That was no fair.
Woof.
Instantly, Indy’s bark drew my attention. Lifting my head, I immediately reached for the water spigot. Every muscle was tense. When I heard nothing else, I reminded myself that Indy liked Sin. His reaction to the man had taken a weight off my shoulders, giving Sin a couple of good boy points.
Dogs were excellent resources when it came to whether or not people could be trusted. Indiana had been trained to sniff out danger. He’d protected me from two muggers and more than a share of smarmy salesmen. That’s why I listened to every bark.
With the water off, I cracked open the shower door, listening for any telltale signs. Hearing nothing whatsoever, I nervously reached for my towel.
Woof. Woof!
This time, Indy’s bark was more incessant. Something had to be wrong. I’d barely managed to wrap the towel around me whenmy pup came barreling into the bathroom through the cracked door.
“What’s wrong?”
Woof. Woof. Woof!
Indy danced, challenging me with woofs and huffs before racing back into the bedroom.
That’s when the unmistakable scent of something burning hit my nostrils. Oh, shit. I rushed from the bedroom into the hallway.
The fire alarm went off.
The stench was horrific.
By the time I made it to the kitchen, acrid smoke had filled the space.
Now that he’d alerted me to the chaos inside my house, Indiana was happy to trot away from the melee.
“What the hell?” I stood gawking at Sin, who had a kitchen towel wrapped around the handle of my finest, albeit cheap, sauté pan, fanning smoke just before dumping it into the sink.
With the water running, the steam was significant, hissing from how hot the pan had been. He turned on the fan over the stove, cursing under his breath as he did.
He smashed his hands on the lip of the sink, shaking his head. The growl he emitted sounded like a wounded animal.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
I stood in the doorway, fighting between laughter and tearing into him for being so stupid. Plus, he’d likely ruined my favorite pan. He’d removed his jacket and tie, unbuttoning his shirt and rolling up his sleeves past his elbows.
His muscles were even more sculpted than I’d envisioned, his left forearm covered in a stunning depiction of a dragon. I could see the fury in his tense body language and the thick cord on the side of his neck. My eyes were drawn to the way it was pulsing.
Since when had I been rewarded with the sight of a man standing in my kitchen trying to make something to eat? At least that’s what I thought he might be doing.
Although at this point, I wasn’t entirely certain.
The noise was grating and I grabbed a kitchen towel, rushing into the hallway and fanning the smoke detector like some crazed woman. Thirty seconds later, the horrible screeching noise finally stopped. Huffing, I trotted back into the kitchen. Sin was still staring at the pan in the sink as if the near disaster was the pan’s fault.
“Do you mind telling me what you were doing?” It was difficult to sound so demanding when he was obviously unused to failing at anything.
In the insanity of the moment, I’d forgotten that I’d left the bathroom completely disrobed, wearing only a skimpy towel.
Until after he’d turned his head in my direction, his focus taking a few seconds. As soon as he blinked, his nostrils flared in a way that left nothing to the imagination. Especially when his gaze shifted from side to side as his eyes slowly trailed down the line of my neck to the swell of my breasts. From there, he kept goingand there was no denying the filthy thoughts dancing through the darkest portions of his mind.
Or the increasing hunger as evidenced by the throbbing bulge between his legs. I wasn’t immune to the powerful, seductive looks given by men. While I rarely went out of my way to achieve them, being admired by someone so darkly synonymous with unbridled masculinity certainly did something for my self-esteem.
Yet his expression had an uncontrollable feel to it. As if he was losing control. As if there was no chance of breaking the hypnotic spell.
Maybe I didn’t want to.
