Bare It All

About her. About their future—if they had one.

So far, Reese hadn’t given her a chance. He left her so exhausted each night that he woke up before her every morning. If she smiled at him, he was on her. If she looked at him over-long, just admiring him, he took it as an invitation—which, she supposed, it was.

The chemistry between them hadn’t waned and, in fact, seemed hotter than ever. Could that turn to love? God, she hoped so.

She paced the floor, wondering how to implement the plan, when she heard Reese’s footsteps in the hallway.

An hour early!

Cash got to the door before she did; Alice stood there, probably looking guilty. After all, she’d been plotting his seduction and working herself up in the bargain.

As he came in, Reese knelt to say hello to Cash. Alice saw only the top of his head, the set of his brawny shoulders in his dress shirt, but she sensed a problem.

“Reese?”

“Should I take this beast out?” He rubbed Cash’s neck. “What’dya say, boy? Wanna go out?”

Since Cash had been out twice already, he only sat there wagging his tail without encouraging Reese.

Alice strode forward. “What’s wrong?”

“Who says anything is?” He reached for the dog’s leash.

His avoidance alarmed her farther. “Reese Bareden. Don’t you dare use that sweet animal as a way to dodge me!”

Giving up, Reese straightened to his full, impressive height.

He had another, freshly swollen black eye! And a split on the bridge of his nose. A cut on his lip...

Alice froze in place. “What in the world happened to you?”

One hand on his hip, the other holding Cash’s leash, Reese dropped his head forward as if disgusted.

Alice waited while he grumbled to himself.

Finally he met her gaze. “A couple of yahoos got into a fight inside the station.”

“And you used your face to try to stop them?”

“No, smart-ass.” He moved closer, his expression fierce.

And tired.

Huh. So Reese was human after all.

“I got sucker punched when I told them to knock it off.” His jaw firmed. “That was the shot to the eye. I got the rest when I subdued them.”

“Oh.” The discoloration beneath one eye had only just started to fade. Now the other eye was swollen and purple. She realized his tie was gone, his shirt torn and dirty.

Poor Reese. He’d apparently had a terrible day. She found one of Cash’s chew toys and tossed it toward the center of the room. Cash went after it, then took it to a ray of sunshine to work it over.

Alice turned back to Reese. “You didn’t kill anyone, did you?”

With a long-suffering sigh, he shook his head. “No.”

“Good.”

“But I wanted to.”

She could see that. Though Reese tried to hide it, he still looked ready to chew nails.

Brushing at a spot of dirt on the front of his shirt, right over his chest, she felt the radiating tension in his muscles. Going brisk, automatically knowing he wouldn’t want to be coddled, Alice asked, “How badly did you hurt them?”

His green eyes glittered with new intent. “Enough to get them cuffed and handed over to a uni.”

“Remarkable restraint. I’m sure they deserved more.” She opened a button on his shirt. Then another.

“Alice?”

“Hmm?” She continued until she had the shirt open, then pulled it from his slacks. Right where she’d seen the dirt, he had a bruise.

“What are you doing?”

“Undressing you.” Leaning forward, she put her lips to his hot skin and filled her head with his intoxicating scent.

He dropped the leash to tangle a hand in her hair. “I’m a sweaty mess, babe.”

“I know.” While kissing her way across his chest, she opened his belt buckle. “You can soak in a cool tub while I fix you something to eat.”

Using the hand he had tangled in her hair, he tugged her head back. “I don’t need to be babied.”

Alice slipped her hand inside his slacks and fondled him. “I wasn’t trying to baby you.” She felt her ni**les go tight as his erection grew. “I just want you ready for me, sooner instead of later.”

They stared at each other, and she watched his eyes go a smoky green. “God, that feels good.”

Finally, she had some control. Excited but determined to do this right, she took away her hand and turned toward the bathroom. “My mouth will probably feel even better.”

When Reese didn’t follow her, she glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled at the scorching way he traced her every step. “Come on, Reese. Let’s get the show on the road.”

* * *

SENSES HEIGHTENED, Reese watched Alice finish with the dishes. After she’d insisted he soak while she grilled chops and potatoes, he felt like a slug—a very horny slug who’d had too much free time to think about what she might do. He understood that Alice wanted to pamper him since he had a few new bruises. But a couple of lucky shots to his face weren’t enough to slow him down. Piss him off, yeah. He’d been plenty pissed.

Until he saw Alice.

Even now, while loading plates into the dishwasher, she wore that small, sexy smile that made him nuts with need.

“You know I could’ve helped with that.”

“I know.” She bent to add in another plate, putting her rump on display. “But I want to do it.”