Page 35 of Knight's Fall

“You’re full of bullshit. You realize that, don’t you?”

Wings wondered if he was going to strain his middle finger from flipping Jay off so many times during his visit. His friend just laughed.

“I’m serious. Who said you weren’t the marry-and-settle-down type? None of us were until we found the right person. Maybe your neighbor is the right person for you.”

“I think Payton, Davi and Stephanie are rubbing off on you. Do you want to braid my hair while you give me a lecture?”

“Tell me about this girl. You said her name is Courtney?”

“Courtlyn. She’s the cook at the diner, but she’s saving her money to buy a food truck. She said she wants to serve comfort food. She learned to cook from her grandmother. I don’t know. She’s nice. She smiles a lot. She is some kind of dog whisperer. Mo only responds to German, but she had him eating out of her hand.”

“She pretty?”

Wings conjured a picture of Courtlyn in his mind. “Yeah. She is. Not very tall but curvy. Soft hair. Everything about her is soft. She knows how to kiss.”

His voice trailed off as he continued to think of her creamy skin kissed with a pretty pink blush. Her dark eyes lit with amusement, her mouth curving alluringly when she laughed.

“I’m screwed.”

Jay chuckled. “Only if you’ve done something stupid to drive her away. And if you did, I would apologize if I were you. If this girl is it, you should go after her. It’s worth it.”

“You’d better be right, man. Or you’re going to owe me a steak dinner too.”

Chapter Seventeen

Courtlyn watched the Goldendoodle attempt to make friends with Bogie, but the Corgi wasn’t having it.

Bogie wasn’t one to make friends. He only wanted a world of humans he deemed worthy of his attention. The Goldendoodle would venture close, and Bogie would give the larger dog time to sniff the air around him before lunging as menacingly as a Corgi could when facing off against a bigger dog. The Goldendoodle would startle and run off a short distance, and Bogie would spin in a circle in triumph.

The dance between the two had been going on for a while, and Courtlyn was content to watch them. The Goldendoodle’s owner was a short distance away, and she tried not to notice how often he stared at her. He had smiled and waved, and she’d felt bad for not doing something to encourage his attention.

He was cute enough in a geeky sort of way — wavy hair that wouldn’t quite behave, thick rimmed glasses that would fall down his long nose, the dimple in his cheek when he smiled and the chin dimple that a lot of women found sexy. She had thought she was one of those women. Considering she felt no attraction toward the stranger, she was rethinking her stance on the chin dimple.

Wings had ruined her. They were not even a couple. They weren’t even close to being a couple, and he ruined her. Months of fantasizing about him had paled in comparison to the real thing. One kiss, and she was wrecked. Just thinking of how his mouth devoured hers made her panties damp and her stomach flip.

Worse yet, she liked him. She liked talking to him. She liked listening to his stories. She liked the sound of his chuckle. She liked the cute set of his jaw when he was frustrated. She liked the soft brush of his beard against her skin. She liked the ripple of the muscles in his back when he worked. She liked how smart he was, what a hard worker he was, what a good listener he was. All the things she never expected to find in the man she’d lusted over for months were all the things that convinced her she needed to stay away.

Sure he kissed her. It was hot and intense. She felt his arousal, and if she closed her eyes, she could hear him moan and pant as he tried to catch his breath. He was attracted to her. He would have seduced her in his kitchen if they hadn’t been interrupted by Mo. She was ready to let him, even knowing that sleeping together would be all she could expect from him. He wasn’t looking for something serious, and she wanted to believe she could be fine with that.

If it was anyone but Wings, she probably could be. He was special. She sensed it the first time she saw him through her window. After spending time with him, she knew it to be true. She could be fine with being his friend if she’d never tasted him. If she’d never known how it felt to be held by him, she could live in the friend zone forever if it kept him in her life. That kiss destroyed all possibility of that. She couldn’t be with him as a friend knowing she wanted more and he didn’t.

The alarm on her cell vibrated, and she stood with Bogie’s leash dangling from her hands.

“Bogie, let’s go, buddy. Time to go home.”

The Corgi’s ears perked up at the word home. He dashed toward her at a speed that was unexpected considering his short legs. The Goldendoodle gazed forlornly after him, and Courtlyn thought his owner shared a similar look. She hooked the leash onto Bogie’s collar and then gave him a treat for behaving. The Corgi had become a runner, and if she didn’t keep a close eye on him, he would bolt at a moment’s notice. She was thankful he’d behaved today since she was too distracted to be as watchful as she needed to be.

An energetic bark caught her attention before she saw the friendly German Shepherd bounding around her feet. Bogie seemed stunned to see the dog be so familiar with her. She grinned and scratched behind Mo’s ears.

“It’s good to see you too, Mo. What are you doing here?”

Bogie barked at the same moment she looked up to see Wings walking their way. Her heart stopped at how delicious he looked. His gray joggers hung low on his hips, and his navy T-shirt clung to every curve and bulge of his muscles. His hair was secured in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and her fingers twitched with the urge to take it down and slide through the thick tresses.

“Hey.”

She had no idea why her cheeks flushed. He still hadn’t reached her, but his booming voice carried easily to her ears. The deep timbre rippled down her spine, causing waves of pleasure in her stomach. She waited until he reached her, and her breath hitched at the light in his icy blue eyes. He seemed genuinely happy to see her. She felt the same, though she wished her happiness wasn’t at such a high giddiness level.

“Hey. It’s good to see you out.”

---