Kye groaned and suddenly he was free. Whether he had moved back when he released her or the other way around, all he could do was be grateful the chill air of the room was once again between them. His skin felt hot, as though burned by the sun. No, scorched from the inside by Yardley Summers’s kiss.
He looked at her, an accusation in his expression. She was staring back at him like she’d never been kissed before. More likely she was reacting to the tsunami of feeling that had swamped his better nature. His dick was in charge of both his head and his heartbeat, and he knew she knew it.
Shut it down, McGarren.
He put up his hands, sending her a dark glance. “Now we both understood why we need to be careful around each other.”
Careful. Yardley held the word in her mind as she stared at the raw scratches on his chest. Shame slammed into her. She had done that. Scratched him like a frightened child instead of using any of the many self-defense skills she’d learned and kept honed.
He’d warned her. She’d been reckless in her anger. She took full responsibility. And really, what did she expect after her provocation? If he hadn’t fought fairly, she hadn’t, either.
Kye swallowed, the effect of which revived the taste of her in his mouth. He’d had too much, and not fuckin’ enough of her.
He took another step back, shaking his head when he meant to nod. “It’s okay. We both got a little caught up. Won’t happen again.”
He looked around, seeking a toehold on the cliff of good intentions crumbling out from under him. If it did, Law would be on his tail for putting his hands on his sister.
He spied Lily standing behind him, her tail wagging but clearly in defensive mode as she gazed toward the kitchen. Only then did he realize that Oleg, fully alert judging by the ridge standing on his back, was growling, low and deep from behind the gate. How long had the dog been doing that? Lust had made him deaf as well as a dumbass.
Kye’s action directed Yard’s attention to the ready-for-action growls of her Czech wolfdog. She gave him the command for silence.
Oleg instantly fell silent. Yet his slanted gaze held both humans in focus.
Yard turned back to Kye and folded her arms, waiting. Ball in his court.
Kye had reached down and scooped Lily up, holding her high against his chest to comfort her. He stroked and whispered calmly to his partner. Which gave him an excuse not to look at Yard again. He was pretty certain he’d had a plan when he arrived here an hour ago. Time to calm things down until he could piece it back together.
He glanced up. “What do you know about conditional reinforcers?”
“Why?” He watched her cross her arms over her very nice rack. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about how moments before it’d been pressed nicely against him.
He dragged his gaze away. What was he saying? Something about reinforcers. Right.
“Lily works wilderness and urban SAR most of the year. This winter we tried our hand at SAR at a ski resort. We did avalanche prevention and guest rescue. I noticed behavior in her I need to have—modified.”
He watched Yard’s eyes narrow as he babbled. “You’ve got five seconds or I’m calling the law.”
The law. Not Law. Kye thought fast. First imperative: Buy time.
“Okay. Let me just get dressed.” Covering up would help. So would a cold shower.
Yardley’s gaze flicked to the dog Kye lowered to the floor. Lily really was a pretty little thing, with a white blaze on her chest and the tops of her paws.
Smiling, she slapped a hand against her leg. “Here, girl.”
Lily gave her a bored look then glanced away, as if Yardley hadn’t spoken.
Yardley crouched down to make herself smaller and less intimidating, and used her friendliest doggy voice. “Come on, sweetheart. Come, Lily.”
This time Lily refused to look at her. Yardley frowned, surprised that Lily was snubbing her. Dogs loved her. They came up to her unsolicited in parks, in grocery stores, on the street.
She glanced up at Kye, about to ask about his dog’s attitude toward strangers. He was tucking his T-shirt into his pants. She did not stare. It was just impossible not to notice how his indrawn breath brought his six-pack into high relief behind the tight fabric. Or how his hand diving into the waistband of his board shorts was far more sexy than it had any right to be. Maybe that was because she’d just been all up-close-and-personal with what lay behind them.
She jerked her gaze away and stood up. Why was he still here after the way she’d behaved?
“McGarren.” She waited until he looked up at her. “Why are you here?”
Instead of answering, he ran a hand through his hair. Distracted? Distressed? No. Determined. She recognized the dogged expression of a man who just wasn’t going to back down, or explain himself. Had seen it enough times. On her brother’s face.
“Law!” She didn’t even need Kye’s sudden alertness to confirm it. “You’re here because of Law!” One wild guess to figure out the reason why Law had sent someone here. Law didn’t trust her.