LITTLE BIT STRONGER | A COUNTRY ROMANCE

Chapter Fifteen

Kate ran herself a tub and willed herself to relax. Being in Josh's presence for any length of time was hell on her equilibrium.

She undressed and sank into the warm water with a sigh.

Kate allowed her thoughts to drift. Her mind turned to Caleb and Brian - her relationships with them separately and together.

Every day, she felt less emotion when she thought about her ex-husband. It would never be a simple situation - probably not until Caleb was grown - but she could handle it as long as Brian respected her boundaries.

Their son was bright and happy. As his parents, it was their job to keep him that way. It meant they had to be civil but they didn't have to be friends. The way Brian lived his life wasn't her concern as long as it didn't affect Caleb.

She'd tried to smooth things over with her family in regard to her ex. For Caleb's sake, they couldn't be hostile toward him. They hadn't allowed themselves to truly hate the man Kate married despite his reprehensible behavior.

Krista came close.

Brian had been part of their lives long before he married Kate. They had history.

Her parents had a private talk with him. They explained how disappointed and angry they were about his treatment of their daughter.

To keep Caleb from missing out, they allowed Brian to participate in family things during his weeks if Kate was working. Her mom made it clear he wasn't to bring his girlfriend.

That was one step too far.

It took months for Kyle to see him without wanting to punch him in the mouth. Their relationship would likely never be as carefree as it once was but they'd been friends a long time.

Krista cut Brian's hair for years but transferred him to another girl in her shop after their divorce. She no longer trusted herself around him with sharp objects in hand.

She realized things could have been worse between them. As far as divorces went, theirs had been amicable for the most part. The fallout had been contained.

The best part was that she felt better by the day.

The bathwater started to cool and Kate drained some and added hot. Clearing her mind, she sank deeper into the warm water and thought about Josh.

The rancher was gorgeous. His height and build were a new experience for her. She was tall for a woman so most of her boyfriends had been the same height or barely taller.

It had been years since she wore her few pairs of adorable heels because Brian hated being shorter when she did.

She wouldn't be taller than Josh in heels.

Kate knew she was pretty enough and had a nice figure. Once upon a time, she'd been confident and unapologetically sexual.

She could feel that woman stretching awake.

Kate didn't plan to jump right into bed with a new man but the thought was there. She wanted to.

Adding more hot water to her tub, she closed her eyes with a long sigh.

Josh struck her as the kind of man who'd take sex slow and easy. Take his time with her. Draw out each moment.

His hands were strong and capable. They were graceful in a masculine way. Calloused with a history of hard work. Gentle when he touched her.

Unbidden, the thought of his hands moving over her naked body popped into her mind and she pulled her lower lip between her teeth.

Her own hands slid over her slippery skin, drifted down over her thighs, over her trimmed mound. Lightly stroking over her outer lips, she dipped in and massaged her clit with Josh's face in her mind. Kate played slowly over her own body, one hand moving up to plump her breast.

When the climax washed over her a few minutes later, she was silent...but it was Josh's name that went through her mind. It was the first time in years that she'd thought of anyone but Brian when she came.

Even after the divorce, she'd had difficulty ejecting him from her subconscious sexual thoughts.

Until now.

Kate smiled as her body released tension she hadn't known she was carrying. If she wasn't mistaken, she'd just taken an important step toward getting over her ex-husband.

All of it had been so hard for her while he'd moved right in with his mistress as if they'd meant nothing to each other.

Now, it felt like...what Brian did or didn't do wasn't Kate's problem anymore. He was none of her business and she had better things to do than let him take up space in her head, her heart, or her life.

Her thoughts drifted back to Josh. Hair that shimmered in the sun, brown eyes a woman could drown in, a body that didn't quit, good conversation skills, and a legitimate plan for his future.

The way he held her neck when he kissed her sent a shiver over her skin and Kate gave in to the need to touch herself again. The second climax made her sleepy.

Draining the tub, Kate took a quick shower.

In the morning, she'd call Brian's phone and talk to Caleb. Brian did the same when their son was with Kate.

She dried her body and slipped into sleep shorts and a tank top before walking the apartment to make sure lights were off and everything was locked.

Climbing between the cool sheets of her king size platform bed, she sighed as the heavy linens settled over her.

Josh's face was the last thing she remembered before drifting into deep sleep.

* * *

It wasn't easy to drive away from Kate's apartment but Josh managed it. He wanted nothing more than to return to her, give her a full body deep tissue massage, and spend hours wringing pleasure from her body and finding his own.

Everything about Kate synced to him, to what he wanted for his life, to what he needed for his future.

She was beautiful, smart, funny, and grounded.

Hell, she even understood his mild paranoia about some sort of apocalyptic event that would leave them all in a dystopian hellscape.

Locking his truck, he walked up the steps of his porch and let himself inside. He poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher in the fridge and stared at his land through the window over the sink.

He wasn't perfect, neither was Kate, but something told him they'd be perfect together.

It was foolish to fall in love with a woman so recently wounded but damned if he could stop himself.

Checking the first floor, he headed upstairs to the master bedroom and bathroom he'd finished a year after his wife walked out the door without a single conversation.

It felt less painful thinking about it now. The first year, he drank too much, messed with women he could barely tolerate, and tried to find his balance.

He got his shit together, let the things go that he couldn't control, and into his life walked Kate Washington.

His body was overheated just from being near her. A cool shower was necessary or he'd never get to sleep. He stripped down and stood under the water.

"Even the damn water makes me imagine her touching me. Good lord."

Wrapping his fingers around his cock, he stroked himself. Slow and easy, thinking about the woman that set his entire body on fire.

He wanted to love her, to touch her, to watch her fall apart in his arms. More than anything, he wanted to hear her say his name while passion mowed her down.

Josh imagined himself watching her come and his orgasm slammed into him hard enough to wind him. As his semen swirled down the drain, he whispered, "Kate..."

As he caught his breath and washed up, he wondered what he could do to move things along. He figured it might be too soon to get her in bed but he wasn't against giving her pleasure for pleasure's sake.

Smiling to himself, Josh dried off and climbed in bed naked. Folding his arms behind his head, he considered.

She deserved so much.

He wanted to be the man to give it to her.

© Shayne McClendon