When he finished, he marched over to her. She released a yelp when he lifted her in his arms and carried her over to the passenger side. After some deft maneuvering, he opened the door and settled her in the Jeep. He secured the seatbelt and kissed her once more.
“You sure about this?” His eyes searched hers as if expecting to find regret or something else in their depths.
Bailee grinned. “Hell, yeah. I’m sure.”
Chapter Sixteen
Doubt was a foreign emotion for Easton. He’d experienced fear, jealousy, rejection…but never doubt. That was a new one. But when it came to Bailee Maxwell, new experiences were becoming the norm.
Neither spoke on the drive back to his house. The silence was fueled by a sexual tension so thick, he needed a sword to cut through it. Being with Bailee was a no-brainer. She was beautiful, sexy, smart, funny, and easy to be around. Their kiss had been pure fire, lighting him up from the inside out, intensifying his need and making him yearn for more.
Yet from the time he kissed until he was parking in his driveway, he started to second-guess his plan to strip her naked, throw her on his bed, and ravage her until the sun came up tomorrow. Once he made up his mind to be with a woman, he was usually speeding toward the finish line. He wasn’t changing his mind about being with Bailee, but he was wondering if taking things to the next level was the right move.
“I’m sure Roxy is anxious to head outside after being cooped up all day,” Bailee said softly, stepping out of the Jeep.
Roxy…riiiight.He’d forgotten the dog was holed up in his house while they had the meeting at the police station. His only thought afterward was to put a smile back on Bailee’s face. He’dmanaged to do that, but he could feel the shift between them now that they were back in reality.
Easton followed her to the door and braced himself for the enthusiastic greeting from Roxy. Only, the giant furball didn’t meet them at the door. Bailee attempted to step past him, calling Roxy’s name, but Easton’s arm shot out to stop her. He placed a finger to his lips, warning her to stay quiet. He listened intently, but only silence came from inside.
Nudging her back from the door, he reached for his SIG Sauer from the holster hidden by his shirt. He motioned for her to return to the Jeep, but she shook her head, withdrawing a Glock from her purse.Of course, she was armed.
Using hand signals, he told her to stay behind him while they cleared his house. With quiet steps, they moved as a unit, checking every corner and looking for any sign of an intruder or a break-in. Everything looked just as he left it, but there was no sign of Roxy either.
“Clear,” he shouted as he stepped from the guest bedroom. He returned his gun and walked into the hallway to meet Bailee.
She had disappeared, but he could hear her calling to him from the kitchen. He quickened his pace until his path crossed with hers in the living room.
“She was here long enough to eat most of her food and drink a lot of water. How could she have gotten out?”
“I don’t—”
His response was interrupted by a furious barking coming from outside. Bailee’s eyes widened, and she started to rush toward the door. He pulled her back immediately.
“Could be a trap.”
Drawing his gun again, he stepped cautiously on the porch, his head twisting back and forth to study his neighborhood. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were no strange vehicles on the street, and he detected no movements in the neighborhood, outside of the large dog running at a breakneck speed toward his house.
“Roxy!” Bailee moved past Easton to the edge of the porch and knelt in time to catch the dog. Roxy’s tackle sent them both to the ground, but Bailee didn’t seem to mind. Roxy licked her face in a slobbery welcome while Bailee felt in her fur for any injuries.
“She okay?” Easton pulled the front door closed and engaged the lock. Using an app on his phone, he noted the alarm system was working and didn’t show any alerts regarding a disruption in the system.
“She seems okay.”
He helped Bailee to her feet. “Good. We’ll have a vet check her out just to be sure, but first things first.”
“Get out of here?”
“Roger that. Come on, Rox.”
“I need to check on Gran.” Bailee held the Jeep door open for Roxy to hop into the back. Then she slid into the passenger seat.
“Do that. Put the call on speaker.” Easton threw the Jeep in reverse, the tires squealing as he backed out of the driveway and sped down the street.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they waited for the call to connect.
“Barlowe Auto Repair.”
The call connected.
