Glancing back at Ronnie, she said, “I appreciate you helping me out so early on a
Saturday.”
“You sure you don’t mind if I bring Sergeant Buck with me?” he asked.
“No, by all means. I don’t want to ruin your plans. I’m just grateful you are willing
to do this for her,” she replied.
He glanced at the circle of girls who were piled around several sets of parents, getting
permission. Then he looked back at Kayla with the same intense expression he’d had
earlier. His eyes seemed to be devouring her! It was a crazy thought, but she
felt
the intensity of his gaze. Then he leaned in close to her and whispered, “I’ll see
you in the morning, Kayla.”
He stood and headed down the bleachers. She sat there just enjoying the sensation
his look had created, appreciating the sight of him casually strolling toward the
main steps. Just as he made it to the stairs, the group of cheerleaders turned and
yelled, “Bye, Sergeant Brown!”
He waved his acknowledgment behind his head and continued down the stairs. She watched
as he walked toward the exit gate and she couldn’t help but appreciate the backside
of him just as much as she had admired the front view.
Looking back toward the girls, she noticed that all the other parents had left, and
that’s when it hit her: she could only fit five people, six people max, in her car.
There were nine people total, including her. Standing up, she looked for Ronnie, but
he was halfway across the parking lot. Crap! She dug out her cell phone and called
his.
“Yes,” he answered.
“I need your help,” she said.
“You have a lot of
needs
, Kayla. What
service
can I perform for you now?” he asked.
He
so
shouldn’t have said that! His slight touch against her mouth earlier seemed to have
woken a sleeping tiger inside her. But instead of responding to his evocative comment,
she explained the situation, hung up the phone and turned to Addie.
“Take two girls with you and head to Ronnie’s truck. I’ll take the rest of the girls
with me in my car,” she said.
Soon enough Addie and two of her friends were headed across the parking lot toward
Ronnie’s truck while Kayla and five other girls headed for her Lexus. No good deed
goes unpunished, she thought. After that intense goodbye from Ronnie, she hoped he
dropped off the girls and headed straight home. She needed time to recover her equilibrium.
The group of girls riding with her chatted among themselves as though she wasn’t
even there. They talked excitedly about the crowd’s responses to their cheers during
the second half of the game and about ideas for songs for their upcoming cheer competition.
As Kayla pulled into the garage she looked in her rearview mirror to see Ronnie’s
truck pulling into the driveway behind her. The girls piled out of the passenger side
of the truck and she heard them saying, “Come on, Sergeant Brown, it’s the least we
can do. Yeah, it’s like a thank-you for helping the team.”
What were they up to now?
Addie informed the girls from Kayla’s car that they were going to order pizza and
watch a movie before getting down to business. And they’d invited Ronnie to stay.
Kayla caught Ronnie’s bold stare through the window. He smiled at her and then shut
off his truck. The girls gave a cheer and headed inside, leaving Kayla alone with
him. As he approached her, his gaze drifted between her eyes and her mouth as his
sexy grin widened even more.
“I’m in for pizza but I draw the line at the slumber party, unless you’re the one
who invites me.” He grinned and touched his large hand to the side of her face, his
thumb running gently across her bottom lip. Before she could respond, he released
her and headed inside.
Good God, his touch was like being struck by lightning.
But she was his boss, and she needed to pull herself together. Doing her best, she
went inside. Addison and her friend Kaitlyn were convincing Ronnie to call in pizza
for them so Kayla went through the mail. Once the pizzas were ordered, the girls went
into the living room to pick a movie and Ronnie came into the kitchen. He pulled out
a couple of two-liter bottles of soda from the pantry as well as several cups out
of a cabinet.
She could feel his eyes on her as he made himself at home in her kitchen.
Mmm… Just breathe.
After finishing up with the mail, Kayla headed into the laundry room. She could hear
the girls down the hallway laughing and talking. She made her way over to the counter,
where Ronnie had in fact laid out her
more delicate items.
She picked up a pair of panties and then a second pair.
“Those are my favorites,” he said from right behind her.
She whirled around and put her hands, still holding the panties, behind her back.
Jeez, he looked so good… And that
grin
.
“Of course, I haven’t seen the ones you’re wearing right now,” he said, his grin widening.
If she were younger, skinnier and didn’t have a houseful of giggling teenage girls,
she might have said what she was thinking just to shock the hell out of him.
What had happened to the serious man from two weeks ago? This flirtatious Ronnie was
damn near irresistible.
Leaning in, he whispered, “Say it. Whatever it is that’s making those brown eyes twinkle…say
it.”
She studied him for a minute. His brown hair had grown out a little over the past
couple of weeks. It was starting to curl. And his blue eyes… A woman could get lost
in them. He wore a grin that could make a saint into a sinner and enough of a five
o’clock shadow to completely turn her belly into a tingly mass of excitement.
He moved closer to her, caging her in.
“How do you know I’m wearing
any
right now?” she replied with all the daring she could muster.
Placing his hands on either side of her, leaning his weight against the counter behind
her, effectively trapping her between his arms, he put his lips a mere whisper from
her own. “Then I take back what I said earlier. The ones you have on
now
are my favorites.”
“Mom! Where are you?” Addison yelled from the kitchen.
Kayla couldn’t help but laugh right along with Ronnie when they both jumped at Addie’s
question.
“You are lucky your kid has such good timing. Didn’t anyone tell you not to feed wild
animals?” he said quietly, backing away from her. “We’re in here, Addie,” he said
more loudly.
Ronnie stayed long enough to eat a slice of pizza and ensure the girls were engrossed
in their movie before he left. Then Kayla went upstairs to her room.
Alone.
They weren’t dating or sleeping together. They were just looking and flirting, but
damn if Ronnie didn’t bring out something wild in her. His grin, his good looks and
his way with words were the only seduction techniques he needed to get a woman into
his bed.
So why was he messing with her?
Probably because over the past couple of weeks she’d been constantly calling and asking
him to pick up Addie, to pick up something from the store, to take Addie to the football
game, to pay a bill she’d forgotten about, to watch Addie and her friends while she
was the only one at the office on a Saturday morning. Kayla was effectively eating
up every spare minute of the man’s time. He very well might have cancelled a date
to take Addie to the football game tonight.
That was the only thing that made sense. Men like him didn’t date women like her.
She wasn’t majorly overweight but she had
curves
—an extra twenty or thirty pounds worth at least. Men as good-looking as Ronnie dated
skinny young girls with big boobs who giggled a lot and carried tiny dogs stuffed
into oversize bags. They didn’t hook up with an overweight, thirty-three-year old
mother who freaked out in fear when she got close to a dog. Besides not being Ronnie’s
type, Kayla didn’t have time to date anyway. And he was an
employee!
This
thing
that was building between them…it wasn’t going to happen. She couldn’t let it happen.
* * *
The following morning Kayla had just finished up her shower and pulled on her robe
when she heard Ronnie knocking.
She headed downstairs and saw the mess the girls had left behind before they went
down to the basement as she made her way to the front door. She opened the door, ready
to apologize for adding to his to-do list again, and nearly screamed out loud.
A dog the size of a small cow sat on her porch at Ronnie’s feet.
She backed up slowly.
Dogs had teeth…big teeth that could bite.
She felt the unhealthy rhythm of her heart and heard herself gasping for breath. She
managed to make it over to the couch just as she fainted.
“Kayla!”
She blinked her eyes open. Ronnie’s rough hands were on either side of her face and
he was looking down at her with worry. Something wet and rough tickled the palm of
her hand. She looked down at the large animal licking her and this time she really
did cry out, “Oh, God… A dog! Please get it away.”
“Buck, down,” Ronnie ordered.
The hulking beast lumbered over and spread himself out on her brand-new rug, letting
out a loud sigh as though settling in for a nap.
“Are you okay?” Ronnie asked.
“No. I’m terrified of dogs,” she said, moving aside the bottom of her robe to show
him the scar on the inside of her knee from when she was eight. “When I was young,
a stray dog in the neighborhood wandered into the yard where I was playing. My squeals
of fun somehow upset him and the next thing I knew he lunged at me and sank his fangs
into my leg. I ended up not only getting stitches, but a series of shots as well.
I’ve been terrified of dogs since that day.”
Then it hit her…Ronnie’s friend Sergeant Buck was a dog!
Chapter Four
Never in his whole life had he seen someone faint until just now. Kayla had just passed
out from a mere
glimpse
of Buck.
After a few minutes, she sat upright as her breathing returned to normal, but he could
tell she was still a nervous wreck. She kept a close eye on Buck and looked ready
to make a break for it at any moment. Had he known about her fear of dogs, he wouldn’t
have brought Buck along today. Kayla had enough on her plate without Buck scaring
the life out of her.
“I can take him back out to the truck,” he offered. Buck whined and covered his nose
and one eye with a large paw.
Glancing at Ronnie and then back to Buck, she said, “Did he understand what you just
said?”
“I would imagine. He saved my life a couple of years back and he’s been with me ever
since,” Ronnie replied.
Her gaze finally left Buck and came back to meet his. She had been sitting far back
against the couch while he knelt in front of her, but she suddenly leaned forward
and placed her hand on his cheek. Her face was only a few inches from his. The urge
to kiss her took over. He moved closer slowly, giving her a chance to back away.
She surprised him when she closed the distance between them and pressed her mouth
against his. She tasted like summer rain, refreshing and warm. He wanted more of her.
Definitely more…a lot more. Slanting his mouth, he captured her lips again for a better
taste, but it only made him hungry for something else. Buck whined and Kayla pulled
back.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,” she said, looking away from him.
“I agree. I’d much rather you faint at
my
feet than his. I outrank him in more ways than one.” He grinned.
He wanted to push Kayla down on the couch and do more than just kiss her, but there
were eight teenage girls in the house. He would wait.
The past couple of weeks he’d found himself flirting with Kayla, unable to stop himself.
Along with being the best-looking woman he’d seen since getting out of the service,
she also solicited his respect with how hard she worked on top of taking care of her
sick mother and Addie, too.
The next thing he knew she’d scooted forward on the couch and wrapped her arms around
his neck. She was kissing him with enough passion he felt it clear down to the soles
of his feet. Damn! She was on
fire
and burning him alive right along with her.
She finally pulled back only to bury her face in his neck and make a noise that sounded
like a whimper. He ran his fingers through the wet strands of her hair, but before
he could pull her face up to look into her eyes, he felt it…
dampness on her cheeks
.
She clutched him tighter and sniffed.
Well, this wasn’t exactly going as he’d hoped.
“Hold me, Ronnie,” she whispered against his neck. “Just for a minute. I’m so sorry
for this.”
“Shh,” he whispered into her hair. “It’s okay. I’m sorry about bringing Buck.”
“No. It’s okay. You’re just warm and
wonderful
. It’s been so long since I’ve had someone to share with. I can’t thank you enough
for everything these past couple of weeks,” she sniffed.
Unsure of what to say for a few long seconds, he finally joked, “That’s why you pay
me the big bucks.”
She giggled and pulled back from him, quickly brushing her tears away. “I’m sorry
for crying all over you like a baby.” She laughed through the remaining tears. “I’m
so embarrassed.”
“Trust me, I have more reason to be embarrassed than you.” He smiled.
She gave him a look of confusion, so he looked down at his obvious reaction to the
passion in her kiss and then looked back at her with a grin.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered with a small laugh and then covered her beautiful smile
with her hand.
“You did it! Your lips are as talented as they are sexy. What did you expect?” He
laughed.
She gave him a funny look. “I have to get moving or I’m going to be late and my boss
will have a fit.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay to drive?” he asked. He didn’t know how passing out affected
a person’s abilities.