by Sandra Owens
She didn’t care. She wanted him.
“I watched American Sniper last night,” she said, the thought coming out of nowhere, then wanted to bite off her tongue when his fingers missed whatever chord they had intended and hit a jarring note.
He picked up the bottle that still held at least two glasses of scotch and poured the contents down his throat. Riley thought that if he knew how much he’d just revealed to her that he would never speak to her again. She couldn’t stand it any longer. She let her desire to be near him, to touch him, to comfort him fuel her decision to park herself onto his lap. He dropped the empty bottle to the floor with one hand and gently set his guitar down with the other.
The bottle made a clanking sound as it bounced and rolled on the porch’s wood floor. Sally and Pretty Girl jerked their heads up in unison, both scrambling to their feet, their noses reaching for the new toy.
“They believe you’ve invented a new game,” Riley said, swallowing her smile at the way Cody’s eyes widened at finding her on his lap. “Don’t think.” He was already worried about hurting her, and the last thing she wanted him doing was thinking of all the reasons she shouldn’t be straddling him.
“No thinking,” he muttered as he wrapped his fingers around her neck and pulled her head down, his mouth seeking hers. Each time they’d kissed . . . what, three times now? Not that she was counting, but their kisses just got better and better. Her mouth already knew the feel of his tongue seeking entrance, and she welcomed him in. The man didn’t know gentle. He demanded—he took—and that she let him was a marvel. Because of her background, she normally needed to be in control.
Wanting him closer, she threaded her fingers through the short spikes of his hair, and pressed her chest against his. Their noses bumped, and he angled his head for better access. A rumbling growl sounded from him when she fought his tongue with hers for supremacy, somehow knowing that he’d like that.
She thought maybe ten minutes of sucking each other’s tongues, nibbling on each other’s lips, and exploring each other with their hands passed before he pulled away. His head fell back against his chair, and he sucked air into his lungs like a man deprived of oxygen. Her breathing wasn’t much better.
“This isn’t a good idea, darlin’.”
“Tell me why.” She didn’t doubt that he had a list of reasons, each of which she would debunk. She wanted him, and she would have him. From the hard ridge of his erection pressing against her bottom, she didn’t doubt he wanted her. His problem wasn’t with down there. It was in his head. He thought he should be honorable, or some such nonsense.
“You watched that movie?”
She nodded.
“I met him once, Chris Kyle.” Cody turned his head to the side, watching his dogs paw at the scotch bottle. “On my first deployment. He was already on his way to becoming a legend by then, especially to the other snipers. I got it in my head that I’d beat his numbers.”
“Wasn’t that a good goal?” she asked when he paused. From what she’d learned watching the movie, the snipers had saved the lives of countless American soldiers.
Cody put his hands around her waist and picked her up as if she weighed no more than a ten-pound sack of potatoes. He deposited her back onto her chair, and then walked to the porch railing, keeping his back to her.
“It would have been a good goal if I hadn’t let my ego get ahead of me.” He put his hands on the rail, curling his fingers around the wood. “I’m not quite sure what happened, but . . .” He turned and his glare was fierce as he fisted his hand and pounded on his chest. “But I fucked up. I don’t know how exactly, that part’s buried in my mind. It’s trying to come out, though, and I’m not sure I’m going to be able to deal with it when it does. I think you should go home.”
Ignoring what was probably sound advice she went to him. She snaked her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his chest, right over his heart. He sighed, although she wasn’t sure if it was one of relief that she was still there, or if it was one of exasperation at her stubbornness.
“Not going home,” she murmured with her lips pressed into his shirt.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, darlin’.” He picked her up, carrying her across his porch. They were at the door to his house when he whipped his head around.
“What?” she said when he dropped her feet to the ground and took off. What the hell?
CHAPTER TEN
Cody chased the car down the block, the same one that had tried to run over Riley. “Dammit,” he swore when the car sped around the corner. He stared at the empty road, willing it to come back so he could catch the bastard trying to hurt her.
It had only been because the car had slowed as it drove by that he’d taken notice. He turned back toward his house, coming to a stop at the edge of the yard where his dogs pranced in agitation. “You ever see that car again, you let me know.”
Sensing his tension, they growled at the empty street, wanting to protect him from the unseen evil. Along with Layla, it had been their self-appointed job in Afghanistan, and they didn’t like being left out. He knelt and assured them he was fine, receiving licks in the face.
“Was that the same car as before?”
Cody glanced up at Riley. “Yeah. Unfortunately, I only got the first two letters of the license plate, but it’s a start.” He stood. “Have there been any more sick pets?” The interruption had been timely; otherwise, he’d have her under him by now. He wanted that more than anything, but he couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her.
“Can we please talk about this tomorrow? I think you were about to have your way with me, and I’d very much like for that to happen.”
She edged closer, her citrusy scent making him want to bury his face in her hair and breathe her in. With her, he could forget all his problems for a few hours, but then what? She lived across the street, so no way he could avoid her. Nor was he sure that after one taste of her he could let her go if kissing her was any indication. Everything about her was a siren call that he’d never experienced with another woman—the way she fit into him, the way her warmth seeped into his skin, the surge that felt like some kind of electricity powering through him when they touched.
“So would I.” Unable to resist touching her, he trailed his knuckles down her cheek. “But—”
“I knew there was going to be a but.”
“Yeah, darlin’, there is. But you deserve better.” She clamped her teeth down over her bottom lip, and he grew hard thinking of her biting him, begging him to make her come.
“Don’t you think it should be up to me to decide what I deserve?”
“Not tonight.” He snapped his fingers, and the dogs followed him as he forced his feet to walk away.
“When?”
His mouth curved into a grin, but he kept his back to her. She was a feisty one, and he liked that. A lot. The woman would be demanding in bed, and on that thought, he almost scooped her up so he could find out which of them would come out on top. Because that was how it would be with her, both of them fighting for dominance. From kissing her, he’d already learned that she liked to be in control.
When he was sure he’d lost his grin, he faced her. “Come over in the morning, and I’ll cook you breakfast. We need to talk about who might be driving that damn car. While we’re at it, we’ll talk about sex. If we can establish some ground rules we both can agree on, then we’ll discuss when.”
Instead of answering, she marched toward him like a woman on a mission, put her hands on his cheeks and tugged his face down. Her mouth met his in a crash of lips, and she pushed her tongue inside. Hell. How was he supposed to resist her? About the time he decided to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to his bed, she pulled away.
“I have to be at the clinic by eight, so I’ll see you at six thirty. I drink my coffee with cream and sugar.”
“Damn, woman,” he muttered, watching her walk away, his gaze drawn to the long ponytail bouncing against her back. It
was like an arrow directing his eyes down to her sweet ass, which he admired until it disappeared from view. After a slight adjustment to his jeans, he headed inside to take an inventory of his refrigerator.
When he reached the porch, he spied the scotch bottle. He’d fully intended to tie one on big time, but then Riley had appeared. Although he’d had a good buzz on, he hadn’t yet reached fall-on-his-face-drunk, and for that he was thankful. If she’d seen him in that condition, he never would have been able to face her again.
Now, he had a mission. Figure out what he was going to make her for breakfast while keeping an eye on her. There was no doubt in his mind that someone meant her harm, and he’d be damned if he would let that happen. As for discussing when they’d have sex, his mouth had gotten ahead of his good sense on that one. For her sake, he’d fully intended to leave her alone.
She was a determined little thing, though, and that appealed to him. Maybe she was strong enough not to fall in love or something stupid like that, only taking what she wanted and not expecting more than what they mutually agreed on. If they could come to an agreement, that was. He sure as hell hoped so because he’d never wanted a woman like he wanted Dr. Riley Austin.
What if you’re the one who goes and falls in love? He crushed that irritating voice in his head. “So not gonna happen.”
He picked up the bottle and his guitar, and ushered his dogs inside. After surveying his food supplies and doing a quick search on the Internet for a recipe that seemed to be easy, he turned out the lights and headed to the bathroom to take a cold shower. Hopefully, that would work in cooling the heat Riley had stirred in his blood.
An hour later, he stared at the ceiling fan, its spinning blades visible in the moonlight shining through the window. There were so many things crowding his mind that he thought there was a good chance he’d levitate right off the bed. In an effort to organize his brain into some semblance of order, he decided to deal with one thing at a time.
First, there was his job and what he was going to have to do to keep it. Staying with K2 was high on his priority list, so no matter how distasteful, he had no choice but to let the head doc in. Since he was damned tired of the nightmares, hopefully they would go away once he remembered whatever it was his mind wanted to forget. Seeing someone who could help him might not be such a bad thing.
He was using the drinking as a crutch to forget what he couldn’t remember, and although that shouldn’t make sense, it did. He didn’t think he had a drinking problem per se, as he didn’t crave the scotch. Actually, he could take it or leave it. It was the numbing of his brain cells that he sought. That had to stop. Tonight was his last binge, end of story. With that decision, he felt a little lighter. Not much but some, and that right there was something.
Layla. She was next on his list of things weighing him down. At some point, he was going to have to accept that she was lost to him. Since he wasn’t there yet, he needed to make a plan to expand his search for her. Not wanting to bother anyone else about a stray dog among many in that hellhole, he’d only asked Wizard to keep an eye out for her. It was time to make a last ditch effort and contact everyone he knew still in-country to ask for help in the search. Another decision that seemed to lighten the load he’d been carrying.
Last but certainly not least, there was Riley. He honestly didn’t know what to do about her. That there was enough chemistry between them to light his bed on fire was a given. He wanted her. She wanted him. Shouldn’t be a problem. But there was that miniscule part of him that demanded he leave her alone because he was fucked up, and he’d only contaminate her with his poison.
Cody let out a long sigh as he kicked off the covers. Just thinking about her got him hot and bothered. He wasn’t going to leave her alone. The only way that was going to happen was if he was tossed in a cell and the key was thrown away. Even then, he’d find a way out if she were the prize for doing so.
If that was the way it was going to be, then they had to set ground rules, ones that would protect her from getting hurt. He mentally made a list of what those should be. After covering every possibility, including that there would be no falling in love, he turned his mind to finding whoever was trying to hurt her.
Although she didn’t know it, she was now under his protection. She didn’t seem to want to believe that she was the target of some nutcase. The question was why had she been targeted? It seemed likely that it was the same person poisoning pets. For one, both things had started at the same time, and Cody didn’t believe in coincidences.
He had the make and model of the car, along with the first two letters of the plate, which was a start. He’d give them to Maria, see if she could narrow the search. He’d heard that she was downright scary on a computer, able to find things no one else could. That might mean a few questions from his friends at K2 on just what Riley Austin was to him, and he didn’t know the answer.
He jerked awake the moment the nightmare started. It was the first time he’d been able to do that. When had he fallen asleep? Glancing at the clock and seeing that it was five, he got up. The last thing he wanted was to nod off again and have the dream take up where it had left off. He dressed, ran eight miles with the dogs, came home, showered, used the trimmer on his shaver to neaten his stubble, and then got out his recipe for the breakfast he planned to make for Riley.
Riley groaned when the alarm clock buzzed, and she slammed her hand down on snooze. When it went off the second time, she blinked her eyes open. Pelli stared back at her from his perch on her chest.
“Hey, you.” He let out a plaintive I’m-so-hungry meow. “Poor starving baby.”
On Saturdays, she opened her clinic from eight to three for those who worked during the week. Picking up Pelli, she slung her feet over the edge of the bed. Arthur rubbed his body along her legs, and Merlin sat in the doorway with his back to them all. Riley glanced at the clock again, furrowing her brows. Why had it gone off an hour earlier than normal?
Then it hit her. She was having breakfast with Cody, and she jumped up, causing Pelli to dig his claws into her T-shirt to keep from falling to the floor.
“Ouch, Pelli, that hurts.” She dislodged him from her shirt and set him down. With a speed she wasn’t normally capable of in the mornings, she fed them, and then jumped in the shower. After drying off, she debated what to do with her hair. For work, she always wore it up in a ponytail, but she decided to leave it down for her breakfast with Cody.
Next problem, what to wear to a breakfast date where a discussion of when she and her freaking hot neighbor would have sex was on the menu? That he’d offered to make her breakfast had pretty much blown her mind since he didn’t seem like a man who would be comfortable in the kitchen. If he put a bowl of cereal in front of her, though, she planned to praise it like Chef Bobby Flay—her secret crush—had served it to her.
“Concentrate, Riley. Clothes.” Normally, she wore an old pair of jeans and a T-shirt to work in, with a lab coat over them. This morning, she wanted something special. She decided on black skinny jeans, black knee-length boots, and a red V-neck sweater. Underneath, she wore her new matching black bra and panties. Not that sex was also on the menu for this date, or whatever the hell it was, but she wanted to feel sexy. The lace trim around their edges felt foreign on her skin, yet stimulating. It was about time she was stimulated by something, and that something was a quick walk across the street.
At six thirty-one, she pushed Cody’s doorbell, her heart beating like she was racing in a marathon. Never had she been this excited and this nervous about being with a man. Her date with Mike—had it only been last night?—had been nice, and that had been the problem. She didn’t want nice. That was Cody’s fault. Before him, she was sure she would have enjoyed Mike’s company. Now, there was only one man she wanted.
The door opened, and Pretty Girl and Sally came tumbling out. They took a few moments to greet her before tearing off into the yard. Lifting her gaze to Cody, she sucked in a breath at the way he stared at he
r, as if he could gobble her up. The stubble on his face gave him the dangerous appearance that she loved on him. He wore a pair of jeans that looked old and soft, a dark blue short-sleeve knit shirt, and a pair of leather flip-flops.
“Hey,” she said, pleased that her voice didn’t come out sounding all breathy.
“I like your hair down.”
“Ah, thanks.”
“I like it in a ponytail, too.” He stepped back, waving her in.
“And your hair’s wet.” Gah, was that the best she could come up with?
“Just got out of the shower.”
As she walked past him, she could smell the fresh scent of soap. An image of him in the shower, all soaped up with droplets of water glistening their way down his naked body, flashed into her mind. She stumbled.
“Whoa.” He caught her arm. “I’ve got you.”
And so he did. She’d been brave last night—forward, more like—kissing him even when he had tried to push her away. Not so much in the light of day, or she’d be kissing him this very minute. Her gaze was drawn to his bare forearms, where the muscles flexed from holding her. She’d always had a weakness for men’s arms, and his were downright perfect.
“Riley?”
And by God, his rumbly voice could melt butter in the middle of a blizzard. “Mmm?” She peered up at him only to see amusement dancing in his eyes. Her cheeks heated at getting caught practically drooling because of a pair of arms, and knowing she was blushing only made it worse. There was no doubt in her mind that the color of her face matched the bright red of her sweater.
“Just this.” He brushed his lips over hers in the lightest of touches. “Good morning, darlin’.” He fingered the hem of her sweater. “This red top you have on . . . it’s damn hot.”
