Page 11 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

Wait. He was doing all of this . . . for Heidi? A surge of emotions swept over her. In the past three years, the only person who had done anything at all for this loyal dog was Cora.

“No.” Cora held up her free hand. “We don’t have to wait on her. I’m just speechless. I had someone in my life who wasn’t so keen on the fact I came as a package deal.”

“Then that person is a fool.” His feet shifted across the floor, growing louder as he neared. “Your call.”

She had complete and utter control, something she’d craved but hadn’t had before. “Heidi will probably be happier here with snacks and a bed. Or she may follow me and not give us a choice,” she laughed.

Braxton’s hand slid over hers on the collar. “I’ve got her,” he said softly. “She’s already spotted the organic snacks I bought her.”

Organic snacks. Did the man think of everything or was all of this perfection just an act?

Cora nodded and eased her grip. “Go ahead, Heidi. Nap time.”

Her dog liked to rest while Cora would listen to her audiobooks or do work on the computer, so she definitely knew the command “nap time.”

Now standing alone, Cora wondered how she’d let this virtual stranger talk her into this. Was it the way he’d been concerned with Heidi’s needs? Was it the smooth way he talked to her?

Before she could fully think of what an impact this man had on her, his rough hand slid against hers.

“Is this okay?”

Chapter Three

Hell no, this wasn’t okay. Braxton didn’t need her to answer, he knew everything about this moment was not okay. He was pushing boundaries he shouldn’t be and all for the simple fact Cora intrigued him like no one else had.

“This is fine,” she replied, giving him that high-voltage smile he’d come to associate with every thought of her. He shouldn’t be having any thoughts of her, and he especially shouldn’t be thinking of her enough to be able to make inferences about her smiles or other actions.

Damn it. Why was he letting her tie him up in knots? He did not authorize any of these mental shenanigans. Yet he refused to let anyone else help Cora, because he was more than capable. Besides, she’d had her hands all over him. Surely, they’d reached some weird relationship level that gave him full access to any crazy emotions.

Clearly, he was out of his element. He had no clue how to feel, how to act. He’d never been this way around women. Normally, they were the ones getting all worked up. Braxton didn’t do “worked up”—he did sex. Nothing more.

Braxton glanced back to see Heidi curled up on the pad he’d bought yesterday evening when he’d had this insane idea to be the one to guide Cora. How ridiculous he’d been jealous of a dog, but well . . . he was. Not that he didn’t fully understand why she needed the Seeing Eye dog, but because he wanted to be the one to introduce this new world to her. He was selfish when it came to his desires and he most definitely desired Cora Buchanan.

Braxton’s hands were rougher than usual since he’d been working on this house all summer, quite a contrast to her smooth, silky skin. The difference between them constantly showed its ugly face. He knew she came from money, could tell by the way she handled herself, the extra-polished look with her clothes, the defiant tilt of her chin and squared shoulders and the designer bag he’d seen—which he confidently assumed was just one of many.

In his defense, Cora wasn’t one hundred percent like Anna. Cora didn’t appear to be high maintenance, she was more low-key and she was actually yearning for a change and a laid-back lifestyle. She wanted away from the city life and all the hustle it had to offer. She seemed determined to make it on her own without help from anyone, especially and including her family.

Anna on the other hand had longed for bigger, better, and obviously someone with a more prestigious job than a college professor with a fallback career of construction. In hindsight, Braxton could admit that Anna didn’t deserve him.

Holding on to Cora stirred things within him he’d sworn could never be stirred again.

Yeah, this was a bad idea. He needed to

focus on giving her the tour, not on how amazing her skin felt against his. He was holding her damn hand, not lying naked with her.

“You’re tensing up on me,” she commented as he led her down the hall toward the foyer. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good. Just thinking maybe this wasn’t smart. I don’t want you to trip or get hurt.”

She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I don’t think you’d hurt me on purpose and it’s not like I haven’t tripped before.”

He didn’t like the thought of her vulnerable and hurt, didn’t want to think of her struggling in any way. “We’ll walk slowly and we don’t have to go upstairs if you don’t want to. It’s all guest bedrooms and a library. The salon, dining room, patio, and sitting room are all down here. We also have a small area where we’ve designated a wine-and-cheese room for the guests each night. It’s off of the dining room.”

“Sounds like you guys have thought of everything.”

Because he felt like a junior-high geek the way he was awkwardly holding her hand, Braxton slid her hand around his arm. There. Escorting her didn’t seem to feel as ridiculous, but now she was closer and he could feel just how petite she was. And with each shift of their bodies, his arm slid against the side of her breast.

Man, he needed to get a grip. He’d not been this mentally worked up over a woman since he’d started dating Anna, and he’d sworn the moment she cheated on him only weeks before their wedding that he would never, ever let any woman have that kind of power over him again.

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