Page 27 of Say Yes

CHAPTER 6

WAKING WITH A WARM, SOFT body curled close had its advantages. And its disadvantages.

Gavin peered down at Sara’s face and felt every masculine instinct he possessed surge to the surface. He wanted her, and his body reacted, painfully so. It was a wonder the sexual pulsing in his lower body didn’t rock the entire damn bed. If Sara awoke, there would be no way for him to hide his desire.

But it also felt remarkably right to have her here with him, to breathe her unique scent first thing in the morning, to feel the comfort of her nearness. She slept like the dead. He had hardly slept at all.

The radio alarm buzzed, then loud music kicked on. Turning his head to see the clock, Gavin realized it was almost ten. He needed to rise, to begin a new day of plans. This morning, he intended to overwhelm Sara with his culinary expertise.

A wise person somewhere once claimed the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Couldn’t the same apply to a woman? He would prove to Sara how indispensable he could be, and when she softened toward him, and the attitude of marriage, he’d be ready.

The music hadn’t disturbed Sara’s sleep. Gavin turned to look at her again, feeling overwhelmed with compassion at her obvious exhaustion. Her cheeks were flushed with the warmth of sleep and there was a darkness around her eyes that showed the level of her fatigue.

She’d been trying so hard to keep it all together—the house, the job, the humiliation from the incident. He wished now he hadn’t waited so long to approach her. All he’d done was give her time to chastise herself and build up her defenses. When he thought of her past, he knew she would have a difficult time taking another chance on love.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud, rasping roar. Gavin looked down at the floor and saw Satan. The cat gave him a blank-eyed stare, then prepared to heave his heavily muscled body into the bed. Since Gavin didn’t want Sara awakened yet, he forestalled the cat with a hand and carefully slipped his arm from under her head. She made a slight sound of protest and curled into his pillow.

It was a sunny day and Gavin felt enthusiastic about his chances of making headway. Satan followed him as he pulled on jeans and walked through the door, closing it quietly behind him.

The cat also followed him into the bathroom and wound around his feet, making his morning ablutions more difficult than usual. Satan had the uncanny ability of being right where Gavin wanted to step, each time he wanted to step. Walking had never seemed so difficult before.

He grumbled at the cat, stumbling along down the hall, but the sight that met him in the living room stopped him in his tracks.

There was so much cat fur floating around, the damn cat should have been bald. Gavin looked down, but no, Satan was as shaggy as ever. “Did you have to rub against everything?”

Satan showed his sharp, pointed teeth in what Gavin chose to believe was a feline grin, not a threat. “Okay, so you’re telling me you need to be brushed? I’ll have to brush the damn house first.”

He let Satan out the back door, then checked to see if he had the ingredients for omelets. He’d been known to make a really mean omelet. One bite, and Sara would have to accept her good fortune in having him as a roommate.

Unfortunately, thirty minutes later when he had everything set on the table, the rich aroma of coffee in the air, steam rising from the egg dish, Sara refused to get up.

Gavin shook her shoulder again. “Come on, sleepyhead. I’ve got breakfast ready for you.”

She snared a pillow and pulled it over her head. “Go away.”

“Babe, I know you’re tired.” Gavin did his best not to sound impatient. She’d been in bed for over nine hours, and he knew for a fact she’d slept soundly because he’d laid awake, torturing himself all night by listening to her soft breathing. “I’ve cooked you breakfast. You don’t want it to get cold.”

She started to snore.

Gavin lifted the pillow in disbelief. Her eyes were closed, her features relaxed, and her lips slightly parted. A soft, very feminine snore escaped those lips.

Then Gavin saw that her nightgown had slipped down one shoulder and the slope of her breast was exposed. He swallowed hard. Last night, he’d felt that plump breast pressed against his side once Sara had decided to relax. In fact, it hadn’t taken her long at all to decide she liked being held close to him, even lying half on top of him.

She’d stayed that way throughout the night, tormenting him, and reveling in the comfort of it. It had been so apparent that she’d never had such comfort before, Gavin hadn’t minded staying awake. He’d do it again if she wanted him to. He had intentions of holding her every night from now on.

He gave up on trying to wake her when she rolled onto her stomach in the middle of the bed and sprawled wide enough to cover the whole mattress. He gave one gentle pat to her cute rounded backside and left the room.

This wasn’t turning out to be the idyllic morning he’d planned. How could he woo the woman if she wouldn’t wake up?

Satan came back in to keep him company while he ate his own omelet. He lingered over the meal, still hoping Sara would awaken. Every so often, he made an especially loud noise, scraping a chair across a floor, banging a plate on the table, but she slept on. Finally, when the eggs were cold, he gave Sara’s share to Satan, who sniffed it repeatedly before concluding it might actually be edible. After cleaning the dishes, he located a brush and carried Satan outside.

The cat began purring even before he’d put the brush to his hide.

Another half hour passed before he realized there was no end in sight. Satan looked sleek and well groomed, his large head appearing more square without the benefit of excess fur to soften the effect, and his tail looked more bent for the same reason. But there were still hairs falling loose. His coat was so thick, that no matter how much Gavin brushed, he couldn’t remove all the excess. Every time Satan stepped, he shed.

Several old scars were now visible through the smooth coat, however, and Gavin eyed the cat with respect. “You’re a regular warrior, aren’t you, boy?”

Satan stretched, arching his body high and spreading his considerable claws wide. His mouth opened in a yawn that displayed an impressive array of sharp teeth. All around the yard, hanging from the trees and clinging to the flowers, were clumps of yellow fur, some drifting loose to float in the air like dandelion fluff, rolling across the lawn with the sultry breeze. A small cloud hovered around the porch, the air filled with cat hair as if it were a fine morning mist. Gavin did his own stretching, being careful not to inhale the hair, then turned at a sound from the house.

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