Steady (34 page)

He was leaving for Taiwan later this morning. He had to soothe a customer, and most didn’t take soothing from anyone other than the top of the food chain, which, in this case, happened to be him
.
It may even take an additional week, but he sure hoped not. But when he returned, Katrina would be all his.

She’d been well worth the time it took to figure her out, and he was there now, finally understanding the conundrum that was Katrina. Even at the party he’d been attracted to the outside. He had no idea of all that she was, and she definitely wasn’t boring. Maybe more like steady. That was a better description for her personality, and it had become his internal nickname for her. Steady in the care she gave to her godfathers. Steady in the care she gave to her friends, her community. Steady in the things that surrounded her and mattered to her.

***

Katrina walked into her home, grabbed a bottle of water, and walked out back and over to Lola’s. Will had left yesterday.

He had come over to say goodbye; she hadn’t known he had gone, having slept like the dead that morning. Awakened by the buzz of her doorbell, she was surprised to find him standing outside her door, shiny and clean. He kissed her, said he’d call as soon as he could, hopped in his jeep, and drove away, taking his energy with him. God, she’d like to have half of his energy; he had to have a plug-in somewhere.

The lights were still on at Lola’s, so Katrina walked over and knocked at the door, but not too loudly as it was probably past Syd’s bedtime. Lola opened it.

“Hey, girl, what’s up?”

“Nothing much,” she said, stepping inside. “What are you doing? Where are Oscar and Syd?”

“Oscar is watching some game, who knows and who cares, the games are all the same and nothing I’m interested in. Syd’s asleep. I’m glad you stopped by. I talked Oscar into having a Halloween party this year. One for Sydney, and then later on that night one for the adults after the kids have gone to a sleepover hosted by another parent. Halloween, fortunately, has landed on a Friday this year, so why the hell not,” Lola said.

“Works for me,” she said, slumping down on the couch.

“What’s up with you?” Lola asked, taking a seat next to Katrina.

“Nothing much.”

“Right. Don’t make me have to beat you.”

Katrina told her about Will, bringing her up to date on all that had transpired between them, but leaving out the graphic details. As soon as she finished, Lola bounded up from the couch and started dancing around the room, a one-woman conga line, hands in the air, pulling out every dance step she’d ever seen or done, all the while chanting, “Go, Katrina, go, Katrina, it’s your birthday, it’s your birthday, go, Katrina, go, Katrina, it’s your birthday” over and over for a full minute before she gave out and fell back on the couch next to Katrina. She looked over at Katrina and they both started laughing.

“He’s gone overseas. Two weeks,” Katrina said after they caught their breath and calmed down.

“Bummer.”

“Yep, bummer. Can I help with the party?” Katrina said, changing the subject. She should have known better.

“I’m so proud, so happy for you. Oh, Katrina, who knew, huh? A nice guy for my Katrina. Finally. Yes!” Lola said, all gooey-eyed now.

“Cut it out,” Katrina said, tossing a small pillow at Lola.

“So you’re all lovesick ‘cause he’s gone. Isn’t that cute. When is he due back?”

“Halloween.”

“That’s great. Perfect timing. Oh, girl, we need to find you a costume that will knock him out of his shoes, make him want to stay put from now on. This will be fun,” Lola said, getting into the spirit. “You’re coming with me when I take Sydney to get her costume, and we’re going to find something really sexy for you. I’ve got something in mind. No field hands or farmers, either,” Lola said.

Katrina rolled her eyes. Seeking to change the subject, she told Lola about the progress she was making on her business plans.

***

Friday, October 31

Friday morning, Asian time, found Will sitting in the Chiang Kai-shek airport waiting to board the first leg of his flight back to the States. He was way past anxious to get home. He should arrive Friday early evening, more than enough time to make it to Lola’s party. What happened to his spirit of adventure? He had adventure in mind, all right, couldn’t wait to get home to start it.

They’d talked nightly, and in between texted like crazy. He’d gone to sleep hard as a rock for the last two weeks. That had to have a negative impact on a man’s thinking. He looked around, pushing his mind to something other than his
Steady
.

***

Katrina sat on the couch, dressed in her Playboy bunny costume. For once, she was okay with her outfit. She wanted to look sexy tonight. She missed Will. All her past fears over what could go wrong didn’t stand a chance against the need that rode low in her belly whenever her thoughts turned to him. He’d sent her a text from the plane and then called her telling her that he would be late; he had to make a last-minute stop at work.

She pulled out all the stops, including taking the time to curl her hair, and that was a major feat. She had really thick, long hair, and it required time, which is why she wore it pulled back most days. She looked good enough to eat, if she said so herself; some of the men thought so, too, by the glances she’d received this evening.

She stood up and walked to the kitchen to refill her glass of wine. This was her second, but she was careful; she wanted to be awake for her upcoming reunion with Will. She stood at the counter, looking over the selection of wines, and smelled the cool, crisp scent that was Will’s before she felt his hands settle at her waist as he stepped in close to her, his front touching her back.

“Hey,” he whispered in her ear.

“Back at you,” she said, not moving, relishing the feel of his body touching hers. She leaned back a little and his hands moved to surround her waist fully, pulling her tighter to him. His mouth descended and found her neck, kissing her there. She moved her hair to the side and tilted her neck to give him better access. He kissed her there and his mouth roamed upward to her chin. He turned her around to face him. She watched his eyes as his lips made their descent to hers.

She stood, lips parted, waiting for him. He kissed her, tentative, moving softly before moving in and seeking her tongue. He kissed her again and again and pulled her tighter to him. They continued like this, exploring each other, not in any hurry, just getting reacquainted. He’d missed her more than he’d expected. She was almost his height in those shoes, so he only needed to lift her a little to align their bodies. They tuned out the world around them and almost forgot they were in Lola’s kitchen.

He pulled back. “Come with me.”

“Kay,” she answered, not really in the talking mood, her head still swimming from his kiss. Will took her hand, and she walked next to him as they made their way to the front door. They ran into Lola standing next to it, talking to another couple.

“Good night, Lola. Tell Oscar hello. Thanks for the invitation,” he said, opening the door for Katrina to pass through. Katrina turned and gave Lola a smile, which Lola returned, throwing in a wink for good measure.

Her hand remained in his as he entered his home, locked the door, and walked them into the bedroom. It was dark except for a wall sconce in the hallway leading to his bedroom. He hadn’t taken the time to turn on lights when he had gotten home. He hadn’t taken the time to change, either, just walked over to Oscar’s in his jeans and T-shirt.

The lanterns outside provided a small golden glow inside his bedroom. He let go of her hand, moving his bag out of the middle of the floor where he’d dropped it. He turned and watched her as she walked to him, coming to stand in front of him. She turned to give him her back and lifted her hair, moving his hand to the zipper of her costume. He lowered it for her and watched her as she turned, slowly removing it. He watched as it slid to the floor, leaving white barely there underwear attached to slim chocolate curves. He stood there, immobile, his face drinking her in.

“Don’t lose the ears or the heels,” he said, and she laughed.

She walked over to stand before him, confident and sexy, his complex Katrina. He stood rooted to the spot, watching and waiting. She reached him and took the bottom of his T-shirt in her hand, lifting and pulling it over his head. Her hands then moved to the button of his jeans. She opened and unzipped them, pushing them down his legs.

He was so beautiful, just like she’d remembered. He stood before her in thigh-length form-fitting briefs. She reached to touch him, starting with the hair on his chest, running her hand down to her favorite aspect of him. She’d seen it every night for the last few months in her dreams, and now she stroked it from top to bottom and back again. She moaned as she heard his sharp intake of air. She gripped him firmly, turned, and began walking backward to his bed, towing him along, before turning him and pushing him to lie back on the bed.

He was accommodating, taking pleasure in her control. He watched, spellbound, as she kicked off her shoes, her hands moving behind her back to remove her bra and slip her panties off. He leaned up on his elbows to watch, not wanting to miss a thing. She walked toward him, nude except for the bunny ears, hands now at the waistband of his briefs. He lifted his hips to help. She’d crawled up his body to settle on him near the spot that stood at attention, watching and waiting for her. She rubbed her hand along his length again, up and back, up and back.

“I really like doing that,” she said.

“Feel free to do that anytime you want,” he replied.

“Okay, I will,” she said, looking into his eyes, and rubbed him again, causing his breath to catch once more.

She smiled, and the promise he saw in them was his undoing. He pulled her downward and his mouth found hers, his tongue working its way in. She opened her lips and he moaned at the rightness of his mouth on hers, smooth, warm, so wet.

“Condom?” she whispered against his mouth. It took him a second to register her request, but he pointed to the side table of his bed and watched as she crawled toward the nightstand to retrieve not one, but a handful. He swallowed hard and watched, transfixed, as she settled her body back on his, opened a package, and slowly placed one on him.

Who was this Katrina, he wondered. Tonight, as she’d been before, she was sure and sexy, beyond anything his imagination could have conjured up, blowing him away with her beauty, assertiveness, and confidence.

He caught his breath as she settled on him and he heard her groan. She felt
so good
. Then she started to move, and, holy God, she was breathtaking, smooth, and sensuous. He let her set the pace, slowly moving up and down. His hands roamed over her body, traveling over her breasts before settling at her hips, giving her free rein for a while. Then he started to help her move, speeding her along, pushing her for more.

He lost his thoughts and just felt, felt how right she felt here with him, surrounding him. He pushed and pulled her, feeling her start to come; he couldn’t stop his own climax. One of his hands moved up under her hair to cup the back of her neck as she moved above him, pulling her down so that he could feel her lips against him as he came hard. He held her, one hand at her hip to lock her in place, the other at her neck, holding her in place, taking into his mouth her moans of pleasure.

He lay there with her on his chest, again amazed at how good they were together. Of all the things he’d thought of her, this uninhibited, take-control response had surprised him the most. He took her head in his hands, moving the hair that surrounded her face, and kissed her again and again, loving the wetness and smoothness of her mouth. She wasn’t what he’d expected; from the beginning, she’d taken him by surprise.

Taking a break from her mouth, he lay his head back on the bed. That was so not steady, he thought, or maybe he said it out loud.

“What did you say?” she asked, leaning her head back a little to get a better look at him.

“Did I say that out loud?” he asked, giving her a small smile and looking up at her through satisfied and hooded eyes, his hair standing on end. She’d like to take credit for that, but it was always that way. She ran her hand through it.

“What’s not steady?” she asked.

“You’re not steady,” he said, pointing his finger at her and smiling as he lifted her off of him. He stood up and walked toward his bathroom. He was only there for a few seconds.

“I’m not steady? What does that mean?” she asked, following him with her eyes as he moved back to bed. He laid down like before and pulled her to sit on him again, just where she belonged.

“You have to promise me that you won’t get mad,” he said, still smiling.

“Maybe,” she said, watching him.

He waited.

“Okay, I promise,” she said.

“When I first saw you, you were always out in your yard, working, always dressed in those huge, too-big garments. I wondered what woman that young spends all her time in her garden?” He waited a beat and said, “A boring one was the only answer I could come up with.”