Katherine hurried to the doorway. She halted abruptly, frozen in astonishment.
Jace and Allison were in the bathtub. The contrast of Allison’s smooth, white bottom against Jace’s dark, hair-matted chest was startling. Even more startling to Katherine was the sight of Jace’s naked body submerged in the warm water as he reclined in the bathtub. Even his knees, raised to accommodate his long body in the short tub, didn’t screen his masculinity from her amazed and involuntarily curious eyes.
“Oh, Katherine, thank God. Help me.” Jace winced in pain, and, for the first time, she noted the source of his distress.
Allison was lying on her stomach along his chest. Each of her tiny, plump fists was clamped around a handful of the hair on Jace’s chest. In her excitement over finding this rare new toy, Allison’s fists were clenching tighter each second. Her small legs were kicking against hi
s flat stomach in delight.
Katherine swallowed the large lump that was blocking her breathing passages and murmured, “I’ll just get her off…” She leaned down and grasped the wet, wriggling body around her chubby waist.
“No!” Jace exclaimed in panic. “If you do that, I’ll be depilated, and that tends to smart.”
Katherine looked at the tiny fingers which seemed helplessly enmeshed in the dark hair and saw that he was right.
“What—?” she started to ask.
“See if you can unwind the hair from around her fingers. I’m afraid to let go of her. She’s as slippery as an eel.”
Katherine closed her eyes for a moment and drew a deep, restorative breath. Then she knelt down beside the bathtub. She worked the small fingers of Allison’s hand until they relaxed and released their grip on the crisp, wet curls. When the first fist was free, Jace reached up and grasped it, holding it away from him.
Katherine worked with the other fist, leaning over his body in order to see what she was doing. She refused to feel the breath that stirred her hair as her head was bent close to his chin.
Finally, Jace was free from Allison’s painful grip, but instead of handing her over to an anxious Katherine, he quickly stood up with the baby still in his arms.
“I ought to spank you for that, young lady,” Jace chided Allison. “From now on when we take a bath together, I’ll wear a T-shirt.”
Immodestly, he walked naked into the bedroom, still carrying Allison and drying her with a soft towel. He ignored Katherine after saying “Thanks, honey” over his retreating shoulder.
Katherine skirted by him as she went through the bedroom. He was dressing Allison in her pajamas as he leaned over the crib. His taut hips were only one shade lighter than his broad, smooth back. They tapered from his narrow waist into long, muscled thighs. Katherine hurried through the door into the living room.
She fumbled with the manual which a few moments ago had so engrossed her and her trembling hand had dropped it on the floor before Katherine placed it beside the typewriter. She couldn’t resume studying. Of that she was certain. Her eyes weren’t able to focus properly. She kept seeing the image of Jace as he lay back in the bathtub.
She went into the kitchen. Something in there would distract her, calm her down, she hoped, so that she could start acting like a rational person again and not a quivering blob of jelly.
She raised the lid on the pan of simmering spaghetti sauce and sniffed the delicious aroma. She was replacing the lid when she heard soft footfalls and knew that Jace was standing behind her. She dropped the aluminum lid, and it clattered onto the range.
Before she could retrieve it, one of Jace’s arms came from under her arm, picked up the lid, and replaced it securely on the pan. She felt his chest pressed against her back.
His other arm came from behind her to join the first. He slipped both under her blouse, and, with one swift motion, unclasped the front fastener of her bra. Pushing aside the wisp of lace and nylon, he cupped her breasts in his hands.
“It got you all hot and bothered, didn’t it?” He was nuzzling the back of her neck under her hair. The tip of his tongue explored the velvet smooth skin behind her ear.
“What?” she croaked. His hands were kneading her gently, then flattening her with pressing palms.
“The sight of my nakedness. It’s been known to cause quite a disturbance. Why, when I was in Africa, the sight of me walking down the street was enough to make the parents of nubile daughters tremble in fear.” His voice was barely above a whisper, entrancing. He moved closer, and his thighs rubbed against the backs of her legs and hips.
It was hard to articulate anything, but Katherine kept up the inane conversation. “Y-you walked naked down the street?”
His hands pushed her breasts together, forming a deep cleavage, and he raked his thumbs over the aroused nipples.
“Of course. In some African cultures that’s a matter of form. No pun intended.” He caught her earlobe between his teeth.
“Well, this isn’t Africa.” She sighed as his hands moved over the flat planes of her stomach. “And I’ll thank you not to… oh, Jace.”
He turned her to face him. The cerulean eyes were full of resolve as he lifted her and carried her through the living room to the bedroom which, until now, had been used exclusively by him.
Gently and carefully he lowered her onto the king-size bed. He stood up and whipped the towel from around his waist, dropping it to the floor as he lay down beside Katherine.