“If I could afford to pay someone to fix my dishwasher, I wouldn’t have bothered taking it apart.” Her shoulders slumped in a look of defeat.
He hated that lost look on her face. “Let me have a look.”
After a few minutes inside the appliance, Braxton grimaced and stood.
“Yeah, I’m not even going to lie and say I know what’s wrong. I have no clue.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I have to go to town anyway for groceries. I’ll just take this part to the hardware store and see if they can talk me through how to fix it.” She laid the plastic piece on the island by her purse. “Do you want to ride along?”
He shifted his weight. “I would, but—” What the hell was he supposed to say? I’m a fugitive and I’m trying to lay low?
“Ah. I got it.” Her eyes shifted to his wounded shoulder. He didn’t see fear in her expression, only concern. “Do you think whoever shot you is still looking for you?”
“I don’t know.” Probably. They were Assassins trained to kill. They didn’t give up or give in until the job was done.
He turned to the window and glanced out at the snowy landscape. It would have been quite the romantic setting if there weren’t three lethal killers searching the woods for him right now. “I’m hoping the snow buried my tracks. I saw the weather report on TV this morning and they said Missouri was getting another four inches of snow tonight.”
Kate’s face went pale. “Is that where they shot you? In Missouri?”
“Just outside state line. When I was shot, I fell off my bike and rolled down the hill.” His heart sunk as he thought about his beloved Harley. It was the one thing he treasured more than anything and now it was nothing but twisted metal.
“Hill? There are no hills going into Missouri. You mean to tell me you rolled off the side of the mountain?” Kate’s hand flew to her neck and the blood drained from her face.
“Well, it wasn’t like it was Mount Everest.” He shrugged. Sure fucking felt like it, though.
“Jesus, Braxton, then you walked all the way here?”
He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and looked away. “I saw your light through the woods. I knew I was dying. I didn’t want to end up dying alone in the woods for the raccoons to eat. So I crawled to your front porch.” He felt like a complete *. She must think he was a really weak male.
“Was my house the first one you saw?” Her soft voice made him take a step closer, his body humming with desire.
“I passed some others, but they had a negative energy. Yours didn’t. When I got close enough to read the name, Bella Luna, I knew I had picked the right spot to die.”
She stepped into his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. God, she felt so small and fragile and perfect. He tightened his arms around her, breathing in her unique scent that stirred his cock.
“I’m glad you didn’t die, Braxton.”
“Say that again.” He closed his eyes as he memorized the soft feel of her body against him.
“I’m glad you didn’t die.”
“No, say my name.”
She looked up, her beautiful lips parted. “Braxton.”
With one word from her, he was under her spell. She didn’t even know the hold she had on him.
His mouth found hers, licking inside her hot mouth. She tasted better than his wildest fantasy, sweeter than the finest chocolate.
He snaked his hand under her sweater and cupped her firm breast. She moaned and arched into his palm as his fingers played with her nipple.
He murmured against the crook of her neck. “I want you, Kate. I want you naked, in my bed, under me.”
She slid her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. “I want that, too.”
Braxton groaned, pulling away long enough to tug her sweater over her head, his fingers brushing against her flat stomach.
A door slammed, startling them both. Braxton quickly pulled Kate behind him and growled.
“What the hell is going on, Kate?”
***
Kate, wearing her jeans and bra, stared back in horror at Beau from behind the safety of Braxton’s back.
“Don’t you knock? You have horrible timing, do you know that?” Kate’s face heated as her embarrassment shifted into anger. She scrambled to get her sweater over her head. She wasn’t a child, dammit. She was a grown woman.
“I’ve been trying to call, but you’re not answering. I came by to check on you.” He walked over to the phone, picked it up, and frowned. “Your phone’s not working. Have you called the phone company?”
“How can I call the phone company if my phone doesn’t work?” Kate gave him a disbelieving stare.
“Smart-ass.” Beau glared.
“Watch how you speak to her,” Braxton growled and advanced toward Beau.