And all Kate could think about waspayback is a bitch.
As she moved closer, Hildie raised her head and looked her way. Immediately, the dog stood and her tail started wagging. It was the most animated Kate had seen her so far. Terry shot forward. The two dogs met as though they were long lost friends. And it was clear to Kate, they'd met before. And that they'd bonded.
After watching them a moment, she turned back toward the water, taking a few steps but stopping dead in her tracks as Dev rose from the water. Water slid down his shoulders. He ran his hands back over his wet head. Kate's eyes widened. Her mouth went dry. Oh, momma. All that hard muscle, moving and flexing, those bad-ass military tattoos on his biceps… She felt a little dumbstruck. And a whole lot interested.
He so wasn't her type. She went for refined city boys, not this blatant, in-your-face display of maleness.
He dropped his hands back into the water, his attention fixed on Hildie and Terry playing. A confused frown knit his features, and Kate wondered if he'd ever seen Hildie play like that with another dog, or maybe it had just been a while since he'd seen her so happy.
Then, his quiet focus shifted to her, causing warmth to surge in. Her feet became rooted to the spot. The way her body responded to him was nothing short of ridiculous. And annoying. Kate gritted her teeth and forced herself to move forward. His I'm-a-wet-Celtic-god routine wouldn't work on her. No. She didn't have the time or inclination… Okay, she had an inclination and some free time on her hands. But she wasn't going to act on it.
She stopped by the rock Hildie had vacated. "Brought a friend."
"I see." He stared at the dogs some more, a range of emotion crossing his face.
"Seems like they've already met though," she added, watching him, not the dogs. "You know… Maybe that's part of her issue."
He moved closer. Kate held her breath, watching the water recede to his stomach.
"What do you mean?"
She cleared her throat and decided looking at the dogs was a better choice. "She's loyal to you. I'm just wondering if she thinks she's supposed to stay by your side at all times, ready for any command. But maybe once she met Terry—I don't know . . . maybe they met when you were working or mowing a hay field or something. Anyway, she obviously wants to play, to run, to be with other dogs. But she's conflicted you know? Not sure what to do. If it's okay tonotworry about you."
Devin seemed to chew that over. The frown on his face remained. "You think she's worried about me?"
Kate shrugged. Honestly, she wasn't sure of anything. "Just a thought. I tend to talk things out…" She turned back to the rock, eyes going to his clothes, thoughts moving to something else, something daring.
"Payback's a bitch," Devin said at length. "Is that it?"
Her gaze flew to his. Heat filled her cheeks. She was so terrible at hiding her thoughts. "Fair's fair," she said slowly, heart pounding as they locked eyes. A long, heated moment passed. Then Dev moved through the water, never taking his attention off her. The look he was giving her lit a fire in her belly. The water made it to just above his hips. He really was fit. Perfect, really. As he made it to the rock, her hand slowly pulled his clothes back, out of his reach.
A dark eyebrow lifted at that. His mouth twitched. "Might want to give those back, lass."
"Mmm. Why's that?" she asked, entranced by the attraction zinging between them and not really sure if she was in control of her actions.
"Water's cold. Freezing." He glanced down the length of his body and Kate's gaze followed. She swallowed. And then she understood. When she lifted her gaze, Dev was smiling openly at her. The smile went all the way to his eyes, crinkling their corners. It was a lop-sided, bad boy grin that made her knees weak.
She was already pushing his clothes back toward him before she could gather a coherent thought.
What was she doing? Going crazy. Losing her goddamn mind. She blinked, turned around, and tried to shake the carnal cobwebs from her brain. Water splashed and she attempted to block the mental image of Devin wrapping that towel around his naked waist.
Then, he padded by her. His back was just as nice as the front.
"Hey," she croaked. "What about your clothes?"
"Been working all day. I brought clean ones." Dev stopped at the back door. "While I get dressed, there's food in the cooler in the kitchen, and a blanket if you want to set it out."
He didn't wait for her reply, just disappeared into the lodge.
Chapter 6
Dev dressed quickly in the bathroom. Normally, he'd drop towel and pull on shorts in the main room and then have a bite to eat before driving back to the farm house. Sometimes, if he worked late, he'd just spend the night here.
As he zipped his fly and pulled on a clean T-shirt, he thought about Kate's suspicions about Hildie and the way Hildie behaved when she saw the terrier. She was happy. And it made him feel strangely inadequate. He couldn't shake the feeling he was losing her. And maybe that was the problem. Maybe they'd grown too attached. Kate might be right. His need to cling to Hildie, to not let go of the past, could be a huge burden on the dog, one he hadn't meant to create. God knew she was a sensitive creature. Very tuned into his emotions...
"Now you're losing it," he muttered to his reflection in the old mirror. Psychobabble wasn't his thing. He shoved the worries aside. Everything would be fine.
Fine, damn it. Just fine.
