Animal Attraction: Buckhorn Ever AfterImagine Me and YouGimme ShelterPartner in Crime

by Lori Foster

  Saige reached over, grabbed his hand and squeezed. “You said your partner was injured that night?”

  “Mentally,” he told her, shifting, so he could look her in the eye. “The guy who shot me, the teen, was her foster son. She’d had him for only a few months, but she had had no idea he had been involved in all that. She had known he had issues, but seeing what he was into, seeing him shoot me, it nearly killed her. She left the force.”

  Saige sank into the cushions and stared across the room. “Simmons didn’t press charges against me because of you, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “But he wouldn’t have had the opportunity, if you hadn’t called Officer Tibbs to the scene.” She turned to look at him. “Am I right again?”

  He met her gaze. “Yes, but it was a chance I was willing to take. If I let you go there, knowing what I do, and you were injured or worse, I never would’ve forgiven myself.”

  Saige released his hand to smoothed her hand over his face. “Did you try to talk your sister out of going to Iraq?”

  Abel laughed. “Hell, no. She knew she wanted to be a soldier since we were kids. She always said she wanted to be a soldier, then own a horse farm. I have no idea how these random thoughts got in her head, but she still has dreams of owning a horse farm when this last tour is done in a few months.”

  “If you wouldn’t talk her out of doing something dangerous that would benefit others, why would you try to stop me?” Saige reached out again, stroked her hand down his cheek, then cupped his face in her delicate hand. “I want to stay mad, but I appreciate the gesture, Abel. I can’t help it. I don’t know that anyone has looked out for me like this. It’s kind of...sweet.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Sweet?”

  Leaning in, she slid her lips across his. “Sweet.”

  Abel grabbed her around the waist, silk sliding through his hands. “Maybe I can forgive you for calling me that, but only if you persuade me.”

  Saige straddled his hips and looped her arms around his neck. “I’ll persuade you, all right. But I should confess that I’m invested in this a little more than sex now.”

  Abel stilled. “What?”

  “I told you I pride myself on honesty...except for the dog-stealing thing,” she said with a wide grin. “But I’m having stronger feelings than just physical.”

  Abel rested his forehead against hers and sighed. “God help me, I am, too.”

  And this was that proverbial rock and hard place he was wedged between. He could tell her about his move to Lexington, but they’d just met, and if the doctor didn’t give him the go ahead, he may not actually leave.

  No, best to wait, because his future may just very well be here in Marble Lake teaching another semester at the college. He didn’t want to feel torn about that need, that drive to leave and become lead detective in Lexington. He’d waited almost a year to get back in the field, but the sultry woman sitting astride him, looking at him with hope in her eyes, had him questioning what he truly wanted, what truly mattered.

  Best to wait and see what the doctor says before making any decisions, especially concerning a woman he’d just met, no matter how hard he’d fallen for her.

  Chapter Eight

  Abel couldn’t suppress the smile, even if he tried. The doctor’s appointment had been a success. After rotating this way and that, X-rays and more torturous moves, the doctor had given him the green light to return to work. And Abel had even confessed about the slight injury he had sustained several days ago when he’d tried to break Saige’s fall. Thankfully no further damage had occurred.

  He pulled into his drive, unable to stop from glancing across to Saige’s house. She wasn’t home from work yet, and he couldn’t help but wonder when he’d crossed that line where he knew her schedule without even thinking.

  Suddenly that smile he’d been wearing the whole drive home vanished. Abel sighed and killed the engine. Running his hand over his face, rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to think of a good stress reliever, something that could help him really think this through.

  The job he’d been focusing on for months was dangling right in his face. He hadn’t called the Lexington station to inform them of the news, but he should. He couldn’t keep them in limbo when they needed someone.

  And in all honesty he wanted this job. That may be selfish, but it was only a few hours away. He didn’t mind coming back to visit; his sister would be coming home in a few months after her short deployment, and she’d be wanting to settle down with that beloved horse farm she’d been talking about. Plus he would see Saige.

  Abel jerked on his truck handle and stepped out into the sunshine. He honest-to-God wished his sister had a punching bag in her house. He so needed to relieve some tension.

  As he unlocked the front door, that damn cat tried to escape. Abel bent down, scooped up the fur ball and held it in front of his face.

  “You’re going to get me killed, if I let you escape,” he told Charlie. “If there’s so much as one hair misplaced on your head when Leah gets back, she’ll bury my body where no one will find me.”

  He ruffled the cat’s head and sat him back down. Across the room Spike was sleeping away in his mansion. Seriously, did a rodent need such a monstrosity to live in? The thing had like three floors and a wheel and some crazy apparatus that he could play in...looked like BDSM for a guinea pig.

  Abel pulled his cell from his pocket and checked the time. Three here, so it was eleven in Iraq. Leah would still be awake. She was a night owl like him.

  She answered on the first ring. “What’s wrong?”

  Abel chuckled. “Nothing. Can’t I just call you?”

  “No. You always text. Is it Charlie? Spike? Because I swear—”

  “Leah,” he yelled, cutting her off. “Your animals are fine. Your house is fine. And, thank you for asking, I’m fine, too.”

  For a second she was silent. “Oh, well then. What’s up?”

  Abel sighed and sank down onto the sofa. “Your neighbor.”

  “Saige? She’s a bit eccentric, but she’s awesome once you get to know her. You didn’t get all grouchy and piss her off, did you?”

  “I’m in love with her.”

  Silence greeted him on the other end. Abel gripped the phone. Now that he’d said the words out loud, he didn’t feel scared or sorry they were out there. But he did feel confused and terrified that he was going to somehow screw this up.

  “You’re...what?”

  “Fast, I know.” Charlie jumped into his lap and flipped his tail in Abel’s face. “And now I’m screwed.”

  “Uh-oh,” Leah said. “What happened? She has a beefy boyfriend? She’s secretly a lesbian?”

  Abel couldn’t help but laugh. “Can you be serious?”

  “Sorry.” Leah cleared her throat. “Carry on.”

  “I went to the doctor today, and he gave me the green light to return to work.”

  “Abel, that’s wonderful! You’ve worked so hard.”

  “Yeah, well, the job I would take is in Lexington as lead detective.”

  “Lexington? I had no idea you wanted to move away.”

  “I didn’t, either,” he said, easing Charlie’s butt away from his face. “But it’s a position I’d be perfect for, and I’m ready for a change.”

  “Hmm...ready for a change?” Leah asked. “Funny how you mentioned your feelings for Saige before you mentioned your good news about the knee and your job.”

  Abel sighed, resting his head against the cushion on the back of the couch. “I have no idea what to do.”

  “I think you do,” she told him, all joking aside. “But I won’t tell you what I think. You’re going to have to figure this out on your own, big brother.”

  “I called for advice, Leah.”

  �
��I know you did, but I think the fact you first confessed your love tells you where your heart lies at this moment.”

  Abel smoothed a hand over his face. “Maybe for right now, but I just met Saige. Who’s to say in a month we will still even like each other? What if I pass up this opportunity and another doesn’t roll around?”

  “Are you talking to me about taking risks? You do know where I’m at, right?”

  Abel smiled. “Sorry. I’m proud of you, Leah. Really. What you do, you’re amazing. If I’ve never told you thank-you for your service, thanks.”

  Leah sniffed. “Shit. Now you’ve got me all weepy. I’m not sure what’s going on between you and Saige, but I can say that you’re more in touch with your feelings than I’ve ever heard, and I am totally loving it.”

  Abel talked with her for a few more minutes before she had to go. At the end of the conversation he still had no concrete answer. His heart wanted one thing, his mind another. He’d seen men and women on the force torn before, but he had never thought it would happen to him.

  When the cat hopped off his lap and headed to the kitchen, Abel knew that was his cue to get up and feed the persnickety animal.

  Saige should be home in a few hours. He had that long to think about how he wanted to spend his future: in the job he’d been wanting for almost a year or taking a chance on a woman who may or may not want long-term.

  Yeah, he was screwed.

  * * *

  Saige glanced at her phone debating on whether or not to text Abel. The man was corrupting her. The mind-blowing sex, the way he seemed to truly care about her welfare...even though his methods still had her a bit ticked. But he’d rescued the dog from Simmons last week and had found a good home for him. How could she not slip just a little more in love with him?

  Saige laid her phone down on her kitchen counter and glanced out the window above her sink. The sun had set not long after she’d made it home, and the moon was full in the sky. Working an extra two hours to cover for another associate really made a huge difference. She was tired, but that could be because her nights were spent either rescuing animals or having wild, passionate sex with her hunky house-sitting neighbor whom she’d gone and lost her heart to.

  Tonight she had no dogs to rescue, but she did have several emails to answer regarding her upcoming fund-raiser. She was halfway to her financial goal where she would be comfortable enough to start her own shelter, and those cookie sales were growing every week.

  Movement on the dock caught Saige’s eye, and she squinted to try to see better. Abel? What was he doing on the dock so late?

  Saige glanced down to her oversize T-shirt and shrugged. She had panties beneath and nothing else, but the man had seen, tasted and touched all of her. No room for modesty now. Besides, there were so few houses around the lake, Saige wasn’t worried, because Leah’s house was the only one closest to hers. All the others were along the other side. That was one of the reasons she’d chosen this house. She needed privacy for her, um...night work.

  Cool blades of grass slid beneath her bare feet as she moved down the short slope toward the dock. Abel had on a pair of running shorts and sneakers. That muscular back was bare, and Saige truly thought it should be a crime to ever cover up that chocolaty skin and those well-defined muscles.

  “Abel.” She stepped onto the dock, stopping when he turned to meet her gaze. “You all right? You’ve been out here for a while just staring.”

  “I’m fine,” he said, turning to the water.

  Okay. Apparently he wasn’t in the mood for a conversation, and she wasn’t going to beg for it. She turned to go to her house when he stopped her.

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

  Saige moved down the dock, placing a hand on his back. “Anything I can do to help?”

  “No.” He kept his back to her, muscles taut. “I was offered a job in Lexington.”

  Now Saige’s body stiffened. “Oh.”

  “I was waiting on the all-clear from my doctor.”

  “And?”

  Not that she wanted him to be injured, but could it just be enough to keep him here? God, how selfish was she?

  “He gave me the green light today.” Abel turned to face her, taking her hand and holding it between both of his. “I called the Lexington office and told them I was cleared.”

  Saige swallowed and nodded. “When do you leave?”

  “I actually told them I would call tomorrow with an answer.”

  “What’s holding you back?”

  Abel reached out, stroked her hair off her forehead. “I think you know.”

  “If it’s me, I don’t want to get in the way of—”

  “What the hell?” Abel muttered moving around her.

  Saige turned to see a streak of white dart through the yard.

  “Charlie,” Abel yelled, taking off toward the cat.

  Saige realized Leah’s cat had somehow gotten out of the house. Oh, dear. Leah would certainly kill her brother if anything happened to her animals.

  Saige took off the other direction when the cat ran opposite of Abel. “Don’t scare him.”

  “I’m not,” he yelled. “I’m trying to catch him.”

  Holding up her hand, Saige shook her head. “Then stop chasing him.”

  She squatted down as the adult cat ran toward her. With arms out wide, Saige was ready to scoop up Leah’s beloved cat, Charlie.

  But as the cat was heading straight, she turned at the last minute and caused Saige to lunge to the side to capture her.

  “Got him,” Saige yelled.

  The cat squirmed, but Saige held on with a gentle touch. “It’s okay, boy. You just need to get inside.”

  Saige looked around for Abel, waiting for him to come either help her up or take the cat. But when she glanced up, he merely stood over her, arms crossed over that massive chest sprinkled with hair and tats.

  “You care to help?” she asked, still holding on tight to the cat.

  His gaze ran down her bare legs and up over her rear end that was now no longer covered by her T-shirt thanks to her side leap to save the cat.

  “I don’t know. Depends on what you need help with.” Carefully he dropped to his good knee and trailed a hand up her leg, starting at her ankle and on to her thigh. “If you need me to take Charlie, so you can finish undressing, then meet me out on the dock for a late-night swim, I’d be more than happy to oblige.”

  “Don’t you think we need to talk more?”

  Abel nodded. “Absolutely, but I’m good at multitasking.”

  Shivers raced through Saige’s body everywhere Abel touched with those talented fingertips, and who was she to turn down a swim? She loved the lake, loved to swim. And skinny-dipping with Abel?

  Yeah, Charlie had interrupted a major talk they were having, but Abel wasn’t tied to her or this town. Granted they’d shared the fact they were developing deeper feelings, but Saige was thankful she hadn’t told him just how deep those feelings went. If he’d been wanting this job for so long, she didn’t want to be the one to hold him back.

  “Tell you what,” she said. “You take Charlie and I’ll wait right here. I’d rather you help me undress.”

  His eyes widened, the muscle in his jaw ticked. In the next instant he was scooping the cat up and running to his back door. Saige nearly laughed at his speed. Yeah, that knee was in top condition.

  By the time he returned, Saige had sat up on the grass, her T-shirt bunched around her waist. In no time Abel was waltzing down the slight slope leading to her, but he was carrying a large blanket.

  He stopped beside her and with a flick of his wrists, sent the blanket spreading out and slowly settling onto the grass. “I thought maybe we could lay out here and talk for a bit.”

  Something tightened around her ches
t, an invisible band that told her this talk was probably a crossroads in their relationship.

  Saige scooted onto the blanket, and Abel settled in beside her.

  “You know I rescued Charlie?” she asked, hoping to ease some of the awkward “let’s talk” tension and the sexual tension. “I knew Leah was an animal lover, and I found Charlie... Well, it doesn’t matter where. And when I brought him home, he was muddy, bleeding and had a limp. She instantly named him Charlie Foxtrot. I thought it was a weird name, but she told me it’s military lingo for Cluster F—”

  “I know,” Abel said, holding a hand up and laughing. “I’m aware of what Charlie Foxtrot stands for.”

  Saige pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and staring out onto the lake. The full moon shone down, its light reflecting off the sparkling water.

  “You want this job?” she whispered.

  “I do.”

  Saige rested her chin atop her knees. “Then I think you should go.”

  God, that hurt to say, but she would not be the one to hold a guy back from his dreams. She wouldn’t respect someone if they tried to pull her away from her dream of opening a no-kill animal shelter, so she had to let Abel go...no matter how much it hurt.

  His hand slid across her shoulder, shoving her hair aside. “You don’t have more to say on the matter?”

  Saige turned her head slightly to look at him. “I could say more, but the bottom line is, this is something you’ve been working toward for months. We hardly know each other, and as much as this timing sucks, we need to be realistic.”

  Abel cupped her cheek in his palm, stroking his thumb across her bottom lip. “The timing does suck. I never expected to find someone like you, Saige.”