After Sundown (6 page)

"You haven't answered
m
e,
Kit. Tell me, tell
me you aren't feeling what I
am
and I'll back off." He was now just a breath away. Kit open
ed
her eyes and looked into his
face, his expression intent
. Cole
leaned closer
and whispered a ghost of a kiss across her parted lips. Although he barely made contact, the jolt of excitement that surged through Kit was shattering. His lips were just
inc
hes
from hers when she spoke.

"I can't have a casual affair. It's not what I'm about
,
"
s
he whispered breathlessly.

Cole licked his own
lip
s, and
then kissed Kit
agai
n.
This
tim
e,
he applied a bit more pressure than the first kiss. His lips were gentle and soft, leaving his taste lingering on her mouth as he pulled away a few inches.

"Our affair wouldn't be
casual
,
"
h
e whispered into her mouth. "It would be hot and wild. I want
yo
u,
Kit Landon. I want to see your expression when you come ... just like you were on the dance floor. I want to see that again, but I want to be inside you when it happens. That's what I want." He kissed her again. It was as gentle as his second kiss.

Breathless, Kit gently pushed Cole away and leaned her forehead helplessly against his.

"You don't play fair, Cole Taylor."

"No, I don't. I play to win." His fingers combed through her hair, bringing her face within an inch to his. He was about to claim another
kis
s,
when the sound of footsteps
,
padding n
oisily
came
down the stairway
. They abruptly moved apart.

Chapter Seven

For the next two weeks
,
Kit watched Megan without suffering any of Cole's advances. While the girls
ate
pizza the first night, Kit asked Cole to speak with her alone in the den. In clipped and terse words, Kit made it abundantly clear to Cole that if he made one more advance, he'd be forced to find another babysitter for Megan.

"If you are using your daughter to get me into your bed, then you find yourself a new babysitter, now." Kit's words enraged Cole. He was deeply offended that anyone would question his concern for his daughter. Whatever desire Cole harbored for Kit's body was effectively doused
, o
r so it seemed.

Each
evenin
g,
when Cole picked his daughter up at Kit's, he was rigidly polite and rarely stayed for more than five minutes at a time. By the end of the first
wee
k,
Cole began calling Kit, informing her that
he would
be
five minutes, then ten minutes
late picking up his daughter.

"I'm
sorr
y,
Pumpkin." Cole apologized when he walked through Kit's front door. Glancing at his watch, he knew he was twenty minutes late.

"It's
oka
y,
Daddy." Megan smiled up at her father as he scooped her up in his arms and planted a kiss on her brow. They were standing alone in the entrance hall.

"No, it's
no
t,
honey." Cole set Megan down on her feet and looked guiltily at his daughter.

"
Evenin
g,
Cole
,
" Kit walked from the kitchen to the entry hall. She
wiped
her hand on a dishtowel
. F
lour dusted her brow and
she wore her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Clad in
worn denims, a blue sweat
shirt and fuzzy red socks
,
Cole thought she looked
adorable
.

"I went ahead and fed Megan
,
”
s
he told him.

"I'm
sorr
y,
Kit
,
" Cole looked truly remorseful.
His mode of dress seemed to reflect his dark mood. He wore a black long sleeved shirt,
tucked into his snugly fitting black denims. Several of the top buttons of his shirt were unfastened
.

"Kit made homemade macaroni and cheese, Daddy. Not the kind from the box. I didn't think I'd like it, but it was really good!" Megan beamed up at her father, not the
least
bit annoyed that he was late.

"Megan, honey
,
I cut you a piece of cake. Why don't you go into the dining room
with Sarah and eat your dessert.
I need to speak to your daddy." Kit's voice was warm and tender, and
Megan
rewarded
her with a bright smile before running off to the dining room.

"I'm really
sorr
y,
Kit
.
I've been taking in bids all week on a new job. The time just keeps getting away from me. I promise it won't happen again." Cole raked his fingers thro
ugh his loose hair. Instead of wearing it tied back, it fell to his shoulders
. Kit though
t he looked roguishly handsome, although he wore his hair a little longer than she preferred.
In spite of that, she still found him to be an incredibly sexy man, much to her annoyance.

"We need to talk, come on into the den." Kit tossed the tea towel onto the counter as she passed through the kitchen
,
on the way to the den. Cole followed silently, dreading that Kit was going to announce that she could no longer watch his daughter. What would he do? Perhaps he could take her with him to the office, yet he knew Megan would be miserable. She'd been happy with Kit.

Once they reached the den, Kit closed the door and asked Cole to take a seat on the sofa. Sitting
in
the rocking chair directly facing the sofa, Kit placed her hands on her lap and let out a deep sigh.

"I'll
double your pay
,
" Cole suddenly blurted out.

"Pardon?" Kit was stunned. Her blue eyes blinked in confusion.

"Megan was never happy with any of the nanny's or sitters in the past. She's been really happy here."

"What in the world are you ta
l
king about?"

"Aren't you going to tell me you can
no
longer watch Megan?" Cole
warily watched
Kit.

"No
,
" Kit answered.
She
added with a chuckle,
"
h
mmm, double pay
?" The tenseness visibly drained from Cole and he relaxed.

"You mean you weren't going to stop watching Megan because I've been late picking her up?"

"
N
o,
and
don't worry about your offer for extra pay. What you're already paying is more than fair. But I do need to talk to you about Megan." Kit took a deep breath then continued. "I understand that when you work for
yoursel
f,
it's hard to control the length of your day. It's
often
easier working for someone else, then you can simply punch out at the end of the day and that's it."

"You're right about that
,
" Cole agreed, yet couldn't help wonder what Kit was leading up to.

"Megan needs more structure. All children do. To be honest, I'm use
d
to having our dinner
before
six. Since I've been watching Megan, I've been holding off the dinner,
but
well, with your late
hour
s,
I find we are eating later and later. Why don't you simply allow me to feed Megan dinner each night?"

"
Wai
t,
Kit, I can't ask you to feed my daughter dinner each night."

"Cole, I'm asking this for the girls and
myself
, n
ot for you. Although I believe, it will have advantages for you. Megan and Kit eat like birds, so it's not like I'll have to make extra. As it is, I always seem to have leftovers. I'm sure the dinners I'll prepare will be more nutritious than what you whip up. No offen
s
e."

"No offense taken
,
" Cole grumbled, realizing he had fed Megan fast food three times during the past week.

"Plus, it will give you and Megan more time together. When you go home at night, you don't have to rush around making her dinner and cleaning up. I'm sure you'll
f
in
d
it easier to whip up something for yourself without trying to find something a finicky six year old likes."

Cole sat silently for a moment. The truth was, he enjoyed having dinner with his daughter each night. He hated eating alone.
However
, he couldn't argue with the fact that
recent
dinners had occurred later and later.

"I imagine you'
ll
miss having dinner with your daughter each night
,
" Kit added, as if she'd read his mind. "But you needn't eat alone. Maybe you could have Megan eat a late night dessert with you while you have
dinner.
It might even seem more festive and special for her. A tired child rarely eats a good dinner."

"You've
made
some valid points, Mrs. Landon
,
" Cole agreed with a weary smile.
"Y
ou know, Megan has been very happy here these past two weeks."

"
Megan is
a special little girl. She and Sarah get along wonderfully.
They have an occasional squabble,
but
so
far,
they’ve managed to make up before I have to intervene.
" Kit
began to relax.
Leaning
back in the chair, she found herself gently rocking as she talked.

"Megan tells me you've been teaching the girls how to cook. For a child who was never thrilled with eating eggs, she seems uncommonly impressed with her newly acquired skill of egg separating. She insisted on demonstrating and ended up separating
a half carton of eggs
.”

"No!"
Kit laughed at the idea.

"Needless to say, we had scrambled eggs for dinner
,
" Cole chuckled. "
Unfortunately,
she
still
isn't fond of
eating
eggs." They both began to laugh.

"I've always enjoyed cooking with Sarah,
so
I
thought Megan would
en
joy
it too."

"I'll admit,
I
was afraid that if
I
had someone watching Megan she'd end up in front of a television for the entire afternoon.
I
appreciate the fact that you seem to keep the girls active.
I
imagine it takes a lot of time."

"I enjoy it." Kit
grew
slightly uncomfortable with the praise.

"That's why my earlier offer to pay you more still stands."

"No, it's not necessary
,
" Kit argued.

"It is. Especially since Megan will be eating dinner with you." Kit realized that Cole was actually accepting her earlier offer.

Leaning back in the sofa, Cole watched Kit in silence. He hadn't made a single move toward Kit
since their little chat. In spite of being initially insulted when she inferred he might use Megan to get her into bed, he could not deny he was even more attracted to Kit than before. He also believed she was equally attracted to him.

He knew Kit needed the income from watching Megan. He suspected that once Kit was emotionally attached to Megan, he could resume his campaign to get her into his bed, without Kit refusing to watch his daughter.

For a brief moment
,
the concept of sexual harassment flashed in Cole's mind. He cringed at the thought. He wasn't actually planning to harass her
– just c
onvince, entice, persuade.
W
ouldn't it be sexual harassment if
I
fired her for not com
ing to my
bed?
He asked himself.
He'd
never do that. The
thought
made Cole extremely uneas
y
,
so
he quickly dismissed it.