Grady gave Linx a middle-fingered salute and grabbed his shirt and shoes. “Thedog?”
He’d heard him scratching the bathroom door while they had been engaged in their bout ofsin.
“He’s all yours. Paperwork’s in order.” Her face hardened into a frown. “Better treat himright.”
“Better than you locking him in the bathroom while you get your jollies.” He shot a glare back at her still temptingbody.
Gritting his teeth, he slipped on his shirt and shoes, took the large dog by the collar, and sauntered out the motel door without looking back. He should go and keep on going. Forget abouther.
The problem was all him, and he couldn’t even blame his misbehaving body part—although Mr. Perfect was only too happy to playalong.
Nope, the effing thing was his brain and the endless erotic movie it played in his mind, over and over, again and again—a twenty-four hour nonstop channel of the Linx Colson Peep Show. Then there was the Linx Colson News Hour where her voice would loop over everything she told him about her business, her likes and her dislikes, her opinions and her peeves—she had a lot of them. Followed by the Linx Colson Weather Channel, as she went from angry gust, to howling tornado, to torrential downpour in a blink of an eye. No Linx Colson Comedy Hour, though. That woman had no funny bone anywhere in her body. Notanymore.
Her scent hung heavy on his body, and he briefly closed his eyes as he stepped into the heat of theafternoon.
When had she become sohard?
She no longer smiled or joked around, and definitely didn’t want after-sex cuddling and teasing like she did seven long yearsago.
That was when she still likedhim.
That was when he still trustedher.
Grady marched to his truck, taking care not to glance back over his shoulder at herwindow.
* * *
Linx slidinto the cabin of her dog rescue center through the back door, hoping to sneak up to the loft and take ashower.
No such luck. Cedar ran to greet her while Tami turned around from the kitchen table which was directly across from the backdoor.
Her dog sniffed curiously all over her clothes, and Tami opened her yap, giving Linx a sidelong glance and a barely suppressed smirk. “Well, well, well. Cedar, honey, tell me what smells so delicious and sexy. Might there be more specialdeliveries?”
“I’m going upstairs,” Linx saidlamely.
“Good idea.” Tami pointed to her own head to signal how messed up Linx’s hair was from her mid-afternoon tryst. “Maybe you should have taken a shower with him while you were atit.”
“Maybe I didn’t see him at all,” Linx lied to deflect her nosyfriend.
“You were always a badliar.”
“None of your business.” Linx snarled and made a mean face to cover up the warm and gooey feeling swarming her lowerbody.
“Oh, but you’re always my business, and there’s only one reason you have that glow on your face.” Tami thrust her index finger in and out of a tunnel made with her other hand. “Did I tell you he shares office space with me, and he not so coincidentally told me he’d be away at the same time youleft?”
“He shares an office with you?” Linx sputtered, while finger-combing her mussed uphair.
“Oh, yeah, I keep him in my closet and let him out for phone and internet.” Tami licked her lips exaggeratedly. “Since you won’t ‘call him,’ there’s no bestie code I have tohonor.”
“You’re not… doing him, are you?” Linx’s jaw slammed to the floor, but she quickly recovered. “I mean, fine, enjoy yourself. But a man like Grady needs to come with warnings. Large, red warningsigns.”
“Warning heeded.” Tami primped her fluffy mop of hair while snorting like she thought the entire deal toofunny.
Cedar stuck her nose over Linx’s crotch, sniffing with interest, causing Tami to lose the battle againstlaughter.
“Girl, get your nose out of my privates.” Linx put Cedar out the backdoor and watched her join the other dogs in their freeplaytime.
When she returned to the den where she and Tami had their desks, Tami was still chuckling. “You’re going to get caught. His sister Cait’s not going to like you toying withhim.”
