Pawfectly In Love

by Stephanie Rowe

  Her bluster faded, and she peered up at him as if he were a little strange. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

  Seduce her? Damn. He liked that idea. A lot. Or he would, under other circumstances. "No. Of course not. No chance."

  She narrowed her eyes. "Good."

  Yeah, it was time to change the subject. "So? Shall we pack up your stuff and take it downstairs? I have an SUV that should fit a lot of the boxes," he said.

  She held up a hand. "Wait a sec. You didn't apologize for calling me a liar that he stole my money, my car and my waffle iron."

  Ah, she would have noticed that. "That's because I don't think he did it."

  "So, I'm a liar."

  This was sort of like that age-old question of whether a pair of pants made your woman look fat. No safe answer.

  "Evan?"

  "I think there may be other interpretations of the situation which you haven't fully considered."

  She rolled her eyes and levered herself off the counter, no doubt intending to storm right past him and dismiss his offer.

  He couldn't that happen.

  He had to keep her around until he located his missing brother. So, he didn't fight the instinct to stop her. His hand shot out, wrapped around her waist and hauled her up against him.

  Her hips against his hips, her eyes wide, her breath hot on his chin. "You have a thing for trapping beautiful woman against your body, don't you?" she asked.

  "You think you're beautiful?"

  A faint pink colored her cheeks. "Self-affirmation."

  "Well, you're right."

  "Shut up. You can't flatter me into forgiving you." She squirmed against him, her body rubbing against his in all sorts of interesting ways.

  "I suggest you remain still if you don't want that seduction talk to become a reality." It was all Evan could do to keep from growling the words, and Josie stilled immediately.

  But her cheeks were still flushed and her eyes had morphed into a swirling palette of blues and green. "I have no interest in moving into your house, especially with you there."

  "What other choice do you have?" He bent his head, tempting himself with her nearness. He needed a good knee to the groin right now. Not much else was going to be sufficient to stop his mind from going straight to the gutter, regardless of whether Buddy loved her or not.

  "None." Her voice was almost throaty. "I just dislike you intensely. Sleeping in the same house as you would give me far too many opportunities to try to kill you." She swallowed. "And I have an aversion to prison."

  "Lying awake at night in a warm bed, resisting the urge to murder me, is worse than sleeping on a park bench?" Yeah, he knew that she blamed Buddy for the fact she was about to become homeless, so it probably wasn't the best tactic, but it seemed like the one most likely to get her to agree.

  "It's summer, you know. The nights are warm." She shifted ever so slightly. "I could sleep naked and not get cold if I lived on the street."

  He had no business contemplating the image that popped into his head at her remark. "If you slept naked on the street corner, I think you'd discover a large segment of the male population is even more despicable than I am."

  She blinked, and he knew she was more worried about her living situation that she'd showed. Being evicted sucked. He knew it from his youth, and he honestly didn't want her living in an unsafe situation. So, he kept pressing. "Do you really want to sleep on the street?" He tightened his grip on her to add to the sensation of being trapped... of being out of options... certainly not because having her anchored to him felt so damn right.

  "No, I don't."

  He nodded. She was his. Not his as in his woman but his as in at his mercy. Just to make that clear.

  "But... would I be any safer from marauding men at your house?" There was a challenge in her gaze.

  He knew it was time for the truth. "I swear I'll never touch you."

  "In the twenty minutes we've been in each other's presence, you've already manhandled me twice for an extended period of time. It seems to be rather a habit with you."

  "It isn't usually. You seem to bring it out in me."

  She lifted an eyebrow. "Is that good or bad?"

  "You tell me."

  "Depends on whether I can close my eyes and pretend the rock hard, hunky body pressed up against mine belongs to someone I actually like. When I can do that, then it's good." She cocked her head. "But when I have to look at you, it dispels all chance for fantasy, and then it's bad."

  "You insult well."

  She nodded. "Thanks."

  "Though I won't take offense to being told I have a 'hunky body.'" Damned if she didn't look so appealing when her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

  "You would dwell on that comment. Typical male. You were supposed to be so offended that you didn't notice that part."

  "I should warn you, I actually have enough intelligence to follow an entire discussion without missing any of it."

  "Apparently."

  "But back to the issue," she said.

  "The issue?"

  "The fact you can't keep your hands off me," she said.

  "Of course I can."

  "You're fondling my butt right now."

  He stopped moving his hand. Damn. He hadn't even noticed. As if she'd believed that. "Just testing you. My apologies."

  "Apology not accepted." Except she didn't look mad. She looked amused. Entertained.

  "About the touching."

  "Yes?"

  "You're right. I'll probably touch you." Might as well get it out on the table.

  Her eyes sparked and he felt like she'd zapped him the gut.

  "But I'll never touch you sexually." And he'd write it on his bathroom mirror in permanent marker to remind himself. Because he had no doubt he'd be tempted. With her sexy curves and flashes of temper, he might have more than a moment or two when he wanted to forget she was there for his brother.

  She brought her lips together in a thoughtful pout. "Okay. Let me get this straight. You still think I'm a liar about how Buddy stole from me and my work, and got me evicted and fired."

  "It's possible," he had to admit. Possible that she was telling the truth, and he didn't like that. He had to find out what really happened.

  She raised her brows. "And you have no interest in me sexually."

  "I said I wouldn't touch you sexually." Subtle difference.

  She raised an eyebrow, but let his remark go. "So, I'm having a little trouble understanding why you're making this oh-so-generous offer for me to stay with you while I get my life untangled. I can't quite see it stemming from some deep-seeded selflessness or a need to help society in general."

  "I'm offended. I'm very selfless."

  "Answer the question, Evan. What gives?"

  Fine. "I'm doing it for Buddy."

  She narrowed her eyes. "For Buddy?"

  Hmm... if he said it was because he believed in his brother's innocence and he wanted to keep her around until he could find his brother and get them back together again, it might not go over so well. He was sensing a bit of hostility from Josie toward Buddy. "Because my family owes you."

  She didn't believe him. He could see it on her face, and admiration surged in his soul. He could never admire a gullible woman. "I don't believe you," she said.

  "I can see that."

  She frowned. "Really? I've been working on hiding my emotions."

  "You need to keep working."

  "Apparently." She shifted, and he was reminded that her belly was still pressed up against the front of his pants. If she kept moving, she'd also become aware of his awareness. Thankfully, she stilled. "However, I do believe that your family owes me. And I also believe you won't actually hurt me. And I'm in desperate straits which require me to drop what minimal standards I already have for living arrangements."

  "Gee, thanks."

  "More than welcome."

  "So, you'll move in?"

  She took a deep breath. "Yes, I'll move in."

&
nbsp; Even as he nodded and released her, he felt like he'd just stepped out of a small plane without a parachute. No oxygen, a rush of adrenaline, and a certain crash and burn.

  Not that he'd ever give up the ride.

  For the first time since college, he had a roommate.

  One he couldn't touch.

  “Interesting” didn't even begin to describe the situation. Especially since the only other furnished bedroom was right next to his.

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  A deathbed promise should never involve snow, subzero temperatures, and family who don't know you even exist, and sure as hell don't know you're coming.

  Especially a deathbed promise given in front of one's six-year-old daughter, who won't ever let you forget your oath. Like, ever. Not even for one headache-laden, frostbitten-toes moment.

  "Mom!" The six-year-old in question tugged on Jaimi Hamilton's hand, apparently not remotely concerned about the wind that was knifing through their clothes. Because that was how six-year-olds operated. They never felt cold, unless it was eighty degrees and they wanted to leave the park the minute the attractive, single dad with decent moral standards and a car that actually worked showed up. "Do you see them? Are they here?"

  Jaimi squatted down so she was level with her daughter, her heart tugging at the way Emily's blue eyes sparkled in the wintry snow. She gently pulled Emily's stocking cap lower over her forehead. "Baby cakes, remember. This is a secret mission. They can't ever know we're here for them, unless we decide to reveal our true identity, right?"

  Emily's lower lip jutted out. "What if I don't want to be a spy?"

  "We have to be spies. What if they're evil, and we have to stop their plan to steal toys from all the children in the world on Christmas morning? Then we don't want them to know who we are, right?"

  Emily giggled and rolled her eyes. "They don't have a plan to steal toys from all the children in the world."

  "Really? You're so sure about that?" Jaimi gave her daughter her most skeptical look. "How do we know until we spy on them for a while?"

  Emily put her hands on her hips and eyed her mom. "Grandma would never tell us to come to Wyoming to find them, unless they were nice. Don't you trust Gram?"

  Jaimi laughed. "Sweetie, no one ever trusts Gram if they know what's good for them." Wait. Not trusts. Trusted. Because Gram was gone now. God, she felt like she'd never get used to that fact.

  Laughter bubbled out of Emily. "Gram was such trouble."

  "That she was." A lump formed in Jaimi's throat, but she quickly swallowed it away. She'd promised her mom that there would be no tears. Life was too short for tears and regret. Every moment was a gift to be treasured. "And so are you."

  Emily's grin widened. "Gram says you're trouble, too."

  "That's been my lifelong goal, so I'm still working on it." Jaimi pulled off her glove and held up her hand. "Trouble-making girls rock the world, right?"

  "Right!" Emily whipped off her pink fuzzy mitten and hooked her pinkie around Jaimi's. "I swear to cause trouble my whole life," she said with a solemn giggle as they squeezed pinkies. "Just like you and Gram."

  "And I swear to continue to cause trouble my whole life, just like you and Gram." God, how many times had she made that oath with her mom over the years? A thousand times? And then, after Emily had been born, it had been the three of them…until two months ago. Now it was back down to two.

  Two pinkies were not nearly as good as three when it came to pinkie swears.

  Emily beamed at her. "They'll love us, Mom. We're amazing like that."

  Jaimi couldn't help but smile at her daughter's self-confidence. Her number one goal as a mom had always been to raise a daughter who lived life on her own terms, who would never be held back by what anyone thought of her. It meant she had a little hellion on her hands at times, but she'd never trade a second of chaos for a daughter who shrank from who she was, who she wanted to be, and what anyone thought of her.

  In terms of embracing her badass self, the pupil had far surpassed the teacher long ago, and was turning out to be a lot like her Gram, which was awesome. Jaimi, on the other hand, wasn't nearly the self-confident, f*ck the world, mover and shaker that her daughter thought she was. But hey, that was her little secret, right? As far as Emily was concerned, Jaimi was everything she told Emily to be. So, she smiled. "Of course they'll love us. Who wouldn't want two fabulous girls appearing on their doorstep the week before Christmas and announcing they're family that no one ever knew existed, right?" Oh, God. Just the idea of that made her stomach knot. What on earth had her mom been thinking, making Jaimi promise to make this trip? She hadn't specifically made Jaimi promise to actually introduce herself, however, so Jaimi was holding tight to that little loophole.

  "Totally!" Emily clapped her hands. "Can we do it today? You have the address, right? To their huuuge ranch? What if we moved onto the ranch? Can I get a pony? I could become a barrel racer—"

  "Slow down, cheetah-girl. We're not moving here. We're just here for Christmas vacation, and we both have to be back at school after New Year's."

  Emily wrinkled her nose. "You don't like teaching. I heard you telling Gram. Why do you teach if you don't like it? You always tell me to follow my heart, and you're not." Emily set her hand on her hips and glared at Jaimi, apparently completely offended by her mom's failure to deliver.

  Sigh. Maybe she should have focused more on raising a wimpy child who hid in her room all day after all… She tweaked her daughter's nose. "I do like teaching, and I keep teaching because it works perfectly because we're in school at the same time, so you don't need to go to late care, right?"

  Emily shrugged. "Late care is fun. Three kids got bloody noses last fall. I missed every one of them. All the blood was cleaned up by the time we had recess the next morning. What fun is that?"

  "Recess without blood is definitely a downer." Heaven help her. "But you'll get another chance when we go back there after New Year's. For now, we're here for Christmas, checking out the town, and learning how to enjoy our first Christmas without Gram."

  The tenacious little pugilist was not swayed from her agenda. "And we're going to meet our family, right? We're going to go up to them, and you're going to say 'Hey, Chase Stockton, I'm your sister—"

  A few heads turned toward them at Emily's raised voice, and Jaimi quickly interrupted. "Shh, sweetie, I—" She suddenly noticed the sheriff lounging nearby, watching them. His gaze was intense and hooded, and his casual stance failed to hide the raw strength of his body. His cowboy hat was tipped back, showcasing a strong, whiskered jaw, and dark sunglasses that hid his eyes. But it was clear he was staring right at them, and her stomach jumped again…though she wasn't sure whether it was fear of being caught before she was ready to declare herself, or because he was just so freaking male. His jeans were faded, and his long jacket was open, flapping about his calves, as if he didn't feel the cold at all. There was something untamed and unruly about him, as if he were the kind of man who lived life without walls, exactly how she wanted so badly to be.

  He nodded at her, and she suddenly realized she was staring at him. Heat flared in her cheeks, and she dragged her gaze off him and back to Emily. "We need to be top secret, Em." The Stocktons were well-known in Rogue Valley, and she didn't need the sheriff, or anyone else, alerting them that two out-of-towners were talking about being their long-lost family before Jaimi had a chance to figure out how she wanted to handle it. "We might or might not introduce ourselves, remember? We're spies right now, until we decide whether we want them to know who we are. If they aren't worthy, they don't get to know us, right?"

  Emily met her gaze. "They'll be worthy." There was absolute conviction in her voice, which alarmed Jaimi.

  She realized the little minx was planning to take control of the situation. No way. Some things in life were far more complicated than a six-year-old could grasp, an
d this was one of them. Curses to Gram for bringing Emily into this! Jaimi grasped her daughter's hands and squeezed gently. "Sweetie, I need you to make me a promise. Some people in this world aren't so nice. We don't know if the Stocktons are nice, and we don't know whether they would fit us. So, promise me you won't mention their names again unless we're alone, and you won't introduce us, until we both decide together that it's the right decision. We're a team, remember?"

  Emily sighed, but nodded. "I promise, but Mom, it'll be okay. Gram said you'd be scared, and I had to keep telling you it would be okay so your inner wimp wouldn't win out. So, it will be okay, 'kay?"

  Jaimi's brows shot up. "My inner wimp?"

  "Yes, Gram says we all have one, but yours is really loud and obnoxious and it sometimes needs to be smacked around to make it shut up."

  Jaimi burst out laughing at her mom's words coming out of a six-year-old's mouth. "God, I love you, kiddo."

  Emily beamed at her. "I love you, too, Mom." She reached her hand into her parka pocket and pulled out a photograph. She held it up, and scanned the crowds passing by them. "I brought Chase's photo. Do you see him? Let's start spying—"

  "You brought one of the photos Gram had?" Jaimi snatched it out of her daughter's hand. Good God. They were going to look like stalkers! "I'll take that." She looked around, needing to distract her daughter. They were on the edge of the grounds of the Rogue Valley Christmas Festival, and there were people everywhere, tromping through the snow, wearing Santa hit, and overflowing with happy laughter on this opening afternoon of the three-day celebration. "Oh...look! Reindeer!"

  "Where?" Emily spun around, her eyes widening when she saw the pen of reindeer across the way. Christmas lights twinkled on the fence, and two of Santa's elves were giving out food pellets for the children to feed the animals. "Do you think Rudolph is there? Can we see?" She took off in a sprint, not even waiting for Jaimi.

  Jaimi sighed, and sat back on her heels, watching her daughter dart across the dirt road, effortlessly dodging crowds until she reached the fence around the reindeer pen. Emily grabbed the middle bar and climbed right up, moving with alarming speed and determination. Dear God, was she going to climb into the pen? "Em! Get down!" Jaimi jumped and started running toward her. "Emily!"