A Husband In Her Stocking. Christine Pacheco
you.”
She escaped.
In the kitchen again, Meghan leaned against the counter, allowing the breath she’d been holding to rush out. Her finger throbbed as she recalled the feel of him. His touch had been warm, even though it shouldn’t have been—not when he was so cold.
Motions automatic, she dumped the dregs of the coffee she’d made this morning and rinsed the pot. As the caffeine-rich water gurgled into the carafe, Meghan moved to the stove, trying to block out the image of Kyle Murdock that filled her mind’s eye.
She failed.
He was completely unlike her ex-husband, Jack, different from any of the men she socialized with. Kyle was rough around the edges, potent and sexy.
Not the kind of man she thought she wanted.
In an attempt to stay busy, she grabbed a spoon to stir the stew on the stove. Meghan grimaced. She’d gotten so carried away sculpting the final batch of angels that dinner had started to burn, sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she’d eaten nothing all day except a bowl of cereal before the sun poked past the horizon.
Then a second, more intrusive thought rocked her: When she ate, Kyle Murdock would be sitting at the small table with her.
Her shoulders sagged. This situation was getting more and more complicated by the minute.
The faint scent of sulphur wafted on the air, and she heard the crackle of wood.
Kyle Murdock was making himself at home in her house.
The splashing noise from the coffeemaker diminished, and the bread-making machine, bought as an indulgence during a lonely Thanksgiving weekend, beeped three times, indicating it was done.
Snowflake pawed at the dog food he’d proudly pulled from the cupboard, telling Meghan in no uncertain terms that he was hungry, too.
After obligingly dumping moist food in a bowl adorned with Snowflake’s name, Meghan started to stack the metal cans again, making a mental note to buy a latch for the cupboard door. Snowflake had made his favorite pastime—eating—into an annoying habit.
“Anything I can do to help?”
The sound of Kyle’s rich baritone made Meghan jump. How on earth had he approached without her hearing?
She didn’t look at him; instead, she picked up a metal can and added it to the pile. “Everything’s under control.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t,” she lied.
He crouched next to her, muscular thigh pressed against her own, softer one. Strange sensations startled her.
Without a word, Kyle straightened the haphazard stack she’d made, then reached for the final can.
Reluctantly, she gave it to him.
He stood, offering his hand to her.
Meghan looked at him.
“I scare you.”
“No.” Her lie was blatant.
“I do.”
She shook her head too fast.
He continued to hold out his hand. A challenge?
Against her better sense, Meghan accepted. She swore to herself she wasn’t frightened, yet she was forced to admit she felt a definite awareness of him as a powerful male.
He pulled her up, not stopping until she stood barely inches from him. Her pulse thundered and heat suffused her.
She felt...womanly.
“Prove it.”
She had to look up, a long way, to meet his gaze. He was tall, a little over six foot, a huge contrast to her five feet three inches. His hands were large, and as she couldn’t help but notice, lacked a wedding band.
The scent of him, that of mountain air and power, combined with his proximity, his touch, his commanding hold, made Meghan moisten her teeth with her tongue. She recognized the nervous gesture, had cultivated it over the years. And she’d never hated the habit as much as she did at this second.
“Prove it,” he challenged again. “Prove you’re not scared of me.”
She swallowed. “Prove it?”
“Give me something.”
Her mind raced in symphony with the hammering of her heart.
“Your name,” Kyle said softly. “Tell me your name.”
Two
The challenge hung in the air between them, as powerful as the pounding of his heart. He noticed her breaths were hollow, and he saw the confusion that raced across her features.
For a second, her lashes drifted together, shutting out the honesty her eyes contained. Would she grant him the gift of her name? Could she?
Could she not?
Her lashes parted, and she looked at him. Directly. Her expression was so direct that the sensation rocked him to the soles of his feet.
“Meghan,” she said.
“Meghan,” he repeated, sliding the syllables around his tongue, savoring its subtle taste.
“Meghan Carroll.”
He nodded. The name fit. Soft Feminine. And with a hint of mystery. Meghan. Yeah. He liked it...liked it a lot.
She shifted; he wondered if she was waiting expectantly for his response.
“Nice name.”
The release of her breath sifted through him. She had been waiting. That said a lot about her. But one thing was sure: she wasn’t frightened of him. Skittish maybe, but not scared. That instantly upped his opinion of her. Kyle didn’t care much for spinelessness.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
Her tone was reluctant, as if she knew she had to ask the question, but regretted the necessity. Still, he answered with honesty. “Starving.”
“I guess...you should eat with me.”
“Is that an invitation?” Kyle cocked a grin.
The tension on her face lessened. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to sound that way.”
“What way?” He waited for her to respond, wondered if she’d do it with the same frankness she’d shown so far.
“Rude. That was rude, and I’m not usually rude.”
“Do you usually have strange men in your kitchen?”
With her right hand, she brushed errant strands of hair away from her face. He stood close to her, closer than she probably liked, yet he didn’t back off.
Kyle caught the faint whiff of her understated perfume—light with a hint of unfulfilled promise—and couldn’t recall the last time he’d been with a woman as sensually appealing as Meghan.
He wondered why he suddenly felt hungry, not physically but emotionally.
“No,” she finally admitted. “You’re the first man who’s been in my kitchen.”
The information stunned him, pleased him. It shouldn’t have, but it did. And how.
“I’ll serve,” Meghan said, shattering the tension that had slowly been building. “If you set the table.”
“Ah, a modern woman.”
She gave a small smile that transformed her features and made his insides flame with awareness.
“You can do