Free Bare It All by Lori Foster Page A

was an extremely unique woman.
    But then, so was Alice—only in a very different way.
    “Maybe we can shop together on the way back from seeing Logan
and Pepper.” Holding her hand in his, he rubbed a thumb over her knuckles.
“You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
    She couldn’t quite hide her pleasure. “You want me to?”
    “I’m sure Pepper would like to see you again.” He could keep
Alice close by taking her along, and while there she could give Pepper someone
else to focus on. Whether or not Logan would thank him for that, Reese couldn’t
say.
    Touching her hair as if to straighten it, Alice asked, “When
did you plan to leave?”
    “I’m ready now if you are.” He sent a pointed look Rowdy’s
way.
    “And there’s my cue to hit the road.” As Rowdy walked to Alice,
Reese saw the slight rise in her anxiety.
    Rowdy, the dick, pretended that he didn’t. “Thanks again for
everything.”
    Everything? What the hell did that mean?
    Alice stuck out a hand. “It was nice to see you again.”
    Ignoring her impersonal gesture, Rowdy hauled her in for a big
hug, lifting her right off her feet.
    Which meant her hand was now caught between their bodies,
against Rowdy’s midsection, and that had Reese seeing red.
    She all but groped him. Unwillingly, sure. By accident even.
But still...
    He stepped forward—and Alice disengaged herself.
    She didn’t go far. In a low, too-serious voice—as if Reese
wasn’t right there and more than able to hear every single word—she said, “If
you ever want to talk, I’m here.”
    No, she was not. “What the hell does he have to talk
about?”
    “Not a thing,” Rowdy said, his good humor obliterated by her
offer. And then with exasperation: “You stole my line again, hon.”
    Reese stepped forward in warning. “You’re pushing your luck,
Rowdy.”
    Drolly, he said, “Yeah, wouldn’t want to do that.”
    Reese started to fume, and Alice slipped forward to lead Rowdy
to the door. “I’ll see you out.”
    Cash launched into the fray, always excited by the idea of a
trip outdoors.
    As good an excuse as any, Reese decided. He took down the dog’s
leash. “No, I’ll walk him out. I’ll take Cash with me, so as soon as you’re
ready we can take off.”
    “Thank you,” she said. “I only need a few minutes.”
    Rowdy didn’t wait, so Reese had to hurry to get Cash hooked to
the leash so he could follow.
    He caught Rowdy in the parking lot. “Hold up, damn it.”
    Rowdy paused, then with a shrug, walked into the grassy
area.
    They stood there in silence a moment, watching as Cash chased a
bee while also trying to piddle. He hobbled along on three legs—the fourth in
the air—before running out of leash and landing back on his tail.
    Rowdy shook his head. “I do like that dog.”
    “So does Alice. Good old Cash was my icebreaker.” Dark clouds
rolled over the sun, and a breeze carried the scent of rain. Reese surveyed the
sky with interest. “It wasn’t until she saw the dog that she stopped snubbing
me.”
    “But she has stopped.”
    It gave Reese great satisfaction to confirm it. “I’ll be
staying with her a few days while they clean my apartment.”
    “Bragging? Hell, Reese, you may as well use a branding iron on
her.” Thunder rumbled, announcing a threat of storms to come. “Calm it down a
little, why don’t you.”
    Advice from another man, a man who’d just been in Alice’s
apartment, didn’t go down smooth. “What’s your interest?”
    “Hell, I don’t know.” Rowdy leaned over to pluck a dandelion.
“There’s something about her. It’s like she’s guarded. Even hurt. Unlike most
people, she’s too alert, too intuitive, like maybe she’s waiting for something
to happen.”
    “Something bad.”
    “Yeah. And the way she rolled with that shit yesterday? A dead
body doesn’t shake her. And the stuff she says, how she says it...”
    “I know.” It unnerved Reese, as well, and made him determined
to shield her.
    “I want to