His gaze was direct. “Maybe you’re right about that.”

The air hung heavy between them, and she suddenly felt like she’d waded into pretty serious waters. She was drowning in the depths of his eyes, and needed to find a way to back herself out.

But before she could, he advanced on her, pushed her down on the blanket, and covered her mouth with his. Passion exploded, and she wrapped her leg around his, exploring the fullness of his lips, the way his tongue licked against hers, and the unleashing of her desires she felt whenever she was in his arms.

Until a hot, wet tongue lapped the side of her face.

She leaped up and laughed. “Ew. Thanks for the kiss, Lou.”

Bash laughed, too. “Talk about a mood-killer.”

Lou barked, got down on her haunches, and wiggled her butt, thinking it was playtime. Chelsea would rather play with Bash, but that was a different kind of game.

They wrestled with Lou for a while, now that she was awake. She’d advance and bark, then back away. Bash took her ball out of the bag he’d brought and she fetched it a few times, until she got tired and finally sat next to Bash’s knee.

“Okay, fine,” Bash said. “Time to go.” He grasped Chelsea’s hand and hauled her up, but wrapped an arm around her and gave her a quick kiss “We’ll finish what we started once we get back to my place.”

She grabbed hold of his shirt and pressed her nails into his chest. “I’m counting on it.”

Because she wasn’t nearly finished with him yet. And it was still daylight. There was a lot of time left before the sun set.

He was still hers, until the end of the day.

Chapter 23

Bash watched Chelsea play with Lou on the way home, wondering if she would want to bolt as soon as they got back to his place. It was getting late, and he knew his time with her was limited.

He pulled the truck into the garage.

“Do you want me to take Lou out back?” she asked.

He shook his head. “She should be fine, since she had a good run at the park.”

“Okay.”

He held the door and Chelsea came inside, then put Lou on the floor. The dog scampered over to her bowl, took a long, sloppy drink of water, then ran over to her toys, picked one out, and ran into the living room.

“She’ll be happy playing for about five minutes,” he said. “My guess is she’ll be passed out shortly.”

“She was pretty active today. It’s good you exercise her.”

He nodded. “She likes the park. She’s made some friends.”

Chelsea laughed. “You sound like a dad.”

“I do not.”

“Whatever you say … Dad.” She wandered over to his cabinet and grabbed a glass. “Water?”

“Sure.” And maybe he was interested in making sure Lou stayed active, but that didn’t mean he was acting parental toward her. Chelsea brought his glass to him. “Thanks. And I’m not her dad, ya know.”

“Whose dad? The dog’s? Of course not. But you’re really sweet with her.”

“I feel sorry for her because she was stuck with Gerri. I might be overcompensating a little.”

She took a sip of her water. “I can’t blame you for that. You need to date less crazy women.”

“You might have a point about that.” He laid his glass on the kitchen counter, then took hers from her hand and put it next to his. He wound his arms around her waist, drawing her close. “Now, where were we before Lou slobbered all over our faces?”

She tilted her head up to meet his gaze, palming his chest. “I was on my back. You were kissing me.”

He shifted, cupping her around her thighs to lift her. “Oh, yeah. I like the sound of that.”

He took her to the bedroom and placed her on the bed. She rolled onto her side and he laid next to her, facing her, breathing her in. She smelled of the outdoors and something sweet, like cookies. He dragged her on top of him, just so he could nuzzle that sweet scent in her neck.

“What are you wearing?” he asked.

“Uh … clothes?”

“No.” He kissed her neck, dragged his tongue over her skin. “Perfume.”

“I’m not wearing perfume.”

“Mmm. Must be your soap. Smells like cookies. I like it.”

“If it makes you lick my neck like that, I’m washing with it every time.”

He lifted her, so he could make eye contact. “You like that?”

“My neck is very sensitive.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He rolled her over again, this time following her, sliding his hand under her T-shirt to palm the skin of her stomach. She was so soft, yet her muscles were firm—and quivered under his touch.

“Bash.”

He lifted his head to see her watching him with a pensive expression. He wanted to know what she was thinking, what kind of deep thoughts put that look on her face. But he also didn’t want to stop this train, so instead, he kissed her. He liked kissing her, loved the way she always eagerly fell into kissing him, matching him with passion. Her fingers dove into his hair, and damn, he liked the way she tugged at it, as if she wanted to claim possession of him when they kissed.

He moved his hand down, mapping her body. He enjoyed touching her, too, the way she sparked hot when he put his hands on her. He lifted her shirt and bent to press a kiss to her stomach, and was rewarded with her soft sigh.

He made quick work of removing her pants and underwear as well as her T-shirt and bra, then shed his clothes as well, needing to be skin to skin with her. When he pulled her on top of him, her hair fell against her cheek, soft red waves framing her face. He tucked her hair behind her cheek as she sat and straddled him.