Page 52 of Purr For Me
“They’re dirty.”
“You only have two towels?”
“No. There are some in the spare room.”
“Oh. Can you get me one?”
Kade set his coffee mug on the counter and opened the fridge. “I could. If I wanted to.”
Quiet met his words. “Is this payback for last night? I’m sorry I got drunk, okay? I know it ruined the celebration, but in my defense…”
Kade laughed silently as she laid out all the reasons he shouldn’t be pissed at her for getting wasted. She was pretty creative with her excuses, which wasn’t surprising, given her artistic mind.
“…so cut me some slack and don’t be a wuss about it, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Now, may Ipleasehave a towel?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Fine! I’ll get it my damn self!”
The bathroom door flew open, and Lexie shuffled out, wearing—
No, he had to be imagining it. Wasn’t he?
Moving closer, he saw that his eyes weren’t deceiving him. Lexie stood glaring at him as she wore a tight dress-like garment made from tropical-theme-printed paper towels. Her hair was damp, but not dripping wet, she’d used some to dry her hair, too.
It was literally the funniest damn thing Kade had ever seen, and he erupted in laughter. He couldn’t hear her over it when she started bitching at him. She gave up after a moment and turned away, starting to shuffle towards the spare room. He went to his knees at the sight of her inching along, trying to keep the paper towels from splitting as she moved.
Even through his amusement, Kade wished that the improvised dress would do just that. The paper towels had molded perfectly to her sweet backside and hot blood shot to his groin. He’d never look at Bounty products the same way again. They truly were the quicker picker-upper, judging by how fast his cock had hardened. Struggling to get ahold of himself, Kade wondered how anything could be so hysterical and so erotic at the same time.
Lexie made it to the doorway of the spare room and stopped, leaning against the doorframe. As his laughter started subsiding, he saw Lexie’s shoulders shake and a loud giggle escape her.
“This isn’t funny!” Her voice quivered though.
Kade got to his feet and approached her. “Yes, it is. This is one hell of a fashion statement.”
Lexie bent over as a shout of laughter burst from her, and the “skirt” of her unorthodox outfit ripped up the back. She spun around, pressing her back to the wall as she shook from the force of her mirth.
Seeing her laugh and smile made Kade wish he could make that a daily occurrence in her life. While he’d been writing last night to keep his mind off his desire for Lexie, he’d concluded that his feelings for her had been stronger than he’d suspected. During the time she’d been married to Jason, he’d kept them hidden, even from himself, it seemed. It was the only explanation he had for his rapid acceleration of falling in love with her the past few weeks; he’d already been there.
And so now, he found it even more difficult to not let the words he longed to say spill forth. Biting them back, Kade gathered up the clothes he’d gotten and gave them to her.
“Get these on and I’ll make some breakfast.” He gave her a slow once-over before bending down to kiss her cheek. Ignoring the way his blood heated, he smiled, turned around, and headed for the kitchen.
* * *
Lexie sobered as he walked away. His blue tank top showed off his muscular arms and shoulders, and his ass looked incredible in the denim cargo shorts he wore. He was everything she could want in a man. Respectful, funny, considerate, and so hot that she sometimes felt like she was melting when he was near. It had taken every ounce of strength to stay out of his bed.
But what was stopping her from being with him? Her marriage was over even if papers weren’t signed, and he was single and unattached. They wanted each other, so what kept holding her back? Hugging the clothes to her chest, Lexie wrestled with indecision. It had been so long since she’d made love that she was afraid she’d forgotten how.
Doubtful. It’s just like riding a bike. You can do this. Youwantto do this.Needto do this. You deserve some happiness.Lexie took courage from her inner voice and decided that she sure as hell had lived with sorrow and despair for far too long. It was time to take her life back—truly back—and allowing herself to be with a man she cared about was a gigantic step in that process. The dark days of mourning were over. Letting Jason make her feel guilty was a waste of her life, and she’d wasted too much on him already. You couldn’t change the past, but you could try to create a future you deserved.
It was a new day, and the sun was shining. Lexie let herself bask in its warm glow. A smile started and continued to grow as a sense of well-being she hadn’t experienced in what seemed like forever filled her.
Her decision made, she dropped the clothes to the floor as an idea occurred to her. “Kade? Can you come help me?”
