Enticement Read Online Free PDF Page B

a challenge. That spark jolted him out of his looming doldrums. She hadn’t forgiven him yet for spying or being overly suggestive, but she was open to accepting him.
    “I brought her home from the practice,” Ross explained. He prodded Kit in the back again, urging him down the last few steps, whereupon he pushed past him and headed for the kitchen door. “There are some kitten pouches in my workbag.”
    Kit shadowed him into the kitchen.
    “Is pasta okay with everyone?” Ross asked as he rummaged through the pantry. “It’d better be, because it’s all we’ve got.”
     
    “So, what happens once you’ve done up the house?” Evie asked. Dinner had dragged on into late evening, followed by coffee and now several whisky chasers, as they lay sprawled across the living room furniture. She lifted her head from Ross’s lap to peer at Kit. He’d taken the sofa by the window that she and Ross had made out on earlier, leaving her and Ross the joy of the threadbare, foldout sofa bed, which groaned like a banshee every time anyone moved near it. “Will you be sticking around or moving on?”
    Although there remained a part of her that resented Kit’s intrusion into their lives, she’d warmed to him over the course of dinner. Unlike most of Ross’s mates, he grasped the fact that conversation was a two-way thing, and he didn’t insist on putting vinegar and ketchup on everything.
    Kit rested his chin in the palm of his hand, his elbow propped upon the arm of the sofa. “It’s a lot of effort to go to, to just sell up.”
    “So, you’ll be sticking around.”
    Kit pulled his eyebrows down low over his dark eyes. “Suppose. I haven’t really thought that far.”
    “Leave him be. He’s just got into town, Evie.” Ross stroked a hand through the front of her hair. “Not everyone has their life mapped out the way you do.”
    “I just like to be organized,” she retaliated. Her pursed lipped smile elongated into a yawn. “Think I’d better call it a night soon.”
    “Why don’t you go on up to bed?” said Ross, giving her a friendly bump up off the sofa. “Kit and I can handle the dishes.”
    She glanced between the two men and clapped her hands. “I’m not arguing with that. Okay, goodnight.” Having ensured the kitten was comfortable in the basket they normally used for kindling, by lining it with one of Ross’s old fleece jackets, Evie left the two men to the washing up. She could still hear the low purr of the contented kitten and the rumble of the men’s voices as she trekked up the stairs to bed.
     
    Tea towel in hand, Ross lingered by the kitchen table, listening for the sound of Evie’s footsteps upon the stairs. His gaze remained fastened upon the broad expanse of Kit’s shoulders. Above the torn neckline of his friend’s T-shirt lay the smooth expanse of his neck. The ends of his jet-black hair were shorn close, probably razor cut. The remainder of his hair was thicker, and of course, the front remained long enough to cover half his face.
    “Get tired of brushing the back?” Ross asked.
    Kit reached a soapsuds-covered hand out of the washing up bowl and rubbed the back of his neck, leaving behind a film of white bubbles. “You’ve lost a bit yourself,” he retaliated. Not turning, but meeting the gaze of Ross’s reflection in the kitchen window.
    For a moment, they just looked at one another, then Kit put his hands back in the washing up water and started scrubbing again. Ross drew closer and began drying a plate. “So, why did you really scuttle back from the pub so fast?”
    Kit’s head remained tilted downwards towards the sink. “Why do you think? I never even reached the place. I got halfway across the green and saw Tony go in the door. That’s one reunion I can live without.”
    “It’s a long…” He was going to say time ago, but Kit turned and gripped the front of his jumper, leaving it wet, with several rivulets running towards his waistband and puddle of dishwater