It was a warm, sunny day for autumn, and after a couple of hours, he was hot and sweaty and covered with dirt. His head was still full of erotic visions of Madeline with hot eyes, flushed cheeks, tousled hair. No clothes. So he kept working, hoping he’d eventually be too tired for lustful thoughts.
Marlowe, his black lab, had been keeping him company during the morning, rooting around in the dirt and chasing away birds and squirrels. But a certain kind of barking indicated that a person must have arrived, so Ken straightened up and looked around. Marlowe had run around to the front of the house through the open fence gate.
Ken followed him. It was probably Katie. She sometimes stopped by on Saturdays so the girls could say hi on the weekends when they weren’t staying with him.
Before he’d gotten around the corner to the front yard, Marlowe returned with happy yaps and twirls, followed by Madeline.
Madeline.
She was wearing jeans and a simple white shirt. Her hair was loose and her eyes were downcast.
Ken’s heart gave a ridiculous lurch at the sight of her. He pulled to a stop and stared, unable to move or say anything for a moment.
“Hey,” she said, darting a quick glance up at him. “Sorry to just stop by.”
“You’re sorry?” He almost choked on the words. “Why are you sorry? I was just thinking about you.”
“You were?” Her face and shoulders relaxed. She’d reached him now. Marlowe was running circles around them, thrilled with the unexpected visitor.
“Yes. I didn’t think... I wasn’t sure you’d want to...” He was almost never tongue-tied like this. He had no idea what had gotten into him.
She gave a little giggle and dropped her eyes again. Her eyelashes were thick. Her pink cheeks were delectable. “I wasn’t sure either, but then I... I don’t know. I wanted to do something... just for me.”
His heart gave another crazy lurch. He had to breathe a few times before he’d tempered his excitement enough to say in something close to his normal laid-back tone, “Well, if the something you want to do for yourself is... me, then I’m totally in.”
She laughed again, and he laughed too. Since he had sweat dripping off his face, he pulled up the bottom of his T-shirt to wipe it off. As he did, he caught Madeline’s eyes on his bare stomach.
She seemed to like how he looked. He’d never considered himself having anything special in the looks department, but Madeline’s eyes were hot and hungry as they stared at his abs.
The idea got him going good. His whole body tightened.
“You’re sure?” she asked at last. “Just sex. I don’t want to be anyone’s girlfriend. I just want a... a rebound fling.”
He was honest enough with himself to admit that the current state of his feelings indicated that he probably wanted more from her than meaningless sex, but he wasn’t stupid enough to admit it. If she thought he had anything close to a serious interest in her, she’d never consider anything with him at all.
And he wasn’t going to miss out on this—whatever she was willing to give him.
So he said, “A rebound fling sounds perfect to me.”
MADELINE COULDN’T BELIEVE it had been so easy. She hadn’t had to explain herself or make her case or admit anything embarrassing. Ken had known why she was there and had wanted it too.
It was an intense relief. An assurance that this wasn’t a bad decision. She felt so much better that she giggled stupidly as she followed him in the back door to his house.
It was a nice house. Simple and slightly old-fashioned with wide-planked hardwood floors and a large brick fireplace in the room that obviously functioned as family room and dining room both. He had a leather couch and a leather recliner and a large television wall-mounted above the mantel. There was no art on the wall. No pretty trinkets on the surfaces of the furniture except some framed photos of his daughters on one of the side tables. The large area rug looked so old it could have been his grandparents’.
“That bad?” he asked, wiping his face with his forearm and eyeing her dryly.
“No! I like it. It’s... comfortable. And you keep it clean, which makes a big difference. But you could use a few pretty things around. Just to spruce it up a little. Why don’t you have any pictures on the walls?”
“I kept meaning to add them but never got around to it.” He glanced around the room, idly scratching behind the lab’s ears as he did. “So you’ll have to be the only pretty thing around for now.”
She giggled again, flushing with pleasure at the casual compliment. She didn’t know how he did that—made the nice things he said about her feel sincere but also low pressure, as if he didn’t have a lot invested in them.
It relaxed her even more. He was obviously attracted to her—just as attracted as she was to him—but he was going into this with exactly the same attitude as her.
Which meant she didn’t have to feel guilty or worried about wanting only sex.
Searching for something to say to fill the stretch of silence, she noticed the dog was nuzzling at Ken’s thighs, seeking more attention. The dog was clearly all lab. All enthusiastically lolling tongue, long, gangly legs, and pure joie de vivre. She asked, “What’s your lab’s name?”
“Oh. Sorry. This is Marlowe.” He made a quick hand gesture that caused the lab to snap to attention, sitting up straight and jittering visibly as if he were having to fight to hold back a tidal wave of excitement. “Marlowe, this is Madeline. Say hello to her.”
Marlowe hefted one large paw and panted eagerly.
Laughing, Madeline shook the dog’s paw and then stroked the soft head, which sent him into ecstatic spasms.
“He’s not quite two,” Ken added. “He still sometimes has a hard time remembering his manners. If you give him much more attention, you’ll get a face full of tongue.”
Still laughing, Madeline straightened up. “He’s a very good boy.”
Marlowe clearly understood that comment and did several twirls of delight.
Ken’s expression changed when he looked back toward her. He was very sexy at the moment—hot and rugged in his dirt and sweat. “So did you want to... do this now? Or...”
“Now is good with me.” The truth was she was having a hard time holding herself back, now that the distraction from the dog was over.
“I assume you want me to take a quick shower first.” He glanced down at himself. “I’m kind of a mess.”
For just a moment she was tempted. Maybe sex with him all sweaty wouldn’t be too unpleasant. But a sudden flare of nerves made the slight delay even more tempting. “That’s probably a good idea. Just don’t take too long.”
His eyes heated up without warning. “I’ll be quick. Just make yourself at home for a minute.”
Before she had time to say anything else, he was striding down the hallway and into what was clearly the master bedroom. The house appeared to be three bedrooms. All on one level. The one at the end of the hall was the master.
Not sure what else to do, Madeline wandered through the house, looking around at each room with Marlowe at her heels, ready to help or protect or kiss at a moment’s notice. The kitchen had old, flat-front cabinets and butcher-block countertops. There were a few dishes in the sink, and he’d left the coffee out this morning, but overall it was fairly clean.