Both Carly and Micha laughed.
“I’m sorry, girl.” Carly dropped to the floor and beckoned the dog over. “Come here and I’ll love on you, too.”
Micha went still at her words, but Bridget immediately sidled over, tail wagging ninety to nothing. Carly began petting her.
“Is that what you were doing?” Micha asked quietly. “Loving on me?”
Unable to meet his gaze, she concentrated on her dog and tried for a flippant response. “Right now, Bridget is the only one around here who gets loved on.”
Then, feeling guilty, she glanced up just in time to see the hurt flash across Micha’s expression. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I’m not trying to be mean, just real.”
“Real?” He shook his head. “Real is returning my kisses. That connection we have between us is real. I don’t understand how you can pretend it doesn’t exist.”
“I’m not,” she replied. “But, Micha, everything with you is intense. Too quick, too fast and too deep. You need to slow your roll.”
“I’m trying.” Still, he smiled at her choice of words, which relieved her much more than it should have. “You know how you affect me.”
She ducked her head, unwilling to respond. He didn’t need to know the inner battle raging inside her. She craved his touch, his kisses, his body inside her, while also aware she had to protect her heart. She wasn’t sure she could have both.
CHAPTER 5
Micha’s initial intention had been to show the sick bastard who was spying on Carly that she was his and no one else’s. Frustrated, he’d struggled to come up with a way to convey the fact that he’d lay down his life to defend her, but other than speaking directly to the camera and giving everything away, he couldn’t conceive of one.
Instead, he’d done what he’d been aching to do from the moment she’d arrived home. He kissed her.
Like always, the passion simmering just beneath the surface had erupted. He’d struggled against the urge to take that kiss a step further, aware she wanted him to as well, which was the most powerful aphrodisiac possible.
Yet he hadn’t. One, because he didn’t want the voyeur to see this over the video camera, and two, because Carly had told him it couldn’t happen again. She’d practically made him promise and the one thing he couldn’t go back on with her was his word.
“Did you want me to go get something to eat?” he asked, aware he’d need the time to get his composure back.
Glancing up at him, he saw a flash of panic in her eyes at the thought of being alone. He hated the fact that she now felt that way in her own home.
“How about I order us some Chinese takeout?” she said instead. “Do you still like sweet and sour chicken?”
“Sweet and Sour Saturday.” He grinned. “I haven’t had it in years, but yes.” Once, they’d not only done Taco Tuesday, but Sweet and Sour Saturday, and even the occasional Meatball Monday. Though the first time they’d had Chinese takeout together would always be special. He wondered if she remembered and then wondered how she could forget. Was her food choice for tonight intentional, some sort of hint, or was she simply in the mood for sweet and sour chicken? Briefly, he considered asking her, but decided to do so would be unwise.
Though her tentative smile dimmed at his unintentional reminder of the time they’d spent apart, she nodded. “Let me call it in. They usually can get it here in thirty minutes or less.”
While she placed the order, he got up and wandered over to the kitchen window—and the camera—pretending to study her plants. One of them, a good-size aloe vera plant, jogged his memory.
“I gave you this,” he said, once she’d finished with her phone call.
“You did,” she agreed, coming to stand beside him. “It was a lot smaller. I’ve transplanted it twice since then.”
They both eyed the plant, neither glancing at the camera. He wondered if she also struggled with the urge to slide the plant over to block the camera’s view. Of course they couldn’t.
What they could do was move out of the area the video camera could see.
“How about we go catch up on the evening news while we wait for our food?” he asked her, casually holding out his hand.
After a moment’s hesitation, she took it, her slim fingers intertwined with his. “Come on, Bridget,” she called. “Let’s go snuggle on the couch.”
Though he knew he had to stop reacting to her every word choice, snuggle on the couch had him aching to do exactly that. But she’d been speaking to her dog, and the instant she sat down, she patted the seat cushion next to her as a signal to Bridget to jump up.
Ignoring Micha completely, Bridget did, curling into Carly’s side and effectively preventing Micha from getting close. Which probably had been Carly’s plan all along, Micha thought with a wry grimace.
Carly got out her phone and typed a text. A second later, his phone pinged.
Can the camera still hear us? she’d asked.
I don’t know, he texted back. “It’s unlikely since it’s having to record through the window.” He spoke those words out loud. “Relax. Since the guy who planted it didn’t get into the house, it’s unlikely there are listening devices or other cameras in here. Unless...”
“Unless what?”
“Have you had any break-ins?” he asked. “Recently, that is.”
“No,” she replied. Bridget placed her head on Carly’s leg, nudging her for attention. When Carly resumed rubbing the dog’s tummy, Bridget groaned with happiness. For the first time in his life, Micha found himself envying a dog.
“No one’s come inside to do any kind of repairs or installations?”
She frowned. “No.”
Relieved, he nodded. “If no one’s been inside, then you should be safe from any internal monitoring devices.”
“Good.” Carly used the remote and turned on the television. “I DVR the evening news,” she said. “That way I don’t miss any of it.”
For the next few
