Turbulent Desires(15)

The woman went inside as he leaned back in the lawn chair. The owners  had moved out of the country and the home came furnished. It was one of  the biggest perks about the house. Sure, he'd have to get rid of some of  the stuff, and certainly he was bringing his own bed over, but other  than that, he didn't have to do a hell of a lot to move in.

He didn't want his family furniture because his nephew couldn't climb  all over it without the threat of getting injured. He wanted a home, not  a mausoleum. Mav wasn't even sure if he knew who he was anymore. So  much was changing.

Mav was even finding himself thinking about a future, about having a  wife and kids of his own. That thought sent a shudder through him. No.  There was no way that was going to happen. This was just a temporary  lapse in his sanity.

He'd vowed not to marry-not ever-after that reading of his father's  will. No one would dictate his life, especially not his deceased father.  Yes, he'd loved the man, but that didn't mean he was the man's puppet.  Of course, at the moment, he was being daddy's good little boy.

And Mav couldn't forget the fact that he loved women . . . multiple  women. He didn't want to settle down with just one. He was simply trying  to help out Lins, that was all. Once she was back to herself and well  on the road to happiness, he'd have no problem stepping back and letting  her live her life the way she'd been doing before the attack.

With that all settled in his mind, he felt much better. He even managed  to smile as Princess wiggled to get down off his lap and tentatively  stepped off the cement patio and out into the grass to see what Benji  was up to.

The two of them jumped at the tree as a second squirrel came out to  investigate what the barking was all about. Both squirrels continued  yelling at the dogs. It was highly entertaining.

"I spoke to the other Realtor. Let's draw up the papers for a formal  offer and we should have an answer by this evening if not by tomorrow  for sure," the Realtor said, shattering his peacefulness.

Still, Mav signed what he needed to, a small piece of himself hating to  leave the place he was already considering his home. Lindsey was really  messing with his head. He could already see that.

But when there was a mission to accomplish, an Air Force pilot didn't  give up just because he got scared. Hell, for that matter, Mav wouldn't  admit he was scared even if he did happen to feel that unfamiliar  emotion.

Getting the dogs and himself in his truck, he decided it was a good time  for a beer and some brotherly talking. Calling Cooper, he headed in  that direction. There wasn't any part of him that was hoping to run into  Lindsey.

This wasn't one of their nights together, so he wasn't seeking her out.  He felt much better telling himself that. Now, he just needed to believe  it.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Lindsey was startled out of the story she was reading when she heard a  dog barking at her front door. What in the world? Shaking her head, she  tried to find her place on the page when the bark sounded again.

That couldn't be right. She must be imagining things. Maybe it was  because she hadn't stopped thinking about Princess since the day before  when she'd left her at the shelter. It was unbelievable how much she  missed the little mutt.         

     



 

Never before had Lindsey owned a dog, so why would she miss one she'd  only spent a few hours with? It didn't make sense, and Lindsey was tired  of things not making sense. She wanted her life back, and imaginary dog  noises weren't helping to make her feel any saner.

Still, she found herself setting the book down, getting up, and going to  the front door. That's when she heard scratching. Her heart racing, she  cracked the door open, leaving the chain in place.

When a set of chocolate eyes gazed at her through the opening, her heart  hammered as she held in a sob. It was Princess. She'd know those sad  eyes anywhere. But how had she gotten there?

Shutting the door, she heard a whimper. But she moved fast undoing the  chain and opened the door again. The little dog rushed inside and  scratched at her leg, demanding to know where Lindsey had been.

"How did you get here, Princess?" she asked as she dropped to the floor  and the little furball climbed into her lap and stretched out, gently  licking Lindsey's chin.

A few minutes passed and Benji ran in through the open door and barked  up at her as if to say hi. Not far behind them was Maverick.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to bug you tonight. We're having a  barbecue at my brother's and Princess must have smelled you or something  because she was playing in the yard and then all of a sudden she just  took off," he said as he leaned against the wall.

"Do you practice that pose?" she asked before she was able to stop herself.

His brows furrowed as he looked at her. "What?"

"You love to lean on things in just that way with your arms crossed and  your lips tilted up just the slightest bit, and your eyes . . . your  eyes all glinty and stuff," she rushed out.

That glint she'd been talking about took on a whole new sparkle as his  lips turned up into a mega-wattage smile that had her breathing  shallowly in an instant.

"You sure notice a lot about me for a woman who isn't interested," he practically purred.

"I'm not interested, I'm just . . . well, I'm just . . . uh . . . observant," she spluttered.

"You can observe me anytime you want to, sugar," he told her.

"I see you have two extras over for dinner," she said, deciding she  would never win with him in a verbal exchange, especially one that  included flirty little sentences.

"Yeah, I seem to have gained some pets," he said with that beautiful grin.

"You're keeping Princess." Her heart almost sank as she clutched the dog  tighter. If he kept her that meant she was gone-unavailable. And for  some reason that was something she couldn't even think about without  getting upset.

"Nope, she's not mine," he said.

Now Lindsey was confused. The dog was clearly there, curled up in her lap, enjoying the attention she was currently getting.

"Oh, you're taking them back tonight?" That option didn't seem appealing either.

"Try again."

"Do you love to play games?" she asked, exasperated.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I do," he said, his eyes darkening as he  gazed down at her. She had no doubt the games he was thinking of were  most certainly triple X.

"Go away, Mav. I'm busy," she said on a frustrated sigh.

"Stormy told me if I was coming all the way down here to save her the  trip and drag your butt back to the house. Her words, not mine," he said  with a laugh. "She wants you to join us for dinner," he added.

"I don't want to eat with you," she told him, sounding like a petulant child.

"Tough. She told me to get you there by any means necessary. Oh, please, please resist," he said with a waggle of his brows.

Dang. She was actually tempted to resist just to see what he would do.  That was another sobering thought around this man. She never thought she  would be comfortable flirting again, let alone with an alpha man with  way too much sexuality for a woman to deal with oozing from his pores.

"Fine. I'll come, but not because I'm afraid of you or anything, but  because I was planning on going to see Stormy and the baby anyway," she  said as she cradled Princess close to her chest and stood up. The dog  barely moved.

"So really, what are you doing with the dogs?" she asked as they began walking the long expanse of lawn up to the main house.

She let Princess down, who sniffed at the grass, staying close to Lindsey's side.

"She's yours."

Lindsey waited, but he didn't add to that. "I told you I can't take a dog right now," she reminded him.

"Doesn't look like you have much of a choice. She's bonded to you. We  don't really pick dogs. They pick us. Haven't you ever noticed that no  matter how many people in a house, a dog will bond to one particular  person the most? Well, that's what we look for at the shelter, for that  bond. I haven't seen a bond as quick or as strong as the one between you  and Princess."         

     



 

As if she knew they were talking about her, Princess barked up at them  before running in a circle around their feet. Then she finally ventured a  little farther away as they neared the house. But Lindsey noticed that  the little dog turned and sought her out every few seconds.

"I hadn't really thought about that before," she said.

"You should. I love animals. I try not to get too attached because then I  don't want to let any of them go, but they all deserve good homes.  Sometimes you just can't help but bond. The animal chooses you, and then  you would be cruel not to want its love."

"Are you saying I'm terrible if I don't take this dog?" she gasped.

"Nope. Not at all. I'm just saying that she will spend her nights crying  in her kennel if you don't." He didn't even pause as he said this.

"That's awful, Maverick Armstrong!"