Free Two for Kate by Lola Wilder Page B

Kate could see some of the other
women in the restaurant watching after him. They looked at him the way Kate
did, their eyes scanning the way his tight black t-shirt accented his muscles,
and how his firefighter pants and boots made him look tough and strong, a hero
every woman would want to be rescued by. She couldn't stomach the thought of
him being with another woman, but the way things were going, that might become
a reality much sooner than the two of them working out their problems.
    Kate nursed her drink a while before taking out her wallet,
prepared to pay for the drinks she had ordered. She supposed that this lunch
date had just been wishful thinking.  The reality was that sitting down to
share something as frivolous as lunch had become too much of an inconvenience.
That was the sad thing. If they couldn't manage lunch, how could they expect to
save their marriage?
     Just then the door swung open and the cool air tickled the
backs of her legs and neck. She felt a cool hand on her upper arm as a gruff
voice spoke behind her. "Why don't you let me take care of that?"
 

 
    Two
     
    Kate's heart fluttered at the voice. She didn't need to turn to
know who it was but she did so, anyway. Standing over and grinning down at her
was Adir, a guy she’d dated seriously in college…until she realized that she
needed a man that could give her more than just great orgasms.  Adir had
been a decent enough guy; it was just that she’d wanted to get married and odds
back then were he’d be a confirmed bachelor for life, regardless of the
pressures from his pack to find a mate.  Adir was the first shifter Kate
had ever met.  A large smile spread across her face when she thought back to
when they’d first met.  She had been so clueless about shifters, and sex and
life really.
    Kate had met David shortly after she realized that her
relationship with Adir wasn’t ever going to go to the next level. David
was everything Adir wasn’t: where Adir was a take-charge kind of guy, David
allowed her to share in the balance of power.  Adir was dark and handsome,
his features rugged and masculine whereas David was more all American with
blonde hair, blue eyes and a very endearing boyish charm about him.  Adir was a
shifter and David was human.  And on the surface, she knew she shouldn’t be so
shallow to hold that against Adir. After all, she’d loved lots of things about
him being a shifter: he was big and strong and had an amazing sex drive. But at
the end of the day, she’d wanted a life that Adir wouldn’t be willing to give
her.  It had been hard for Kate to end things with Adir.  The sex had been amazing
and they’d always had a lot of fun together--she’d just wanted more.  And
this was the “more” that you wanted? she asked herself, thinking of her
marriage that was now on life support.  Maybe Adir was onto something by
staying single. She found herself envious of his situation as well as sad
for her own.
    She tried to hide the mixture of emotions from him -- the sadness
and regret of how things had gotten with David, and the surprise and relief at
seeing Adir just when she needed someone.  She could tell by the cocky smirk plastered across his face
that he could still read her every thought.  
    "You don't have to do that, Adir," Kate said, taking a
quick look over to the street to see David standing on the curb, waving his arm
furiously in the air as he tried to hail a cab.
    "Oh, it's my pleasure, as long as you agree to sit and have a
drink with me in return." He placed his hand on her lower back and
gently stroked her with his thumb.
    Oh my
God, please, yes.
    She
instantly felt a flood of warmth spread across her core and moisture began to
pool between her thighs. Kate was caught off guard, and she was ashamed to
admit that his touch felt too good to say no to.  They walked over to a booth
in the corner.  Without waiting for her response, Adir
slid into the seat next to her, his leg intentionally