She rubbed her lips together, noting the way his eyes dropped to the movement. They stood on opposite sides of the anvil. She was so tired of having things between them. For a brief moment she warred over which issue to attack first, their lack of kissing or her terribly brilliant, no-good wonderful idea.
The energy in the room crackled and zinged, and her pulse picked up speed.
So, of course, she totally chickened out on the kissing. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the back lot of the animal shelter lately.”
“Yeah?” He turned to side-eye her.
“They have a few motion lights set up at night. . . ” She waited to see if he would pick up her line of thinking.
“I guess that’s good. It might be hard to sleep, though.” HIs forehead wrinkled in an adorably confused way.
She chuckled. “They also have one camera.” She put her hands on the anvil stand and leaned over it. “Just one.”
He stilled and his dark eyes grew even deeper brown as he went into deep thinking mode.
She continued painting the picture. “It’s by the back door and points at Felix. So anyone approaching it from behind would be in a blind spot that would make it quite easy to, say, stick a piece of gum over the lens without getting caught.”
He snorted. “Except for their DNA in the gum.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
He put his hands on either side of the anvil stand and leaned toward her. “Let me see if I’m getting what you’re so delicately not saying.” Her eyes dropped to his mouth. He had a great mouth. Both lips were full enough but not so full that they looked like a super models. The bottom one was slightly bigger and looked just about perfect for–.
“Clove?” he asked, his voice hazy and far away.
“Hmm?” She dragged her eyes up to meet his and found them quite amused. The scoundrel knew what he was doing, holding out on her.
“You want to break Felix out of jail?”
She blinked innocently. “Did I say that?”
“You're trying very hard not to.” He leaned closer, bringing his cheek next to her cheek. He smelled like oil and work and body wash and something that was just him that she’d come to know over the last couple of days. Her eyes dropped shut, unable to stay open when he was this close.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he whispered.
“You do?” she breathed.
“Yep.” He pulled back far enough that their breath mingled together. “Clove, will you allow me to try to kidnap your reindeer again?” he asked in a slow drawl that made her belly swoop.
The fact that he asked her for help and permission had her falling for him in a whole new way. She was in trouble with Drake. He knew how to get past all her defenses and leave her bare. “I’ll not only let you. I’ll help.”
She could feel his smile, and she couldn’t stop herself from mirroring him. She opened her eyes and caught him tracing her cheek with his gaze.
“Ahem.”
They jumped apart.
Otis laughed, holding his belly like Old Saint Nick. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Drake’s cheeks turned red. “We, uh, how much did you hear?”
“Hear?” Otis asked, clearly befuddled by the question.
Clove walked right over to him, not ashamed at all about being caught with Drake. Catch me any day, every day, all day long—she sing-songed in her head. She put on a wide smile and hooked her arm through Otis’s. “We finished the sled and I can’t wait to show you.”
Otis perked up.
“I’ll hook up to the trailer and we’ll be out of your way.” Drake dug his keys out of his pocket.
