her shoulder, she saw Brutus loping
along behind them, tongue hanging out on the side, goofy dog grin on his ugly
face. Ha! It was working.
Unable to help herself, she glanced
at Jake, promptly tripped over a tree root she’d been too distracted to notice,
and had to do some fancy footwork to regain her balance. Jake—slick devil—took
her hand and urged her on.
…get
some beer with the pizza. Girl needs to loosen up…
Oh, she wanted to listen. She
really did. But too many friendships, romantic relationships, and lives had
been ruined by her telepathy.
With effort, she put up a wall and
blocked the rush of his thoughts. Tough to do, especially while sprinting
through the woods, but she managed.
They stumbled out into her
backyard, Brutus only a few yards behind, and Emma veered for the house.
“Now what’s the plan?” Jake panted.
“Let’s lead Brutus straight
inside.”
Jake risked a glance over his
shoulder. “You sure? That’s one muddy dog.”
“Good point. Can you run ahead and
shut all the doors that lead out of the kitchen? I’ll keep him occupied while
you do that, then bring him in.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
She released Jake’s
hand—reluctantly, she had to admit. She’d forgotten the addictiveness of the
sheer sensation of skin gliding against skin, pulses pounding together. The
little hum fluttering along her veins vanished as soon as their palms lost
contact, making her feel like she’d gone from being pleasantly buzzed to
stone-cold sober in a bare second.
Her reluctance to let go must have
shown, for Jake ducked his head and gave her a grin—one that invited her to
share in the joke of their shared attraction. Then he put on a burst of speed,
leaving her behind.
It took a few seconds, but she
mentally found her balance again. Keeping one eye on Brutus, she began to run a
zigzag pattern across the yard, trying to hold the dog’s attention while Jake
dealt with the kitchen.
Jake waved from the back door. She
picked up her pace and straightened her course. Brutus, his panting audible in
the day’s deepening glide toward twilight, followed her closely, tight on her
heels as she charged into the kitchen. And then they were in, Jake clicking the
door shut behind them.
Brutus danced around, tail flapping
like a flag, as if running away was no big deal. Who knew? Maybe for him it
wasn’t. Maybe his owners spent half their waking hours chasing him, which was
why they’d needed a forty-day vacation on another continent. She was going to
have to talk to them on their return about their responsibility to inform her
of Brutus’s bad habits.
Emma dropped the dog bowl and spoon
on the table, causing Brutus to dance even more madly around the kitchen. “If
you think you’re getting fed right away, think again,” she informed him as she
dialed Ian’s cell phone. “I have him,” she said when Ian answered.
“Oh, good. I wasn’t having any
luck.” A pause. “Cynthia called and said that Jake Vant is there.”
“Right—he is.” And where was
Cynthia? Emma craned her neck to look out the window over the sink and into the
backyard, but didn’t see her.
“Uh, Cynthia and I were going to
grab some Thai food in Camden tonight. Want to come along?”
Oh, Ian. Her tall, skinny, and
awkward white knight trying to save her from Jake’s presence.
“That’s really nice of you, Ian,
but I have to pass. Jake came over to look at the kennel’s numbers and give me
ideas on how to convince the bank that we can expand to a new location.” A new
location that Ian would be in charge of.
“Really? Okay, that’s cool.”
He was so clearly relieved that
Jake was there for business reasons, Emma almost laughed. As she hung up, she
glanced at Jake sitting at the kitchen table and scratching the dog’s head.
Based on what she’d glimpsed when they’d touched hands, Jake wasn’t entirely
focused on business.
Chasing her around the bed. Whew.
She could feel her skin heat.
She should
along behind them, tongue hanging out on the side, goofy dog grin on his ugly
face. Ha! It was working.
Unable to help herself, she glanced
at Jake, promptly tripped over a tree root she’d been too distracted to notice,
and had to do some fancy footwork to regain her balance. Jake—slick devil—took
her hand and urged her on.
…get
some beer with the pizza. Girl needs to loosen up…
Oh, she wanted to listen. She
really did. But too many friendships, romantic relationships, and lives had
been ruined by her telepathy.
With effort, she put up a wall and
blocked the rush of his thoughts. Tough to do, especially while sprinting
through the woods, but she managed.
They stumbled out into her
backyard, Brutus only a few yards behind, and Emma veered for the house.
“Now what’s the plan?” Jake panted.
“Let’s lead Brutus straight
inside.”
Jake risked a glance over his
shoulder. “You sure? That’s one muddy dog.”
“Good point. Can you run ahead and
shut all the doors that lead out of the kitchen? I’ll keep him occupied while
you do that, then bring him in.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
She released Jake’s
hand—reluctantly, she had to admit. She’d forgotten the addictiveness of the
sheer sensation of skin gliding against skin, pulses pounding together. The
little hum fluttering along her veins vanished as soon as their palms lost
contact, making her feel like she’d gone from being pleasantly buzzed to
stone-cold sober in a bare second.
Her reluctance to let go must have
shown, for Jake ducked his head and gave her a grin—one that invited her to
share in the joke of their shared attraction. Then he put on a burst of speed,
leaving her behind.
It took a few seconds, but she
mentally found her balance again. Keeping one eye on Brutus, she began to run a
zigzag pattern across the yard, trying to hold the dog’s attention while Jake
dealt with the kitchen.
Jake waved from the back door. She
picked up her pace and straightened her course. Brutus, his panting audible in
the day’s deepening glide toward twilight, followed her closely, tight on her
heels as she charged into the kitchen. And then they were in, Jake clicking the
door shut behind them.
Brutus danced around, tail flapping
like a flag, as if running away was no big deal. Who knew? Maybe for him it
wasn’t. Maybe his owners spent half their waking hours chasing him, which was
why they’d needed a forty-day vacation on another continent. She was going to
have to talk to them on their return about their responsibility to inform her
of Brutus’s bad habits.
Emma dropped the dog bowl and spoon
on the table, causing Brutus to dance even more madly around the kitchen. “If
you think you’re getting fed right away, think again,” she informed him as she
dialed Ian’s cell phone. “I have him,” she said when Ian answered.
“Oh, good. I wasn’t having any
luck.” A pause. “Cynthia called and said that Jake Vant is there.”
“Right—he is.” And where was
Cynthia? Emma craned her neck to look out the window over the sink and into the
backyard, but didn’t see her.
“Uh, Cynthia and I were going to
grab some Thai food in Camden tonight. Want to come along?”
Oh, Ian. Her tall, skinny, and
awkward white knight trying to save her from Jake’s presence.
“That’s really nice of you, Ian,
but I have to pass. Jake came over to look at the kennel’s numbers and give me
ideas on how to convince the bank that we can expand to a new location.” A new
location that Ian would be in charge of.
“Really? Okay, that’s cool.”
He was so clearly relieved that
Jake was there for business reasons, Emma almost laughed. As she hung up, she
glanced at Jake sitting at the kitchen table and scratching the dog’s head.
Based on what she’d glimpsed when they’d touched hands, Jake wasn’t entirely
focused on business.
Chasing her around the bed. Whew.
She could feel her skin heat.
She should
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