He froze. Blinked. Swiped a hand down his face. "I meant," he ground through a clenched jaw, "that you always seem to be in a state of chaos. The crazy quiets when you're behind the camera. The calm is written all over your face." He looked at her once more, all tension evaporating from his features and, when he spoke again, his voice was rough. Low. "Honestly, Ames, it's about the only time I don't worry half to death about you."She opened her mouth. Closed it. And wondered what it would take to restart her heart. Her lungs were good, though. Yep, she was panting like she'd outrun the hounds of hell."Why are you looking at me like that?""Like what?" She hoped the floor wouldn't leave a mark when she face-planted any second from now.His frown deepened. "Like I ripped out your jugular with my teeth."Actually, that was kinda accurate after hearing him... Gah. "You..." She rubbed her forehead to stop the room from spinning and cleared her raw throat. "You don't have to worry about m
Cursing his internal alarm clock, Nakos padded down the hallway before the buttcrack of dawn, his sole focus to get coffee. Lots of coffee. Until his blood type was Folgers. Once a caffeine blast hit his system, he could better determine the cause for the tension in his neck and why the hell he woke in a zombie state. Not that he normally popped out of bed raring to go, but Hihcebe, he felt like he was crashing from a week-long bourbon bender.Rubbing his eyes, he rounded the landing, descended the stairs, and headed for the kitchen. And stopped short. Blinked. Scratched his chest.Amy, facing away from him, poured coffee from a carafe into a mug at the counter. Long cocoa strands trailed halfway down her back, and she wore a pair of frayed skinny jeans that molded to her round, luscious ass. Blue polish peeked from her toes as she curled them on the checkered linoleum. As she reached for the sugar dish, her hips wiggled like she was grooving to an internal beat, and... He grew semi-h
Wasn't that like the pot calling the kettle black? She wasn't exactly taking a load off, either. She'd cleaned his damn kitchen before he'd crawled out of bed. He was a pretty organized person, but she'd obviously tidied up.Then again, getting her out of the house would allow him time to light a fire under what they'd discussed last night. His dad had left an old drafting desk in the basement when he and Mom had moved back to the reservation. It was the perfect size for Amy's laptop and printer. Which, he was willing to bet, were still in their boxes.Sliding the pad closer, he scribbled a couple things down for her to pick up and tapped his pen on the table. He stripped the conversation they'd just had to the studs, replaying it in his mind, but he still couldn't figure her out. There had never been any sexual connotation between them, and though she'd claimed she had just been stating fact, he had to wonder.Or he was simply excusing his own sudden shift by putting it on her. She'd
As Nakos pulled his truck up to the main house, Bones came barreling around the corner and stopped to sit on his haunches. Though the sheepdog's tongue lolled, his postured deflated as if disappointed in the visitors.Amy released her seatbelt from the passenger side. "Looks like someone misses Olivia."Nakos grunted. "Or Nate. The dog follows him everywhere."They climbed out and warm, humid air tinged with the scent of pine and soil bathed her face. Hot sun beat down and created the perfect lighting for some shots she had in mind.Nakos bent to rub the dog's black and white fur. "Just a honeymoon, boy. They'll be back before you know it." He straightened and glanced around. "Do me a favor. Check on Mae before you wander off to take pictures?"She'd planned on it anyway. "Sure."Leaving Nakos to care for the horses, Amy made her way to the mudroom and inside the spacious kitchen. Huge and airy, it held stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and white distressed cabinets. Aun
Something was off with him. The shot, though? Awesome. Color and light blended together through the canopy. Summer days at their best.When she realized he hadn't responded, she rolled on her side to face him. Setting the camera down, she propped her head in her hand. Mere inches separated them as he looked down at her. After a moment, he sighed and glanced away, his expression revealing nothing."If you don't tell me what's on your mind, I'll start my own dialogue. I can choose some very interesting topics on your behalf." She brushed a wayward strand of hair from her cheek and lowered her tone to mimic his voice. "Amy, I'm thinking of dyeing my hair pink and getting a butterfly tattoo. What do you think?" She brought her voice higher. "Well, Nakos, where would you get this tattoo? Somewhere forbidden?"His gaze cut to hers, dark and irritated, even though there was the slightest quirk of his lips as if he were amused. "I'd shave my head before dyeing it pink.""Travesty," she gas
The second Nakos's lips met Amy's, he knew he was in trouble. The deep kind that drown a person where they stood and left no recourse for salvation. He'd cupped her face, dipped his head, and planted one right on her never-shut-up, poutier-than-hell mouth.And blew logic right out of the water.They barely touched, were suspended in a shocked-immobile pause in time, but moving wouldn't have mattered. He felt the feather-light press of her lips in every molecule of his body.Hihcebe, she drove him batshit mad. The constant arguing and assumptions and distractions. It was enough to make a man crazy. Proven by their current position.In all the years he was attracted to Olivia, not once had he lost it. He'd never had the urge to push boundaries, cross the line, or act on the hovering desire. Amy, though? She wound around his control so adamantly she'd snapped him off at the root. Rendered thought a cloud of dust in her wake. Burrowed under his skin until nothing made sense.The light
She gave him a baleful glance. "Yes, you don't need to ask."He swore, it was like someone showing her common courtesy was unheard of. "Dinner's done." At her look of confusion, he elaborated. "I grilled some chicken." She may have only bought his grocery items earlier, but he'd countered. This kitchen split she'd tried to instill was ending here.She didn't even deign to glance up from the screen. "I'm not very hungry, thanks."He bit back a weary sigh and tried to remember strangling her would solve squat. "I haven't seen you eat all day. I made enough for two. Please join me?"Lip chewing. Staring. Blinking. Finally, after the longest pause in the history of womankind, she climbed off the bed. "Sure. Lead on."Praise Hihcebe. Progress. He pointed to the photos. "Are those from today?" She nodded. "Can you bring them down so I can see?"And there she went with the stunned stupid expression again. "Okay." She gathered the pictures and preceded him out. In the kitchen, she eyed t
Amy leaned against the headboard in Olivia's bedroom at the main house and stretched her legs out in front of her. "So, how many hot men in kilts did you see? Be honest."Laughing, Olivia folded a shirt from the laundry basket. "A few guys, but none you'd want to test the theory of whether they go commando under the kilt, if you know what I mean." She put the shirt away in the dresser and grabbed another. "Scotland was amazing, though. Nate looked up a few of my ancestors and we found this old cemetery where some were buried. I've always wanted to go, but I'm glad I waited to see it first with him."Considering Amy had never been outside of Wyoming, she'd be happy going anywhere. "At least you did some tourist things. Being your honeymoon and all. What a wasted trip that would've been only seeing the inside of a hotel room.""Ha. We saw plenty of that, too." Olivia winked, a flush in her pale cheeks. She brushed a strand of auburn hair from her face and set the empty basket aside. "