Always Been You

He looked at her almost like the last was a challenge. She tilted her chin up and stared coolly at him. She hoped that she looked as unruffled as she wanted to portray.

“Why did you come to my office today, Jensen?” she asked.

His mouth tightened briefly before he relaxed and eyed her with thinly veiled amusement. “We are married, Kat, ” he said.”I can’t take my wife to lunch?”

She curled her fingers into tight fists.

“Jensen.” she said. She stopped when her voice cracked. She felt like the worst sort of idiot. Right now, she felt ridiculously tongue tied.

“Yes?” he prompted. He wore a curious smile, almost as if he found her and the situation amusing. It made her angry.

“Look Jensen, I’m not going to act like I didn’t miss you. I did. But I don’t know what you are up to, and if you think that -.”

She didn’t finish her sentence because Jensen didn’t let her. He simply hauled her into his arms and stifled her tirade with a kiss. Not just any kiss. He devoured her whole. She melted-positively melted-in his arms. She went limp against him.

Yep, she thought. With him she was always at the mercy of her hormones.

She placed both hands on his chest and shoved until they sat apart, both breathing raggedly. She probably looked demented sitting there, hair askew, chest heaving up and down as if she’d run a marathon.

“Stop kissing me!” she said.

He smiled again, a lazy, sensual smile of a lion standing over its prey. She was having lunch apparently.

“But I like kissing you and I try never to deny myself life’s little pleasures.” he said. “You know that”

She rolled her eyes then caught herself before she laughed.

“Dammit, Jensen. Be serious for one minute. I mean it. You can’t just kiss me and take me to dinner and expect everything to just go away. It doesn’t work that way. Stop kissing me and stop touching me.” She said

He held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. I won’t touch you.” he replied.

She crossed her arms protectively over her chest and moved as far over in the seat as she could. Why had she agreed to lunch with him? Why?

Because you are madly in love with him you can’t resist him.

There was that.

There was a time she thought it was a myth. The out-of-control hormones that made an otherwise intelligent woman waste her brain cells every time she came into contact with a man she wanted. She was certainly proving the waste of brain cells to be true.

The rest of the journey was spent in brooding silence. Jensen was silent and Katherine brooded. When they finally pulled up to the restaurant that boasted the best seafood on the area, she raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Try it first and then tell me if you disagree,” Jensen said in amusement. “You loved it the last time we came here, you will love it now”.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

He was so adept at reading her and it annoyed her to no end, especially since she had no idea what was going on in his head right now. A part of her was afraid to find out.

Jensen guided her into the rustic cedar building with its quasi-southern charm mixed with California décor.

The two sat in the far corner where the lighting was so dim a small kerosene lantern sat in the middle of the table to offer ambience.

“I feel like I’m on a first date,” she said ruefully after Jensen had ordered the wine.

He smiled and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Would it make me less of a jerk to be up front about the fact I plan to have you in bed with me tonight?” he asked.

She sucked in her breath until she felt curiously lightheaded. She suspected of course, but to hear him say it outright was way sexier than it should have been.

“I have to go back to work,” she murmured.

He nodded. “Of course. I didn’t intend to spirit you away for an afternoon tryst, though the idea has merit. I wonder if your staff would call the police?”

She glared at him-determined not to laugh. But even her scowl twitched.

The waiter appeared with food, and she blinked because she hadn’t remembered ordering. She glanced at the half-empty wineglass and couldn’t for the life of her remember drinking so much as a sip. Jensen was bad, bad for her brain. He was as bad as some wasting disease. She wouldn’t survive, either.

“I’m so sorry Katherine,” Jensen said. “I know that I screwed up real bad. And I’m sorry about that. I can’t begin to tell you just how sorry I am. But I miss you, baby. I miss you and the kids and I want to come home where I belong. It wasn’t easy convincing all the board members that kicking Shay out of the company was a good idea, but like you said, it’s still my company and I still call the shots.”