Page 65 of Lawton

I raised an eyebrow. "Stupidity?"

She gave me a sheepish smile. "Well, that and Chucky."

Chucky? Something in my shoulders eased. By now, the dog and I were practically best buddies. He was smart – too smart sometimes. I felt a slow grin spread across my face. So it was just a thing with the dog? She hadn't been attacked? Or hurt? She'd seriously fallen, half-naked, into my yard by chance?

Man, I loved that dog.

After this, I owed him a special treat – maybe a T-bone and a designer purse. He liked those, right?

I was still smiling. I couldn’t help it. "Now,thatmakes sense," I said. "What? Did he outsmart you?"

"Hey," she said. "I'm smarter than a dog." The corners of her mouth lifted. "Just not as devious."

She was still cradled in my lap, and I made no move to let her go. Instead, I reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and asked, "You sure you're okay?"

Her lips, pale blue just a few moments earlier, had warmed to a nice, healthy pink. She smiled. "Other than my wounded pride, I'm fine."

I'd been drinking all night – shots, beers, whatever. But the buzz I'd gotten that way was nothing compared to the sight of Chloe, curled up on my lap and smiling. Yeah, her hair was wet. And yeah, her legs were smudged. And yeah, she was wearing a shirt several sizes too big.

But she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

She glanced at my chest, and her smile faltered. "I'm getting you all dirty."

Yeah, she was. But not in the way she thought. "Chloe," I said, "you don’t know the half of it."

She was looking a lot warmer now. She felt warmer, too. But then, she trembled in my arms.

"Still cold?" I asked. "Need a blanket?" Reluctantly, I began to pull away.

"No." She held on tight. "I'm fine. Really."

I looked down at her. Shewasfine. She felt fine, too. And if I held her much longer, I'd be tempted to show her all the fine things I could do to a girl who meant something to me.

Somehow, I made myself say, "I'm being an ass, aren't I?"

Her voice was soft and sleepy at the edges. "Huh?"

"Here, you are. You're sitting there shivering, locked out of the house, and for all I know, banged up." I made myself pull back, determined to make sure, once and for all, that she wasn't hurt. I started at the top of her head and slowly worked my way down.

When my gaze reached her breasts, I felt myself swallow. Through the borrowed shirt, I saw her nipples straining against the thin white fabric. They looked hard and ready, and so damn tempting.

I wanted to take them into my mouth and make them harder. I wanted to roll them between my fingers and hear her whimper for more. I wanted to warm her all the way through and make her shiver with something other than the cold.

God, I was such a pig.

I was supposed to be checking her for injuries, not molesting her with my eyes.

With an effort, I yanked my gaze downward and didn't pause until I reached her toes. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief. She was okay. I gave her another long look. That was a massive understatement. She was more than okay. She was the most tempting thing I'd ever seen.

The room was feeling a lot warmer now. Or maybe that was just me. I reached up to rub the back of my neck and forced myself to say what I should've said earlier. "Do you need a shower or bath or something?"

Looking suddenly self-conscious, she lifted a hand to the wet tangles of her hair. Her fingers came away with bits of dried leaves. She looked them for a long moment, and then laughed, soft and sweet in the quiet room.

The sound warmed me all the way down, and I couldn't believe my luck. I had my dream girl. She was here, healthy and whole. And so far, she'd said nothing about leaving. I leaned down to rest my forehead against hers. "What's so funny?"

She gave me a smile that melted my heart. "I am so incredibly –"

"Irresistible?"