26. Kavanaugh

26

KAVANAUGH

While Isla laid in bed, I chuckled at how cute she looked. Red hair splayed over the pillows, her arms flung out to either side, and her mouth open as drool slid down her cheek. I was lucky she let me come home with her last night. Then again, she was drunk off her ass, so she couldn’t exactly kick me out.

When room service knocked, I hustled to the door, hoping they wouldn’t wake her up. But as soon as I wheeled the cart into the room, she rolled over, groaning as she rubbed her eyes.

“Holy crap, what happened?”

“Before or after you yelled at a rapist in an alley?”

She sat up further, sniffing the air as I poured a cup of coffee for her. “Did you order breakfast?”

“Yep,” I said proudly, not expecting the grimace she gave me. “You’re going to need it if you want to survive your meeting.”

“My meeting!” she groaned, flopping back on the pillow.

“I thought you might feel that way. So, I have a surprise for you.”

I dropped to my knees, holding out my hand until I felt the tiny whiskers brush against my fingers. Grabbing the little calico furball, I moved slowly, setting it on Isla’s chest. Her eyes flew open and she gasped at the sight of her kitten.

“Oh my gosh! How did you find it?”

“I went back to the alley while you were working on drink six. It was under the dumpster.”

Her eyes lit up despite the pale, waxy appearance of her skin. She nuzzled the little kitten, which in turn rubbed its nose against her face. “You’re just so cute! Yes, you are!” She tore her gaze from the little fluffball and blinked back tears. “Thank you.”

“Are you crying?” I asked, trying not to tease her.

“Of course I’m not. It’s early and I’m not awake yet. And the sun is bright.”

“I think you’re crying,” I continued, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I think you’re so in love with that kitten, you would do almost anything.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “If you’re thinking about sex right now, don’t push it.”

“I would go for a thank you.”

“Thank you,” she forced out.

“And perhaps a kiss on the cheek. The promise that you’ll never kick me out again. Oh, and Kavanaugh, you’re so wonderful! ”

“How about you just be grateful I haven’t kicked you in the balls yet.”

“I’ll take it,” I grinned broadly at her. “So, does this mean you’re starting to forgive me?”

Her nose scrunched up in that cute way it always did when she was considering something she didn’t like. “Well…after taking into account everything the bartender said?—”

A growl slipped out against my will at the mention of the man who served her drinks all night, giving her bedroom eyes even though he knew she was mine.

“I guess I can understand that you wanted to keep it quiet until you knew more because of my interview.”

I was relieved, but sensed this conversation was far from over.

“Kavanaugh, I appreciate you wanted things to go well for me, but you can’t keep making these decisions for me. I’m a big girl and I can take it.”

“I know you can. You’ve always been so strong. I know that.”

“Do you?” she asked, her eyes searching mine in question. “Sometimes I think we jumped the gun a little too fast.”

My heart kicked up at the sadness in her voice. Desperation clouded my head as I felt her drifting further away. “Maybe we did, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

“We basically saw each other and jumped into bed without thinking of anything else.”

“Because we both felt something between us,” I argued. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“No, but we didn’t take the time to get to know each other again. I mean, I’m not the same person I was at fifteen and neither are you.”

This was all wrong. I could tell she wanted this to work, but I also saw the doubt creeping into her eyes with every day that passed, and I was screwing it up. “Just…give me another chance to make this right. After this interview, we’ll go home and fix this.”

It was a plea for a stay of execution. What we had was good. I knew she could see that. The chemistry between us couldn’t be denied. I just had to make sure I didn’t fuck anything else up in the meantime.

I held my breath as her hand slid over the comforter and gripped mine. “No more lies, Kavanaugh. I just can’t take it.”

I knew this would be my last chance with her. After everything with her husband, she was running low on chances to give. “I get it. I swear, it’ll be better.”

I leaned across the bed and captured her lips with mine. She was the brightest part of my life, the fun that I had been missing out on, but everything was going wrong. If only she had come into my life at a different time, maybe this would have ended so much differently. But with Rafe dying and the senator back in my life, I felt like everything was working against us.

Her soft lips pulled back from mine and I rested my forehead against hers. The little kitten rolled playfully on her lap, pawing at her curls that dangled above him. Smiling, I kissed her again, then got up to scoop up some breakfast for her. “Just eggs?”

“Toast and a shower.”

“I’ll get the toast. You get the shower.”

My eyes dropped to the length of her legs as she shuffled out of bed. She looked damn sexy in my T-shirt, but I willed my cock to calm the fuck down. She had a meeting this morning, and it was more important than getting between her legs first thing in the morning. She snagged the toast out of my hand and put the kitten in the crook of my arm, kissing me on the lips.

“Thank you for Sasha.”

I nodded, watching her ass as she turned and sauntered off to the bathroom. Claws dug into my chest and I tugged the feisty thing back from me, glaring at it.

“Listen here. The only nails that get to scratch this skin are hers. Understand?”

The little kitten opened its mouth, but hardly a peep came out. I took that as affirmation that it understood. Then she jumped up to my shoulder and dug her claws in hard enough to draw blood.