Free It's In His Kiss by Mallory Kane

before one of us strangled the other."
    "It would just be until you find a place. Shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks, a month maybe. Right?"
    "Michael, have you ever actually lived with a woman?"
    "What kind of insulting question is that? Besides having a sister, I think I've spent enough nights with females to know they leave a trail of nylon and cotton balls and strange, unmentionable things in their wake."
    "Oh, ha-hah!"
    He opened the door and got out.
    Cat followed. "What are you doing?"
    "Coming in with you. We need to look at your furniture."
    "No, we don't." She shook her head as she unlocked the door. "We can't live together. I mean, what would all your dates think?"
    "Thanks for the compliment, but I’m pretty sure ‘all my dates’ won’t mind. Contrary to popular belief, I don't have a constant stream of women in and out of my apartment."
    "Well, that's a relief."
    "Now." He walked around the living room. "What's your favorite chair?"
    She turned in a circle, following him. "I don't have a favorite chair."
    He pointed to the couch. "The couch? That's where you were drowning your sorrows in sweet goo the other night."
    "I only lit on the couch because I didn't have a free hand for the lever on the recliner."
    "So the recliner then?"
    "No. I mean--no. Michael. Look. It's sweet of you to offer, but I need to find my own place."
    "It's not like we'll be living together forever. Just until you can find an apartment you can afford."
    "You don't know my boss," she retorted with a wry grin. "My paycheck is so small it has an inferiority complex."
     "What else do you want to keep?"
    She frowned at him. "Do you know how irritating it is that you never listen to me? I said I don't think it's a good idea for me to move in with you. What about dating?" 
    Michael grinned at her. "It's a flattering offer, but no thanks."
    "Grrr! I mean, what about your dates? What will they think if you're living with a woman?"
    "Maybe they'll think you're my roommate, or my friend. Maybe they'll be jealous." He waggled his eyebrows.
    She laughed. "I'd forgotten how you do that with your eyebrows. Stop it. I'm serious."
    "Me too. Now, what else do you want to keep?"
    "Michael, I'll need this furniture when I get my apartment."
    "This is the stuff you bought with David, right?"
    She nodded.
    "Then leave it on the curb, as far as I'm concerned."
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
     
     
     
    After the cryptic remark, Michael disappeared into the bedroom. Cat spent two seconds wondering at the odd note in his voice, then she followed him.
    "-- a good idea," he was saying as she caught up with him.
    "What? What's a good idea?"
    "Taking your bedroom set, since my second bedroom is nothing but a junk room. No furniture."
    "Michael. You're riding roughshod over me as usual, and not listening to a word I say."
    He turned and looked at her, his eyes sparkling. "What?"
    "You never change, do you?"
    "Nope. Good old Michael. Always the same."
    An odd note in his voice made her glance at him. But he just shrugged and smiled. Somehow she got all tangled up in his smile, and couldn't pull her gaze away. She was doing that a lot lately, and she wasn't sure why.
    His smile slowly faded. "Tell you what, Cat. Never mind. I don’t know what I was thinking. This could turn out to be the longest couple of weeks of my life."
    "You’re taking back your offer? Why?"
    "Maybe I’m not up to listening to your sniping twenty-four hours a day."
    "Sniping?" Cat stared at him. "You think I snipe?"
    He shrugged.
    "Oh. I mean, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snipe. I was just teasing."
    "No, it's me. I just haven't been sleeping well. Forget what I said. Sure you can stay with me."
    "Really? Great. I mean, thanks. And I'm sure it’ll only be a couple of weeks. It'll be like the old days when we lived next door to each other, except that now we'll be in the same house." She smiled at him, but his gaze slid away for an