Did it always smell so good? It wasn’t just the food she had cooking, although that was making my stomach growl and my mouth water. Beneath that, it smelled like her, and it was oddly relaxing.
I took a seat on the couch, once again admiring her precision. My mouth turned up in a grin and I scooted the table lamp an inch to the side, just to see if she’d notice. I couldn’t resist.
The fattest cat I’d ever seen ambled down the hall. He stopped to stretch, arching his back. Or at least, he was probably arching his back. Cats usually did, but it was hard to tell what this one was doing beneath the enormous amount of gray fur.
The cat’s head swiveled toward me. He had long whiskers and a flat face. He yawned, then seemed to decide he needed to come inspect his owner’s guest. Between his long fur and considerable girth, I could barely see his legs. He was like a big, poofy ball of gray, shuffling across the room toward me. He plopped down next to my foot and sniffed my pants.
“Hi, kitty.” I reached down and scratched his head.
“That’s Erwin,” Hazel said from the kitchen entrance.
I chuckled. “Erwin. I get it. Erwin Schrodinger. Schrodinger’s cat. That’s funny.”
“It is funny. But no one ever gets the joke.”
“Really?” I kept petting him. He allowed it. His soft fur was perfectly groomed—not a single mat. Impressive, considering the thickness of his coat.
“You’re the first person to both understand and find amusement in the reference.” She tilted her head, a little smile crossing her lips. “He likes you. He’s waiting for you to pick him up and put him on the couch.”
“He won’t jump up?”
“No, he can’t make it anymore.”
I chuckled again. “Erwin, I know your mommy’s a good cook, but if you can’t jump up onto the couch, you’re probably eating too many cookies while she’s at work.”
“It’s not his size that prevents him from jumping onto the couch. He’s just getting older.”
“Are you sure? Because he’s huge.”
She crossed her arms. “He’s just fluffy.”
Raising my eyebrows, I put my hands around his middle and lifted him onto the couch next to me. He was very fluffy, she was right about that, but he had to weigh twenty pounds. “Holy crap, Hazel, he’s heavy.”
“He’s not that heavy. And he’s perfectly healthy.”
I smoothed down his fur as he settled onto the cushion, looking like a gray blob of fur with ears and a flat face. “He’s definitely a happy cat.”
“Precisely,” she said, her tone decisive, and went back into the kitchen.
“What do you think, Erwin?” I lowered my voice and kept petting him. “Did your mommy really invite me over to discuss study data?”
Erwin closed his eyes.
“I didn’t think so.”
Hazel came back out, pulling her apron over her head. “Dinner’s ready.”
“It smells amazing.” I stood, but glanced at Erwin, still on the couch. “Can he get down by himself?”
“Oh, yes, he’s fine.”
The table was already set for two and I helped Hazel bring dinner from the kitchen. She’d made chicken in a lemon cream sauce with pasta. I couldn’t wait to dig in.
We sat down and dished up. The food was delicious. I didn’t get home-cooked meals like this very often and I devoured two helpings in the time it took Hazel to eat one.
We mostly talked about work, and Hazel brought up the motion capture study. In the back of my mind I once again wondered if that was really the reason she’d invited me over. Maybe it was. Maybe whatever crazy sexual connection we’d had was over.
But it wasn’t over for me. The longer I spent here, surrounded by all things Hazel, the more I thought about taking her clothes off.
“I made dessert,” she said after we’d both finished.
She rose and gathered our plates and silverware. The clipped way she spoke and her stiff posture reminded me of the day we’d flown to the conference in Florida. I’d assumed the way she’d acted had been because she was mad at me.
But I knew her better now. That strictly business act was a façade hiding the sex kitten she was on the inside.
I grabbed the serving dishes and followed her into the kitchen. She set the plates in the sink and pulled the foil off a square pan.
Brownies. She’d made brownies.
I’d refused to eat her brownies that day at work. And she’d made them for me again.
I didn’t know why that hit me in the chest the way that it did, but I set the dishes on the counter, grabbed her by the waist and spun her around.
She met my kiss without hesitation, and the second our lips touched, fire raced through my veins. I was aching to touch her. Taste her. Feel her body against mine.
I wanted her a hell of a lot more than I wanted brownies. And that was saying something.
Her arms flew around my neck and she pressed herself against me. My hands fumbled with her clothes and I backed her out of the kitchen, heading for the couch, the bed, I didn’t care. All I knew was that I needed her. Now.
We stopped near the couch and our mouths parted so we could pull shirts over our heads. I let mine drop and grabbed her, hauling her against me to kiss her again. The beast inside me roared to life. I was going to do a hundred dirty things to her. Fuck her senseless all over this apartment.
My eyes flicked open for a second and I caught sight of Erwin, still sitting on the couch, staring at us.
I froze with my hands tangled in her hair. The cat’s green-eyed gaze was unblinking.
This wasn’t going to work.
Hazel’s hand slid down and she grabbed my cock through my pants. I groaned. Fuck that cat. I picked her up, tossed her over my shoulder, and carried her to her bedroom.
I kicked the door shut behind us and flipped her onto the bed. She bounced on the mattress and let out a little squeak. I quickly shucked my pants. Licking my lips in anticipation, I tore the rest of her clothes off, knelt next to the bed, and pushed her legs open.
Groaning, I slid my tongue along her slit. There were no words for how good she tasted—better than any dessert she could ever bake. I teased her, dipping my tongue inside and dragging it out. Brushing her clit with quick strokes.
She writhed against the sheets and ran her fingers through my hair. I found a rhythm she liked and followed her lead, flicking her clit with my tongue.
Sliding two fingers inside her, I groaned again. She was hot and wet, her walls trembling with tension. I kept flicking her clit and pumped my fingers, curling them gently. She moaned louder, moving her hips.
I loved doing this to her. Making her feel so good she shed her inhibitions and gave in. Moaned and bucked her hips and grabbed my hair.
My dick was achingly hard, but I didn’t want to stop until she came. I paused just long enough to slide my fingers out and wipe her wetness on my cock.
“I want to watch,” she said.
I raised my eyebrows.
Biting her bottom lip, she nodded.
She scooted up the bed and I climbed on, kneeling in front of her. I grabbed the shaft and slid my hand up and down my hard length.
Tentatively, Hazel’s fingers crept across her hip and over the crease of her thigh.
“Fuck yes,” I said, my eyes locking on those tantalizing fingers. “Do it. Touch yourself.”