“Wow,” I whisper, touching my lips. Now how am I supposed to get to sleep knowing he’s right down the hallway from me. “Come on, Reacher.”
The dog happily follows me as I head to my bedroom. He might as well join me. Lord knows I’m not getting any sleep tonight.
six
BEAU
I can’t believeI kissed her. Wait. Yes I can. What I can’t believe is that it took me so long to finally flip out and pin her against the wall to kiss her.
I fully expected her to throw open the door and take her chances freezing in the open countryside. Never did it cross my mind that she would kiss me back. And that’s exactly what she did with her soft, warm lips. Thankfully, reason overtook me before it went any farther. I would like to claim that I can be a gentleman when put to the test.
But then, would a gentleman be leaning again the doorjamb to her room watching her curled up next to a giant dog in bed? I opened the door simply to insist Reacher go outside this morning. Something about her, though, holds me rooted in place. Maybe it’s the golden hair splayed across the pillow, or the soft curves curled under the blanket, or the way she has her arm wrapped around my dog.
“You’re starting to freak me out,” she mumbles, pulling me from my fantasies.
“Sorry. Reacher, out.”
The dog grunts, but he slides off the bed and out the door.
“You’re spoiling him.” Closing the door behind us, I roll my eyes at my reprimand. It takes me a few minutes to convince Reacher that he has to go outside to do his business.
I return to the kitchen to find her wrapped in the blanket from the bed and sitting in a kitchen chair. I should say something about last night. An apology is on the tip of my tongue when she speaks.
“Do you never get cold?”
“I guess.” I look down at what I’m wearing. This time I have on a T-shirt instead of just jeans. My feet are bare though. I never think about it, being cold or hot.
“Were you about to say something?”
My gaze meets hers again.
“You were going to apologize for last night, weren’t you?”
I shrug.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Okay.”
“Are you sorry you kissed me?”
“No.” I don’t have to think about it. Kissing Harmony might just be the best spontaneous thing I’ve ever done. “I’m not sorry I kissed you, but I’m sorry that I didn’t ask you first.”
“I’m not,” she says, pulling the blanket tighter around her. “Because I might have overthought it, and it was perfect just the way it was.”
I feel the heat flush through my body. Am I blushing? I never blush, or I didn’t used to anyway. Still, I agree, it was perfect. Before I can tell her, there’s a muffled bark at the back door. Shit, I forgot my dog.
Rushing to the back door, I open it to a snow-covered, giant, angry-looking yellow dog. I swear he sneers at me as he pushes past into the kitchen. His demeanor turns pathetic as he moves to Harmony to rest his frozen head on her leg.
“Poor baby, are you frozen?” she coos. Did he just smirk at me? “Come here. I’ll share my blanket with you.” She slides to the floor and wraps the blanket around the dog.
“Seriously?”
“I’m not the one so busy thinking about kissing the girl again that I left my dog outside in the snow.” Okay, fair point. “You’re not thinking that at all are you, big boy,” she says, ruffling his ears. “Because you’re a good boy.”
I think the noise I make is something that combines a snort, a grunt, and a guffaw. She pretends to ignore me, but I see the corners of her mouth tick up.
“You’re baiting me.”
