Follow the Queen: A Menage, Sexy and Short Romance) (2 page)

As if sensing exactly what she was thinking, Jake's smirk spread into a grin before he looked away and motioned for the waiter. Always the one to take charge, he ordered another round of drinks before turning back to Kate, and like an addict, she tried to hide how she felt, even if his blue eyes studying her still made her toes curl. She could feel the heat rise in her body as he let his gaze travel across her face. The warmth spread across her breasts, exactly where Jake's attention was focused, resting there for a moment to watch the rise and fall of each breath before sliding his gaze ever so slowly back up to her face again.

Kate shifted nervously in her chair, checking again to see where David was, but he was already gone by the time she looked. She couldn't help but feel a slight pang of disappointment. She almost wished he had turned around to see her and this strange man sitting together, a man actually paying attention to her for a change instead of staring at his cell phone through the entire meal. Maybe it would knock some sense into him, and remind him of what he had, but it didn't matter anyway. He was gone.

Jake slid his hand across the table and patted Kate's arm, letting his hand linger there for a moment.

"So how have you been doing Kitty-Kat?" he said, squeezing her arm.

She flushed at the sound of his voice. It felt almost...wrong somehow that he should call her by the nickname he'd given to her back when they were still together. It may seem sweet to an outsider but Kate remembered just how Jake had come up with the nickname in the first place, and it wasn't as innocent as it sounded. In fact, if she remembered correctly (and who was she kidding, she knew exactly how it had all happened), they were engaged in some seriously indecent acts when he'd told her how she seemed to purr when he touched her.

Girl you must be starved for attention,
she thought, taking a sip of her drink the moment the waiter set it down. "Oh, you know. Busy with the house, busy at work, you know how it is. And you?"

"Oh, the same. But that doesn't mean I don't get out and have a little fun now and then," he said winking at her.

He leaned in a little closer, pressing so hard against Kate that she was sure he could hear her racing heartbeat.

"Speaking of fun," he said, "I'm having a little party tomorrow night."

"Oh?" Kate tried not to encourage him, but it seemed like every word she uttered, Jake took it as an opportunity to flirt. Kate didn't know what irritated her more - the fact that he was trying to charm her when he knew she was married, or that she was letting him.

"You remember my parties, don't you Kitty-Kat?" David reached across and trailed his fingertips up and down Kate's hand. For a split second she felt a pulse of electricity across the back of her neck but quickly ignored it, drawing her hand back like she'd touched a hot burner on a stove.

"Actually, those parties are exactly the type of thing I'd like to forget."

"Oh? Why's that? No time for fun now that you're married?"

Instead of looking away from David this time, she squinted her eyes, studying the look of amusement and the laugh he was trying to stifle. Had he been sitting on the other side of the restaurant all along, watching her and David and their awkward conversation? She wouldn't put it past him. He loved to get the upper hand so he could use it to his advantage, and it wouldn't be surprised if he'd somehow found out she was going to be here and sought her out just to see how she was doing. It was like he knew exactly when things in her life were in upheaval so he could try to swoop in and take advantage. But Kate wasn't going to let him...or at least that was what she tried to convince herself, even as she allowed him to sit so close to her, so close she could almost...

"Some of us have mortgages and bills to pay," she blurted out "and lives to live that don't involve getting wasted every weekend."

"Oh come on, now. When did you get so serious anyway, huh? I remember a girl who used to like to have fun; let her hair down; get a little wild."

"Yeah...well, that was a long time ago."

"No. it wasn't." His voice was low now, and she hated hearing it. The deepness simmered, and it reminded her of thick caramel, warm and inviting, a richness she longed to drink in. "Kitty-Kat."

His voice yanked her out of her daydream.

"No. I...I can’t." Kate suddenly jumped up, grabbing her purse and darting away from the table. She ignored the stares of the other patrons as she bolted around the side of the restaurant into the alley behind the establishment.

Leaning against the wall, Kate tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Hot tears stung her eyes, but she wiped them away with the back of her hand. Why did he get to her that way? After everything, she thought she was stronger than that, but it was obvious she was wrong. Maybe it was just her trouble with David that made her latch onto any morsel of attention, even if it did come from the guy whom she hadn’t thought about in years.

But those eyes...that voice...his touch.

Kate took a deep breath and opened her eyes, but when she saw Jake come racing around the corner, her breath caught in her throat. He had followed her around the back of the restaurant, and without saying a word, he came toward her, his eyes locked with hers.

Unable to move, and barely able to catch her breath, Kate didn't protest when he walked up and planted one hand on the wall behind her, effectively blocking her from moving. There was no avoiding him now. The deep musk of his cologne was like an elixir, making every inch of her skin tingle.

"Let me go. This...this was a mistake."

But he didn't move. He moved in closer to her. "I saw you."

She scowled at him. "Saw me? Saw me...where? What do you mean?"

“I saw you standing in line at the register at Zingerman’s.  I only came in because I saw you there and I couldn’t just keep walking without talking to you.   I miss you Kitty-Kat.  I miss us, and the way you looked up at me the moment you heard my voice, I can tell you feel the same. You can try to run away from me but there's no hiding it. I saw the look on your face. Those old feelings are still there. I can see it, Kitty-Kat."

Kate shook her head, but she could feel her entire body quiver at the feeling of his warm breath on her neck when he reached up and trailed his fingertips across the nape of her neck.

"Y-you see what you want to see. You always have. You haven't changed at all, that's perfectly obvious to me."

"Neither have you," he said in a sexy whisper as he reached up to brush a strand of stray hair that had fallen across her forehead.

"You're still a gorgeous, sexy, knock-out. I don't know what I was thinking, letting you go."

Kate felt the intense desire to grab his hand but she wasn't sure whether she would push him away or hold on for dear life. They stood there, skin to skin, standing so close that she was sure he could feel the swell of her breasts and the press of her taut nipples against his chest.

"I--I have to go," she blurted, trying to brush past him.

"No. Not yet."

"Jake...please." She pleaded with him, her eyes now brimming with tears that threatened to spill over.

"Come to my house tomorrow, Kitty-Kat. Please."

"You're crazy!" she said, trying to laugh it off, but she could see the determination in his furrowed brow.

"Why? What's so crazy about it? It's just a party, and we're just two old friends getting together for a drink. Nothing more."

Kate knew that look. It was dangerous, a look that had gotten her into more trouble than she could imagine over the years, one that she had a hell of a time saying no to. She tried but she couldn't even make her mouth form the words.

"I'll think about it. Okay. Just...I just really have to go now, alright? Please."

She had heard herself say the words, but still, Kate didn't move, and sensing her hesitation, Jake cupped her cheek with one hand. Kate drew her breath in sharply, parting her lips, longing for him to press his to hers. A quick flashback of him reaching down between her thighs and slipping his fingers inside her made her feel instantly heated and light-headed, but just as quickly as that memory surfaced it was gone.  The intensity between them flickered and with a sly smile, Jake pulled away from her.

The crushing force of disappointment surprised her, but she tried to remain composed. So, he was just toying with her all along. She should have known. The bitter sting of rejection left a nasty taste in the back of her throat but she painted on her best fake smile and smoothed her hair down. The last thing she needed was another rejection today and since that was obviously Jake's plan all along, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing just how much it hurt her.

But still, she couldn't move. Something deep inside kept her from leaving, until an image of David flashed in her mind and she quickly brushed past Jake, heading away from him to where she'd parked her car.

"Promise me you'll at least think about it Kitty-Kat. Okay?"

Kate waved over her head at him, refusing to look back in his direction for fear the electricity between them would just draw her back to him again. She jumped into her car, started it and zipped out of the parking lot, not able to take a breath until she had turned the corner and was halfway down the block with the restaurant out of view.

Why does he still hold this power over me?
she thought to herself, throwing her head back against the seat and groaning out loud. And why am I such an idiot to let him get to me like this? It's exactly what he wants!

At the next stop light, Kate closed her eyes, unable to shake the sound of David's voice, the heat of his touch, the scent of his cologne, of him. Every inch of her skin ached for him, and she knew if she had stayed a moment longer, she would have backslid into their comfortable and sensual dynamic that she had spent years getting over.

And yet, she could almost feel the forceful pressing of his lips on hers. Her panties got wet at the thought of him inside her, but she knew that her fantasizing was just going to add sexual frustration on top of what had already turned into a disappointing day.

The honking of traffic behind her awoke Kate from her daydream. Her eyes flung open and she shook her head, trying to get rid of the image of him as she took off back toward the office.

Of all the days to run into Jake it just had to be the day she was at her most vulnerable. Typical. Her phone pinged and at the next light she stopped to check it. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the message:

“Here's my address. Promise me you'll at least think about it, huh, Kitty-Kat?”

Kate tossed her phone aside and cursed. Was he doing all of this just to torture her or was she the one reading into things, getting caught up in the past just to escape everything going on with her and David?

Either way, she spent the rest of the drive back to work trying to drown out her thoughts with music. She had a feeling shaking Jake and the way he made her feel was going to be harder than she thought.

The next night, Kate tried to forget about the party at Jake's and instead, decided to cook David's favorite meal, potato gnocchi with a homemade marinara sauce, for dinner. For the last few months he had been staying late at the office, so they barely ate together anymore. She missed the casual chats over a bottle of wine, and every night he came in late and she saw the electric glow of the television, she felt a pang of regret and jealousy, like he would rather eat alone in the dark than have to sit across the table from her for anything more than half an hour.

The moment she heard his keys in the door, her stomach did a somersault, so she stirred the pasta sauce bubbling on the stove to calm her nerves. She waited for a few moments, hoping he would call out to greet her, but after a few moments, when she heard him angrily toss his keys down onto the table in the front hallway, she knew she'd gotten her hopes up for nothing.

"Hi honey," she called out, trying to keep her voice cheerful.

When he didn't answer, she sighed. She remembered the days when he used to come into the house, sneak up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist, kissing a trail from her ear to the crook of her neck. But those days were long gone, forgotten amongst a sea of resentment, anger and a distance that threatened their relationship in the worst possible way.

She could hear him tearing into the mail, which was always a bad sign. After getting laid off at his old job, the two had been struggling. He managed to find another one, but it paid barely half of what he used to make. Kate didn't blame him for being stressed out. She was just as worried about their finances as he was and was also working more than full-time to try and help make ends meet. But his preoccupation with work, bills and their other expenses had turned David into an angry, silent man who barely talked to her much anymore. And their sex life?  It was non-existent. Kate could barely remember the last time they'd even just spent a night lounging on the couch, cuddling and watching a movie, let alone the last time they'd had sex.

Tonight she had made an extra effort to clean the house and have a nice dinner made in an attempt to diffuse the impending conversation over bills that she was sure they were going to have.  All thoughts of a nice evening were dashed when he came into the kitchen holding the stack of bills, Kate knew she was in for another awkward dinner with the man who she was slowly starting to think hated her.