After Sundown (10 page)

"No, I guess you haven't
,
" Cole said softly.

"Kit takes the pumpkin seeds and cooks them. Sarah says they taste better than popcorn. I never knew you could eat seeds."

"You eat sunflower seeds
,
"
Cole reminded, then gently chuc
ked Megan under her chin.

"Oh
yea
h,
Daddy, Kit is fun. I wish she
were
my mommy. She never yells at me like Mrs. Murphy use
d
to." Cole frowned at the reminder of Mrs. Murphy, Megan's last nanny.

"And she's lots nicer to me than any of the ladies you ever date."

"Boy, you aren't gonna let up on me, are you?" Cole chuckled then got from the bed.

"Daddy, I love Kit. Can't you love her too?"

Cole looked down at his young daughter. The innocence and sincerity of her plea tugged at his heart.
How did he feel about Kit?
Since
first setting
eyes on Kit Landon, only one thought occupied his mind
, g
etting her into his bed. He never thought beyond the ultimate conquest.
He
never even considered having
an
ongoing affair. An ongoing affair with a w
oman like Kit Landon would be
dangerous. She was a woman who would want commitments. Cole Taylor decided long ago that if he ever found a way out of his miserable marriage, he would never again tie himself down. In some ways
,
he was like Kit. The thought of shari
ng his daughter with a spouse was unappealing
. None of the women
he had
ever dated showed a genuine fondness for Megan.

Initially, Cole viewed Kit exclusively as a sex object. Somewhere along the way, she
beca
me his friend. Friendship
did
not deter Cole
’s lust for her body
. Every
time he was with her
,
the urge to
touch her body
was overwhelmi
ng. Even when she wore her
gawd-
awful jogging suit
s,
he became hard.

Chapter
Twelve

Cole stood by his desk, sorting the day’s mail when he heard a knock on
his office door. He glanced up
and before he had time to say
come in
, the door opened and in walked Brenda Stevens.
The voluptuous twenty-five-year-old blonde socialite
moved toward him
cat-like
, as if she were auditioning for
the role of
Marilyn
Monroe. Cole barely had time to toss the mail to his desk when she wrapped her arms around him, demanding a kiss. Cole responded by sheer reflex,
giving her what she
wanted
.
He and Brenda had been seeing each other for almost a year,
before
she left
several
months earlier to travel abroad.

“
Cole Taylor,” Brenda whispered into his mouth, as she pulled away from the kiss, her arms still wrapped around his neck. “You don’t seem excited to see
me.
Is
there something you need to tell m
e
?” Brenda narrowed her green eyes and looked into Cole’s face.
Men
did not ignore Brenda Stevens and she didn’t appreciate the lukewarm
greeting
.

Cole placed his hands on Brenda’s waist and gently pushed her back at arm’s length. He kept his hands on
the swell of her hips
as he spoke.

“
No,
Brenda, I am just surprised to see you. How was your trip? When did you get back?”

Brenda wiggled out of his hold
and took
a seat
o
n one of the leather chairs facing his desk.

“Last night,” Brenda told him, as she leaned back in the chair and removed the
cashmere
gloves she wore, tossing them to his desk. “
So how have you been, Cole? Did you replace me while I was gone?”

Cole noticed her pouty expression, and understood she fully expected him to give her assurances that they would pick up where they left off, before she went on her trip. He wasn’t about to tell her that since meeting Kit at After Sundown, he hadn’t given
her a second thought. H
ad Brenda never returned, he probably wouldn’t
have
notice
d
.

While she hadn’t been on his mind, Brenda Stevens might be the answer to his
problem, he thought. Perhaps
he would
divert his sexual tension to Brenda, and stop obsessing on the sexy babysitter.

"So
have you
found a new nanny?" Brenda
asked, as if reading his mind.
Cole was well aware that Brenda's question stemmed from her desire to acquire addition
al
time with
him
and not with Megan's overall welfare.

"She's more of a sitter than a nanny
,
" Cole explained, having no desire to elaborate on the details concerning Kit Landon.

"
Excellent, you found someone.
Well, now that you have Megan all settled, there's no reason to miss my
Halloween party
,
" Brenda said cheerfully.

"Damn, Brenda,
I
forgot about your party." Cole absently brushed his fingers through his hair. "I have to take Megan trick or
treatin
g
."

"Oh
pooh
, don't go making excuses
no
w.
"
Brenda stood up suddenly and snatched her gloves off the desk.
"Let her sitter take her!"

"I can't. It's important to her." Cole remembered Megan's request to go with Kit and Sarah.

"Oh hell
,” Brenda exclaimed as she began pacing back and forth in front of Cole’s desk. “
Cole, when
I
first planned this party, you promised you'd come
with me
.
I came back for this party!
What the hell is going on?"

Looking into Brenda’s angry green eyes, Cole knew he wasn’t prepared to end their relationship.
What made his relationship with Brenda so perfect was that they really had no relationship, beyond the sex. While Brenda would be delighted to find a wealthy husband, Cole easily placated her with expensive gifts. She also expected him to play escort to various social functions, such as her upcoming Halloween party.
He doubted Kit Landon would substitute monetary gain for commitment.

"I'll work something
ou
t,
" Cole promised with a reluctant smile.
If nothing else, he could take his daughter trick or treating before the party, he told himself.

Sticky-
st
r
ands of pumpkin innards squished through Kit's fingers as she pulled the
seeds from the top of the would-
be jack-o-
l
antern
.
She dumped the orange mass into a bowl and
seeds
that missed the target
scattered on the newspap
er covered dining room tableto
p. One pumpkin
had already been scrap
ed clean, yet still needed the finishing touches with a knife to fashion features for the
jack-o-lantern’s
face.
This was how Cole found Kit, scooping out the
second pumpkin in her small din
ing room.

"The girls let me in
,
" Cole explained as he entered the room.
Kit wore
tightly fitting
faded
denims and a baggy T-shirt
.
He could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Errant strands of hair
fell
into Kit's eyes. Unable to push back her hair with her preoccupied hands, she attempted to blow the offending strands off her face.
Cole chuckled at the sight, and then took one of his
hands,
gently
brushing
the hair off her face
with his fingertips
. Kit blushed at the intimate gesture.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a laugh, surveying the mess.

"We're making jack-o-
l
anterns
,
" she explained, shaking another handful of seeds into the bowl.

"We? The girls went upstairs."

Kit frowned at his observation and then explained,
"
T
hey didn't want to get their hands
icky
.
They asked me to call them
w
hen this part was finished."

"You do all the work, they get all the fun?" Cole lifted his brow and allowed his gaze to sweep over Kit's rumpled form. The contrast between Kit and Brenda was startling. Cole couldn't
imagine
Brenda plunging her manicured nails into the center of a pumpkin, nor being caught wearing an unflattering T-shirt, with her hair in complete disarray. Yet, Brenda's exquisite body
and impeccable grooming
did not inspire a fraction of the lust
Kit stirred.
The realization made him want to howl in frustration.

Without considering the total impropriety of his actions, Cole stepped behind Kit
and wrapped his arms around her, giving her an affectionate hug, while pressing their bodies together. Instead of pulling her hands from the pumpkin, she squealed in protest.

“Cole, what the hell do you think you are doing?”

Instead of answering or pulling away, Cole slipped his hands beneath the hem of the t-shirt and ran his palms over her smooth skin as he gave the side of her neck a gentle nibble.

“I know this is wrong of me,” he murmured as he moved his hands up her body, until they seized her bare breasts beneath the soft fabric of the t-shirt. “You are just so damn sexy, and if I thought for a moment you hated this, I would stop. But you don’t hate it, do you Kit?”

Kit froze, unable to move or resist. She held her breath as his hands gently kneaded her breasts, causing her nipples to harden. Her heart raced and she knew she had every right to be furious,
yet
she did not want him to stop. Instead of protesting, Kit closed her eyes and gave a little whimper of surrender.
No longer able to endure the exquisite torture, she turned around abruptly, pulling her hands from the pumpkin and push
ed
Cole from her. They looked into each other’s face, desire obvious it both set of eyes.

"Were you serious when you said you simply wanted to finish what we started in the bar?" Kit asked with a shaking voice.

"What do you mean?" Cole narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"If I satisfy your ... curiosity, will you keep your hands off me in the future?" Kit picked up a dishrag
from
the table and began roughly wiping her hands.

"What do you mean satisfy my curiosity?" Cole's voice was low and husky. Kit didn't answer immediately. Instead, her eyes locked on Cole's.

What the hell
, she thought
,
why no
t?
Cole made
her
body feel like a pressure cooker, ready to explode at any moment. Why shouldn't she release a little steam? They were both adul
ts
and what
w
ould it hurt? It was obvious Cole
couldn’t keep his hand
s
to himself, and Kit wasn’t willing to sever the babysitting arrangement, the
refore the
only sensible thing to do was to sate their sexual curi
osity before they both went up
in smoke.

"Take me to
be
d,
" Kit said at last. She'd considered saying let's make love
,
but
that seemed too emotionally intimate.
Sh
e considered saying let's have sex
, y
et that seemed too emotionally void.

“J
ust
like that? Take me to bed?" Cole fairly choked on the words.

"Isn't that what you wanted?"
Kit asked.

"Do you want it?"
Cole asked.

"I wouldn't offer to do anything I didn't want to
d
o,
" Kit answered, her
gaze dropped
to the table. Cole studied Kit for a long moment. Could she be serious? He was prepared to ask Kit to watch Megan on Halloween night, after
they took
the girls trick or treating. He sure as hell wasn't going to mess up his chance to
finally
get Kit into bed by mentioning a date with another woman.

"Saturday night
,
" Cole said suddenly. "Can you get some
one
to watch Sarah? We can go to my house."

"Yes. What about Megan?" Kit asked
quietly
, her blue
eyes flashing up to Cole.

"My brother and his wife watch Megan sometimes. I'm sure they'll watch her."

F
or several
minutes,
they stood together in the din
ing room in virtual silence, each studying the other in quiet agreement. The pact
was
made. There was no turning back.