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Roy—2 months later
Everything was ready. Declan and Mercury, our newly appointed member of staff, had gone out of their way to decorate our warehouse.
Life sized cardboard cutouts of Gill, Rafe, Lewis, and me showed off our new line, and together with a large rack full of all the pieces, they built a barrier between the party area and the rows of shelves stacked with our products.
A huge, mouthwatering buffet had been delivered by not one but three of our favourite restaurants, including our regular haunt Bagha, the small Bengali place near our flat.
Giving the room a sweeping look, I checked if she was there already. Not that I would have missed it. Every room she entered was instantly filled with Kat’s energy. If bright spotlights started following her around, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.
It was almost seven according to my smart watch. She shouldn’t be too far out. A hand clapping to my forearm pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Happy with all this, boss?” Declan grinned up at me, then let his eyes take in the room.
“I love it. You did an amazing job.”
He straightened up, his grin now dazzling. “Glad you like it.” Biting his lip he clearly tried to hide his elation at my praise.
Just then, a group of people came in through the open door, bringing with them a hint of the warm summer’s air, chatter and laughter. Neda and Hugh were there to greet the newcomers. I saw Dexter linger by the door, together with an almost equally tall tattooed Mason, but one of their small group didn’t hang around. They headed straight for me. A warm and fuzzy feeling spread in my chest at the proud smile on Kat’s face. Throwing her arms around my neck, she pulled me down for a kiss. Her sweet scent enveloped us in a blissful bubble, and the world around ceased to exist. I knew I would never get enough of the length of her soft body pressed to mine, the feel of her lips, or her taste.
“I missed you,” Kat mumbled against my lips.
“I missed you, too.”
We’d woken up in our favourite sleeping position that morning, with Kat snuggled on my chest and her face burrowing into my pecs, and had started the day with some steamy time in the shower. I couldn’t get enough of her,and for reasons I still didn’t fully understand, she felt the same about me.
We went to the gym together almost exactly like the cliché couples I’d always found hilarious, except for the matching outfits, chilled out in front of the TV, went on road trips, or out for dinner. And we were at it like animals; I’d never before had the urge to jump a partner’s bones whenever I saw them. With Kat, I was voracious.
Leaning back a little, her eyes met mine.
“I hope you’re proud of yourself for what you’ve built here, baby.”
“It’s…” I began, but stopped, glanced around and back at her. “I am proud of everyone who had a hand in our success. You, too.”
Before she could reply, a huge arm wrapped around both our shoulders, the massive body of my business partner squeezing between us.
“Roy, mate! Kat.” Sadeeq grinned at each of us in turn, flashing his blindingly white canines. “Come join the party, before you devour your woman with your eyes, Roy. Not that anyone could blame you.”
She turned beet red at his words, but Sad only laughed louder.
“I couldn’t blame you either, Kat,” he winked cheekily at her.
When we faced the rest of the crowd, Declan waited with two glasses of champagne and everyone was looking expectantly at us.
What–?
Sadeeq clapped me on the shoulder before backing away and joining the crowd, picking a glass of bubbly for himself from one of the high tables. Kat took the ones Declan held out at her, gave one to me, a half cheeky, half apologetic smile on her face.
“Hi, everyone. Thank you for joining us for a little celebration tonight. I just want to say a few words before the official greeting.” Her eyes flickered up at me and back at our friends, staff, colleagues, and business partners. “For everyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Kat McGowan, the person responsible for the brand new APEX Predator Clothing website and shop. Over the last few months, my colleagues and I worked closely with Roy and the APC team. We laughed, we cursed, we celebrated and occasionally cried together, and we went from strangers to friends, and more. I think I speak for my team at Beta when I say that we’re proud to have been part of this project. Thank you for your faith in us, your trust, and your friendship. Our number one goal was only ever to see you succeed, and we’ll keep cheering on you from the sidelines while we’re watching you win. Thank you. To Roy and the APEX staff.” She raised her glass and so did all the others.
I couldn’t speak. Mechanically, I toasted the smiling and clapping people, and took a sip.
I wondered if anybody else had felt like she’d directed her words at them. We had laughed and cried, we had built trust and friendship, and it had been her top priority to see mewin. I knew that even if I hadn’t reciprocated her feelings, Kat would still have acted exactly the way she had.
Without second-guessing myself, I wrapped my free arm around her, not caring if one of us spilled their champagne, and pressed a scorching kiss squarely on her lips. I tried to put everything I felt into it, and hoped she knew how much her words, her love, and her support meant to me. Every day with Kat felt like the first day of the rest of my life.
It took me a moment to realise that everybody was cheering and clapping. Someone wolf-whistled, and I was sure it was Lewis.But I couldn’t help grinning dazedly down at her once we’d broken apart.
“Thank you,” I mouthed, pecking her on the mouth again, before addressing the room, my love pressed tightly to my side.
Kat’s arm sneaked around my back, her hand coming to rest at the base of my tail.
I’d be giving my speech trying to suppress an erection, which was my normal modus operandi whenever she was around. And I had better get used to it. I planned to keep her. Forever.
