Okay, he couldn’t get annoyed by that, but he was pretty sure she was going to be disappointed with the story behind them.“Dog bite.”
As expected, she gave him a puzzled look.“Come again?”
“It was one of the first ops I worked for Six Points.This spoiled rich kid had gotten mixed up with some very bad people.His parents paid a lot of money for us to extract him from the situation.Getting him out was easy, but when we delivered him to his parents, their dog expressed its appreciation by biting me.”
Her brows drew down with a hint of suspicion.Not that he blamed her.It was a big deviation from how he got the rest of his scars.
“Are you messing with me?”
He drew an X across his bare chest with his finger.“Cross my heart and hope to die.I swear that’s the truth.It was a tiny, fluffy white ball of fur—couldn’t have been more than ten pounds, with little blue bows in his hair.His name was Mr.Doodles.He trotted on over, tail wagging, tongue hanging out, looking friendly as can be.But when I bent down to pet him, that little bastard latched onto my forearm like a cheetah trying to take down a gazelle.Surprised the shit out of me.I didn’t even think his jaws could open that wide.”
Sloane laughed, and he joined her.It hadn’t been funny at the time, but now he could look back and appreciate the absurdity of the situation.
“That dog held on for a good five minutes before his owners finally convinced him to let go by offering him a piece of bacon.Which was good, because I really didn’t want to drive to the hospital with Mr.Doodles still attached to my arm.”He paused.“Every time I catch a whiff of bacon, I think of that little demon.”
“Oh God, stop,” Sloane said between fits of laughter.“You’re killing me.”
Navarre gave her a wry look.“I’m glad to see my near-death experience brings you such amusement.”
She snorted.“I’m picturing Mr.Doodles as a canine version of that killer bunny in the Monty Python movie.”
The reference caught him by surprise.He arched one eyebrow.“Aren’t you a little young for Monty Python?”
“Oh, come on, Monty Python is classic.”She idly toyed with the hairs on his chest, and arousal heated his blood.“My mother loved them.We used to watch reruns of their show every Saturday morning on one of the cable networks.”
“Do your parents still live nearby?”
“No, they moved to Upstate New York about four years ago.My grandparents aren’t doing well health-wise, and they wanted to be closer so they could help.”
“It’s good they’re in a position where they can do that.”
“Yeah, a lot of people aren’t that fortunate.Dad was able to find a new job pretty quickly, and Mom works remotely so she can pretty much move anywhere.”Her fingers drifted to a mark on his hip that was made by the graze of a bullet, low enough to send the blood from his brain straight down to his groin.“Enough about my parents.I want to know more about these scars.”
“Later.”He shifted his weight, pinning her to the mattress, and kissed the daylights out of her.Their mouths joined in a tangle of tongues, and the more he tasted, the more he wanted to taste, until the need for her coursed through his blood as though it were a living thing.
Navarre couldn’t put a name to the way he was feeling.Okay, that was a lie.He knew exactly what it was, but he knew better than to acknowledge the soul-deep emotions that came with making love to Sloane.
He carved a path of kisses along her jaw and neck, relishing the throaty moan she made when he grazed his teeth along the tender muscle connecting her neck and shoulder.Lower still, and he’d almost reached the swell of her breast when her muscles tensed beneath him.
“Oh, my God.”
He froze.“What’s wrong?”
“Something just moved past the window.”
His senses snapped to full alert as he looked over his shoulder to the window.“Are you sure?”
“No, I’m making it up.”Sarcasm bled into her voice.“Of course I’m sure.”
“What did it look like?”
“I couldn’t tell through the curtain.All I know is that it was big.”
Navarre reached for his weapon on the nightstand and rolled off the bed.Quickly, he crossed to the bathroom and grabbed his clothes.They were still a bit damp, but if shit was about to hit the fan, he’d rather not be naked when it happened.On the way back to the room, he snatched one of the robes off the floor and tossed it to Sloane.
“Go into the bathroom and lock the door.I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out.”
Her eyes widened.“Are you crazy?I’m not leaving you to fend for yourself.”
