Under His Kilt by Melissa Blue

be with him would be insane. So she wouldn’t. Couldn’t.
    Just in case, she wrote down her cell phone number for Marcus. She packed up her stuff, went to her car and waited to see Ian’s pull up behind her. She led the way to her sister’s house. An off shot from her own apartments, Kimberly lived in a home, in suburbia with her husband and kids. Her niece and nephew were home, but the husband hadn’t made it yet.
    Her sister, as usual, gave Ian a steely gaze when he came in behind her, but they greeted each other in polite tones. As usual, Jocelyn ignored it. Lexxie bolted from somewhere in the back of the three bedroom home at the sound of their voices. Yeah, she tripped over her too-big paws on the way and greeted Ian first.
    Her sister made a noncommittal noise and frowned at the display. “You’d think it was his dog.”
    “My girl’s smart,” Jocelyn said. “She doesn’t bite the hand that feeds her.”
    Ian cooed to the dog as she flopped on her back for belly rubs. “There’s my baby girl. How are you doing? Miss me? Aye? I know you did.”
    Since she knew what his hands felt like, Jocelyn didn’t begrudge Lexxie for having absolutely no shame. Maybe, if Jocelyn had been on her game, she’d have realized her slip. Kimberly grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the shameless display. Her kids waved hi but didn’t stop playing the video game.
    “He feeds her as in he lives with you?”
    There was no real way to talk herself out of this one, but she tried. “He visits. A lot.”
    Her sister glared. “More than a toothbrush and a change of underwear kind of visit?”
    After their almost argument, he’d picked up some extra clothes. After the fourth night in a row, she told him it’d be convenient for him to bring all his grooming essentials too so he wouldn’t smell like girl soap and look like he hadn’t shaved in a year. He’d done it without comment or looking at her in a way that said they were crossing a line, which they totally were. Her speech wasn’t that good, but Jocelyn refused to read more into his motives.
    Sooner or later, she’d have to answer her sister, now, or when she walked around looking butt hurt after he left. “Closet and drawer space. I cook. He cleans.”
    They looked alike, so, it was unsettling to see a gaze so much like hers staring back with the same doom-is-looming-on-the-horizon emotions swirling in the brown irises.
    “I know,” Jocelyn murmured. “But I wanted this, even knowing damn well how it would end.”
    Kimberly sighed. “Are you sure?”
    “Yes.”
    Her sister turned that gaze on Ian who had straightened and was watching the game Cecelia and Lamar were playing. Lexxie took her time trotting over to Jocelyn. She bent down and gave Lexxie the same love Ian had. There was no contest. Lexxie didn’t revel in it, but treated Jocelyn’s petting as a chore. She chuckled and straightened, ending the charade.
    “Call me,” her sister whispered. “Any time. For anything.”
    “Okay. I’ll be fine. Swear.”
    Kimberly rolled her eyes and shooed them all out of the door. Once home, Jocelyn took Lexxie out for her daily sniff, pee and poop around the neighborhood. Didn’t take long because her dog didn’t meander. She wasn’t lazy in that regard, at least. Back inside the apartment they found Ian had stripped down. He’d put on sweats and a Cambridge t-shirt.
    He frowned into the refrigerator and then aimed that expression at her feet. “You haven’t taken off your shoes yet. What’s wrong?”
    “I’m worried. A litany of things, but the top of the list is Marcus. I shouldn’t have left.”
    His gaze narrowed and he made a noncommittal noise. She laughed. He knew it wasn’t the whole truth but he was going to let her have it. “It’s the top thing I want to talk about,” she said. “Fair?”
    “Fair.” He closed the door and had a water bottle in hand. “I’ve seen his work and you working with him. I think he’s ready. Don’t