Bare It All by Lori Foster

okay.” Maybe. But why
in the world would—
    “Open up, Alice,” came a deep, compelling voice. “I know you’re
in there. I hear Cash.”
    As the dog recognized their visitor, his reaction transformed
from outrage to utter elation. Giving a high-pitched whine, he turned circles
and kept looking at her, waiting for her to open the door.
    In a whisper, Alice reminded the dog, “You don’t know him any
better than I do.”
    “I can hear you, too, Alice.” The amusement came through loud
and clear. “Now open up.”
    She bit her lip to hold back the groan. Good grief, did he have
supersonic hearing or something?
    Heartbeat accelerated, Alice put a hand to her hair, but of
course it was already tidy. She was always tidy. And
boring. And too cautious...
    Stop it.
    She straightened her shirt, licked the lips that Reese had just
kissed and unlocked the door.
    Cash charged forward in excitement, but he didn’t get far.
“Hello, Rowdy,” she said as he caught the dog’s collar. Luckily, being around
Reese had gotten her somewhat used to large men.
    Because Rowdy Yates was that, and then some.
    He was also drop-dead gorgeous in a devilish, careless, edgy
way. Where Reese tempered his sex appeal, Rowdy threw it out there without
reserve, bludgeoning innocent bystanders with his raw magnetism.
    “Hey, yourself.” He went down to one knee to acknowledge the
dog. “What a welcome! I missed you too, bud.”
    “Odd,” Alice remarked at the dog’s reaction. “He barely knows
you.”
    “We’re kindred souls.”
    She doubted that. The dog was sweet and mostly gentle. In more
ways than one, Rowdy Yates represented walking, talking trouble.
    Unlike Reese, he didn’t speak in a falsetto voice to Cash.
There were many, many other ways in which he differed from Reese, as well. Where
Reese instilled trust and confidence, Rowdy brought out blushes and heart
palpitations.
    Standing there, one hand on her throat, the other crossed over
her stomach, Alice wondered why in the world he’d come to visit.
    His blond hair, darker than Reese’s, was a little too long and
a lot too messy, as if the wind—or a woman’s hands—had recently played with it.
He had beard shadow, not because he’d just awakened, but because he hadn’t
bothered to shave. He wore a snowy white undershirt with jeans so ancient the
denim was threadbare in places.
    All in all, he made a rugged, mouth-watering package. Alice
gulped and asked with some hope, “Are you looking for Reese?”
    “Nope.” He scooped up the dog. “Instead of hanging out here
while you analyze me, how about we take this little party inside?”
    But they weren’t having a party! And how had he known she was
analyzing him? “I, ah...”
    As if she had no say so at all, Rowdy strode in, and she could
have sworn Cash smiled at her as they went past. Alice just managed to get out
of Rowdy’s way.
    With the back view of him now presented to her, she couldn’t
help but notice his muscled tush—and the outline of a big folding knife in his
back pocket. She’d barely met him, but it didn’t surprise her that he’d armed
himself. In fact, she’d bet he had another weapon or two hidden on his
person.
    Why was he here?
    She had no reason to distrust Rowdy. But then, she had no real
reason to trust him either.
    Leaving the front door partially ajar, she followed him into
her apartment.
    They hadn’t been properly introduced, but she knew Rowdy as one
of the men involved in the violence yesterday. “You’re Rowdy Yates, Pepper’s
brother.”
    “And you’re Alice, Reese’s neighbor.” He gave her a killer grin
guaranteed to make a woman’s knees wobbly.
    Alice didn’t doubt its effectiveness—but he wasted it on her.
So far, only Reese had the ability to overwhelm her with his presence.
    “Alice Appleton.” Given that Reese now knew her name, there
didn’t seem to be much reason for the continued subterfuge—at least, not in
that. Concern furrowed her brow. “Is