Nowhere Safe

CHAPTER 27



At the sound of Trish’s muffled footsteps against the carpeted hall, Josh relaxed back against the kitchen counter. He could handle a few hours alone with Trish.

He’d survived plenty of dangerous operations.

How tough could it be to keep his hands off a female he was protecting? Even a smoking hot one? Besides, after what Trish had been through, the one thing she did not need was a man in her house pawing her.

“I’m back,” Trish announced, strolling into the kitchen, wearing a...holy shit, what is that?

A peach-colored dress that drifted to mid-calf, but not near enough material and it clung in the sexiest way. Those lovely breasts were back.

Covered, but not hidden.

Nope. Right up front. Accessible.

All that soft peach reminded him of marmalade. He loved marmalade. Sweet and tangy, spread across her thigh...

“Josh?”

She stopped right in front of him. So close he could smell her powdery scent.

Her nipples peaked. Ah, hell. No bra.

Josh cleared his throat and stood up straighter. Tried to back up, but there was that counter behind him.

Trish put her hand on his chest, sending a hot ripple through his muscles. “Sorry about yelling at you, I was just surprised to see you, but I’m glad you’re here.”

She sounded breathless and that drove him crazy.

“Me, too,” he mumbled.

“When did you...come?” she asked, innocently.

Come? Perspiration beaded at the back of his neck. Move, dammit. Stop thinking about that thin layer of material, the only barrier between him and paradise.

“Was that someone at the door?” Weak, but all he had. He put his hands on her shoulders and gently moved her back so he could sidestep around her. “I’ll check it out.”

The confused look on her face was nothing compared to what was going on in his chaotic mind.

Had she just given him a green light?

What if she had? She was off limits.

How in the hell was he going to keep his hands off her for the next two hours when everything about Trish said touch me?

She was likely just feeling vulnerable after last night and needing comfort. What he had in mind couldn’t be construed as comfort...except that she’d be noodle limp when he got through with her.

You are such a dog. He was absolutely not going to take advantage of her no matter how hard he was. Again.

She was killing him.

He made a show of moving the blinds in the living room enough to look outside. Just as he’d seen ten minutes ago, the news people were hunkered down in cars parked along the street.

They’d persist until the police he’d just called showed up to run them off.

He heard the back door open and close, followed by excited yapping. A streak of fur blasted out of the kitchen and down the hall.

Josh stepped over to see what she’d let into the house.

Trish entered the living room laughing. She stopped a couple of feet from him. God, she was beautiful when she smiled.

She whistled and called, “Come here, boy.” The blur ran back up the hall and around the living room twice, but stayed this time.

Josh took one look at the dog–he assumed it was a dog–and asked, “What is that?”

Trish sent him a frown filled with the promise of physical harm if he made a derogatory comment.

“This is Dazzle.” She smiled down at a conglomeration roughly the shape of a Wire-haired Terrier. “Aren’t you, precious?” She melted for a multi-colored animal whose coat was a mass of black and tan streaks of fur sprouting out between tight clumps of burnt-orange corked curls. The mutt gave her a hairy crooked-tooth smile.

Trish squatted, clapping her hands together.

Dazzle leapt into her arms. She ran her hands all over him, massaging his shoulders, patting his stomach and hugging him to her breast.

The mutt lapped up her adoration. What male wouldn’t?

Josh considered telling Trish he was just as much of a Heinz 57 as that patchwork beast. He needed a rubdown and a hug too.

“Dazzle is an adventurer,” Trish said, looking up at Josh with a big grin. “When he was about two months old, he survived a hurricane to find me and Heidi.”

Adventurous or not, that beast had captured Trish’s heart–an organ she hadn’t seemed to think a man worthy of touching, from what he’d observed.

Warmth rippled through him at the pleasure on her face over an anomaly of nature.

He wanted to do that. Be the one to make her smile, and feel her hands touching him. Be the one holding her throughout the night.

Where had that foolish thought come from?

He didn’t know, but the longing had kept him awake most of the night. If he ever started on that body, he wouldn’t stop until he’d tasted every inch.

Only a masochistic fool would stand here and torture himself.

Trish lowered her dog to the carpet where she stood, and the mutt danced at her feet.

Josh took a step toward the kitchen, anywhere he didn’t have to watch the way Trish’s hair curled around her slender neck or see her tongue slip out between her lips.

“Dazzle, do you know how nice Josh is?”

The mutt danced back and forth.

Josh paused to see if the four-legged fur storm could do a trick.

“Show him how smart you are. Let Josh know how much you appreciate him taking care of your mama.”

The wiry length of fur spun in a circle.

“Not that. Tell Josh thank you.”

Her dog flipped an about-face and leapt high against Josh’s chest. He caught the ball of energy with a grunt, then lowered the mutt back to the floor.

“No, Dazzle, not that high.” Trish giggled a happy sound that came out rich and womanly instead of girly. She raised a hand to her forehead as the dog sped away to some unknown target. “I’m sorry, Josh. We’re still working on that one.”

Recovering his balance after being hit by the canine missile, Josh smiled. He hadn’t heard her laugh much since he’d met her and was reluctant to give up this relaxed moment with her.

She lowered her hand to her mouth and nibbled on her knuckle. “Is your offer still good?”

“What offer.”

“Spending time with me over the next two weeks.”

He’d made that offer off the cuff to keep the door open for seeing her again and had no idea if he’d be here for two full weeks, but the way she’d asked that said she wanted to do more than meet for dinner. “Yes.”

Dazzle returned from another tour of the house. He chased his tail twice then shot between Trish’s legs, knocking her off balance.

Dazzle yipped.

Trish yelled.

Josh reached for her just as the four-pawed terror circled his feet, knocking him out of sync. The coffee table would hurt. Josh pitched his weight toward the sofa. His back hit the forgiving cushions a second before she landed on his chest with a thump, and he eased them both upright.

“Trish, are you okay?”

She lifted her head, laughing as she sprawled across his lap. “I am so sorry. Dazzle, um–” Trish gasped a breath. “–is just happy to see me.”

Dazzle scurried past them, gone. A squeaky toy screeched from some other room. Trish broke into a fresh peal of chuckles. “Then again, he gets over my absence quickly.”

Josh couldn’t stop the laugh that came from deep inside. When was the last time he’d felt genuinely happy over anything? He had a hapless mutt to thank for the female in his arms. “You’re pretty, but when you laugh...you’re breathtaking.”

A mint-scented sigh squeezed out of Trish. Two pert breasts rubbed Josh’s chest each time she inhaled, stoking the hot blood now pooled into his rigid erection.

Her breathing stilled. She stared at him, so close he could see each lash. He wanted to kiss her.

Not a wise idea in this position.

He’d led her to believe he’d keep this nonsexual plus, hello, he was on an op.

Time to remember Rule Number One: Never mix business with–

She leaned forward and kissed him.