Chapter 7
SEVEN
Six days.
Seventeen hours.
And, a few minutes.
“Urgh.”
The final pull up in the final set forced a grunt from my throat. I landed on my feet and grabbed the clean towel Kit had left by the water fountain this evening. She was an observer with the memory of an elephant.
How she didn’t remember she hadn’t given me a response to the spilling of my deepest, truest thoughts and feelings was baffling.
But, so was her beauty. And her charisma.
And her temperament. Even more so now than since I walked through her front door a week ago.
Something happened in that hallway that night.
Something special. Because, though Kit hadn’t addressed what we both understood to be the inevitable, she was calmer. She was more present in my presence. The discomfort had faded.
“And, our sources tell us this is promising. We can only hope this is accurate information and a solution to this crisis is on the way, John. I’m hopeful. What about you?”
“I don’t know, Phillip. But, like you, I am hopeful. Not only for my sake but for the sake of the city and every other city that has been affected by Blunder. No one is ever ready for an epidemic of this magnitude. It’s gutting, no matter how we look at it.”
“You’re righ–”
I stared blankly at the television, secretly praying my time with Kit wasn’t coming to an end. It had only just begun. I was only just beginning to see the spark in her eyes and the curve of her lips when she spoke slowly, carefully, and thoughtfully.
Uninterested in the broadcast, I powered the television down and shoved the remote back into the pouch on the wall before exiting. Sweat blinded me partially, forcing me to stop and press the towel against my moist skin.
My obsession with the gym had grown tremendously during the week inside. It was my only escape for the most part. Those pretty rounds of Kit’s was the only other adventure I was privy to at the moment, unless she decided to explore the option I’d given her six nights ago.
“Shit,” I murmured into the thick fabric.
In rapid motions, I patted. A list of things I needed to get done consumed my thoughts.
I mentally prepared for the tasks ahead.
The full stomach and aching limbs would make them a bit more challenging, but not unattainable.
I kept that in mind as I lowered the towel from my face and sighed with regret.
Should’ve gotten it done this morning wh–
Mid-thought, my mind drew a blank. A cold burst of air swept into my mouth as the only other living being in the shared dwelling sauntered past me like a breeze on a hot summer day. The heat radiating from her body set mine ablaze.
The exhaustion I’d succumbed to immediately after my last pull up dissolved suddenly. My adrenaline spiked. And, so did my urge to peel back more layers of the rather complicated, yet intimidatingly simple person who had my nostrils open wider than a Mack truck.
Draped in a rust-colored two-piece that complemented her orange undertones, Kit waltzed past me as if she didn’t understand the magnitude of her presence and how effective it was on me.
Without a care in the world, she disarmed me.
Uprooted me. Displaced every feeling I’d ever felt in my entire life and made me wonder if there’d ever been one greater than encountering her.
Nah. I admitted as my lips parted to speak.
Letting her walk away unscathed was not on that list of things to do that I was toying with moments prior. Though she was walking at a somewhat normal rate, it felt like she was moving at a snail’s pace and as swift as a bunny simultaneously. I was unsure of when or how soon I’d lose sight of her.
“Kit–” I called behind her, stopping her in her tracks.
She didn’t move another inch. My voice commanded her attention.
Proudly, I stiffened my chest. There wasn’t a ball I’d knocked out of the park or a deal I’d signed that made me feel more accomplished.
More successful. More purposeful. Though hard to explain, I didn’t care to explain what was happening inside of me since meeting Kit.
I awaited those orbs I was growing to love seeing as much as I did the rising of the sun each day. She was in no hurry. She never was. On her time and only when she was ready did she turn around. Her shoulders, which had rounded upon hearing her name roll off my tongue, squared as she stood tall.
“Yes, Mr. McClarren.”
Slightly offended by her distinction of our personal and professional relationship, I sniggered.
The things I want to do to you, Ms. Delucca, are far from professional. Everything about that shit is personal.
I allowed my invasive thoughts to linger a few seconds before ignoring Kit’s angle altogether. Instead, I redirected the conversation to the place it was meant to be from the start.
“Your beauty is staggering,” I claimed, “You look– stunning this evening.”
The words settled in as she stared back at me. There was magic in those eyes. A glimpse of pain, but not very much. Everything about Kit told me she was loved well, raised well, taught well, fed well, and courted well at some point or another.
Her sureness told me so. Her confidence told me so. Everything down to her moisturized skin told me so. Kit was to be held to a higher regard than most women. I didn’t make the rule. She did. Her presence did. I was simply meant to abide by it.
“Thank you.”
Her back was visible far too soon. Although I had nothing more to say, I wasn’t quite ready to watch her walk away.
“And, Kit,” I belted, unable to control my impulses.
She stopped again, turning slowly. “Yes?”
“Let that be the last time you call me by my father’s name. It’s Fohr, sweet baby.”
This time, I took off in the opposite direction. I couldn’t bear the thought of watching her leave, again, so I did so myself.
My teeth crashed into each other as I ground them against one another in an attempt to control my limbs. Kit’s magnetism was far too powerful. I had no desire to fight it, but for her sake, it was best.
Every step I made was announced by the polyester used to construct my shorts I’d selected.
I descended the staircase with the clear glass in my hand.
It was my second time down them in the last few minutes and I was hoping it was my last for a while.
The two-story closet seemed like a perfect idea until you couldn’t recall where your things were stored because you didn’t visit your home enough to remember.
The fight I began the second I left Kit in the hallway with her pretty brown skin on full display was useless. So was the list of tasks that served as a temporary distraction. Getting her out of my head proved to be the more difficult task.
I exited my bedroom, conquered the required square footage to reach the sliding doors that extended from one end of the house to the other, and stepped out into the massive backyard of my home.
Even with all the land surrounding me, shrinking me in size, there was an incredibly large presence just feet away from me.
The heated jacuzzi hardened her nipples through the top of her swimsuit. A wine glass rested at the tip of her fingers. Her eyes were trained on me. Centrally.
Down boy. I chastised my growing erection. I’d managed to settle Kit’s soul while in close proximity. The last thing I wanted to do was give her a new reason to run in the opposite direction every time I entered a room she didn’t have to be in for the moment.
I was appreciative of the water’s temperature as I lowered my body into the circular structure. Kit observed with curiosity and concern dancing in those irises of hers. Once inside, I didn’t settle.
The journey to her end of the water began. Her chest swelled with air.
“Am I interrupting your free time?” I asked, closing the gap between us without haste.
I was in no hurry to lose control of my limbs, lips, and listening ears. Because, that’s what would happen if I moved any swifter. Instead, I took my time. Held her gaze. And silently assured her that she had little reason to worry.
“I asked you a question,” I reminded her.
Her head swung from one side to the other. There was nothing between us, now, except two inches of bubbling water that fizzled against our skin. She smelled like honey today.
Different.
It was a pleasant, subtle scent that paired well with her pH. Her chest rose higher. Her eyelashes batted, displaying the perfect natural curl at the center of them. They framed her eyes so well.
I’d reached her and she had still forgotten to breathe. Before I lost her permanently, I tipped her chin upward. Finally in contact with her frame again, I was hit with an electric current that made the hair on my back stand.
She’s exhilarating.
Her boredom was tantalizing. It was exciting. It was so damn cute. And, fitting. And, interesting.
“Breathe, Kit.”
For a woman with a sharp memory, her actions were questionable. Suddenly, she couldn’t remember the most important action known to humankind.
She nodded. “Ye– yes.”
Softly, the words fell from her lips.
“Right.”
Her chest deflated as her tongue exited her mouth to wet her lips.
I could’ve done you that favor.
The way I wanted to care for Kit, on levels I didn’t understand myself, was driving me up the fucking wall. The fact that I was forced to take my time and lean into the idea of having her in my world when this was all over should’ve been doing the same, but it wasn’t.
Strangely, it was giving me the opportunity to carefully craft the demise of her burdens, barriers, and boundaries the actions of another nigga had caused her to adopt.
Whether she understood it or not, I’d claimed her as my own and would do anything to have her.
Even if not now, someday, and that day would have to be sooner than later.
“Are you comfortable?”
Soundlessly, she nodded. I accepted her response for what it was. The truth.
I stepped closer, not stopping until our bodies touched.
“Still comfortable?”
She nodded.
“Good.”