Page 30 of The Perfect Catch

She’d been hurt before, and he would do everything in his power to make her feel good. Blissful, even.

His end goal was definitely bliss for both of them.

“If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Just the opposite.” He stepped closer, his shadow falling over her while the peach-scented breeze stirred around them. “It would be my tremendous pleasure.”

He cupped her shoulders to steady her. Then captured her lips with his. Testing. Tasting.

For a moment, the slug of his own heartbeat in his ears drowned out the noise of the crickets, his whole world narrowed to this moment. This woman.

When her hands crept around his neck, her body swaying in to his, it was better than any victory fireworks, more powerful than any extra innings win. He wanted to haul her against him and keep her there, feel every inch of her, but he forced himself to break the kiss. To be sure what she wanted.

Breathing ragged, he shifted his hands to her hips. Contented himself with sketching a touch along her narrow waist. He skimmed his thumb under the hem of her T-shirt, finding a patch of bare skin just above the waist of her denim skirt.

“I run the risk of getting carried away when we’re standing this close to a bed,” he explained. “So if my persuasive skills are less eloquent, it’s only because I want you so damned badly.”

She kept her arms around his neck, her fingers combing lightly through his hair. She pressed against him, her back arching as she whispered, “Then it’s a good thing I’m already thoroughly persuaded.”

*

Josie knew shetook a risk getting close to Cal. But she wanted to take it. Take this night. Take him. Before the world might possibly blow up in her face.

He’d given her the opportunity to reason her way through to the decision, letting her think about it on the drive back to Last Stand from San Antonio. And while she was nervous about the possibility that she’d been on camera tonight, and scared about her future with no job lined up after her caretaking gig, she still wanted this time with a man who’d treated her respectfully. Sweetly. Thoughtfully.

She needed this night.

Needed him.

Cal kissed her, letting her feel his hunger in a way that made her understand he’d been holding back before. Closing her eyes, she gave herself over to the moment, breathing him in. His hands molded her, fitting her against him, stirring her senses everywhere he touched.

His ragged groan vibrated through his chest and hers too. Her breasts beaded, desire making her skin feel tight. She pressed closer, sealing her hips to his and finding him very ready to give her everything she needed.

“We should go inside,” he said in a rush, like a drowning man suddenly coming up for air. “I’ll get the dogs.”

Her body buzzed like she’d just gotten a shock, everything humming and vibrantly alive.

“Okay,” she eked out the word through a dry throat, her thoughts filled with images of her and Cal together.

Naked.

Stumbling into the farmhouse’s living room, she moved her bag to a kitchen chair and flicked on the hallway light while Cal whistled for the dogs. She checked their water dishes and saw they were all set for the night. As an afterthought, she pulled two bottled waters from the refrigerator. Cracking one open, she sipped it as Cal locked the front door once the animals were inside.

The Labs gladly found their beds in the mudroom, huffing deep breaths as they dropped into their favorite spots. Kungfu glanced up at the couch and then back at her, clearly debating how much to push her luck.

“It’s not my rule,” she reminded the Maltipoo, passing one of the water bottles to Cal before shooing the little dog toward her open crate tricked out with her favorite toys. “But we both have to follow it.”

“You don’t need to close her in there?” Cal asked while Josie flipped a sheet over the whole contraption with the door still open.

“Oddly, no. Your mom told me she likes the sheet trick, and sure enough, Kungfu stays in there most nights.” Straightening, she fell right into Cal’s hot gaze.

“It seems like everyone is tucked in now.” Cal took a long drink from the bottle she’d given him, then set it aside on a low table between the mudroom and the living area. “Except for you and me.”

Her heart pounded so loudly he must surely hear it. The sound of it filled her ears as she looked over him, this supremely attractive man wrapped in enviable muscle and sex appeal. His shadowed jaw called to her fingers, his green eyes making her smolder as he watched her.

“I don’t feel the least bit tired,” she observed, her hands drawn to his body, running over his chest and shoulders. “Far from it.”

A smile played around his lips while his muscles shifted under her palms.

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