“Me? I’m an open book.”
“I doubt that.” She took the thermos from his hand and set it to the side, and then she straddled his lap.
He was as thrilled as he was surprised.
“Do you mind?” she asked softly.
His hands automatically went to her hips to steady her as she rested her arms on his shoulders. “Not at all.”
“Good. Seating is rather limited.”
“That it is,” he agreed. And thank God for that.
They looked into each other’s eyes, his heart beating out a steady, thunderous tattoo. Even through the layers of clothing, he felt her heat acutely and wondered if she wanted to kiss him as badly as he wanted to kiss her. Apparently, that was an affirmative because no sooner had he had that thought than she lowered her head and brushed her lips over his.
Just that quickly, everything else faded away. There was only Kate. Her taste. Her scent. The fuck-hot noises she made as she pressed herself against him, as if she couldn’t get enough. She rocked her core with slight, subtle movements that made him fervently wish there weren’t layers of clothing between them.
“You make me feel so bold,” she whispered. “Empowered.”
“Good.”
This woman should feel empowered because she had a great deal of power over him.
His dick grew harder than the stone surrounding them, and his thoughts funneled into a single track—namely, how best to satisfy her in their less than ideal environment. If she lowered her pants and sat on his lap, facing away from him, in a kind of reverse cowgirl, no part of her would ever have to come in contact with the cold stone.
Before they could further explore the possibilities, however, things started happening on the other side of the chamber. And by things happening, he meant, puppies started being born.
Kate was off his lap in a heartbeat, moving closer to help the mama dog. Mad Dog discreetly adjusted himself and pretended like he hadn’t just been ready to take her like an animal in heat. He needed to get a grip. Even if Kate had been right there with him, she deserved better than a quickie in a cold cave.
Once they’d been together for a while and she knew that it was more than just sex for him, he’d take her each and every possible way he could and ...
Shit. He needed to think of something else before he embarrassed himself.
“Can you keep Duke out of the way?” she asked, snapping him out of his reverie. “Maybe take him outside? I have a camping kit in my backpack. If you fill the pot with snow, we can heat it over the fire and create some warm compresses with the towels I brought. Things are going to get messy.”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” He was stunned by not only the direction his thoughts had taken, but their intensity as well. He needed to take a step back. Take a deep breath. And calm the fuck down.
Coaxing Duke over to him, he led him outside, just as Kate had asked. While he was at it, he enlarged the opening for better access, gathered some additional fallen branches for the fire, and packed snow into the pot while Duke marked a tree or six.
When he felt sufficiently in control again and Duke was finished, they went back inside.
Kate was amazing. She spoke in soft tones, gently encouraging the mama dog, while he rubbed Duke’s head and offered some silent male encouragement of his own. He kept the fire going and heated water using the camping kit and supplies Kate had had in her backpack. Mostly, his job was keeping Duke out of the way.
Over the course of the next several hours, seven healthy, squirming little pups were born.
“Wanna see?” Kate’s face was tired but radiant.
His mind went places it shouldn’t have gone, imagining her looking at him like that while holding a baby in her arms. His baby. The image hit him with the force of a Mack truck along with a sudden, sobering realization—that could never happen because he was incapable of fathering children.
The thought gutted him. He’d come to terms with the reality years earlier, but now, looking at Kate, he wished things could be different.
Kate mistook his hesitance for something else. She grinned and asked, “You’re not squeamish, are you?”
“What? No. I just ...” He couldn’t tell her. He would but ... not yet.
“Good. Then, come over here and help me change out some of these blankets for clean ones.”
Chapter Twelve
Kate
Kate was glad she’d watched a few videos online before Chris arrived, so she had some idea of what to expect and could prepare herself. She had a pretty strong stomach, but there was a good reason she’d never considered medicine—human or animal—as a career.
“They’re so tiny,” he said with a mix of awe and concern.
Her insides, already softened by the puppies, further liquefied. There weren’t many words to describe what it was like watching a hulk-sized SEAL trying to wrangle seven squirming newborn puppies without inadvertently doing damage. Each one was small enough to fit in the palms of his large hands.
In fact, there might not be any words to describe that. There were, however, feelings. Many, many feelings, none of which she wanted to examine too closely—at least, not when she was tired, emotional, and still experiencing the aftereffects of those earlier kisses.
Once the newborns were in place and nursing, Kate tucked the edge of the blanket over their little bodies to retain as much heat as possible. The fire made the air more comfortable in the chamber, but it wasn’t warm enough.
They had to get them back to her place asap, but how? They couldn’t carry all of them at once, and separating mama dog from the pups wasn’t an option. Vehicular transport was out; the woods were too dense to get her Jeep through easily. A snowmobile might work, if she had one. She didn’t.
She posed the question to Chris.
He considered it for a few heartbeats, maybe less. “Do you have a sled and a big box?”
A lightbulb clicked on. “No, but I do have something better—a toboggan! And some extra-large plastic storage tubs that might work.”
“Good. Where do I find them?”
That was the question. The truth was, she had a general idea where to look, but she wasn’t exactly the most organized person in the world.
“It’ll be easier for me to go and get them than to try to explain my unconventional storage system.”
He grinned knowingly. It was scary how this man could read her so well. “You don’t know where they are, do you?”
She sniffed. “Of course I do. The toboggan’s in the garage ... somewhere. The plastic totes are either in the garage, the basement, or the attic. Probably. Shouldn’t take me too long. You can hold down the fort, or ship, or whatever it is you Navy types hold down.”
His grin faded to a slight frown. She found it adorable that a strong, capable SEAL was apprehensive about being left alone with a litter of newborn pups.
“Don’t worry,” she told him, patting his arm. “You’ve got this.”
“I can move faster and haul more.”
“True, but I know where to look. Mostly.”
Plus, she really, really needed to use the bathroom.
As an outdoorsy girl, she had no problem finding a convenient bush and digging a hole when necessary, but she wasn’t ready to reveal her earthy side to Chris just yet. She really liked him. She didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize that, and previous life lessons had suggested that her “tomboy tendencies,” as her mother called them, turned guys off.