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“Extremely.”
“Wonderful.” She was rather pleased with herself for turning him on with a mere suggestion. “So I’ll come over after school then on Friday?”
“Yes, please.”
“Good night, Dakota.”
“Sleep tight, Leah.”
She held the phone to her chest after disconnecting as if she were a silly teenager, completely enraptured by her super hot adventure guy. Feeling this alive again was wonderful.
And now she had an after school snack to look forward to.
****
When Leah’s SUV pulled up in his driveway, Dakota had to remind himself not to run outside to greet her. Ginger, however, didn’t have such restraint. She blew through the doggie door on the side porch and raced across the front lawn. He knew this, of course, because he was peeking out one of the front windows, hoping to get a glimpse of Leah before she came in.
Holy hell, she was breathtaking even in a fleece coat and jeans. Seeing her crouch in front of Ginger and allow the dog to nearly knock her over in her excitement filled him with… with… contentment. Not a feeling he sported often. Sure, he was generally happy most of the time, butcontentmeant you could stay in one place for long periods of time and not get that itch to do more, see more. In fact, he rarely stayed in Maplehaven for a solid two months in a row. He usually adventured off to somewhere else in between running his own adventures.
To date, this was the longest time he’d stayed in town. That revelation made him stumble back from the window a bit. He shook the notion that the woman currently tugging on a Frisbee with Ginger was the reason he hadn’t traveled anywhere since the summer.
But it’s possible.Extremely possible.
Dakota rubbed his short beard and made a mental note to plan a trip. A trip to prove no woman was getting her hooks into him.
He opened the front door as Leah crested the top step of the front porch.
But her hooks are so beautiful.
Her entire face brightened when she saw him. “Hi.”
Everything Dakota had told himself about never letting a woman hold any sway over him, about tying him down, went out the window. He reached out and took her hand, tugging so she ended up flush against him. “What took you so long?”
Her low laugh stirred things in his cargo pants. “I literally drove over here right after the last kid left, Dakota.” She shook her head. “I never do that.”
“Uh-oh, is your work suffering because you can’t stop thinking about me?” He busied himself with pressing light pecks along her jaw, knowing that luscious mouth was his end point.
“Why do I suspect you consider that an accomplishment?”
He took that mouth of hers and wasted no time firing up a kiss that left them both breathing hard. “I pride myself on being a distraction.”
She ground her hips against him and he wasn’t sure they’d be going on any hikes this afternoon. “You’re much more than that.”
He backed up a few inches so he could look into her eyes. “I am?”
Leah evaded his direct gaze, but he put a finger to her chin, tipping her head up so she had to look at him. The faint blush on her cheeks told him she was remembering their Wednesday night together. Their Wednesday night that turned into a Thursday morning.
She sailed a fist into his shoulder. “Stop it. You know you are more than a distraction to me. I don’t waste time on distractions. Too type A for that. I only spend my time on quality people.”
“And I made the cut?”
“Nah, I let you in because of Ginger here.” She crouched again and gave the dog an all-over body scratching which caused Ginger to let out low whimpers for more as her paws did a little tap dance on the porch boards.
“I guess I don’t care how I got in as long as I’m in.”
“Nice. Not afraid to use your dog to your advantage.”
“Nope. She owes me. I wanted a Great Dane.”
