She turned to leave and he reached out to grab her arm.
Einstein growled deep in his throat.
In response, Wolf’s hand slipped into his pocket. “Before you go, I’m having a party tonight for my birthday. Nothing big. Family and a few guys from the station. You’re more than welcome to come.”
He has to be kidding. No way am I spending an evening with him, birthday party or not. “Sorry, I have plans.” A pizza and a romance book. “Have a good day, Mr. Wolford.” Clearly she needed to establish some boundaries with this guy. She strode the few feet to her door. Einstein followed.
“Becca, the name’s Wolf,” he called after her.
“Whatever,” she waved her hand in dismissal, “Mister Wolford.”
His deep, warm laughter swept over her like a balmy breeze off the Gulf of Mexico. In response, her temper whirled hot like a cyclone and her fingers curled into fists. Damn, what an arrogant man.
“Seven o’clock. No need to bring a gift. Having you there will be present enough.”
Seriously? Couldn’t the man come up with more original material? Was this how he spoke to every woman to coax them into his bed? And wasn’t that a sad commentary on the brainpower of the female gender if even one fell for it?
“Don’t hold your breath, Fluffy Daddy,” she yelled as she slipped her key in the lock.
He laughed harder. “Make it seven, baby.”
Seven, my ass.
He shouldn’t have pushed her like that. Hell, he’d be lucky if his attractive neighbor ever spoke to him again. But, wow, how dazzling she’d looked with that brimstone flashing from her hazel eyes. For some reason, the more he talked, the more they sparked. It was almost as if she were pissed at him before he even opened his mouth. But, why?
Wolf’s four younger sisters had initiated him into the mystifying workings of the female mind. His naturally intuitive nature responded fairly well to their fluctuating moods. Once more his gaze shifted to Becca’s front porch. Her body language had been one of total disdain and he hadn’t responded well to it at all. In fact, he’d egged her on. “Yanked her chain,” as April, the oldest of his four sisters, would say.
No doubt he should go next door and apologize for acting like such an ass. Maybe then he could convince the auburn-haired beauty to come to his party tonight. In the two weeks he’d lived here, she’d jogged past his window several times. Her beauty dazzled him. Her long legs were too distracting. And the tales Mrs. Minelli, an elderly neighbor, told about Becca’s giving nature charmed him too. He’d never cared much for self-centered women.
He strode to her townhouse, rang the doorbell and waited.
Finally, her door opened and he was greeted with a scowl. “What?” She tugged the lapels of her short white silky robe together.
“I…ah…” His gaze snagged on all those ample curves showcased by the slinky material. “I…ah…”
“You said that already.” She fisted a hand on her hip.
Einstein cannonballed around Becca with something red clamped in his jaws. He streaked across the grass, his strong muscles propelling him as he circled both of their yards.
“Get back in here!” Becca pointed into her house.
Einstein loped across the grass and shrubbery, ignoring his owner’s command.
Maybe if he acted the hero and returned the pet to its owner, he’d gain a few brownie points. “Stay here. I’ll get him.” Wolf took off after the dog.
Seeing he was being chased only made Einstein run faster. Wolf followed him twice around the yard in front of Becca’s house. The dog leapt over a flowerbed and stopped, his head lowered, shaking his prize, his hind end elevated, wiggling in excitement.
“Give me that.” Wolf stepped to the right around the flowerbed. The dog trotted to the left. In a quick move, he sprinted to the left and the dog dashed to the right. “Think you’re smart, don’t you?” He could have sworn the dog smiled.
Wolf leapt across the blooms, hoping to grab the smartass canine. Once he’d grabbed the collar, they rolled, and Einstein yelped. Wolf grimaced as he, too, rolled across a low-growing cactus and into the trunk of a palm tree. “Dammit.”
The dog whined and dropped the fabric to lick and bite at the prickly thorns in his groin.
“Easy now, Einstein.” Wolf cooed as he slipped his Swiss army knife from the front pocket of his jeans.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on? What are you doing with that knife?” Becca tugged on the hem of her short robe and glanced up and down the street as if she thought to run out into the yard.
“Stay where you are. He’ll be fine. He’s got some thorns in his hide.” Wolf removed the tweezers stored in a slot in the knife and began extracting the offending needles. “We can’t have an awesome fella like you in pain now, can we?” He worked as quickly as he could. “One more, big guy, and then you’ll be fine.” The dog licked him several times. “Yeah, I like you too. Let’s keep what I’m about to do just between us, shall we?” He ran his fingers over the affected groin area, keeping his attentions on the dog’s reactions. “Looks like we got them all.”
“What in blue blazes are you doing to that dog? Are you performing some kind of ‘beasty-wildy’ on him?” Mrs. Minelli, his neighbor, punctured the air with her cane, her white eyebrows arched in question.
He fought the urge to laugh. “No, Mrs. Minelli. I was taking out thorns.”
She cocked her head to the side, her cataract-clouded eyes widened. “In his penis?”
Christ! “No, ma’am. I was just helping him.” He made a mental note to sterilize the tweezers later when he slipped them back into his Swiss knife.
Becca ran across the yard. “What’s going on?”
He turned to tell her about the thorns and stopped. His tongue all but rolled out onto the grass. The Florida sunlight had turned her robe nearly translucent. She had legs that went to her waist, or so they seemed, except for that red patch at their juncture. Evidently her auburn hair was her natural color. His gaze traveled upward to the dusty-pink nipples showcased by the rays of sunshine. All the blood rushed from his brain to his cock. Holy Mother of God.
Wolf couldn’t move. He couldn’t tear his gaze from her. Einstein trotted to his mistress and licked her knees and, for an instant, he thought of doing the same thing. Be cool, man.
Becca held her robe in place with one hand and grabbed her dog’s collar with her other. “How are you today, Mrs. Minelli?”
“I’m fine, but you’d better get back inside” The elderly woman pointed again with her cane. “That robe is so see-through, we can tell if your belly button is an innie or an outie.”
Becca glanced down and gasped. “Crap!” She spun and bolted for her door, taking Einstein with her.
“I’d watch myself if I were you. She’s not the kind a man diddles with. She’s a decent girl.” She nodded once and shuffled down the sidewalk toward her house.
Properly chastised, Wolf snatched the red lace item Einstein had dropped when he’d gotten hurt. It took a second or two of fingering it before he realized it was a thong. His gaze swept to Becca waiting on the porch. Her cheeks were nearly as red as the skimpy underwear. Most redheads’ skin mottled when they blushed, but not hers. On her, the even blush was appealing.
Once