a bag of chips, two paper plates and two cans of Coke onto a tray.
With his gaze tracking her every move, Shohn asked, “Can I do anything to help?”
Stop trying to melt me. “No. Just...stay over there.” If he started bumping that hot, hard body into her again, she’d end up dragging him down to the floor. “Everything is ready.”
He stood to take the tray from her, holding it in one hand so he could pull out her chair with the other. Such a gentleman. Of course, all the men from his family were the same, meaning they were all gorgeous, sexy, protective, mannerly and alpha. Even the girls seemed to have gotten a little extra “oomph” from that amazing gene pool.
While she loaded up the buns with barbecue, Shohn popped open the drinks. “So once everyone clocks out, you’ll be here alone?”
Uh-oh. She didn’t, couldn’t, look at him. “Me, and twenty-five dogs.” Going past that as fast as she could, she added, “I’ll have at least an hour’s worth of work to get through yet before I can call it a day.”
“What time did you start work?”
“I let the dogs out into the yard early. Around six or so.” She wrinkled her nose. “Cuts back on cleanup.”
“They don’t ever fight with each other?”
“You know right away which animals are social and which ones prefer a little privacy. A big part of the backyard is divided up to suit them all, with separate runs and fenced areas.”
“That’s a long day.” He nodded to the clock on her wall. “It’s almost eight.”
“Overall, it doesn’t really seem like work. I love animals, they love me.” She put some chips on her plate and handed him the bag. With a telling glance his way, she said, “It’s the pet owners who are sometimes a bother.” Especially when they flaunt their perfect pecs at the dinner table.
“Since I was a bother,” Shohn teased, “why don’t I hang around and help you put the pups to bed for the night.”
No, and no. “That’s okay. I have a routine.” And she didn’t even want to say “Shohn” and “bed” in the same sentence, never mind that he meant small pet beds.
“Then let me bring dinner by tomorrow as a payback.” He ate half his sandwich in two big bites. “It’s the least I can do.”
She was already shaking her head, denying him. “No, really. It’s only warmed-up barbecue. No payback necessary.” And trying this twice would be too much temptation.
He finished his sandwich, downed half his Coke then folded his arms on the table and studied her. “You’re not going to give an inch, are you?”
Definitely not. She thought about pretending she didn’t understand, but knowing Shohn, he’d just spell it out for her. So instead, she rolled a shoulder, drank her own Coke and said, “There’s no point.”
“The point could be lust, chemistry—or even good old fun.”
Oh, I bet you would be so fun. Then she caught herself. Be strong, Nadine! She picked up a few chips and tried for a casual tone. “Yeah, see, I’m not into being another conquest for the infamous Shohn Hudson.”
“Infamous?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know.” She rolled her eyes and jammed the chips in her mouth.
“Okay, you mean sex.” He slowly pushed away from his chair.
Nadine sank back in hers. Gaze watchful, she now regretted that mouthful of chips.
“Hot sex,” Shohn clarified as he stood. “With me.”
Nadine gulped down the chips, choked a little and nodded. “Yes.” She coughed, swigged down more Coke and nodded again. “Yes, that’s what I mean.”
Eyes intent, mouth barely curled in a small smile, he circled the table.
She wanted to sink under it...and maybe take him with her for a little hanky-panky.
He stopped beside her chair, right there so that her gaze was level with his abs and she got the up-close-and-personal view of that mesmerizing happy trail that disappeared into his uniform pants.
The temp in the kitchen spiked...oh, a hundred degrees or so.
Shohn brushed the back of one knuckle over her cheek. “How come we’ve never gotten together, Nadine?”
That snapped her out of the spell. In a rush, she shoved her own chair back and scrambled to her feet behind it. Finger pointing, she said, “Because you’ve always treated me like I was a relative or a guy friend or...or old or something.”
Instead of her accusation bothering him, he went all alpha sexy male on her. “So it wasn’t disinterest on your part?”
Jerk! “No, it was disinterest on your part!”
“I must’ve been blind or something.”
Yeah, right. She knew the truth: she wasn’t in his league and never would be. “As far as I’m concerned, you can just go on being disinterested.”
“No, I don’t think I can.” He stepped toward her. She backed up. He stopped. “Are you afraid of me?”
Ha! Stepping around the chair, Nadine butted up to him. “Not a chance.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Oh, her stupid pride. She tried to retreat a little. “Look, Shohn, be reasonable here. You are not, have never been, into me that way.”
He stared at her mouth. “Am now.”
“Well, tough!” It’s too late. “My life is busy enough as is without me trying to fit in a...a fling, or whatever it is you have on your mind.”
“I have all kinds of things on my mind.”
She could only imagine how wonderful those things would be. “Dial it down already, will you?” To give herself something to do other than reciprocate, she began stacking the remains of their dinner back onto the tray. “It won’t do you any good,” she lied. “I’m seduction-proof because I plain don’t have the time for it.”
“For it—or for me?”
“Take your pick.” He looked equal parts insulted and challenged by that, so she kept talking fast in the hopes they could just move past it. “Right now, I need to get out there to let my workers go home. Then I need to start moving the dogs into their beds so I can lock up. You’re right, it has been a long day and I still have a ton of things to do.”
“I offered to help.”
If he stuck around, all shirtless and sexy, she wouldn’t get anything done because she’d spend all her time staring at him. Carrying the tray to the kitchen, she said, “And I told you no, so let it go.” She would not let him bully her, make her feel guilty or cause her to cave in. She had bucketsful of pride and by God, she’d hold on to it. “I do wish Amber would call back, though.” Then he could take the dog and leave.
“She already did.”
Nadine paused in the middle of putting away their mess. In a slow simmer, she turned to Shohn. He leaned there against the fridge, one hand braced on his holster, expression taunting.
“When?”
“Right before I came in here she sent me a text saying she’d called you and left a message.”
And he’d kept that to himself! She scowled. “If you’d told me—”
“You’d have given Rookie to me and sent me away.” He gave up his casual pose and closed the space between them. “But I didn’t want to go. Still don’t.” When she started to object, he cut her off. “Thing is, I’m not into forcing my company on women.”
“You