Free With Vengeance by Brooklyn Ann Page A

some coffee and smoke a
bowl before I pull the filter, okay?”
    Kat swallowed, mouth dry at the teasing view.
“Okay.” She grabbed a few of her bags and so did he.
    Cliff came out of the house, shirtless and
hair wet from a shower. “You made it. Anything I can do?” He gave
Kat a deliberate look and actually flexed his pecs.
    She bit her lip to avoid laughing. After all
the years of mooning over her poster of him, his body, impressive
as it was, had no effect on her, except to notice that his abs were
slightly diminished, likely from all the beer. No, instead she was
still picturing that brief line of flesh Klement had exposed.
    “You can grab the rest of Kat’s bags from
that little green wagon.” Klem pointed back at the garage. “I’m
going to get her settled in her room.”
    When they entered the house, Kat bit back a
gasp. The hardwood floors gleamed and the countertops sparkled.
He’d cleaned the place! Had he done it for her? Warmth prickled
through her at the thought.
    Her room was also pristine, with a
queen-sized bed adorned with a fluffy blue comforter, a rich
cherry-wood dresser and matching desk and end table.
    “Will this do?”
    He actually looked like he was worried she
wouldn’t approve. His glittering blue eyes made her suck in another
breath.
    “Oh yes, it’s beautiful. Thank you.”
    He set her bags on the bed. “I’ll let you get
settled while Cliff and I go puff. Let me know if you need
anything.”
    When the guys went upstairs to smoke weed,
Kat went out on the deck and called Kinley. Her friend was the only
woman she could trust to talk about whatever was going on with her
body.
    Just as she was about to hang up, thinking
Kin was unavailable, her friend answered.
    “Hey, Kat.”
    Even though she was alone, Kat spoke quietly.
“Hey, are you somewhere private?”
    “Yeah, what’s up?”
    “Something really weird is going on.” She
took a deep breath and described how she’d been talking with
Klement in the studio last night and got wet out of nowhere. “He
wasn’t even flirting with me or anything. Then, when I was riding
with him to follow the tow truck, he was speculating about what’s
wrong with my car and it happened again.”
    The line was silent for a long time.
    “Kinley?”
    “OH MY GOD!” Kinley burst out so loud Kat had
to pull the phone away from her ear. “You want him!”
    “What?” Kat gasped as the words struck her.
That was the logical explanation, but she usually knew when she was
crushing on a guy. And she’d never become aroused just talking with
one about regular stuff. She’d always needed some flirting, some
foreplay. Plus, this was Klement they were talking about. He
was, for all practical purposes, her boss.
    “I think I’d know if I did.” A defensive tone
crept in her voice. “I mean, Klement’s cute and smart and has been
very kind, but—”
    Kin cut her off. “But you couldn’t stop
talking about him last time and you can’t stop talking about him
now. I mean, you called him a geeky Viking .”
    “That wasn’t exactly a term of
endearment.”
    Kinley snorted. “C’mon. Comparing a guy to a
Viking in any form is saying he’s a hottie.”
    “But I’ve liked Cliff forever,” Kat protested
feebly, even as she realized how silly it sounded to argue about
it.
    “And now?”
    Kat closed her eyes and thought of her last
few days with the singer she’d used to pine for. She felt
absolutely nothing. “There’s zero chemistry between us.” She shook
her head at her own fickle emotions. “I mean, he stole my solo.”
Kinley laughed as Kat continued on, explaining the real source of
her anxiety. “But I was relieved about my infatuation for one of
the band members going away because that guaranteed I’d stay
professional.” And now it seemed she’d become infatuated with one
of the others.
    More laughter echoed across the line. “Good
luck with that.”
    “It’s not funny.” She thought about Kinley’s
words and then her