sat on the bed and unbuttoned his shirt.
“Dammit, I don’t want warm and cozy.”
In the distance, Kat banged around in the kitchen, for all the world as if she belonged there. As if she belonged here.
The thought further tightened his already tense neck muscles.
He’d seen it time and time again among his peers and his parents. Warm and cozy didn’t last. He doubted if his parents had ever had warm and cozy between them. Perhaps in the beginning? Certainly he’d never seen a vestige of it in their relationship. With painful clarity he remembered a nanny who’d showered him with affection. At eight, he’d soaked it up like a dry sponge. He’d been devastated when she had to leave to take care of an ailing mother. Oh yes, he’d learned early on to maintain a distance.
Adulthood had merely reinforced his stance. How many colleagues had he seen marry with enthusiasm only to end up in divorce court a few years later? Bitsy and Edward seemed the exception. But they were exceptional. And the loneliness was all the more painful when it was over.
Toto cozied up to him and rolled over, offering up his warm belly for scratching, and without thought Andrew immediately complied.
If he grew fond of Kat’s dog so easily, how would he respond to his and Kat’s baby?
SIPPING A GINGER ALE-her wine cooler days were over until she knew for sure if she was pregnant-Kat lounged on the patio and tried to finalize her curriculum for her summer art students. Or at least she
She shook her head. She’d better concentrate on her job. If everything went according to plan, she’d have another person to support in the not-too-distant future. She patted her tummy, torn over the desire to already be carrying their child yet hating the thought that if she was pregnant there’d be no more lovemaking.
She’d already listened to one motivational tape earlier today. She’d better dig out another before bedtime, as well.
Andrew joined her on the patio and eased into his chair. He leaned his head against its back and heaved a sigh into the quiet of the evening.
Kat eyed him sympathetically. “Rough day?”
“Yeah. I went up against Jackson today. He’s good and he’s tough.”
Kat had known the time would come when her husband would go head-to-head with either her brother or father. She loved Jackson dearly, but oddly felt a shifting of allegiance to the man who would father her child. Only because Andrew would contribute genetically, she assured herself.
“Who won?”
“I was better today.” Arrogance, pride and a touch of humor shaped his grin. “But he’s a helluva lawyer. Next time, who knows?”
“Congratulations. For today at least.”
“Thanks.” He winced as he looked toward her.
“What’s the matter?”
“I slept wrong last night. My neck’s hurt all day.” He admitted.
Kat remembered Andrew rubbing her back until she drifted off to sleep on their wedding night. Placing her ginger ale on the table, she moved to stand behind his chair.
Andrew glanced up at her, or at least as far as his impaired neck allowed. “What’re you doing?”
“My mother used to get a stiff neck when she’d spent too much time at her easel. I could always make her feel better.” She positioned her hands on the corded muscles of his neck.
He stilled her by placing his hands over hers. “Thanks, but that’s not necessary. I was out of the office today, but Gloria can help me out tomorrow. She’s taken care of this for me before.”
Kat’s instinctive response rang in her head: It’d be a cold day in hell before she gave the Valkyrie-as she’d come to think of the paragon Gloria-a reason to put her hands on her husband. Even if he was only temporary. And it had nothing to do with jealousy, she reasoned. It simply wasn’t circumspect for her husband’s secretary to rub his neck. And she’d just discovered a newfound regard for circumspect.
She shook off his hands and slid her palms inside his shirt and over the rigid lines of his shoulders. “There’s certainly no need for you to suffer through the night,” she admonished, beginning a rhythmic massage. Oh no, she’d be the one to suffer through the night. Ovulation was over and hence the excuse…uh, reason…to make love with her husband. Anything now would just be gratuitous indulgence, leading her close to that precipice of excess for which she was renowned.
Slick, heated satin came to mind as she kneaded and molded his knotted neck and shoulders. The feel of him beneath her fingertips stoked the smoldering fire inside her.
His head lolled forward. “Oh, God. That feels so good.”
His voice poured over her like warm whiskey on a cold night. Kat desperately sought a diversion. Anything to distract her from fantasizing about nibbling those edible briefs right off her husband’s gorgeous body.
“Andrew?”
“Yes?”
“We’re going to pretend to be married in front of a slew of people.”
“Kat.”
“What?”
“We’re not pretending. We are married.”
“You know what I mean. The majority of the people at this reception know more about us than we know about each other.”
“So, what do you want to know?”
“Why’d you become an attorney?” she questioned. She
“Just lucky, I guess.” He laughed, a low throaty chuckle. “Some people spend their whole lives trying to decide what they want to be when they grow up. I knew before I graduated from kindergarten.”
Even though they dined together every night, their conversation was never this personal. Other than the mind- boggling lovemaking each night and the goodbye kiss each morning for Mrs. Fitzwillie’s benefit, they’d carefully avoided physical contact. In fading twilight, she breathed in the scent of him, a mixture of expensive cologne and pure, unadulterated Andrew. Kat slid her fingers along his spine, careful not to cross the line from stress-relieving massage to caress, tempting as it might be. She was an adult in control. She could do this.
While he relaxed she was in serious danger of turning to Jell-O.
“Go on,” she said. Andrew as a little boy intrigued her.
“Hmm. I must’ve been about five and a half when my mother took me to my father’s office. She had an appointment with her masseuse or something equally pressing. My latest nanny had just walked off the job, so she dumped me on A.W.’s secretary. The poor woman didn’t know what to do with me. She stuck me in the boardroom since it was empty at the time. Portraits lined the walls. Every Winthrop who’d practiced law for almost a hundred years.”
Kat shuddered, envisioning somber-faced men staring down at a small boy. “How awful for you.” She kneaded his shoulder with an extra dose of sympathy.
“Are you kidding? It was great. I knew then that one day my portrait would hang beside theirs.”
His words hammered home how much his partnership meant to him. How steeped in tradition. She rested her hands against the velvet warmth of his skin. “You’d do almost anything for this partnership. It’s that important to you, isn’t it?”
“It’s who I am. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.” His cool voice seemed at odds with the warm flesh-and-blood man beneath her palms. “And, yes, I believe I’ve proved I’d do almost anything for that partnership.”
Kat inwardly squirmed at her role in “almost anything.” He had power, position, wealth and good looks to boot. Why then did she suddenly feel as if she’d taken advantage of him? As if she’d discovered and exploited his vulnerability? She hastened to reassure herself she’d saved him from Claudia van Dierling.
Andrew pulled away from her touch. “Thanks.” He twisted his head from side to side. “That’s much better
