Kitty smiled. She liked Addy. The quietest of all six of the young Saints, she was soft-spoken, and oh so very talented as a song writer.
“We’d be fools not to take you on, Addy,” Bart said. “You write terrific songs, and some of them are just cryin’ out for a female star to sing ’em.”
“Hey!” Luke said, wrapping his arm around his wife protectively. “Candace, here, sings those songs real well.”
“Of course she does,” Addy said loyally.
“But I don’t like to,” Candace said, rolling her eyes toward her husband. “Not on stage. You know I don’t. So let Kitty, Mel, and Bart find some up-and-coming star to really do those songs justice. I mean, just ’cause the Saints don’t want to sing at the Grand Ole Opry, doesn’t mean Addy’s songs shouldn’t get there.”
There was a burst of enthusiasm around the table, and Kitty shook her head in wonder.
It is so easy for them, she thought.
Mel and Kitty had outlined their preliminary plans for the whole family over pulled pork and coleslaw, and everyone seemed to want in on it. Bart had agreed that his front parlor was the perfect place for an office, and Matt had an idea about a possible joint venture with the owner of a small recording studio nearby who was currently in trouble financially. The brainstorm of ideas seemed never ending.
“You still with us, darlin’?” Bart asked after a time, his voice a soft murmur in her ear.
She smiled at him. “Barely.”
“I think Kitty’s had it for tonight,” Mel said, and Kitty felt the warmth of her smile.
And how good it feels to have Mel for a friend and colleague, now, she thought.
“I think you’re right,” Kitty said, getting up from the table. “I can’t thank all of you enough for…” She broke off, suddenly at a loss for words.
Mel stood and gave her a warm hug. “I’m so glad you invited me to go with you, Kitty, she said. “I think we’re going to be great together.”
“You bet,” Matt said.
“I couldn’t even begin to succeed without all of you,” Kitty said.
Bart got to his feet and put his arm around her shoulders. “You were the spearhead on this one, Kitty, and deserve all the credit for it. And we’re all agreed it’s gonna be good for all of us, so let’s just call this a family affair and leave it at that.”
In another few minutes, Bart led her down the back stairs and into the night. They crossed the alley and stopped between their two cars.
“I don’t like the idea of you tryin’ to drive home tonight, Kitty,” Bart said.
She looked up at him, trying to see his golden eyes in the shadows.
“I don’t like the idea of going home at all,” she said.
Bart smiled and brushed the hair back from her face. “Even better,” he murmured, kissing her brow and turning her toward his door.
51
They didn’t bother with the lights, but let the moonlight and streetlights coming through the windows guide their way into the bedroom.
“We need to be more careful tonight,” Kitty said when he brought her to a stop at the foot of the bed and took her into his arms.
“Oh?”
He sounded worried, and she actually giggled.
“I don’t want to ruin Meg’s dress,” she said.
He laughed. “I’ll be careful,” he promised, loosening the belt that held the dress in place.
When the belt was gone, the dress flowed to the floor along with it, and Kitty’s breath caught when he opened the front of her bra, releasing her breasts. The air conditioning blew across her heated flesh, where his mouth left a damp trail, and she felt an answering tingle in her nether regions.
“Bart…”
“Don’t worry, darlin’,” he said, returning his lips to hers. “We won’t be takin’ as long to get there tonight.”
“Good!”
He chuckled, but when he would have laid her on the bed, she twisted and pushed him ahead of her. He landed on his back in the middle of the bed, and she rejoiced at the sound of his laughter.
“My turn,” she said, straddling his thighs and going to work on his shirt front with clumsy fingers.
“Just don’t take too long,” he said, groaning when she reached for his belt but stopped long enough to feel the bulge at the front of his jeans.
Kittle laughed breathlessly. “It won’t be long, now. Just scoot up on the bed.”
He did as directed, and she moved away just long enough and far enough to pull off his shoes and socks, as well as her own shoes, slip, stockings, and panties, before she quickly returned to his belt buckle and pulled it apart. Then carefully unbuttoning his jeans, she felt for the zipper.
“Careful, darlin’…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.” She pulled the zipper down and felt his member pulsing through his shorts.
“Lift your hips for me,” she directed.
When he did, she lifted up far enough to give her room to slide his jeans down. Once they were around his ankles, he kicked them off.
“Sit up, now.”