every damn time, I’d ever done that in the past, it had ended up in disaster. And trying to extricate myself from said disasters always constricted the trap. It hadn’t been that long ago that I’d had to completely jettison my old life to gain freedom.
I wasn’t prepared to do it again. Because this time, I had too much to lose. Too much that I cared about.
And with Kat, I knew—I just knew—that it would be worse. She’d cover me and blow through my life like a flash fire, here and gone, bringing complete destruction wherever she touched. Without even intentionally setting out to do so or even being aware of having done it in the aftermath.
I took a deep breath. “I think it’s best if we go slow, no matter what we decide.”
Her mouth curved—almost seductively, I thought. “Six months of marriage isn’t slow enough for you?”
It’s not real, I almost said. I didn’t want to keep repeating it to her. She knew it damn well herself. It’s not real, was going to have to become my goddamn mantra over the next little while, while we lived together, while we were a married couple.
It’s not real. Not real.
“I need to think about it. About a lot of things.” I shifted where I sat to avoid the view down her shirt. “In the meantime, I wanted to ask you if I you would let me handle this situation with your brother and his pothead buddy.”
Her brows knit. “Handle it, how? Challenge them to a duel or something?”
“No, I just mean… getting them out of here and avoiding any more crap like last night. It’s seriously pissing me off how they treat you.”
Her features smoothed and those big blue eyes got even bigger as she studied me. She said nothing for a while, as if pondering how to respond. Then she silently nodded. “Yeah, yeah I’d like that. Please.”
I got up, grabbed my shirt and pulled it on. “Time to get going. Think we’ll have to grab breakfast in the cafeteria at work.”
“Barf,” she said, but slipped out of bed. I left the room shortly thereafter to get my things together—and avoid another glimpse of that gorgeous naked body. I must be stark raving mad to try to avoid the sight of all that smooth, creamy skin. The curves of her hips, the swell of her gorgeous, perky tits. The pale pink color of her nipples. The thin strip of proof that she was a natural redhead where those luscious thighs met.
Remembering it made me hard yet again. I’d just rubbed one out less than an hour before. It was like I was eighteen with all systems set on perma-horny all over again.
I also went to wake up the deadbeat guests and get them roused and ready. To say they were reluctant was an understatement. I ended up blaring Queen in on my speakers in the front room. They finally stirred about halfway through Bohemian Rhapsody.
“What the hell is a Scaramouche, anyway?” I heard Mike ask Derek as they stumbled toward the guest bathroom.
Soon Kat joined me, her gorgeous copper-colored hair brushed out and gleaming over her army-green hoodie. She twitched her head, and I saw them—the hickeys I’d left on her neck the night before.
Damn it. It turned me on like little else had—besides her hands on me, of course. Those small mementoes of my mouth tasting her neck, my hands all over her round, soft breasts. The way she’d moved against me, the way she sounded when she came to climax.
Ugh. This hard-on was never going away, apparently. She should come with that warning label on the Viagra bottles about causing erections lasting more than four hours. Looked like I was suffering from perpetual wood for the foreseeable future.
Desperate for a way to get her out from under my roof and fast, my mind raced. The first step was getting her back into the guest room. And I couldn’t do that until her unwanted guests were on their way.
“Guys,” I said when they were gathering up their things for the day. I reached for my wallet and pulled out a couple bills. “We talked it over and we think it might be best if you two stay at a nearby hotel.” I handed them a paper I’d just printed out. “Here are five places that have good ratings and are close.” I held out the bills to them. “And something to help you with the cost of the room.”