Page 26 of Lex

“What do you mean?”

“You’re the only one I want to flirt with, Summer.”

He lowered his head and kissed her. Their mouths fused, tongues sweeping. He wanted to pull her against him, leave no space between them, but he had to be careful of Flossie.

As if she knew he was considering her wellbeing, too, Flossie let out a little yip, interrupting his and Summer’s deliciously hot kiss, and he forced himself to step back. “I’m going to call my friend down at the station. Then I’ll show you two to the guest room.”

Truth be told, he was exhausted, so he was pretty sure she was, too. As much as he wanted her in his bed, it wasn’t happening tonight.

But tomorrow night? That was a whole other story.

Chapter ten

Summer tossed and turned most of the night. Despite knowing she was safely tucked away in Lex’s extra bedroom and snug in one of his delicious-smelling T-shirts, she couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened. Images of bad men trying to break into her house infiltrated her dreams.

Of course, Flossie slept like a log, on her back, paws in the air, utterly unaware of the earlier danger. Sometimes, Summer wished she could trade places with her dog. Not having a care in the world while someone else took care of your every need sounded pretty nice.

As she lifted the neckline of Lex’s shirt and breathed in his heady cologne mixed with detergent, it occurred to her that he was doing exactly that. He’d strolled into her life and connected with her in a way no other man had ever done. Not even Scott, and she’d married that idiot.

The two men were night and day. Lex possessed a larger-than-life presence and a smile that made her knees go weak. Yet, he was also relatable and grounded, confident in a way that made him seem secure but also humble.

Even though they’d only known each other for a short time, he’d opened up to her, sharing stories about his Navy days, about his dad, about how he never knew his mom. But he never made it all about him. He’d asked questions about her as well, and he seemed truly interested in getting to know her stories.

Lex had flown her—actually taken her in a freaking airplane—to his favorite place for their first date. Then he’d come rushing back to help after she’d called him. They’d barely begun to know each other, and he put himself in harm’s way to keep her safe. And to top it all off, he’d run back into her house to rescue Flossie, something her selfish ex never would’ve done.

Thinking back over her time with Scott, it was clear he never really cared. Had he ever done something completely for her? Ever asked her about something that didn’t directly benefit him in some way? There’d been times she’d even thought he’d felt threatened by her successful career. Because while Summer was off doing an important job and making a considerable amount of money doing it, Scott would sit at home and watch TV while coming up with his latest “great idea.” An idea he thought would show everyone how brilliant he was. An idea that usually failed to come to fruition. And, if by some chance it did, it always ended up falling apart, and Scott always expected Summer to bail him out.

Every. Single. Time.

And there she was again, three years after divorcing him, in more trouble than she’d ever been in her life because of his bad choices.

A part of her couldn’t help but be worried, though. Like she’d told Lex, her ex wasn’t a bad person. He was just a screw-up, always looking for shortcuts and averse to any kind of actual hard work. If he was still alive, he was in way over his head.

Flossie gave a little whimper, and Summer blinked hard, finally noticing the light filtering in around the curtains. She reached for her phone and saw it was almost eight AM. Ugh! She wasn’t ready to face another day on so little sleep, but she needed to start figuring out why Scott had dragged her into his shitstorm.

Summer hopped out of bed, shoving the oversized shirt down and scooping up her pooch. Flossie’s morning needs always came first. Then Summer would take care of her own. She grabbed Flossie’s harness and leash, opened the bedroom door and crept into the hall.

She figured Lex was still asleep since the house was so quiet, but halfway down the staircase, she caught a whiff of freshly-brewed coffee. Her mouth instantly watered. She was nearly to the bottom of the steps when she remembered she was only wearing a T-shirt, but the allure of caffeinated nirvana was too strong to resist.

Feeling suddenly shy as she stepped into the kitchen, her focus went straight to Lex, his slim, denim-clad hip propped against the counter as he raised a mug to his lips. The moment he saw her, the mug lowered, as well as his attention. He zeroed in on his T-shirt then continued a slow perusal down her bare legs, all the way to her polished toes and then back up again. A lazy smile curved his lips, and she wasn’t sure why it made her so giddy. Also a little dizzy, because, dammit, her knees instantly went weak. Again. He was making that happen quite frequently.

“Good morning.” His voice held that low, sexy, scratchy morning timbre.

“Morning.” Her feet seemed frozen in place, and she took a moment to study him right back. His fitted black T-shirt hugged his broad chest, and those worn, low-slung jeans sent her heart into palpitations. Good Lord, no man should look that good in a pair of jeans.

One edge of his lips lifted slightly, apparently keying into exactly what she was thinking. As her eyes focused back on his, he offered, “Coffee?”

His blue gaze swirled with mirth, and she practically tripped over her tongue as she forced out, “Um, yes, please.” Geez, Summer. Talk much?

When he turned to pop a new pod into the coffee machine, her gaze couldn’t help itself. It dipped and took an overly-long minute to adore his ass. To soak up every firm inch and appreciate each movement. Each flex. She bit her lower lip.

He glanced over his shoulder. “My yard isn’t fenced in.”

Her gaze snapped up. “What?”

“My yard isn’t fenced in,” he repeated, a little slower. “So make sure to keep her on the leash. There are a lot of wild animals around here.”

“Oh, right.” She cleared her throat and forced her legs to walk to the back door. “I always keep her leashed for that very reason.”