Free Cougar Wants [Cougarlicious] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Cooper McKenzie Page B

again.
    “I didn’t know how you liked your coffee,” she grumped. “But then, I don’t know a lot about you.”
    She watched as he added milk and sugar to his mug. When he took a sip and moaned in appreciation, she could not help but smile. So he was a coffee -a holic, too. At least they had that in common.
    He leaned a hip against the counter with only inches separating them. “Sorry I woke you up so early.”
    “Not a problem,” she replied before taking another sip of her coffee. She closed her eyes as she felt the caffeine enter her system.
    They continued drinking in silence. When he finished his, he rinsed out his mug and set it in the dish drainer.
    “Can I take some with me?”
    “Uh-huh,” she grunted.
    He disappeared down the hall and returned a few minutes later with the biggest steel travel mug she had ever seen.
    “Wow,” she said as he opened it, rinsed it out, then put a large amount of milk and sugar in.
    “Even more amazing is that the coffee stays hot until lunchtime.”
    He emptied the rest of the fresh brewed coffee into the mug. Screwing on the lid, he picked it up and shook it for several seconds. Kimber watched silently, only raising an eyebrow when he shook the mug like a cocktail shaker.
    Once he seemed satisfied the coffee was ready to go, he wrapped the arm not holding the mug around her back and pulled her into his chest. Lowering his head, he licked across her lips and then gave her a deep, wet kiss that raised Kimber’s temperature to near boiling once again. At the same time, he pressed his erection into her hip.
    “I’ll see you later,” he said , sounding strained as he released her and headed for the front door.
    “You kiss me like that and then just walk out?” Kimber yelled as she followed him to the front door.
    Tate turned in the doorway and raked his eyes up and down her body. She quivered in response to the heat she saw in his eyes. “Anticipation is a good thing. I’ll be home as soon as I can , and I’ll make it up to you. Just remember, no playing without me,” he said with a grin.
    Kimber waited to scream out her frustration until after he winked and pulled the door closed behind him. The laughter she heard from the porch told her that he had heard her.

Chapter 8
     
    Over the next weeks, Kimber became well acquainted with anticipation and frustration. Tate was rarely home except to sleep , as he had told her before moving in. In the beginning, Kimber would fall asleep in her bed, but would wake up in Tate’s bed, in his arms. Finally, she gave up and started sleeping in his room , though she kept her things in her room.
    Her mother had been disappointed that Tate had passed on not one but three dinner invitations. Since she had seen the man in the flesh, she did not accuse Kimber of making her new roommate up, but she did begin to wonder aloud with increasing frequency whether the man might not have some other woman in his life. The way he was reacting, Kimber was beginning to wonder that for herself.
    On the few days that rain kept him from working, Kimber hoped for a day in bed with her mate. Instead, Tate spent the time running errands or washing the mountain of clothes that quickly accumulated in his bedroom. As the clothes washed and dried, he cooked several casseroles. Once they cooled, he packed plastic containers with the food to take to work with him.
    “You know, I’m here and have time . I could do some of this stuff for you,” she offered when he looked like he was dozing off while standing at the stove where he was browning hamburger.
    “You’re my mate, not my mother. Besides, you have work of your own you’re supposed to be doing,” he said, sounding grumpy and exhausted as he stared at the browning meat instead of looking at her.
    Stung by his rejection, Kimber retreated to her office and quietly closed the door. Though she did have several new covers for her two new publishers to design, Kimber wanted to be with her mate and not