“I’m not sure if I can. This is not how I imagined this going.”
“You imagined this?” She kept her gaze fixed on Otter Fox while she wriggled out from behind Liam. She missed his warmth the second it was gone and had to deliberately smooth her face to keep from scowling at the dog. She dropped to her knees and let her hand rest on the furry vibrating body. As soon as she touched him, the growling stopped but he kept his gaze fixed on Liam behind her.
“I haven’t been able to think of much else,” he said, turning around slowly. “I’ve got to say, when I pictured you on your knees in front of me, this isn’t what I had in mind.”
The image his words conjured had want flooding hot and molten low in her body. Locking her gaze on his, she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth and let everything she was thinking show in her eyes.
“It’s not what I had in mind either.”
“You’re killing me.”
He took a step toward her, and the dog’s growling kicked up again in earnest.
“Easy, baby,” she said, running her hand down his furry back. “It’s okay. He’s not going to hurt us. He brought you the treats, remember?”
The little dog cut his gaze from Liam to her and back again. She felt him start to relax, but not enough for her to take a chance with standing up.
“I needed more fries. I’m going to have to up my game next time. Maybe bring a steak or something.” He kept part of his attention on the scared dog but the relaxed way he seemed to take everything else in stride did something funny to her heart. He could have gotten angry. Hell, getting cockblocked by her dog made her angry. But instead of showing it, the huge blond Viking seemed calm. Careful. Like the kind of guy it would be good to have around when things got rough.
Liam stepped away from the wall and the dog’s attention immediately snapped back to him.
“I wish I could get my hands on whoever did this to you,” she said, hating the fear she felt radiating off the small animal. He wasn’t vicious; he was scared. But instead of crawling away or hiding under something, he’d tried to protect her from the perceived danger.
“He’ll come around. Once he’s been with you for a while and knows he can trust things, he’ll relax. He’s won the lottery; he just doesn’t know it yet.”
There was something sweet and almost wistful in his voice. It made her wonder if they were just talking about the dog.
“I’m not going to push my luck and try to kiss you again. Not right now, but we are going to revisit this. I want you, Andy. I want to know your taste, the feeling of you under my hands.” He pinned her with his hungry gaze and heat flushed her chest and face. He was almost as good at seducing her with his words as he was with his touch. She didn’t stand a chance at resisting him, and she didn’t want to. “I want to know what you look like when you come apart under me and the sounds you make as you ride me.”
“Oh God.” The words slipped past her lips, taking her breath with them. “I want that too.” She swallowed. Hard. He was about a thousand times better at talking dirty than she was. For the moment, she was amazed she’d been able to form words at all. It didn’t matter. She’d find other ways to show him what she felt. She was still thinking about them when Liam slipped past her and out the door.
“You owe me,” she said, absentmindedly stroking the dog as she tried to catch her breath. He pressed his cold, wet nose against her palm and she glanced down into his big, brown, questioning puppy eyes. “Big time.”
