such a palatial home.
“This is very
impressive.”
“Thanks,”
he said casually, as if she was talking about his trailer sitting in
a trailer park.
A golden retriever
met them at the door with a soft woof. “Hey, Sunshine.”
He bent down and rubbed at the dog’s silky fur while the tail
went a mile a minute. “Cat, this is Sunshine. I call her Sunny
for short.”
Cat bent down and
the eager golden sniffed her hand and then gave her a lick. She
caressed the dog’s head and—just like that—she was
in love. “Shane, she’s beautiful.”
“Wait till you
see this. Come on, girl,” he said, heading through the
impressive foyer and living room until they reached a set of French
doors. Shane went through them to a pool area and a garden complete
with a Koi pond.
The dog immediately
went to the water and put her nose in. A huge golden, red, and black
Koi came right up to the side of the pond and nuzzled the dog.
“That’s
amazing. Are they kissing?”
“Yeah. They
love each other. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
He grabbed her hands
and tugged her toward the pool. “Want to go swimming?”
Before she could
reply, he unsnapped the catch on her provocative glittering tutu and
pulled it off her. When she was naked, he stripped too, and they slid
into the warm water. Shane leaned against the side of the pool,
supported by the stairs and drew her between his legs as she settled
with a moan onto his thick, hard cock.
“Stay with me
tonight, Cat,” he said as she started to move her hips.
No way was she going
to object. It was what she wanted.
They shared a long,
beautiful night of lovemaking. In the morning Shane made her
breakfast in bed and she threw tidbits to his sweet golden.
Afterward, they drove down the coast and took a hike on the beach,
away from anyone who could recognize either of them.
Even as she loved
him deep into the night, she knew she needed to tell him in the
morning that she had to end it. It was too hard for her to sneak
around.
She’d worked
so hard to earn that promotion, and she knew in her heart if she gave
up her job for Shane, she would resent him. He, of course, would
never ask her to do it, either, because that would never occur to
him. She had to accept that it was time for them to go their separate
ways.
###
Sunday dawned
beautiful and bright. Shane was up early. He was always too jazzed to
sleep late before a game. He sat on the window seat and sipped
coffee, the sun warm on his shoulders as he watched Cat sleep, and
finally admitted to himself that he didn’t want her to leave
his bed or his house.
His heart tightened.
It was a tough situation, and they were caught between a rock and a
hard place. She wanted her promotion and he really had no right to
jeopardize it. He wanted to go to Harding, but again, if he did and
Hardass fired Cat, she’d never forgive him.
But this hush-hush
arrangement wasn’t working for him, and he couldn’t
continue with the secrecy. He wanted everyone to know that Cat was
his. He’d never felt like this before and couldn’t
believe he’d waited three years because of a stupid rule that
was outdated and unjust.
But what could he
do?
Cat opened her eyes,
stretched, and smiled. “Hey, where’s my coffee?”
Shane returned her
sweet smile and walked down to the kitchen to pour her a cup. On his
way back upstairs, he had to pause at the top. Emotions were swamping
his chest, and he didn’t want to go in there and spoil
anything. Once he had himself under control, he entered the bedroom
and gave her the cup.
“I should get
out of here soon and let you get ready for the game this afternoon.”
“I do have to
get to the stadium. You have time to finish your coffee.”
She sat up in bed.
“This has been a wonderful weekend, but I’ve come to the
conclusion that…well that I can’t continue like this.”
His heart froze.
“I’m
very fond of you Shane,” her voice thick, “I truly am,
but continuing this