"It's kinda late" Jensen replied. "Just after twelve"
"Oh, God" she said. She picked up the telephone off the floor and put it back on the desk. Then she searched her bag and withdrew her phone. While she called her mom to apologize for not coming back and checking on Tim, Jensen stood at the edge of her desk, glaring at her.
"I'm glad you arrived when you did. I wasn't planning on staying here for so long" she said after the ended the call and put the phone on the desk. "I was working... Was planning on delivering some cupcakes to a customer very early tomorrow morning... Or should I say this morning then.... I must have slept off when I decided to look at some paper work"
"What the hell were you thinking of to stay out here by yourself in the dark?" he asked angrily. "You are lucky it was me who came through that door"
"The door was locked, Jensen" Katherine said.
"As though that would stop anybod
She was stunned. He could tell. Her body became became as inflexible as a flagpole and she stopped breathing. He didn't let her non participation deter him, however. His tongue dipped into her moth, then withdrew, again and again.Katherine let out a strangled gasp before she raised her hands to clutch his arms. He tasted of whisky and danger. An altogether intoxicatingly adult mix. Had he been drinking? She wondered. But the thought didn't last long in her head as Jensen continued to explore her mouth.She was aware of was how hard Jensen's chest felt against hers, how it made her breasts tingle and swell against her dress. His mouth was hard and ruthless, punishing her and expertly seeking a response so that he could humiliate her some more. Katherine knew in some distant part of her brain exactly what was happening, but that part of her brain seemed to be disconnected from her body and her mouth."Kat" Jensen wishpered. As he spo
"And then I wake up... And when I do I'm scared, Jensen. Because it reminds me that he's dying. My father is dying. And there is nothing I or anyone else can do about it. I try so hard to be strong but I'm not. We are all just sitting around waiting for him to die, Jensen"Jensen moved forward then and pulled her into his arms. She clung to him and he hated that he couldn't fix this for her. But he understood. He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head."Everything is going to okay soon, Kat" he said.Katherine sniffed and pulled away from him. "How?" she asked. "How is going to be play? I can't handle this. Jonathan is out there, acting like a man and trying to suck it up and mom... She's hurting. She's hurting so bad. But she's out there acting like she can control this... Like it's just one little family problem. And Tim,... how the hell do I find a way to tell my son that his grandfather is never going to get well like he
"If you are waiting for me to give you a bite of this sandwich you are going to be very disappointed, honey. I'm not sharing this with you" Jonah said and Katherine burst into laughter.Oh! This was one of the things she was going to miss about him. His sense of humor. His free and beautiful and loving soul. Katherine felt tears threaten, but she definitely wasn't going to cry right now.. And certainly not in front of him."Oh don't worry dad" she said. "You can have all of it. Maybe even more of you want"Jonah shook his head. "No. This one is enough" he said."How's Tim?" he asked."He's fine. He's at school" Katherine said. "He is worried about you. Keeps asking me every night when I tuck him if you are getting better.""I know. He asks me the same thing every time he's here" Jonah said. "It's okay, Kathy. I know you are hurting...and I know it's nothing easy for you. But I have
He never brought up the topic of them since that day at her office. She had more important things on her mind so he just focused on helping.But today, when her father was being buried. Jensen was totally stunned by Katherine's appearance that morning.Not only was she wearing a curve hugging black suit with a flirty little frill at the bottom of her skirt— drawing attention to the feminine shapeliness of her calves, fine ankles, and feet shod in sexy black high heels— but her hair was…positively mesmerising.He had arrived at her parents house the previous day so he could help ensure that things went well and all throughout breakfast he could not stop looking at her hair.Since her father's death she wore it in pigtails or scaped into a knot, tightly confined, with a hat or cap crammed over it more often than not. It had been a while since he had seen it like this—lustrous dark waves springing softly from her head,
He was sprawled in an armchair. She was on a sofa, one elbow propped on its armroll, legs up, her stockinged feet bare of the shoes she had kicked off. It was a pose that seductively outlined the very female curve of waist, hip and thigh, and Jensen found it difficult not to let his gaze linger on it.He expected her to leave. Lately she avoided being alone with him. Any moment now those legs would swing off the sofa, take her away to the privacy of her room, and it was probably better that they did, save him from making a fool of himself. He watched her feet, waiting for them to move. She wriggled her toes. His gaze dropped to the shoes lying beside the sofa, noting the long, narrow shape of them."Cramped feet?" he asked."They’re not used to wearing fashionable shoes," she drily admitted. "I usually wear stuff like this once in a while. My life is basically taking care of my job and Tim. I don't get to wear these a lot"
A sense of wild triumph zinged around Katherine's brain. She had his attention after all. It was a huge step forward, but where did it get her if he wasn’t prepared to act on it? And she knew she was being selfish as hell, but for some reason, she just couldn't stop talking."So you think I need your protection now?" she flung at him."It’s the last thing on my mind." The emphatic beat of his voice was like thunder in her ears, thunder in her heart. "I mean, I think you need someone to be there for you, especially now. But I don't mean protection in a big brotherly way... Whatever you mean by that"Katherine rolled her eyes. She wanted action. And she got action aplenty. He stepped closer, scooping her body around to face him. The hand that had seized her arm lifted, its fingers raking through her hair, dragging her head back so that it was tilted up to his. The raw desire flaring from his eyes made her stomach quiver in anticipatio
"Oh really?" Katherine said. "Then please tell me how. Because obviously I'm doing it wrong""There is no right or wrong way, Kat. You just have to let yourself heal""You can't tell me how to heal, Jensen" Katherine said. And from the way her voice sounded, he knew she was starting to cry. All the pent up emotions she was trying so hide to repress suddenly coming back in full force."My father is dead, Jensen" Katherine continued. The tears flowing freely now. "I'm never going to see him again. Did I tell you that I didn't even get to say goodbye? Well, I didn't. Because I didn't want to accept that he was dying. I didn't get to say goodbye to my father. So please don't try to tell me how to grief. He wanted me to move on and be happy and that's what I'm going to do"Unable to watch her hurt like this, Jensen pulled her to him and wrapped his hand around her. She tried to move away at first,
Katherine didn’t move. She couldn’t. She felt frozen. The faint sense of disorientation she’d felt when she’d first woken up seemed to be paralysing her ability to speak. For some reason she felt like she needed time to pull herself together.After making a fool of herself the last time they had talked, she had assumed that the next time they talked, it would be on her terms, not his."Damm it, Kat" She heard him swear. "Kat, I know you’re in there. Your mother was kind enough to tell me you’d be home today." His voice was becoming more impatient. "Come on, open the door. Do you want me to be arrested for soliciting or some such thing?"Anyone less likely to allow himself to be arrested for soliciting Katherine could hardly imagine. Jensen Packard was far too sure of himself for that. Besides which, that was just an excuse to get her to open the door."I’m not even dressed yet, Jensen" she blurted at las