Page 34 of Puppy Kisses

The guilty flush didn’t abate, and his hand shot out to trace the line of her neck where he’d planted his teeth. He missed, grazing her shoulder instead, but he managed to find the location by running his fingertips over her skin. It remained unbroken, but there were clear indentations. “Oh shit. I didn’t mean to—”

She laughed and turned off the shower spray. “Don’t worry. I liked it.”

“You did?”

With the water turned off, an immediate chill overtook the bathroom. Dawn used this as an excuse to wrap her arms around Adam’s naked torso, basking in the warm, wet lull of him for a moment before dropping a kiss on his lips. It was meant to be a quick kiss, but there were still so many naked parts touching, she got a little carried away. Her mouth softened as she gave in to the kind of slow, leisurely tangle she normally found a waste of time.

“It’s been a long time since a man has felt the need to visibly mark me as his territory,” she teased as she drew her lips from his. “Aren’t you afraid of what Zeke and Phoebe will say if they see it?”

“Not really, no. I think they know you well enough by now to accept signs of depravity as part of the complete Dawn Vasquez package.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Gee, thanks. You paint such a lovely picture of me.”

She stepped out of the shower and was reaching for one of the oversized towels on the opposite wall when Adam reached out and grabbed her around the wrist. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Leaning down, she dropped a quick kiss on his hand before disentangling herself from his grip. “I know you didn’t. I just think it’s cute, that’s all, how obsessed you are with making sure you brand your herd.”

“I wasn’t—”

“First Dawn the cow, then Dawn the human… I’ll warn you right now, there’d better not be any marks on those puppies, or I’m hauling you in for animal abuse.”

“Dammit, Dawn, I didn’t—”

“Hey, Adam. I know.” She cupped the side of his face, aware as she did that she’d done a deplorable job of shaving him. “I told you already that it’s fine. It felt good, I don’t mind the marks, and I like that you’re uninhibited enough with me to go where the moment takes you.”

“But—”

“Don’t worry. If you ever overstep a boundary, I’ll make sure you know it.”

He didn’t appear to be comforted by this, worry puckering his brow.

“What is it?” she asked as she reached for the towel again. She took only a moment to wrap herself up before handing a second one to him. “Why do you look so upset?”

Instead of wrapping himself up, as most people would, he used the towel to dry his hair. He was supremely indifferent to the picture he made as he did it, all naked and chiseled and gleaming.

“You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known, that’s all,” he said. He finished toweling off his hair and started drying his body. Dawn could have easily pointed out thathewasn’t like anyone she’d ever known, either, but she was too busy enjoying the show. “I don’t think you realize how rare it is—or how useful—to find a woman who says exactly what’s on her mind.”

The words he was saying were a compliment, she knew. Forthrightness and honesty were things Adam valued, and they also just happened to be values that she possessed. But something about the way he said them made her feel like she was being pushed away.

“Well, what’s on my mind right now is food. Between the ranch work, the puppy training, and the shower sex, I’m ravenous.”

Adam laughed obligingly, but that worried pucker was still evident. “Right. I can promise to feed you, but I don’t know how much more time we’ll have before… Well, until…”

“Until one of your siblings comes home and sees me all bitten and sated.” She nodded. The action made her feel better somehow, more in control. “Noted. We’d better get me spirited away before our devious deeds are uncovered.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Yes it is, but that’s okay. It’s all part of the charm, right?”

She reached for her pile of clothes, which were still incredibly dirty and not at all what she wanted to put on after such a thorough and satisfying shower, but there wasn’t much she could do about it unless she started packing spare underwear in the trunk of her car.

Which, to be fair, had been something she’d done for the bulk of her early twenties.

“Out of curiosity, what would you want to do?” he asked. “Besides eat.”

It took her a moment to work out his meaning. “If I didn’t have to slink off into the night, you mean?”

He nodded, looking boyishly shy. It might have been because of the single damp lock of hair that curled down his forehead like he was a wet Superman, but Dawn thought it had more to do with the hesitant way he reached for her before dropping his hand again.