Page 9 of Only Her (K2 Team)
At her smile, his heart skipped a beat. He had to get away from her while he still could. She was damn sexy all mussed up. The long hair that reminded him of a German shepherd’s coat with all its colors was a tangled mess, putting him in mind of a woman just made love to. Too bad that wasn’t the reason, but better that he’d not gone that far. He would only hurt her in the end.
“Stay,” she whispered just before she kissed him.
If he’d been a better man, he would get up and leave. Cody Roberts was a bad man, though, and he cradled the back of her neck with his hand, angled his head, and took control of the kiss. Her mouth was hot and sweet, and when he slipped his tongue inside, and she gave a throaty little moan, he flipped their bodies so that she was under him.
He wanted her like he’d never wanted a woman before. But as they stared at each other, both breathless, he looked into those hazel eyes flecked with gold, and knew he couldn’t dump his shit on her. If he thought he could make love to her, then disappear from her life, nothing would stop him from taking her right then. But she lived across the street, so there could be no disappearing, and he had the uneasy feeling that if they did make love, he’d never be able to walk away.
She was a good person, a woman who cried over an animal she couldn’t save. To Cody, that made her a true hero, and she deserved a man with a mind that wasn’t on the brink of insanity. He had to have one more kiss, though. Had to memorize her taste and the warm softness of her lips touching his.
“Riley,” he said, covering her mouth with his. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing her pelvis against his raging erection. Christ. Before he lost the will to leave her, he levered up and onto his feet.
“Can I drop my dogs off at your clinic tomorrow?” he said as he backed away. Her eyes filled with hurt. He was a bastard, no doubt about it. With any other woman, he would have walked away right then. With Riley, he just couldn’t do it.
He forced himself not to look away from those wounded eyes. “If you’re wondering if I want you, you have no idea how much I do. I’m not in a good place right now, and I find myself not wanting to hurt you. That right there is new for me. Normally, I don’t much care.”
No answer. All three of the cats had snuggled up to her after he had left her side, and she turned her back to him, a clear message that she wanted him gone. Before he walked out, he couldn’t resist running his gaze over her one last time. She was beautiful and pure of heart. Maybe he’d taken a step toward forgiveness for his sins when he had refused to contaminate her with his black soul.
“Bring your dogs tomorrow. My receptionist will take care of you.”
He hated how broken she sounded, but he couldn’t help her. “Thank you,” he said to the back of her head. Weary of everything—his life, the nightmares, an uncertain future, disappointing a beautiful woman—he trudged home and went straight to the scotch bottle.
His music had never sounded so depressing before. There had always been sadness in the notes he played, but tonight, he was killing her. As she sat at her bedroom window a few hours after he left, listening to Cody play his guitar, Riley swiped at the tears running down her cheeks. She thought she’d cried herself out, but apparently not. Now with Cody’s mournful songs tugging at her heart, the tears were flowing again. He wasn’t a happy man, couldn’t be to play music that made her heart ache for him.
Maybe she should be embarrassed that she’d fallen apart in front of him, but she didn’t have the energy for it. When he had wrapped his big body around her, it had seemed as if he were shielding her from the ugliness going on in her world. The last time she had fallen asleep in a man’s arms had been in college, and she had forgotten how good that kind of intimacy felt.
She was, however, embarrassed that she’d practically attacked him, and even worse, had begged him to stay. But he had awakened that part of her that had lain dormant since she had broken up with her college boyfriend, and she was afraid it was going to be impossible to stuff that particular genie back into the bottle. Lifting the blinds, she peeked out. Even though he was sitting on his porch playing his guitar, it was too dark to see him.
It was late, and she moved to her bed, but left the window open so she could fall asleep listening to Cody play. After her earlier nap wrapped in his arms, she missed the cocoon of his body surrounding her. That was strange, since she hardly knew him.
The next morning, she blinked her eyes open and stretched. Arthur and Pelli pounced on her as soon as she moved, while Merlin sat at the end of the bed looking on with disdain, clearly not approving of their meows as they begged for breakfast. More refreshed than she’d been in days, Riley picked up Pelli and held him above her head.
“Morning, rotten.” He tried to squirm out of her hands. “Right. We want our breakfast, don’t we?” She made a quick detour to the bathroom, all three of her furry friends following her, then headed for the kitchen.
With a peek out the window, she saw Cody standing on his porch, a cup in his hand while he watched his dogs. Like the first time she’d seen him, he wore only a pair of sweat pants. The man must be immune to the early morning chill. If he would appear like that every morning, it would give her a fabulous kick-start to her days.
“You’re one magnificent man, Cody Roberts,” she said, following it up with a sigh. When he called the dogs and went inside his house, she fed the cats, then showered and dressed for work. His silver truck was gone when she backed out of her driveway, so she probably wouldn’t see him again until he came back from wherever he was going. She would tell Michelle, her receptionist, not to come get her when he dropped off his dogs, even if he asked for her.
As she turned onto the street leading to her clinic, she sent up a little prayer that no more poisoned pets would turn up. Also, she needed to contact the police again. Not much they could do without any leads, but they could keep an eye out as they patrolled the neighborhood.
She slowed as she approached her building. At the sight of the man leaning against the bed of the silver truck with darkened windows, Riley cursed her stupid heart for doing a happy dance. His two dogs sat at his feet, their attention on him. Maybe she should hire him to give obedience lessons to some of her more rambunctious patients. Giving him a wave as she drove past, she parked in the back. Neither Brooke’s nor Michelle’s car was in sight, which meant she would have to deal with Cody, so there went her plan to avoid him.
Perversely irritated, she took her time as she turned on the lights, started the coffee pot, booted up the computers at the front desk and in her office, and made a quick check on the three small dogs, two cats, and one extremely vocal potbellied pig being boarded. When she could think of nothing else to delay her, she unlocked the front door.
Mr.Magnificent leaned against a post under the overhang, arms crossed over his chest, dogs again sitting docilely at his feet. For all appearances, her sexy neighbor appeared to be half asleep. Riley wasn’t fooled, though. As much as he might wish otherwise, she was beginning to see past the image he projected. Under that lazy stance and deceptive calm a storm brewed. Not good that storms fascinated her.
“Cody.”
“Riley.”
She sputtered a laugh, and was rewarded with a crooked smile and a flash of that dimple. Yep. The man intrigued her. So much for keeping him at arm’s distance. “Come in. My receptionist isn’t here yet, so I’ll get these guys checked in.” Cody and his dogs followed her, stopping at the counter. She went on around.
“Will you use the food I brought for them?”
“Of course.” She resisted sliding her hand over his bad boy scruff, and it was close, but she didn’t lick her lips either. Yummy was the word of the day, though. He wore an olive-green T-shirt that stretched across broad shoulders, and tan cargo pants covered his bottom half. Testosterone radiated from his every pore, and she lowered her gaze to the check-in sheet to keep him from seeing the lust that was surely shining in her eyes.
“I’ll get their stuff out of my truck in a minute then.” He glanced down at the dogs. “They need to stay together, okay?”
“No problem.” Certain that she’d gain control of her libido, she lifted her head, her gaze falling on the small logo on his shirt. “What’s K2?”
