like a gong and he pulled back even though there was something captivating about Alexis—and he wasn’t just talking about the sweet rack she was sporting.
“You’re going to get me into trouble,” he said with a chuckle as he rose from his haunches. “You know your brother has it in his head that you’re this fragile thing who might break if handled too roughly.” He waited a heartbeat, then asked with a sly grin, “What do you think about that?”
She met his grin with a saucy one of her own. “I think I’m a big girl and I don’t need my brother to run interference for me.”
“That may be true, but I’m not the kind of guy who would go behind a buddy’s back to get at his sister. You know what I mean?”
“That’s admirable,” she admitted with grudging respect.
“And why does it feel the opposite when you say it like that?”
She laughed and the sound tickled his bones like fingertips dancing down his vertebrae. “I told you, you don’t have to stay. I’ll be fine.”
“I gave your brother my word. I’m not going anywhere.”
There was the slightest, most minute, almost indiscernible hitch in her breath, and that sexy little sound almost caused an immediate erection to tent his jeans. Ah hell, this was going to be the hardest test of his life. For crying out loud, they’d only just met, but there was electricity bouncing between them that was hard to ignore, and if she didn’t stop looking at him as if he were the choicest cut of beef, he was going to have a helluva time keeping to his word.
“Tell me about this guy who did you wrong,” he said, moving to sit beside her on the sofa. Act like a friend. Not a hungry wolf ready to pounce. “According to Erik, he was a douche.”
“He said that?”
“Well, not in so many words, but I got the impression he hadn’t thought much of him.”
She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but beneath that negligent shrug was the faint show of heartache that surprised him. Alexis gave off the vibe that if anyone was doing the heartbreaking, it was her and not the other way around.
“What can I say? I’m a terrible judge of character,” she said.
“I don’t believe that.”
“No? Well, I can’t deny that I’ve been drawn to the worst sort of guy. My track record isn’t the best.”
“We all have unfortunate hookups in our past,” he said. “It’s called live and learn.”
Alexis laughed and adjusted the ice pack. “Yeah, well, until I get through with my master’s degree there will only be one kind of learning going on.”
“Sounds like a solid plan.”
And it was. So why did he want to make her break it?
CIRCUMSTANCE WAS A funny thing. Alexis stared at her ankle, amazed at how much could change in the blink of an eye. Last night she was lobbing objects at Layton’s head and today, she was noticing how nicely his cropped, dark hair set off the masculine cut of his jaw. Maybe she wouldn’t mind if Layton played nursemaid after all. Even if she had the very best intentions to keep her hands to herself, she could certainly enjoy the view.
And the view was quite spectacular. Muscled chest and arms, solid abs narrowing to a trim waist and hips... Yes, indeed, Layton had the goods.
“Okay, so tell me the real reason you volunteered to stay behind,” Alexis said, putting Layton on the spot, trying to make things interesting.
“What makes you think I wasn’t being completely altruistic in my offer?”
“Were you?”
Layton paused, then that little glint in his wondrously dark eyes gave him away. “Okay, full disclosure...you’re a beautiful woman and I happen to have a weakness for women like you, but even with that said... I promised your brother that I wouldn’t do or say anything inappropriate.”
“Such a gentleman,” she murmured as her heart rate did a little jump at his admission. Was it terrible that she was already imagining him naked beneath her? Good grief, her hormones were out of control.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” he said ruefully. “I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit that keeping my thoughts on the straight and narrow has already proven to be a challenge.”
She smiled, enjoying that she wasn’t the only one thinking about inappropriate things. “Seems we have more than my brother in common,” she returned.
“Careful, those kinds of comments are dangerous.”
“To whom? Because I’m an adult and don’t need a chaperone.”
He laughed. “I promised your brother.”
“That was your mistake.”
“Hot damn, Erik warned me about you and it seems he was right on the money.”
“Did he? And what exactly did he warn you about?”
“Just that you have a taste for trouble and that I ought to steer clear.”
She pouted. “That’s not flattering at all. Makes me sound like a kid.”
“You are definitely no kid,” he said, his gaze feasting on her ample breasts. If there was one asset she knew she owned, it was her impressive cup size. He cleared his throat as if he realized that he was staring and actually made a concentrated effort to look elsewhere. “But I’ve gotta hold on to a shred of integrity, you know?”
“So noble.”
He smirked. “Well, I respect the hell out of your brother. He’s a good man. I’m not about to start looking at his sister like a piece of meat.”
“Is that one of the lesser-known ‘Bro Code’ rules?” she teased.
“Call it what you want, it’s just how I operate.”
“You’re playing into that firefighter-hero stereotype pretty hard,” she said with a mischievous smile, enjoying their banter. “I wonder if there’s a bad boy lurking underneath that polished exterior.”
He chuckled, the sound tickling her senses. “You have no idea.”
Was she completely wicked that she suddenly had a desperate hunger to find out just how bad Layton could be? Probably. Particularly when she’d made a pact with herself to keep on the straight and narrow until she had her master’s. It was a good plan at the time. Now? Seemed stupid as hell.
“What would you say if I told you I was attracted to you?”
He held his easy smile, but something in his gaze changed and her body tingled with awareness. “Then I’d say that you’d better keep that on lockdown because
