“Not likely. I appreciate your optimism, though. But I’ll get Izzy. I kept you up late last night. You can go back to sleep.”
“Mmm. Who says chivalry is dead?” she murmurs against my lips before she collapses back on top of me. I laugh and stroke her back.
In the low morning light beginning to filter through the window, I see a row of blue vials lining her small bureau.
“What are those?”
She lifts her head to see what I’m looking at. “Essential oils.” Her raspy voice sounds so damn sexy. She blinks, her eyes heavy with sleep. “I used to help Mel mix the scents for her lotions. We came up with five of our favorites. We sell them on the farm’s website right now.” Her brow furrows. “Actually, I need to catch up on those orders. I have to make them for the farmers’ fair anyway, so I should motivate.”
“Is that why you always smell so good?” I brush my nose against the slender column of her neck and inhale. “I swear, I smell your perfume, and I get hard.”
She laughs, edging away because I know she’s ticklish there. “You like this scent?”
“Baby, it smells so good, I’d gobble you up if I could.”
The smile on her face—Jesus, it’s stunning.
“It’s a new scent I came up with—a little lavender, a few drops of mandarin, and a hint of sandalwood.”
She holds her wrist to my nose, and I breathe her in. “Delicious. I always notice it in the shower.”
“I made a bath gel. That’s probably what you’re smelling.”
I kiss her cheek. “You have too many talents for your own good.” Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I groan at the day ahead. Kat rubs my back, and I turn back to look at her. The sheets have bunched at her hips, and her hair is wild around her shoulders and her beautiful round breasts.
Leaning down, I press another kiss to her lips. “I can’t look at you right now if I need to go get Izzy. I’ll make us some coffee and feed the kittens before they scale the back door.”
“Sounds good. I’ll help in a sec.”
“It’s okay. I got it. Go back to sleep.”
She sighs contently and nods.
I reach for my track pants and a t-shirt. I feel her eyes on me as I dress. “Stop looking at me like that.” I’m two seconds away from ignoring everything but my angry erection. I turn so she can see how she’s affecting me.
She chuckles. “Just enjoying the show.”
The two white puffs of fluff bounce back and forth like they’re excited to see us. Admittedly, Stella and Stanley, our pygmy goats, are cute.
Pet goats.
I shake my head as I run my hand through my hair. Seriously, what the hell am I going to do with two pet goats?
I’ve been ignoring this issue for the last few weeks, but my realtor is right. If I want to sell this farm, I need to get serious about prepping it for new owners, who probably don’t need pet goats. It’s not like you can even milk these two.
Gross. The thought of drinking goat milk makes me gag a little.
I have half a mind to put an ad in the newspaper to get rid of them. But then Katherine motions toward Izzy, who has her arm wrapped around Stanley’s neck and is whispering, “Moochie smoochie.”
I can’t help but laugh. Isabella is puckering her lips and trying to get the animal to face her. “No, baby. We don’t kiss the goats.”
Izzy frowns at me before making another grab for Stanley. “Moochie smoochies!”
Swooping down until I’m nose to nose with her, I shake my head. “Those are just for me and Kat, okay?” I point to my cheek. “Lay one on me, cutie.”
She giggles and plants a wet kiss on my cheek. I lift her up and hoist her onto my shoulders where she squeals and wraps her arms around my head like an octopus.
Kat laughs as I peel a little finger out of my eye socket.
“Don’t encourage her eye-poking skills.”
She laughs harder.
Squinting through a maze of pointy fingers that have reappeared in my face, I have to ask the obvious. “Seriously, babe, why do we have goats?”
“Because they’re cute.”
“I’m serious.”
“I am being serious.” She sighs and leans down to pet Stella, who makes these little sounds of contentment as she nuzzles against Katherine’s leg. “These two were abandoned on this old farm just outside of Austin. When Mel heard, she got down there as fast as she could. She adopted these little guys because no one else wanted them.”
Well, fuck.
I kinda hate myself for wanting to leave the animals on someone’s porch.
Blowing out a breath, I put Izzy down. “Now I feel like a jerk.”
She laughs at me. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Not everyone shares Mel’s affinity for saving the lost.”
Her voice conveys a reverence that I feel all the way down to my bones.
I think back to that conversation we had when I first arrived, when she told me Mel took in strays and that's why Katherine has been here since May.