She smiled. “No. I’m good.”
Without further ado, he started the Jeep and they took off, accelerating down the road.
Katherine had never ridden in an open vehicle before, and while the speed was exhilarating, the wind was cold, making her shiver as goosebumps pebbled her skin. She wished she’d brought her sweater. Worse, she couldn’t even hug herself for the addedwarmth because she had to use both hands to restrain her hair. She’d always imagined riding in a convertible, her hair gently streaming behind her. Instead, it lashed at her face from all directions, whipping into her eyes, and getting into her mouth. She spent the entire drive trying to contain the wild mass. Every time she thought she had all of it gathered in her hands, another lock would come loose and attack her face. After this, she’d be sure to take ‘owning a convertible’ off her wish list.
When they finally stopped at a gate, Katherine hastily finger-combed her hair, snagging several knots. She probably looked like she had a bird’s nest on her head. It was a good thing she had a brush in her purse. She’d need it.
Kong entered a code into a keypad, the gate opened, and they were off again. This time, it was a short burst of speed before he whipped the Jeep into a parking space.
“Home sweet home,” Kong said, and, for a moment, she forgot about how cold she was, or how much of a mess the wind had made of her hair as she took in her surroundings. She’d never been to the residential area of Black Bay. It was one of the places on the base that was restricted to her and anyone associated with Resurrection.
The old-fashioned-looking street lamps were just beginning to come on now that the sun was starting to set, illuminating the three-story tall brick and stucco buildings that lined either side of the road. There were paved walkways, cute wrought iron fences, small trees, and flowering shrubs. A few of the windows on the apartment buildings had flower boxes with colorfulblooms, and some residents had put large potted plants on their balconies. One even had an orange tree.
“What do you think?” Kong asked.
“I like it.” Her last job had paid her well enough so that she could get an apartment in a relatively nice neighborhood, but this was better. The buildings weren’t packed in so tightly. Here, if you looked out your window, you saw more than a busy street or the brick from the next building over.
“Ready to go in?”
When she nodded, Kong stood and jumped from the Jeep, making it rock. Before Katherine got more than a leg outside, he was there to help her out.
Kong’s apartment was on the bottom floor. The space was relatively large and looked larger for the lack of any decoration. The walls were painted white without any ornamentation and broken up only by a sliding glass door directly across from her that led out to a small terrace, and a large, flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. For furniture, he had a pale gray couch that matched the low-pile carpeting and an empty coffee table. To her right, there was a kitchen separated from the main living space by a breakfast bar. To her left, was a door that led into a bedroom. She could just make out the corner of the bed and what might be a trunk on the floor at the foot of it.
“I think I got everything on your list,” Kong said, motioning toward the kitchen. “If you want to check.”
Katherine smoothed a hand over her hair and winced when her fingers got caught in a snarl. “I think I better clean up first. Bathroom?”
The bathroom was an en suite off the bedroom and Katherine closed herself inside. The space was clean and smelled like a combination of lemon-scented cleaner and masculine soap. For about half a second, she was tempted to peek inside his cabinets, just to see what was inside, but one look in the mirror banished any thought of snooping. A little squeak of dismay escaped her. Her hair was a frizzy, tangled mess that made her look like a mad woman. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were a rosy red from the wind and the little bit of mascara she’d worn had smudged under her eyes creating dark shadows. She’d need every second to repair the damage.
Frantically, she dug into her purse.
As Kong waited for Katherine to come out of the bathroom, he shifted his weight from foot to foot, not sure what to do with himself. Should he sit on the couch? Turn on the TV? Should he be in the kitchen acting like he had some sort of clue of what to do in there?
He blew out a hard breath. She had him all discombobulated. When he’d first seen her come out of the Resurrection hub… He’d guessed that she had a great figure but the reality was like a one-two punch right to the solar plexus. And that hair! He’dthought it might be long, but he’d never guessed there’d been such a thick mass contained in that bun she always wore. As soon as he’d seen it, he’d imagined running his fingers through it and burying his nose in it as he breathed in the floral scent of her shampoo. Almost immediately, his mind flared with a fantasy vision of her straddling him, her large breasts cupped in his palms while her glorious hair surrounded him. His cock twitched in his jeans.
Kong groaned and closed his eyes. The problem with Lark, Lynx, and Jayla all insisting this was a date was that, by the end of their shopping trip, he’d begun to believe it. Their excitement had started rubbing off on him and he’d needed to nip that shit in the bud before they had him dressing up and insisting he bring flowers.
He’d dated in the past. There’d been two adventurous women – Black Bay personnel – who’d been able to look past the fact that he was a genetic hybrid. Both times, things had started great, and both times he’d gotten his hopes up that things might get serious. He’d been the only one thinking along those lines, though. They’d been looking for some fun while he’d been planning some grand, romantic happily ever after.
He longed for a family. It was practically hard-wired into his DNA. While others of his kind were solitary predators who were fine with being alone, Kong was a primate. Fierce, yes, but also social and happiest in a family group. He wanted a wife and kids but he also didn’t want to be hurt again. He’d been hurt enough in his life.
He had to remind himself that, despite what his friends thought – or maybe hoped – this wasn’t a date. He and Katherine Knox were just friends. Tonight, they were just two people, hanging out and making brownies. Even if she did look more delicious than any brownie could ever be.
Just friends. If he had to repeat it a hundred times, he would.
He was still standing in the middle of his living room when Katherine emerged with a bright smile on her face.
“You put your hair back up.” He hadn’t meant to blurt that out.
Her smile dimmed a bit as her hand hovered near the bun at the nape of her neck. “Oh, yes. I did. You don’t want hair in your brownies.”
True enough, and now that he thought about it, it was probably a good thing she’d put that luxurious mass away. He may have been tempted to touch it, wrap it around his fist, and pull her close with it.
Just friends, he reminded himself. “Should we get started?”
“Hey, if it’s okay, I’d like to make a batch of brownies for the Resurrection soldiers.”
“Go for it.” If anyone needed homemade yummy goodness it was those poor souls.
