Page 23 of Smoky Mountain K-9

He laughed again. “A little, yeah. I didn’t mean it that way. Not that I haven’t thought—” He broke off with a huff. “Never mind.”

Mara giggled and raised another bite of spaghetti to her mouth. “I get what you’re saying. And for the record, I’ve thought about it too.” She slid the fork between her lips.

His eyes turned molten, and a fine shiver went through her. They were playing with fire. She needed to figure out quick if she was ready for what came next. Because going there with this man—she wouldn’t be able to keep her heart out of it. And she wasn’t sure she was ready to put it on the line again. A few dates and a burgeoning friendship were one thing, but falling for him? That was altogether something else.

They finished dinner and retreated to the living room, sinking onto the couch. Mara grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. “What do you want to watch? Or we could play cards?” She glanced over. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest at the heat blazing in his eyes, and her breath faltered.

He propped an arm on the back of the couch and reached out to toy with a lock of hair near her face. “I know we should pick some innocuous activity, seeing as this is our third date, but all I really want to do is kiss you.”

Any air left in her lungs disappeared. Her body screamed yes, but her mind was locked on what it meant if she let that happen. She’d been able to pretend nothing was different. That her life wasn’t about to shift into a new chapter. But if he kissed her—and she kissed him back—she couldn’t hide her heart behind the protection of her widow status any longer. It would be out in the open—free to be damaged again.

But it would also be free to be loved again. She’d never thought she’d go through life alone. And the last three years had taught her alone was safe. But it was also lonely. She hadn’t realized how lonely until Carter showed up. She didn’t want to be lonely anymore.

Mara framed his face in her hands and leaned closer. She held his gaze, letting him see she was all-in. That there would be no going back. He lifted a hand to cup the back of her head and closed the gap.

Pillows. His lips were like pillows. It was the only thought that penetrated her brain as she savored the feel of his mouth pressed to hers. His touch short-circuited her ability to do more than experience the sensations now flooding her system. She shifted closer, wanting more.

His free hand landed at her waist, curling over her hip and up her back. Mara let her hands travel down over his shoulders and pressed them to his chest. Muscles flexed beneath her fingers. She moaned as his hand threaded through her hair.

Carter pulled back, breathing hard. “We should stop. This is moving a little fast.”

She clutched his shoulders. “Is it?” It was, but that didn’t mean she wanted to stop. Even though she knew they should.

He nodded. “I think we both need some time to think about where this is going—where we want it to go—before we take that leap.”

Disappointment washed over her like a bucket of cold water, cooling the fire in her belly. He was right. Normally, she had better control of her body, but he short-circuited her thought processes, and her baser instincts took over.

She pushed against his chest, scooting back to put some space between them. “TV or cards?”

“Cards.”

Mara said a prayer of thanks as she got up to retrieve the card deck that he chose the latter. Sitting there, attempting to concentrate on the television with him only feet away, would just lead to disaster. And a healthy dose of sexual frustration. At least cards would give her something to concentrate on besides how good he looked in that long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans.

Eleven

The digital clock on Carter’s nightstand blinked as another minute ticked by. He rolled over and squeezed his eyes shut. It was too early—even for him—to get up. But the wind whipping through the eaves of his house woke him up about fifteen minutes ago, and he couldn’t go back to sleep. Not because he couldn’t tune out the sound, but because he couldn’t tune out the thoughts running through his mind.

He almost hadn’t left Mara’s house. If she hadn’t backed down when he said they were moving too fast, he wouldn’t have argued further to stop her. It took every ounce of willpower he had to utter those words in the first place. She fired his blood and made him want things. Things he’d never dreamed of having. And it didn’t matter what he did, he couldn’t chase the thoughts away of what could be.

But that meant cracking open the vault around memories he’d buried all those years ago so he could stay sane.

He let out a snort and flopped onto his back. Who was he kidding? The vault was already cracked. What did that mean, though? He didn’t talk about that time. Ever. The old adage was, “Time healed all wounds.” Could enough time have passed to make the memories bearable now? Was that why his heart was driving him toward Mara? Was he ready to deal with the past?

Carter sighed and sat up, giving up on sleep. It didn’t matter whether he was ready to deal with the past or not. He didn’t particularly want to. And that was going to be his stumbling block with Mara. He knew there would come a day when he had to choose whether to protect himself from his memories and lose her, or break down his walls and let her in. Both prospects terrified him.

Getting out of bed, he rubbed his arms to ward off the early morning chill and walked to his dresser to get a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He’d only planned on training with Maverick later, but since he was awake, he might as well do something productive and run a few miles on the treadmill.

Donning his clothes, he grabbed some socks and his shoes, then sat in the chair in the corner and put them on. Dressed for his impromptu workout, he left his bedroom to wander down the hall to the kitchen. Maverick lifted his head off his bed as Carter walked past the dog’s kennel in the living room. He gave the dog the command signaling it was okay to leave his little cave, but Mav thumped his tail once and laid his head down.

Carter snorted, then chuckled. Smart dog. He knew it was too early to be awake.

In the kitchen, he threw together a quick pre-workout shake and downed it, then headed down the hall again to the spare room he used as a home gym. He took his earbuds off their charger and put them in, then tapped his watch to bring up his music app.

A sharp bark from the living room made him pause, his finger hovering over his wrist. He glanced at the door and removed an earbud. Maverick’s low growl rolled down the hallway. Carter took the other earbud out and laid it on the shelf against the wall as he left the room. Senses on alert, he walked into the living room. His dog was standing near the door, staring at it as a menacing growl emanated from his chest.

Changing direction, he dashed to his bedroom and took his gun from the safe in the nightstand, then returned to Maverick’s side. The dog hadn’t moved.

“Maverick,ruhig.” The growling stopped with the command to quiet. Gun at his side, Carter turned the lock on the door. He raised his weapon to the ready position and opened it.