His brows drew downward. “Come again?”
“A dog.” She shrugged, her pace slowing as did his. They were getting closer and closer to her apartment building and she wanted to draw this out a bit more. “If you’re never home a dog would get too lonely. I bet you don’t have a cat either.”
“I’m not a cat person.” He made a face.
She was a total cat person, but her landlord didn’t allow them. “I’m not either,” she lied.
His gaze wandered over her, from the top of her damp head to the tips of her rain splattered black boots. She marveled at the way he could look at her and yet continue to walk in a straight line. Her feet kept stumbling over each other.
She also marveled at the way her skin tingled as he looked her over. As if he physically touched her—and in all the right places.
“You look like you could be a cat person,” he said.
“No way.” She shook her head. What if he thought all single women who owned cats were crazy? “I don’t like cats.”
“Do you have a dog?”
“My apartment is a pet free zone.” A direct quote from the landlord.
“Ah.” He jostled the umbrella from one hand to the other. “My name is Brett.” He offered her his hand.
Removing her hand from her pocket, she took his, felt a jolt of awareness pass from her palm to his. “Jenna,” she offered weakly, reluctant to let go of his hand.
“Jenna.” He said her name as if trying it out on his tongue, and she liked that. He withdrew his hand from hers, and she shivered when his fingers brushed across hers. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Thunder cracked overhead as if opening up the sky, and the rain came down even harder if that was possible, creating almost instant puddles on the uneven sidewalk. They both looked at each other and then started to run, Brett’s hand resting low on her back as if guiding her down the sidewalk. Or protecting her.
Either way, she thought it was kind of hot.
“This is my building,” she said breathlessly as they stopped in front of the steps leading to the double doors. She was completely worn out by the running. Man, she needed to exercise more often. Ice cream was not her friend but a vengeful enemy she needed to kick to the curb.
They trotted up the steps to stand beneath the overhang of the front door. He closed the umbrella with a flick of his fingers and handed it to her, his gaze meeting hers.
“Well, thanks for keeping me dry.”
She smiled, their fingers brushing when she took the umbrella from him. Her entire body went on high alert at the innocent touch, and she wondered what might happen if he touched her as if he meant it.
Probably spontaneous combustion.
“I didn’t do much. You’re still pretty soaked.”
“Yeah.” He brushed a hand over his head, sending little droplets of water scattering everywhere. “I’ll take a hot shower when I get home.”
Jenna swallowed hard. Why did that sound so—so decadent? The thought of this hunk of a man beneath a hot spray of water, his hands sliding through his hair, water sluicing down his naked, muscular body made her mouth go dry.
“Do you, uh, want to come up? Maybe the rain will stop soon. You can come inside and get warm.” She winced, couldn’t believe she said that. Did it sound like some sort of line? Did he think she was trying to pick him up?
Maybe she was. Oh God, was she really?
His eyes warmed. “Yeah, I’ll come up.”
“Okay,” she croaked. She hadn’t expected him to agree.
Good Lord, what she was going to do once she got him up there?
Too many wicked things crossed Jenna’s mind, none of them proper considering he was a complete stranger. A man she didn’t know that she was inviting into her home which meant she’d gone stark raving mad.
Stark. Raving. Mad.