh…um, thing is, my clothes from yesterday are in the washer, and I’m basically wearing everything I brought,” she told him.

  “Everything?”

  “I only brought a really small bag,” she shrugged.

  “Not that small.” What she was wearing could fit into his pocket.

  She looked him up and down, getting that mischievous look on her face. “Don’t worry, my clothes will be here shortly.” She took a step towards him. “As for the bag, it was too small for anything but the essentials,” she said as she slowly approached him. “You know…lotions…body oils…”

  He knew what she was doing, but found himself rooted in place.

  “…I needed to prioritize,” she said just about closing the distance between them. If she came one inch closer, he would feel her hard nipples against his chest. She got up on her toes and whispered, “You know how it is, sometimes something has to give…”

  “K…Kitty.” He meant to add warning to his tone, but it came out more as a stammered plea.

  “Yes…” she murmured, brushing her lips against his, “Kiss the Kitty.”

  Sweet Jesus! James couldn’t contain the growling sound that escaped him.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Katherine

  Was that too much? did she go too far?

  James pulled back and with his hands on her upper arms held her away from him. His breathing was heavy