Page 13 of Black Bay Enforcer
His hand was warm and strong as it swallowed hers. That weight she’d expected to lift after she made her apology finally left her shoulders. A fresh start.
When they sat again, Kong pushed a slice of apple pie her way. “This is great. Have some.”
Still feeling somewhat dazed, she forked up a small bite.Just a taste. When the soft, cinnamon-sweet apples hit her tongue, she closed her eyes for a moment and let out a littlemmof appreciation.Heaven. She grabbed a bigger forkful. Tomorrow she would go back on her diet. Tonight, she was going to have pie.
Kong looked on with approval. “Good, right?”
With her mouth full, all she could do was nod.
More people trickled over, settled in, and helped themselves to pie. When all three were demolished, more food appeared. Someone opened a bottle of wine, and someone else passed out some beers. Before Katherine knew it, the table was full, people were even dragging chairs over to join them. Everyone was laughing and talking. Katherine suddenly found herself at the cool table. And not just that. People were talking to her. She was being included. It was almost surreal.
It was getting late. On a normal night, she would have already been in bed sleeping by now, but she’d enjoyed having company and conversation too much to leave. While the others around her didn’t look like they were in any hurry to wrap things up, Katherine was exhausted. That questioning they’d put her through had taken a lot out of her. Her eyelids felt heavy and it seemed like she was trying to stifle a yawn every few seconds.
“I’ll walk you home.”
Katherine’s eyes snapped open though she couldn’t remember closing them. It took a few seconds and a couple of blinks before Kong, who had spoken, came into focus. She was so tired she felt drunk. She’d only had one glass of wine, yet it had gone straight to her head.
Manners dictated that she refuse his offer so she didn’t inconvenience him. Besides, it wasn’t like she needed an escort, her building was close, but she kind of liked the thought of having someone walk her home. Shooting him a slightly loopy smile, she nodded and stood.
The mess hall tilted drunkenly and Katherine shot out an arm to steady herself. Her uncoordinated movements had some of the others ribbing her good-naturedly, declaring her a lightweight. She grinned in response.
Somebody – Lark, Katherine was pretty sure – spoke up, asking, “Kong? You got this?”
Katherine didn’t hear what he said if he replied, but she felt the warmth of his arm as he looped it through hers.
With a giddy smile, she looked up at him. “Such a gentleman.”
Kong let out a low chuckle. “Come on. Let’s get you home and tucked into bed.”
They were moving, her feet not quite heading in a straight line, but thanks to Kong’s supportive arm, she didn’t fall on her face.
“You’re so strong.” There went her mouth again, spewing thoughts that were supposed to stay in the privacy of her mind, but she couldn’t muster enough energy at the moment to care. She couldn’t resist letting her fingers do a little walking over the corded strength of his forearm. Very strong. “And warm.”
He let out another one of those low laughs and she leaned in a little closer, almost toppling over. Kong caught her, righting her. “You okay, there?”
“Never better.”
He smelled good. Soap and cinnamon.
Outside, the crisp, cool sea breeze woke her up a bit. Summer was ending, so while the days were still quite warm, the nightsheld a distinct chill. Her sweater wasn’t quite enough and she shivered. Her companion didn’t seem at all affected. He was only wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt, but there wasn’t a single goosebump on his hair-dusted forearm. All that muscle must keep him well insulated.
“Tonight was nice.”
Kong let out an inarticulate murmur.
“I’ve missed spending time with people.” She hadn’t minded relocating for this job. She’d even been a bit excited at the prospect, but she’d also assumed she’d make new friends. She’d had no problem when she relocated for her previous job. There, they’d welcomed her with open arms.
“Is that what you normally do?”
“I had a great group of friends. Just four of us, but we were tight. Sometimes we do happy hour or go to the movies. We go out to dinner. We have a weekly game night.”
“Poker?”
“Host’s choice, but we were more about board games than cards. Sometimes it’s Monopoly, other times it’s Trivia Pursuit or Scrabble.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It was.” Katherine let out a wistful sigh. “I miss having friends.”
