“Hungry”
Cat shifted positions on the black leather sofa, not remembering how and when she’d gotten there, and glanced over at Rory. He was on the floor naked, on his knees, placing more logs in the fireplace. He looked so completely male, so powerfully sexual, that all she could do was stare. Apparently he didn’t know just what a tempting pose he was in. He had one of the finest butts she’d ever seen.
When she didn’t answer, he glanced over his shoulder and saw just where her gaze had been. He smiled. “What are you doing?”
“Watching you.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
She laughed. “Considering how we’ve spent the first hour, I’d like to think it’s a good thing.”
“I’d like to think so, too. I miss being with you.”
“In bed?”
He was glad she’d asked. “No, sex between us will always be good. But I missed your company, as well. I missed knowing you would be coming by on Friday nights and I would talk you into staying over. I miss taking you to the movies, dinner, and our talks. Hell, I missed spending time with you, period, Cat.”
He watched a slow smile touch her lips. She liked knowing she’d been missed. “And do you know what the hardest day was of all?” he asked.
“No, what?”
“Your birthday. I know how special your birthday is to you, and I regretted not being there to make it even more exceptional.”
She shifted, trying to get more comfortable on the sofa while remembering that day. Her parents never had a lot of money, but they always made sure each of their six children had birthdays they would remember. There had never been a birthday when she didn’t get something, even if it was something inexpensive like a box of crayons and a coloring book.
She glanced back over at Rory. “Dad said you came by.” Her parents and Rory had developed a close relationship that didn’t end when the affair had. Although her mother and father never brought it up, she heard Rory had dropped by to check on them periodically.
“Yes, I decided to leave my gift to you with your father instead of dropping it off at your place.”
Cat nodded, remembering the beautiful bracelet he’d given her. Considering they had broken up, at the time she’d thought it had been kind of him to get her anything. She had left a message on his answering machine thanking him. “You could have come over, Rory.”
“No, I couldn’t.”
Startled, she blinked. And then she remembered. She had said a lot of things to him that night, and now she vividly recalled telling him not to show his face around her place again. She suddenly felt a thick knot in her throat. It was a wonder he was even speaking to her. She’d been in rare form that night and had gone off on him something terrible.
“Rory, I—”
“No, it doesn’t matter,” he said, crawling back over to the sofa. “We’re back together, and that’s all that matters.” He reached out and slowly began caressing her arm. “We want the same things now, so there won’t be a misunderstanding between us ever again. Neither of us want love and commitment. Now, I’m going to ask you again. Are you hungry?”
Hearing him state that false assumption hurt. “Yes, I’m hungry.”
He stood, and then he took her hand and pulled her up with him. Neither had bothered to put their clothes back on. “Then I think we’d better get dressed so I can feed you. How do salmon patties and grits sound?”
“Mouthwatering.”
“Like this?”
He pulled her closer to him, and the mouth that settled over hers was firm, and the taste and scent of him were renewing her senses. Cat practically melted against him, and she felt herself moaning deep in her throat. When he raised his head, the eyes looking down at her were dark, heated.
“Umm, no. Not even close. Mouthwatering salmon patties can’t compete with your kiss,” she said honestly. “And I think that’s what I missed the most. Seeing you each day, and knowing that before you left at night you would give me a kiss to make my toes tingle, a kiss that would make it much easier to get through the next day. Then there were our talks, and the time we spent together doing things, like the time you showed me how to landscape my yard. There were so many things I missed not having you around, Rory.”
Hearing her say that made him feel good. She’d never admitted that she liked having him around before, although he’d assumed she did. Her saying it definitely hit a positive chord. He bent his head and took her mouth gently. The warmth of his lips touching hers increased his pulse rate.
Cat reached out and cupped the back of Rory’s head. She could tell from his expression that her words had surprised him. Had he not known she had enjoyed his company? If that was the case, then she would use time this weekend to make sure he understood that now she knew how special things had been between them, and he was wrong in thinking she didn’t want love and commitment. But if a loveless affair was all he was interested in now, what was she going to do?
When he ended the kiss, she buried her face against his throat. “My overnight bag is still where I left it, by the door,” she said, needing to concentrate on something other than his mouth.
“Need help unpacking?”
“I packed light, which means I didn’t bring a lot of clothes.”
“Oh, and why was that?” he asked, sliding his palm along her cheek.
Cat inwardly berated herself for almost giving something away. “I thought I was going to be here alone and didn’t need a lot of clothes. I had planned to spend most of my time inside.”
“Well, I’m here with you, and you’ll be spending some time outside, starting in the morning. How would you like going fishing with me?”
“Fishing?”
“Yes.”
She grinned. “Umm, that will depend.”
“On what?”
“On how much sleep I get tonight.”
Rory broke out in a hearty laugh. “In that case, you won’t be going fishing with me in the morning. Just be prepared to help cook my catch when I get back.”
Cat smiled. “Okay, you have a deal.”
* * *
Rory smiled in undisguised delight as he watched Cat pull the items out of her overnight bag. “You weren’t lying when you said you packed light, were you?”
Startled, Cat turned, and her eyes met his. She felt heat move into her cheeks. She didn’t know he’d been standing in the doorway and wondered what he thought about ail the sexy lingerie she had brought. The only clothes she packed that were decent enough to wear outside was the outfit she’d arrived in and the one she had changed into after her shower: a pair of white capri pants and a green midriff top. “Ah well, the lighter, the better.”
“Yeah, and I personally think less is best,” he said, grinning mischievously.
Cat rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be preparing dinner?”
He chuckled. “Yes, in fact, I came to let you know that everything is ready.” He crossed the room, stood next to her, and picked up a book she had unpacked. Landscaping Made Simple.
Rory raised a brow, smiling. “You’re going after my job? I don’t see you being the dirt-under-the-fingernails type.”
Cat laughed. She couldn’t see herself being one either. “No, I decided to learn something about what you do. After we broke up, it dawned on me just how little I knew. You would mention things; we mostly talked about my work.”
She stood still for a moment, biting her lip, and knowing he would be too kind to say that the reason they had mostly talked about her work was that her work—and only her work—had been the focus of any of their discussions. She had enjoyed talking to him about her goals, her plans for the future, her various clients, and the different proposals she and Lisa had been working on. It wasn’t until they had broken up that she realized just how little she knew about what his landscaping company was all about. She had an idea, and he had helped her put together her yard. But still, she hadn’t realized how selfish she’d been in making it “all about her” and not dwelling on his needs.
“So what have you learned so far?”
She couldn’t help giving him a flirty little smile. “One thing I learned is that landscaping is for the birds, literally. I didn’t know until I read that book that bird lovers can actually landscape their yard to attract birds. Did you know that certain birds, like the brown thrashers, house wrens, and orioles eat a variety of insects and if you landscape your yard with flowers that draw certain types of insects, then you’re in business.”
Rory nodded. “Yes, I knew that.” And he was impressed that now she did, and most important, that she had cared enough about what his job entailed to have taken the time to find out.
“What about mating?” he asked, placing the book aside.
“Mating?”
“Yes, since you learned something about birds, did you also read about how they mate?”
Cat’s brow furrowed. “No, it wasn’t in the book.”
“Umm, how unfortunate,” he said, smiling.
“Do you know something I don’t know?” she asked, smiling back.
“Possibly. They don’t mate like humans.”
She laughed. “I didn’t think so.”
“Their courtship and mating rituals are among the most varied for all species. It’s said that a bird without a mate is a bird without an offspring.”
Cat chuckled. “Now that’s definitely not true with humans.”
“Definitely.”
Cat enjoyed this sort of banter with Rory. Before, their conversations always tended to be more on the serious side. She was about to say something when her stomach rumbled.
“I think I’d better feed you now.”
“Yes, I think you’d better.”
* * *
After dinner they had cleaned up the kitchen together before going outside on the porch to sit in the swing. They were sitting close together, with Cat practically in Rory’s lap, and for over an hour he questioned her on how much she knew about landscaping.
“How would you like to go with me when I fly out and give an estimate for my next project? We’re about to bid on a shopping mall in Los Angeles.”
She turned in his arms and glanced up at him. Lisa would take off and go on those sort of trips with Peyton all the time, but Cat had never traveled anywhere with Rory, mainly because he’d never asked her. But then she knew why. It would have been a waste of time on his part, since she never would have allowed herself any time off from her work.
“Um, sure. I’d like that. Thanks for the invite. Just let me know when.”
Rory looked surprised. “Just like that?”
She frowned. “Just like what?”
“You would go out of town with me, just like that? What about your own work?”
“There shouldn’t be any problems if it’s during a time we don’t have planned seminars. No big deal.”
Rory remembered a time when it would have been a big deal. They had been alone at the cabin for little more than five hours, and already he could see changes in her. Changes he definitely liked. He stood and brought her up with him. He took hold of her hand. “Come on—let’s go.”
She lifted a brow. “Where are we going?”
“Inside. To make love.”