Page 34 of Hot Response
Cait woke the next morning to her phone chiming. As she reached for it, she wondered if it was even still morning. It felt like it had to be at least noon, and she hoped the text was from Gavin letting her know he was outside with coffee and a box of doughnuts.
It was only nine thirty and the text was from Carter.Where’s the cleaning stuff?
She’d told him she wanted the bathroom clean before she got home and that she’d probably be home by ten or eleven. He was cutting it close.Under the sink where most people keep cleaning stuff.
Whatever.
She tossed the phone back onto the nightstand and stretched, surprised by how well rested she felt. Despite fearing she’d spend hours tossing and turning thanks to the memory of Gavin’s voice on the phone and his parting text. But she’d been so relaxed after an evening of doing nothing that she must have drifted off.
Despite having soaked so long in his tub last night that she was probably still waterlogged, Cait treated herself to a quick shower, just to see what it felt like. The steaming hot water pulsing over her skin was even more amazing than the bubble bath had been, and she stayed in there until she realized she didn’t know exactly when Gavin was coming home. Maybe not until she told him she was gone, but she couldn’t be sure.
She was getting dressed, debating whether or not she should strip the sheets off the bed—she didn’t know where he kept clean ones, or if he just washed this set and put them back on—when her phone chimed again.
This time it was Gavin.You awake?
Depends. Are you outside with coffee and doughnuts?
I will be in 30 mins.
Twenty-five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. She liked that he didn’t just use his key, she thought as she opened the door to let him in. And, as promised, he had a cardboard holder with two large coffees in it and a box of doughnuts.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” he said as he kicked the door closed behind him and walked to the table to set down their breakfast. “You look like you slept well.”
“I did. How did you sleep?”
“As well as can be expected for a guy trying to sleep on a couch with a raging hard-on.” He turned to face her, the corners of his mouth turned up. “That was mean.”
It was out there now. She’d known things would be different between them after last night’s conversation, but seeing the heat in his eyes right now left no doubt. He wanted her. She wanted him. At some point in the very near future she was going to end up back in that big bed of his, and she wouldn’t be alone.
“You had it coming for making my ass a firehouse joke.”
“Trust me,Iwas the firehouse joke. Your ass is no joke.”
She rolled her eyes, but took a seat at the table and pulled one of the coffees out of the holder. “Cream and sugar?”
“Yeah. I realized after I should have gotten it black and let you add whatever you wanted here, but it was too late.”
“Milk is never as good as that really fattening cream all the coffee shops use.”
After hanging up his coat, he joined her at the table. “I bought that stuff one time, but you have a little more guilt when you have to look at the label every time you add it to your coffee.”
Popping open the doughnut box, she perused the selection. “Two of each kind?”
“That way we won’t have to engage in mortal combat if we like the same kind.”
“What if I want both jelly doughnuts?”
His eyes narrowed for a minute and then his mouth curved into a smile that promised nothing but mischief. “Then we’ll have to negotiate my surrender, if I agree to your terms.”
It was utterly ridiculous that a conversation about jelly doughnuts should be such a turn-on, but Cait was hard-pressed not to squirm in her chair. Then he took a big bite out of a chocolate glazed and she laughed at the chocolate stuck to his mouth.
They talked about nothing much while they ate two doughnuts each and drank their coffee. The movie she’d watched in the tub—the mention of which had put that hot, hungry look in his eyes—and the miracle of plumbing that were his dual shower heads.
She ate the second doughnut more slowly, trying to stretch out the time they had left together. Once breakfast was over, there was really no reason for her to stay, but she didn’t want to go without...something. At the very least a plan to get together again.
Once her coffee was gone, Cait reluctantly got up. She threw away the cup and napkin, then rinsed her hands at the sink. When she turned, Gavin was standing close, his hip resting against the counter. He wasn’t close enough to crowd her, but closer than a casual acquaintance.
“I’m glad you enjoyed your night here,” he said softly.
