Naughty Stranger (Dangerous Love 1)

“Everything is my business,” Kinsley stated. “You should really know that by now.”

Yeah, he should. He’d always been close to Kinsley. He supposed that’s what happened when your mother left your father to have a new—better—family in California when Boone was five and Kinsley was three. Even though Boone had been protective over Kinsley, his baby sister had gigantic steel balls and a huge mouth. Knowing she would never leave unless he moved this along, he opened both eyes now and he met her hard gaze. “If you want to say something, Kinsley, say it.”

Her glare deepened, hands coming to her hips. “You’d better know what you’re doing.”

He frowned. “When do I not know what I’m doing?”

His sister completely ignored him and said, “In case you haven’t realized, Peyton has heartbreak written all over her face. So, again, you’d better know what you’re doing. Because I like her. Like, really, really like her. Do not hurt her, Boone.”

Kinsley’s fierce loyalty had always made him proud. “It’s Peyton’s playing field,” he reassured, understanding why Kinsley defended Peyton. He’d defend her too. “I’m just along for the ride. All I want to do is make her happy.” He leaned up, resting his weight on one arm. “That’s not so terrible, is it?”

Kinsley stared at him. Hard. For what felt like a full minute. “Okay, I believe you, just wanted to make sure you had your head on straight. I love you.”

Boone shook his head. Women. “Where is Peyton, anyway?”

Kinsley tucked her hands into the front pockets of her jeans and nodded toward the door. “In the kitchen. I guess Rhett called her early this morning and said they cleared her shop to reopen. Peyton texted me asking if I’d go with her. I think she’s a little uneasy about it all.”

“I’ve got no doubt she is,” he said, knowing that same message was likely on his cell too. He gestured down at the sheet. “Unless you want to see me naked, get out so I can get dressed.”

“Ew. Gross.” She gave a full-body shudder, then marched out of the room, probably like she had marched into it.

Boone dropped his head back onto the pillow, shutting his eyes. Christ, he was still reeling that last night even happened.

Outside the bedroom door, Kinsley said, “Okay, I’ll meet you by the Jeep,” before he heard soft rustling in the room. He opened his eyes, finding Peyton entering the bedroom with a coffee mug in her hand, wearing a long flowing skirt and a black blouse, her hair down, framing her face.

She froze when she caught sight of him. A beat later, she scanned his body, making him believe she liked seeing him naked in her bed. Then she moved closer to him and handed him the mug. “I’m sorry she woke you.”

He peeked inside the mug. Black. He liked that she cared enough to ask Kinsley how he took his coffee, maybe more than he should, considering what he was up against. And the lack of personal items in her room indicated that she was not only not over her past, but she was running from it. That he could understand; he’d done the same thing after his divorce. “You wouldn’t have been able to stop her if you tried. Thanks for the coffee.”

“I’m sorry to leave like this,” she said.

He tucked a finger into the front of her blouse. “You’re wearing far too much clothing, considering I’m not wearing any.”

“Sounds interesting,” she said, standing and moving away. “But the shop is ready to be reopened, so I really gotta go.”

“All right,” he said with a grin. “But come over here and kiss me first.”

She gave him a very thorough once-over. “Oh, hell no. I kiss you and I end up back in that bed.”

He chuckled, leaning up on one arm and arching an eyebrow at her, knowing full well she seemed to like that movement. “Would that really be so bad?”

Heat rose to her cheeks, and hell yeah, he spotted the need in her gaze. She rolled her eyes, glancing away. “You can stop that too, you know.”

Playing dumb, he asked, “Stop what?”

“That sexy eyebrow arch thing. Seriously, where did you learn that? Is there some hot-guy playbook out there that I don’t know about?”

He chuckled. Her mind was sexy. Her body was sexy. Every single inch of Peyton Kerr was sexy. “What if I say that I’ll use everything in my arsenal to make sure you get back into this bed with me?” He pushed off the sheet and slid out of bed. She watched him move closer in all his naked and hard glory, and he loved that her mouth fell open.

When he closed in on her, she tilted her head back, her voice raspy. “You don’t play fair.”

He dragged his fingers across her cheek. “Ah, but I would wager a bet that you like that about me, Peyton.”

She leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering.

He made his move then, and as he was about to press his lips to hers, she took a full step back.

“Nice try,” she said with a laugh. “Now get dressed, drink up that coffee, then let’s hit the road. I’m sure you gotta go home to shower, and if you don’t hurry, you’ll be late for work.”