“You smell cat crap when you were in my house?” He sounded concerned.
“No.”
Right. He had a litter box. He wasn’t a complete moron.
“I had cats growing up,” she said. “I loved them. My friends were just trying to talk me into getting another one.”
“What friends?” She’d never mentioned hanging out with people outside of work. He didn’t. Other than his parents. He had a lot of people he knew. Some guys he’d go have wings with, some he’d even die for. But he didn’t hang out. Or follow sports. Not anymore. He worked. And did what he could to help others. He didn’t deserve any more than that. Couldn’t live with himself if he allowed any more than that.
The fact that she had friends made them even more different than he thought they were.
“My law school study group. We’ve stayed in touch. We get together once a month for dinner.”
“And they want you to get a cat?”
“They don’t know about the whole baby thing,” she told him. “I figured I’d wait until the procedure is successful before I tell them.”
Yeah. Good call. He’d probably do the same. If he had a group of friends he got together with once a month.
Or was ever planning to have a family.
“You mind if I stop by? To see the cat?” she asked.
His mood escalated a bit. A lot. Who knew the beast that had invaded his home and eaten his fish would serve a good purpose? “Suit yourself,” he told her.
“Tonight? Around seven?”
He could tell her to come earlier. To have dinner with him. He didn’t.
They were business and sex. Not companions.
Chapter 17
They were going to have to set a date. An end date to their fling. After Jayden left, Emma couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about was seeing this cat. And him.
The oh-so-sexy parole officer had a cat. Or rather, the cat had him. He was a surprisingly tender person, evidently, and a tender lover, too, in addition to being inventive enough to speak to all sides of her. The more layers of him she uncovered, the more she liked him.
So yes, setting an end date was in order. Maybe the following week. Another seven days or so ought to do it. The honeymoon sex phase would be through. If it weren’t after office hours, she’d call the clinic and set up her next insemination appointment right then.
Giving up on work, she packed up for the day. She was ready for court in the morning. And ready for trial the week after. The other fourteen cases needing imminent attention would wait another day.
She had to get this desire out of her system. Out of her life. She was trying to take care of the elephant in the room, but the more she tried, the bigger it seemingly got.
Stopping at a drive-through gourmet salad place, something new in Santa Raquel, she ordered avocado and tuna tapas and drove to the beach. She parked so she could see the waves coming into shore, opened her windows and sat there and ate. Every bite was delicious. Sensual. Taking her closer to the time she’d be at Jayden’s house. She’d ordered tea with her salad. Thought about another bottle of wine, but decided that pouring it down the sink, as they’d done with a good part of the other two bottles, was a waste of money.
If he had any beer left, and they wanted libation, she could just sip on some of that. Like he’d sipped on the wine she’d chosen.
Wine made her think of chocolate. And chocolate led to dessert. A dessert of Jayden’s long, lean body. She knew it fairly well by now. And still found it a mystery. All of the things she’d like to do to give him pleasure. To take pleasure from him. He was such a good man, too. Dedicating his life to others, believing in them when no one else did. Taking in a stray cat...
No. Wait. Their time together...she couldn’t let herself start to actually feel things for the man. Only for his body. She had to get back to their sexual relationship. To stick to their rules.
She tried. She really, really tried. His body definitely gave her much to think about. As did the various ways he looked at her. The way he talked to her without words.
A couple was walking at the edge of the tide, holding hands. The woman stopped to pick up something in the sand. The man looked at it, then at her. Kissed her.
Emma swallowed a lump in her throat. Yeah, that was lovely. But it wasn’t for her. She went for wild men, not the guys who were sweet. The ones who were content to settle for monogamy and sameness...she broke their hearts.
Was bored by them. Couldn’t make herself love them.