Page 39 of Housebroke

“What do you like to do for fun?” he asked.

She blinked. “Fun? Uh, hanging out with the dogs. Cooking. I like the pool in the backyard. It’s great for doing laps and relaxing.” Listening to her list out her activities, she realized Linc probably thought she was the most boring person on the planet. He was going to drive them back to the house and never take her out again.

“So you’re pretty chill, then,” he said. “I like that.”

She waited while Bonita returned with the drinks and laid them on the table. She took a couple of sips of the water, letting the coolness of it refresh her dance-dry throat before looking at Linc.

“You think I’m chill? I thought maybe you’d think I was dull.”

He frowned. “Why would I think that?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because I don’t crave adventure and I don’t need constant entertainment or have a burning desire to travel the world. I’m pretty content with simple things.”

“Nothing wrong with simple. In fact, a simple life leads to contentment.”

She sent him a querying look. “Is that some proverb?”

He laughed. “No, I just made it up.”

So he was amazing-looking, great with his hands, nice, and he was smart, too?

This guy couldn’t be for real. And she’d had way too much fun with him tonight. More importantly, she’d relaxed and had felt more like her old self, something she hadn’t done in far too long. And she liked the person she was around him. Which had nothing to do with the impressive dinner or this very cool club, and everything to do with Linc.

“I’m ready to leave if you are,” she said.

He looked surprised, then nodded. “Oh, yeah, sure.”

He signaled for Bonita and paid the check, then they headed out. She was quiet on the way back to the house, her head filled with all kinds of thoughts, mostly about Linc.

When they got to the house, the dogs were excited to see her—and Linc.

Linc bent to pet them all, seemingly unconcerned about getting dog hair on his nice clothes.

“Hey, kids,” he said to the dogs. “Did you do okay while you were alone?”

The pups ate up all the attention. It surprised Hazel how attached they’d become to him. Then again, he had a magnetism about him, so it shouldn’t surprise her the dogs would gravitate to that. She certainly had.

“Come on, babies.” She let the dogs outside, then shut the door and turned to face Linc. “I had a really good time tonight.”

“Me, too.”

Boldness wasn’t really her thing, but tonight she felt emboldened. Maybe it was the wine. Or the spicy margaritas. Or the new dress. She had no idea. For whatever reason, she felt exceptionally good.

She moved in closer to him, tilting her head back to peruse his ruggedly handsome face, realizing she wanted to study all those planes and angles for hours, then map them with her fingertips. The way he looked down at her—all that pent-up desire easily readable in his eyes—made her wonder if his heart was pounding as hard as hers was right now. She laid her hands on his chest, felt the rapid beat of his heart, and smiled up at him.

Then she rose up on her toes and wrapped her hand around the nape of his neck, pulling his head to hers.

Before she took her next breath he had tugged her close and his mouth was on hers and everything she wanted was right there. His chest against hers, their mouths plundering each other with a needy passion, tongues intertwined in a mad dance. She was dizzy with desire, with the feel of all that muscle pressing againsther, the taste of him so maddening she whimpered against his mouth, causing him to growl in response.

She’d never felt so fully consumed before, so utterly wanted as she felt right this moment.

She pulled back. “How about we take this upstairs?”

He arched a perfect brow. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Absolutely certain it’s what I want. If it’s what you want.”

“Hell yeah, it’s what I want.” He took her mouth in a hard kiss that turned her brain to mush. Then he lifted her, scooping her up in his arms as he carried her up the stairs, and she finally understood all those romance books she’d spent her entire life reading.

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