The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [40]
“You said he helped Morgan?”
“He helped redirect Morgan’s more physical tendencies by signing him up for boxing. And he set up a gym of sorts in the basement, which we all used until Gabe moved down there. Now there’s just a weight room in what is supposed to be a den. My mother frets every time she sees it.”
Honey laughed again, a low, husky sound that vibrated along his nerve endings and made him acutely aware of how closely they sat together, their isolation from the others, the heaviness of the humid summer air. He reacted to it all and kissed her knuckles before he could stop himself.
Just that brief touch made him want so much more.
Trying to regroup, he said, “Morgan chose to be a sheriff because he likes control, and for him, that’s the ultimate control. But regardless of what he says, it isn’t control over other people, it’s control of himself. He knows he’s more wild than not, that he’ll always be more aggressive than most people. Choosing to run for sheriff was his way of forcing himself to be in control at all times.”
She gave a very unladylike snort. “I think he’s a big fraud.”
Her misperceptions prompted Sawyer to grin. He could just tell she and Morgan would butt heads again and again if they spent much time around each other.
Of course, that was iffy, with her planning to leave and him planning to eventually let her.
“The hell of it is, Morgan never starts fights, he just finishes them. With that scowl of his, he can bring on a lot of attitude that men, especially bullies, generally object to. And to be fair, he always gives the other guy a chance to back off, but there’s that gleam in his eyes that taunts. Morgan’s always had an excess of energy and he gets edgy real quick. So to burn up energy, he either fights or he…” Appalled at what he’d almost said, Sawyer stemmed his ridiculous outpouring of personal confidences, wondering if he’d already stepped over the line. He was so comfortable with her, a fact he’d only realized, and she was so damn easy to talk to, he’d completely forgotten himself.
She tilted her head, her eyes alight with curiosity. “Or what?”
“Never mind.”
“Oh, no, you don’t!” She shook her head even as she fought off a yawn. “No way. You can’t just tease me like that and then not tell me.”
She looked sleepy and warm and piqued, all at once. Again he felt that unfamiliar rush of lust and tenderness and knew he was reacting to her when he shouldn’t. But he just couldn’t help himself. She drew him in without even trying.
Caught by her gaze, he admitted in a hoarse tone, “Morgan either fights…or he makes love. Either way, he burns off energy.”
Her cheeks immediately colored and her eyes widened. “Oh. Yeah, I guess…I guess that could work.”
Having caught her uncertainty, Sawyer leaned forward to see her averted face. “You don’t sound certain.”
She cleared her throat. “Well, it’s not like…that is…” She peeked at him, her brow furrowed in thought. “Is it?”
Sawyer stared at her, blank-brained for just a moment, then he surged to his feet. Damn, if she was asking him if sex was really all that vigorous, he didn’t think he could suffice with a mere verbal answer. Surely a woman as sexy, as attractive as she would already know! Damn her, she plagued his brain with her contradictions, her looks earthy and sensual, her behavior so modest. Bold one minute, timid the next.
He stared down at the lake for long moments, trying to get himself together and fight off the surge of lust that swamped him. He heard her stand behind him.
“Sawyer?”
“What?” He didn’t mean to sound so brusque, but it felt as if she were killing him and his resolve by small degrees. Torturous, but also extremely erotic.
“Can I ask you something?”
Her tone was hesitant and shy, and he prayed her question wouldn’t be about sex. He was only human, and she was too much temptation.
He looked at her over his shoulder and tried to dampen