“Merry Christmas, Mr. Tyler.” She hit end.Whew.
Arden turned to see if Kyle was making any progress. His back was to her, and he sat ramrod straight.
“You okay? Did you find something?”
“I…did you mean that just now?” His voice was quiet, measured, incredulous. “About me?”
What?Oh. “That you were amazing? Yes. Because you were.” He was a magnet and her belly was suddenly filled with iron filings. Her legs felt weak again as she walked to him. She laid her hands on his shoulders and felt tight knots under her fingers. “I don’t think Camo and I would have come out the other side of that encounter looking too good.”
He shook his head. “I can’t believe you did that.”
Arden’s eyes stung at his words. “Me neither. I’m so, so stupid for leaving the door—”
“You were defending Camo. You threw yourself on him to protect him.”
What?“Of course I did. What else would I do?”
Kyle turned his head and tilted it up until he was looking at her. “You could have run the other way. Or just stood back and let him attack.He’ssupposed to protectyoufrom any and all threats.”
A black pit opened under her feet and threatened to pull her down. “No, I couldn’t have done that. Not that. No.” She looked away and tried to shake the dark thoughts from her head. When she realized she was clutching Kyle’s shoulders, she let go and took a step backward. His arm shot out and wrapped around her waist as he stood.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Come back.”
“I’m right here.” But she wasn’t. The night came crashing back in on her. She was out in the cold and the dark again staring down a threat, feeling the dog tensing, reading himself to attack, to stand his ground against all-comers. Arden felt lightheaded again. She was in two places at once—outside the barn and inside her home. And a third—somewhere off in the dust and dirt under a raging sun, a place she’d only imagined and seen in her worst nightmares.
“Arden, look at me.” This stranger in her house tilted her chin up until he caught her eyes. “Breathe with me. Deep breaths—we’re gonna breathe in, hold, and then out, okay? Here we go.” He inhaled and she breathed in with him. She held her breath and his gaze—crystal blue winter moonlight shining down on her and her alone. The moment came into sharp focus. Her home. The crackling of the fire in the great room fireplace. Kyle’s warm hand pressed against the small of her back. Breathing with him.
They exhaled.
Neither took another breath. Before that frozen moment could pass into the next, Arden slid her hands up his chest as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. Just a soft press against his lips, barely there, yet sparking fire. His eyes closed as he inhaled sharply. He swooped down and found her lips again, his kiss much more urgent than hers. His hand slid from the small of her back up into her hair. Hers moved from his chest to the nape of his neck. He brought her in closer until their bodies pressed together, his hardness making it obvious that he wanted her and wanted hernow.
And then there was sudden empty space between them as he broke off the kiss. His forehead pressed against hers as he breathed heavy and fast. His eyes opened but stayed half-lidded.
“Kyle—”
He pulled away. “I need to patrol. We’re not secure. You got a handgun?”
“Top drawer there,” she answered half in a daze as she pointed to a kitchen drawer. “Smith and Wesson SD9VE, nine mil.”
He opened the drawer and took it out. “Loaded?”
“Of course. Fifteen-round.”
He looked up at her, one corner of his mouth quirked up. “Your gun.”
“My gun. Grip’s a bit wide for my hand.”And I said that why?New heat flooded into her cheeks.
One eyebrow twitched. Then he said, “Camo’s going to stay in here with you.”
“But—”
“Be right back.” He grabbed his parka and headed out.
“Shit.” Before her stupid, trembling knees gave out, Arden pulled out the chair Kyle had just been sitting in and she sat down. She blew out a breath and licked her lips. God, he tasted good and his flavor was all over her mouth. She sucked in her lips, tasted him again, and groaned. What was she going to do when he came back inside?
Arden looked at her laptop screen. Kyle had backed the footage up to the point where they’d left the barn. The barn door was just on the edge of the screen, and she watched it close behind them, so she’d at least done that much, but had she secured it? No way to tell. She fast-forwarded through the video, watching for something to happen. About forty-five minutes later, she saw it—the door slid open. She paused the video. No one stood in the door. No one came in. Was it the wind? It had to be. But she couldn’t get those footprints out of her mind. Would Rick the Dick really fuck with her like this?
Yes, of course he would.
