Page 27 of Only Her (K2 Team)
“Hey,” she said. “Don’t stop playing on my account.”
Nothing.
Because of the dark, she couldn’t see his eyes, couldn’t read him. If she asked him to turn on a light, she thought he would refuse. “I forgot my beer. Be right back.” She paused. “Don’t go anywhere, okay?”
Nothing.
Fine, don’t talk, but you have no idea how stubborn I can be.She ran back to her house, grabbed a beer from the fridge and added a lime, then went into her bedroom to get a candle and lighter. Although she’d feared Cody would be locked inside his house when she got back, he was right where she’d left him.
“So, where were we?” She took the seat on the other side of the table from him, set down her beer, and lit the candle. “There, that’s better. Not too much light, not too little.” He eyed the candle, then glanced up at her, and the word that skittered through her mind was haunted. She was a doctor, and although she worked to heal pets, she wanted to heal him. If he’d lost his way, she wanted to help him find it again, and if she thought he’d let her crawl onto his lap and hold him, she would.
“I’m sorry I missed seeing you yesterday when you came for your dogs.” When she picked up her beer, she noticed the almost-empty scotch bottle. Had he been drinking from it all night?
“Didn’t want to bother you.”
Ooh-kay. At least he was talking, but she heard the slight slur in his words. “I was hoping you would bother me.”
No response to that. She tried a different tack. “Would you play for me? I love listening to you.”
“How was your date?”
Not expecting that question, she glanced at him. “It was all right. Had dinner and went to the movies.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Um, no. First date.” He grunted, but she wasn’t sure whether it was one of approval or what.
Without another word, he began to play. She could listen to him all night. As his music flowed through her, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. What was his deal? She had a hundred questions she wanted to ask, but sensed she’d lose him if she asked even one of them. Instead, she settled for being allowed to share this time with him.
Sally and Pretty Girl slept with their chins on his feet, and she’d noticed that for the hour or so that he’d played, he hadn’t moved his legs. She smiled, thinking how she would do the same with her cats, no matter how uncomfortable she was.
“Why are you smiling?”
Because you’re sweet and you don’t even know it. “I guess because I’m enjoying myself.”
He seemed to mull that over as he strummed a few chords. “Why?”
There were several answers she could give him. She could tell him that she liked being with him even though he wasn’t the happiest person she’d ever met. Far from it, in fact. Or she could tell him that he intrigued her. He was mysterious, which made her curious. The man was downright sexy with that bad boy thing he had going, so that of course appealed to her. Any of those reasons might have him running from her, however, so she thought it best to go with a reason that didn’t relate personally to him.
“It’s peaceful. Your music, the night, the sleeping dogs. I think I could sit here forever if someone would just deliver us food.” His attention was focused on her as she answered, as if whatever she said mattered to him. She could get lost in those sad eyes.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Riley. You make me want things I have no business wanting.” His eyelids hooded, and he stared down at his fingers as they plucked at the strings of the guitar. “I want you, but I’d hurt you, and that would kill me.”
“I think you might be worth the hurt, Cody.” Call her crazy, but damn, she wanted him, even though she believed that he probably would hurt her. Okay, no probably about it. But every bone in her body said he was worth the risk, and there was the slightest, tiniest, itty-bittiest chance that each of them could come out on the other end unscathed. They might even fall in love. At least one of them might, namely her.
She didn’t care. She wanted him.
“I watchedAmerican Sniperlast 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.
