Page 42 of Hard to Hold
I found myself transfixed by the sight of Amy above all else.
The woman was so damn pretty when she smiled. With her hair slicked back, shirt plastered to her body, showcasing her perky tits, she looked like an angel sent down to wreak havoc on my good sense.
But still, that smile. It did something for me in a big way.
Considering I hadn’t seen her do it that often, perhaps that was why I was so taken with her. I still didn’t know the first thing about her—not where she was from, who her parents were, if she’d gone to college or simply decided to work for a living, who she was running from—but I found I didn’t care. Whatever her demons were, they didn’t matter. Not while she was here and certainly not when she was laughing like that.
“’Bout time, Sheriff,” Amy taunted, her arms moving to keep her afloat.
They weren’t far from the water’s edge, but obviously far enough that she couldn’t touch the sandy bottom. Wolfe didn’t seem to be having the same problem.
“I brought coffee,” I announced.
“Wolfe brought donuts!” Amy informed me.
“I heard. Did you eat ’em all?” I lowered the tailgate on my truck and set the coffee cups in the back before heading over and retrieving the donut box from Wolfe’s truck. I peeked inside and noticed there was only one missing.
“Not yet,” she answered, her response delayed when Wolfe tried to grab for her.
After depositing the donuts on the tailgate, I turned to find Wolfe walking out of the water with Amy on his back. She had one arm curled around his neck, holding on tight, while she giggled. Wolfe still donned his jeans but lacked a shirt. To my dismay, it looked as though Amy was wearing her shorts along with her T-shirt.
Wolfe set her down on the tailgate, then shook his head, spraying water over me.
“I think you should get wet,” Amy teased, her eyes locked on me.
“Yeah?”
She nodded.
“If I go in, I’m takin’ you with me.”
Amy hopped off the tailgate. “You’ll have to catch me first!”
She took off and I looked at Wolfe, shocked by the complete one-eighty this woman had done in the past week. I briefly wondered if working for the Caine cousins had brought her out of her shell. If so, I hoped she continued doing it.
Wolfe shrugged, and I toed off my boots and ripped my shirt off over my head, then took off after her. She was already in the water by the time I caught up, so I dove in, coming up beside her. I pretended to grab for her, gauging her reaction. Surprising me even more, Amy belted out a laugh, then dunked me with her hand on my head.
I came up for air and put my arms around her. I didn’t try to hold her tight, but that didn’t matter because she clung to me, hopping on my back, her legs coming around my waist.
Sucking in a breath because the feel of her body against mine was damn near enough to take me out at the knees, I steadied myself.
“I need a donut, Sheriff,” she whispered against my ear.
“Your wish is my command.” Without hesitating, I carried her out of the water and back over to the truck.
I knew I looked bewildered, which I was. This side of Amy was something I hadn’t expected. Oh, I liked it, all right. More than I could say. I liked seeing the light in her eyes and a smile on her face, the carefree, almost naïve attitude she seemed to have. Hell, I'd go so far as to say I loved to hear her laugh.
I caught Wolfe watching us, a heated look in his emerald eyes.
“Best idea you’ve had all year, Caine,” I muttered as I set Amy on the tailgate.
She grabbed for a donut, kicking her legs.
I wasn’t sure what had caused her to be this relaxed, but whatever it was, I wanted to bottle it and use it all the damn time.
“So…” Amy chewed, glancing between the two of us. “Do y’all come here often?”
I laughed. “That’s a serious line there, girl.”
