Loner by Harloe Rae Page 0,51
a beast type.”
She giggles. “My mom doesn’t mind.”
I shift my gaze to the lady in question. “No?”
Keegan remains silent, fuming in the privacy of her own bubble. Shit, why does she have to look so fucking tempting? The surge of current sizzling against my skin is enough to set this entire forest on fire. This woman is a living, breathing centerfold sent to test my restraint. Those measly fibers are already threadbare. With her in reach, I’m ready to snap.
It doesn’t matter what clothes she has on. I’m intimately aware of every curve she’s not bothering to hide very well. My imagination gladly runs rampant and peels off every layer. The athletic shorts she’s wearing barely cover the globes of her ass. Her breasts and waist are somewhat concealed by a white tank top. I widen my stance to conceal just how hard she makes me. A dizzy spell is imminent if I don’t get a handle on this lack of blood flow to my brain. The pressure is enough to bring me to my knees. Will she always have this effect on me? She probably earns a great deal of satisfaction from torturing me.
I rip my ravenous gaze away from the mouthwatering display Keegan is serving. Focusing on safer sights is necessary to survive this standoff. I cut my eyes back to Millie and find her eyes bouncing between her mother and me. A smile I can only describe as sly curves her lips. The little girl leaps to her feet and tugs on Elsa’s leash.
“I’m gonna take the poochies for a walk. They’ll keep me safe, and we won’t go far. You two stay here.” She makes a pointing gesture from us to the ground.
Keegan’s lips part, probably to refuse being told what to do by a child. Her own daughter, for that matter. But in the end, she snaps her mouth shut. Millie skips away with Elsa and Patch flanking her. Her absence gives us privacy—alone in the middle of nowhere. How convenient.
I rock on my heels, taking a minute to figure out how to kick this off. “So, you got a dog.”
A groan almost wrenches out of me. Great job, moron. Way to state the obvious.
Keegan quirks a brow. “We did.”
“From where?”
She huffs. “Not sure why you care, but Rover & Meow in Gulligan Haven.”
I stroke a hand over my jaw. “That’s where I picked up Patch.”
“They have a great facility.”
“Sure do.” This superficial conversation scrapes at my skin worse than a rash. That’s really saying something, considering my general lack of giving a shit whenever talking is involved. “And you just so happen to be walking her in my woods?”
Keegan pins me with a fierce glare. “Your woods?”
I hold my arms out to the side. “Do you see anyone else wandering in these parts?”
She rolls her eyes. “Millie is especially attached to this piece of property. Why might that be?”
I take a glance around at the endless rows of trees, streaks of sunlight breaking through the leaves. “It’s a beautiful spot.”
“You almost sound sentimental,” she mutters.
That dull tone twists a knife in my gut. “Even I care about some shit.”
“Shocking.”
This is going slightly better than a botched root canal. I lift my hat, fiddle with the brim, and yank it back on. “You, uh, look good.”
She tilts her head, sending a cascade of shimmering waves over her shoulder. “Is that painful to admit?”
“Yes.” I bore my gaze into her, shooting every drop of sexual frustration into the static sparking between us. What the fuck am I doing? My intentions are murky, even to me. “It is when there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Keegan gives my appearance a lazy perusal. My torso flexes, muscles straining to be under her microscope. Her lashes flutter as she treats herself to another once-over. I want to believe she’s picturing me naked, much as I was doing to her moments ago. Or is she repeating the last words we exchanged? Perhaps the knockout punch I foolishly delivered to myself? Based on the severe frown tightening her expression, Keegan hasn’t forgotten my parting blow—not that I expect her to forgive me. But why the fuck do I care so much if she does?
Because this is the woman who’s responsible for my demise. Not that it’s been all bad. If Keegan hadn’t blown a hole in my reclusive existence, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. Does she know the hell I’ve been in? What are the chances she feels the