Always Been You

As nervous as a teenager preparing for her first date, Katherine soaked in a long bubble bath, then shampooed her hair beneath the shower. She rinsed and stepped from the tub.

“This is silly,” she said, mocking her image in the steamy mirror. A ruffle made an upward diagonal across her chest, leaving bare one smooth shoulder. Loose tendrils of hair teased her face, though the knot atop her head was tightly pinned.

Katherine lightly dusted her nose with powder, swept blue and green shadow on her eyelids, and brushed her lashes with mascara.

She rummaged through her closet for the highest heels she could find, determined to shorten the distance between Jensen’s head and hers. She found just the right ones and slid them on, then stood before the mirror. No wonder the sales girl had said this dress was like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, she thought. The front was prim and proper, but the back was pure sin. She added a dash of musky perfume at her throat and wrists.

“This was what he wanted,” she said to the mirror. “And tonight I’m going to give him just what he wants. Here’s to you, kid. You look like a vamp rather than the mother of a nine year old boy”

It pleased her that a man as sophisticated as Jensen trembled when he held her. He taunted her, bullied her, angered her. Yet there was a touch of flickering vulnerability about his rugged face that wrapped around her heart and tugged at her senses.

When the bell chimed, Katherine took a deep breath and opened the door to find Jensen lounging against the frame. One hand rested over her head. Steel gray slacks hugged his hips and sheathed his legs. A blue shirt emphasized his rigged, swarthy features. His smile was slow and devastatingly male.

“Hello beautiful,” he said huskily. “You make the end of the day worth waiting for”

“That’s a very cheesy line, even for you” Katherine said but she was smiling.

The rich glow of his eyes intensified as he placed a large hand at the back of her neck and drew her against him. The purr slid possessively over her. “One small kiss wouldn’t be out of order at this point” he suggested with a hot gaze at her mouth.

“I suppose we are having dinner” she questioned formally and felt a slight twinge of satisfaction as the rugged features sharpened into a frown. She liked keeping Jensen off balance. It was a small revenge for the damage he did to her nervous system.

But his chuckle rumbled with delight. “I love that sharp tongue of yours, Kat. I always have” he said as he locked the door behind them and escorted her to his sports car. “It still catches me off guard sometimes. Which is one of the things I love about you” The flat of his hand warmed get bareback, his thumb playing along her spine.

In the car, his dark hands weighted her knee. Katherine basked in the heat of his palm for a moment, then eased out to the steering wheel. She would be playing his game soon enough. She just didn’t want to make it too easy for him.

“I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for Tim… And for me too” Katherine said.

Jensen turned and flashed her a smile. “It’s okay. I’m glad I could help”

The restaurant he had picked wasn’t far. It was very much a drop in place, and knowing Kathrine for as long as he had, he knew she would like it…. And boy did he want her to! She was a simple woman who took pleasure in little things. She had always been that way. It was one of the things he loved about her.

“We’re here” Jensen said when they arrived and they both got out. The front half of the restaurant was divided into a kitchen along one wall with a bench-seat along the wall facing it for takeaway customers to wait for their orders to be cooked. The back section had just two rows of five tables each side. They were led to the third one behind the kitchen, which provided privacy from the more transient customers.

The table had a laminated surface for easy cleaning. Paper serviettes were available from a dispenser. Pepper and salt and various sauces were contained in a holder. A corked bottle of water stood by two drinking glasses. If customers wanted to drink wine with their meal, it was a case of bring your own- information Jensen had received when he’d first checked out the place. An ice bucket could be provided and was. The waitress leaving the bottle in it after she finished serving them.

He poured out wine into their glasses and sipped the chardonnay-a fine Margaret River wine that he hoped would be to Katherine’s taste. He wanted to please her…. wanted her to be pleased with him. And when she sipped hers and smiled at him, a smile of happy anticipation spread across his face. The waitress returned to take their orders.

“I love it here,” Katherine said, looking around.

“I knew you would,” Jensen replied simply and Katherine gave him a daring look.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Think you have me all figured out huh?” she asked, but there was a hint of laughter in her voice.

“I do, actually,” Jensen replied. “You seem to forget that we grew up together. We were really close then, you know. Friends first…. Then lovers… You know, kind of… Before everything went to hell”

There was an intense stare in his eyes and Katherine swallowed hard. She was grateful when the waitress returned with their orders.

“Tim loves it here,” she said, changing the topic. “He has always wanted to be closer to my family. I understand why you wouldn’t leave. It’s absolutely amazing here. I guess I forgot how good it was”

Jensen grinned at her as he ate. “You were running away,” he said.

Katherine smiled at him. “No I wasn’t” she said defensively, then added when he raised an eyebrow. “Okay maybe I was, but I had enough reason”

He didn’t argue with her, because he understood so it let that pass. They made small talks about their lives and jobs till a tune began to play and couples stood up and began to move to the dance floor. Katherine’s eyes met Jensen’s and she understood the look in them immediately.