Page 38 of You're so Bad

He swallows. “They’d be stupid to mess with me. No point. They arranged for me to leave because they were worried about what I knew, but it got out anyway. I’m irrelevant.”

I don’t like the way he says that, like he believes it’s true in a way that goes beyond the Burkes.

“Not to Bean you’re not,” I say as she snuggles into his arm.

He smiles at me. For a second he’s quiet, then he says, “I know what drew you to clay. It made you feel like you had control over something.” I don’t like that he’s right about me, when I know so little about him.

“Maybe.” I shrug as if I don’t care. “Maybe I just had a Play-Doh fetish as a toddler and never got over it.”

“You know, I think that’s why I like fixing old houses,” he says, catching me off guard. The kitten has squirmed upward and is batting her little paw at the side of his face, as if she too would like to feel his scruff.

“Why,” I ask, my voice raw and strange, “because you had a thing for Pick Up Sticks?”

“Nah, I spent so much time breaking things—and watching other people do it—and I wanted to put them back together for a change.” It’s another real thing, and it feels like I’m finally getting to know him. Which is probably why he instantly launches into something that’s not real. “Must be why I decided to become a doctor.”

I shrug. “I guess the best school is the school of life.”

“There were a few classes I probably should have skipped,” he says, giving Bean another pet.

“And a few others you shouldn’t have slept through.”

Bean snuggles up under his chin, making a little noise of contentment, and it’s so damn cute to see them together, I can barely stand it. Maybe he’s hoping Bean will sabotage the yarn—and piss Colter off because of her name—but I’m starting to realize my real secret weapon is Leonard himself.

Dr. Leonard, Ruler of Pussies.

Damn it, mind.

I clear my throat. “Shall we?”

“Let me get her crate. Walk with me? It’s in my bedroom.”

“I said no funny business,” I all but growl. Still, he’s already walking, and I find myself following him.

“Gotcha loud and clear,” he says. “No fun will be had. This is where her crate is. Besides, I figured I’d show you the way in case you change your mind.”

I give him a flat look that he doesn’t see because his back is too me. “You can’t help yourself, can you?

“Not really, no. Can’t say I have a mind to, either. But we should settle on some ground rules. I’m going to need to touch you in front of them. Otherwise they’ll never believe we’re together—no man who has you with him would keep his hands to himself. You don’t let me touch you, they’ll know something’s up.”

Colter never had his hands all over me like that, even in the beginning, but something keeps me from saying so.

“There will be no ass-grabbing of any kind,” I say, then swallow, my mouth dry. “You can hold my hand.”

He turns to face me, his mouth in that ever-present grin, as we reach the landing at the top of the stairs. “So, it’s a summer camp kind of love. Got it. What about kissing? Can I kiss you, Tiger, or will you scratch?”

“We’re going to be in public. No one wants to watch us make out, but you can kiss my cheek.”

His grin widens. “Sure. But again, if you were my woman, I’d do a hell of a lot more than kiss your cheek. I’d want to let everyone know you’re mine, especially the chucklehead who let you go.”

I avoid rolling my eyes. Barely. “I doubt you’ve ever had a girlfriend.”

He shrugs, his smile devious now. “Never say never. Say, how’d you meet this guy, anyway?”

Embarrassment grips at me, squishy and cloying. “I don’t want to tell you.”

He makes a sound of amusement and turns down the hall and then into the first door to the right. Bean peeks at me over his shoulder as I follow him in.

To my shock, the bed is made, the navy comforter folded back to give me a peek of a pillow with the indentation of a head on it. There’s something strangely intimate about it, and there’s the fleeting thought that I’d like to lie my head down on it, where his goes.

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