Free Between Midnight and Dawn by Cheryl Yeko Page A

emotion right now.
    He lifted his other hand and cupped her cheek. “I thought we’d go to the Humane Society and get you a dog this afternoon.”
    The smile he gave her was warm, coaxing, and she felt her resistance melting away . . . again.
    She nodded, amusement making her lips curve up. He was too cute.
    “Great,” Kyle said with a confident smirk. Releasing her, he leaned back to pick up his fork again and shoved a big bite of pancake into his mouth.

Chapter 6
    “I think it might be a good idea to show you some self-defense moves,” Kyle said, skeptically studying the dog she’d chosen at the Humane Society.
    Nicole knelt down and wrapped her arms around Charlie’s neck, hugging him as the dog attempted to wash her face with his sloppy, wet tongue. A nine-month-old Boxer, Kyle had watched as the mutt won her soft heart in all of five seconds after walking into the Humane Society. The woman handling the adoption knew Nicole from the ceramic shop, and she’d waived the background check so they could take the dog right home.
    She frowned. “Do you really think that’s necessary?”
    Kyle had wanted her to get a bigger, meaner dog, but she’d convinced him Charlie was more suitable for her modest home. He grinned, betting she’d allow the damn animal to sleep with her, which made him feel a bit jealous. Hell, he was becoming far too attached to Nicole and needed to back it the hell down.
    But after tasting her kiss earlier, he might be fighting a losing battle. Because he wanted her. She’d tasted sweet, like dark chocolate and cherries. He couldn’t seem to banish the images from his brain of slowly stripping Nicole naked and making love to her for hours.
    “Just enough to defend yourself until Charlie here could come to the rescue.”
    “I’m sure Charlie’s enough to scare off any bad guys,” Nicole said, grinning up at him.
    The sight of her kneeling before him made his dick twitch. Kyle clenched his fist tight, trying to think about something other than how amazing it’d be to have her lush mouth wrapped around his cock. Reminding himself, he needed to concentrate on her safety and nothing else. She was a distraction he could ill afford.
    So he turned his attention to the dog. Although big enough, and with an intimidating bark, Charlie was actually a marshmallow. Kyle wasn’t sure how good he’d be at protection. But once she’d seen him, there’d been no changing her mind. The two had already established a mutual admiration society, and hopefully the dog’s bark would be enough to scare off any intruders.
    “How about it, Charlie?” He patted the dog’s head. “You gonna protect our girl?”
    Charlie’s back end wiggled excitedly against the coffee table in a rapid drumbeat, and he seemed to actually grin up at Kyle. He barked twice, before turning his wet tongue back on Nicole. She laughed, and fell on her very fine ass as the dog rained more sloppy kisses to her face.
    The dog mauled her with his big paws, then proceeded to lick her to death. Taking pity on her, although she appeared totally fine with being drenched in dog saliva, he leaned down and took her hand, tugging her, still giggling, to her feet.
    Hell, she was adorable. Kyle struggled with the temptation to kiss her again, knowing it wouldn’t be a good idea. He’d freaked her out enough this morning and was lucky she hadn’t kicked him out the door.
    But one taste of Nicole hadn’t been nearly enough. He was hungry for more of her. Her lips had been soft and willing. The hesitant feel of her tongue against his had been sweet.
    The shiny slobber on her cheeks from the mutt’s attention only made his desire flame higher. Adorable didn’t even come close to describing this woman. She was way past adorable, and he wanted her. Wanted to strip her naked and carry her to bed and lose himself in her arms, her body.
    With great effort, Kyle managed to bottle up his desire and stick a cork in it. Starting up something with Nicole