KATE GLARED at the contents of her refrigerator, hoping her stern expression would scare the major appliance into producing something new. When that didn’t work, she snapped the door shut and glanced toward the pantry, sighing.
Fine, pasta it is.
She reached for her spaghetti pot, swinging her hips in beat to the bass-line vibrating through her tile floors. One of her neighbors was sure having a hopping party. Must be one of the renters, since she hadn’t been invited.
A sense of culinary longing engulfed her as she filled the pot with water. The partiers were probably feasting on juicy steaks and barbecued ribs, and here she was offering pasta. Again.
She’d wanted to make something special for Jake, since he’d been making such wonderful meals for her, but she just couldn’t afford all those fancy ingredients.
The last couple of days, they’d fallen into a routine. Every morning, Jake woke first. The soft caress of his kiss would pull her from dreamland with the promise of what would happen in the shower. Afterward, they’d chow down on the delicious breakfast Jake would throw together; then they were off to work.
The days at the office were typical, save for a few secret smiles from Jake and the occasional knowing grin from Gladys. Otherwise, it was business as usual.
Until they got home.
Kate’s body trembled at the thought. The nights spent at his place were—God, she hated herself for being so sappy, but for lack of a better word—magical. He made her feel cherished, satisfied.
Which, when she let herself think about it, made her feel guilty.
Then scared.
The guilt was silly. William would want her to move on with her life, but would he be so understanding if he knew how unbelievable her sex life had become? Would he be disappointed that she’d thrown herself into a fling simply for sexual fulfillment?
Because that’s all her affair with Jake was, all it could be. Physical. She’d already found the love of her life. Eventually, Jake would move on to find his, and that made her heart ache.
Enter the fear.
Kate shook her thoughts aside. Let tomorrow worry about itself. Right now, she had dinner to prepare. Such as it was, but she remained determined. For the last three nights, Jake had either made dinner or they’d ordered in. It was her turn.
She placed the pot on the burner and turned on the gas.
“Don’t bother.”
Kate jumped and spun around. Then she was in his arms, his eyes revealing what he wanted. She offered a few sexy nips at his lower lip before pulling away. “I have to start dinner.”
He tugged her back. “We’ll order in.”
“I can’t afford to order in, dummy.”
“I’ll pay.”
“No, you will not pay.” She jerked around, pride taking over the irrational ire of feeling like a charity case. “I promised you dinner, so I’m making dinner.”
Jake buried his face in her neck. “Come on, Kate.”
God, he knew how to push her buttons. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of grape lollipops, reminding her they’d run out of cherry. Her anger melted, replaced with a fire growing deep at her core. Suddenly, she didn’t give a damn where dinner came from or who paid for it.
Turning back to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Okay, just this one time.”
Clothes took flight. Lips devoured. Hands caressed. Kate shrieked when Jake swept her into his arms. She loved when he did that and was quite happy to nibble his neck, until the distinct sound of him opening the sliding door interrupted her mid-nibble. With it came warm, humid air and the un-muffled music from up the block.
Kate jerked in his arms as he hurried across the patio.
“Jake, what the hell—” She was silenced when gravity grabbed her, and then cool water enveloped her body. She resurfaced. Jake waded beside her, wearing a wicked grin.
“You bastard!” She splashed water in his face.
He pulled her to him. “What? You looked kinda… hot.”
She groaned at his double entendre.
Backing her up against the side of the pool, Jake ran his hand along her bottom to lift her leg and hook it around his waist. Kate closed hereyes; the fragrance from her rose garden mixing with the smell of chlorine was surprisingly intoxicating.
Jake rubbed his length against her. She gripped his shoulders, eagerly awaiting his invasion.
And waited.
And waited some more, wondering why he suddenly thought wiggling and jerking against her was a turn on.
Kate opened her eyes. “What are you doing?”
The mix of confusion and determination on his face almost made her laugh, but she choked it back.
“Things keep floating off in the wrong direction.”
“Things?”
“Okay, one thing.”
“Can’t you just guide it?”
“Well, yeah, I could, but…”
This time she couldn’t hold back her laughter. She’d never made love in a pool before, and now she knew why.
Jake’s mouth twisted in annoyance, but then it turned into that mischievous grin. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he threw her over his shoulder.
“Ack! Okay, seriously, Jake, this caveman bit is getting old.” He carried her over to the steps leading out of the pool.
“Funny you should mention cavemen. I think we should be more like our forefathers, don’t you?”
He slipped her off his shoulder and settled her onto the lush lawn. Then his body covered hers.
“Jake, we can’t do this out here!”
“Why not? You have a privacy fence, and as your only neighbor, I can assure you I don’t mind.”
Kate had never had sex outdoors before, horrified someone might happen by or hear passionate cries. Yet she’d never been more turned on in her life.
She stared into the darkening sky, her moans growing louder as his tongue worked its magic. A cardinal swooped from tree to tree. An airplane flew overhead. If passengers were peering out the window right now, would they see her and Jake? His face buried between her thighs?
The thought brought on her sudden and intense release, making her dig her nails into his scalp. Moments later, he moved up her body and slid into her moist heat. Her body never stopped humming as he thrust into her. Soon he had her clawing at his shoulders, preparing to catch a second wave.
She couldn’t hold back her pants of pleasure, and soon he joined in her chorus. Thank God for the loud music.
Breathing heavily, Jake rolled onto his side. “You’ve really got to learn to be quieter once the boys come home.”
The boys? Oh God.
Feeling suddenly self-conscious, she jumped to her feet and hurried into the house, searching for her discarded clothes.
“Kate?” Jake called from the doorway.
She quickly pulled on her shirt and shorts. “Sorry, I just thought I heard someone coming.”
“Um, that was me.”
She barked out an unintended laugh, but then fisted her hands on her hips. “You know what I mean.”
He walked into the kitchen and slid the back door shut. “We are going to tell the boys, aren’t we? Because I’m not cool with keeping something like this from them.”
She studied him as a million excuses ran through her head. This was just a fling. How could she explain that to her sons? Would they be okay with her being with another man? What if it hurt them?
But how could she keep something like this from them? Sneaking around behind her children’s backs just wasn’t right.
God, she didn’t know what to do.
She and Jake could be lovers for a while, but eventually he’d move on and find someone who could give him love and marriage. Possibly a child.
A searing pain entered her heart as she imagined Jake with someone else. She was surprised by the intensity of it. She didn’t want to give him up. Not right now.
“Yes, of course we will. Just give me a little time.” Her attempt at sounding nonchalant fell flat.
Jake frowned. “Why can’t we tell them when they get home next week? Keeping this from them isn’t right.”
How could she argue when he’d repeated the almost exact words she’d been thinking herself? Kate took his hands in hers. “We won’t for long. I just need to decide how to explain it.”
He dropped her hands, aggravation written on his face. “It’s fairly easy. Just say, ‘guys, Coach and I are seeing each other.’ How simple is that?”
It didn’t seem so simple to her, even though she knew he was right. “Okay, I’ll tell them, but can you give me some time to get used to this first?”
With a sigh, Jake hugged her. “Just don’t take too long.”
Kate laid her head on his chest. “I won’t.” She cleared her throat and smiled up at him. “How about some food?”
“I’ll order Chinese.”
With a sense of dread, she watched Jake grab his cell and punch in the number for the local take-out. Why not just tell Alex and Drew? They loved Jake. But that was part of the problem. Their inevitable break-up would hurt her sons for sure. But deep down, she knew it was more than that.
She was afraid. To tell her sons would be to tell the whole town, and she wasn’t ready for that, wasn’t ready for her in-laws to find out about her affair.
And since she and Jake had no future, it was probably best they never did.