Werewolf in Denver by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

the house naked.
    “Hanging up, but you don’t want those yet. They’ll be scratchy without the boxers. There’s another bathrobe in the closet. Let me get it.” Crossing the room, she opened a closet door and pulled out a robe identical to hers.
    “They must belong to the Stewarts.”
    “I’m sure they do, but no worries. We can wash these after our clothes are dry. I’m planning to do the sheets, too.” She handed him the robe. “Go ahead and put this on. I’ve found instant oatmeal we can eat for breakfast.” She started out of the room.
    “Kate, hold on a minute.”
    She turned back to him. “Yes?”
    “I behaved like a clod last night. You were wonderful, and instead of staying awake to tell you so, I conked out. Did I…did I fall asleep while I was still…”
    “Over, around, and inside me? Yes, you did.”
    He winced. “Did I snore?”
    “Horrendously.”
    “Damn, that’s unforgivable.”
    “No, it’s extremely forgivable.” She walked back over and laid her hand on his chest. “I lay there looking up at the mirror while you slept. And snored. I felt your steady heartbeat and I…I was simply glad to be there.”
    He covered her hand with his and pressed it close. “But I weigh twice as much as you.”
    “At least. So eventually I couldn’t breathe and I had to wiggle out from under you. But the feeling of closeness was nice while it lasted.”
    Curling his fingers around her hand, he raised it to his lips. “Thank you for putting a romantic gloss on my sorry lack of consideration.” Her sweet description reminded him of the joy of loving her, which produced a predictable response in his nether regions. “Perhaps I can make it up to you this morning.”
    “I wish you could.” She sighed. “And don’t think I haven’t thought of it, because I kept hoping you’d wake up sooner so that maybe…”
    “I wish you’d woken me.”
    “I did shake you once, but you just moaned and rolled over.”
    “Damn it. You should have banged a couple of pans together beside my ear. I would have been glad to wake up so I could make love to you again.”
    She shook her head. “I couldn’t do it. You needed your sleep. That was my whole point last night, so forcingyou to wake up so you could have sex with me wouldn’t reflect very well on my character, now, would it?”
    “There’s such a thing as being too conscientious.” But he respected her values, all the same. “What time is it, anyway?”
    “It’s nearly seven. The snow has stopped, and the plows will be here before you know it.”
    “Seven? Really? The conference starts in two hours!”
    “That’s right, and in order to get this place cleaned up, we’ll have to be late, but maybe not too late.”
    “So that’s it.” He hadn’t expected to feel such deep disappointment that their private interlude was over.
    “That’s it.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “And I’ll never forget this time we’ve had. Now drink your coffee and grab a shower. I found an electric razor and left it on the counter for you. We have to get moving.” Slipping her hand from his, she hurried out of the bedroom.
    Although her tone had been brisk and businesslike, he suspected from her earlier description of how she’d felt last night that she was as sad about leaving the cabin as he was. But neither of them could let the world know their private feelings for each other. He’d be the most help to her if he adopted her brisk manner from here on out.
    He would bloody well do that, even if it killed him. Hurrying through a shave and shower, he put on the robe. The other robe had been huge on Kate and this one was small on him. He wondered if she’d put on the large size in her haste.
    No matter. He turned on the light and began stripping the bed. She might think because he lived in a castle and had servants that he didn’t know how. He could strip abed with the best of them. He wasn’t sure how good he’d be at making it back up