and gave Richie a reassuring rub on his scaredy-cat head, and headed back out to join Keith.
“I think this little guy likes me,” he said without looking up. “Or girl. Whichever.”
BC had one paw planted on each of Keith’s shoulders, his body splayed against Keith’s chest and his head thrown back in blissful surrender to get chin scratches.
“He,” I said. “That’s BC. And I’m sorry. He’s shameless.”
“Nah. He just knows what he wants, and he goes for it. I can appreciate that.” Keith’s gaze settled on me as he spoke, causing my body temperature to rise about fifty degrees, enough that putting on my coat so we could leave was the last thing in the world I wanted to do. He scratched BC’s chin a few more times and then moved my cat off his lap. “You ready to go?”
Sure enough, once he was on his feet, I could see how much cat hair was all over him. I grabbed a lint roller off the counter and handed it to him. “I can be as soon as you’ve used this. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ve got dogs. I get it.” Keith used a fresh sheet and rolled it all over his body. I had to force myself to look away or else I would’ve ended up staring.
Instead, I got my coat from the hall closet and shrugged it on.
“I’m guessing I’ve got some on my backside, too, don’t I?” he asked, turning around to show me his butt. Which was, of course, amazing, just like I remembered it. And it was covered in cat hair. “Can you help me out with that?”
Despite the fact that I was practically salivating at the thought of getting close enough to roll that thing over his backside, close enough I could possibly touch him, I shook my head. “I think you can manage that on your own.”
He winked at me and rolled it over his butt and the backs of his thighs a few times before once again turning. “Did I miss anything?”
“Other than my hands on you?” I asked drolly, only to regret it when he started to agree with me. “No,” I added, cutting him off. “I think you’re good.”
He set the roller down where I’d grabbed it from and reached for my hand. “I do miss that. Your hands on me. Your mouth on me. I miss all of that and more.”
My face burned as I took his hand. “You’ve got to stop talking like that.”
“Why? It’s the truth.”
“It was one night , Keith.” A very ill-conceived night, at that.
“But now it has the potential to become a hell of a lot more.”
I couldn’t stop myself from trying to shake that off. He didn’t know me. How could he be so sure he wanted there to be more ?
We headed out into the entryway, and I locked my front door. Then he took me down to his car and helped me in, with me goggling at it the whole time. He drove a two-door Mercedes, silver with a black leather interior. He’d apparently run the seat warmer on the passenger seat on his way to get me because it was warm and toasty when I sat down. His car was so nice that I was almost afraid to touch it. I’d never been in a car like that before.
Heck, I didn’t even own a car anymore. Once I’d moved, I’d realized pretty quickly that it cost too much to pay for parking everywhere around here and it was better to use public transportation to get where I needed to go. So I’d sold my old Mazda. Keith didn’t just own a car ; it was probably the nicest vehicle I’d ever had the privilege of seeing up close, let alone sitting in.
I tried to gather my thoughts while he drove. Yes, I was insanely attracted to him. That didn’t mean that I should do anything stupid like lose my head when I was with him.
I stared out the window on my side, trying not to think about how close we were. Even though the air was brisk today, the sun was shining and there were only a few wispy clouds in the sky way off in the distance. That would help with whatever outdoor activity he had planned.
I lived near Millennium Plaza City Park on the western bank of the Willamette. He drove us across the bridge
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