Page 34 of Will Bark for Pizza (Bluebell Springs #1)

“Yes.” Beckett stripped off a flannel jacket he hadn’t been wearing the last time I saw him near the cabin and draped it over my shoulders, shielding me from the worst of Husker’s attempts to shed the lake water from his thick fur. “You really need to stop falling in the lake.”

“Tired of saving me?” I shot back, heavy on the sarcasm.

“No more secrets?” he asked, as though seeking permission as he rubbed my arms to create warmth.

“No more secrets.”

He leaned his head lower, until his lips were even with my ear. “I’m tired of pretending I’m not affected by seeing you in wet clothes.”

A current of warmth swept through my body at the admission, my heart pounding for an entirely new reason. I wasn’t imagining the attraction between us, of that I was certain. But I thought I was the only one with the dial turned up so high.

Until now.

I clutched the edges of the jacket with my fingers so tightly my vise grip threatened to rip the fabric. But if I didn’t hold on, I’d certainly do something reckless. Like grab his face and pull him in for that breathless kiss I so desperately wanted.

“Do you want the cabin, Kira?”

“What?”

“If you want it, it’s yours.”

I looked up into those hazel eyes, the gold flecks illuminated by the sliver of moonlight. Fuck, a girl could get lost in those kind eyes. So lost, she’d never find her way back. If I had any sense, I’d run. Now.

“Why?”

“Because it obviously means something to you.”

My gaze flickered to his lips for a beat. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“What’s the catch?”

Beckett brushed back the soaked locks of my hair, and cupped my cheek. His thumb caressed my damp skin, his fiery touch igniting me from the inside out. I should totally run, but my bare feet cemented themselves into the rocky sand, refusing to budge.

“Red, there is no catch.”

“There’s always a catch.”

“Not with me.” I followed the path of his parted lips as he lowered his head toward mine. “Never with me.”

I shouldn’t want his kiss, but I craved it more than the air I breathed.

“You say that like you mean it,” I said in a panted whisper. Our lips were a feather’s width apart, our breaths mingling.

“Get to know me a little better, and you’ll see that I only ever say what I mean.”

I reached for his cheek then, pulling him toward me, erasing the last sliver of space between us and pressing my lips to his at long last.

I’d written about kisses that caused the world to stop, but until this moment, I didn’t believe they were more than fiction.

Beckett’s lips moved against mine in a perfect rhythm that ignited every nerve ending from head to toe.

I slid my hand to the back of his neck, curling my fingers into his neck to drag him closer.

He slid a hand over my lower back, pressing me to him.

Our bodies molded together as if they were designed to click perfectly into place.

Beckett jerked. “Shit! Husker!”

It took several seconds to register that Husker had freed his leash from Beckett’s boot and was running toward the parked vehicles.

“Everyone okay?” a voice hollered, shattering the moment.

Luke.

Fuck.

I jumped back, and nearly stumbled into the lake. Beckett caught me by his coat.

“Husker fell in,” I called back, spotting my six-foot-four brother walking between two trucks. I’d never been so thankful that the rutted road out here wasn’t sedan friendly. It was the only protection we had from being caught.

“And your sister went in after him,” Beckett added, following my dog, who ran for my brother, robbing me of his warmth. I yanked the flannel coat tighter around me, feeling the chill of the water for the first time since Beckett helped me out of the lake.

If it wasn’t for Husker, Luke would have caught me kissing his best friend.

I made a mental note to take Husker to Pizza Patty’s tomorrow and get him anything he wanted.

“Of course you fucking did,” Luke said, sounding exasperated. “You all right?”

“I'm fine. ”

“Karl find you?” Luke asked Beckett, moving on the second he confirmed I wasn’t injured.

Beckett secured Husker’s leash, wrapping the handle around his wrist. But not before my dog had a chance to rub his wet fur all over Luke’s jeans. Good boy, Husker.

“Yeah, I just talked to him.”

Luke nodded at Beckett, a silent exchange happening between them. One that renewed my earlier anger, reminding me that my oldest brother had prior knowledge of this but didn’t think to mention it to me .

I resisted the urge to chew him a new asshole—or push him into the lake—and held out my hand to Beckett for the leash. It was best I head out before I had any more time to think about that kiss that had most definitely left me breathless. So fucking breathless.

“C’mon, Husker. Let’s get home so we can dry off.”

“Heading back to Omaha, then?” Luke asked, his tone smug as I retrieved my flip-flops from the boat dock.

“Maybe I will move back here,” I said to Luke, poking a finger into his chest. “Just to spite you .”

That shut my brother up.

Beckett shot me a smile, warming me in an instant. Yeah, it was definitely time to go. “Thanks for helping us out,” I said to him, unable to meet his gaze as I hurried back to my Jeep.