The Guy Next Door - By Lori Foster, S Donovan, V Dahl Page 0,27
a gnawing sound and, puzzled, looked under the table. “Oh no!” Buddy was chewing on a chair leg. Aghast, she crawled under the table and retrieved him.
As she backed out with the dog in her arms, she glanced up and saw Jett with a brow cocked. Oh Lord.
Hugging the dog closer, Natalie said, “He, ah…” She closed her eyes, unable to spit it out. But when she heard Jett shifting, she opened them again.
He leaned down to look under the table, and she knew he’d just seen the gnarled wood. “Damn.” He didn’t sound all that angry, but he did look resigned.
Natalie waited for him to get mad, and when he didn’t, she marveled at him. Buddy had just scarred one chair of a four-chair matching dinette set—but Jett took it in stride. In fact, he seemed more concerned with eating than with the damage to his property.
Such an amazing man—in more ways than she’d ever considered.
For some reason, she felt guilty about the chair. “Can it be repaired, do you think?”
Jett shrugged. “I guess I better get him some chew toys first thing. My sister probably has something at her clinic.”
His incredible acceptance of the dog momentarily sidetracked Natalie. Anyone could see that Jett was a man well used to female attention. He had a confidence streak a mile wide. In every situation, he seemed at ease.
He was gorgeous, charming and he had that dreamy rock-hard bod. So he had to be a regular lothario, right?
Yet that image seemed in direct odds to a family man, a guy who viewed any meddling from his sisters with warm affection. The freewheeling bachelor persona contrasted sharply with the man who shrugged off destruction of his personal property by a stray dog.
Knowing she was fast sinking past the point of no return, Natalie sighed.
“Is there a reason for that mournful sound?”
She shook her head and continued to watch him. Jett always looked good to her. Better than good. His lean but strong physique was a big turn-on for her. And those eyes…
She shivered. Jett had the most incredible eyes she’d ever seen on anyone. The man could look at her, and she felt seduced.
But now, having unveiled new dimensions to his personality, she found him more tempting than ever. When she thought of spending the next several days with him, butterflies took flight in her stomach.
She wanted and needed time to acclimate before being scrutinized by his family.
Jett’s gaze remained on her, intent, watchful, as if awaiting something.
She cleared her throat. “I can go along tomorrow in case Buddy is afraid of the ride. But considering how things really are between us, maybe it’d be better if I waited for you in the car instead of going into the clinic.”
He tipped his head just a little, noting how Buddy rested against her. “How are things between us?”
Being honest, Natalie said, “New.”
“We’ve known each other for a while now.”
“In bed, yes.”
He countered that by saying, “In every intimate way possible.”
Oh God, if he talked about all that they’d done together, she’d start to feel it, too.
Her entire body flushed under the impact of Jett’s potent gaze. But then Buddy rested his chin on her shoulder and let out a loud doggy sigh. Absently, Natalie cuddled him. She hadn’t known that holding a pet provided so much pleasurable warmth and affection. Against her cheek, his fur was warm and soft, his whiskers tickling.
Without looking at Jett, she said, “Everything is different now that we’re…shifting the way we spend time together.”
The seconds ticked by and she couldn’t take it. Feeling Jett’s unnerving stare, she glanced up.
Very slowly, he left his seat and came to her.
He cupped her face. “You don’t come from a big family, so you don’t know how this works.”
“How what works?”
“I guarantee you that right now Connie is on the phone with one of my other sisters, and between them, they’ll make sure the whole family knows about you within minutes.”
That idea staggered her. Why would they care? She was far from the first woman Jett had ever dated, and she knew she wouldn’t be the last. He had more experience than most ten men combined. Knowing what she did about him now, about his edgy career choices and daring lifestyle, only emphasized the differences in their lives.
So why introduce her to his family?
The idea almost panicked her. She knew zip about big families. As a teacher, she met parents on a purely professional basis. As a daughter, what she knew of