She flowed down him like a warm breeze and suddenly her mouth was suspended mere inches from him.
Michael's heart stopped.
Her eyes dark with passion and a desperate need to give, she looked into his eyes, then her gaze skittered down his torso. “I don't-really-know-how,” she said in a husky voice that tied him in knots as she moved millimeters closer.
In an instant, her mouth replaced her hand. She kissed him intimately. Her lips were untutored, but eager, and the erotic sight and sensation of her mouth made him sweat. When she took more of him deeper into her mouth, Michael nearly lost it.
Three long wet strokes from her tongue and lips and he pulled away from her.
She looked up at him in sexy confusion, her hair in disarray, her lips swollen. “I didn't do it right?”
He shook his head, still close to the edge. “Too right.”
Skimming up his body, she took him in her hand again and French-kissed him and sent him over the top. Still shuddering from the intensity of his climax, he sank his fingers into her hair and pulled her mouth against his. He wanted to drink her, consume her, get inside her, and claim her. The power of his need made him shudder again.
He pulled back and sucked in a long draft of air. Looking into her eyes, he felt himself sinking and swore. He swore, rubbing his hand through his hair. He didn't feel embarrassed, but he sure as hell felt naked. It didn't make a damn bit of sense because although his fly and shirt were only loosened, he felt as if she could see straight through to the core of him. And he wasn't sure if he liked it.
Reaching past her to the glove compartment, he grabbed a few napkins he kept inside and handed them to her. “Okay, I have intimate knowledge of your lack of experience, so I know this isn't something you've done before. You said you wanted to be a friend to me. Why in hell did you—”
“Was I that bad?”
Michael rolled his eyes. “I think the result speaks for itself.” He lowered his head so that they were eyeball to eyeball. “Why?”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Isn't this one of those instances where if you liked it, you can just say thank-you-very-much?”
The woman was going to send him back into Liberty Mental Health Facility seeking his own treatment. “I want to know why?”
She lifted one of her shoulders. “I wanted to?”
Michael waited, knowing there was more.
“I was…curious.”
He nodded, but still said nothing.
“I just really thought you might need it,” she said bluntly.
He blinked. “Pardon? I
needed
it.”
“Since I've met you, you've seemed very tense. And tonight after we visited your mother, you held my hand so tightly.” She paused a half beat, then lifted her chin. “I didn't force you to accept my…attention.”
He couldn't hold back a burst of laughter. “No. You didn't force me. What am I going to do with you?” He tucked her head against his chest and kissed the top of it. “I want you in my bed.”
She sighed. “The walls in that house have ears and I don't want Ivan to know. He would find some way to hold it over me or you.”
Michael didn't like it, but he agreed. “I won't be sleeping at the Rasmussen house much longer. Neither will you.”
“It could get complicated.”
His heart twisted at her measured retreat. “Are you saying I'm only good for a quickie or a good time in the car?”
She glanced up at him in surprise. “Are you joking?”
“Yes,” he said, but something inside him felt tight and uncomfortable. “And no.”
The color of her eyes changed colors like a sea of emotions. “You have a goal. You have a mission,” she said with a wry smile. “I would get in your way.”
His gut twisted. “I'll be the judge of that.”
“Your judgment is impaired.”
“Why?”
“Because you just got a blow job,” she said with a sexy smile intended to distract.
He allowed it, for now. “That I did,” he said and kissed the wonderfully wicked mouth that had brought him such pleasure.
“Chantal is sick.”
Katie took a long look at Wilhemina and noted the drawn look on her face and her pale skin. “How are you feeling?”
Wilhemina gave a halfhearted shrug. “For the first time in my life, I'm not interested in pie. Is that what romance does to a woman? Makes her not care about pie?”
Katie smiled and put her hand around Wilhemina's shoulders. “I'm sure it depends on the woman. Why do you think Chantal is sick?”
“Well, look at her. She looks so puny.”
Michael strode into the parlor and Katie's heart skipped a beat. He looked at her as if they shared a secret. He looked at her a little too long in her estimation, since she suddenly had difficulty breathing. She cleared her throat.
“Wilhemina says Chantal is sick. She says she looks puny.”
He glanced at the cat and then lifted a brow. Katie covered a smile. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Chantal always looks puny,” he said.
“But she really does look worse than usual.”
“Hard to imagine,” he muttered under his breath. “Do you think you should take her to the vet?”
“Daddy would,” Wilhemina said. “To him, she's an investment, not a pet.”
“Okay, let me know when you get an appointment and Katie and I will take you.” He glanced at Katie. “Have you two discussed the invitations that came in during Wilhemina's absence?”
Katie gave a quick shake of her head. “Wilhemina is still recovering from the trip. I don't think she's ready for social appearances.”
“I'll never be ready for social appearances in this town,” Wilhemina said flatly. “I've found out that not everyone in this world is as nasty as the people here are, and I refuse to waste my time on the dregs of Philadelphia's elite society.” She left the room in a huff.
“I think it's safe to say I won't be getting the matchmaker bonus for Wilhemina.”
Michael touched her arm. “Sorry.”
She shrugged. “It was a long shot. Not because of Wilhemina,” she said quickly. “But because they don't appreciate her. I hate it that she's hurting, but she's definitely different.”
“No more hats.”
“It's more than that. She's more okay with who she is. I think she's more confident.” She looked at Michael and smiled. “That's not bad.”
“No. But it doesn't pay for Jeremy's school.”
“No. It doesn't, but things could be worse. As long as I keep my job, I can stay one half step in front of the bill collector.”
Wilhemina peeked around the corner with Chantal in her carrier. “The vet says he'll see Chantal right away.”
“Let's go,” Michael said and led the way to his car. He ushered Wilhemina into the backseat and paused before he opened the passenger door for Katie. “You think this is just too funny, don't you?” he asked with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
“You mean because the big, tough security expert has to be concerned about an ugly cat?” She snickered. “Why in the world would I find that amusing?”
“Keep it up, Katie Priss, and I'm going to have to kiss you.”
Katie's heart bumped against her rib cage. What a delicious threat. Except she didn't want anyone at the Rasmussen house knowing there was something between her and Michael, whatever that something was. “In a different circumstance, I would take you up on your offer,” she said and opened her own door and slid inside. When Michael got inside, she avoided his gaze. When he turned on the air conditioner, however, she turned her vent on her cheeks. The man made her hot at the most inconvenient moments.
At the veterinarian, Wilhemina insisted on going into the examination room with Chantal. Katie and Michael sat in the waiting room. The vet decided to do blood work. Finally Wilhemina left the examination room with Chantal cradled in her arms. Katie rose when she saw tears in Wilhemina's eyes. “Uh-oh.”
Michael rose beside her.
“What is it?” Katie asked, feeling a twist of concern at the expression on Wilhemina's face. “Is she going to be okay?”
Wilhemina nodded and beamed with pleasure. “Chantal is pregnant! And the father is Flash.”
Michael made a strangled noise. “Something tells me Flash isn't a purebred Canadian hairless.”
Wilhemina shook her head. “Flash was Douglas's barn cat. Isn't this exciting?”
Katie imagined Ivan's reaction and exchanged glances with Michael. He looked slightly ill. “Exciting,” Katie echoed. “Yes, it's definitely exciting. We should talk about this on the way home, shouldn't we, Michael?”
He nodded and raked his hand through his hair. “Yeah, we definitely should talk about this.”
In the car, Katie cast a worried glance at Michael. A muscle was twitching beneath his right eye. “I think it might be best if we don't mention Chantal's condition to your father for a while,” she said to Wilhemina.
“Why not? The kittens will be so cute.”
“I wonder if they'll have hair,” Michael muttered.
“I think your father was hoping to breed Chantal with another Canadian hairless. He might not be pleased that Chantal has been impregnated by—”
“A fucking barn cat,” Michael finished for her.
“But it's Douglas's cat,” Wilhemina said.
Visions of the gun rack on Douglas's truck swam in Katie's head. “I'm not sure that would make a difference to your father.
“But even Daddy would like kittens,” Wilhemina protested.
“It's about money and status,” Katie said impatiently. “Even with the damn cat.”
Wilhemina turned quiet. “He's that way about me too, isn't he?”
Katie's heart twisted and she turned to look at Wilhemina. “Not with you,” she said, even though Wilhemina's suspicions were at least partly true. Ivan Rasmussen's ego transcended even her imagination.
“You don't think he would do anything to hurt Chantal, do you?”
“I don't think so.”
“But it would be unpleasant.”
“Well, I don't want Chantal put under any extra stress during her pregnancy,” Wilhemina said firmly.
Michael rolled his eyes.
“I wonder if there's another place you could keep her when she gets further along,” Katie mused.
“A home for unwed cats,” Michael said dryly.
Katie threw him a quelling glance. “Do you have any suggestions? Aren't you concerned about how this might affect your contract with Ivan?”
“There's no pregnancy clause. He tried, but I threatened to walk if he was going to put me in charge of birth control for the cat.”
Michael turned onto the street where the Rasmussen house stood proudly at the top of the hill.
“I'm glad we've got a little time before Ivan returns,” Katie said, foreseeing a giant explosion in the making.
“Me too,” Wilhemina said.
Michael swore.
“What is it?” Katie asked, but she saw the reason for Michael's displeasure before he voiced it.
“Ivan's home early.”
Michael managed to hustle them into the back entrance of the house. Eager to avoid answering any questions, Wilhemina took Chantal up the back stairs and secluded herself in her room and Michael retreated to his room. That left Katie to face the lion. Swallowing her nerves, she fixed on her face what she hoped was an expression of surprise, without hysteria.
“Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Rasmussen,” she said as she approached the foyer. “What a lovely surprise. I hope you enjoyed your trip.”
Patricia scowled. “Ivan had an urgent business matter to handle. We left before I got a second day of shopping in Paris.”
“But I'll make it up to you,” Ivan said in an oily placating tone. Katie suspected there was already trouble in paradise. She wondered how long Patricia would last. Ivan turned to Katie and studied her. “Something's different,” he said. “Your hair. You're wearing it down. It looks nice.”
Patricia's nostrils flared as if she were sniffing out a competitor. She narrowed her eyes while her frozen botoxtreated forehead remained smooth. “Yes, you have lovely hair.”
Katie bit her lip. Ever since she'd come back from Texas, she just couldn't make herself pin her hair back in that too-tight bun. She liked the way Michael looked at her. She liked it when he told her she was pretty. She liked looking in the mirror and feeling like herself. “Thank you,” she murmured. “I've always admired yours. It always looks perfect.”
Patricia preened.
Ivan guffawed. “It should with the truckload of hair spray she wears.”
Patricia's smile fell. “I'm going to rest for a while. Since we're back early, I think a cocktail party would be a good idea. I'll start planning right away. Ciao, darling,” she said with an air kiss for Ivan.
Ivan gave a long-suffering sigh, then turned to Katie. “I had a hard time reaching you while I was gone,” he said in a voice that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up.
“I didn't think you would have time since you were on your honeymoon trip.”
“I always make time for things that are important to me,” he said, giving Katie the feeling that she was being circled by a wild carnivorous animal.
She told herself not to panic. “I'm sorry a business emergency interrupted your trip.”
He made a face, and something told her there was no business emergency. That meant he had either come home because he couldn't stand any more time with Patricia or he was concerned about something at home.
“How is the project coming along with Wilhemina?”
She swallowed over another lump of nerves. “It's been challenging. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to find the right person in the amount of time you designated.”
“She's that difficult.”
“I don't think Wilhemina is the problem,” she said, feeling defensive.
Ivan shot her a sideways glance. “What do you mean?”
“I think Wilhemina is a fine person. I think too many people have tried to make her over and she needs to be left alone. You have raised a lovely, lovely daughter.”
A naked longing deepened Ivan's beady eyes for an instant, then it was gone. “You're speaking of her heart.”
“Partly. She's not self-centered. She's considerate. Unfortunately, I'm not sure those qualities are appreciated in the circles she's been moving in.”
Ivan paused. “I have called my home every other day for the past week, but you, Michael, and Wilhemina have never been available. What's been going on?”