Chapter 62 - Dressing for Dinner

Jon and Cate gathered up their belongings and made the short trek up to Jon’s villa. They left the towels, the cooler, and their sandy flip-flops outside on the deck, then stepped into the cool living room.

“C’mere, you,” Jon growled gently, pulling Cate against his chest and tilting her face to his. He gave her a kiss that took her breath away, leaving her weak in the knees.

“What was that for?” Cate gasped after their lips parted.

“No reason. Other than I wanted to.” Jon smirked. “And I’m used to getting what I want. Except with you,” he teased.

Cate gave him a sassy look. “Hey, I’m the teacher. I call the shots,” she teased back.

“Yes, you certainly do,” Jon purred, again lowering his lips to Cate’s and kissing her passionately.

When he pulled away this time, he felt Cate swoon a bit in his arms. He grinned. “Ooh, sorry. Bad student, not behaving. Maybe I need to be spanked,” he said saucily.

Cate laughed. “Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t ya?”

“Oh yeah, Baby!” Jon grinned. He reached down and playfully swatted Cate’s behind. “I don’t mind doing the spanking, either.”

Cate squeaked in response and pulled away from him, laughing. They smiled at each other for a long moment, then Jon sighed. “Guess I better start getting ready for this dinner thing.” He gave Cate a long look. “I really, really don’t want to go. I’d much rather stay here with you.”

“You have to go,” Cate answered. “It’s the Director. You’re his “special guest,” remember? That means he gets to show you off to his family and friends.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jon grumbled. He sighed again, then gave Cate a little smile. “Hey, why don’t you come with me? He told me I could bring a guest. You have your dress here, so you wouldn’t even have to go home and change.”

“Uh uh. No way.” Cate said firmly, shaking her head vigorously. “Are you crazy? I like my job, and I want to keep it!”

“Oh, c’mon! It’ll be fun!” Jon said, a bit sarcastically.

“Jon, what on earth are you thinking? I’m your instructor! How do you think it would look if I show up at my boss’ house as your date? And just how long do you think it would take for that little tidbit of gossip to make it around the Center? And how long do you think it would take for everybody to assume I’m sleeping with you? With my student?” Cate was starting to get agitated just thinking about what would happen if her extracurricular activities with Jon were found out.

“Whoa, whoa, okay…” Jon held up a hand, trying to calm her. Man, I really touched a nerve there… “Sorry. I didn’t think about the implications for you,” he said gently.

Cate took a deep breath. “I…I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just that my job, my professional reputation, they’re very important to me. Hell, they’re everything to me.”

Jon nodded his understanding. “Okay,” he stepped to Cate and gave her a gentle kiss. “Hey, it’s kinda sexy sneaking around, anyway,” he said with a little smirk. “Very illicit.”

Cate couldn’t help but smile in response. “Glad you think so,” she said with a little chuckle. “Hell, I’ve already tempted fate, spending this much time alone with you away from work. God knows who could have seen us at the restaurant, or walking on the beach, or in the village, or…” she colored slightly. “..playing tonsil-hockey outside Sonny’s.” Jesus, we came REALLY close to getting busted there!

Jon laughed at Cate’s choice of words. “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed. He gave her a sweet smile, and his voice softened. “But I hope you’ll continue tempting fate, spending time alone with me. Sneaky, illicit, covert, whatever. Just as long as you’re with me.”

Cate’s heart squeezed at the affection in Jon’s expression. “I… I don’t think that will be a problem,” she replied softly. She and Jon gazed at each other for a long moment, then Cate broke the silence.

“Oooookay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “You need to get ready for your dinner plans, and I need to get home.”

“Wait, what? You’re going home?” Jon asked, surprised. “I was hoping maybe you’d hang out here, be here when I got back.”

Cate chuckled. “As tempting as that sounds, no. Jon, I do have a life. I have responsibilities, things I have to take care of.” She gave him a little smile. “I need to go home. We’ll see each other tomorrow.”

Jon opened his mouth to protest, then shut it, giving Cate a plaintive look. “Tell ya what,” Cate continued. Why don’t I wait for you to get dressed, then I’ll take you by the office to get your car on my way home.”

“Okay,” Jon sighed. His eyes traveled to the clock on the wall and he started, seeing that it was ten past five. “Oh, shit. I gotta get a move on!”

“Go!” Cate laughed as Jon stepped forward to give her another sweet kiss. She swatted at his ass as he turned toward the bedroom.

“Hey, now! Keep that up and I’m liable to miss dinner altogether. You too!” he growled playfully as he moved toward the bedroom doors.

Cate chuckled again, then sighed as she watched Jon stride into the bedroom, pulling his t-shirt up over his head. She waited until she heard the shower start, then followed Jon’s path into the bedroom. She noticed that the huge bed was made, the pile of decorative pillows back in place against the headboard. Cate giggled as she remembered Jon’s frustration with them earlier this morning.

She gathered up her clothing into her duffel bag, then peeked through the open bathroom door. Seeing that Jon was still in the shower, she quickly stepped into the bathroom to retrieve her toiletry bag.

She colored slightly when she saw that her tank and panties were folded neatly on the counter next to the bag. She hoped Jon had done that, and not housekeeping. She added the items to her duffel, then carried the bag into the living room.

Cate found her silver sandals and purse resting on the hall table. Realizing she hadn’t checked her messages since last night, Cate pulled her Blackberry from her purse. She scanned the message folder, smiling at messages from Danny and Mandy asking lewdly if she was still in bed with Jon.

Finding nothing urgent, she slipped the Berry into the pocket of her shorts. She retrieved her car keys from the purse, then placed it and the sandals in her duffel. Finally, she padded out to the deck, shook the sand from her flip-flops, and carried them to the front entry, dropping them by the door.

Realizing she had nothing else to do while she waited for Jon to dress, Cate wandered over to the couch. She found the remote and sank onto the soft suede sectional, pushing at buttons until she managed to turn on the television. She flipped around the channels, finally settling on ESPN.

Fifteen minutes later Jon emerged from the bedroom. He chuckled when he saw Cate reclining comfortably on the sofa, her feet up on the ottoman, engrossed in SportsCenter. He stood and watched her for a moment, smiling to himself. My kinda woman, he thought once again.

When SportsCenter broke for commercial, Cate glanced toward the bedroom, wondering what was taking Jon so long. She was startled to see him standing just a few feet from the end of the sofa, smiling down at her. “Oh, hey,” she said. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Just for a minute,” Jon replied softly. He took a couple steps toward her. “Do I look okay?”

Cate felt her heart beat a little faster as she took in the sight before her. Jon looked incredibly handsome, clad in black jeans and an untucked, fitted caramel-colored dress shirt. As was his style, he had turned up the cuffs and unbuttoned the shirt down to mid-chest. A simple gold chain glittered against his neck. He was freshly-shaven and blow-dried, his blue eyes sparkling brightly beneath the soft fall of honey-toned hair.

Cate rose from the couch and crossed over to him. “You look great,” she answered. “But…” she reached up and buttoned the shirt button that rested between his pecs, pulling the placket more modestly closed. “You’re gonna cause some sort of incident if you go to the Director’s house looking that sexy,” she teased. “The Director’s wife is a pretty…uh, assertive woman.”

Cate grinned. She had met the woman on several occasions, and she had no doubt that Mrs. Director would spend most of the evening glued to Jon’s side, flirting brazenly with him. She chuckled to herself, wondering how Jon would react.

“Ah.” Jon gave Cate a little wink. “Am I gonna have to defend myself?” he asked teasingly.

“Probably,” Cate chuckled. She was pretty sure Jon would be able to hold his own. He had undoubtedly dealt with fawning socialites before. She closed her eyes briefly as she drew in the heavenly scent of his cologne. “C’mon,” she sighed, opening her eyes and giving him a little smile. “We gotta get going, or you’re gonna be late.”

“Just one thing, first,” Jon replied. He stepped close to Cate and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest and lowering his mouth to hers. He kissed her thoroughly, then pulled away and smiled down at her. “Didn’t think I’d get the chance to do that in the parking lot at the office,” he said softly.

“No, probably not…” Cate replied breathlessly. She stared up at him for a long moment, until Jon chuckled and released her from his embrace.

“Let’s go, before I change my mind,” Jon sighed, walking over to the front entryway and picking up Cate’s duffel bag from the floor. He gave her a resigned smile. “Gotta go pay my dues for being allowed to play with the feds,” he teased.

Cate nodded and returned his smile, then followed Jon to the door.