A Dream to be Loved Kandi Jaynes (9 page)

"That sounds great if it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble."

While they ate, he told her about his weekend. How the problem with the heat-treated parts was fixed, putting his house on the market, the standard red tape hassle of getting ones personal info and address changed. As usual the longer she was around him, the more relaxed she became. When everything was cleaned up, she stretched. She would love to take a walk. She did fairly often after supper. Behind her property was a wooded area belonging to a neighbor. They had assured her she was welcome to walk back there any time she wanted. A gorgeous sunset started to form. If she were alone she would walk along the trees and enjoy it. A sunset stroll to the woods with Drake brought up images she didn't need. She also knew if she asked he would take it as encouragement.

Drake watched her face as she watched the colors spread across the sky. He walked over to her and took her hand. "Come on, let's go outside." She eyed him skeptically. "I promise to behave." Startled, her eyes widened, and he laughed. "You can be fairly transparent sometimes." He dragged her over to the door, retrieving their jackets from the closet.

They walked along her usual path talking easily about how much they each liked the outdoors, places they had traveled, and where they grew up. Kate didn't say anything when Drake slid his hand into hers entwining their fingers. She continued to listen as he told her a story about his brother. Concentrating intently on his words kept her mind off the touch of his hand, the warmth she felt at being so close to him. They sat on an old log at the edge of the woods and watched the sunset. Kate shivered slightly and Drake removed his jacket, slipping it around her shoulders. She closed her eyes. It hadn't been the cool evening air that made her shiver, it had been the sensations he was creating inside her. Of course, she couldn't tell him that. The jacket still held the warmth of his body and the faint smell of his after-shave only made it worse.

Kate cleared her throat, "I think we should be getting back. It's going to be really dark soon, and it's easy to trip out here."

The walk back was quiet. She wished he would talk. Maybe tell her more stories about his family. The silence seemed to somehow create an intimacy between them she didn't want. He didn't come in when they reached the house. Instead he turned to face her. In a strained whisper, he explained. "I promised earlier to behave myself. If I'm going to keep that promise I'd better leave now." His breathing was ragged and his lashes lowered. He bent and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Kate." He released her and strode to his car.

His well-practiced message worked again. That night she dreamed of him, as she often did. Sometimes they were quiet contented dreams of the two of them spending time together laughing and enjoying each other's company. Other nights like tonight they were highly emotional dreams leaving her feeling drained and exposed. A couple of nights, she had incredibly intimate and intensely erotic dreams about him. It was always hard to face him after one of those, as if somehow he would look into her eyes and see the scenes her subconscious had played out.

Drake spent two more evenings at her house that week. They spent hours sitting in front of the fireplace talking. Friday came and Kate decided she needed to get away. She had a feeling if she didn't leave town she would somehow find herself spending most of the weekend with Drake. Not only was he getting too comfortable at her house, but she was getting too comfortable around him. Formulating a plan she called a cousin she hadn't seen in awhile. Relieved to find out Cheryl was free, Kate made arrangements to drive down right after work and stay until Sunday afternoon.

Kate was glad she called when she did because fifteen minutes after returning from lunch Drake called the cage. "Hi, Kate. I'd like to take you out this weekend. Would tonight or tomorrow night be better for you?"

"Actually neither. I'm going to be out of town all weekend."

"Running away from me, Kate?"

"No I'm not running away."
Hiding for a while possibly, but not running away.
"I'm spending the weekend with my cousin. We rarely get to see each other and as it happens she's free all weekend, so I'm going to go visit. You may not believe this, but there are parts of my life that don't involve you."
I intend to spend the weekend figuring out exactly which parts those are.

"When will you be back?"

"Not until late Sunday night, and I'm leaving right after work. I hope you have a nice weekend." She hung up the phone before he could say anything else.

She rushed home after work, packed quickly, and was on her way to her cousin's house in record time. It took about three hours to make the trip. The farther from home she got, the more relaxed she became. That thought disturbed her. She loved her home and didn't like the fact someone made her feel the need to be away from it.

Kate felt great Monday morning. The weekend had been fun. She needed to make a point of seeing Cheryl more often. She thought she was ready for anything when she walked into work. How wrong she had been.

The shelves holding the fixtures were old and only housed four shelves per unit. New more efficient storage units had been ordered weeks ago and arrived today. Every fixture had to be removed while the old shelves were disassembled and new ones were set in place. Since this system was different, a new location had to be assigned to each fixture as it was put away.

Although paperwork for the location changes had been prepared in advance, and space had been cleared to set the fixtures while the shelves were changed, there was no way to lessen the amount of physical labor involved. Two people were sent over from another department to help, but it was still a grueling day.

Kate worked two extra hours that day and was about three-quarters of the way done. By the time she arrived home, she was exhausted and a bit stiff from all the lifting. Although handling the fixtures was part of her job, she wasn't used to moving almost all of them in one day. After thirty minutes of soaking in a hot bath, she was too tired to fix herself a meal, choosing instead to pass through the kitchen and flop on the couch in front of the TV.

*****

When Drake arrived carrying Chinese take out he knocked, but nobody answered. He tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. Knowing Kate didn't usually leave her house open. He went in figuring she just didn't hear the knock. As he put the food on the table he heard the TV and went to investigate. Having spent most of the day out on the shop floor he had noticed how hard her day had been, so he wasn't completely surprised to find her asleep.

After turning off the television, Drake sat on the coffee table and watched her. His heart constricted in his chest. She was the most incredible woman he had ever known. She had such power over him and didn't even seem to know it. He didn't understand the bizarre relationship they had, and no longer even cared to question it. If another woman had pushed him away half as much as this one had he would've walked away without a second glance. Somehow though, he felt Kate needed him. He couldn't explain how or why, somehow he just felt it. Something was pulling them together. Kate was fighting it, but he knew she felt it too. She just wasn't ready to give in to it yet. He would give her time, not enough space to get away from him, but enough time to accept what was to be between them. It was getting difficult though. He wanted her... in every way possible. He wanted to live in the same house with her. See her every morning, eat every meal with her, spend every evening with her, and have her in his arms every night. He wanted to know she was his, and only his.

He grimaced. He had never considered himself a jealous man, but even knowing she was not involved with any one at work, sharing her with so many men everyday, and watching her talk, laugh, and occasionally flirt with them nearly tore him apart. He had to stop himself each and every day from announcing to the entire company that she was his. He dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck smiling a humorless smile knowing how much she would hate it if he followed through with an announcement like that.

Looking around the room, he remembered the food and went to the kitchen to stow it in the refrigerator. Returning to the living room, he looked again at Kate. She laid on the edge of the cushions with her head on a small pillow. He slowly eased in behind her, positioning himself between her and the back of the couch. She wriggled and started to lift her head. He shifted the pillow back so he could use it as he slid his arm beneath her head. With a gentle hand he lowered her head to his shoulder, then pulled the blanket down from behind him and spread it over her.

Kate stretched her arms and yawned his name. "Drake?"

He smiled, lightly massaging her arm and shoulder. "Yes."

Her eyelids fluttered, but she couldn't seem to keep them open. "You sure like to press an advantage, don't you?" Her voice was quiet and slightly slurred from sleep.

He chuckled. "Yes, I do."

She moaned softly, tilting her head a bit giving him better access to her shoulder. Kate yawned again as she snuggled back against him, then whispered drowsy and contented. "I'm going to be so mad at you later."

Drake chuckled again. Still massaging her tight muscles, he leaned forward and whispered, "I know, but I don't mind. You're positively adorable when you're angry."

He smiled when a barely discernible grin passed across her lips as she drifted back to sleep.

Chapter Six

Two hours later, Kate stretched and yawned. Drake tried not to laugh when she wrinkled her nose, then rubbed it with the back of her hand. He wondered if this was how she always woke up. If it was he didn't think he would ever get tired of watching her. He had dozed for a short time, but mostly just enjoyed being able to hold her. Her hair smelled of wildflowers and spilled over his shoulder. He would never get tired of that either. She yawned again then snuggled against him, moaning with the same contented sigh she had earlier. Her soft curves pressed into the length of his body. Yet another thing he would love to experience on a daily basis. His mind wandered to other things he would love to experience with her when suddenly her body tensed.

A smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth as he waited for her reaction to waking up in his arms. Her head tilted slowly as she looked down at the arm wrapped around her waist. She slowly lifted the blanket and peeked under it. She breathed a sigh of relief. "At least I'm dressed."

Drake laughed, "What did you expect? That I would strip you while you slept?"

"I wouldn't put anything past you at this point." She yawned again. "Actually, since living by myself I've picked up a few bad habits. Running around the house half dressed is one of them. As tired as I was when I came home I was afraid maybe I hadn't put anything on after my bath."

"I wouldn't have a problem with that," he whispered low in her ear. "If you're more comfortable in less clothing feel free to take off anything you like." She made a disgusted sound. "Really, I wouldn't want to be responsible for making you uncomfortable in your own home."

"Ha! That's never been a problem for you before." she retorted. Drake laughed again. He loved sparring with her.

He didn't want to get up, and noticed despite her grousing, she made no attempt to leave his arms either. It was because of that fact he knew he'd better move. If he stayed here much longer things could get out of hand fast. He wouldn't be content to lie here and simply talk. He wanted much more.

"I saw how hard you worked today. I wanted to come in and help you, but figured you'd bite my head off if I tried. So instead I brought you supper. If you're hungry we could get up and eat." He lowered his lips to her ear. "If not, then we could stay right here and find something more entertaining to do." He softly nibbled the back of her neck.

He felt her shiver slightly before she said, "Actually I'm starved!" and nearly leapt off the couch. "What did you bring?" Her voice was not quite as high this time.

Drake grinned. He had a feeling that would get her off the sofa. He knew she needed more time. He just hoped it wasn't much more. "I brought Chinese. I hope that's okay."

"Great, I love Chinese." Kate started for the kitchen.

After a good meal, some casual conversation, and a quick clean up, Drake decided it was time he left. He knew she was going to have another hard day tomorrow and didn't want to keep her up late. He pulled her into his arms and held her with his cheek resting on her hair. "Try not to work too hard tomorrow."

"It shouldn't be as bad as today. Most of it's done. I can take my time with the rest." She didn't return his hug, but didn't pull away from him either. He slowly rubbed her back then pressed her body tighter against his. Drake listened as her breathing become shallow and unsteady. Sliding his hand up to gently massage her neck and shoulder he could feel the pulse of her accelerated heart beat. Intense desire coursed through him in response. She may not have put her arms around him, but she couldn't stop her body's reaction to his touch. Drake tilted his head, and with a curled finger under her chin, lifted her lips to his. He felt her tremble slightly, her eyes closed and her lips softened as he caressed them with his own. He felt her subtle response to his kiss before she suddenly pulled away.

"I, um...better get some sleep. Goodnight." She spun on her heel and escaped down the hall.

Drake let himself out of the house making sure the door was locked and got into his car. Once inside he sat for a while, trying to regain his composure. She had started to kiss him. He felt it. He took a deep breath and smiled with renewed determination.

*****

The next day Kate was in a foul mood. Slamming parts around and trying not to throw things. She should've been almost done with the fixtures by now. Instead she wasn't much farther along than she had been when she started this morning. With all the mistakes she had made so far she might even be farther behind than she was when she arrived.