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“Not really. But I also don’t want to do a press conference. I just want this to go away.”
“Things like this don’t just go away, hon.” Mary crouched in front of her, understanding and sympathy etched into her pretty face. “You two could issue statements, say Chloe is full of shit and ask for privacy, but that’s not going to stop people from digging. Wouldn’t you rather the truth come out on your own terms?”
“No.” Kit almost smiled when her eyes widened with surprise. “I don’t want any of this to come out, on any terms. But I guess it’s too late for that.”
“Little bit,” Mary said dryly, the corner of her mouth kicking up in a wry smile.
“Fine.” She closed her eyes, thinking through their options. “Let’s do the press conference. If things don’t settle down after that, we can talk about an interview.”
“Good enough for now.” Pushing to her feet, she held out a hand for Kit to shake. “It was lovely to meet you, Katherine, though I was hoping it would be under better circumstances. I’ll let you both know when we get the conference set up.”
While Austin walked her out, Kit boxed up their leftovers and stashed the containers in the fridge. Closing the doors, she dropped her forehead to the cool metal and closed her eyes.
Strong, familiar hands settled on her shoulders and she let out a quiet moan when his fingers dug into the tight muscles. “This fucking sucks.”
“I know, kitten. But we’ll get through it. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
“I can’t. I need to type something up to send to my clients in the morning.”
The hands on her shoulders forced her to turn, cupping her face when she was facing him. “You’re exhausted, Kit. Wouldn’t it be better to come at it in the morning, after you’ve had some sleep?”
“Maybe,” she admitted reluctantly. The truth was, she wasn’t ready to join him in his bed. Everything they’d done there felt… dirty, now. Tainted. “But I’m not sleepy. Movie?”
“Compromise,” he said, one corner of his mouth kicking up in a crooked half-grin. “I’ll run you a nice hot bath, and if you still don’t feel sleepy afterwards, we’ll watch a movie.”
Because it was so painfully obvious he was trying to comfort her, she smiled up at him. “A bath sounds lovely.”
He grinned, and some of the knots in her stomach loosened. “That’s my girl. Come on, kitten.”
Taking her hand, he led the way to their bathroom, where he filled the giant garden tub with steaming water and sweet-smelling bath salts.
“Is that… lavender?”
“Yup. Helps you relax, or that’s what the lady at the store said, anyway.”
“When did you buy that?” She hated herself a little for asking, for even feeling like she needed to ask. But there was also a part of her that suddenly wanted to purge the house of anything he’d bought for other women.
“Couple weeks ago. Remember when you first saw this tub, you said how one of your lifelong dreams was to take a bath in a tub where the water covered your knees and tits at the same time?”
She remembered. But the fact thatheremembered had her blinking back tears. “You bought them for me?”
“Of course, kitten. Who else would I buy them for?”
“I thought maybe they were from… before.”
Sliding his arms around her waist, he pulled her close, pressing his forehead to hers. “Nothing that came before you matters, Katherine.”
Oh, how she wished it were that simple. But Chloe Carlisle was a stark reminder that their pasts couldn’t just be tucked neatly away into a closet somewhere and forgotten.“I’ve tried not to think too much about the women who came before me, or what you did with them. But now it’s being shoved in my face and I can’t seem to think about anything else.”
“Then we’ll make so many of our own memories, you won’t have space for anything else in that beautiful brain of yours.”
Tears blurring her vision, she tilted her face up, inviting him to kiss her. When he did, it was slow, gentle. A kiss meant to soothe, not to arouse.
And still, she felt the need stirring between her thighs and she sighed into the kiss, melted into him. Pushed aside the worry and the stress and let her mind go blank as he took over.
“So beautiful,” he murmured, tugging her blouse up and over her head. “And all mine.”
She let her head fall back as he bent to feather kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, down to the swell of her lace-covered breasts. A soft tug and then the lace fell away, exposing her to him. Silently, he worshipped her, using his hands and mouth to inflame every inch of her skin as he undressed her. Except the one place she was already burning with need.
