Kat passed him a six-pack of perennial plants. “Quiz time. Put these wherever you think they ought to go.” Andrew’s interest in the flower bed had surprised her. Accepting her challenge to lay it out and plant it had quite frankly amazed her.
Andrew rocked back on his heels to study the layout of the flower bed she and Anton had spent the day preparing. Rock-hard muscles bunched in his thighs with the motion. Kat flushed with a heat that had nothing to do with the ambient air temperature. Those same muscles had bunched up last night just like that right before he… Kat plucked at her shirt, suddenly feeling warm.
“How about right here?”
“Looks good to me.” And the plants were fine there, as well.
Andrew eyed the containers skeptically. “They certainly are small.”
“They’re like anything else. Take care of them, nurture them and they’ll grow. And the best part is they’ll come back year after year.”
“Guaranteed?”
“Not as sure as death and taxes, but if you take care of them they’ll come back for years.”
“I don’t know if I’ll have time to take care of them.”
“You’ll find the time if it’s something you really want.”
Andrew covered the last root with soil, leaving a trail of dirt on his thigh. Her fingers itched to brush it away. She did nothing to mask her obvious appreciation of his body.
“Andrew, there’s something really sexy about dirt.”
A sly, sexy smile played about his mouth. “I bet you say that to all the gardening help. Small wonder Anton’s looked so spry lately.”
She’d just be damned, her Harvard stuffed shirt dug her ogling him. “I only say it to the ones with the great buns.”
“You know, I never noticed Anton’s…uh, posterior attributes. You, on the other hand, I have definitely noticed. And you, my garden fairy, have lovely assets.”
“Awfully cheeky for a garden boy toy, aren’t you?”
“You haven’t seen the half of it yet.” In one lithe move he stripped off his T-shirt.
Somewhere along the way, she’d tapped into a playful sensuality that could literally charm her pants off. She licked her suddenly dry lips. “I definitely approve of the first half.”
Still kneeling, he stalked her on the garden path like a dark panther scenting his next meal. She felt ripe and lush and ready for the feasting. She met him halfway.
“You’re far overdressed for a garden fairy.” He slowly tugged her shirt up, his knuckles trailing against her sensitized skin, until he pulled it over her head and tossed it behind her. She reached out to steady herself against the roughly furred planes of his chest and wound up caressing the expanse of it. His fingertips blazed a trail of fire down her shoulders.
The late-afternoon sun warmed her bared back. It was nothing compared to the molten heat building inside her. Kat flicked her tongue against his nipple. The sharp hiss of his indrawn breath spoke volumes in the still of the garden.
“We could go inside.” She’d meant to sound sultry and inviting. Instead she croaked.
Andrew slid her bra straps off her shoulders. “It’s after hours and no one’s here but us. I’m perfectly happy where I am, if you are. You just happen to be overdressed.”
He nuzzled down her chest, and used his teeth to pull the cups of her bra down, baring her breasts. His gray eyes darkening to slate, he fondled and squeezed until she couldn’t stand it any longer and pulled his mouth to one aching nipple.
Hot, slick heat drenched her panties. Kat thought she’d come unglued with the need to feel Andrew deep inside her. She’d been waiting a lifetime to be here with him now, the grass a soft cushion beneath her, the aroma of the fertile earth mingling with their scent.
Instinctively she arched her throbbing core against the hard line of his arousal. Reaching for the waistband of his shorts she pleaded for release from his sweet torture, “Andrew…please…now.”
His eyes never left hers as he removed first his shorts and then hers. “Tell me what you want, Kat.”
She leaned back on the soft green carpet of grass and spread her legs in invitation. “I want you to make love to me.”
Bracing himself over her, he nudged her slick wetness. Her hips arched against him. With one smooth thrust he plowed into her warmth. Kat moved against him in a rhythm as old as mother earth herself until they completed each other. With a tenderness that did nothing to restore her equilibrium, Andrew brushed his lips against hers.
“I think I may like this gardening business,” he remarked as he rolled off her.
Kat tossed her shorts at his head. “Just make sure you don’t do any planting without me. And speaking of planting, can you bring that bag of manure over here?”
Wearing nothing but a puzzled frown, Andrew hoisted the fifty-pound bag of cow dung. Good Lord, but he was a fine specimen. And quite talented. “Where?”
Kat shifted so that her hips were in the air. “Here.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, put it underneath me. I read that you should elevate your hips for twenty minutes afterward to optimize chances of fertilization.”
Andrew settled the bag underneath her, smoothing out his shirt for her to lie on.
“And what scientific publication was this?” Andrew stepped into his briefs and shorts.
“No need to cover up on my account. And actually it was a magazine. They suggested pillows or a rolled blanket.”
He stretched out on the grass beside her. “Ah, so the bag of manure is your own personalized version.” His eyes skimmed her sun-kissed body with appreciation. Kat had always felt comfortable with her body, but Andrew’s blatant regard made her feel beautiful, sexy, powerful.
“Consider it a fertilization ritual.”
Andrew threw back his head and laughed. The warm, carefree sound was almost as satisfying to her as the love they’d just made.
“Maybe the pH balance will determine X or Y chromosome.”
Kat giggled at his inanity. “Shut up.”
And in that instant, lying naked in the sun with her hips propped up on a bag of cow poop, Kat realized her plan had gone seriously awry. She’d married Andrew because she didn’t expect to be attracted to him.
Instead she stood in serious danger of moving far beyond mere attraction.
This situation really stunk.
6
RETURNING FROM WORK the next day, Andrew knelt to greet the ball of fur that barreled toward him. He assured himself it was merely in the best interest of his pant leg that he allowed Toto to slop wet doggie kisses on his hand. He’d never gotten around to quizzing Kat on Toto’s incontinence. This seemed the safest way to avoid another episode.
Such enthusiasm on the little dog’s part dictated some return of affection, he further reasoned. Andrew scratched behind the scruffy ears, reluctant to admit to himself he looked forward to Toto’s welcome. He chuckled as he remembered Kat’s assurance that Toto had guarded the house on their wedding day. Had it only been four days? In some ways it felt as if Kat and Toto had been a part of his life much longer.
“So, hound, you kept the castle safe in my absence today? How many warring enemies did you keep at bay?”
Toto rolled over and presented his stomach by way of answer. Andrew chuckled at Toto’s forwardness.
“Aye, milord, and it’s a relief to have you home,” Kat retorted from the kitchen doorway, hands planted on her rounded hips. Sunlight danced behind her, turning her hair into a fiery halo, outlining her shapely thighs through
