As one, they pulled their heads apart enough to look at each other, and Cole nudged her chin up with his finger. At once, they met in a kiss, with him leaning down, her stretching up, and the sensual sound that came from Cole’s throat was earthy and raw and affected the most female parts of her.

Cole had her against the door in no time, and there was no mistaking his hardness pressing into her lower abdomen. On the one hand, she wanted to get him the rest of the way naked before she took in her next breath. On the other, the way he was suddenly kissing her, as if he’d thrown the brakes on to slow down and milk the goodness out of every second, with a thoroughness, a gentleness that made her feel cherished… She could stand here and kiss him for days.

She was lost in the way he was making love to her mouth when something brushed up against her calf, startling her, causing her to pull away with a loud gasp as she looked down.

The cat, she realized.

When Cole saw what she was looking at, he let out a low laugh and shook his head. “Such a jealous bastard. Can’t be bothered to come out of his nest in the dirty clothes basket until he figures out someone else is getting the attention he thinks he’s entitled to.”

Still holding on to Cole, she watched the black-and-white-speckled cat, almost like a feline version of a Dalmatian, saunter into the center of the living room and hop up on the ottoman. “Tito?” she asked, drawing the name from her memory of the other night.

“One and only.”

Before she could say more, Cole’s lips were back on hers and she forgot about the animal in the room. She ran her hands over his bare chest, around to his strong back, down over his ass outside his jeans, thrilling in the feel of it even through the thick denim. She gave his butt a playful squeeze and pulled him more firmly against her body.

In a heartbeat, he lifted her off the floor, his hands on the backs of her thighs, lining up their bodies perfectly, eliciting a breathy sound from her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he trailed his lips and tongue over her jawline to a spot beneath her ear that sent shivers through her.

“Question,” he said, his voice low and gravelly, his breath wisping over her ear. “Did you really come all the way over here just to tell me about the contest?”

A smile broke out over her lips, and she tried to hold it in even though he couldn’t see it as he was focusing his attention on her neck.