Pawfectly In Love

by Stephanie Rowe

  "You know...have kids...and..."

  Luke laughed, finally looking at her again. "Everything is in working order."

  "Well, that's good." At his raised brow, Paige cursed under her breath. "Not that I have any personal interest in whether everything works properly."

  "Uh huh." His voice was slightly strangled, sounding kind of like she felt.

  "So, do you want to have kids?" Paige grimaced at the question that had popped out. Why would she care about his family aspirations? Maybe he would interpret it as just making polite conversation. Which she was. Right? It had nothing to do with the fact that she'd spent seven years with Howard before he'd told her that he wasn't interested in having kids, because they would take too much time from his work.

  Luke was quiet, watching the dogs play by the water's edge.

  Apparently, he wasn't going to answer the question. She'd probably pried too far, given their business relationship. It wasn't as if they were friends.

  Her arms were getting tired from hanging on the ladder, but Luke didn't look like he was moving. Reluctantly, she climbed out of the water and stretched out next to him on the wooden float. It was too close for her comfort, but there was nowhere else for her to go. She was the reason the guy was sidelined, so it was the least she could do to keep him company until he could swim back to shore.

  Each drop of water that fell from her body seemed to echo as it hit the planks. She felt so naked, next to him. Was he as aware of her as she was of him? When he groaned and rolled onto his stomach, she thought maybe he was.

  "I'm not sure if I want kids," he said.

  Paige felt a surge of disappointment, before she remembered that it didn't matter what he wanted. It wasn't as if she were going to marry him. "Why not?"

  Luke rested his chin on his hands. "I don't have time in my life for a family. My parents spent a lot of time with me and my sister, and I can't make the same sacrifices."

  She sighed at the story she'd heard before. At the one her dad had lived by. "It's not a sacrifice to spend time with family. It's what life is about."

  "Not for me. My life is about my career. I wouldn't want to have a family and neglect it. I don't have time for a dog now, let alone a family. It just won't work."

  Paige heard the hitch in his voice, and wondered if there was more to his answer than he was willing to share. "If you had more time in the day, would you want a family then? Is it just time that's the problem?"

  "If I had more time in the day, I'd just work more."

  "But does that make you happy?"

  "Happier than living in a tiny town like this and spending my days engaged in manual labor."

  She turned to look at him, detecting an undercurrent of both disgust and yearning in his voice. "What about a small town where you could practice law? Then you could have both." If she weren't so burned out on law, that would be a perfect life for her.

  Luke didn't look at her, but a muscle ticked in his cheek. "I like my life."

  "But would you like being a small town lawyer better? One who only had to work forty hours a week and could spend mornings swimming like this? Wouldn't that be even better?"

  "No." His voice was so tight that it sounded like his vocal cords were going to snap.

  Paige sighed and dropped her head to her arms. It was the typical lawyer work ethic. When he was eighty and alone in his fancy house, he'd realize the mistake he'd made. She was glad she'd realized it early enough in life. Not that she had a family to devote her time to, but at least she had a dog. Bandit was the male who would love her and devote his life to her. She didn't need anyone else, even if her mom was convinced otherwise. And if she did, well, Walt Jr. might just be the man for her. He said he'd call when he got back to Boston, and she knew he would. He was that kind of man.

  "What happened to you?" Luke asked suddenly.

  She opened her eyes to find him staring at her back. A warmth spread over her at the look of tender concern on his face...followed by a sudden brush of fear that he'd somehow found out about her nervous breakdown. "What?"

  "Your back. Did you dive on a rusty nail or something?"

  "Oh, that." She closed her eyes again. "That's from Bandit. He scratched me when we were swimming."

  "You need to put something on there."

  "My mom'll do it next time I go over there. I can't reach it."

  "I'll put something on it. That'll get infected."

  "No! That's okay. I'm fine." The thought of Luke caressing her back as he put lotion on her cuts made her stomach clench up in knots. She decided it was time to end their intimate discussion. "I'm ready to go train Muffin."

  She rolled off the float, dropping into the water before Luke could stop her. She had swum a few yards when she heard a splash. Luke appeared beside her, swimming on his side, so he was facing her. Unable to indulge in casual conversation while she could still picture his hands on her body, she said, "Race you."

  Not waiting for his response, she kicked into high gear, her body cutting through the water. After months of swimming daily, she was pretty fit. She could feel the water swirling as Luke began splashing beside her, but she didn't dare lose time by looking up.

  Her lungs bursting, Paige pushed herself to the dock, battling against the waves from Luke. When her hand touched the wooden ladder, she lifted her head, turning to look behind her. He wasn't there. He was already standing in the water, his chest barely moving.

  He grinned at the disgruntled look on her face. "I played water polo in college."

  "Dumb sport." She wanted to say more, but she was breathing too hard to talk.

  Luke just laughed as he pulled himself up on the dock, not bothering with the ladder. His triceps flexed as he lifted himself out. "You'd beat me at dog training any day, though."

  "Yeah, yeah."

  Luke extended a hand toward her to pull her out, and she grabbed it without thinking. Despite their wet, slippery skin, Luke's grip was firm. He lifted her out of the water with ease, her thigh sliding against his on her way up. When her feet landed on the dock, she jumped away, her leg burning from his touch.

  "I'll go change." She had to get some clothes on before she attacked him.

  Luke picked a towel off the dock and draped it over her shoulders. "I think this is yours."

  She peeled it off and handed it to him. "You can use it. I'll grab another one upstairs."

  He wrapped it around her again. "No, I would rather have you use it. Please, use it."

  The heat in his gaze made Paige shiver. "I'll keep the towel."

  She led the way up to the cottage, no sound but their bare feet padding on the pine needles. Hugging the towel around her, she tried not to think of his heated expression when he'd wrapped the towel around her. She had a suspicion that if she were to suddenly decide that she didn't care he was arrogant and domineering, he'd be happy to play a little no-strings-attached footsie.

  Not that she would, of course. And she had to keep reminding herself of that.

  Once inside her cottage, Paige grabbed a beach towel out of the dryer and handed it to him. "So you stop dripping on my floor." In reality, it was so she wouldn't be able to keep staring at his wet, hard body that was becoming more and more difficult to resist.

  He slung the towel around his neck, the water droplets glistening in the dark curls on his chest. "What do you have for your back?"

  "My back?"

  "The cut from Bandit. It's pretty bad."

  "Oh, right." As if she could feel pain with him dripping in her kitchen. She tugged open her sundry drawer, hoping to find some antiseptic cream in the kitchen. Leading him through her bedroom to her bathroom would not be a good idea. She held up a small tube. "Found some."

  Luke walked over to her and slipped it out of her hand. "Turn around."

  Paige crossed her arms over her chest and turned her back toward him, then dropped the towel.

  Chapter 9

  The moment the towel hit the floor, Paige regretted her brav
ado. What would have been wrong with just moving the towel? Because standing there in front of Luke, wearing only some droplets of water and her bikini felt excruciatingly intimate and revealing. And yes, a little terrifying.

  She let out her breath. Her swimsuit suddenly felt way too skimpy. She bit her lower lip and waited. "Okay. Ready when you are—"

  Sharp pain shot through her back. She yelped and whirled around, ducking away from him.

  Luke was standing with his index finger extended, a large wad of opaque gel on the tip, guilt etched on his face. "All I did was touch it. I didn't mean to hurt you."

  Paige wiggled her shoulders, trying to get the pain to dissipate. "Touch it with what? Alcohol?"

  He held his finger up. "Cream. I told you it was deep."

  She eyed him suspiciously. "That stuff isn't supposed to sting."

  "Don't blame me for it. I'm just putting it on." He grabbed her bare shoulder with his free hand and gently turned her around.

  God. His hand was on her bare shoulder. His grip was strong. Firm. Meltingly sexy. Ohh…

  "I wouldn't have pegged you for a wimp," he teased.

  Paige bristled, glad for the distraction. "I'm not a wimp."

  "Coulda fooled me. Brace yourself. I'm going to put the cream on now."

  At his touch, a fresh shard of pain shot through her back, but this time she was prepared for it. She managed to keep herself from jumping away from his touch, but she couldn't keep the grimace off her face. At least he couldn't see her expression.

  "Nice face. Is that how you attracted your lumberjack?"

  Belatedly, Paige noticed they were facing the mirror in the front hall. She forced her face to relax, but she couldn't stop from sucking in air as he started rubbing a fresh area of her back.

  "Sorry," he said, his concern evident.

  She sighed, touched by his kindness. "No problem. Doesn't hurt a bit."

  His snort told her he wasn't buying it. "Ah, Paige, the scratch goes kinda low."

  "Well, finish it up. I'm numb to the pain now."

  Luke muttered under his breath, but squeezed another glob of cream onto his finger. Then, she felt him hook his finger over the top edge of her bikini bottom. Hello. She was awake now. She felt the material slide down her butt, his finger brushing against her skin as he pushed it down. He began to rub the cream into the cut with his other hand, but she didn't feel any pain. All of her nerves were focused on his hand, moving against her bottom. Holy cannoli. She was getting lightheaded, and her cheeks were getting hot. All four of them.

  After what seemed like an eternity, or at least a lot longer than it should've taken him to rub her down, he pulled the suit back up. "Done." His voice sounded strained.

  "Whew." Paige breathed a sigh of relief. She turned toward him to take the cream, backing up a step when she realized how close he was still standing. "Glad that's over."

  "Why?"

  "Why what?" She held out her hand for the cream.

  "Why are you glad it's over?" He set the tube in her hand, letting his thumb rub against the back of her hand. "Was it that bad?"

  He was so close that she could see the brown flecks in his blue eyes. They were so blue. "No, it was that good."

  When his eyebrows went up, she realized what she'd said. Before she could take it back, he bent toward her, his hands slipping around her waist. She could've ducked, or averted her head. But she didn't. No way did she have the willpower to turn away from the kiss she knew was coming.

  She met him halfway, the tension that had been building inside of her since she'd watched him climb the ladder onto the float driving all sensibility and decorum from her mind. She didn't care that he was a lawyer, that he didn't want kids. All she knew was that it felt like she had an electric shock flying through her body and she wanted more.

  The moment his lips captured hers, she knew all resistance was futile. His kiss was amazing, a delicious, sensual seduction that literally melted every last bit of sensibility from her mind.

  The tube of cream fell to the floor with a gentle thud, and she laid her hands on his chest, her fingers sliding over the water droplets in the curly hair, but it wasn't enough. She wanted him closer, to feel him against her.

  She ran her hands up his chest and around his neck, clasping her fingers behind his neck, as if to keep him from getting away before she'd had her fill. As if that could ever happen. She wanted more, even as her insides began to turn to jelly.

  Her breasts flattened against his chest, their wet skin slippery against each other. It didn't matter that he was from Boston, or that he might discover she'd been the crazy woman he'd heard about. All that mattered was that she kiss him, that she crush herself against him, that the soft moan in the back of her throat draw an answering groan from him.

  He angled his head, deepening the kiss as he moved his hands down her back to her bottom. She could smell his clean skin, feel his wet hair between her fingers, his taut skin pressed against her chest. Thumbing aside the fabric of her bikini, he slid his hand under the fabric, the heat from his hands nearly burning her flesh.

  Then Bandit barked and jumped on the sliding glass door. Reality intruded like a batch of ice dropped down the front of her shirt. What was she doing?

  "Stop, Luke." Paige broke the kiss and dropped her hands to his chest, pushing on him. Her face was hot and her breath was coming in gasps. What was she thinking, kissing him? The man was the epitome of what she'd left behind, and he was not going to change for her. He was so wrong for her. So what if he was smart and funny and didn't seem to mind her sassing him?

  "What? You want to move somewhere else?" He continued to massage her butt, dropping his head to nibble on her collarbone.

  "Luke," Paige sighed, closing her eyes for just a moment, to absorb the delightful sensation. When she felt the need beginning to rise inside her again, she took a deep breath and stepped back. "We can't do this."

  She peeled Luke's hands off her and twisted away.

  "Why not?" He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. "I thought that was going well."

  Paige turned to face him, her face heating up even more at the sight of the sizable bulge in the front of his wet shorts. "Um... It was. It was going great."

  "Then what happened?" He didn't sound at all irritated, just confused and concerned. "What'd I do? I didn't mean to offend you. You seemed like you were okay with it..."

  She held up her hand to stop him. "I was okay with it. More than okay. It was amazing."

  He grinned, relief lighting his features. "I agree completely. Best damn kiss I can remember."

  She couldn't suppress the pleasure blossoming over her, and they both leaned forward, losing themselves in another ravishing kiss before she caught herself. "No." She stepped back. "We can't."

  There was no mistaking the confusion on his face now. "Why not?"

  "Um..." How did she explain her fear and distrust of lawyers to him? That she didn't believe in his values or life priorities? That she was desperately afraid that he would expose her fragile emotional state when it came to her past?

  All he probably wanted was a fun romp, and he'd be annoyed that she was worried about deeper things. He'd probably even laugh at her, for thinking that it meant that much. Or he'd figure out that she was the crazy lawyer who'd gone loco. No thanks, she didn't need that humiliation. Think of another excuse. "Because you're my client."

  His eyebrows shot up in visible disbelief. "Your client? You're a dog trainer."

  "So?"

  "So, I don't think there are high ethical standards for dog trainers."

  "Oh, really?" She lifted her chin and set her balled fists on her hips. "Has anyone ever told you that you're an egoistic lawyer with an attitude?"

  "Yep."

  "Oh."

  He grinned, sliding his hand behind her neck again, and drawing her closer. "Has anyone ever told you that you've got way too much attitude for a dog trainer?"

  "No."

  "We
ll, you do. You could be a lawyer."

  She felt her knees buckle, but she managed to keep her balance. "What does that mean?"

  "It's a compliment, trust me."

  "Of course it would be. You don't see anything wrong with being a lawyer."

  "No, I don't. It's a great profession."

  "Except that you have no time for kids or dogs."

  "Which is fine with me."

  "Is it?"

  He met her gaze. "Yes. It is."

  "Are you certain?"

  Luke narrowed his eyes. "Why do you care?"

  "I don't care. You could die at your desk with no family to mourn you for all I care." She cleared her throat, trying not to picture him decomposing with his hands on his keyboard, because it made her sad. Luke might represent the life that had almost broken her, but he was a good man at his heart. A man like him deserved more, if he'd ever take the time to realize it. "I think it's time to train."

  "Me?"

  "Your dog."

  "Oh. Right. My dog."

  She walked past him, giving him a wide enough berth that she couldn't brush against him accidentally and reawaken her need for him. "Go get your boots from the dock. You'll need them for training."

  She grabbed a faded red t-shirt off a nearby chair and pulled it over her head.

  Luke just stood there, staring at her.

  "What?"

  "Don't walk away from me, Paige. There's something between us. Something that could be good."

  She shook her head. "I can't, Luke. Your world…it's not mine anymore."

  "Anymore?" Luke's gaze sharpened. "I don't think you ever told me what you did before becoming a dog trainer."

  "Nothing." Oh, crud. He was far too astute for her to be making mistakes like that. She grabbed a leash from the kitchen closet. "Let's go."

  He walked behind her. "Nothing? You've been a dog trainer since you were born?"

  "Yep." In her heart she had been. It was close enough to the truth.

  "Liar," he said softly, his voice so warm that her stomach tightened

  She stole a glance at him, cursing the understanding expression on his face. "What did you do before you became a lawyer, Luke?"