studied his features, and he noticed she was already dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved turtleneck. “Wha-what time is it?” he stammered.
She glanced at the clock across the room. “Almost ten-thirty, my love.”
“Geez!” he exclaimed. “I need to haul my butt out of bed then. I don’t want be rude just lying here all day.”
But she pressed her palm against his bare chest and pushed him gently back onto the bed. “No hurry, it’s Saturday. And Gil only roused an hour ago,” she reassured him.
He relaxed somewhat and studied her eyes for a moment. He could spend hours gazing into those beautiful orbs.
The corners of her mouth upturned slightly in amusement. He has that mesmerized expression again.
He deliberately blinked and looked past her face to regain his concentration. “What’s next?” he asked.
“I called Alton last night after your outburst,” she replied. She related how Alton had listened intently to her story of meeting Caleb as a child, as well as all the events that transpired, including taking the dead body of Caleb’s father with her that night to bury him in an undisclosed location. Her former mentor had been very patient and waited until the very end to ask clarifying questions. Finally, he had remained so silent before speaking again that Katrina had feared he had hung up on her. He explained how tricky hypnosis was and ventured how difficult it might be to alter what she had done.
“Alton said he knows of a vampire in London who’s a long-time practicing psychiatrist who might be able to help you,” she said. “Although he’ll have to provide details later. He suggested we might be able to address that when you and I visit him on our trip to England.”
“That’s kind of him, of course. But I’m curious what he said about our real initial meeting?” he asked pointedly.
Her expression was unreadable as she fell silent for a moment. “He was sympathetic, actually,” she recalled. “But he was very intrigued and said that it answered a few questions he had about your and my relationship. I’m still not sure what he meant by that; he was terribly hedgy on the subject. But he did have a message for you.”
Caleb’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah?”
She smirked. “He used that term of his again. He said, ’Tell Caleb that, to be brutally honest, I’m concerned for him and want to help as much as possible.’”
He smiled at the use of their special phrase “brutally honest” to indicate the sincerity of his comments versus merely being polite. Katrina studied his reaction carefully and wondered if there were more to the message than what had been stated.
“That was very kind,” he replied.
She decided not to press the topic. “You gave Paige a bit of a scare last night too. She’s very concerned.”
He grinned shyly. “Really? She’s a good friend, and a great guardian. We’re tight.”
“Even closer, I think,” Katrina observed and kissed him softly on the lips. But I’m okay with that level of friendship, she conceded fleetingly, so long as it remains a friendship.
“Hungry?” she asked.
“Sure!” he replied brightly.
She shook her head. “When are you not?”
He adopted a mock-insulted expression, and she used her hand to dishevel his hair even more than it already was. “Okay, now you need to get that cute butt of yours out of bed,” she prompted with a sly smile.
“How about breakfast in bed?” he countered with a smirk.
She arched an eyebrow in a challenge and swiftly wrapped her right arm underneath and around his waist. Pulling him from the bed with a lurch, she swung his body around until his toes touched the carpeted floor. He nearly lost his breath and teetered unsteadily as he landed on his feet, but she steadied him with her arm still wrapped securely around him, for which he was grateful.
“Wha --” he started, but she crushed her lips to his.
His arms encircled her waist, and he pulled her towards his body as they kissed. “I’ll be up soon,” he promised.
She pressed against his body and countered, “I sense you’re already up.” What a nice way to start the day.
He flushed slightly regarding his body’s excited reaction as she pulled deliberately away from him. She moved in a blur to appear at the top of the stairs, glancing back over her shoulder with a smirk. The door slid shut behind her, leaving him standing in silence.
“Damn, she’s fast,” he muttered with a grin, shaking his head.
After he showered, shaved and slipped into a pair of jeans