Bare It All

Her ni**les were the same soft pink as her lips.

And thinking of lips...he sat up carefully so as not to disturb her, soaking up the sight of her, her belly, her thighs—and between them.

So damn pretty.

Again he noted the scrape and bruise on her knee. Had she fallen? He didn’t wonder about it long, not when she had that leg bent, showing him everything.

Using just his fingertips, Reese touched the soft triangle of hair. Much more of that and he’d be on her again.

Instead, he transferred the touch to her pale belly, teased over a sharp hip bone, along a rounded hip.

Alice stirred, mumbled an incoherent sound and turned to her side away from him.

Why, thank you, Alice.

She had a great ass. Later, when he didn’t have Cash at the door, he would spend more time on that curvy little tush.

On all of her.

The more Reese studied her, the more he liked what he saw. The more special she seemed.

At thirty, he’d seen plenty of naked women, some with truly remarkable bodies, some beyond beautiful, all of them sexy.

None of them compared.

He couldn’t pinpoint what it was about Alice that set her apart. It wasn’t just her trim body or sincere face, her nurturing nature or cautious approach. It was...everything. Every inch of her, every facet of her character.

Cash whined, urging Reese from the bed. He didn’t want Alice to wake just yet. In fact, it astounded him that she slept on. He knew her to be ultra-aware. The fact that he could sneak around the room without disturbing her must mean she trusted him, at least a little.

He wanted her to trust him a lot.

Grabbing up his wallet and cell phone from the nightstand, his boxers and slacks from the floor, he eased the door open, using his knee to keep Cash from bounding in.

“Shhh,” he whispered to the dog. “You’re okay. We didn’t leave you.”

Cash leaped and twisted and woofed a few times, as if he’d been days without a visitor instead of a few hours.

It remained a challenge, reassuring the dog after finding him abandoned in a sealed box in the middle of the road.

“Love your enthusiasm, boy. And the fact that I don’t see any puddles. Give me a second, and I’ll take you out.”

Cash amped up the excitement over that idea, so much so that he made it nearly impossible for Reese to pull on his slacks.

Clearly, the dog enjoyed being outdoors. Perhaps it was time for him to consider a house instead of the apartment. He could afford it. The apartment was just easier, or at least it had been up until he’d rescued Cash.

The dog deserved room to run, maybe in a big backyard. He’d have to give it some thought.

In nothing more than his slacks, Reese snuck out the front door with Cash on a leash. Though it wasn’t entirely nightfall yet, security lights flickered on over the parking lot. Reese strode out to the requisite tree, propped a bare shoulder against the bark and gave Cash enough leash to do his business. While he watched the dog sniff an imaginary trail, his thoughts wandered to Alice.

He’d meant to ask her about her day, to find out if she and Pepper had gone shooting or if—with any luck—they’d stuck to shopping. He’d planned on dinner, conversation, a little necking to ease her into things....

Alice had sidelined those plans easily enough.

The second he’d walked through the door, he’d known something was up. Amazing how she could remain so secretive about some things but didn’t even try to hide her attraction to him.

She’d seemed almost frantic to have him.

And he’d loved it.

Once she awoke he’d fix her dinner, shower with her and then take her right back to bed for a slower, more thorough taste. It didn’t matter that he’d buried himself inside her not that long ago. Already he burned with need, especially knowing she remained in the bed, so relaxed—and so naked.

Yeah, once she awoke, the last thing he’d want to do was talk about shopping.

With that decision made, Reese pulled out his cell phone. Better to get the deets from Rowdy so he could concentrate on more important things with Alice.

Namely, her sudden decision to move their relationship into scorching-hot intimacy. He didn’t know why she’d suddenly lost inhibition and caution, but he was more than grateful.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE FOOD SUCKED. Another thing he’d address once he got all the legalities out of the way. Not that he’d expected much from the bar, at least not in the way of food.

Leaving the dry crust of the meager sandwich on his plate, Rowdy finished off a pickle, the last chip and turned on the stool, elbows back on the bar, to peruse the room. Right now, it wasn’t that busy. But he knew, despite the lack of ambience and finer amenities, they’d soon have a crowd that would stay ’til closing.

Hard-core drinkers liked a dive as much as, sometimes more than, an upscale joint.

Once he took over, he’d keep it casual, Rowdy thought. At fifteen-hundred square feet, the building had enough room to add a few things, like billiards and a jukebox, especially once he got rid of the pole dancing. He’d offer the ladies, all three of them part-time, full-time positions instead. Once fixed up, the parking area would be big enough for eighteen cars. The adjoining parking lot, with another twenty spots, had proposed a reasonable agreement for usage.

He planned to offer affordable drinks with a limited but fresh menu. A variety of sandwiches, maybe chili, a soup of the day, fries.

Few came for the food.

But if he opened earlier in the day, that could change. And why not? He’d already looked into the liquor license. Might as well ensure he had a food permit, as well.