Don't Tempt Me. Lori Foster
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He hated that idea.
“Where the hell does she go?” Hogan wondered aloud.
Colt shrugged. “She hasn’t said.”
Suddenly Honor lurched back from the scraggly shrubs remaining in front of her house. Screeching all the way, her expression comical, she high-stepped it toward their house, jiggling and slapping her hands all the way.
All three men headed to the front door to greet her, with Jason in the lead.
He got the door open and she barreled into him, hopped and jumped around him in a ridiculous and awkward dance, and finally managed to gasp, “Snake!”
Jason caught her shoulders and held her still. “Snake?”
“In the bushes! Over there.” She stiff-arm pointed toward her property.
Jason took in her abject horror, then his brother and nephew’s wide-eyed astonishment. His smile cracked and once it did, Colt and Hogan roared.
They laughed so hard they couldn’t stay upright. Doubling over, they fell into each other, and occasionally one of them would say in a ridiculously high pitched voice, “Snake,” while prancing in place.
Jason had to admit, it was pretty funny. And damn, he liked seeing Hogan like this. For too long it had seemed as if Hogan lost the ability to laugh when he lost his wife.
But he was laughing now.
Honor tried to shove away from him, and without thinking about it Jason folded her in close, locking his arms around her. She quickly subsided. In fact, she went stock-still.
Worked for him. The heat of the day had intensified the musk of her skin and hair. He breathed her in. Her skin was silky soft, dewy warm and damp. Against his ribs he felt the plump cushion of her breasts.
Colt got it together first, but then he was more attached to Honor since he’d been working with her all week, so he’d naturally be quicker to want to guard her feelings.
Around spontaneous chuckles, he asked, “What kind of snake was it?”
Jason felt her lips move against his chest when she said, “The kind I don’t want to see.”
“Meaning any kind?” Hogan guessed.
“Pretty much.” She snuggled in closer, turning so her cheek rested on him. “I’m sorry for bothering you with this. You told me to get a dog or a gun, and since I haven’t done either, I just...came here.”
“I’m glad.” Jason smoothed her untidy ponytail, more than a little turned on. “If you’d had a gun, would you have shot the snake?”
“No, of course not.” She tipped her face back to see him. “I don’t want it hurt.”
That got Hogan guffawing again, and Colt struggling to contain his hilarity.
All Jason could think about was kissing her. When she looked up at him like that, he was a goner.
With a sigh, Honor resettled against him. “Why are you always shirtless?”
“It’s ninety?”
“So in the winter...?”
He shrugged. He wasn’t big on bundling up unless he knew he’d be outside for a while. “Depends.”
After a few seconds more, she inhaled and levered away. “Guess I made a fool of myself.”
“Nah.” Hogan further mussed her already disheveled hair. “You just showed us your dance moves.”
She surprised everyone by reaching out to playfully punch Hogan in the shoulder while grinning. Her amusement faded and she shuddered. “Sorry, but I was using all my bravery for the bugs. Once that python showed up—”
“Python?” Colt asked.
“To me, every snake is a python.” She hugged herself. “The one I saw was just gray. And not that big. But...” She mean mugged each of them. “It looked at me.”
On another short laugh, Hogan shook his head. “Well,” he said to Colt. “Should we go slay a dragon?”
“Sure.” Colt gave Honor a crooked grin. “How about if we just relocate it?”
“Far away?” she asked hopefully.
“The woods on the other side of the creek should work.”
That intrigued her enough that she lost her jitters. “You can get to it?”
“Yeah, sure. Be right back.” He and Hogan walked off.
Leaving Jason and Honor alone.
As a reminder not to keep touching her, Jason again shoved his hands into his pockets. “Once your yard is in shape, you’ll see that just beyond that line of trees is the creek. I put in a stone path to it from my backyard and built a little bridge to get over it to the other side. With all this rain, it’s almost like a river.”
“I didn’t realize it was that accessible.” Enthusiastic, she added, “I want to see it.”
“Now?” He eyed her dirty knees and the scratches on her arms. She was certainly dressed for it.
“No, not while they’re putting a snake there.” She went back to hugging herself.
Did she think it would be snake free at some point? Jason stepped closer to her. “Could I ask a favor?”
Jumping on that, she replied fast, “Yes, of course. I’d love a way to repay you.”
“I didn’t mean... There’s nothing to repay.” He gave one shake of his head. “If you go to the creek, will you be sure to take one of us with you?” He held up a hand. “I know you’re more than competent, but it’s unfamiliar—”
Wearing a cheeky grin, she added, “And there’ll be at least one snake there.”
“—and it’d be better if you weren’t alone.”
They stared at each other.
She turned shy again. “You’d go with me?”
“Yes.” Even as he reminded himself not to pressure her, he eased a step closer.
“Okay. Thank you.”
Why did it feel like he’d just made a date for the prom? Unable to resist, he lifted a hand to her face and brushed his thumb over a smudge of dirt on her cheek. Silky, warm...would she be that soft all over? “I like your boots.”
Dimples appeared in her cheeks. “Thank you. I didn’t want my feet to get dirty.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, my filthy boots! I tromped into your house.” She turned a circle, looking everywhere for tracks, but then she slowed and breathed in awe, “Wow, your house.”
Proud of all the work he’d done, Jason enjoyed watching her face, seeing her admiration as she visually explored.
She did another turn, taking in the cozy family room and peeking into the formal dining room. “It’s amazing. I love your doors, and baseboards, and all the trim.”
“The millwork is original to the house. When I remodeled and expanded things, I matched the existing trim with original moldings salvaged from area teardowns.”
Eyes wide, she took in the higher ceilings and then the wide-plank wooden floors. “I’m blown away.”
Her house was similar to his but smaller and without the major renovations. “Want me to show you the rest of it?” A tour seemed like a good opportunity to advance their relationship. He’d open up to her—and maybe she’d open up to him.
“Yes, please.” Quickly she removed her boots and put them by the door. “Your place is twice the size of mine.”
Jason stared at her small bare feet with the toenails painted pink. She’d only removed