“We could.” He nods slowly. The chair has stopped moving, so I know he’s doing it on purpose this time. I think he might be holding back a smile; it’s hard to tell.

“We could . . . play cards,” I offer.

He stops nodding. “We could do that, or . . .”

I shrug and my mouth opens, words spilling out. “Or we could just sleep together. Get it over with.”

Oh my god! I just said that out loud! Help! I’m going down like a clown to Crazy Town!

“That’s always an option,” he says just as calmly as he said we could play cards.

What. The. Hell!

I turn my gaze toward him and find him smiling.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I say, a little breathless from my nerves being shattered. I’m sweating too, of course. Hopefully not enough to be noticeable.

“How am I supposed to be looking at you right now? You just propositioned me.”

“No, I didn’t.” I frown like he’s the crazy one and not me. I doubt it’s very convincing since I’m pretty much wearing a name tag that says, “Hello, my name is CRAZY.” I look off to the side, convinced there’s something very interesting that needs my attention on the bookshelves.

“I might be a little rusty in this area, but I’m pretty sure you did.”

“What area?” He has my full attention now. Is he confessing that he hasn’t had sex in a long time too? Just like me? Are we both coming off a long, dry spell?

“The area of having women throw themselves at me.”

I stand, outrage pouring out of my every pore. “I did no such thing! How dare you!” I’m so embarrassed! Humiliated! This is awful! My worst-case scenario was nothing this disastrous! Run away!

He jumps up too and lunges for me, grabbing me in a bear hug before I can escape. He’s laughing, the bastard.

“I’m just kidding!” He buries his face in my neck as I struggle to get away. “Calm down, Bo Peep, before you hurt someone.”

“I’m going to hurt you as soon as you let me go.” The sting of his earlier tease is easing, quickly being replaced by the warmth of his touch. Our bodies are connected from toes to nose. I’m still going to slap him, of course, but then I just might do something else after.

“Aw, you don’t want to do that, do you?”

My struggles mostly cease. “Kind of.”

He kisses the delicate skin of my neck, ending my resistance completely. “Are you sure about that?” he asks in a whispery voice.

I sigh with delight and defeat. “I’m not sure about anything where you’re concerned, Ozzie. Seriously. You’re confusing the hell out of me right now.” He’s a complete stranger, but he’s not. A big mountain man with a horrible beard, but not. Dangerous, but not. Ack! Something better start making sense around here . . .

“Good. I like confused.” He growls and takes a small bite of my neck.

“Ow! Watch it.” I push on his chest, pretending I want to get away.

He knows it’s all an act, though. We both do. Besides, I’m not going to get away from this cage made of pure muscle until he wants to let me go. Hopefully, that won’t be happening for a long time. The word forever flits through my mind.

He’s kissing me again, slowly sucking the spot he nipped. Shivers go up and down my spine and everything feels like it’s catching on fire. My system is going haywire. His kisses continue up my neck, where he licks the skin near my ear, before reversing direction and going down to my shoulder. My pulse is racing and my breath coming faster. My nipples grow hard under my bra, and other parts of me down below start to ache.

He groans. “Mmmm, you taste so good. I wonder . . . do you taste this good everywhere?”

Now my crotch is on fire too. Great. How am I going to say no to him now?

His left hand slides down my back and grabs my butt, squeezing and then using it to pull me against him. He’s as hard as a rock. I can feel his arousal through all our layers of clothing, and he’s just as big there as he is everywhere else. Oh my god.

A weird beep I’ve never heard before sounds out in my front foyer.

Ozzie freezes in place for two seconds, and then his hands drop away from my body. He steps back, every fiber of his body screaming the fact that he’s on alert.

I stand there like a mannequin posed in a sex-shop window. My eyes remain half shut for a few seconds until I realize that he’s walking away.

“Wha . . .?”

“Shhhh.” He holds a finger to his lips as he walks over to the foyer.

I cease the sex-mannequin act and follow him to the keypad at my front door. The number 8 is lit with a red light. It’s ominous, as crazy as that sounds. I think my impression is aided by the fact that Ozzie has gone from being my sexy maybe-going-to-be lover to being an army commando ready to strike. It’s both scary and hot as hell to see in action.

“Stay right here,” Ozzie says, pulling me by the wrist over to the bathroom by the front door. “Get in, lock the door, don’t come out until I tell you to.”

“But . . .?” Okay, this isn’t sexy. This is scary. I don’t want to play anymore.

“Do it. Tell me you understand.” He takes me by the chin and holds my face still. He’s staring at me so intensely, I have no choice but to nod.

“I hear you and I understand you,” I say as best I can with him still controlling my jaw. “What did that light on the keypad mean?”

“It’s a possible intruder alert.”

My heart spasms in my chest. Am I going to get shot? I’d better not. Ozzie and I were just getting started. “Why didn’t the siren go off?” I whisper-squeal.

“Because they haven’t breached any entrances to the home yet. It’s marking someone crossing the border onto your property.”

I notice for the first time that an exterior light has come on in the front yard. When did that thing get installed? I don’t remember having one of those before.

“When did . . .? Since when do I have . . .?”

“It was installed this afternoon. I asked Thibault to come over here and put the system in.” He leans down and kisses me on the mouth before letting my chin go and leaving me alone in the bathroom.

I lean outside the door after he’s gone.

“Felix!” I whisper. “Get in here!”

Felix comes over dutifully and enters the bathroom, his tiny toenails clicking on the tile like itsy-bitsy tap shoes. Once I’ve shut the door, locking us both inside, I sink down to the rug and commence panicking at level ten.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

It seems like forever that we hear nothing. Then the alarm siren goes off, and I nearly squeeze Felix to death in surprised fright. He yips in pain and bites me on the arm.

“Ouch, you little punk!” I pick him up and climb into the bathtub, closing the shower curtain behind us. Felix feels bad about biting me, so now he’s trying to make it up to me by giving my arm a tongue bath. Great. Curling up into the smallest human I can, over by the faucets, I pray that Ozzie doesn’t get hurt trying to keep me and my little furbaby safe. I can hear every one of my heartbeats. Felix’s too.

Sahara’s deep, threatening barks come through the door next. Felix perks up and starts barking too. I hold his mouth closed, and his anger comes out muffled.

“Berf! Erf! Eerf, berf, berf!”

Little man’s pissed, but no way in hell am I going to let him out there to get kicked into the wall. Jenny was right; Felix would go for the ankles and pay dearly for it.

After what seems like a really long time, long enough for me to sweat through my shirt, Ozzie’s voice can now be heard over the din of Sahara’s discontent. He’s telling someone at the alarm company that everything is fine. Then he’s at the bathroom door.

“What’s your password?” he asks.