“And,” Remmy continued to her, “he doesn’t act like an employee.”
“Fuck off,” Hunter said, his tone succinct.
With a truly exaggerated eye roll and a huff of frustration, Jodi faced him again. “My property. My rules. Let me handle it.”
Hunter returned her look with an expression of not happening.
Watching them, Remmy ran a hand over his face. “So here’s the thing.” He glanced at Turbo, frowned and said, “Seriously, someone take care of that dog before he drops over. Go together if you want. I’ll stand right here.”
Hunter looked at Jodi, waiting.
Jodi muttered, “Fine,” then added to Remmy, “Right there, understood? Not on my porch, not on the driveway and not looking in a window.”
Remmy, the bastard, grinned and crossed his heart.
Together, with Hunter making certain that Jodi went first, they headed in, Turbo happily lumbering behind them.
The second they were inside and Jodi had secured the door, Hunter turned and kissed her. He needed it, whether she did or not.
To his surprise, she didn’t fight him. In fact, after sticking her gun in the waistband of her shorts, she grabbed his face and returned the kiss wholeheartedly, even going onto her tiptoes and leaning into his chest...for five seconds.
Releasing him, she touched her fingertips to his mouth, his jaw, then down along his chest until her hand fell away. “Dog first.” She lazily strode to the kitchen, no more worried about keeping Remmy waiting than he was. “Your asinine behavior second,” she decided. “And Remmy third.”
“How about Remmy not at all?” Hunter stalked after her. “I could send him off in a way that he won’t be back.”
Grinning, she set down a bowl of water. “I believe you, but now I need to know what private stuff he wants to say.”
Yeah, much as he hated to admit it, Hunter was a little curious himself why Remmy would dare show up here. He’d met Jodi, so he had to know exactly how she’d react. If by private, he meant he wanted to come on to her, he was going about it all wrong. If it hadn’t been for the dog, he imagined Jodi’s reaction to Remmy would have surpassed Hunter’s to Worth.
And come to think of it, were those two aligned? Seemed more than possible.
Turbo did take a few drinks, but clearly his biggest issue had been worry. Looking back and forth between the humans, apparently satisfied now that Hunter and Jodi were together, he licked the dripping water from his chops and ambled out of the room.
Hunter warned her, “He’s going for your bed, you know.”
Eyes widening, she grabbed the dish towel and raced after him. Hunter stepped into the hall to watch and saw her when she came out of the room, carrying the dish towel between finger and thumb. She pitched it into the utility room toward the washer. Feeling a special kind of peace, he smiled.
Jodi swiped her hands over the seat of her shorts. “Got the slobber off him before he soaked my pillow.”
“Glad to hear it.”
She stopped in front of him. “He’s already sawing logs.”
By sheer force of will, Hunter resisted touching her. A long day of working in the sun had left her cheeks, brow and the tip of her nose shiny pink. Her hair, caught up in a high, loose ponytail, was a little sweaty, telling him that she hadn’t yet had time to shower. She smelled earthy, and his cock twitched at the scent while his heart drummed with the need to gather her close.
Sighing, she dropped against him, her forehead to his chest. “This is dumb, but I can’t seem to help myself.”
Closing his eyes in relief, Hunter wrapped his arms around her, silently vowing she’d always be safe with him. “Nothing between us is dumb.”
“Says the man who hasn’t bared his soul.”
Immediately, Hunter clasped her shoulders and held her back, his gaze searching hers. Of course she wanted them on equal footing. How could he have been so blind? Jodi had shared so much with him, and he’d shut her down anytime the questions had veered his way. Grossly unfair, and it was past time he stopped doing that. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well, we can go into that soon, but right now I’m thinking if we go outside to talk to Remmy, Turbo is going to lose his ever-lovin’ mind again, when he’s only just gotten to sleep.”
Very true. Turbo had shown that he was extremely protective of Jodi. “How about I go out and—”
“Thanks, but no.” She lifted a brow. “I have a feeling you’d use any excuse to attack him.”
“What if I only hit him once?”
Half smiling, Jodi lifted his hand, looked at his knuckles and said, “Once might be all it’d take. We need his mouth intact, remember?”
He could punch him in the gut, but Hunter kept that to himself.
“I assume you won’t wrap up the caveman act and wait in here while I—”
Tossing her words back at her, he said, “Thank you, but no.”
She grinned. “So I guess I have to let him in.”
Hunter hated that idea most of all. “Fuck.”
“Hey, I’m trying not to curse, so rein it in before you tempt me.”
In so many ways, she softened his heart. “I can do that.” Sometimes, though, fuck was the only noun, adjective or adverb that worked for him, and now was that time. “If he does anything he shouldn’t, I’m mangling him.”
“Get in line.” Jodi opened the door with Hunter right behind her. Remmy stood there, hands on his hips, his eyes narrowed at how long they’d made him wait. “You may as well come in.”
He dropped his arms. “Finally.” With long strides, he came across the yard, bounded up to the porch and stepped through the door. Immediately, he glanced around with interest. “Damn. It looks totally different.”
“Meaning you’ve been in here?” Hunter asked, ready to dismember him for admitting as much.
“Several times, actually.” He zeroed in on Jodi. “Could we sit?”
With a roll of her shoulder, she led him into the kitchen, indicated a chair, and once Remmy dropped into it, she leaned back against the counter. Grinning to himself, Hunter stood beside her, watching as Remmy realized he’d be the only one sitting.
He looked at Jodi, then at Hunter—and the dick dared to be amused. “I’m almost sorry that I can’t do things King’s way.”
“What way is that?” Jodi asked.
“Get you in bed, soften you up and then deliver you to him.”