He swiped his fingers through his wet hair, and decided to focus on the present. On a pretty girl wound up so tight, he wanted to unwind her one hot inch at a time. The attraction between them was undeniable. Powerful and potent. The way her eyes followed him, hungry and thoughtful. The way she licked and then bit her lip and didn't even realize she was doing it.
He walked out of the bathroom with his blood pounding through his ears. Christ. He had it bad. So bad, he was considering putting her in his truck and driving her back to the cottage before things got out of hand. Because things would get out of hand.
"You've got a pretty nice spread here," Kate commented on the food as he entered the kitchen.
She was sitting on the plaid quilt by the windows, cross legged. The sides of her black hair were pinned behind her head, the rest falling over her shoulder in waves. Her blue eyes were big and welcoming. He wished they weren't. From the window, he saw the dogs were laying flat out on the patio outside, their bodies heaving, tongues lolling. The slight pang in his chest made him grit his teeth and refocus. He sat on the blanket.
"You make all this yourself?" she asked.
Dev eyed the cold smoked salmon, roast beef, fresh bread and cheese. "Fran makes it. I stock up in the morning. Made the bread, though."
She looked surprised. "Really? You bake?"
He wanted to squirm. He shouldn't have said anything. Of course, the first thing she did was break off a chunk and shove it into her mouth, smiling at his discomfort as she chewed. "Very good. You're an interesting guy."
Dev filled a paper plate.
"Military man, carpenter, farmer, baker…" she went on.
"Just carpenter," he said. "Farming is Jamie's thing. I'm just doing what I can until he gets home."
She digested that and then asked, "So what else can you bake?"
Her challenging look and the small smile on her lips made him turn the tables. "What can you bake?"
Her smile went wider. "Not a damn thing."
Dev laughed. "We all have our strengths I guess."
"True," she said, continuing to eat. She wasn't shy about it either, and he liked that about her. If he had to guess Kate did everything wholeheartedly. She spoke her mind. And wasn't put off by the fact that he wasn't much of a talker. Probably because she was just as good at reading people as she was at reading dogs.
"You always been interested in dogs?"
She nodded. "Pretty much. Always was drawn to them. Always felt like I—" she glanced down.
"What?"
"I don't know. It's kind of weird-sounding." She drew in a deep breath, rolling her eyes. "I always felt like I could communicate with them. Not like telepathy or anything. Just that I could sense their mood better than most is all."
It embarrassed her to admit it, and it made Dev curious. "So you went into dog walking and grooming. Why not training?"
"Everyone asks me that. That was going to be the next step. I don't have any formal training. I'm not qualified."
"I don't have a degree in carpentry. Yet," he glanced around the room.
"Your work speaks for itself," she finished his thought.
"So train a few dogs. Train a few more. Word gets out. And presto, you've got work that speaks for itself."
She thought it over, eyeing him straight on with a slightly bemused tilt to her mouth. Not a lot of people looked at him head on like that, like they weren't afraid to see into the darkest parts of his soul. "Suppose now that I'm broke and starting over," she said, "I'll have to do just that."
He offered her the last chunk of bread, but she gestured for him to take it. He chewed, wanting to change the subject and redirect his thoughts. "Where'd you find the terrier?"
"He found me. A stray, I think. You haven't seen him before?"
"No. Apparently Hildie has…"
"She likes him." Kate smiled and wiggled her eyebrows at him.
