Sweet Little Lies Read online

  tell him so. Absolutely not. “I have a secret fantasy about doing it somewhere where we could maybe get caught,” she said. Dammit, mouth!

  His grin was fast and wicked, assuring her he was absolutely up for the challenge. She laughed again, nervously now. “But I’m pretty sure it’s just a fantasy,” she said quickly, putting her hands on his chest to keep him at arm’s length.

  Or to keep him close. She hadn’t quite decided.

  The hand on her ass shifted up a little and then back down, slipping inside the back of her pants. “How sure is pretty sure?” he asked, his fingers stroking the line of her thong, but before they could slip beneath, she laughed again and pulled free.

  “Pretty, pretty sure,” she said shakily.

  His gaze slid down her body. “I suppose you’re cold again.”

  Well aware that her greedy nipples were still threatening to make a break right through the material of her shirt, she scooped up Thor and clutched him to her chest.

  Thor seemed to give her a long look like please don’t make me wait while you two do disgusting things to each other. “Don’t worry,” she muttered to the dog. “I’ve got a handle on things now.”

  “I’ve got something you could get a handle on,” Finn said.

  She rolled her eyes. “Weak.”

  “It’s not weak.”

  She laughed. “I remember.”

  “So if we’re not making fantasies come true, how about dinner?” he asked.

  Dilemma. She couldn’t take him home, she’d sleep with him again. “Pizza,” she said, thinking a crowded Italian joint should be safe enough.

  “Sold,” Finn said.

  They left the cave and walked along the rocky beach for a few minutes. The tide was out, the water receded a hundred yards or more it seemed. Pru managed to trip over a rock and then her own two feet, dropping Thor’s leash to catch herself. So naturally Thor took off directly toward the waves at the speed of light, barking the whole way.

  “Thor!” she yelled. “He can’t swim,” she told Finn. “Sinks like a stone.”

  “Trust me, he’ll swim if he has to.”

  But she couldn’t be so calm. Her baby was racing right for the waves. She started after him much slower, having to be careful on the rocks.

  “Don’t worry,” Finn said. “He’ll be back as soon as his paws get wet.”

  But Thor hit the water and kept going, right into a wave. And then the worst possible thing happened.

  He vanished.

  “Oh my God.” Pru took off running down the rocky beach, heading directly for the spot where Thor had vanished. She kicked off her sandals and dove in.

  The next wave crashed over her head and smashed her face into the sand. Gasping, she pushed upright, swiping the sand from her face to find . . .

  Thor sitting on the shore staring at her, his tail whipping back and forth, his mouth smiling wide, proud of himself. Dripping wet, he barked twice and she’d have sworn he said, “Fun, right?”

  Finn laughed and picked the dog up. Thor wriggled to get free but Finn just tucked the dripping wet, very-proud-of-himself dog beneath one arm and reached for Pru with the other, a wide smile on his face.

  Pru went hands on wet hips. “Are you laughing at me? You’d better not be laughing at me.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  She narrowed her eyes.

  Finn did his best to squelch his smile and failed. “I told you he’d be fine.”

  “Uh huh.”

  His laugh drifted over her. “I’m guessing that this time you really are cold instead of just pretending to be.”

  She looked down at her shirt. Yep, plastered to her torso and gone sheer to boot, making her look more naked than she would be without a stitch of clothing. She narrowed her eyes at him but he just kept smiling. So she took a step toward him with the intention of wrapping her very wet self around him until he was just as wet as she.

  But he dodged her and held up a hand. “Now let’s not get crazy—”

  She flung herself at him. Just took a running step and a flying leap.

  He was a smart enough man to catch her, and in spite of the fact that it meant she drenched him with seawater, he hauled her in and held her close.

  “Got you,” he said, and melted away her irritation in a single heartbeat. Because he always did seem to have her, whether it was soothing her after she’d hit him with a dart, or when she’d been upset about her grandpa, or sick with food poisoning . . . He had her. Always.

  It was as simple and terrifying as that.

  Chapter 28

  #SliceOfHumblePie

  Finn bundled both the wet dog and the even wetter woman into his car. He pulled a blanket from his emergency kit and tucked it around them.

  “I’m f-fine,” Pru said, teeth chattering, lips blue.

  Uh huh. In other words, “back off, Finn.” Not likely. But he wasn’t surprised at the attempt. Every time they got too close she seemingly regretted their time together.

  He regretted nothing. Not the way she’d felt in his arms and not the way he’d felt in hers. From the beginning, there’d been a shocking sense of intimacy between them, one that had momentarily stunned him, but he’d gotten over it quickly.

  He wanted even more but he was smart enough to know a reticent woman when he saw one. She was still unsure. She needed more time.

  And he’d already made the decision to give it to her. “Your teeth are going to rattle right out of your head,” he said, cranking up the heat, aiming the vents at her.

  Clearly freezing, she didn’t utter a word of complaint. Instead she seemed much more concerned that he would skip the afore-promised pizza. “It takes calories to keep yourself warm,” she said. “Pepperoni and cheese calories. A lot of them.”

  “I’ll call it in and have it delivered while you shower,” he assured her.

  “No!” She paused, clearly searching for a reason to ditch him. “Lefty’s won’t deliver.”

  “Then we can call Mozza’s,” he said.

  She managed a derisive snort in between shivers. “Mozza’s isn’t real pizza.”

  “Okay.” He pulled into the back lot of Lefty’s. “Stay here, I’ll just run in and get it real quick.”

  But she was right behind him, emergency Mylar blanket wrapped around her and all.

  Waiting in line, he slid her a look. “You didn’t trust me to pick the right pizza.”

  “Not even a little bit.”

  Lefty was taking orders himself, he loved people. Smiling broadly at Pru, he said, “Hey there, cutie pie. What happened, you get pitched overboard? Not a good day for a swim, it’s kinda brisk.”

  “Don’t I know it,” she muttered. “I had to save Thor. Life or death situation.”

  Finn grinned and Pru turned a long look his way, daring him to contradict her story.

  Finn lifted his hands in surrender and Lefty went brows up. “Sensing a good story here. Someone start talking.”

  “Would love to,” Pru said. “But you’ve got a long line waiting, so—”

  “They’ll wait.” Lefty set his elbows on the counter and leaned in. “Is it as good as you trying to kill our boy here with a dart?”

  She whirled on Finn. “You know that was an accident! You’ve been telling people I tried to kill you?”

  Lefty laughed. “Nah, he didn’t say a word. Never does. Willa told me. Oh and Archer’s guys too, Max and the scary-looking one with the tattoo on his skull.”

  Pru smacked her forehead. “How is it possible that the people in our building gossip more than a bunch of guys in a firehouse?”

  “Don’t you mean a bunch of girls in junior high?” Lefty asked.

  “No,” she said, glowering. “Girls have got nothing on guys when it comes to gossip.” She sent a long look at Finn, daring him to disagree.

  “One hundred percent true,” he said and paid for their food. And then because she seemed skittish about going back to her place, he brought her and T