Only Her (A K2 Team Novel)(37)

“I have to be at the clinic by eight, so I’ll see you at six thirty. I drink my coffee with cream and sugar.”

“Damn, woman,” he muttered, watching her walk away, his gaze drawn to the long ponytail bouncing against her back. It was like an arrow directing his eyes down to her sweet ass, which he admired until it disappeared from view. After a slight adjustment to his jeans, he headed inside to take an inventory of his refrigerator.

When he reached the porch, he spied the scotch bottle. He’d fully intended to tie one on big time, but then Riley had appeared. Although he’d had a good buzz on, he hadn’t yet reached fall-on-his-face-drunk, and for that he was thankful. If she’d seen him in that condition, he never would have been able to face her again.

Now, he had a mission. Figure out what he was going to make her for breakfast while keeping an eye on her. There was no doubt in his mind that someone meant her harm, and he’d be damned if he would let that happen. As for discussing when they’d have sex, his mouth had gotten ahead of his good sense on that one. For her sake, he’d fully intended to leave her alone.

She was a determined little thing, though, and that appealed to him. Maybe she was strong enough not to fall in love or something stupid like that, only taking what she wanted and not expecting more than what they mutually agreed on. If they could come to an agreement, that was. He sure as hell hoped so because he’d never wanted a woman like he wanted Dr. Riley Austin.

What if you’re the one who goes and falls in love? He crushed that irritating voice in his head. “So not gonna happen.”

He picked up the bottle and his guitar, and ushered his dogs inside. After surveying his food supplies and doing a quick search on the Internet for a recipe that seemed to be easy, he turned out the lights and headed to the bathroom to take a cold shower. Hopefully, that would work in cooling the heat Riley had stirred in his blood.

An hour later, he stared at the ceiling fan, its spinning blades visible in the moonlight shining through the window. There were so many things crowding his mind that he thought there was a good chance he’d levitate right off the bed. In an effort to organize his brain into some semblance of order, he decided to deal with one thing at a time.

First, there was his job and what he was going to have to do to keep it. Staying with K2 was high on his priority list, so no matter how distasteful, he had no choice but to let the head doc in. Since he was damned tired of the nightmares, hopefully they would go away once he remembered whatever it was his mind wanted to forget. Seeing someone who could help him might not be such a bad thing.

He was using the drinking as a crutch to forget what he couldn’t remember, and although that shouldn’t make sense, it did. He didn’t think he had a drinking problem per se, as he didn’t crave the scotch. Actually, he could take it or leave it. It was the numbing of his brain cells that he sought. That had to stop. Tonight was his last binge, end of story. With that decision, he felt a little lighter. Not much but some, and that right there was something.

Layla. She was next on his list of things weighing him down. At some point, he was going to have to accept that she was lost to him. Since he wasn’t there yet, he needed to make a plan to expand his search for her. Not wanting to bother anyone else about a stray dog among many in that hellhole, he’d only asked Wizard to keep an eye out for her. It was time to make a last ditch effort and contact everyone he knew still in-country to ask for help in the search. Another decision that seemed to lighten the load he’d been carrying.

Last but certainly not least, there was Riley. He honestly didn’t know what to do about her. That there was enough chemistry between them to light his bed on fire was a given. He wanted her. She wanted him. Shouldn’t be a problem. But there was that miniscule part of him that demanded he leave her alone because he was fucked up, and he’d only contaminate her with his poison.

Cody let out a long sigh as he kicked off the covers. Just thinking about her got him hot and bothered. He wasn’t going to leave her alone. The only way that was going to happen was if he was tossed in a cell and the key was thrown away. Even then, he’d find a way out if she were the prize for doing so.

If that was the way it was going to be, then they had to set ground rules, ones that would protect her from getting hurt. He mentally made a list of what those should be. After covering every possibility, including that there would be no falling in love, he turned his mind to finding whoever was trying to hurt her.

Although she didn’t know it, she was now under his protection. She didn’t seem to want to believe that she was the target of some nutcase. The question was why had she been targeted? It seemed likely that it was the same person poisoning pets. For one, both things had started at the same time, and Cody didn’t believe in coincidences.