bales of hay at the reindeer ranch on his off-duty time from the police force. His backside was as hot as his front side. Seriously toned and delectable. Tearing her gaze away from him, Brooke hurried to pull on her lacy panties and then her bra.
“Anytime you’d like to do this again, just ask and I’ll come and pick you up.” He pulled his sweater over his hot abs, hiding them and making her sigh.
“But it’s a drive for you to come in and then go home again.” She pulled her sweater over her head.
“Just let me know. It’s not too long a drive, and I truly enjoyed the run.”
“I did too. Thanks for being such a great tour guide.” Once they had finished dressing, they drove back to her house. The run had been a lovely way to end the day. “Just in case you’re not busy and you want to bring me lunch tomorrow, beef Stroganoff would be great,” Brooke said. “That’s only if you’re free. I always have a granola bar waiting for me.”
He chuckled. “I will endeavor to bring you lunch.”
When he dropped her off at her house, the Christmas lights sparkling on the roofline and the shrubs and the lighted wreath made her feel so perfectly Christmassy.
As to Josh, she reminded herself not to get too involved with him too fast, gave him a sweet peck on the cheek, and hurried inside. She needed to get a quick shower and go to bed, or she’d sleep through her alarm clock tomorrow.
Finally, she was in her pajamas in bed and trying to fall asleep. Instead of thinking about shop stuff like she usually did—watching for packages to arrive and sorting through all the stuff she already had—all she could envision was one hot wolf getting naked in a shed behind a pack mate’s house before taking a jaunt in the woods with her as if they were a couple of wolves on an enjoyable date. And the rakish smile he’d offered her when he dropped her off at home and she’d hurried to give him a peck of a kiss and scurried out of the big, bad wolf’s way. She suspected she wouldn’t get away with that the next time. Nor would she want to.
Chapter 7
“How was the run, Brother?” Maverick asked, getting a cup of milk as Josh headed into the kitchen to get some water before he went to bed.
“Perfect. No trouble at all. And Brooke had a good time.”
“You know you could bring her out to the ranch, and you two could run out here.”
“I will. The park is closed so late that she might like coming here right after she closes shop, and we can even have dinner.”
“Once you stop making sure she has leftovers for dinner.” Maverick put his empty cup in the dishwasher. “I knew you had something going on with Brooke. What’s tomorrow’s lunch going to be?”
“Beef Stroganoff, if I can swing it. You know how work goes. I never know if I’ll be in the middle of an investigation when lunchtime rolls around.”
“The best place for beef Stroganoff doesn’t deliver. Let me know if you can’t make it, and I’ll pick up lunch for her. I’ll tell her it was from you.”
Josh didn’t want that to happen. If he wasn’t interested in the lady, why would it matter if his brother took her a meal? Despite that, since she would be expecting it, he would rather his brother pick up lunch for her if he couldn’t make it. It really was an ingrained need to impress the she-wolf when he hadn’t thought he’d be headed down that path again anytime soon. “Sure, I’ll let you know.”
“Good. That shows what a caring wolf you are, and I won’t even have lunch with her. I’ll just drop it off for her.”
“If we can’t get together and you take her meal to her, you get yourself some too. There’s no sense in you going all the way into town to take her lunch and not have some yourself. I’m sure she’ll enjoy your company in any event.”
“I’ll do that. I need to run a couple of errands afterward, so that will work. I could even get a meal for you, and you could reheat it in her microwave when you finally get through with your investigation. She might have more of a lull in her shop then and be able to sit down and take a break with you.”
“I’ll let you